Hi everyone,
before I tell you about a man on the U8, I am excited to announce that we will throw a summer get-together together with Zim from Berlin Events Weekly. I can't wait to meet you in person. We have limited space, so book early.
The older train model on the U8, 3/4 full, late afternoon. I can't see what it is, but two passengers in the section in front of me are warning people who wanna sit down, "Don't. There is something on the seat." At the next stop, the Office man enters, carrying a typical office backpack.
"Don't…" the passengers warn him. He proceeds to touch the seat and does the finger move (🫰🏼), but not the Gen Z heart thing. I can't see his face.
He takes his backpack off and sits down on THAT seat even if the neighbouring one is free. The Office man. This moment and the face of one of the fellow passengers is tattooed into my brain forever. The Office man, dominating U8.
📌 Pinned
I previously mentioned pensions (Issue #197) and the problem of 25% of tax revenues going to payouts. Based on the poll result, most of you are aware of the problem and are saving on top of the state pension. Now, a government-appointed commission has proposed a solution based on the Swedish model, which the coalition wants to implement in full.
The core idea: a new capital-funded pension pillar, where a slice of mandatory contributions gets invested (by a state fund or the Bundesbank) to lift pension levels from 2040 onward. Alongside it come some less popular moves: a retirement age tied to life expectancy (rising toward 67.5 by 2041) and tighter rules on early retirement. This could be the most important reform in Germany since the early to mid 2000s (Hartz & Riester).
This week's poll is about bikes in the Snippet section.
🗞 Berlin & Germany
I was seeing loads and loads of Frisch Gestrichen papers around Berlin since I am here, and figured they might be fake (since most of the time it didn't look freshly painted at all), but then people suggested that paint also dries and that they might be old. Which makes me and my idea of fakeness feel very stupid. But I haven't given up yet and will investigate the matter further.
Last week we had our fifth Insider's Dinner Club with Nam (@kumaramen_eatery) & Nicha (@chili_charme), and it was amazing. Follow them to see what they are up to.
We still have a couple of spaces in our Everyday AI Club meetup, this time with a focus on designers. Come join us if you work in design.
Tagesspiegel made an overview of top cafés in the shade: Café Sommerlust (Schlossgarten Schönhausen, Pankow), Café am Neuen See (Tiergarten), Cassiopeia Sommergarten (RAW-Gelände, Friedrichshain), Strandbar Sage Beach (Kreuzberg), Tadschikische Teestube im KunstHof (Mitte), Chinesisches Teehaus (Gärten der Welt, Marzahn), Châlet Suisse (Grunewald), and Biergarten Zollpackhof (near the Kanzleramt, Moabit).
If you prefer the sun, here is a list of cafes in the sunshine from the official Berlin blog.
Smokers, beware: flicking a cigarette butt onto the ground can cost up to €250. Berlin is running a citywide focus week from today through Sunday — last year Spandau took in €2,900 in warning fines and €3,100 in regular fines for discarded butts. But I couldn't clearly understand from the article if it was for the whole year or during the focus week. Not to mention two different dates in the same article. Could an editor please have a look?
ICC, that impressive spaceship congress centre in the West, might be turned into something after being empty for 12 years with costs around €2M annualy to maintain. A group of project partners wants to fill it with art, culture, gastronomy, research and a museum, build a new congress hotel where the old parking garage stands, and add a nearly 100-meter tower with offices, apartments and a hotel nearby. These are just ideas, and financing isn't clear: now a roughly two-year negotiation phase lies ahead before the Abgeordnetenhaus makes the final call. The Senate has backed the concept. Let’s hope for a swift and anti-regular-Berlin resolution of the matter.
What have the Romans ever done for us? Not much, but from the perspective of the German startup scene, here is what Merz & the government should do: mobilise pension capital into venture funding, fix employee stock options, and cut bureaucracy with 24-hour company formation. The state should also become an anchor customer for startups, push EU Inc. and DMA enforcement, and build up data centres and AI compute so Europe isn't stuck depending on foreign hyperscalers.
