Host Nation Update, Nov. 3, 2022
49-euro ticket for local transportation is coming
This is how much users could save with the “Deutschlandticket”
Rail travel in Germany will no longer be as cheap as it was from June to August, when the monthly ticket cost 9 euros, but with the 49-euro ticket that has now been approved, it will be possible to make substantial savings compared with the rates that will apply in the Stuttgart Transport Association (VVS) as of January 1, 2023. And the new ticket is once again valid nationwide on local transport. Prices in the VVS will rise by an average of 4.9 percent at the turn of the year. A 10-day ticket for the first tariff zone will then already cost 41.80 euros, the cheapest monthly ticket (one zone) 48.58 euros, but with this you can board buses and trains from 9 a.m. onwards. With a total of seven tariff zones in the VVS, the savings potential with the new “Deutschlandticket” is enormous. However, the new ticket has a small catch: it will only be available as subscription. However, it will be possible to cancel the subscription on a monthly basis. The Stuttgart Tramways (SSB) already wrote to its subscribers in mid-October. They are “already working diligently on the implementation so that you can also benefit directly from this favorable price,” they said. Those who have already taken out a local transport subscription “do not need to do anything at the moment, we will take care of it,” they said. However, it is questionable whether the changeover will actually be made on January 1, 2023. How much can you actually save with the new ticket? Depending on the number of zones, the sums involved can be quite high: Anyone who has bought a VVS network ticket (Gingen, Kuchen, Geislingen) up to now would have to pay 2470 euros for the VVS tariff in 2023. With the 49-Euro-
Deutschlandticket, they will now pay 588 euros, or 1882 euros less per year. The monthly savings amount to 156.83 euros. Three zones (for example Schwaikheim, Plochingen, Leonberg, Steinenbronn) should cost 1298 euros in the coming year. Savings through the Deutschlandticket: 710 euros per year. With two zones, the savings are still 387 euros a year. (Stgt Nachrichten, Nov 2)
Train cancellations – GDL strike caused confusion at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof
Due to a short-term strike by the German Engine Drivers’ Union (GDL), there is general confusion at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof on Wednesday morning. Train cancellations are occurring throughout the southwest, and Stuttgart was hit particularly hard. Almost all trains on the Stuttgart network are delayed or cancelled. The connections are operated by the subsidiary SWEG Bahn Stuttgart (SBS). Many passengers did not learn about the strike in time and had to put up with long delays. SWEG is providing rail replacement services on some routes. “We ourselves only learned about the strike last night,” says a rail employee answering customer questions and informing passengers about alternatives to the canceled trains at the station in Stuttgart on Wednesday. It is still unclear when the union will end the strike, which began at 3 a.m. Wednesday night. The background of the industrial action is that the GDL does not want to allow any tariff inequalities between SWEG and SBS. To reinforce its demand, the union has already called for strikes four times since the beginning of September. SWEG management said it had made all SBS employees an above-tariff offer, but most of them had not accepted it. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov 3)
Festival Committee of the Stuttgart Carnival Clubs enter with less euphoria into
the “fifth season” (carnival season is also known as the “fifth season”)
It is not easy to sum up the mood of the eleven clubs of the Stuttgart Carnival Festival Committee a few days before the 11th of November. It is somewhere between restrained euphoria, departure, new beginning and the desire to create a piece of normality, after carnival, Fasnet and carnival in the past three seasons were not able to take place, or only virtually due to the pandemic and the start of the war in Ukraine. But what does the future of the clubs look like? Thomas Haas has the idea of combined carnival of adults and children. In addition, the carnivalist is also concerned with the question of how to improve the image of carnival. “Many parents celebrate Halloween with their children, but are not very enthusiastic about celebrating carnival together,” says Haas. He adds that it is also necessary to reach new target groups – for example, through the program Brauchtum sucht Kulturen. The start of the carnival season will take place on 11.11. at the steps at the Stuttgart Schlossplatz. At the reception at 11:11a.m., a representative from city hall will also be present. (Stft Nachrichten, Nov 3)
November 12 in Böblingen and Sindelfingen – Long night of the museums offers
many highlights
The two neighboring cities of Böblingen and Sindelfingen are organizing a Long Night of Museums for the 20th time on Saturday, November 12. In 16 rooms and locations, municipal and private institutions will show what the cultural scene of the two cities has to offer. Around the exhibitions, from 6 p.m. to midnight, there will be plenty of music, performance, fine dining and more to enjoy. Those who want to take away as many impressions as possible can use a shuttle bus for this purpose. Murder and cocktails In Böblingen, a visit to the Zehntscheuer is worthwhile on this evening. Starting at 7 p.m., the Peasants’ War Museum will present the background and motives of the Peasants’ War in a way that is suitable for children. Afterwards, the young guests can put their own ideas on the topic of freedom and justice on paper with
quill pens and wax seals. At a late hour, starting at 11 p.m., the new museum director Lea Wegner will then start the “adult program”. Under the motto “Von Fluchen und Pöbeln, Plündern und Mord” (“Of swearing and mobbing, looting and murder”), a guided tour deals with punishments and crime in the 16th century Böblingen Culture Mile The other Böblingen stops are also worth a visit – including the Schacher Gallery on the market square, Marinus van Aalst’s “Memory Rooms” in the Old Cemetery, the historic barn in Untere Gasse, the City Church with art, readings and organ music, and the Blaues Haus cultural network with art by Alfredo Pucci and jazzy chamber music.
One night, two cities, 16 locations – Program
In Böblingen, the 20th Long Night of Museums lasts from 6 p.m. to midnight; in Sindelfingen, the program starts at 6 p.m. (with the exception of the 4 p.m. concert in the Martinskirche) and goes until 11 p.m. Detailed information can be found in the program flyer. The flyer is available in all participating venues or can be downloaded from the homepages of the cities of Böblingen and Sindelfingen.
Shuttle bus
A free shuttle bus service will take the public to almost all stops in Böblingen and Sindelfingen. Departure in Böblingen is every half and full hour in front of Café Frechdax on Elbenplatz, in Sindelfingen every quarter and three-quarter hour at the Galerie der Stadt on Marktplatz. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov 3)
