German marine pilots, the Seelotsen, start their training as experienced captains. To be admitted on the Elbe, a candidate needs an unrestricted certificate of competence as a captain. He also needs at least two years of sea time within the last five years. Training then lasts 12, 18 or 24 months and ends with an exam set by the supervising authority. After the appointment, the new pilot still starts with smaller ships. The pilotage ordinance for the Weser and the Jade sets out the steps in a section titled Lotsentätigkeit nach der Bestallung, pilot work after appointment. In the Weser II/Jade district, a new pilot may guide ships up to 165 meters long and 25 meters wide in the first half-year. The limit rises every half-year. Only in the eighth half-year may the pilot guide ships up to 350 meters long and 50 meters wide. In the Weser I district, the first year starts with ships up to 125 meters long. After the first half-year, a new pilot may assist another pilot who is responsible for the ship.
A Permit for the Nordschleife
A racing license alone does not let a driver race on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring. From the 2015 season, the DMSB Permit Nordschleife became mandatory for all participants in the VLN endurance races and the 24-hour race. Its stated aim is more safety on the track, especially for newcomers. Auto Bild called it the Nordschleifenführerschein, the Nordschleife driving license. It has two grades. Grade B, for less powerful cars, comes first. Only drivers who can show results from at least two races receive grade A. Drivers who have not raced on the track for five years must qualify again. In September 2025, the Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen went through the same steps. He first completed the theory and guided laps for grade B. On 13 September, he raced a restricted Porsche Cayman to collect the 14 laps needed for grade A. But his second entry car did not complete a full lap in the race after a crash in practice. One required result for grade A was missing, and he had to hope the DMSB would make an exception. After he received the permit, he started in a Ferrari 296 GT3 on 27 September.
The Doctor Decides Alone
The German Football League, the DFL, has a protocol for head injuries in the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. The form has signature lines for the club, the head coach, the person responsible for sport and the team doctor. The examination and treatment of a player on the pitch may take up to three minutes. Die Entscheidung obliegt allein dem/der Mannschaftsarzt/-ärztin. The decision rests with the team doctor alone. Trainer/-in, Schiedsrichter/-in und Spieler dürfen die Beurteilung und Entscheidung des Arztes/der Ärztin nicht beeinflussen. The coach, the referee and the player may not influence the doctor’s assessment and decision. The player may go on only if the doctor expressly confirms that he is able to. If a concussion cannot be ruled out, he takes no further part in the match.
Who Secures the Christmas Market
On 20 December 2024, an attacker used a vehicle to strike the Christmas market in Magdeburg. He killed six people and injured about 300 others, some seriously. A committee of inquiry of the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt examined the attack. In May 2026, ZDF reported on its final report. Die Lücke, die der Attentäter mit dem Fahrzeug nutzte, fiel bei der Kontrolle weder Polizei, Veranstalter noch der Stadt Magdeburg auf. Neither the police, nor the organizer, nor the city noticed the gap the attacker used. According to the report, the protection concept against vehicle attacks had been out of date. A ZDF reporter in Magdeburg said that responsibility had been pushed back and forth between the city, the organizer and the police. In November 2025, the next market was not approved for the time being, although setup had begun at the end of October. The state administration office had found defects in the organizer’s security concept, and the city had been instructed not to approve it. The organizer saw the police and the authorities as responsible. On 12 November, ZDF reported an agreement between the city, the state administration office and the police. Für die Umsetzung der vereinbarten Maßnahmen seien die Veranstalter und die Stadt Magdeburg verantwortlich. The organizers and the city of Magdeburg were to be responsible for carrying out the agreed measures.
Who Closes the Pitch
The town of Griesheim has written rules for its grass football pitches, the Richtlinien zur Bespielbarkeit der Rasenplätze, rules on the playability of the grass pitches. The mayor names one town official, the Sportplatzbeauftragter, for all questions of playability. Each club names two contacts. On match days the decision should be made by 11 a.m. if possible, so that the visiting team can be told in time to save its travel costs. Die Entscheidung über die Bespielbarkeit des Platzes wird grundsätzlich abschließend durch den Beauftragten der Stadt Griesheim getroffen. As a rule, the town’s official makes the final decision. Once the match has started, the decision passes to someone else. Während des Spiels obliegt die Entscheidung über die Bespielbarkeit allein dem Schiedsrichter. During the match, the referee alone decides, and he must be aware of his responsibility for possible damage. The town’s official cannot stop a match in progress on his own. From 15 December to 28 February all grass pitches are closed. The official may decide on exceptions.
