#505: Heat is HOT, flower pot manslaughter, the ICC's future

Swimming in Berlin will get even better

Jun 26, 2026

Literally me at the 1987 Tour de France in West Berlin.

Dear 20 Percent,

You know it’s serious when the news agencies start using live tickers to report the news — welcome to the Hitzepocalypse 2026®. Germany — and Berlin — are expected to set new heat records for June this weekend, likely topping out at 41 degrees Sunday (that’s 105.8 Freedom Degrees for those of us raised in Yankville).

Be prepared for the heat — many public events are being cancelled. If you planned to attend or be part of something, make sure it’s still happening. And if you can’t be near water, please make sure you can stay hydrated and in the shade (or in some form of cool indoors).

Deutsche Bahn will refund train trips booked for this weekend that were booked before June 24, because they have a historic problem dealing with any kind of weather, hot or cold. But so does the Autobahn: The A2, which speeds Berliner’s westward, is closed because the asphalt and concrete are bubbling up under the heat.

On an anecdotal note, I bought my Dachgeschoss (top floor)-living daughter a portable air conditoner earlier this week for €349. Amazon now wants €495 for the same unit. Once greedy always greedy.

Stay cool and enjoy the sunny weather. Monday is supposed to be cooler but only slightly.

Andrew

The Kurfürstenstraße Straßenstrich

I’ve been prepared for this clash of gentrification and seedy Berlin since I looked a flat in the neighborhood over a decade ago: Residents of Kurfürstenstraße protested Thursday against a perceived increase in drug dealing and use in the neighborhood, according to Tagesspiegel. The street, which divides Mitte and Schöneberg, has been the city’s red light district with street prostitution since the late 19th century. But it was also one of the last undeveloped neighborhoods and has seen turbo-gentrification since nearby Gleisdreieckpark was upgraded in 2013. While some of the new residents aren’t opposed to the prostitution, they’d like cops to crack down on the drugs. Parents are afraid to let their kids walk alone to schools in the area.

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Charges for falling flower pot

And prepare appropriately if you put flower pots on your balcony — a 32-year-old woman has been charged with manslaughter after a 4.8kg pot slipped off her balcony railing, killing a 61-year-old man below on the sidewalk in April, according to RBB24. The woman allegedly placed the pot on the wall around her balcony but outside the metal railing and without anything to hold it in place. Wind then blew the pot off the balcony.

A possible future for the ICC

One of my fave buildings in Berlin is preparing for its future after it was closed to remove asbestos — the Internationale Congress Centrum, or ICC, in Charlottenburg. The super-futuristic building is to become a cultural center with artist studios, restaurants and galleries. Unfortunately, also (yet) another hotel. Total cost to rennovate the building, first opened in 1979, and build the hotel is estimated at €600 million with an opening planned for 2032 — if Berlin can find a partner to finance the plan. The city-state would rent the site to the new manager but not be part of the investment. The symphony could potenttially move in temporarily as its home near Potsdamer Platz is rennovated and Berlin’s Technical University could also potentially use the space. It’s been closed since 2014. I watched the team presentations for the 1987 Tour de France there during my first-ever visit to (West) Berlin.

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Factoid

Sommerbad Wilmersdorf. I’ve jumped off that. Photo: Berliner Bäder-Betriebe

The Berliner Bäder-Betriebe, the government outfit that runs our public swimming pools, will invest about €600 million in renovating, upgrading and building new swimming pools throughout the city-state until 2030, according to the Morgenpost. The BBB, as they’re known, just renovated the Schöneberg pool at a cost of €14 million and Lichtenberg, Treptow-Köpenick, Pankow, Spandau and Marzahn-Hellersdorf will all be getting new pools. The list of planned rennovations is too long to reproduce here. Despite the construction one of the cool quirks of school in Berlin won’t be impacted — swimming as a regular part of the curriculum.

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