Dear 20 Percent,
We complain a lot about Germany in this newsletter but sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due. Last week I used a digital prescription for the first time. I needed to renew a prescription, so I called my GP and the receptionist added it to my card. I DIDN’T HAVE TO PICK UP A PIECE OF PAPER FROM THE DOCTOR’S, saving me an hour of my life. There’s also an E-Rezept app but you don’t actually need it to get your meds, just your card.
I know other countries have had this for decades but at least former health minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) actually got the E-Rezept digitalisation project (along with ePA or digital medical records) past the finish line. 🍻, Karl.
In the same vein, I got around to using the BUND ID authentication system for the first time in order to log in to tax portal Elster using my ID card. This being Germany, the online instructions on how to set up BUND ID were more complicated than the process itself.
Another minor victory in my personal path to German digitalisation. Don’t get me started on Elster itself though — it’s confusing as all hell.
And don’t worry, here at 20% Berlin we still have our doubts about Germany entering the 21st Century. In Episode #020 of The 20% Berlin Podcast, out today, Andrew complains about the crappy online citizenship application system.
More news below!
Maurice
Many thanks to our main sponsor today, Genau Genau language school. More from them below.
A little e-scooter Ordnung, please
My little kids feel they have to climb onto every abandoned Lime scooter, risking injury as the heavy vehicles easily tip over. So I was pleased to hear that the Berlin Association for the Blind (ABSV) is taking the city government to court over chaotic e-scooter parking. It wants the shared vehicles completely banned from sidewalks, arguing they pose a danger to Berlin’s estimated 25,000 blind and visually impaired residents. The ABSV says scooters should only be parked in designated stations, rather than dumped wherever, creating hazardous obstacles. A court hearing is scheduled for October 1.
Airport hacked
Berlin Airport faced major disruptions after a cyberattack Friday evening and is still struggling with the after-effects. The ransomware attack targeted American software company Collins Aerospace, crippling check-in and boarding systems at BER as well as at Heathrow, Brussels and Dublin airports. The hack forced ground staff to process passengers manually using paper lists, leading to long queues and widespread flight delays. By Monday, about 70% of departures were delayed, some by over an hour, with luggage backlogs adding to the chaos. The airport was already under strain due to tens of thousands of additional travellers who had flown to Berlin for the marathon at the weekend.
Tikked off workers
Employees at TikTok’s Berlin office kicked off a four-day warning strike on Tuesday to protest the Chinese social network’s plans to replace 150 content moderators with AI and external contractors. Workers are demanding three years’ salary in severance pay and a 12-month extension of notice periods for those affected. The union ver.di accuses the company of trying to push through layoffs quickly without adhering to German labour law.
Dreame factory near Tesla factory?
Speaking of Chinese companies, robo-vaccum maker Dreame Technology is rumoured to be planning an electric car factory in Brandenburg, not far from the Tesla plant. Dreame is apparently drawn by the ecosystem of suppliers that has developed in the region. The factory will be 1.2 times bigger than Elon’s and, according to Carscoops, will allegedly begin manufacturing a rip-off of luxury brand Bugatti’s Chiron in 2027. I’ll believe it when I see it.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
✈️ German jets scrambled after Russian military plane flies over Baltic Sea
🗣️ German Foreign Minister sharply criticises Israel
😬 Shop owner posts anti-semitic sign
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin
🎤 Creams (live) + Indome
Thursday, 25.09, 7:30 – 11 pm. Gretchen, Obentrautstr. 19–21, 10963 Berlin. Tickets: €11.50-€23.89
Creams grew up in Tbilisi and is now based in New York, making dark pop with electronic layers and an introspective edge. She's playing Gretchen with Indome, a good chance to catch both live in an intimate setting.
🎶 Last Resort x YUKU
Friday, 26.09, 11 pm – 6 am. Panke, Gerichtstr. 23, 13347 Berlin. Tickets: €13.50–20
A night of bass and dembow with YUKU artists Pépe, Muskila, and Juana Valeria alongside Dengue Dengue Dengue and Basy Tropikalne, moving between UK breaks, Latin rhythms, and global club sounds.
🎻Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi
Friday 26.09 7:30 pm. Directed by Jan Bosse. In Italian with German and English surtitles. Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bismarckstraße 35, 10627 Berlin. Tickets: €26–€108.
A corrupt court, a tormented jester, and his sheltered daughter collide in a tale of seduction, betrayal, and sacrifice. Innocence is destroyed, love is manipulated, and fate drives all toward a devastating end.
🪄 Aura Labs From Saturday, 27.09, Revaler Straße 99, 10245 Berlin. Tickets: €15 An experimental exhibition that explores the intersection of AI, art, and human perception. Set in a dynamic space blending generative visuals, sound, and interaction, Aura Labs invites visitors to step inside evolving digital environments shaped in real time by artificial intelligence. It's designed to spark conversation around the role of machine creativity and future aesthetics.
⭐Sponsored event⭐
Facilitating Dialogue in Times of Rupture
Berlin, Oct 16–18, 2025 | Led by Civil Society Forum
Conflicts and divisions can stall conversations. This 3-day course welcomes anyone leading teams, communities or classrooms to learn radical, trauma-informed facilitation. Transform rupture into connection with experts from Aequa & CitizensLab. Open to activists, educators, organisers and curious professionals. Sliding-scale pricing.
More info HERE Register HERE
Factoid
City garbage agency BSR estimates that they pick up 2.9 billion cigarette butts from Berlin streets per year. From Monday, the Ordnungsamt (public order office) says it will be cracking down harder on butt littering. In other words, they’ll start doing their job and issue fines — between €55 and €120. The fine could rise to €250 soon, according to mayor Kai Wegner (CDU), who has made it his mission to clean up Berlin.
⭐⭐⭐ Visit our sponsor! ⭐⭐⭐
GENAU GENAU offers German Language Training (A1–B1) in hipster Kreuzkölln: small groups, lots of humor, flexible formats, grammar boot camps, conversation courses, a free and colorful cheatsheet, online options, coffee from freshly ground beans, and excellent tea. Prices range from €49 to €199. The semester pass for €99 per month (6-month term, up to 12 x 90 min. per week, limited to 50 registrations) is very popular! Don't be lazy! Register with the voucher code 20PCNT for two free trial lessons instead of one: www.genau-genau.com. Gym German? Ja, genau!
As much scooters get in the way, either parked on the bike lane, or incorrectly blocking foot traffic. Let's not forget how much space we all, collectively, agreed to give up for cars.
Often times, two or more lanes on each way, plus parking on both sides of the street, they make the streets dangerous too, we are the ones that need to be careful and look both ways, not the pilot of the big machine that is cruising at 50km/h next to a school zone.
Don't be mad at e-scooters that blocked your way, be mad that you can only exist in 10% of the entire street because of cars