Germany today (Sat 24 Oct): Storm Manja hits on Sunday, Tegut supermarkets disappear, Berlin coalition tug-of-war

Hello! Here is the news for Saturday, 24 October. Tonight the clocks go back one hour (3:00 becomes 2:00), and on Sunday another storm rolls in. Worth a quick look before you plan your weekend.

1. [Politics] Berlin CDU invites Greens and SPD to talk — just before red-red-green negotiations

• CDU state leader Stefan Evers invited both party leaders — According to the Tagesspiegel, the confidential meeting is on 29 Oct. The Left Party (Linke) was not invited
• Greens and SPD said yes, with a caveat — It is about the transition until a new government is in place, they say, not about forming a coalition. A supplementary budget is one likely topic
• Background: the 20 Sept election — Linke 25.7%, CDU 18.8%, AfD 16.3%, Greens 14.3%, SPD 12.1%. The current CDU–SPD coalition lost its majority
• 31 Oct is the turning point — If a Linke party conference agrees, coalition talks between Linke, Greens and SPD start, and Elif Eralp could become Berlin's first mayor from the Left Party
• What it means for you — The plan includes taking flats from big landlords into public ownership, so Berlin renters may want to follow the talks

Source: ariva.de (dpa-AFX) · finanzen.at · juedische-allgemeine.de (dpa, background)

2. [Economy] Supermarket chain Tegut takes down its signs

• Most of the 288 stores have new owners — Edeka group 178 (60 of them become Netto), Rewe group 38 (36 Rewe, 2 Penny), the small-store chain Tante Enso 36. The remaining 36 are still looking for a buyer
• Closures and refits from the end of October — Each store reopens under its new name on its own date
• A regional chain founded in Fulda in 1947 — Known for its large organic range. Swiss owner Migros (since 2013) decided to sell in March after heavy losses
• What it means for you — If you shop at Tegut in Hesse, Bavaria or Thuringia, use up gift cards and tebonus points soon. It is not yet certain the new operators will accept them

Source: zdfheute.de · ms-aktuell.de · monsterdealz.de

3. [Society] After storm Luise comes storm Manja — storm surge on the North Sea

• Manja arrives from the west on Saturday evening — Heavy rain in places until Sunday morning, then strong winds almost everywhere except the southeast. Calmer on Monday
• Gusts of around 100 km/h on the North Sea coast — High water from Sunday to Monday; in Hamburg the lower part of the St. Pauli fish market may flood
• Storm Luise injured several people on Friday — in the west and southwest; fallen trees and damaged overhead lines stopped trains in several places
• Island ferries affected — No fast ferries to Helgoland this weekend, and no boats to the Halligen on Sunday and Monday
• What it means for you — Cologne and Aachen advise staying out of forests, parks, cemeteries and tree-lined avenues. Check the DB app before any Sunday train trip

Source: zdfheute.de · web.de (dpa)

4. [Culture] Top German literary prize goes to Christine Wunnicke today

• Ceremony on 24 Oct at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, €50,000 — The Georg Büchner Prize, awarded by the German Academy for Language and Literature, is seen as the most important literary prize in the German language
• Novelist born in Munich in 1966 — Praised for surprising stories that jump across times and places, told with dry wit
• Key books — "Die Dame mit der bemalten Hand" (2020) and "Wachs" (2025) were both shortlisted for the German Book Prize
• Worth a read? — Upper-intermediate learners could start with her latest, "Wachs"

Source: hessenschau.de · schwaebische.de (dpa)

5. [Arts] Alte Nationalgalerie at 150 — Gursky and Warhol next to 19th-century paintings

• Open since 22 Oct, until 28 Feb 2027 — The Alte Nationalgalerie on Museum Island opened in 1876 and marks its 150th anniversary with the show "Über Zeiten" (Across the Ages)
• Modern works placed among the old collection — On all three floors, 20th- and 21st-century pieces hang next to 19th-century art
• Names in the title — Andreas Gursky, Sarah Lucas, Joan Miró, Andy Warhol and others
• Worth a visit? — It's built around comparing pairs, not walking through art history, so you don't need any background to enjoy it

Source: freunde-der-nationalgalerie.de · berlinmagazine.de

6. [Entertainment] Ski Aggu tops the album chart for the third time, Tokio Hotel at No. 3

• No. 1 in the official album chart (published 23 Oct): "Ski Aggu Musik" — The rapper, always in ski goggles, scores his third No. 1 album
• Tokio Hotel's "Encore" at No. 3 — The new album from the Kaulitz brothers' band. Irish band Fontaines D.C. are at No. 2
• Singles: Tate McRae's "Housewife" at No. 1 — Last week's No. 1, Taylor Swift, drops to No. 3
• Kaulitz twins host "Wetten, dass..?" on 5 Dec — Bill and Tom Kaulitz present ZDF's legendary Saturday-night show from Halle

Source: regionalheute.de (dts) · smago.de · zdfheute.de (Wetten, dass..?)

7. [Sport] Bottom side Gladbach win at last

• 3–2 comeback win at Stuttgart on Friday night — Down after five minutes through a goalkeeper error, then Scally, Machino and Mohya scored
• Six straight defeats are over — With 3 points Gladbach are still bottom. Stuttgart suffered their fifth league defeat
• Saturday 15:30: Cologne vs Schalke — Also Leipzig vs Elversberg; at 18:30 Dortmund vs Frankfurt
• Sunday 17:30: Freiburg vs Bayern — possibly in stormy weather

Source: t-online.de · zdfheute.de · hessenschau.de (fixtures)

Weather

City	Sun 25 Oct	Mon 26 Oct	Tue 27 Oct
Berlin	🌧️ 13° / 5° rain	☁️ 13° / 6° cloudy	☁️ 16° / 6° cloudy
Hamburg	🌬️ 13° / 8° light rain, windy	🌦️ 12° / 8° showers	☁️ 16° / 10° cloudy
Munich	🌧️ 12° / 3° rain	☁️ 15° / 5° cloudy	☀️ 20° / 8° sunny
Cologne	🌦️ 14° / 10° showers, windy	🌧️ 14° / 8° light rain	🌤️ 19° / 12° fair
Frankfurt	🌧️ 15° / 8° rain	☁️ 14° / 6° overcast	🌤️ 19° / 8° fair

Tip: On Sunday a rain jacket beats an umbrella — the wind will turn it inside out. From Tuesday it gets mild, close to 20° in the south. (wetter24.de forecasts)

German from today's news

Word	Meaning	Example from the news
die Sturmflut	storm surge	In Hamburg wird eine Sturmflut erwartet.
die Böe	gust	Am Sonntag gibt es Böen bis 100 km/h.
die Filiale	branch, store	Viele Tegut-Filialen werden zu Netto.
die Koalition	coalition	Linke, Grüne und SPD wollen eine Koalition bilden.
die Preisverleihung	award ceremony	Die Preisverleihung ist in Darmstadt.
der erste Sieg	first win	Gladbach feiert den ersten Sieg der Saison.

A stormy Sunday is a good excuse for tea on the sofa. Schönes Wochenende! 🇩🇪