Berlin Notes: Living

Monday, April 2, 2007

A word of warning: the Easter Bunny's out and about, which in Germany means a big weekend of public holidays: Friday (April 6), Sunday (April 8) and Monday (April 9) are gesetzliche Feiertage (official holidays), which means all the shops etc. which are not open on Sundays will be closed on Friday and Monday too. Saturday (April 7) is a normal shopping day however, although experience suggests you might like to get your essential shopping done early to beat the inevitable rush.

Due to a freak bureaucratic cock-up in the new shop opening hours law however, if a public holiday falls on a Sunday, flea markets etc. will not be allowed to take place.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Germany takes its public holidays seriously: they're "celebrated" on the day they fall on (no postponement to the following Monday etc.), and - with certain exceptions - all shops are closed.

Note that public holidays in Germany differ somewhat between federal states (Bundesländer), and some of the more Catholic states have extra holidays.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

The next scheduled general Sunday opening (verkaufsoffene Sonntag) is May 20. However, for some reason (which I haven't been able to establish, but I don't think it's an April Fool), some shops and malls will be open this coming Sunday, April 1. Places opening include the Ring-Center in Friedrichshain and all three IKEA branches in Berlin.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

If you receive your TV in Berlin via digital terrestrial broadcasts (DVB-T), you'll have noticed (like I did just now) that the BBC World television channel is no longer available. This is apparently a decision taken by the BBC and means no English-language channel is available via free-to-air TV in Berlin and Brandenburg anymore.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Dutch internet pharmacist DocMorris - who are aiming to shake up the tightly regulated German medicine retail market with competitive prices on drugs - are opening their first partner Apotheke in Berlin's Pankow district on Monday. This will be the Concept-Apotheke, located at Florastraße 44.

(General information on pharmacies in Berlin)

Friday, February 23, 2007

Berlin's city government has just released a new information booklet with the title "Homo migrans" documenting the legal situation of bi-national gay and lesbian couples.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Good news in these times of ever-increasing energy prices: Berlin's dominant natural gas supplier, GASAG, will lower its price for gas by 30 cents per kilowatt hour, which works out at about 5%. A four-person household which uses 20,000 kilowatt hours a year will save around €60.

Reason for the reduction: gas prices are linked to oil prices, which have been falling recently. Competition from  gas market newcomer  NUON is also said to have influenced the decision.

Announcement from GASAG:

http://www.gasag.de/de/privatkunden/news/news/2007/2007_02_13_Preissenkung.doc.html (German) 

Thursday, January 11, 2007

The two Sundays on which shops can open in Berlin (verkaufsoffene Sonntage) for the first half of the year have been announced: January 28th (Grüne_Woche, International Green Week) and May 20th (on the occassion of the 88th X-Ray Conference). Shops can open from 1pm until 8pm, although most will close earlier, generally at 6pm.

See Shopping in Berlin for general information on shop opening hours in Berlin.

Monday, January 1, 2007

A follow-on to the note about the gas situation mentioned here: happily Belarus (known in German as Weißrußland) and Gazprom have struck a deal, and any lingering worries about the non-existent threat to gas supplies can be laid to rest. Spiegel Online International has a nice overview of the gas situation regarding Russia, Germany and the countries inbetween. 

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

It's been almost five years since the Euro was introduced, and after a transitional period of just two months it replaced Germany's much-loved D-Mark entirely. But there are still vast amounts of Deutschmark notes and coins in circulation - €14 billion or so according to the Bundesbank, hiding away in pockets, drawers, boxes and jars of small change brought home by tourists.

Fortunately for D-Mark hoarders, the old currency can still be exchanged for Euro, with this year alone over 200 million D-Mark being swapped for Europe's new money.

Should you find yourself with some old D-Mark, our page "Spend your DM" provides some information on how to spend it or change it to Euros.