Events are back! Save the date for our next get-together on the 2nd of October at Impact Hub. Before that, we have the 4th Handpicked Coworking coming up on Tuesday, the 22nd of September, this time at Space Shack. Come and join us: great company in a cool space with snacks included. Only slightly related, but I was featured in Späti Stories.

It's been a while, but just before witnessing the mass migration of Berliners to Tempelhofer Feld for the partial solar eclipse, I had a great dinner at Cafe Pilz. It was previously recommended to me, and I absolutely loved it. The place was exactly as chaotic as you'd expect.

Housing in Berlin sucks, so there is no surprise that expropriation of large housing corporations is a big topic in the campaign. For the first time since the 2021 referendum passed with 58% support, a majority (46%) now opposes expropriation, versus 37% in favour. It’ll be a very important topic, because Die Linke has made implementing the referendum a coalition condition, and support splits sharply along party lines (strong opposition among CDU/AfD/SPD voters, majority support among Linke/Grüne voters).

No more Wegbier/Fußpils at Hauptbahnhof and Gesundbrunnen from 1st of September onwards. Besides “getrennt” (everyone paying for themselves), one of my biggest culture shocks when arriving in Germany was seeing so many people drinking beer while commuting. It’s technically not allowed, so I really wonder how this ban will be enforced. Maybe they do smoking next?

ICC is one of my favourite spaceship buildings in Berlin, and things are finally moving. The recommended award, "Projektpartnerschaft Quartier ICC," foresees a mixed-use quarter (culture, events, gastro, creative industries) AND a new high-rise at Messedamm 9 plus a rebuilt Messedamm 11, with an expected timeline of locking down permits and financing by 2028 and then phased opening in 2032/33. Renders and more info here.

Hackers (Rhysida) stole roughly 1.44M files (5.8 TB) from Berlin's state network in mid-August 2026, hitting two Senate administrations. Berlin refused to pay the €2M ransom, so the data was leaked. Leaks include and are probably not limited to sensitive KRITIS (critical infrastructure) documents and internal administration files. Be careful clicking on links, people.

We might get new mobility options in the future. Waymo (autonomous taxis) is coming to Munich; it's its first city in Europe. If it goes well, Berlin will follow. It totally has downsides, but I think about the upsides of taking the humans out of the driving equation a lot when I see people texting while driving, accelerating like mad or when I read about another unnecessary death because of an idiot behind the wheel. I also wouldn’t miss some of the sketchy Ubers/Bolts with their non-Berlin plates.

Sale of Berlin's luxury Adlon hotel has failed for now [more]

Factorial (HR, Barcelona) acquired Berlin-based Empion, an AI-powered talent assessment platform. They raised $9M.

An AI Safety Institute will be established in Berlin [more]. "The initial focus will be on a thorough analysis of leading models, particularly with regard to IT risks and potential loss of control."

Berlin-Hamburg rail line: thousands of delays even after the full refurbishment [more]

"Berlin fühlt mit!" — BVG and UdK students started a video campaign for more consideration on buses and trains [more]

A site next to the Olympiastadion was approved as the new stadium for Hertha BSC [more, €]. It's been 10 years since the idea was first presented.

Ai Weiwei exhibition is planned for Berlin's Museum Island in May 2027 [more]. Weiwei previously lived in Berlin (2015-2019).

Asian hornet found in Neukölln: "Somewhere in Berlin there is a nest" [more]

100 years of the Funkturm in pictures: the tower that made all of Berlin a broadcast area [more]

My favorite bar in Kreuzberg is the Südblock, right between SO36 and Möbel Olfe. Political and never boring, and this year it's also a stop on Berlin's Disabled and Mad Pride parade, which tells you everything about the crowd it draws.

Admiralbrücke: In summer, this small iron bridge over the Landwehr Kanal in Kreuzberg turns into one big open-air living room. People bring guitars, drinks and blankets, sit on the railings and steps, and strike up conversations with whoever happens to sit down next to them. Some of the best unplanned evenings in Berlin start exactly like that.

As someone with a disability I'd like to recommend two tools instead of one, since they're basically siblings. Wheelmap is the crowdsourced map I started after getting tired of always suggesting the same three cafés to friends, now covering wheelchair-accessible spots worldwide. BrokenLifts tracks broken elevators across Berlin's transit system in real time.

You've probably seen it already, but Bahnscanner is a very bookmarkable website to optimise your Deutsche Bahn travel. I almost booked a train from Austria back to Berlin and then realised that a flight would be 50% cheaper.

I sure am irritated by cookie banners. But did you know they are totally optional, UNLESS you wanna track the shit out of people? Preach, brother: "Blaming GDPR for the cookie banner is like blaming the health inspector for the roaches. The banner is deliberate vandalism, a dark pattern engineered to exhaust you before you can learn anything about the surveillance apparatus humming behind the OK." You Know GDPR Is Good Based on Who Hates It by Mat Duggan.

A beautiful website, Ordinary Abundance, that makes you appreciate how far humanity has already come. In 1306 on glasses: "It is not twenty years since there was discovered the art of making spectacles ... one of the best and most necessary in the world. I myself saw the man who discovered it, and I talked with him." Or in 1842 on clean water on tap: "Water! Water! is the universal note which is sounded through every part of the city, and infuses joy and exultation into the masses."

Reddit: Some quick wins: What is a skill that takes less than an hour to learn, but makes you look like an absolute genius to others?

Reddit: ideas for Berlin farewell present.

Reddit: There is a tiny protein called kinesin working its hardest to keep you alive. Thank you, you gorgeous kinesins.

Not all is bad at BER. If it had more direct connections, it would be a very good airport. Some people agree (also Reddit).