The referees of the Württemberg football association have guidance for the case where the two disagree. If the owner closes a pitch that the referee thinks is playable, the referee must walk the field and test it in football boots, with sprints, stops and jumps. He must then describe in detail in the match report how he examined the field.
Words for Going Back on a Decision
zurückrudern — To row back. DWDS gives the figurative meaning: to withdraw a measure that met with rejection, or to take back an opinion or position. Its example: Wird die öffentliche Empörung zu heftig, rudert die Partei zurück. If public outrage grows too strong, the party rows back.
eine Rolle rückwärts machen — To do a backward roll. DWDS: to take back something one had announced or promised.
umfallen — To fall over. DWDS lists the figurative meaning seine Meinung, Gesinnung überraschend ändern, to change one’s opinion or conviction suddenly, and marks it as disparaging.
der Umfaller — The one who falls over. Duden marks the word as colloquial and disparaging.
“It Is Serious”
On 18 March 2020, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to the country on television about the coronavirus. She did not soften the message. Es ist ernst. Nehmen Sie es auch ernst. It is serious. Take it seriously too. She also said: Die nächsten Wochen werden noch schwerer. The next weeks will be even harder. The rhetoric department of the University of Tübingen named it the speech of the year 2020. On 9 December 2020, in the Bundestag, she backed a call by the national academy of sciences, the Leopoldina, for a hard lockdown over the holidays. She said that if there were too many contacts before Christmas und es anschließend das letzte Weihnachten mit den Großeltern war, dann werden wir etwas versäumt haben, and it then turned out to be the last Christmas with the grandparents, we will have failed to do something.
The Tour Off the Air
In 1997 Jan Ullrich won the Tour de France. He is still the only German to have done so. In 2003 his duel with Lance Armstrong drew more than nine million viewers on ARD. Then the doping cases came. On 18 July 2007 a positive test of the German rider Patrik Sinkewitz became known. That same day ARD and ZDF stopped their live coverage of the Tour. ZDF’s editor-in-chief Nikolaus Brender said: Wir wollen einen sauberen Sport. We want a clean sport. After 2011 both public broadcasters dropped the race altogether. ARD only announced its return in January 2015. In November 2023 Ullrich admitted it outright for the first time: Ich habe gedopt. I doped.
The Responsible Electrician
Many companies that run electrical installations are led by managers who are not electricians. A training guide on the verantwortliche Elektrofachkraft, the responsible electrical specialist, notes that such a manager kann die Fachverantwortung nicht übernehmen, cannot take on the technical responsibility. The company therefore appoints a qualified electrician to that role in writing. The role is based on the standard DIN VDE 1000-10. KomNet, the occupational safety advice service of North Rhine-Westphalia, explains what the appointment means. Eine verantwortliche Elektrofachkraft unterliegt hinsichtlich der Einhaltung der elektrotechnischen Sicherheitsmaßnahmen keinen fachlichen Weisungen. On electrical safety measures, she takes no technical instructions. Für die elektrische Sicherheit sind nur die verantwortlichen Elektrofachkräfte und nicht die ausschließlich disziplinarischen Vorgesetzten verantwortlich. Only the responsible electrical specialists are accountable for electrical safety. Superiors who manage her only as personnel are not. A model appointment certificate from the statutory accident insurer VBG states that she is hinsichtlich der fachlichen Aufgaben weisungsfrei, free of instructions in her technical tasks. Both the company management and the appointee sign it.
The Coordinator Without Authority
On a German building site, each trade works under its own contract and its own employer. When employees of several employers work on one site, the client must appoint a safety and health coordinator, the SiGeKo. The rule has applied since the building site ordinance took effect on 1 July 1998. The coordinator draws up the safety plan and coordinates how the firms work together. He is not their boss. The Bavarian model contract for public building projects gives him no power to issue instructions. Except in imminent danger, he reports problems: In allen anderen Fällen sind der Objektüberwacher und der Auftraggeber auf kurzem Wege zu informieren. In all other cases, the site supervisor and the client are to be informed directly.