Sigrid
I’m going to say it again — we’re sitting here with two Berlin institutions. One of them is Maurice. The other one is Andrew.

Andrew
Why do I feel like you’re calling us old?

Sigrid
No! Well, maybe a little. But really — who’s actually considered old in Berlin?

Maurice
I heard the other day it’s easier to get into Berghain if you’re over 50.

Andrew
I believe that. I never get knocked back anymore. I used to think the bouncer remembered me from the good old days — but now I realize he probably just sees my grey hair and waves me through.

Sigrid
Back when you didn’t have grey hair, Berghain wasn’t even Berghain yet, right?

Andrew
Exactly. It was still called Ostgut, and in a totally different location. That was way back. Pre-grey.

The conversation drifts into Berlin nostalgia and how both of them ended up here.

Sigrid
When did you actually arrive in Berlin?

Andrew
Officially? In 2000. But I’d been coming here for a while before that. I was living in Frankfurt am Main for two years and started visiting Berlin monthly around 1998.

Sigrid
So it was already “the place to be”?

Andrew
Well, it was amazing — and a lot emptier. Half of the city still felt like an unwritten book. Like a history that had paused for 40 years, just waiting for someone to fill in the next chapter.

Sigrid
Andrew has been here for more than 25 years, and you, Maurice, almost as long. And now you run something together called *20 Percent Berlin*. What is it?

Maurice
20 Percent Berlin is a newsletter — and now also a podcast — that we’ve been doing for about three and a half years. It’s in English and aimed at Berliners who either don’t speak German or prefer to read in English.

Andrew
The idea is simple: we give people access to local news they otherwise wouldn’t get. I kept meeting expats who didn’t even know who the mayor was or what was being built in their neighborhood. And it wasn’t because they didn’t care — it’s because they couldn’t read the German newspapers. So we thought, hey, this is our job. We’re both journalists. Let’s give people access.

Maurice
We were actually working at the *Berliner Zeitung* before this. We launched an English edition during the pandemic and started writing daily updates. It built a loyal following. Then, out of the blue, the paper let us go.

Andrew
So the next day we launched 20 Percent Berlin on Substack.

Maurice
And it’s grown ever since.

Andrew
Turns out, we didn’t need them either.

Sigrid
What you can’t see right now is that both of them also have fanbases for being, well, pretty good-looking.

Maurice
That’s just Andrew. He’s all over TikTok and Instagram.

Andrew
Yeah, but only because I made one joke video and it went viral. I didn’t expect that.

Maurice
Don’t be modest. He’s also a stand-up comedian and actually tours all over Germany.

Andrew
That’s true — but that has more to do with the comedy scene than Instagram fame. I’ve always made jokes about life in Germany on the side. TikTok just gave me a new place to put them.

Sigrid
And speaking German is a comedy in itself, right?

Andrew
I should probably write more jokes about the language. It deserves it.

The conversation turns to the origins of the name “20 Percent Berlin.”

Sigrid
So where does the name come from? I’m guessing it refers to the number of foreign-born people in the city?

Maurice
Close! The name was Andrew’s idea. It refers to the 20 percent of Berliners who don’t hold a German passport. When we started, that was the figure. It’s gone up to 24 percent since then, but changing the name every year would be a nightmare. Maybe we’ll rebrand at 30 percent.

Sigrid
So for now, we’re sticking with 20. And your podcast isn’t just about news — it’s also about explaining German life and culture, right?

Andrew
Exactly. Even when we write about politics or infrastructure, we’re explaining how things work — or don’t — in Germany. And yeah, I throw in jokes now and then about how weird things can be here.

Maurice
And that’s not even counting the personal side. Like when I went to get my six-year-old a German passport this morning and the official was clearly confused because I spoke English the whole time.

I mean I have German passport, German parents. But my kids barely speak German, so we speak English at home. The poor official didn’t know what to make of it.

Sigrid
That’s Berlin for you — everyone’s from somewhere, and no one speaks the same language at home.

Absolutely! Here’s your **fully edited and polished second half** of the interview, seamlessly continuing from part one. I’ve kept the structure, tone, and humor consistent, added transitions for flow, and lightly trimmed where needed — just like a professional long-form feature.

Sigrid
So earlier you mentioned paying with an EC card — or rather, *not* being able to. Why is it still so hard to give people money in this country?

Maurice
Exactly! Just last month, I was at the Bürgeramt in Neukölln getting a pass for my son, and there, I could pay with a credit card. But the Bürgeramt in Lichtenberg? Nope. No cards. I had to go to a whole different office and feed cash into some random machine to pay the bill. Every office has its own rules — it’s one of those wonderfully strange things about Germany.

Andrew
I swear, this must be the only country in the world where giving people money is difficult. I used to think it was just a Berlin restaurant thing — “cash only” — but then I went to visit my daughter in Heidelberg, and it’s the same there. I’m like, *Bro, I’m literally trying to pay you. Why are you making this so hard?*

Sigrid
Honestly, I have no good answer.

Andrew
And the EC card? My bank charges me extra just to have one now. They’re being phased out in the summer.

Which, of course, means they’ll still be in use here for another 15 years.

Maurice
The other day, I saw a sign outside one of those sketchy little casinos in Tempelhof: “We accept Deutschmarks“.

Sigrid
No way! I think we need to do a whole show there and pay in actual Deutschmarks.

Andrew
Wait — did you live here back in the Deutschmark days?

Sigrid
Nope. I’m very EU. It was all euros by the time I got here.

From payments to privacy — the conversation turns to Germany’s complicated relationship with technology.

Sigrid
So, naturally, we started talking about fax machines. Why do you think Germany is so resistant to modern tech?

