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LIVING IN GERMANY

Today in Germany: A round-up of the latest news on Thursday

From partial holiday hotel reopenings to a Colonial-era street receiving another name, here's the latest news from around Germany on Thursday November 26th.

Published: 26 November 2020 17:35 CET
Today in Germany: A round-up of the latest news on Thursday
Some hotels, such as this one in Offenbach, Hesse, will accept guests visiting their families over the holidays. Photo: DPA

As of Thursday afternoon, skiers and anyone who makes a day trip to Austria for recreational purposes will be required to go into quarantine for 10 days.

“Tourist day trips or leisure activities abroad, such as skiing, are avoidable sources of risk,” Bavaria’s state government announced after a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon. 

There are still some possibilities to cross the border for up to 24 hours without having to quarantine, but these do not include tourist and sporting purposes.

READ ALSO: Where and when will it be possible to go skiing in Europe this year?

On Tuesday, Bavarian state premier Markus Söder said he would keep slopes closed over the Christmas holidays, and called for other European countries to do the same. 

Yet it’s still contested whether ski resorts in the Alpine countries of Switzerland and Austria are likely to follow suit.

Hotel in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia to allow guests

The states of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia have announced that they plan to allow people to stay at hotels over the holidays, and other states are expected to likewise loosen their hospitality rules.

“Anyone who visits relatives should have the opportunity to stay overnight somewhere,” said Hesse’s state premiere Volker Bouffier (CDU), pointing out that not every family member can provide an extra room. 

Currently all hotels around Germany are closed, with the exception of business trips. The holiday period is loosely defined by most states as between December 20th and January 3rd.

Photo of the day

Photo: DPA

Christmas in Germany is set to look very different this year than all previous ones. But that hasn’t stopped the capital from sticking to one major holiday tradition: setting up a giant Christmas tree in front of the glowing Brandenburg Gate. 

Changed street name

One Berlin nonprofit successfully ended a 15-year-campaign on Thursday to change the name of Wissmannstraße in Berlin-Neukölln to Lucy-Lameck-Straße. The street will now be named in honour of the Tanzanian politician Lucy Lameck (1934-1993) who helped push for the country’s independence, along with fighting racism.

READ ALSO: Berlin to change street names which honour brutal colonial past

“We are especially glad that the violent colonial history, which Germany and Tanzania share, is not erased here, but rather told under reversed signs,” said Mnyaka Sururu Mboro, the spokesman of Berlin Postkolonial who’s originally from Tanzania. 

“Wissmann was a racist war criminal. Lucy Lameck stands for the undervalued contribution of Tanzania's women to the fight for our independence.”

Hermann von Wissmann (1853-1905) was the former governor of German East Africa (Deutch-Ostafrika), a German colony which existed between 1885-1918 and included mainland Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

Younger people socially distance too

Younger generations often take the blame for causing the coronavirus spread, with every police break-up of an overcrowded illegal house party headlining the German media. But that’s not the full story.

According to a recent survey, a large majority of the younger generations in Germany show solidarity in the pandemic. 

Two thirds of the interviewees between 14 and 39 currently find it important to avoid parties in order to protect family and friends, according to a preliminary evaluation for the representative study “Young Germans 2021”, which was presented in Berlin on Thursday. 

Only eight percent of the respondents answer said they can't give up parties for the time being.

A large majority of the 1,602 respondents (73 percent) also have no problem with keeping their distance and wearing masks.

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LIVING IN GERMANY

Living in Germany: Battles over Bürgergeld, rolling the ‘die’ and carnival lingo

From the push to reform long-term unemployment benefits to the lingo you need to know as Carnival season kicks off, we look at the highlights of life in Germany.

Published: 14 November 2022 09:54 CET
Living in Germany: Battles over Bürgergeld, rolling the 'die' and carnival lingo

Deadlock looms as debates over Bürgergeld heat up 

Following a vote in the Bundestag on Thursday, the government’s planned reforms to long-term unemployment benefits are one step closer to becoming reality. Replacing the controversial Hartz IV system, Bürgergeld (or Citizens’ Allowance) is intended to be a fair bit easier on claimants.

Not only will the monthly payment be raised from €449 to €502, but jobseekers will also be given a grace period of two years before checks are carried out on the size of their apartment or savings of up to €60,000. The system will also move away from sanctions with a so-called “trust period” of six months, during which benefits won’t be docked at all – except in very extreme circumstances. 

Speaking in parliament, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) said the spirit of the new system was “solidarity, trust and encouragement” and praised the fact that Bürgergeld would help people get back into the job market with funding for training and education. But not everyone is happy about the changes. In particular, politicians from the opposition CDU/CSU parties have responded with outrage at the move away from sanctions.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz has even branded the system a step towards “unconditional Basic Income” and argued that nobody will be incentivised to return to work. 

The CDU and CSU are now threatening to block the Bürgergeld legislation when it’s put to a vote in the Bundesrat on Monday. With the conservatives controlling most of the federal states – and thus most of the seats in the upper house – things could get interesting. Be sure to keep an eye out for our coverage in the coming weeks to see how the saga unfolds. 

Tweet of the week

When you first start learning German, picking the right article to use can truly be a roll of the “die” – so we’re entirely on board with this slightly unconventional way to decide whether you’re in a “der”, “die”, or “das” situation. (Warning: this may not improve your German.) 

Where is this?

Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

Residents of Frankfurt am Main and the surrounding area will no doubt recognise this as the charming town of Kronberg, which is nestled at the foot of the Taunus mountains.

This atmospheric scene was snapped on Friday morning, when a drop in temperatures saw Kronberg and surrounding forests shrouded in autumnal fog.

After a decidedly warm start to November, the mercury is expected to drop into single digits over the weekend. 

Did you know?

November 11th marked the start of carnival season in Germany. But did you know that there’s a whole set of lingo to go along with the tradition? And it all depends on where you are. First of all, the celebration isn’t called the same thing everywhere. In the Rhineland, it’s usually called Karneval, while people in Bavaria or Saxony tend to call it Fasching. Those in Hesse and Saarland usually call it Fastnacht. 

And depending on where you are, there are different things to shout. The ‘fools call’ you’ll hear in Cologne is “Alaaf!” If you move away from Cologne, you’ll hear “Helau!” This is the traditional cry in the carnival strongholds of Düsseldorf and Mainz, as well as in some other German cities.

In the Swabian-Alemannic language region in the southwest of the country, people yell “Narri-Narro”, which means “I’m a fool, you’re a fool”. In Saarland at the French border, they shout “Alleh hopp!”, which is said to originate from the French language. 

Lastly, if someone offers you a Fastnachtskrapfe, say yes because it’s a jelly-filled carnival donut. And if you’re offered a Bützchen? It’s your call, but know that it’s a little kiss given to strangers!

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