Discussing expat life in German-speaking Europe


Posts tagged Geoff

Make Prosperity, Not War

Nov02
2009 Written by galitz

For Americans that grew up during the Cold War (like me) or are interested in modern history, coming to Germany can be an eye opening experience.  I’m not talking about the events of the Cold War itself, but the fact that so many threats that we were told about as children are now so much closer.  

Russian tanks? Less than one day from my house.  Rogue nuclear nations?  Half the distance from me as from the shores of the US.  Wars in the Middle East and Central Asia?   Why… those can be just a car ride away! 

READ MORE »

Posted in Expat issues - Tagged , ,

The German Election

Oct06
2009 Written by galitz

The national elections have passed. It is big, though not exciting news. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) have enough votes to form a coalition government. The American press is representing this as evidence of a trend of European politics moving to the Center-Right portion of the political spectrum, I am not so convinced.

READ MORE »

Posted in Miscellaneous, The euro and money matters, Work and employment matters - Tagged , , , , ,

An Oversimplified (Personal) History of Pilsner Beers

Sep07
2009 Written by galitz

Like most Americans, my first exposure to German beer was to one of those mass produced brews designed for good shelf life and consistency… not necessarily for flavor or quality. Being lucky enough to have been living in San Francisco at the time, I was exposed to a variety of better beers than that.

Microbreweries were (and still are) everywhere. A world of bocks, porters and stouts was where I lived predominantly. From time to time, however, I ventured into the lighter side of things… pilsners.

READ MORE »

Posted in Expat issues, History and culture, Miscellaneous - Tagged , ,

Where a House is a Home

Aug10
2009 Written by galitz

I’ve been living in Germany for about two years now. I knew things would be different here, but how things would be different was a big question mark. Although I had visited Germany a few times before, living here is a whole different ball game… as we Americans like to say.
READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues - Tagged , , ,

Expatriate Eating Adventures 3

Jul14
2009 Written by galitz

I’m a little late with this post because I was on the road this week. I spent a few days in Osnabrück near Hannover. This region is quite unlike the agricultural region where I live. Osnabrück and the surrounding cities are much more modern and integrated into the international economy. As such, they have people from all over the world… if you count North Americans and British people as “all over the world.”

READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , , ,

Furry Love Part 2

Jun15
2009 Written by galitz

The big day had come. We were nervous. My wife was busy cleaning. The house was spotless, which is certainly not normal for us. Cleaning was something that we both hate doing. We had all the windows open to air out the place, even though it was only about 60 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside.

Frau X was sitting at our kitchen table. She was wearing a black sweater and faux pearl necklace to go along with her black rimmed glasses. Her perfume wafted through the kitchen. A big folder of papers sat in front of her, not unlike that big book that often sits in front of a preacher during a sermon. Our file was in that stack somewhere.

READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, Miscellaneous - Tagged , , ,

Furry Love

May18
2009 Written by galitz

She was about 5’6, of slight build, dark hair, black plastic rimmed glasses. She spoke English pretty well but spoke German to me as a matter of principle. The only visible clue about her visit to our home were the papers she was clutching. Otherwise she could have been any visitor. We’ll call her Frau X.

READ MORE »

Posted in Expat issues, Red tape and bureaucracy, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , ,

Where My House is My Home

Apr21
2009 Written by galitz

Germany, like many expats, is seemingly caught between two worlds. Globalization and the new capitalism on one side with tradition and democratic socialism on the other. I am not going to write about capitalism vs. socialism, particularly… this is about how Germans treat the idea of home, but these things often spill over into politics and economics. I’ll do my best to steer away from those since they’ll just distract us.

Over the past few years Germany has been making the transition from traditional Continental European nation to a globalization convert. This means that certain old ways of looking at the world have been evolving. This is (sometimes painfully) clear with the global real estate and economic crisis.

READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture, The euro and money matters, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , ,

The Expat Trap

Apr02
2009 Written by galitz

I’ve been living in Germany for about two years. From time to time I meet up with other English speakers in cafes or restaurants just to get that “fix” of speaking my native tongue at full speed complete with cultural references and a chance to drop my guard. Being in a foreign culture you tend to be guarded with respect to things you say and expect simply because people behave so differently in your host country.

In the time that I’ve been here, I’ve noticed something. Generally speaking, there are two types of expats. Integrated or potentially integrated are the first type. The second type are the non-integrated. The first group are difficult to pick out of crowd, by their very nature of blending into their host society.

READ MORE »

Posted in Expat issues, German language, History and culture, learning German, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , ,

Expatriate Eating Adventures: Volume 1

Mar14
2009 Written by galitz

Food, food culture and cooking has always been important to me. All three of those things are hobbies of mine. By extension I am also interested in matters of health when related directly to food and cooking.  

So my move to Germany a few years ago was, in part, an opportunity to dive head-first into a new culinary world. Americans commonly complain that there is no culture back in our homeland. Spending a few rainy afternoons craving everything from macaroni and cheese to burritos to BBQ to a good old fashioned Thanksgiving turkey dinner will correct that notion.

You don’t have to like it, but it is tradition.

Food and how we approach it is part and parcel of who we are. In this case my expectations as an amateur chef in the New California school of cooking was a big part of my identity. It formed the basis of what I cooked with, how I felt about certain cooking methods and ingredients, how I felt about certain restaurants and cafes (*cough* Starbucks) and basically meant that I was a hardcore food snob. More to the point, I was a food snob of Russian-Jewish background. That meant pork was automatically on the blacklist, except for bacon which we all know was accidentally made part of the pig as an administrative error by God’s underlings. So bacon was OK. And cheeseburgers. Clams are good too… well, I was never all that religious, anyways. READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture - Tagged , ,
← Older Entries Newer Entries →

The German Way and More

International Electronics

International Video & Electronics
Voltage Converter
MultiSystem TV - Region-Free DVD Player
PAL to NTSC Video Converter
www.220-electronics.com

Expat Women

Expat Women - Inspiring Your Success Abroad

Kalender

May 2012
M T W T F S S
« Apr    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

Archives

Blog and website Copyright © 2012 Hyde Flippo