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WEATHER

Snow and ice cause travel chaos in parts of Germany

Wintry weather is continuing to cause major problems in parts of Germany, affecting the road and rail network.

Published: 14 January 2021 17:55 CET
Snow and ice cause travel chaos in parts of Germany
A man on Thursday tried to free his car from the snow in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria. Photo: DPA

In some parts of the country hit by freezing temperatures and snow, slippery roads resulted in car crashes and road closures on Thursday. 

In Bavaria, trains were heavily affected. In the Allgäu region and in Upper Bavaria, there were delays as well as cancellations and line closures.

Fallen trees prevented trains from travelling between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Reutte in Tyrol, according to Deutsche Bahn.

There was also no service between Penzberg and Kochel in the Oberland area. Trains got stuck between Immenstadt and Oberstaufen in the Allgäu region, as well as between Kempten and Pfronten-Steinach.

While snow and sleet was still expected in the Allgäu and the Black Forest on Thursday night and the early hours of Friday, snow was already beginning to thaw during the day on Thursday, according to the German Weather Service (DWD) based in Offenbach.

More snow on the way

But in the northern part of the country, between the Baltic Sea and the Erzgebirge region in Saxony, fresh snowfall is expected on Friday.

In the rest of the country, the sky will be overcast with snow showers.

The east and south will experience frosty temperatures hovering around 0C to – 4C. Otherwise, temperatures will climb to between 0C and 3C.

On Saturday, according to forecasters, it will be mostly sunny and cold across the country. On Saturday night, new snowfall will likely arrive from the west, “affecting the centre and the south by Sunday evening”, according to the DWD.

A car driving through a snowy road on Thursday in Saxony's Erzgebirge mountains. Photo: DPA

In the west it will be milder on Sunday, and in the remaining parts of the country light frost is expected.

In Hesse and in North Rhine-Westphalia, many ski and toboggan slopes, car parks and access roads will remain closed this weekend.

People in Germany are being urged not to go on day trips to ski areas. Some regions with particularly bad coronavirus rates also have a ban in place that means people can't travel more than 15km from their town or city.

BERLIN

Anmeldung: Berlin to re-launch online housing registration in October

Finding an appointment at the Bürgeramt to register an address has long been an unwanted chore for new arrivals in Berlin - but from October, this gruelling ritual will be a thing of the past.

Published: 19 September 2024 13:51 CEST
Anmeldung: Berlin to re-launch online housing registration in October

Every foreigner who’s lived in the German capital has experienced the stress of trying to find an appointment at the Bürgeramt, or citizens’ office. 

In order to register an address – a process known as the Anmeldung in German – residents generally have to scour a list of available appointments, sometimes waiting weeks for a spot or travelling to a far-flung part of the city to complete the process. 

From mid-October, however, the city has announced that people will be able to register and deregister their place of residence online. The Local has contacted officials to ask for the specific date in October that this is happening and will update this story when we receive the information. 

According to the Senate, the move will free up around 500,000 appointments that would ordinarily have been taken by the hundreds of thousands who move into and around the city each year.

Berlin had briefly offered online registrations during the Covid-19 pandemic, but removed the service once social restrictions were lifted. 

How will the new system work?

The online registration system is apparently based on Hamburg’s system, which was developed under the so-called ‘one-for-all’ (EfA) principle. This means that other states around Germany can adopt the same software as part of their digitalisation efforts.

People who want to register address will need to fill in an online form, provide proof of their new residence and also identify themselves using their electronic ID, which will either be an electronic residence permit or a German or EU ID card. 

READ ALSO: What is Germany’s electronic ID card and how do you use it?

After the process has been completed, a sticker for the ID card will be sent out via post.

Aufenthaltstitel

A German residence permit or ‘Aufenthaltstitel’ with an electronic ID function. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Daniel Karmann

This can then be used to update the information on a residents’ eID card and access the registration confirmation digitally.

Those who don’t have access to a validated electronic ID will need to either activate their eID function at the immigration office or Bürgeramt or register their address in person.  

In 2024, the service will only be available for single residents, but online registration for families is also in the pipeline.

Is Berlin making progress with digitalisation?

It certainly seems like it. This latest move is part of a larger push to complete digitalise Berlin’s creaking services and move to a faster, more efficient online system.

At the start of the year, the capital centralised its naturalisation office in the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) and moved all citizenship applications online. 

Since then, citizenship applications have been completed around ten times faster than previously – though tens of thousands of applicants are still waiting for a response on their paper applications.

More recently, the LEA also announced that it had moved to a new appointment-booking system designed to end the predatory practice of appointment touting, or selling appointments for a fee.

Under the new system, many residents permits – including EU Blue Cards – can be directly applied for online, with in-person appointments reserved for collecting the new (or renewed) permit.

READ ALSO: What to know about the new appointments system at Berlin immigration office

Meanwhile, those who can’t apply online yet can access appointments by filling in the contact form, with the LEA hoping that this will deter people from booking appointments with the intention to sell them on. 

In another move to speed up bureaucracy, Berlin also opened a new Bürgeramt in the district of Spandau this September, with the governing CDU announcing on X that more new offices would follow in the near future. 

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