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...

Gift link for story! With @aaronwiener.bsky.social @sfcpoll.bsky.social wapo.st/4iQrzHT

Among federal workers who say their jobs can be performed remotely, *85%* oppose Trump's return-to-office mandate, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll. And more than a quarter of them are actively looking for other jobs. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Some federal workers have been informed in the past two days that under Trump's return-to-office mandate, they have until *Monday* to report to offices that in some cases are hundreds of miles away. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

New data from realtor.com suggests Trump administration actions are having an impact on the D.C.-area housing market. Listings are up 56.2% from a year ago, while the median list price is down 1.6%.

5 former GSA administrators and many ex-officials have signed a letter expressing "concern that the Trump-Vance administration’s rash and misguided actions will reduce efficiency while putting taxpayer dollars, critical infrastructure, and personal information at risk" www.scribd.com/document/838...

Are you a remote federal worker who's been informed that you have to start reporting to an office hundreds of miles away? Please contact me -- I'd like to hear your story. Happy to keep your name out of anything I write. I'm on Signal -- username: aaronwiener.37

This is what Trump's return-to-office mandate looks like for some federal workers: www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

This is a message for all my followers outside D.C.: Are you aware that Congress is on the verge of making D.C. cut $1B from its locally funded budget for no apparent reason? That would mean huge cuts to D.C. schools and public services. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

When remote federal workers used a Trump administration program to match them with places to work under Trump's return-to-office mandate, they got matched with: - a closed Subway sandwich shop - a self-storage facility - a debtors anonymous building www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

My story on how and why the Trump administration listed 443 federal properties as available for sale, then changed the list, then took it down altogether: www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

First the Trump administration listed 443 federal properties for sale. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202... Then 123 of them disappeared from the list, including all the ones in D.C. Now the entire list is down, and the web page says "coming soon." www.gsa.gov/real-estate/...

Today the Trump administration listed *443* federal properties as available for sale, including landmark buildings like the Justice Department headquarters. This would represent a massive cut to the federal real estate portfolio and mean big changes for D.C. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

The Trump administration’s widespread lease terminations are leaving agencies scrambling and federal employees feeling whiplash: wapo.st/3DjTAIP by @aaronwiener.bsky.social

Many federal workers were ordered back to the office -- only to learn that their office leases are being terminated. My latest on the chaos surrounding federal workers under the Trump administration: www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

The D.C. housing market continues to show possible effects from Trump administration workforce cuts. D.C.-area listings were up 13.2% last week from a week earlier, per new Bright MLS data. There was a particular surge in Virginia, led by Alexandria (up 46% YoY), Pr William (33%), Arlington (30%).

This morning, HUD instituted a policy of searching bags and putting everyone through a metal detector. By 8 a.m., employees had already been waiting in line for an hour, a HUD source says.