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Pocket German

Life in Germany📅 Updated daily

New every morning: a briefing of today’s German news and a story about life and culture in Germany, every single day.

News briefing

Life & culture

News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. From 20 Nov
  2. 'pay later' needs a credit check
  3. Merz picks Aigner for president
  4. Coalition row over plastic tax
  5. Leverkusen win the Rhine derby
Life & cultureTodaySchrippe, Semmel, Weckle — buying bread rolls at a German bakeryThe star of the German breakfast table is the small, crusty bread roll, the Brötchen. But in Berlin it's a Schrippe, in Munich a Semmel and in Stuttgart a Weckle. The local names, the different kinds of rolls, what to say when you order at the bakery, and the little bread men you only see in November.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Frankfurt–Würzburg line shut for 5 weeks from tomorrow — ICE ~45 min longer
  2. The BND could secretly enter homes
  3. Economic experts' report on Wednesday
  4. Bayern and BVB level on 21 points
Life & cultureTodayYellow, blue, brown — a guide to sorting your rubbish in Germany (Mülltrennung)Behind most German homes you'll find a row of bins in different colours. Packaging goes in the yellow bin, paper in the blue one, food waste in the brown one. Glass bottles are sorted by colour, and batteries and small electronics can go back to the shop. Plus the tricky items and how to find your local rules.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. A first woman president? Ilse Aigner is the favourite
  2. Industrial production up 0.7% in September
  3. Berlin Freedom Week starts today
  4. HSV beat Gladbach 3-1
Life & cultureToday9 November, Germany's 'day of fate' — the fall of the Wall and a day of remembranceThe republic proclaimed in 1918, Hitler's Munich putsch in 1923, the November pogrom of 1938 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 — some of the biggest moments in German history all happened on 9 November. Why it isn't a public holiday, how Germans remember it, and places worth visiting.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Driving licence reform passes the Bundestag
  2. Industrial orders up 4.4% in September
  3. Dm recalls organic pine nuts
  4. Leverkusen lose 0-1 to Marseille
Life & cultureTodayLeft with the neighbours? Parcels in Germany and the 'Paket für Sie' cardIn Germany, if you're not home, your parcel goes to a neighbour or a parcel locker. With Black Friday and Christmas shopping filling up November, here's how to read the card in your letterbox, the etiquette of taking in parcels for neighbours, and what to bring when you pick one up.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Anmeldung goes online nationwide from December
  2. Driving licence reform voted on today
  3. 37% of new cars in October are electric
  4. Dortmund 2-1
  5. Leipzig 2-3
Life & cultureTodayShoes off in German homes? Hausschuhe, slippers and 'Puschen'Do Germans wear shoes indoors? In rainy, leaf-covered November, what to do with your shoes when a German friend invites you round, the doormat and guest slippers, the different regional words for slippers and a couple of fun idioms.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. AI cameras to catch drivers on their phones
  2. Pensions expected to rise 4.1% next July
  3. Zelensky in Berlin as Germany pledges €200 million in winter aid
  4. Bayern win 2-0 in Madrid
Life & cultureTodayDark by 5 pm — bike lights and reflectors in Germany: what you needOnce winter time starts, it gets dark on the way home from work. The front and rear lights and reflectors every German bike must have, whether battery and clip-on lights are OK, why flashing lights aren't allowed, and how much you pay for riding without lights.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Your driving licence goes on your phone this month
  2. A fuel price cap draft with high hurdles
  3. Merz warns against relying on others for AI
  4. Bayern and Stuttgart away in the Champions League tonight
Life & cultureTodayEmpty bottles are money — Pfand in Germany: 25 cents vs 8 centsIn Germany you pay extra for the bottle when you buy a drink — 25 cents for single-use, 8 to 15 cents for reusable bottles. How to tell them apart by the logo, how to get your money back at the supermarket machine, the Pfandbon receipt, which shops must take bottles back, and the "Pfand gehört daneben" habit.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. The DTZ German test for immigrants gets stricter
  2. IG Metall warning strikes begin
  3. A bill to cut housing benefit goes to a hearing
  4. Stuttgart win 4-2 in Leverkusen
Life & cultureTodayOne towel is the rule — what to know before your first German saunaWhen it gets cold, Germans head to the sauna. Going "textile-free", the towel that keeps your sweat off the wood, the sauna master's Aufguss, cold water and rest — a guide for your first visit.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Inflation falls to 2.8% in October
  2. Deadlines to note before the end of November
  3. Gen Z protests in 34 cities
  4. The Klassiker ends 2-2
