From traffic and travel disruptions as the last German states let schools out for summer break to the boom in air conditioner sales, Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the recent news and talking points that you may have missed.
It’s officially vacation time in Germany.
As of Friday, schools in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are out for summer break. Those being the last states to start their school holidays, students in all of Germany’s 16 states have now been set loose.
This means, of course, that a large number of parents around the country are also taking their holiday leave from work. And the country’s Autobahnen, Bahnhöfe and Flughäfen will be particularly busy this weekend as a large number of families take off for summer trips.
What this means in practical terms – if you are not among those taking your own vacation this week – is that you may want to avoid spontaneous trips to Bavaria’s Eibsee or other, popular tourist destinations. At least for the next week or so.
From August 10th pupils in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland return to the classroom, marking the beginning of the end of Germany’s peak holiday season.
READ ALSO: How working parents in Germany manage childcare during the summer holiday
On a related note, if you were planning a trip to France or Spain (also: northern Portugal, southern Italy, Greece, and western Turkey) this week, you’d be advised to check ahead that the region you planned to visit isn’t on fire.
The German Press Agency (dpa) reported Friday that some 4,000 holidaymakers had to leave their campsite in Lacanau, France this week due to fires near Bordeaux. A German man who had been in the campsite with his wife and two grandchildren described returning from the beach to find his caravan covered in ash.
Of course not all regions in the above mentioned countries are actively threatened by fires, but do double check the latest information before flying or driving into a potential disaster zone.
READ ALSO: Should you cancel your French holiday due to wildfires?
Post of the week
Screenshot taken in Bluesky (bsky.app).
The above photo was shared by Kilian Schönberger, who describes himself as a landscape photographer from the Bavarian Alps.
It was a full moon on Friday, so i’ll still be quite large in the sky if you get a chance to peep it this weekend, between the scattered thunderstorms.
In other astronomical phenomenon, it’s about that time of year when the Perseid meteor shower lights up the skies over Germany.
Every year from mid-July to late-August, stargazers have a chance to see the Perseids. They tend to peak around August 12th.
To see the most shooting stars, you’ll want to find a nice dark place (far away from city lights) with clear skies around this date, and then just turn your attention to the sky sometime between 11pm and 4am.
READ ALSO: How to watch the Perseid meteor shower in Germany
Air conditioning units are selling out
Heatwaves are driving demand for air conditioners in Germany.
Sales in the first part of this year were up 130 percent (or by 219,000 additional units sold) compared to the first half of last year, according to market research firm NIQ. In May sales were up by a whopping 238 percent.
The figures include both mobile air conditioners, in which warm air is led outside via an exhaust air hose, and portable split systems, which have an indoor and an outdoor unit. They did not include, however, permanent systems which are trickier to install.
Meanwhile a survey of several retail chains by dpa found that mobile air conditioners were out of stock in many places due to high demand.
Anyone who’s made it through a German summer will be well aware that air conditioning here is rare, but stats like those above show that people who live here are increasingly ready to invest in their own cooling.
Installing air conditioning in your own apartment is not always easy in Germany. The first issue for renters, is getting permission from your landlord, which would be required if installation requires making any structural changes to your home.
But sometimes even home owners face challenges from neighbours or home owners’ associations, citing noise pollution or building codes to try and block AC installation.
Recently a court ruled in favour of a home owner’s right to install AC on their condominium. But renters would still likely be at the mercy of their landlord’s discretion.
READ ALSO: What are the rules around installing air conditioning in your home in Germany?
To avoid needing approval, many people buy so-called mobile AC units, which pump warm air out through an exhaust hose that can be fed through a window. But these are very efficient, thanks in part to the fact that they require feeding a hose through a partially open window.
The big-picture issue is that more hospitals, schools and office buildings need AC. Some of these buildings could then serve as public cooling areas for elderly people and those more at risk during heatwaves.
Ideally AC projects would also be powered by renewable energy sources as well, to avoid adding even more climate heating gases to the mix. So far some Green party politicians have been among the few voices calling for this loudly and clearly.
‘Let’s make a plan for more AC’ seems like an easy issue for the conservatives (or any party really) to hop on if they wanted to win back some badly needed support, say ahead of looming state elections in the east…
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thelocal.de
