We found out the Brexit result at the top of mountain in Italy, the alpine hotel’s shaky internet connection making it almost impossible to read more than the headlines. Our reaction was disbelief. Like me, most people, whether Remainers or Leavers, couldn’t have...
The GW Expat Blog
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Expat issues
Lost Pets in Germany
Losing a pet is an experience I don't like to relive, but I am sharing my trauma in the hopes it will relieve your drama if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. Here's the story of how we lost our cat in Berlin - and got her back. At first, we were puzzled....
Goodbye Deutschland!
When I first came to Germany thirteen years ago, I was a nineteen year old college sophomore on my first trip outside North America. Five years ago, I returned to study for my master's degree at the University of Siegen. For much of the time since, I've thought about...
You Know You’re a Real Expat in Germany When…
A while back, someone in our Expat Forum posted a clever "You know you're in Germany when..." I happened to run across that list again recently and thought I'd use it as inspiration for today's blog entry. These brief "You know you're not in Kansas any more when..."...
3 Ways I Embarrassed Myself at the German Sauna
Don't worry guys, I brought a towel to sit (and sweat) on in the sauna, and didn't try to wear my swimsuit into the nude areas. I'm not a German sauna newbie. I've been once before. That one time was at touristy Tropical Island. I highly recommend it if you are also a...
Baedeker, German Reiselust, and vacation days
Kings and governments may err, but never Mr. Baedeker. - A.P. Herbert, in his 1929 English libretto for J. Offenbach's operetta La Vie Parisienne[1] In both German and English, the term "Baedeker" (BAY-day-ker) is synonymous with "travel guidebook" (Reiseführer)....
Relax Berlin! You Can Still get an Anmeldung
Frequently I see panicked posts from other expats. They are frantically looking for an Anmeldung Termin (registration appointment). HELP! I need an appointment for a burgeramt asap, please! What is an Anmeldung? The Anmeldung is a necessary - and usually pain-free -...
Dressing your Kid for German KiTa
When my baby started Krippe last fall I thought I was ready. I was distracted with moving apartments, loads of typical German paperwork and internet disasters. We had steeled ourselves for our baby spending time away from us for the first time. We thought we had this....
Germany’s Cash Culture: “Geld stinkt nicht”
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...
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...
The Complex Issue of Integration
I've written before about how I have been planning on becoming a mentor to a newly arrived refugee in my local community. The journey has been slow at getting started in terms of actually connecting with my mentee despite numerous thwarted efforts. Meanwhile I have...
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...
My First Karneval: On the Verge
Before Hyde sends me a message to “gently” remind me that my blog post is due today, I figured that I should get something up here. It isn’t my preferred style to just throw something up here, half-baked or half-thought through, but I realised that I'm on the "verge"...
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...
Bilingual Nagging
I continue to navigate my way as a parent of bilingual children. We extol the joys and merits of having children grow up speaking two languages -- the cognitive agility, the tendency towards more open-mindedness, and the acquisition of the language itself. The nuts...
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...
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