Just a typical Berlin February

Um das Berlin-Büro der @washingtonpost.com zu leiten, zog @aaronwiener.bsky.social vor einem halben Jahr mit seiner Familie nach Deutschland. Nun wurde er zusammen mit 300 Kollegen entlassen. Sein Gastbeitrag im @tagesspiegel.de: www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/entla...

Today is a dark day for American journalism. Some of the best reporters and editors around the globe have been laid off by the Washington Post. The news-consuming public will pay the price. My job wasn't spared. It's been the honor of a lifetime to be Berlin bureau chief, if only for 6 months.

Politics is global now. Even a pared-down @washingtonpost focused only on politics and national security can't cover these topics without well-sourced reporters breaking news and explaining developments in Europe, China, the Middle East and beyond. #SaveThePost

This @aaronwiener.bsky.social piece captures a lot of conversations I've had with Germans lately, friends and near-strangers – they've spent their lives looking at the US as an ally and model, and now feel bereft and confused. And I don't have anything comforting to say at the moment.

Americans living in Germany: The children caught in a divorce

America: The spouse who no longer accepts his partner as is, and insists the partner become something else. Germany: The partner who knows it's time to leave the relationship but can't quite quit. However you analogize the breakup, it's very hard on Germans. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

“Unacceptable.” “Intolerable.” A “hostile act.” A “mistake.” Trump's Greenland stance has alienated even his strongest supporters in Europe: the leaders of right-wing nationalist parties. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

Merz at Davos: “Democracies do not have subordinates. They have allies, partners, and trusted friends.” “We must never forget one thing: a world where only power counts is a dangerous place: first for small states, then for the middle powers, and ultimately for the great ones.”

His German roommate marched into his bedroom early every morning and threw open his windows, even if he had company. Her German boyfriend kept the windows open all night, even when bats were flying in. America, meet lüften: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

Americans on TikTok have just "discovered" the German practice of lüften, or throwing open all the windows. Except they're calling it "house burping." And the Germans are not amused: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

For the 13 years since its founding, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has stood in opposition. This year, for the first time, it's looking to take power. I examine its prospects, and what it all means for Germany: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

Germans were incensed by reports in 2013 that the NSA had spied on Merkel's calls. But at roughly the same time, the German intelligence service was listening to Obama's calls on Air Force One, according to a new report and a senior government official. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

You've heard about Germany's surging far-right AfD party. But much more quietly, a left-wing party is surging too, and is now the most popular party among young voters. Together, they could upend German politics as we know it. My reporting from Leipzig: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

Falls Sie vom Einbruch in die Sparkasse in Gelsenkirchen betroffen waren und Ihre Frustration und Ihre Geschichte teilen möchten, kontaktieren Sie mich bitte unter aaron.wiener(at)washpost(punkt)com. Ich sammle die Geschichten der Opfer des Einbruchs und die Wertgegenstände, die sie verloren haben.

The bust of Nefertiti is one of Germany's most iconic artifacts, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Now two Egyptian archeologists are mounting the largest campaign to date to bring it back to Egypt. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Still need to get used to working in Europe, where you reach out to someone for a meeting and get an email back saying they're on vacation and will be back in *4 weeks.*

A member of parliament from the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) was sure his presentation to the State Department would be canceled after news broke of a Nazi-linked serenade. Then he got a phone call from a senior State Dept. staffer... www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

His party is in freefall. His administration is deeply unpopular. He leads the defense department in a country that's been allergic to militarization for 80 years. So how come Boris Pistorius is *by far* the most popular German politician? Let's dig in: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

If you email the White House press office, this is the autoresponse you get:

One of the things that surprised me most when I came to Berlin is how *huge* nonalcoholic beer is in Germany. So I went to Oktoberfest to learn more about the world leader in alcohol-free beer: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Why are thousands of young Germans -- and now Americans too -- meeting up in parks to eat pudding with forks? I decided this warranted a Washington Post investigation: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

A decade ago, Germany and France held things together while Europe's periphery struggled with debt. Now France and Germany have doubts about whether they can sustain their social welfare spending. France is racking up debt, while Italy and Spain are thriving. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Two German regions each claimed to have the oldest bratwurst. They decided to settle it in the boxing ring. I attended the historic fight at the German Bratwurst Museum in Thuringia. (Did I mention that I love my job?) www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

I'm on my first German long-distance train since writing a story about Germany's rail crisis. 56% of long-distance trains arrive within 6 minutes of the scheduled time. Will my Berlin-Munich train make it? www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

I swear a German dog barked at me this morning for jaywalking.

