Servus an Alle!

Welcome to the Munich Post! The purpose of this newsletter is to share: 3 bits of news, 2 upcoming events, and 1 amazing restaurant/café for expats living in Munich. This way, you have a pulse on what’s going on without scrolling through thousands of pages.

The Munich Post is like your only nerd friend in the class but the one which has a personality too 😎 

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Are you aware of the second main route (zweite Stammstrecke) in Munich?

If you have been reading our past newsletters, then you might have heard about die Zweite Stammstrecke. It’s one reason why S-Bahns have been late.

The construction of the second main line of the S-Bahn will presumably lead to more delays and other issues.

Why? Because of the construction cost – from 3.85 bn to up to 7.2 bn euros!

In addition, the commissioning of the central S-Bahn route through Munich could be delayed from 2028 to 2037.

I would like to complain (because I live in Germany) but I leave that to you. All you need to know is that there will be delays due to construction.

Read the original news story here (German).

The smaller the garbage, the bigger the problem

Photo: Leonhard Simon

When the summer celebrations on the Isar are over, tons of rubbish are often left behind. Munich garbage collectors have had to collect around 4,000 kilograms of garbage from the riverbanks on summer weekends.

Thousands of cigarette butts, small plastic or aluminum foils, but also bottle caps remain in the pebbles on the beach or drift down the Isar. You don’t believe me? Then go to the Isar early on a Saturday morning and you will see them cleaning up after us.

Our dear Isar has a problem – It’s called microplastics and microwaste.

Recently, 108 kilograms of micro-waste were collected within three hours in a “Ramadama” campaign with almost one hundred participants who collected the microwaste under the Thalkirchner bridge. I repeat: in just 3 hours.

So, why is this important? Because we are f**king destroying the environment. The Isar flows into the Danube, which flows to the Black Sea. Four years ago, researchers at the University of Bayreuth found that the amount of microplastics in the Isar between Baierbrunn in the south of the city and a measuring point north of it has increased tenfold.

Did you know? – Cigarette butts take two to seven years to decompose. But each butt pollutes about 40 liters of water and harms myriad organisms including fish, birds, and insects.

So how about we all put our big boy and girl pants on, and not litter on the Isar? Otherwise get out there and help with the clean up!

If you fancy reading about this in German, here is the news story.

Avoid driving through Odeonsplatz this weekend

Odeonsplatz will be transformed into a concert arena this weekend: the organizers are expecting 8,000 spectators on Saturday as well as on Sunday for "Klassik am Odeonsplatz".

This means buses and cars won’t be able to drive on Ludwigstraße.

For bus lines 100 and 153, the Odeonsplatz stop will not be available on Friday evening and from Saturday noon up to and including all day Sunday.

Both events are sold out, but you can probably take the U-Bahn and listen to the concert from the Hofgarten?

And if you are going to a party and someone complains about the traffic in Munich. Tell them you successfully avoided the “Stau” (traffic) because of a head’s up from The Munich Post.

Right? ;)

The original news story is here.

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But there are two more important pieces of news for us expats I thought worth sharing.

German citizenship: Can people who apply before the law changes get dual nationality? 

Germany is passing a law soon that says expats don’t have to forgo their original passport to have a German one.

I’m currently going through it – I’m eligible in September and as it would take a while, I am gonna risk it. But there is no right answer. There is a chance that it will take 6–9 months. So plan accordingly, my expat friends. More information can be found here (German).

‘Appointments in English’: How Germany plans to attract talent from abroad

Finally, Germany wants to be more expat friendly. Yes, my friends, they probably want more money for Rente ;)

Here’s the TL;DR for you:

• Further development of immigration law, including the introduction of an ‘opportunity card’ based on a points system

• Digitize the issuing of visas

• Remove obstacles for the recognition of professional and educational qualifications and extend the Blue Card to non-academic professions

• Facilitate the transition from the asylum procedure to regular immigration into the labor market

• Reduce bureaucracy in labor migration and improve networking between authorities

• Enable transnational labor migration in practice

• Promote immigration opportunities to Germany locally

• Establish English as an additional administrative language

• Modernize citizenship law

• Coherent immigration law from a single source

And finally, the KVR will have fewer bad reviews (see below) 😂

I know, I have been in those long lines from 6:30 a.m. onward too.

Read the original news story, here.

2 upcoming events

KaterComedy at Sendlinger Tor (FREE)

It starts with an extravaganza of a lineup. Bring yourself and your Saturday night stories and enjoy some refreshments from one of the coolest Biergartens in Munich: Nußbaumpark at Sendlinger Tor.

KaterComedy is happening every sunny Sunday from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. Check out the event schedule here.

Open Air Festival – much more than fireworks

The Sommernachtstraum open air festival is happening soon at Olympiapark. But there is more to it than just 50th anniversary fireworks including international food courts, multicultural music, and much more. This is an all day party with lots of musical performances and DJs. It’s like Belgium’s Tomorrowland but for Munich.

Tickets are expensive but clubs in Munich cost about 13 euros for a single evening, so, perhaps an all day and all night party with so many offerings and fireworks is totally worth it? Might as well just try it.

If I’ve piqued your interest, be sure to check out their gallery.

The “Summernight’s Dream” open air festival is happening on Saturday July 16 from 4 p.m. onwards at Olympiapark.

You can buy tickets here.

1 Restaurant/Cafe to try

Condesa – The spicy Mexican chain

Condesa is spicy. Condesa is colorful. Condesa meets expectations. Condessa is love.

I am not Mexican so take this with a grain of salt: It’s the only Mexican chain that I love in Munich.

I’ve tried everything on the menu and their tacos are absolutely to die for.

Another happy customer had this to say about Condesa: “Super delicious tacos and quesadillas. They are very authentic according to a Mexican friend and my own experience from traveling. Level 3 heat is perfect for me but next time I will torture myself with level 4!”

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Check out Condesa – you can also order online but I recommend you visit one of their many locations:

Hauptbahnhof: Bahnhofsplatz 5, 089 55 05 9393

Münchner Freiheit: Münchner Freiheit 6, 089 38 47 6620

Implerstraße: Oberländerstr. 2, 089 74 74 6150

Opening hours:

Mon-Sat: 12 noon – 9 p.m.

Sun: closed at Hauptbahnhof and Implerstraße; open at Münchner Freiheit: 12 noon – 9 p.m.

Meme of the week 😂

Do remember to share this news with a least one friend so they are getting smarter with you.

Have a great weekend,

Aazar (writer) and Christina (editor and scout)

Heidi Benson (editor)

What do you think of this newsletter? Show your appreciation by sending us some pretzels! Thanks :)

🥨🥨🥨🥨🥨 - Amazing

🥨🥨🥨🥨 - Good

🥨🥨 - Meh

🥨 - Bad

P.S. Tomorrow is Eid ul-Adha for Muslims. You might wanna wish your Muslim friends, and do ask them the sacrifice story. Eid Mubarak!