Life & cultureTodayGermany takes Sundays off — shops, lawnmowers and bottle banks: a guide to SonntagsruheOn Sundays most German shops are closed and neighbourhoods go quiet. Why that is, what is open anyway, the noise rules for lawnmowers and bottle banks, and how Germans like to spend their Sunday.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Deutsche Bahn panel weighs fewer trains for better punctuality
  2. German economy grows a surprise 0.2% in Q3
  3. G20 ministers meet Lavrov without a family photo
  4. Newly promoted Elversberg thrash Mainz 4-1
Life & cultureTodayNovember, Germany's quiet month — from All Saints' to TotensonntagAfter Halloween, German November turns quiet. Candles on graves for All Saints', the national day of mourning, a holiday that only Saxony kept, and Totensonntag just before the Christmas markets — dates and etiquette at a glance.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Non-EU parcels cost €2 more from 1 November
  2. Lagarde to leave the ECB early in February
  3. President Steinmeier meets Xi in Beijing
  4. Bayern v Dortmund top-of-the-table clash on Saturday
Life & cultureTodayChristmas in the supermarket in October? A guide to Lebkuchen, Spekulatius and StollenGerman supermarkets stack Lebkuchen and Spekulatius from late summer. Why they arrive so early, what a city name on the pack means, and when Germans say you're "really" supposed to eat them.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Parental allowance to rise for the first time since 2007
  2. Volkswagen loses €5.8bn in the third quarter
  3. Chancellor Merz meets President Lee in Seoul today
  4. Leverkusen turn 0–2 into 5–2
Life & cultureTodayWhen the frost comes, the north eats Grünkohl — and walks for it on a KohlfahrtAround the first frost, Grünkohl (stewed kale) appears on menus across northern Germany. From what goes on the plate to the Kohlfahrt — a winter walk with a handcart, games and a "kale king" — here's what to know before your first invitation.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Deutsche Bank's record profit as bank staff strike
  2. Berlin SPD lets members decide on the coalition
  3. Wolf Biermann documentary opens tomorrow
  4. Dortmund win in the 93rd minute
Life & cultureToday11 November, 11:11 — Germany's carnival season starts in autumnCarnival in Germany isn't only a February thing. The "fifth season" opens on 11 November at 11:11 and peaks on Rose Monday in February. Here are the regional names and calls, the 2027 dates and tips for your first time.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Scam calls disguised as 116117
  2. Kane wins the Ballon d'Or
  3. Federal brakes on Berlin's housing socialisation
  4. A Bürgeramt comedy on TV tonight
Life & cultureTodayFrom O to O: Germany's winter tyre rules — when do you have to switch?In late October, cars queue outside German garages for a tyre change. Germany has no fixed date for winter tyres, but driving on summer tyres on snow or ice means a fine and a point. Here is the "von O bis O" rule, the Alpine symbol and tips for rental cars and car sharing.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Merz heads to Singapore
  2. Japan and South Korea
  3. Simpler homes could cut building costs by up to 15%
  4. Gen Z protests on Saturday
  5. Bayern back on top
Life & cultureTodayWho has to sweep up the leaves? Germany's autumn rules for LaubIn autumn, German streets are covered in leaves. Here's who has to sweep the pavement in front of the house, when leaf blowers are allowed, and where the leaves go — Germany's autumn rules in one place.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Schufa scores get more transparent on 20 Nov
  2. Berlin may bring back free museum Sundays
  3. Fuel discount ends at New Year
  4. Dortmund go top
Life & cultureTodayGetting sick in Germany during cold season — sick notes, pharmacies and home remediesWith winter time, cold season starts in Germany too. How to call in sick and when you need a doctor's note, why medicine is sold only in pharmacies, the number to call at night or at weekends, and German grandma remedies.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Storm Manja hits on Sunday
  2. Tegut supermarkets disappear
  3. Berlin coalition tug-of-war
Life & cultureTodayWindows wide open, five minutes: heating and airing the German way (Stoßlüften)When winter time begins, German homes switch into heating mode. Here's how Stoßlüften works, what the numbers on the radiator mean, and the habits that keep mould away.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Trains won't get more punctual until 2029
  2. CSU backs Aigner as first woman president
  3. VW and unions meet again
Life & cultureTodayLanterns on November evenings — St Martin's Day in GermanyAround 11 November, children all over Germany walk through their streets singing, with lanterns they made themselves. From the soldier who shared his cloak to roast goose and bread men, here's Sankt Martin explained.News briefingTodayGermany today
  1. Clocks go back on Sunday
  2. Feminist magazine Emma to close after 50 years
  3. Bayern draw 2-2 with Arsenal
Life & cultureToday31 October in Germany is more than Halloween — Reformation Day and All Saints31 October is Reformation Day, a public holiday in nine states; 1 November is All Saints' Day in five. This year the 31st is a Saturday, and shops close. Here's how the end of October looks state by state.