Still a divided nation?

A report out this week has shown that a large divide between the new German states and the rest of the nation still exists, 16 years after reunification.

The annual report, produced as part of Germany's "Day of Unity" celebrations next week, was meant to show how far the united Germany has come. Instead, the report shows that despite 250 billion Euros of investment for the East, unemployment remains high and economic growth is almost non-existant.

Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD), the Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development, stated that it will take another 15 to 20 years before the former East German states develop their own economic momentum. al

Wowi still on top.

Klaus Wowereit's SPD party emerged winners from Sunday's state elections in Berlin. But with only 30.4% of the election going to the returning Mayor's party, all the talk is about a coalition....again.

Doubt remains as to whether Wowereit will select his former coalition partner, PDS/Die Linke - who returned worse than expected results at this year's elections - or whether he might choose the ever popular Greens.

Two other questions are also hanging in the air from this year's campaign. Firstly, how is it that 41% of the Berlin population did not bother to vote? Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, how did Berlin's political parties manage to spend 3.6 Million Euros just on advertising posters? al

Lovely party...but where's the sausage?

This weekend marked the opening of the world's largest wine festival, the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt, in the German town of Bad Dürkheim. Consistently attracting over 600,000 guests each year, the festival is a popular and proud tradition in Germany's wine-growing Rhine valley region.

From it's beginnings in the 15th century, the festival attracted not only winegrowers but also tradesman and farmers from the region who were keen to sell their wares. The unique name (Wurstmarkt translates to "sausage market") originated in the 1800's due to the enormous amount of sausage consumption during the annual festival.

These days the fairground rides are undoubtedly a major attraction. However the copious amount of wine on offer, either drunk with lemonade or mineral water (and always in 500 millilitre doses!), remains the focus. Particularly popular are the Frühschoppen sessions: allowing those to either continue a long night of drinking or start the drinking early - the wine tents open at breakfast time. al

Airport BBI: A turbulent ride.

Work started today on a multi-billion Euro project for Berlin, the development of Airport Schönefeld into Berlin-Brandenburg International (BBI).

But aside from the mayor, who ceremoniously dug the first sod of earth today, everyone seems pretty unhappy about the new airport. From "environmentally-conscious" locals who are worried about losing their sleep, to low-cost airlines who fear that they won't be able to afford to land at the new centralised airport, opinion on the ground seems muted. Many locals believe that one of the city's other more centrally-located airports, Tempelhof or Tegel, should have taken over the main airport role.

It's taken 14 years for the new airport to get off the ground, but with the decision now official, here's hoping that the construction can progress a little faster than usual Berlin standards. Currently the project is scheduled to finish in 2011. al