Hello there,
elections are behind us, and I hope you are happy with the outcome. I felt very good walking to the school and voting; it just felt special that I could vote in a foreign country thanks to the EU (I do think the rights should be expanded to permanent residents and at the state level as well). Voter turnout was great, around 75%, up from 62,9% from 2023. It’s obvious that we, the people, still think that politics matter.
Not related to politics, but we have a couple of spots left for our coworking tomorrow in Schöneberg, so join us if you can. Also check snippets below for a raffle and our great event, and if you are considering studying, check out ESMT, the sponsor of this issue.
🙏 Please consider supporting this newsletter so that I can keep my independence.
📌 Pinned
It took me 2h on Saturday to decide who to actually vote for, and finding information about concrete ideas of my Bezirk was hard, so I just went by my gut feeling. City states are a weird phenomenon, and it would be interesting to see how many people vote differently on state and district levels.
And to be fair, even if I am doing a weekly BERLIN newsletter, I still feel completely detached from my district’s policies and, for instance, have no idea who is responsible for the permanent Baustelle that is turning into a monument. Ah, politics… I do admire people who actively want to change things.
Here is the official website for all the results on district and state level. Now I am curious to see which promises will be kept after realpolitik sets in and how our lives will be affected. I hope in a good way. Hear it from the future governing mayor herself.
🗞 Berlin
Did you already get the ticket for our Autumn Get-together? To make the event extra special, we're collaborating with SOMA Cocktail Club. With fall being on our doorstep, they have crafted a delicious seasonal cocktail menu and offer a carefully curated selection of beers and wine. Better be fast; last time we sold out.
A tip for an amazing pizza: try Mater in Neukölln. The co-owner comes from La Bolognina close by, which is also excellent. Probably my favourite pizza in Berlin so far (I had Mortazza). Since you aren’t asking... "mater" is Latin and Slovenian for "mother".
I am supporting Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin and the organisers are offering 4 tickets each for A Safe Distance (Thu, 8 October 17:00), Up & running (Thu, 8 October 19:00) and Isola (Sun, 11 October 19:30). I will raffle 2x2 tickets for each movie by the end of the week. Here is the link — choose one movie and add the name to the form. Good luck.
Housing in Berlin is a serious crisis (is there a big city without a housing crisis?) and it’s bizarre that each second room in town costs more than €650. Rents are also extremely unequal; someone already living in Prenzlauer Berg will pay €10/sqm while whoever moves pays €15/sqm. The paywalled article has a dashboard with a lot of magenta/dark purple (+50%) colour. A move to Wilmersdorf will be the most expensive (64% more) while Märkisches Viertel (+18.6%) will be the least expensive.
This is a great map of 2,682 cultural institutions in Berlin, Kulturkataster. An excellent resource to showcase all the possibilities in town.
Mushroom season started! If you are interested, you can join guided mushroom walks or just learn about identifying them; here are several events spread out until the end of the season in November. As previously reported in this newsletter, mushrooms reportedly decrease your risk for cancer, so make sure to eat them regularly.
From 2027, shops, restaurants and service providers will, if the proposal becomes law, have to offer at least one digital way to pay, not just cash. Cash still leads German retail by number of transactions (50.5% vs 48.1%), but cards already take 65.1% of the revenue. Retailers aren’t loving the cards due to the fees, where they need to pay the middleman and, of course, taxes.
Is Berlin more criminal than Poland? Clearly not, as shown in twelve minutes of proper journalism, debunking social media propaganda. Guess who is spreading it. And it made me wonder:
Is social media a net positive for society?
In brief
Cohere (Toronto, AI) signed its merger with Aleph Alpha and will run headquarters in Berlin and Toronto, with Heidelberg staying a research site [more, €].
Langdock (Berlin, AI) is moving its legal headquarters from the US to Germany over customer concerns about US data laws such as the Cloud Act [more].
Waymo (Mountain View, autonomous driving) plans to bring driverless taxis to Berlin, with commercial operations possibly starting in 2027. Huge if true!
Hellweg (Dortmund, DIY retail) started the closing-down sale in its Berlin stores after the chain's insolvency [more].
The auction of the former luxury shopping centre Quartier 206, a very 90s-looking building in Mitte, was called off by the court for organisational reasons.
575 kilometres on foot through Berlin: the city's hiking trails have new signposts [more].
Capital financing contract: the federal government raised its subsidies for Berlin [more]. Berlin will have around €5B at its disposal for capital city-related expenditure.
Change in the law demanded: 130 people jailed for travelling on public transport without a ticket have been bought out of prison [more].
About 2.2k people in Berlin changed their gender entry between the Self-Determination Act coming into force in November 2024 and the end of 2025, more than a third of them to "diverse".
A central library at Alexanderplatz? A letter of intent has been signed [more].
The East Side Gallery is being restored until end of October [more]. Check the nice gallery in the article as well.
RKI: more than 400 people in Brandenburg and Berlin died from heat [more].
Berlin's sparrow population has declined by 70% since 2021.
Praying mantises are conquering Berlin: a spectacular insect is spreading [more, €].
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☕️ Coffee talk
Bettina Rolyn is a newsletterist I've known for years via Substack meetups. She founded Berlin Literary Events, which is a great resource for everyone interested in literary events in English. Here is what she prepared for you:
Staatliche Annual Pass to Museen zu Berlin/Berlin State Museums - There are 19 Berlin State Museums with a world-class art selection, including constantly rotating new exhibits. Their annual passes come in various levels of access so that you don't have to feel like you must see everything in one visit. I love being able to stop by a museum for half an hour to get cultural rejuvenation, with no pressure.
"Berlin Babel" anthology - This international anthology, just published in 2026 by editor and literary translator Katy Derbyshire, captures life in Berlin with all its despairs and joys through contemporary writing on the city of Berlin by writers and translators from all over the world who have made Berlin home. I love finding my own experiences reflected in great writing.
Qbuz Streaming Music - I switched to Qbuz last year from Spotify for my streaming music subscription. They pay artists better, and emphasize human curation and high-quality audio. You can take your playlists with you too!
🫙 Who pays for this
If Handpicked brings you joy, saves you time, keeps you informed, or just makes your inbox more interesting — consider supporting it.
This is my full-time job and I love it. I do work with sponsors, but they buy slots, not opinions. €5 a month from readers is what keeps it that way.
If you can't afford to support me, read for free — someone else is paying for you. But everyone gets the exact same newsletter. Thank you!
🌿 Worth your time
Do you like Spezi? I actually don't have a strong opinion yet, but this video really made me want to get an opinion. Why are Germans obsessed with this soda mix? by Andong.
What are the real luxuries in life by Brad Feld. It's a very simple list, topped by time and health. A useful reminder on what really matters besides Manchester United finally getting their shit together.
A list of books to make you fall back in love with reading. In our book club we recently wrestled with Steppenwolf and will now start to read Allegro Pastel by Leif Randt. We have two more spots.
Build your Career in Germany
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Jobs, German business news and practical career guidance every Thursday. Free.
😅 Meanwhile
alles bleibt wie’s ist!!!
Weekly social
Reddit: Does driving faster get you there much quicker? Not at all. I didn’t know, but now I do.
Instagram: It’s not from Berlin/RBB, but NDR, but the clip made me laugh out loud. “Zweiter Versuch…”
Last week I asked you if you had decided who you're voting for: 41% were locked in, 35% couldn't vote in this one, 19% were leaning one way but could still flip, and 5% had no idea.
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