Donald T. vs. Donald T. -- today's trans-Atlantic cage match www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Berlin just tested its air raid sirens for the first time in 30 years. This is what it sounded like.

A reader sends this haiku in response to my story today on how Germans work less than residents of any other wealthy country: Industrious ants Are no longer trending, freund. Lilies of the field.

Have Germans become the slackers of Europe -- and of the entire developed world? The data certainly says so. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

To prepare for war, Germany is readying tanks, missiles... and a strategic ravioli reserve? www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Tesla sales have absolutely tanked in Germany, and across Europe, since Elon Musk cast his lot with Donald Trump. Now Tesla's introducing a new European model. Will anyone buy it? www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

This is recycling in Germany: -Bring recyclables to building's trash room (but not on Sundays!) and sort into bins -There's no bin for glass, so bring bottles to store to get deposit back -The store can't take 2/3 of your bottles -Hunt in the streets for glass recycling bins -Repeat every 2-3 days

Germany is having an identity crisis: It's trains no longer run on time. Not even close. Here's how bad it's gotten: Switzerland has stopped allowing some German trains past the border city of Basel because they're messing up the (more reliable) Swiss network www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Also, hi! I'm fully installed here in Germany as the @washingtonpost.com Berlin bureau chief. Please follow me for news out of Germany and central Europe, and random musings on beer, trains, and sausages.

15 years ago: Germany was Europe's debt police, forcing its neighbors to cut spending and cap deficits Today: The German cabinet approves a budget that envisions a *172-billion-euro* deficit. How did we get here? I explain: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will eliminate taxes on tips. Here's how other countries tax them—and why the U.S. is such an outlier: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Trump praises increase in German military spending, then adds: "I’m not sure General MacArthur would have said it’s positive… He made a statement, 'Never let Germany rearm.' ... There’ll be a point where I’ll say, ‘Please don’t arm anymore.’"

My first Poland dateline: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0... (And yes, I had pierogies while I was there. And yes, they were delicious.)

The Polish election is too close to call, with both candidates saying they expect to win. Exit polls show a tiny advantage for liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, but it's well within the margin of error. I'll have a story up shortly.

For anyone watching the Polish presidential election: I'm told the early exit polls, not yet released, show a 50-50 race. This one could be a nail-biter. It's likely we won't have official results until the morning.

The economic trend lines for D.C. don't look great, per a report just released by the D.C. CFO's office (with data from March):

D.C.-area economy starts to show deep impacts of the Trump administration's job and spending cuts - deeply reported story led by @aaronwiener.bsky.social @abha-b.bsky.social @federicacocco.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

I'm excited to share that this summer, I'll be moving to Germany to become the @washingtonpost.com Berlin bureau chief. www.washingtonpost.com/pr/2025/04/2...

Today is the deadline for federal agencies to submit plans to relocate from the D.C. area, and hoo boy are states eager to get in on the action. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Great reporting here from @aaronwiener.bsky.social on the quarter-century fight to build multifamily housing on a Metro station parking lot in Takoma. You will not find a better example of systemic dysfunction: www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

The tallest building in Virginia will be... a vulcanization tower at a submarine power cable manufacturing facility in Chesapeake. www.bizjournals.com/richmond/inn...

The Trump administration just posted a new list of eight federal properties it's seeking to sell under "accelerated disposition." But at least some of them were already slated for disposal pre-Trump. www.gsa.gov/real-estate/...

Just as all federal employees have been ordered back to the office five days a week, the Trump administration has closed a federal office that oversees child care centers in federal buildings and fired most of the staff www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

The Trump administration has quietly eliminated the GSA's child care office, responsible for overseeing child care centers in federal buildings, and fired nearly all its employees www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...