Stats: Bike thefts appear to be declining, but thieves are stealing more expensive bikes. In Berlin, it fell from 32k cases in 2015 to 22,5k, but the damage per case has doubled over ten years to €1,200, and insurers report claim totals have tripled since 2005.
How many bikes have you lost to theft in Berlin?
Berlin-related headlines
Pankow-Süd neighbourhoods are set to become climate redevelopment zones, affecting 30k residents [more, €]
A woman has been charged after the fatal flower-pot incident in Berlin [more]
Berlin's southwest: no date set for the U-Bahn to Mexikoplatz [more]
A software error triggered the nationwide train standstill [more]
Electricity prices explode in the heat [more, €]
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🌿 Worth your time
I’ve been practising “doing stuff for my future self” as much as I can for several years, and it’s amazing. I can recommend cleaning the apartment before leaving for the holiday and cooking food in bulk for the freezer. Do things you’ll love yourself for. Also, always take the stairs.
Neal came up with another fun online project, this time Wiki Spy. A random collection of Wikipedia images. Try clicking on one. I love his creativity.
Food critics and their tips on what to order in a restaurant. I usually ask about recommendations or best sellers and discuss things with the waiter. And I am always worried if they say “everything is great!”
⏱️ Briefly
Outside interests #1: Anthropic's updated privacy policy allows it to verify Claude users' age and identity via ID and biometrics under certain conditions. [more]
Outside interests #2: Scientists are studying a mysterious "cold blob" in the North Atlantic; a new study reads it as an ominous sign for ocean circulation. [more]
Outside interests #3: How quickly do EV sales translate into cars on the road? [more]
Outside interests #4: Binance is shutting down crypto trading in the European Economic Area. [more]
Outside interests #5: Waymo (Mountain View, robotaxis) is reportedly preparing to launch in Germany. They registered a company in Munich. [more]
Flink (Berlin, quick commerce) is cutting a quarter of headquarters jobs; riders are not affected. [more]
Zalando (Berlin, e-commerce) is under BaFin investigation over a potentially faulty annual report. [more]
N26 (Berlin, fintech) reached profitability for the first time in 2025, with €1.6M in profit. [more]
Langdock (Berlin, AI) named Judith Dada as Co-CEO.
Tesla (Grünheide, EVs) plans to hire 1,000 new workers at the Gigafactory.
Bayer (Leverkusen, pharma) won at the US Supreme Court in the glyphosate dispute. [more]
The German federal government confirmed a 40% stake in KNDS (Munich/Paris, defence), Europe's biggest tank maker. [more]
DocMorris (Frauenfeld in CH, online pharmacy) is cutting 100 jobs, saying it’s leaning in to AI. [more]
Hochtief (Essen, construction) is now officially listed on the DAX, replacing Porsche SE. [more]
Lyten (San Jose, batteries) is reportedly taking over the Northvolt site in Heide (in the state of Schleswig-Holstein) for about €60M. [more]
Volkswagen (Wolfsburg, automotive) plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs. [more]
Drivers are being overcharged at German public EV charging stations. [more, €]
The BDI now expects only 0.4% GDP growth in Germany this year. [more]
Most popular in the last Careers newsletter
Coffee talk, jobs, events & what the community is up to, every Thursday. Free.
😅 Meanwhile
little differences
via r/ich_iel
Weekly social and outside interests
Reddit: Hands up if you have already met the deranged man on U7 / U8. 🙋🏻♂️
Reddit: Did someone just suggest that you can basically use trains with AC as an office? Yes, and it’s a good one.
Reddit: Landlords absolutely hate this simple trick. (TIL you can challenge a temporary furnished rental).
Instagram: I didn’t know that a fan can also be inefficient if it’s too hot.
Last week’s poll was about what the biggest problem is in the U-Bahn, and we have a clear winner:
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