Signing you in...

Please wait while we verify your authentication

How-to guide

How to Get Berlin News and Events in English — Every Morning, in Your Inbox

Published July 3, 2026

You're squinting at a Tagesspiegel headline on the U8, running it through a translator, wondering whether it's about your rent. That's the Berlin expat deal: the news that changes your life here is written in a language you're still learning.

Good news — this one has a two-minute fix! 😊 The first edition is free, and tomorrow morning the local news lands in your inbox — in English.

In this guide, I'll show you how to set that up with MorningMail — which I built. I'm a German developer, so the promise is literal: I read the German press so you don't have to. Well — actually, the AI does.

So, let's dive in — it's really easy!

Try it yourself — your first edition is free →

What you'll build

How to Get Berlin News and Events in English — Every Morning, in Your Inbox — Berlin · Local digest

Here's the trick: the brief is written in the language of your prompt. Keep your instruction in English, and every morning the agent reads Tagesspiegel, RBB24 and berlin.de in German — and writes you a short memo in English. Not machine-translated headlines; a real email, composed for you, with the original outlet linked under every claim.

And I do mean writes. The agent isn't forwarding whatever matched a keyword — it searches fresh every morning, reads what happened in Berlin overnight, throws away the noise, and composes a few tight paragraphs.

You choose the mix, too. Flat-hunting? Two-thirds housing and transport, one cultural pick at the end. Here for the other Berlin? Openings and events first, Senate politics only when it hits your Kiez. A newsletter serves its whole mailing list; your prompt serves exactly one reader.

See it live: the latest edition

So here's a real example. This is the edition from August 28, 2026 of exactly this newsletter — written by the agent that morning, based on the example prompt from this guide. Not a mockup: I run it myself on MorningMail.

Edition from August 28, 2026

Berlin · Local digest
Friday, August 28, 2026
Berlin · Local digest

Karstadt becomes mixed-use quarter, Podolski's döner delayed again

1 min read

Karstadt Müllerstraße conversion

Berlin's empty Karstadt finally has a plan—and it's not a department store.

Mitte district and the property owner have unveiled a mixed-use scheme for the shuttered Kaufhaus, vacant since January 2024. The ground floors will host open-plan retail (no locked shop doors), while upper stories bring offices, workshops, and labs [Quelle: Tagesspiegel]. The headline move: a three-story rooftop addition housing 60 new apartments, complete with green gardens and solar panels, plus a courtyard building for youth services.

Construction starts Q4 2028—if zoning changes pass.

Podolski's döner shop delayed

Lukas Podolski's Berlin döner is late again.

The ex-footballer's Mangal Döner at Alexanderplatz now opens end-of-year, pushed from its original spring/summer 2026 window [Quelle: Berliner Kurier]. Kaufland operates the space in the Karl-Liebknecht-Straße complex and is partnering with Mangal. Podolski's last Berlin venture—a Kreuzberg location—folded after a few months in 2024.

Third attempt's the charm?

Sources
Pläne für leer stehendes Kaufhaus: Kein Karstadt-Comeback an der ...
Pläne für leer stehendes Kaufhaus: Kein Karstadt-Comeback an der ...
6 hours ago ... Gothe hätte sich zwar mehr Wohnungen gewünscht, aber das neue Konzept sei insgesamt sehr positiv für die Nachbarschaft. ... Berliner warten bis zu vier ...
tagesspiegel.de
AI Summary

Der Bezirk Mitte hat mit der Eigentümerin und beteiligten Architekten ein neues Konzept für das seit Januar 2024 leerstehende Karstadt-Gebäude an der Müllerstraße präsentiert. Eine Wiedereröffnung des Kaufhauses wird es nicht geben, wie Bezirksstadtrat Ephraim Gothe (SPD) dem Tagesspiegel mitteilte. Stattdessen ist ein Mix aus Einzelhandel, Gewerbe, Büros, Wohnungen und Räumen für soziale Zwecke geplant. Auf das Dach kommt ein dreigeschossiger Aufbau mit 60 neuen Wohnungen, dazu grüne Dachgärten und Photovoltaikanlagen. Im Innenhof ist ein Neubau für soziale Einrichtungen geplant, möglicherweise für die Jugendbeteuung durch das Jugendamt. Der Einzelhandel wird sich auf Untergeschoss und Erdgeschoss konzentrieren, wo verschiedene Einzelhändler offene Flächen nutzen statt abgeschlossener Shops. In den oberen Stockwerken sollen Büros, Handwerksbetriebe und Labore einziehen. Ein Anbau wird zudem Cafés und Restaurants beherbergen. Der Umbau erfordert eine Änderung des Bebauungsplans, der bislang die Nutzung als Kaufhaus vorschreibt. Als möglicher Baubeginn ist das vierte Quartal 2028 angepeilt. (Tagesspiegel)

