Living abroad has thrown me a lot of curve balls, and never more so than when I navigated my first pregnancy in Germany. That's right - first. As in... I am having another baby in Germany! We are now 5 months in and even though I helped compile a full guide for other...
The GW Expat Blog
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History and culture
A British Weihnachten
For the past three Christmases whilst living in Germany, my partner and I have spent the big day back in the UK. They say Christmas is the time of year for family and friends, and that is where the majority of them are and so that is where we shall go. Except this...
Visitor Observations of Germany
My parents are visiting us in Berlin for their...sixth time? We are lucky that they have visited so many times and come to (grudgingly) love our city and our place in it. But even after all of these visits, there are still things that throw them off. There are still...
Lessons from new expats
Earlier this month I had a lightbulb moment. I realised that when you move to another country you really do need to put yourself out there to meet new people, make friends and widen your social activities. You're probably reading this thinking 'well, duh!' and you'd...
How not to get fined in Germany
Short answer – Don’t break the rules. Long answer – Know the rules. When moving to, or travelling in a country different from your own it is important to acquaint yourself with the basics. Ignorance is no excuse and your mistake could end up being very costly. From...
Short Trousers
One of the most interesting aspects of being an expat is when you find yourself in the eye of a culture clash storm. Last winter my, then seven-year-old, son was determined to wear shorts, whatever the weather. His avoidance of long trousers evolved gradually during...
Unhaunted Graves: Halloween, Reformation Day, and Totensonntag
"The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living." - Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman writer, politician and orator "Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them." - George Eliot NOTE: This post has been updated for 2022! Although...
Turkish Markets in Germany
Berlin’s grocery stores can be a chaotic introduction to life in Germany. Discounters like Aldi and Lidl skimp on presentation for bargain-basement prices. Fancier chains like Rewe and Edeka have recently upped their games with fancy salad bars, fresh sushi, and even...
How to spend an autumn in Germany
We've experienced an amazing summer season in Northern Germany. The high temperatures continued for weeks resulting in lots of evenings spent by the Bürgerpark lake swimming and having BBQs, many glorious days lazing in the park and a long rain-free weekend camping at...
The 5 Questions I Always Get Asked About Germany
I have been slowly transitioning from my homeland to Germany, with baby steps that started with holidays a couple of years ago and evolved every time I came back getting more and more permanent. This means I have had the chance to come to Germany and then go back to...
How to Pay Berlin Transport Fines
When I first arrived in Berlin I scrapped by, stretching one ticket to its full 2-hour limit. Then I learned the wonders of the 4 ticket (4-Fahrten-Karte) which offered slight discounts by buying 4 at a time. Finally, I caved and bought the 10-am ticket which offers a...
Finding greeting cards in Germany
Valentines cards, anniversary cards, confirmation day cards, get well soon cards. In the UK there seems to be a folded piece of decorated card available to send to a recipient and recognise any and every occasion. The public invests in to whatever the greeting card...
Uber’s Very Bumpy Road in Germany
Ride-Hailing Services in Germany: From Allygator to Uber Is the Uber ride-hailing service available in Germany? The German answer to that question is jein – yes and no. Although Uber is completely banned in several European countries, it's not entirely missing in...
More German Everyday Expressions You’ll Never Learn in School but Will Help You Blend in
Trying not to sound excessively formal in a foreign language requires practice and attention. It can happen that in your aim to sound colloquial you will pick up words and phrases that you think are everyday material you can use with your colleagues at work, in a...
Top five summer music festivals in Germany
Whilst living in Germany, we've developed a bucket list of things we'd like to do whilst here. One activity on our list was to go to a music festival in Germany to see what it is like and how it compares to those back home in the UK. The first step was choosing which...
German Everyday Expressions You’ll Never Learn in School But Will Help You Blend in
As every other responsible expat that moves to Germany with the intention of making of Goethe’s land their new home I briefly attended formal German lessons at my arrival. The teacher was nice, some of the people I met there were overly nice (if you know what I mean)...
German Salad
When you think of German cuisine, you usually think of Wurst (sausage), mountains of Kartoffeln (potatoes), and liters of Bier (I mean, c'mon. "beer"). Rightfully so. Those things are delicious and make up a good portion of the German diet. But that's not all... The...
Zeugnistag (Report Card Day)
School was out for the summer last week in Berlin. For most school children and their parents the very last day of the school term was much anticipated not just because of the ensuing weeks of freedom but also because it was Zeugnistag (report card day). The process...
Engaged in Germany
Recently I got engaged whilst on holiday in Japan. I spoke about my great passion for the country in 'Konichiwa Germany' but missed out this very special part. Most people would say how romantic (it was!) but I questioned my fiancé's intentions. No, he wasn't asking...
What’s “Karlsruhe” and why is it in the news the whole time?
If you happen to watch German TV or read German newspapers or simply follow German news, you know that more often than not, notices either begin or end with words along the lines of "Karlsruhe will give an answer by the end of next week" or "meanwhile Karlsruhe will...
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