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Local Germany
16-05-2025
- General
- Local Germany
German word of the day: Verpeilt
Why do I need to know verpeilt ? Because this fun colloquial word describes a state we all get into on occasion - especially while leading increasingly busy and chaotic lives. Plus, you can use it as either a verb or adjective, meaning you essentially get two words in one. What does it mean? The word verpeilt (pronounced like this ) is generally used to describe people who seem very lost or out of it. In English, you might translate the adjective as dazed, confused, forgetful, or not with it. If you skip your morning coffee and end up taking the wrong U-Bahn connection to work, that's certainly a verpeilt moment. Getting caught day-dreaming at a meeting and failing to hear your boss's question is another one. Some people are simply a little bit ditsy and go through life seeming verpeilt. For others, this state of mind is brought about after sampling their own home-grown cannabis. In laid-back Berlin, you may well encounter a member of staff who is verpeilt in this way when you visit your nearest Späti to pick up a parcel, or head to a bike shop run by Kreuzberg hippies. READ ALSO: German word of the day - Bubatz Where does it come from? The origins of verpeilt can be found in maritime German, where the verb peilen means to measure the water depths and compass direction in order to get a sense of orientation. Naturally, whenever the prefix 'ver-' is involved, it indicates that something has gone terribly wrong: just think of verlaufen for getting lost, or verkochen for overcooking something. Advertisement In this case, the sailors involved have clearly messed up their measuring tasks and may well have lost their bearings entirely. Just like someone going through their day in a bit of a daze, their ship is likely to end up bobbing aimlessly in the water or floating head-first into some rocks. READ ALSO: 7 language mistakes that even Germans make (and how to avoid them) If you're not feeling too verpeilt on any given day, you can also use verpeilen in its verb form to describe messing something up, getting confused or simply not managing to do something. This can be handy as your confession is also your excuse: you didn't miss an appointment out of maliciousness - it's just been one of those days where you can't quite seem to find the "on" switch for your brain. Especially for us German learners, we all know how that feels on occasion. Use it like this: Er ist oft so verpeilt, dass er seinen eigenen Geburtstag vergisst. He's often so spaced out that he forgets his own date of birth. Ich habe den Termin komplett verpeilt. Könnten wir ihn verschieben? I totally messed up / missed the appointment. Could we reschedule it?
New European
10-05-2025
- Business
- New European
The football club letting fans in for free
'Die einzig wahren Farben für uns sind rot und weiss!' sing the two excited young brothers, banging on the sides of the U-Bahn in Düsseldorf – 'the only true colours for us are red and white!' The tram is busier than usual, even for a Fortuna home game on a sunny Saturday lunchtime. Not because the team are doing particularly well (they only have an outside chance of promotion to the Bundesliga) and not because of high-profile opposition (Preußen Münster are battling to stay up), but because, today, all 52,000 tickets are completely free. Now into its second season, Fortuna Düsseldorf's 'Fortuna für alle' (Fortuna for all) initiative sees the club voluntarily foregoing ticketing revenue and compensating it with sponsorship from an alliance of high-profile, local businesses who want to be associated with a new, socially inclusive business model. 'We got lucky in the lottery and thought we'd make a weekend of it,' say one couple, exiled Fortuna fans from Unna, near Dortmund, while another fan shouts to his mate to pass the Jägermeister down the carriage – at 11:20am, it should be said. Fortuna für alle began with a three-game pilot last season and was expanded to four free games this season, with the ultimate aim of one day offering all 17 home games to fans free of charge. 'Simply continuing with business-as-usual was no option for us,' said Alexander Jobst, the chief executive. 'This is our answer to some of the challenges facing professional football.' Despite playing in a 52,000-capacity stadium in one of Germany's richest cities, Fortuna have traditionally struggled to match the passion of close neighbours like Schalke, Cologne or Borussia Mönchengladbach, or the sporting success of Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen. 'In a city of this size with a stadium of this size, there is so much potential,' says Jobst. 'Düsseldorf has top ambitions. Both businesses and fans want Fortuna to be in the Bundesliga. But from an economic point of view, I say: the engine needs petrol first.' Outside the MERKUR-Spiel-Arena, older fans are filling their tanks with sizzling Bratwurst washed down with dark, local Altbier. A notably large number of young children play on the grassy slopes near the turnstiles. Katrin is a season ticket holder and is happy that the stadium is full for 'less attractive' games, when normally it would normally be 'half empty'. But she worries that the scheme could attract too many people who are just there for a free day out rather than to actually support Fortuna. Her mother, Ursula, however, points out that the vast majority of the sell-out crowd is wearing red and white merchandise. 'They must have already been fans, they must have had the gear in the wardrobe somewhere, so maybe they just couldn't afford to come.' Indeed, despite German football's reputation for cheap tickets (and standing tickets on the terraces are generally less than €15), a single match for a family of five, with all it entails, could easily cost €150. Fortuna came agonisingly close last season, losing a dramatic promotion play-off on penalties. They're too far off the pace this season, despite a 1-0 win over Münster. After that game, the players mentioned the difference a full stadium makes, especially when holding on with ten men. 'It's an amazing feeling when the whole stadium celebrates a tackle like a goal,' says centre-back Jamil Siebert. 'We need this energy more than ever,' said David Kownacki, the goalscorer. 'Football is a cultural asset which should be accessible to all,' says Jobst. 'That's a key element of 'Fortuna für alle.' But we also want success. We want to play in the Bundesliga.' Matt Ford is a British football journalist living in Germany
