Germany today (Tue 10 Nov): 'Pancake index' shows Germany's grocery buying power fell most in Europe, states push back on A&E reform, glass ban in Cologne on 11.11, Klopp's team play in Belgrade behind closed doors

Hello! Here's your German news for Tuesday, 10 November. If your shopping receipts have felt heavier lately, it's not just you. In a 'pancake index' that compares the prices of flour, milk, eggs and butter, Germany's buying power fell more than anywhere else in Europe. If you're going to Cologne tomorrow, make sure you read item 3.

1. [Politics] The states put the brakes on the A&E reform — Bundesrat vote on 20 Nov

• What does the law change? — it's meant to send patients with urgent symptoms to the right place instead of to crowded emergency departments (Notaufnahme). Hospitals get a central reception desk, there's a nationwide phone advice line, and some hospitals get an integrated emergency centre (Integriertes Notfallzentrum)
• What the centres do — they check your condition first and decide whether to send you to A&E or to a nearby out-of-hours practice (Bereitschaftspraxis)
• Two Bundesrat committees are against it — the health committee says the states should decide where the centres go, and the interior committee doubts that the federal government has the power, because emergency ambulance services are a state matter. Both committees recommend sending the law to the mediation committee (Vermittlungsausschuss)
• Tied to the same law — €550 million more for hospitals than first planned, lifting the spending cap on psychotherapy from early 2027, and a rule that health insurers must once again inform members when they raise the additional contribution (Zusatzbeitrag)
• What it means for you — the full Bundesrat meets on 20 November. If the law goes to the mediation committee, the A&E reform and the duty to tell you about contribution rises could be delayed. Until then, if you have non-urgent symptoms at night or at the weekend, try 116 117 (the on-call doctor service) first, as before

Source: ariva.de (dpa-AFX) · nordkurier.de · skverlag.de

2. [Economy] 'Pancake index' — Germany's grocery buying power fell the most of 28 European countries

• Tue 10 Nov, Correctiv analysis — the investigative newsroom Correctiv compared the prices of four items, flour, milk, eggs and butter, with Eurostat's median disposable income. It looked at 28 European countries
• From 2016 to now — the four ingredients went up by 68.4%, but incomes rose by only 40.1%. Germany's drop was the biggest of the 28 countries
• Counted in pancakes — with 5% of a day's median income you can make about 16.7 pancakes in Germany. Austria is top with 18.3, North Macedonia last with 2.8. Germany has slipped from first to third place
• Not everyone agrees — the business-friendly German Economic Institute (IW) called it "exaggerated", saying four foods can't tell you about buying power as a whole. According to the Federal Statistical Office, prices in September 2026 were 26.6% higher than in 2020, and food prices 37% higher
• What it means for you — basic groceries really do take a bigger share of your pay than before. Comparing supermarket leaflets (Prospekt), discount apps and own brands (Eigenmarke) can make quite a difference

Germany · prices of flour, milk, eggs and butter vs median disposable income

Source: correctiv.org · ariva.de (dpa-AFX) · onvista.de

3. [Society] Cologne carnival starts tomorrow, 11.11 — glass ban and tram diversions

• Glass ban (Glasverbot) — in the old town (Altstadt) and the student quarter Kwartier Latäng (Zülpicher Viertel), you can't carry glass bottles on 11 Nov from 8 a.m. until 8 a.m. the next day. In the Uniwiese park it applies from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and in the Südstadt people are asked to avoid glass voluntarily
• Pour it over at the entrance — at the entrances to the zones, drinks in glass bottles are poured into plastic cups for you. The Uniwiese is a waiting area that only opens when the Zülpicher Viertel is full
• Trams (KVB) — from about 7 a.m., line 9 is diverted via Aachener Straße and the Gürtel, and from about 9 a.m. lines 12 and 15 won't stop at Zülpicher Platz
• Protecting young people — stalls that sell alcohol or cigarettes to under-18s face a fine of €200–350, even the first time. Around 40 staff from the city's youth office will be out and about
• What it means for you — at 11:11 in Cologne the forecast is 8–10° with light rain. Leave your glass bottles at home, and be ready to get off at a different stop near Zülpicher Platz. If it's your first carnival, have a read of our carnival season story too

Source: stadt-koeln.de · citynews-koeln.de · meinkoelle.de

4. [Culture] Berlin's 'culture department store' Dussmann opens a second shop for the first time, in the KaDeWe

• 4th floor of the KaDeWe, about 1,500 m² — the book and music store on Friedrichstraße, Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus, has opened 'Dussmann – Kultur im KaDeWe' in the West Berlin department store KaDeWe. It sells books, music and culture products
• A fifth the size of the main store — the main store on Friedrichstraße in Mitte is about 7,500 m² and will stay the flagship
• Just in time for Christmas shopping — the book trade magazine Börsenblatt described the shop as an exceptional branch
• Readings and concerts too — the new shop plans to hold readings, small concerts and talks regularly
• What it means for you — there's now a big bookshop near Wittenbergplatz too. On 21 November there's an opening party that anyone can come to. It's a nice place to leaf through German learning books before you choose one

