It is the first of three darkest, most overcast winter months.1 Although it’s one of the most eventful months in German history, it’s a relatively quiet one for us modern Berliners. We retreat into our homes, resume our Netflix subscriptions and wait for the holidays. Abwarten und Tee trinken.

“Weihnachtsmarkt in Berlin Rixdorf” by Georg Schöbel
“Weihnachtsmarkt in Berlin Rixdorf” by Georg Schöbel

What’s new in Berlin

Berlin events in November

Berlin’s ice rinks open in November:

Some winter playgrounds (Kinderspielplätze) also open in November. They provide a free, warm indoor space where children can play.2

What’s new in Germany

November 9 is a Schicksalstag in German history: a socialist revolution, a Nazi putsch, a violent pogrom, and the fall of the Berlin wall. The fateful day has its own Wikipedia article.

November 11 is St-Martin’s Day in parts of Germany. It marks the start of Karneval season.

Harder language tests

On November 1, the integration course language test (DTZ) will become harder.3 The test has 3 sections: reading/writing, speaking and listening. Before, you could pass 2 out of 3 sections and still pass the test. Now you must pass all sections.4

This only affects the language test for the integration course. Other language tests like the telc or Goethe exams are not affected.6

Permanent €99 family ticket

The Family Ticket is back! It covers a two-way long-distance train trip for up to 5 family members. It was initially a temporary deal, but now it’s here to stay.5

Other updates

The 2026 youth word of the year is ragebait.

On my radar

What’s new on All About Berlin

This is the 12th edition of the All About Berlin newsletter. It will be sent to a little over 1000 subscribers. If you enjoy those ad-free, AI-free, no-nonsense monthly updates, consider buying me a coffee or sharing the newsletter on social media.

Big changes in 2027

Every January, lots of things change in Germany: taxes, social contributions, minimum wage, public transit prices, and much more. Instead of announcing those changes in this newsletter, I have compiled them into a guide.

What’s changing in 2027

This will allow me to write longer explanations and to improve them over time. I can also include calculators and other tools that would not fit in an email.

Pension refund updates

I have updated my German pension refund guide and pension refund calculator with help from Georg at Pension Refund Germany. It fixes a few edge cases with Indian residents, and Japanese, Turkish and Balkan nationals.

Pension refund rules are hard to understand, hard to verify and impossible to track. This sort of work would be impossible without help from experts.

Forum updates

I am still working on a forum for All About Berlin. It’s ready to go live, but I want to make it extra nice before release. The release will also bring many small improvements to the rest of the website, and a much better full-site search.

Other changes

I have re-checked all 484 places listed on the website. I have automated that last Spring. A few businesses have moved or closed since then, most notably Brewdog in Mitte.

Sources and footnotes

  1. Wikipedia, weather-and-climate.com ⤴

  2. brunnenmagazin.de ⤴

  3. iamexpat.de (October 2026), thelocal.de (October 2026), migrando.de (October 2026) ⤴

  4. migrando.de (October 2026) ⤴

  5. iamexpat.de (October 2026) ⤴

  6. migrando.de (October 2026) ⤴