South China Morning Post
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Where are the best kebabs at Berlin's subway stations? TikTokker's quest to find out
'The bread is phenom. The meat packs a punch and the sauce is crazy good.' Advertisement When the influencer Can F Kennedy gives his ratings for kebab shops on TikTok, it is short and sweet. For more than a year, the 42-year-old has been eating his way through Berlin's kebab shops, known there as doner stands. 'I test all the kebabs in or right next to U-Bahn [underground train] stations all over Berlin,' he tells the camera. TikTok, YouTube and other platforms are home to countless German food critics – some of whom have large followings. Those on the lookout for the best kebabs travel across Germany and further afield. Advertisement
Wall Street Journal
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
Opera in Europe: Established but Adventurous
Berlin; Dresden, Germany; Amsterdam New Yorkers who visit Berlin often feel at home—the German city is busy, sprawling, decidedly unquaint, has efficient public transportation, and is packed with culture. Glass-enclosed malls rub up against Prussian monuments; pierced and tattooed Goth teens ride the U-Bahn with commuters. Unlike New York, however, the establishment opera scene matches that modern vibe. During my recent visit, there was nothing cautious or old-fashioned on view at the city's three large opera companies, and the houses were packed. In five days of opera-going, which included a day trip south to the Semperoper Dresden, the only standard repertory title was Richard Strauss's 'Elektra' (1909). And the oldest one, Jacques Offenbach's opera buffa 'Die Schöne Helena' (1864), at the Komische Oper, was by far the nuttiest.
Local Germany
24-03-2025
- Local Germany
Why Berlin will see another two-day public transport strike this week
Berlin is set to see a 48-hour transportation strike begin on Wednesday, March 26th, that will bring stop the city's U-Bahn and tram traffic, along with the majority of its buses. For residents in Berlin, the announcement could inspire a feeling of déjà vu, as the city had just seen a two-day strike last week during the same days. This will mark the 4th strike by employees of Berlin's transport company, Berliner Verkehrsbetrieben (BVG), so far this year. This strike comes after the sixth round of negotiations between the Verdi trade union and BVG employers. As with previous strikes transport will stop around 3am with the start of the earliest shifts on Wednesday morning. Operations are expected to begin again two days later, at around the same time, on Friday morning. How will passengers be affected? Passengers who've been in Berlin through the previous BVG strikes this year will know the drill by now. All U-Bahn trains and trams will be stopped for the duration of the strike, as will most city buses. Some bus lines, however, will still be in service. These are bus lines: 106, 114, 118, 133, 161, 168, 175, 179, 204, 218, 234, 263, 275, 316, 318, 320, 326, 334, 349, 358, 363, 380, N12, N23, N35, N39, N53, N61, N63, N69, N84, N91, N95, N97, according to BVG . Lines 112, 124, 184, 744, 893, N68 and X36 are running with limited services. EXPLAINED: How Berlin's two-day BVG strike will impact passengers Advertisement BVG's public transport ferries and its Muva service are not affected. Additionally, S-bahn trains (which are operated by Deutsch Bahn) will still be in service. Why is Berlin seeing so many public transport strikes? So far, BVG and Verdi have been unable to come to an agreement on wage increases over the coming years. The union is demanding €750 more in monthly wages for BVG employees, a driving service or alternating shift bonus of €300, and a 13th month's salary. BVG says it has made offers moving in the direction of Verdi's demands. Its last offer amounted to a 13.6 percent wage increase over a period of two years. However, Verdi says the offer is "far removed" from its demands. According to German media reports , BVG has condemned the coming strike "in the strongest possible terms". Meanwhile Verdi says that responsibility for the continued disruptions lies with the employers and the Berlin Senate, which decides on city budget issues. Could indefinite strikes be on the horizon? It certainly looks like it. Though BVG is pushing for the talks to go to mediation, Verdi wants to hold a ballot on indefinite strike action from Wednesday until April 4th. To launch an indefinite strike at least 75 percent of BVG workers in the union would need to reject BVG's latest offer and approve the action. That means that, if the next strike and following negotiations don't result in a satisfying agreement, Berlin could see indefinite transport strikes in April. Advertisement Transport chaos intensified by construction closures Of course there's never really a convenient time to have a transport strike, but this week's strike comes amidst traffic chaos sparked by construction closures. The closure of the Ringbahn bridge on the A100 has led to massive traffic jams in western parts of the city. For commuters affected by this closure, even driving a car is not a great alternative to the subway this week. S-Bahn trains also failed to be a good substitute last week as they saw repeated disruptions and major delays.
