Inside Germany: Biergarten rules, open-air pools and mixed messages on migration
Is this still the Germany that needs immigration?
Germany is getting a new government next week, and though a fresh start always tends to feel like a positive thing, foreigners in the country would be forgiven for feeling a little disheartened.
The AfD, who were
handed an official "right-wing extremist" label
by the German intelligence agency on Friday, are currently polling at around 26 percent, having come second in the federal elections. Meanwhile, Friedrich Merz - who campaigned on a hard-right, anti-migration platform - is being sworn in as Chancellor on Tuesday.
This week, both Merz and his chief of staff Thorsten Frei both declared that the government would initiate its
crackdown on migration "from day one"
, echoing US President Donald Trump's election pledge to "seal the border on day one". Incoming Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has
previously expressed admiration for Trump
: back in January, he praised the President's habit of governing by decree and said Germany needs to do the same when it comes to immigration.
Scanning recent headlines, it's hard not to see other small echoes of the US President's stance on immigration - including the targeting of student activists from abroad. In April, four international students - three of them EU citizens - were facing deportation for taking part in a pro-Palestinian protest at Berlin's Free University.
The incoming government also says it wants to
explore stripping dual nationality
from people it deems to be "extremist" or "antisemitic", which experts fear is the thin edge of a far more authoritarian wedge.
Amid all this tough talk and Trumpian echoes, the coalition pact gushes warmly about the role that skilled workers will play in shoring up the German economy. In a desperate push to get these workers into the country, the parties want to create a new 'Work and Stay' agency and speed up the process of recognising qualifications.
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As columnist Brian Melican
points out in his recent op-ed
, however, Germany isn't looking particularly welcoming right now. "As a result of the poor economy and the increasingly xenophobic vibes we're giving off, immigration to Germany – both illicit and wholly legal – is already falling," he writes.
Though it may come as a surprise to the incoming government, vibes do matter when people decide whether to move to a country. And while the CDU and CSU may dream of a world where only those migrants with a PhD in Astrophysics move in, to get the best and brightest, they may have to speak with less distain whenever they use the word "migration".
Picture of the week
Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Reichwein
This joyful picture, snapped by DPA's Christoph Reichwein, shows a boy springing off a three-metre high diving board into the pool at the Grugabad in Essen.
As temperatures soared across the country, the start of May saw several open-air swimming pools around the country finally reopen their doors for the season. The
Freibäder
are now set to stay open for a number of months, providing a brief cool refuge on the most sweltering days of summer, before closing again sometime in September - or even October.
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How to impress the locals in a German
Biergarten
April 23rd was National Beer Day in Germany, marking the unofficial opening of the beer garden season. During the light, balmy evenings, one of the great pleasures of life is sitting in a leafy
Biergarten
with friends, with a cool beer or a glass of wine in hand.
As writer Tom Pugh
explains in his recent article
, however, the German beer garden comes with its own special set of rules and customs. So before you can truly let you hair down, though, it's good to get familiar with some etiquette and vocab.
As a warm-up act, you'll need to start with a
'Muntermacher'
- a refreshing drink that roughly translates as 'the energiser'. What you pick is mostly up to you, but beware: it will need to set you up for an afternoon of drinking.
While spending time in the
Biergarten
, you will also need to navigate the culturally sensitive terrain of picking a
Helles
over a
Pils
(or vice versa), and be sure not to neglect the important roles of both the
Pfandmünzen
and the
Bierdeckel.
Even the act of leaving the beer garden can come with its own set of tough decisions. Was the last beer you had truly an
Absacker
(night cap), or do you still have room for 'one for the road', which in German is known as a
Wegebier
?
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