Weather Chatter Came Up This Week

It's interesting....some older Germans brought up the comparison of 2026 (heat-wave summer, drought, etc) and 1976 (known as the 'century-summer' (Jahrhundertsommer).

Cause of both?  The Jet Stream. This circulation pattern is known as the Omega Blocking Pattern. Basically, the area between Spain and Germany....got blocked....while Eastern Europe was cold. 

A single year, and likely not to repeat again (for at least a decade)?  Yeah.

Worth buying a 3,500 Euro AC-unit?  No.

Germans remembering 1976?  Very unlikely.

When I arrived in January 1978....a couple of the Germans in the shop conversed over 1976.  Older guys remembered a period like that in the 1950s....but noted it was NOT normal summer weather.

6 Sep 2026: Germany: 4 Stories

 1.  Sub-station sabotage guy?  Still on the run?  Yeah.

Police putting out photos....mid-40s guy.  No doubt with the cops....he's responsible for attempted 'hits' on two sub-stations.  Nothing to do with Putin's thugs, Nazis, or far-right-wing.

2.  Saxony-Anhalt election underway this AM.  Zero doubt that AfD Party will place near 40-percent....but not enough to run state gov't (no one will form a coalition with them).  The odd thing....this forces the CDU into a leadership role with a coalition.....with the partner of the Linke Party (far-left).  Fair number of CDU-voters will be shaking their heads. 

If you asked me over hurting the CDU 'image' nationally....this election/results....aren't that positive. 

3.  SPD Party wants 'solutions' to prevent closure of four VW factories.....not much to offer.

4.  Those two suspects for the arson attack in Munich?  Caught.....detained.

Saturday Adventure

Yesterday....the wife had a adventure day planned....Segway 'tour'.  Eastern side of Frankfurt....farm country.  

Google maps said it was 45 minutes away....I allocated another 15 minutes...off we went  (10 AM).

Well...by the time you add up autobahn construction/detours (at least five projects)...it took near 75 minutes.....barely getting there in time.  

You start to add up all the street renovations around Wiesbaden, and the bridges under 'work'....there's probably in my region....around sixteen different things that influence traffic and cause 'rage' among drivers.

Yeah, I'll admit.....they need work urgently.

The Segway tour?  Actually fairly interesting (note: Segway halted sales around six years ago).  Nearly three hours of driving around a farming community. 

Corn?  Well....one had a chance to observe a failed crop (no higher than your waist).....massive drought for the summer of 2026.   

Gas Cars Remain?

 Up until this past week....the EU had been set to ban combustion engines....by 2035.

Well....Germany, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic...fought hard, and it appears that the ban....will not occur.

The change?  The EU will shift to emissions reduction targets. Meaning, engines built today can still be built and sold.

Job losses still in play?  Well....yeah.  A lot spent on e-car development, and the bulk of Germans aren't that eager to buy into it.

Two Odd Things

 Yesterday....the wife and I went into Wiesbaden....to a new grocery on the SE part of town....with a underground parking situation.

Some sign with ultra-small fine-print.....then we entered the underground parking area.  So we stepped out of the car, and read the sign (close-up).

Well...it basically says a camera read your plate upon entry....you need to pay 3 Euro to exit, or buy something at the grocery to get a scan-type coupon (making it free).  If you drive out without either....you get a legal form in the mail for 45 Euro (fine) by this company monitoring things.

A hassle?  If you were a older German....you might miss the sign and get this warning letter. 

The odds of me ever going back?  Near one-percent.

Second story?  Well....the store had premium-coffee in a locked-up case.  

I pondered this....all these years in Germany and never having seen a lock-up situation for premium coffee.  If you needed some?  You'd have to chat with the manager, and he'd get you a 'bag'.

Substation Attacks?

 Over the past several days in Germany....there have been repeated acts of sabotage against electrical substations across the country.

Well....this AM (Friday)....another attempt....in Lower Saxony.

So as of noon....cops have an idea of who is involved (NOT Putin or his thugs).....appears to be German citizen.....militant climate activist.

His big deal?  Well....he wants to fight fossil fuels.  Yes....fossil fuels.

Nutcase-level?  I would suggest that some type of mental review will probably occur...he might avoid charges/jail...by establishing his mental control is 'lacking'.  

Yeah....oddball case, and will get dragged around to be discussed a good bit. 

This leading back to mental stability (lack of) in a group of environmentalists?  It's hard to say a number but it's painfully obvious that people take climate control to a level of some Marvel-movie adventure.

Germany And The Putin-Problem

This week....if you follow ARD/ZDF (public TV in Germany).....there's mostly hype over Russia saying Germany is near to "destroying" all political and economic relationships with Putin's Russia.

There was a unique political relationship between West Germany and the Soviet Union....coming out of the 1960s....mostly between the SPD leadership, and the necessity for 'cheap' natural gas/oil.  This drove the economic relationship.  

Adding to this....the bulk of economic-power that Germans often talk about....is related to the flow of natural gas and oil.  The Soviets, and later....the Russians....built a great middle-class level.  The Ukraine-war?  It basically destroyed the business model....for both Russia (Putin) and Germany (for both the SPD and CDU).

Presently, if the war were to end....Germany and Russia would both likely be back to natural gas 'trading', and a economic recovery for both would occur.  If we linger another two or three years, in some war without value?  I'd suggest both would find economical recovery fairly difficult.

Russia's economic standing?  Pretty close to between Brazil and Italy.

Is There A German Population Crisis Brewing?

 Well....if you bundle up the issues....then yes.

For 2025....Germany’s population was 83,467,117 (about 83.5 million).

Decline?  Yeah....roughly 110,000 people, or 0.1-percent (over 2024).

Producing kids?  The rate is now at 1.32 per female.

Oddly....if you break it down....German women are fairly close to 1.2, while non-German women are near 1.78.

Blame?  More German women prioritize jobs/income over having kids.

Some Germans (mostly women) are concerned over climate change....feeling lesser populations are a plus.

Where all of this leads onto?  If you do a spread sheet and figure numbers for 2046....it's probably a population of 77-million, and continuing onto 70-million by 2066.  

German industry/commerce set for trouble?  Well....if VW and the car companies continue to downsize....you don't need to worry about a manpower shortage.

Did I mention that 288,000 Germans exited/left the country in 2025, and a minimum of 250k probably will leave in 2026?  Most wanted better salary levels, lower taxes, and more opportunities.

In some odd way....the California-strategy of downsizing....has been recreated here in Germany, and been fairly successful.