#497: Spätis open Sundays?, more sewage, no gun at Tempelhofer Feld

Rents up, again

May 29, 2026

In Berlin, laws are really just suggestions. Photo: Magnus Hagdorn

Dear 20 Percent,

The German Spaziergang, or walk, is something else. I’ve been trying to meet with friends and acquaintances more regularly (the 495th Birthday Party last week was great for this) and I hit up another comedian for a beer or a coffee Tuesday.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said. You have to talk on walks, he said. I like to talk with beer too, I countered.

I walk every day in hopes of battling various mental and physical ailments and so agreed. I thought he’d beg off after a few hundred meters but how naive I was. Any other nationality would have called what we did a hike and brought blister pads, snacks and plenty of water.

We just set off, completely unprepared. I’m pretty confident we saw every corner of the Tiergarten.

Even after two decades of marriage and nearly 30 years on and off in this country the natives can still surprise me.

“Ugh,” he said as we parted ways. “Now I have to take a bus home.”

I laughed. Because I walked.

Have a good weekend!

Andrew

PS: Did I say comedian? 100% Funny, the 20percent.berlin comedy night, is back June 18 at Berlin’s best standup club: Downstairs Comedy Club. Vincent Pfäfflin, Žana Fejzić, Dan Stern, Dinara Kerey and Masud Akbarzadeh hosted by 20percent.berlin’s own Andrew Bulkeley. TICKETS HERE.

Should Spätis open Sundays too?

While neither the ad-free and no-cars-inside-the-ring referendums gained enough signatures to make it on September’s ballot, here’s one most (if not all) of us can get behind: a referendum to allow Spätis to open on Sundays. I mean, mine all flout the rules and open anyway but Alper Baba, head of the Berlin Späti club (yes, there’s even a club for Spätis!), hopes to launch a referendum to alter Berlin’s store opening laws, according to RBB24. Only owners, not employees, would be allowed to tend the stores on Sonntage since most are owner-operated. A current mosaic of laws and court decisions allows some Spätis to open if they also have a bar license. Or, like the ones in my neighborhood, they just open.

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Median rents up €0.50 per m²

Great, it’s worse. The median rent rose 7% in the past two years, according to RBB24, as politicians continue to do nothing to counteract the city-state’s housing problem. The official median cold rent (without amenities like heat and water) rose to €7.71 per square meter from €7.21 according to the government’s Mietspiegel (rent index). The figure is important because it’s the basis for legal limits on rent increases (landlords can only raise rent 15% in three years but not beyond the rent index), though increases or exceptions for location, condition and year of construction further complicate calculations.

No gun, no bomb

Thursday was an unsatisfying day to be a cop. About 100 officers raced to Tempelhofer Feld about 1pm after a woman reported an armed man amidst a group involved in fisticuffs, according to RBB24. The officers closed off parts of the park as well as several exits but were unable to find the suspect — despite the help of a helicopter. Then, about 9pm, someone called in a bomb threat for Terminal 2 at BER. Officers from the federal as well as Brandenburg police responded but were unable to find any traces of explosives, according to the Morgenpost. The officers closed Terminal 2 and all flights were transferred to Terminal 1. The all-clear was given about 2am and detectives are now investigating the call.

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Factoid

Some of yours, some of mine, some of your neighbor’s. Photo: Berliner Wasserbetriebe | Dennis Klehr

The Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Berlin’s water utility, last year gathered 3% less sewage but sold 1% more drinking water, which seems odd but they gave no reason. To be fair, recent years have been so consistently sh*tty that a 3% difference would be hard to notice. They also increased their investment to renew and build new infrastructure to €543.7 million, much to my shagrin because they usurp several blocks for their construction sites and then maybe three dudes sort of work a couple days a week for YEARS (we have four in my neighborhood right now and basically nothing happens).