After all my complaining about finding an apartment in Berlin, it seems like everyone is moving into their home. We moved into our new place - complete with a room for our girl - almost exactly a year ago. While we were away in the States we missed two of our friend's...
The GW Expat Blog
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History and culture
How to Prep Your German Home for Long-Term Vacation
I am nearing 30-days away on my latest vacation. Well, Elternzeit (parental leave) is more accurate. We have almost 2 full months re-connecting with family in the big 'ole US of A. My American counterparts are in awe that people in Germany can take so much time off...
Brexit – notes from a Brit in Germany
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...
Staying cool in the German summertime
Summer in Germany is a humid and sweaty affair, especially down here in the landlocked south. For a pale, sea breeze loving Brit my first summer was indeed a baptism of fire. When I heard of a beautiful place where you could swim and laze away a day it seemed to be...
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)....
7 books which will help you get to know Berlin
Alongside relishing delicious tapas, sunbathing, and swimming in the sea, I spent our two-week summer holiday in Andalusia last year reading “Tales of the Alhambra” by Washington Irving. Reading relevant books for the location is something I like to do - Henry James...
A Growing German Coffee Empire: JAB Holding and Krispy Kreme
The Reimann Family Goes Out for Coffee und Doughnuts I earlier wrote about my beef with weak German coffee, so the recent news about wealthy Germans buying up Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. for about $1.35 billion caught my eye. German-owned JAB Holding Company is...
Expats at the playground – the fun of combining cultural observations
This blog post could start like a silly joke. A Yorkshire lass, a Scot, a Brazilian, and a New Yorker go with their children to the playground … But, given I'm still working on the punchline, let me provide the context. Today was beautifully sunny. The advent of...
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....
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...
Getting Ready for your Bachelor’s Degree in Germany
For many high school students in the United States, the college process begins in middle school, and all college-bound students need to get serious by the time they reach their junior year. For American students interested in continuing their studies in Germany,...
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...
Celebrities Who’ve Called Berlin Home
For the past few days the world has been in mourning. David Bowie has died. And like the rest of the world, Berlin is laying claim to its adopted son. Bowie lived in Berlin in the 1970s, departing LA and Switzerland for something altogether more hedonistic. He was...
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...
Changing places: 3 great Berlin buildings that used to be something very different (and more)
The stained glass in the grand foyer of the building where I work depicts factories and space travel, alongside striking workers and their families. On the wall in the second grandest conference room is a vast hammer and sickle mosaic. Next door, in the grandest room...
Newbies Guide to German Christmas Markets
My parents are coming to Germany for Christmas for the very first time. Sure, they've been to Germany before. They've climbed the 111 steps up to our beloved Dachgeschoss in Berlin; they've driven all over the Romantic Road, they've fallen in love with its small towns...
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