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Here’s your quick update on what’s happening around the city on Monday, October 20 - from urgent alerts to stories in the subreddit. Today we went through 100+ articles, posts and events so you don't have to.
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🇩🇪 U2 partially closed from Monday: "Brain in rail traffic" to be replaced
Yesterday, Berliner Morgenpost reported that from Monday, 20 October, passengers face restrictions on U-Bahn line U2. The section between Stadtmitte and Senefelderplatz is closed during the autumn holidays. Replacement buses detour via Jerusalemer Straße, Fischerinsel, and Rotes Rathaus, skipping Hausvogteiplatz, Märkisches Museum, and Klosterstraße. Work upgrades Alexanderplatz’s signal control and should finish by early November. (Berliner Morgenpost)
Modernization aims to improve reliability. The network has about 35 signal boxes, roughly a dozen already digitized. On U2, trains currently run every 4.5 to 5 minutes, short of goals. The Alexanderplatz upgrade replaces 40-year-old relay equipment to reduce failures and create capacity for tighter headways. (n-tv)
What is next: the closure is scheduled until Sunday, 2 November, with buses covering the gap. The new electronic interlocking should allow a four-minute interval from January, after testing and approvals. On U2 alone, six signal boxes are being modernized in stages to stabilize central operations. (Berliner Zeitung)
🇩🇪 Surrounded by sea eagles, otters and wild cats: These animals live in Berlin
Berlin’s wildlife took center stage yesterday as Berliner Zeitung surveyed species across the capital. The article counts 59 wild mammal species and 133 breeding bird species, alongside local losses. It spotlights quail, about 10,000 feral cats, four white-tailed sea eagle pairs, around 100 beavers, ultra-rare cicadas, returning hoopoes, elusive otters, and Pankow’s natterjack toads. (Berliner Zeitung)
National trends remain mixed. The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation’s latest Red List update found 26.2 percent of nearly 6,750 newly assessed insect species in Germany are threatened. Declines stem from habitat loss and degrading quality, especially in intensively used landscapes and, in parts, even protected areas. Urban refuges can mitigate some pressures. (Bundesamt für Naturschutz)
Policy momentum is building. Berlin’s coalition and the BaumEntscheid initiative back a tree-planting law scheduled for a November 3, 2025 vote. The plan targets one million city trees by 2040, up from roughly 440,000 today, with an estimated cost near three billion euros over 15 years. (Welt)
🇩🇪 These are the new night train connections to Berlin - but the main problem remains
Berlin’s night-train map is set to expand. PKP Intercity and Deutsche Bahn will lift daily Germany–Poland train pairs from 11 to 17 on 14 December. Two additional overnight services will launch: Berlin–Wrocław–Kraków–Przemyśl and Berlin–Łódź–Warszawa–Chełm. They will run with seats only. European Sleeper targets daily operations by summer 2026, covering 85–90% of costs today, officials said yesterday. (Berliner Zeitung)
Environmental context favors night trains. Transport generated 28.9% of European Union greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, roughly 1,044 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Rail’s direct share was 0.3% that year. Rail’s direct emissions fell 68.1% from 1990 to 2019, while rail passenger activity grew 34.9% over the same period. (European Environment Agency)
Next steps are now fixed. Deutsche Bahn confirms the expanded Germany–Poland timetable starts on 14 December 2025. Direct links rise by over 50% to 17 per day. Berlin–Warsaw increases to seven train pairs in a near two‑hourly pattern. New overnight Eurocity services will run to Przemyśl and Chełm via Łódź and Warsaw. (Deutsche Bahn)
⚡ Quick Hits
🇩🇪 More ice age than thaw: what this winter could mean for Berlin and Germany | A rare climate combo could bring bitter cold and soaring energy bills, Berlin braces.
🇩🇪 Going to a museum or concert with a baby: the best cultural activities for parents in Berlin | Parents can keep exploring: baby-friendly cinemas, museums, cafes and concerts.
🇩🇪 Attention students: Mobile citizen offices are coming to universities | Mobile citizen offices visit Berlin universities, letting students complete paperwork without appointments.
🇩🇪 Education study: Berlin schoolchildren deteriorate significantly | Study shows Berlin and Brandenburg ninth-graders' math and science performance dropped sharply.
🇩🇪 "Residential use is completely ruled out" Activists occupy Berlin beer brush - this is how the owner reacts | Activists occupied Bierpinsel to demand communal space; owner insists residential use impossible
🇩🇪 "Pudding-with-a-fork eating is deliberately about the banal and silly" | Young people eat pudding with forks publicly as a playful, absurd attention-seeking escape.
🇩🇪 Nude dancing on the volcano | A daring stage homage ties Anita Berber's naked dance to modern queer resilience.
📅 Events Today
🎟️ Punkfilmfest | October 20 - 26, 2025 | €9.50 | Gritty punk cinema and anarchic shorts collide with live acoustic punk, serving DIY attitude, raw energy and nihilistic wit—ideal for anyone craving rebellion, loud perspectives and a cinematic middle finger.
🎟️ This weekend: All Ages Karaoke Brunch | October 26 | Free | Though our club is usually 21+, this one day we’re opening up the good vibes to families, children, and karaoke monsters of all ages. We see this as a celebration of Berlin community: past, present, future. (submitted by our readers)
💬 What Berliners Are Talking About
🗣️ Need follow-up advice: unlawfully fired during vacation — planning to go to Berlin Labor Court | Advice: file an unfair dismissal claim quickly, hire counsel, expect settlement talks.
🗣️ Atopic dermatitis | Berlin resident's atopic dermatitis flared, seeking dermatologist recommendations and solidarity.
🗣️ Keys found at Admiralsbrücke (Oaxaca keychain) | Found keys with Oaxaca keychain at Admiralsbrücke were handed to Kotti police.
🚿 Word of the Day: Warmduscher | Literal: Warm-showerer | Meaning: A wimp; someone who avoids any discomfort. | Example: Du gehst bei diesem Wetter nicht raus? Sei kein Warmduscher! (You're not going out in this weather? Don't be a wimp!)
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