Source: boersenblatt.net · lematin.de · t-online.de

5. [Arts] Ceramic work 'Orakel I' — the Danner Prize exhibition opens in Nuremberg on Thursday

• Thu 12 Nov, awards and opening — the awards ceremony for the Danner Prize (Danner-Preis) 2026, one of Bavaria's leading craft prizes, takes place at the Schauspielhaus theatre in Nuremberg, and the exhibition opens the same evening at 7 p.m. at the Neues Museum Nürnberg
• Main prize — ceramic artist Ute Kathrin Beck won for her ceramic work 'Orakel I'
• Four honorary prizes — they went to Markus Marschmann ('Apparat 987'), Ayaka Terajima, Sabine Steinhäusler (the brooch series 'Still') and Florian Clemens Meyer
• From ceramics to jewellery — the show presents contemporary craft in many materials, including ceramics, glass, metal, jewellery and textiles
• What it means for you — the exhibition runs from 13 Nov to 4 April 2027. If you're heading to Nuremberg this winter, it's easy to combine with a visit to the Christmas market

Source: danner-stiftung.de · arnoldsche.com · nmn.de

6. [Entertainment] Sunday night belongs to 'Tatort' — 7.54 million watch the Zurich episode

• Sun 8 Nov, ARD (Das Erste) — 7.54 million people watched the new Zurich 'Tatort' episode 'Frei wie ein Adler'. That's an audience share of 30.3%
• Younger viewers too — about 950,000 viewers were aged 14–49, a share of 19.9% in that age group
• On the other channels at the same time — the ZDF drama 'Dr. Nice' had 3.94 million (15.8%), and ProSieben's 'Wer stiehlt mir die Show?' had 0.98 million
• The stars — Anna Pieri Zuercher and Carol Schuler play the two Zurich detectives
• What it means for you — if you missed it, you can watch it for free in the ARD Mediathek. You'll hear a bit of Swiss German too, which makes it fun listening practice

Viewers

Source: quotenmeter.de · t-online.de · wunschliste.de

7. [Sports] Klopp's squad meets up — Friday's game in Belgrade is behind closed doors, and a win keeps the quarter-finals in sight

• Mon 9 Nov, Herzogenaurach — Jürgen Klopp's Germany team started their last get-together of the year. Up next are the final two games in UEFA Nations League A, Group 2
• Fri 13 Nov, 20:45, away at Serbia — the game is at the Rajko Mitić Stadium in Belgrade. Because UEFA punished the Serbian football association for racist behaviour by fans, it will be played without spectators. RTL shows it on free TV
• 24 players — 17-year-old Wael Mohya (Mönchengladbach) has been called up for the first time, and Niclas Füllkrug is back for the first time since June 2025. Musiala is out injured
• The group table — the Netherlands and Greece have 8 points, and Germany are third on 5. Only the top two reach the quarter-finals
• What it means for you — the last game is against the Netherlands on Mon 16 Nov at Berlin's Olympiastadion. German fans can't go to Friday's game, so cheer them on from in front of the TV

Source: rhein-zeitung.de (dpa) · t-online.de · dfb.de · zdfheute.de

Weather

City	Wed 11 Nov	Thu 12 Nov	Fri 13 Nov
Berlin	☁️ 5° / 2° cloudy	⛅ 5° / 2° sunny spells	🌬️ 7° / 1° cloudy, windy
Hamburg	☁️ 5° / 3° cloudy	⛅ 7° / 2° sunny spells	🌬️ 8° / 5° cloudy, strong winds
Munich	🌧️ 13° / 7° light rain	🌦️ 12° / 8° a little sun, rain at times	🌧️ 5° / 2° rain at times
Cologne	🌧️ 10° / 6° rain	☁️ 7° / 5° mostly cloudy	⛅ 9° / 2° sunny spells
Frankfurt	🌧️ 12° / 6° cloudy, light rain	🌦️ 10° / 4° a little sun, rain at times	⛅ 8° / 1° sunny spells

Tip: Rain is forecast for Wednesday's carnival start in Cologne and Düsseldorf, so pack a rain poncho to wear over your costume. From Thursday night there'll be light frost in the central uplands, and on Friday strong gusts on the North Sea coast. At the weekend there could be snow towards the Alps in southern Bavaria, so roads may be slippery. (Forecast: wetter.com and the German Weather Service, DWD)

German from today's news

Word	Meaning	Example from the news
die Notaufnahme	emergency department, A&E	Viele Notaufnahmen sind überfüllt.
der Vermittlungsausschuss	mediation committee (Bundestag and Bundesrat)	Die Reform könnte im Vermittlungsausschuss landen.
die Kaufkraft	buying power	Deutschland verliert stark an Kaufkraft.
das Glasverbot	glass ban	Am 11.11. gilt in der Altstadt ein Glasverbot.
die Einschaltquote	(TV) ratings	Der Tatort hatte eine sehr gute Einschaltquote.
das Geisterspiel	game behind closed doors	In Belgrad gibt es ein Geisterspiel.

It's a rainy Tuesday, so have a warm cup of tea and keep going. Einen schönen Dienstag! 🇩🇪