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LIVING IN GERMANY

Living in Germany: Bad train travel, turning the lights off and sick note rules

In our weekly roundup about life in Germany we ask if German train travel is as good as its reputation abroad, measures in cities to save energy and the rules around getting sick.

deutsche bahn train and passengers
People walk next to a high speed train in Stuttgart. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Schmidt

Is train travel in Germany all it’s cracked up to be?

If you’ve had to deal with disruption while travelling on German trains, you’re not alone, as our columnist Brian Melican wrote about. In fact, his piece seems to have struck a nerve. It’s a well-known stereotype that Germany runs like clockwork, but that’s not the case when it comes to the rail system. Far from it, actually. Foreigners who arrive in Germany are often surprised to constantly be faced with a Zugverspätung (train delay).

Brian also highlighted problems due to what he described as “decades-long network underinvestment” in infrastructure. With the climate crisis worsening, Germany sees trains as a key component to the future of travel. The Greens, who are in the coalition government, have even previously spoken out about making trains in Germany more reliable and cheaper to cut down on domestic air travel. But a lot of work will have to be carried out if this is the aim. Let us know your experience of travelling on German trains by emailing [email protected]

Tweet of the week

Germany’s bread selection is the gift that just keeps giving. But if you’re French, perhaps now is the time to look away…

Where is this? 

The Berliner Dom

Photo: Photo: DPA/ Paul Zinken

This is the Berliner Dom (cathedral) in all its glory, with the TV tower behind. But one thing that’s different to usual is that it’s not properly lit up. That’s because Berlin is putting many of its monuments in the dark to save energy as Germany heads into a difficult winter with Russia throttling the gas supply. As well as saving energy, the aim is to set an example  to households and businesses as part of the German national effort to cut down on gas and electricity. 

Did you know?

Since there are lots of bugs going around at the moment, whether it’s Covid-19 or another infection, it’s worth getting familiar with German work rules around sickness. If you are sick, you need to give your employer a Krankmeldung (notification of sickness) before the start of work on the first day. However, you also need to hand in a Krankschreibung (doctor’s note) on the fourth day – unless your contract says you have to hand it in earlier. 

It may sound harsh but you also risk losing your job or being disciplined if you don’t hand in your doctor’s sick note to your employer fast enough. A few years back, a teacher in Rostock lost her job after getting a doctor to retroactively write her off work five days after she should have handed in her Krankschreibung. The state court in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania agreed with the firing, ruling that a sick note can be written only up to two days too late, and then only if there are mitigating circumstances. So make sure that you contact your doctor to get the admin sorted as soon as you can. 

Thanks for reading,

Rachel, Imogen and Sarah @ The Local Germany 

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INSIDE GERMANY

Inside Germany: Becoming German, European election vote and the Scottish ‘Mannschaft’

From what we can expect from voters at the European elections to what citizenship means to foreign residents and the Scottish take on the German word 'Mannschaft', here are a few things we're talking about this week.

Inside Germany: Becoming German, European election vote and the Scottish 'Mannschaft'

Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in Germany that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.

What can we expect as Germany goes to the polls for Europe?

On Sunday, EU citizens living in Germany will cast their vote to elect a new European parliament. 

A lot has changed since the last elections were held back in 2019 – the UK has since left the EU (meaning no Brits in Europe can vote unless they have an EU citizenship), we’ve experienced a worldwide pandemic and war has broken out in Europe. 

The big story of 2019 from Germany was the Green surge. 

Although the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) received the largest share of votes (28.7 percent), the Greens won more than 20 percent of the vote in Germany, increasing by about 10 percent from 2014.

Support for the conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) dropped considerably. 

So what can we expect from voters in Germany this time? 

According to recent polls, the conservatives are likely to secure a victory on the German side of things. The CDU and CSU will scoop up around 30 percent of the vote, according to surveys.

poster urging people to vote

A giant poster announcing the upcoming European elections, on the facade of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, eastern France. Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left SPD, on the other hand, is only polling between 14 and 16 percent. 

The poll figures for the Greens have fluctuated. The INSA institute reported in April that the Greens could receive 11.5 percent of the vote. But recent polls show the party receiving between 13 and 15 percent – a significant drop from 2019. 

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has also lost support. While pollsters INSA predicted the party would take 22 percent of the vote back in February, recent polls put them on 14 to 17 percent.

Meanwhile, the Free Democrats (FDP), currently in government with the SPD and Greens, have been hovering between just three and five percent in polls since the beginning of the year.

Aside from these well-known parties, there are also a number of smaller ones.

If you’re eligible to vote, who will you be choosing? Good luck at the ballot box and make sure to check The Local’s coverage as the results come in. 

READ ALSO:

Germany in Focus podcast

After devastating floods in Germany that have claimed lives and cause huge destruction, we talk about how communities are coping and the areas most at risk of flooding on this week’s podcast. We also get into predictions for the European parliamentary elections and answer a reader question on how much you need to earn to qualify for German citizenship, 

With the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament coming up on June 14th, we share some interesting facts about the stadiums involved and talk about the importance of football culture in Germany with guest Kit Holden. 

What does German citizenship mean to foreign residents in Germany?

With the new citizenship law coming into force later this month, we asked The Local readers to share their feelings about citizenship and the process in a questionnaire. More than 100 people filled out our survey in just a few days and were delighted to hear about the different experiences. 

In the first of our articles, we looked at what securing a German passport means to residents. 

Of 121 readers who took our survey, 81 percent intend to apply for citizenship, while 12 percent are still unsure. 

About six percent said they will not apply, and a few respondents had already naturalised. 

A German citizenship certificate and passport.

A German citizenship certificate and passport. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez

For many people, a huge benefit of citizenship is about gaining freedom of movement. 

“Free movement with the world’s strongest passport is the main goal here,” Khandakar Rahman from Bangladesh, told us. 

Others mentioned that they would feel more integrated – and have course receive full rights to voting. 

Kristian from Norway said the would “finally be an EU citizen, to be able to vote, and also to actually be German”.

READ MORE: What would German citizenship mean to foreign residents?

The Scottish ‘Mannschaft’ set to take on Germany 

As Germany is about to take on Scotland in the opener for UEFA Euro 2024, ad executives for the Scottish soft drink Irn Bru have outdone themselves. 

They’ve launched an advert playing around with the nickname for Germany’s national football – ‘Die Mannschaft’ 

READ MORE: German word of the day – Mannschaft 

I was keen to know what Germans felt about this advert featuring a guy in a kilt talking about how Scotland’s ‘Mannschaft’ may even reach the semis. 

While many Germans thought it was funny, a few pointed out that the advert technically doesn’t use the word correctly. 

One thing for sure is that the Scottish love it. 

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