Visit source
Warten statt Döner: Lukas Podolski verschiebt Berlin-Eröffnung erneut
Warten statt Döner: Lukas Podolski verschiebt Berlin-Eröffnung erneut
8 hours ago ... In Berlin reichte das (noch) nicht. Einfach dürfte es für Podolski in der deutschen Hauptstadt nicht werden. In der Döner-Metropole soll es mehr als 1500 Läden ...
berliner-kurier.de
AI Summary

Ex-Fußball-Nationalspieler Lukas Podolski eröffnet seinen Mangal-Döner am Alexanderplatz in Berlin-Mitte nun Ende 2024. Die Filiale sollte ursprünglich im Frühjahr beziehungsweise Sommer 2026 öffnen. Kaufland betreibt die Filiale im Gebäudekomplex an der Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 13 und kooperiert mit Mangal Döner. Podolski hatte seinen ersten Anlauf in Berlin 2024 bereits gescheitert: Der Döner am Kottbusser Damm in Kreuzberg schloss nach wenigen Monaten wieder. Quelle: Berliner Kurier.

Visit source
Compiled overnight by MorningMail.aiDelivered at 07:00
Take this newsletter into your library

One click creates your own editable copy — change the prompt, the delivery time, everything.

Browse all editions →

You could get this general version into your inbox right now — and then fine-tune it to your very specific needs. Here's how to do it:

Step by step: from zero to your first edition

The whole setup takes about two minutes. And every screenshot below comes straight from the real product — nothing is mocked up.

  1. Step 1 Open morningmail.ai

    No account yet, nothing to install — the landing page IS where you compose. A friendly press robot introduces itself above one big input, and the paper you're about to fill sits waiting on the right.

    Open morningmail.ai
  2. Step 2 Type your topic: Berlin

    Type Berlin into that one input. There is nothing to pick and no form to fill — as you type, a draft section forms on the paper beside you, carrying your topic in a tinted badge and the quiet prompt "↵ Enter adds it".

    Type your topic: Berlin
  3. Step 3 Press Enter — and read what the agent was told

    Type Berlin into the one big input on morningmail.ai and press Enter. A place name is recognised as local news, so the section lands with the blue local badge, a suggested headline and an Assignment already written around your city: council decisions, transport, housing and openings around Berlin — the things that change an ordinary day, with the local outlet named. You read all of that before you've made an account.

    Then bend it toward your actual life here — it's just text, and it's yours. Click the Assignment and rewrite it, or tap one of the five tweaks under it to append a line; "+ name sources" earns its keep when the sources are German. My favourite addition is one sentence: "On Fridays, include a weekend preview with three events in Neukölln or Kreuzberg, with ticket links." Once the template exists, its weekday chips can even turn that into a separate Friday-only email alongside — or instead of — the daily one.

    Press Enter — and read what the agent was told
    The exact prompt your section starts with
    Council decisions, transport, housing and openings around Berlin — the things that change an ordinary day, with the local outlet named.
  4. Step 4 Send your free first edition

    Happy with the paper? Hit "Send my free first edition". The sign-up appears right there — the paper never leaves the screen — and asks the only thing it still needs: where to send it. Email and password, or Google. No card, and the first edition is free.

    Send your free first edition
  5. Step 5 Watch it being written

    Now the desk goes to work in front of you: working out what to look for, searching the web, reading the best sources, writing your section, composing a subject line, handing it to the post. A minute or two later: "It's in your inbox."

