In Germany, Cash is King North Americans are often frustrated by the lack of credit card acceptance in Germany. Americans and Canadians, so used to paying with plastic, are dismayed to discover that once they stray from the tourist circuit, their AmEx, MasterCard, or...
The GW Expat Blog
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Daily life
Going to the Cinema in Cologne for English-Speaking Expats
Even if you've been living in German for 30 years and haven't spoken a word of English in 20, it still feels good to catch a non-dubbed version of a recent release in the theater. Last summer, during a 3 week holiday to Berlin, I spent about half of my time in the...
VPNs and Netflix – or What German TV You Should Be Watching
Prelude: I was all prepared to write something light - yet close to my heart - about TV. That was the topic of my first German Way post and pertinent as recent changes with Netflix have made watching American TV in Germany much more difficult (details to follow). But...
Becoming seahorses: otherwise known as swimming lessons
Yesterday our children - both aged five and a half - had their first swimming lesson. That is more than I ever had: I love to swim but have little recollection of ever having learned how to do it. Until now we have relied on holidays to sunny places with nearby pools...
Food at German Schools
Every morning I scramble around our kitchen, looking for appropriate snacks for a 15-month-old. Cucumber? I think she is eating that lately. German roll, or rice cake? Blueberries are always a yes. Is Würstchen trying too hard? Blearily, I stash these goods in her...
From Smoke Detectors to Electric Cars: New and Revised Laws in Germany for 2016
Sometimes it's surprising how a modern nation like Germany can lag behind in certain areas. A good example from the past is smoking. While the US and many other countries long ago banned smoking in restaurants, the workplace, and other public areas, Germany was slow...
5 points of etiquette for sledging in Berlin
Snow, glorious snow. At last, winter arrived in Berlin and the streets were paved with white. That was two weeks ago - after an unseasonably warm December, the temperatures dropped and it snowed - for a day or two at least. Then it warmed up again and everything...
Landeskunde for Expats
What is "Germany"? When most English-speaking people think of Germany, images of lederhosen, the Alps, Neuschwanstein Castle (the "Disney castle"), and Oktoberfest are probably the first things that pop into their heads. Of course all of those things are Bavarian, not...
Döner Kebab and Deutschland
While on a recent college visit with some students from the US, the topic of German food came up. We'd already experienced many culinary delicacies on our way, and they wanted to know what my favorite was. One mainstay came quickly to mind: Döner Kebab. This got quite...
Learning to Hate Deutsche Telekom
I had no strong feelings about German internet providers. Sure, I love TV and the internet, but how it got to me was of no concern. That is, til Deutsche Telekom screwed us over. First, the good news. We have a new apartment! After months (and months) of searching for...
Flying the German Way: Landing Applause
When, if ever, is the "landing clap" justified? As I write this I'm on a cruise ship just off the Pacific coast of Mexico. That's a bit ironic because (a) there are about a hundred German tourists on board our Mexico-bound vessel, and (b) I'm writing about flying and...
Schäl Sick: Life on the Wrong Side of the Rhine
Here in Cologne, people tend to scrunch up their faces a bit when I tell them I live on the "other" side of the Rhine. And not in Deutz, close to the river and the city, but Kalk, deep into the hinterlands of the Falsche Seite. Kalk is a neighborhood with a reputation...
Berlin Tip: Grand Opening of the Pfefferberg Theater Berlin
When I first came to Berlin in 2002, Pfefferberg was just about the coolest place I'd ever been to. Sitting out under the stars in the Berlin summer, drinking a good German beer, and listening to live music was for me the absolute height of sophistication. On the way...
Preparing your Child for Preschool in Germany
Do Germans have a saying for "When it rains, it pours"? After months (and months) of house hunting we finally got a place, only to be offered another Wohnung right after that. Now we just need to find a Nachmieter (a renter to take over our current lease), move, clean...
Englischunterricht: English Class in German Schools
Your child is a native English-speaker in the German school system. So now what? Many of us expats are raising our kids multilingually. In many of these cases, our children are native English-speakers. We've been told that this is a great thing to do, and I for one...
Airbnb in Germany: The Debate Continues
Every year, millions of tourists flock to Germany, a number that has been increasing year over year for over a decade. Most choose to stay in traditional forms of accommodation, but an increasing number are renting rooms directly from locals through websites like...
In Case of an Emergency
Accidents happen. Unfortunately one happened to a child of mine under the watch of an au pair whose redeeming characteristics became harder and harder to appreciate as the weeks of her time with us went by. Rima, the tourism and gastronomy student from Kyrgyzstan...
How much does it cost to study in Germany, really?
When I speak to students and parents about the prospect of completing a degree in Germany, the question that invariably comes up is,"Ok, there's no tuition, but how much does it really cost?" The answer is a bit complicated, but it largely depends on where you study...
Swimming in Germany
It's summer time and those of us in Germany have just emerged from an intense week of record breaking heat (40 degrees C/104.5 degrees F). What to do in this heat in an air condition-less country? Hit the water. While dipping your feet into that water might be all you...
Babysitting in Germany
It was not that long ago that the concept of babysitting (das Babysitten/Babysitting; Kinderhüten is the old-fashioned term) was little-known in the German-speaking world. When it did happen, it was usually Oma, a neighbor, or one of the older children watching over...
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