Living in Germany: Tumultuous transport, political toast and lions on the loose

Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria both like to keep school pupils waiting for summer, but this week, the holidays finally arrived in the south of Germany. With schools closing their doors in both states at the end of July, there’s expected to be heavy congestion on the roads this week, so if you’re planning a trip, make sure you pack a fair bit of patience.

According to the motorists’ association ADAC, roads heading towards the popular holiday destinations of the North Sea and Baltic coast are likely to be particularly busy, and traffic travelling to and from the Italian, French and Croatian coasts could also come to a standstill in many areas. We covered the latest details in a news article this week, but in short: leave plenty of time, and look up potential alternative routes to avoid the busiest roads. 

Unfortunately, things aren’t looking much better for air travellers, with Stuttgart and Munich airports both expecting long queues in the first week of the holidays. To ease waiting times, Stuttgart says it will open check-in and bag drop counters as early as 3:30 am, so be sure to get there nice and early if you’re hopping on a morning flight. 

At least for rail passengers, there was a little bit of good news this week, as the arbitration team charged with brokering a deal between Deutsche Bahn and the EVG rail union put forward its proposals. The offer would see workers get a €410-a-month pay rise over 25 months as well as a €2,850 tax-free bonus to compensate for inflation.

We don’t know if EVG will accept the deal, but it does guarantee that strikes are off the table for the rest of summer at least. The union is running a members’ ballot until the end of August to decide on the next steps, and the options are stark: to accept the new offer, or call an unlimited strike.

Tweet of the week

True political commitment is enjoying your morning butter and marmalade on a slice of partisan toast. We’re just waiting for the edition with Olaf Scholz’s face on it. Anyone?

There is nothing stopping political parties from selling toasters like Germany’s SPD did. pic.twitter.com/4nx0k2oKAH

— sean (@_sn_n) July 26, 2023

Where is this?

Photo: DPA | Peter Kneffel

Anyone who enjoys skiing may recognise the glacier at the top of Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain - or what’s left of it. This week, the Chapel of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary held a memorial service for the glacier, which has been melting away at a rapid pace due to climate change. Since 2006, it has lost around a third of its mass, and experts say it could disappear entirely in the coming years. 

The Chapel of the Visitation was a fitting location for the service: located near the top of Zugspitze - 2,600 feet above sea level - it is the highest-altitude church in the country. 

Did you know?

Last week, the hunt for a mystery ‘lioness’ believed to be on the loose in Berlin prompted a social media storm and hit news channels around the world. But after a 30-hour search involving drones, helicopters and hundreds of emergency personnel, it turned out the wild cat was actually just a wild boar.

Funnily enough, this isn’t the first time there have been worries about an escaped lion that turned out to be unfounded. Back in 2018, a zoo in Lünebach had residents biting their fingernails after it was reported that two lions, two tigers and a jaguar may well have broken out of their cages.

The animals had gone missing after a major storm in the area that flooded the zoo’s enclosures. Residents were told to stay indoors while authorities conducted a search of the area. But as the waters subsided, the family-run zoo discovered via drones that the big cats had never actually left their enclosures.

Typical cat behaviour.