Andrew
It’s weird because, like 25 years ago, Germany was all about DSL, ISDN… all these techy acronyms. Siemens was still king. But then they kind of took this sharp left turn — it became all about data privacy. Now it’s like they’re afraid that if someone has your information, they can *own* you. So they back away from tech completely.

Maurice
This morning, I had to sign a letter saying a doctor could come to my kid’s kindergarten for a checkup — and that the doctor was allowed to *share* the results with the health office. Like, really? The paperwork felt like I was trying to stop the Stasi from coming back. It’s all this deep fear of dictatorship. But it doesn’t *work* like that.

Andrew
Especially since we’re all required to register our addresses here. If you’re worried about privacy, why are you literally handing the government your personal info on day one?

Maurice
And then there’s your full name printed on your doorbell — but heaven forbid someone takes a photo of you in public.

Sigrid
Or asks you a personal question. Germans are famously private — yet perfectly fine sitting naked next to their boss in a sauna.

The naked truth about spas sparks laughter and awkward visuals.

Andrew
I don’t know your boss, but now I can’t stop picturing him naked. That’s on you.

Maurice
What kind of bosses do you have, Sigrid?

Sigrid
There are company happy hours here where you can go to the spa — cheap entry, naked coworkers, maybe your manager. Totally normal.

Andrew
Comedians are just as bad. There’s a spa we all go to, and now every comedian in Berlin has seen every other comedian naked. Nobody likes it. I don’t even go anymore — I’m not a spa guy. But I now know exactly what Dave looks like naked.

Sigrid
Some places are actually now banning tourists. FKK beaches are getting picky too.

Maurice
But how do they know who’s a tourist?

Sigrid
Probably because they speak English.

Andrew
Because of how slowly you get naked. Or the fact you try to pay with a credit card.

The mood shifts back to 20 Percent Berlin and what it’s all about.

Sigrid
Before we let you go — tell us the heart of 20 Percent Berlin. What should people know?

Andrew
Twice a week, we summarize the biggest news in Berlin — in English. That’s it. It’s all about access for people who don’t speak German. We probably go too deep into local politics sometimes, but honestly, the goal is simple: give people real insight into the city they live in.

Maurice
And to be fair, a lot of Germans read us too. We even had someone tell us recently that they consider what we do to be… satire.

Andrew
Which I’ll take as a compliment. Look, German news is dry. Like, painfully dry. If I can sneak in a little humor, all the better.

Sigrid
And you balance that by talking about what you do love here.

Maurice
Yeah, it’s about things we genuinely like in Berlin. It’s not all complaints and culture shock. We live here because we want to. Right, Andrew?

Andrew
Sure. Plus, I have two kids here. So I’m stuck.

We zoom out to reflect on Germany’s resistance to change — and the psychological toll of modern uncertainty.

Sigrid
We’ve heard the term “German Burnout.” What does that mean to you?

Andrew
To me, it’s the fear of change. Germany was already pushed into massive transformation with reunification. That was enough for a lifetime. Now with global politics shifting, climate, AI — Germans are overwhelmed. They just want to hit pause in 1986 and stay there forever.

Maurice
And when things change, Germans process it *deeply*. Methodically. There’s no levity, no shrugging it off. Everything is heavy.

Andrew
I see it on trains — like when the carriage is flipped and facing the wrong way. People panic. Like, what now? What do you think is going to happen? It’s just a train.

Maurice
It’s that CDU slogan from the ’50s: *No experiments.* And maybe we’ve followed that motto a bit too long.

But in change, there’s also opportunity — especially for internationals.

Sigrid
That’s where migrants like us can step in. Most of us are used to uncertainty. We *thrive* in it. And that flexibility could actually help Germany adapt.

Andrew
Oh, you must be new here.

Sigrid
Fourteen years! But I still love being the Mexican here — being the one who changes plans, improvises, laughs too loudly. And yes, maybe takes too many shots. But I do believe we can help.

**Andrew:**
You just hit that wall every time. People saying, *“Well, we can’t change that.”* And you’re like — *why not?* Can we please just bring a *little* American efficiency? Or friendliness? Maybe even wave at strangers?

Maurice
Meanwhile, I’m on the Bahn with my two toddlers and everyone just stares. No one smiles. One out of twenty, maybe. I have no idea what they’re thinking.

Sigrid
Maybe they’re your fans?

Andrew
Or just shocked you’re parking without a permit. I once parked my car and this guy just stared at me the whole time. So I got out and said, „Na, alles klar?“ And he just went, „Ja“.

We wrap up with a surprisingly heartfelt question — what “German” trait have you adopted?

Andrew
I actually love that everything’s closed on Sundays. One day a week when you can’t shop. It forces you to slow down. I wish more countries did that.

Maurice
I’ve become a real Sparfuchs. I love a good deal now. I once got free detergent by uploading a receipt and waiting three weeks for €7 back.

Andrew
You spent more money on your time than the detergent cost!

Sigrid
Marlene, what’s your German thing?

Marlene
Definitely Abendbrot. I never liked it as a kid, but now it’s part of my life. Tonight’s actually an Abendbrot night!

Andrew
It’s brilliant. Bread, butter, pickles — done. My wife loves it when I make Abendbrot. It’s the most romantic gesture I can do.

Maurice
I don’t do Abendbrot. I cook. Also… I don’t eat bread.

Sigrid
There it is. Maurice just lost 90% of his German citizenship.

Guys, thank you both so much. Everyone, go follow *20 Percent Berlin* — you won’t regret it.

Andrew
Thanks for having us.

Maurice
It was a pleasure.