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LIVING IN GERMANY

Living in Germany: Cheap transport, Elon’s ‘Berghain reaction’ and May traditions

In our weekend roundup for Germany we look at a story our readers have been enjoying this week, the most extreme reaction to (allegedly) not getting into Berghain and May Day traditions.

Published: 30 April 2022 18:55 CEST
Cherry blossom trees line a street in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony.
Cherry blossom trees line a street in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Stefan Jaitner

Will you opt for Germany’s cheaper transport ticket?

One of the biggest stories our readers have been interested in this week is the introduction of the €9 monthly transport ticket and how it will work. Yes, that’s right – Germany is reducing the cost of public transport massively for three months over summer. From June, people will be able to use the special ticket which costs €9 per calendar month – €27 in total. Given that monthly tickets for travel can cost anywhere between €70 and €100 depending on where you live in Germany, it’s a massive reduction. The measure is part of the energy relief package which should ease the pain of inflation made worse by Russia’s war on Ukraine, as well as lure people away from their cars. But there are some worries about overcrowding, and it won’t benefit people who live in rural or less well connected areas. Will you be using the ticket? And do you think it should stick around after three months? Or is it a waste of money?

Tweet of the week

After billionaire Elon Musk struck a deal to buy Twitter, lots of social media users joked that this was a reaction to being turned away from Berlin’s legendary Berghain nightclub. On a recent visit to Berlin, Musk seemed to suggest that he refused to enter the club… but many speculated that he failed to get past the bouncers or couldn’t deal with the notoriously long queue. There is no special treatment when it comes to Berghain!

Where is this?

Photo: DPA/Daniel Löb

Many Germans, including in Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg, like to celebrate May Day with a Maibaum (May tree) which is similar to the maypole of European folk fest traditions. It’s no wonder then that Nuremberg has a fun-themed Maibaum for their spring festival. Pictured here on April 16th, the Bayern Tower, a 90-metre high chain carousel, is known as the “highest maypole in the world”. One for the brave people who are not scared of heights!

Did you know?

May 1st is a significant day on the German calendar. Tag der Arbeit (International Workers’ Day) sees marches and demos calling for improved workers’ rights. There are also often riots against the police that take place in some areas, such as Berlin’s Kreuzberg and Neukölln districts. Banks and shops still board up their windows to avoid damage during the riots. 

There’s also the Maibaum tradition that we mentioned above. In some communities across Germany, a tree (or pole) is decorated with colourful streamers and flowers. Apparently towns try to steal each other’s May trees. It’s all part of the fun. 

Dancing in the new month (Tanz in den Mai) is also a favourite of Germans, particularly young people. You’ll find the odd Maifest (May festival) taking place with music and entertainment.  If you’re into witchcraft and fantasy then there is Walpurgisnacht or Hexennacht (Witches’ Night), which runs overnight from April 30th to May 1st. Germanic folklore says witches would meet on the peak of Brocken in the Harz mountains to revel with the Devil. Women in the Harz area (and beyond) still dress up, get their dancing shoes on and pull some moves to this day. 

Thanks for reading,

Rachel and Imogen @ The Local Germany 

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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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