    Watch it being written
  6. Step 6 Afterwards: the time, the days, the readers

    Everything else lives in the builder, once you have a paper to tune. Set the delivery time (07:00 by default) and which weekdays it runs, add readers — up to 100 — and add more topics the same way you added the first: by typing. Nothing here needs deciding on day one.

    Afterwards: the time, the days, the readers

Get more out of your brief

Write the prompt in English — that's what makes the brief English
The agent answers in the language of its instructions: English prompt in, English brief out — even though the sources are German. If you're learning German, flip it and get a daily reading exercise about your own city.
Name your Kiez, not just the city
"Berlin" is 3.9 million people's news. One added sentence — "I live in Wedding; prioritise anything affecting Wedding and Gesundbrunnen" — turns a city digest into your street's briefing. Keep one slot for city-wide Senate decisions anyway.
Make Friday a weekend-preview edition
Templates have weekday chips, so a brief doesn't have to be daily. My favourite setup: short editions Monday to Thursday, then a Friday edition that leads with three concrete weekend events and where to get tickets.
Ask for the sky in the Assignment
Berlin plans live and die by the weather: Tempelhofer Feld in July, a backup museum in November. Add a line to the Assignment — "open with the day's forecast in one sentence, then the events" — and it arrives inside the same brief, no second app.
Share it with your flatmates or partner
Templates support multiple recipients, so one brief can land in your whole WG's inboxes — useful when the news is "our street is closed for eight weeks." You can also publish a section to the public community gallery for other Berlin expats to subscribe to.

Good sources to anchor your brief on

The agent searches the open web every morning and cites where it read things. These are the sources I'd point it at in your prompt:

  • Der Tagesspiegel — Berlin's paper of record for Senate politics, housing and transport. Much of it is paywalled and all of it is German — your brief distils it into English and links the originals.
  • RBB24 — The public broadcaster's news portal and the fastest reliable source for breaking Berlin news: BVG and S-Bahn disruptions, weather warnings, court decisions. Free to read, German only.
  • berlin.de — The city's official portal: Bürgeramt services, public notices, construction announcements and the administration's own event calendar. Authoritative but written by bureaucrats — exactly what you want summarised for you.
  • Exberliner — Berlin's long-running English-language magazine — strong on culture, food and the expat perspective. It comes out monthly; your daily brief covers the news between issues.
  • The Berliner — English-language city magazine with openings, exhibitions and city-life features. Great for depth once your brief has flagged what's worth your weekend.
  • Resident Advisor — The definitive listing for Berlin's club and electronic-music scene. If your prompt asks for nightlife, this is where the agent finds what's actually on — with ticket links.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to speak German?
Honestly — no. That's the whole point of this setup: the agent reads Tagesspiegel and RBB24 in German, and your brief arrives in English because your prompt is written in English. The linked originals are usually German; your browser's translator covers the occasional deep-dive.
What does it cost?
Your first edition is completely free, no credit card required. After that, sending runs on credits: each section costs a few credits depending on its AI model tier, and credits never expire. A short daily Berlin brief costs a few credits per morning; a Friday-only edition even less.
Can I get only weekend tips instead of daily news?
Yes — templates have selectable weekday chips. Schedule the email for Fridays only and point the prompt at a weekend preview: three events, ticket links, one rainy-day backup. Daily and weekly work equally well.
How is this different from an expat newsletter?
I read Exberliner too — but a newsletter is one editor's selection for thousands of readers. Your brief is written for exactly one: the agent searches fresh every morning and follows your instruction — your Kiez, your mix of housing versus events, your language. When your interests change, you edit a sentence, not your subscriptions.
Can I change what the brief covers later?
Any time — the prompt stays yours. Too heavy on Senate politics? Tell it to lead with openings. Missed a transport story that wrecked your commute? Add "always include BVG and S-Bahn changes affecting Neukölln." The agent re-reads its instructions every morning, so corrections apply from the next edition.

Your inbox, your editor

Build your own AI-written brief in two minutes. The first edition is on me — no credit card required.

Build your brief — free

I am always happy to answer questions and I'm open to feedback. Feel free to reach out at any time: marius@morningmail.ai