It was always going to be a sad day at the kiosk next to the U-Bahn station in the Nassauer Straße, with Friday, 14th December, 2012 being the last day of business for the kiosk before it finally closed for good.

With the shelves slowly becoming empty, many of the regular customers had turned up to spend a last evening there with a cup of coffee or a mug of mulled wine.

Much of the conversation going on concerned the future of the kiosk – or lack of it – and in particular the “Bürgerbegehren” that has been started this week.

A “Bürgerbegehren” is a petition to held a referendum on something, and there are strict rules on how to carry one out. [Read more…]