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LIVING IN GERMANY

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

From increased Kindergeld to a threat to the German pharmaceutical industry, here's a roundup of the latest news on Friday.

Published: 27 November 2020 17:17 CET
Today in Germany: A round-up of the latest news on Friday
Never before has DHL delivered so many packages in Germany. Photo: DPA

Hotels and the holidays

More states have decided to allow guests to stay at hotels for family visits over the festive season – currently just stays for business purposes are allowed. The complete list now includes: Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Lower Saxony.

The relaxation of rules, however, is only set to apply over the Christmas holidays – or around December 20th to January 3rd.

But maybe the extra hotel space won’t be needed: according to a new survey, 73 percent of people in Germany plan to limit their contact to family, including family visits, over the holidays.

More Kindergeld in 2021

Parents in Germany can look forward to receiving a higher monthly allowance for their children. Starting next year ‘Kindergeld’ will be raised by €15, Germany’s Bundesrat decided on Friday. 

READ ALSO: Kindergeld: What you need to know about Germany's child support payments

Starting in January, money for the first and second child will be €219 instead of €204. For the third child, that amount rises from €210 to €225, and up from the fourth child the amount rises from €235 to €250.

Photo of the day

Photo: DPA

We can see how ‘Spiegelsee’ (Mirror Lake) in Sehlendorf, Schleswig-Holstein got its name. Two women walked along the lake on Friday, getting some outdoor exercise as temperatures around Germany remained at a mild 7C. 

Packages booming

Just five weeks before the end of the year, Deutsche Post DHL delivered more parcels than in the whole of the previous year. The Bonn-based company announced that 1.6 billion parcels have been transported in Germany so far in 2020. 

This means that the company's own record has already been surpassed – in 2019 the postal service had transported 1.59 billion parcels in this country, more than ever before. Because of the booming online trade, the company has been breaking its own record year after year for a long time, but now this is happening exceptionally early.

By the end of the year, the Group expects to have transported around 1.8 billion parcels, an increase of around 15 percent. Never before has growth been so high.

Threat of German anti-vaxxers

On Thursday, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) warned of a possible threat to the German pharmaceutical industry, especially as Germany gears up for 60 vaccination centres. 

READ ALSO: Former Berlin Tegel gets new life as Covid-19 vaccination centre

Due to the “high dynamics and emotion inherent in the complex coronavirus topic”, an “abstract danger” for vaccine manufacturers, but also for vaccination centres as well as transport and storage facilities must be assumed, according to an internal paper viewed by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, as well as public broadcasters NDR and WDR.

In particular, the BKA warns that critics of coronavirus measures could try to infiltrate the vaccination centres in order to get particularly high media attention for their protest. 

There’s a concrete reason for this concern: a demonstration in front of BionTech’s headquarters, the research company in Mainz that has developed a promising coronavirus vaccine according to current research, was announced for this Saturday.

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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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