November: The Mourning Month and Its Fateful Dates The first two days of November are significant in the Christian religious calendar. November 1 is All Saints Day (Allerheiligen). November 2 is All Souls Day (Allerseelen). In Germany, most of Europe, and all over the...
The GW Expat Blog
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History and culture
The bridge to a longer holiday
At 8am on a Sunday, walking my dog here can feel like a scene from a zombie apocalypse film. Not that the maybe two people I will pass look ghastly and likely to want to eat my brains, just that there is an eerie quiet that descends on the village on Sunday. As...
The Good and Fearless Samaritan
I come from Mexico, a place where social initiatives are not that big a thing, mainly because a great deal of the population has barely enough resources to keep their own heads afloat, but also because its mindset is infected with corruption and a cheating culture...
Berlin Nuts
Without much of a summer, it was like I turned around and it was fall. Luckily, I love fall. Adore. It is my favorite season. But is was still shocking to see the trees suddenly aflame in orange and red. Walking became difficult as the ground was bumpily carpeted in...
On the campaign trail
In case you missed it, there was a general election last week in Germany. Receiving most of the international media coverage was, understandably, the fact that the AfD (Alternativ für Deutschland) won just under 13% of the popular vote, making them the third strongest...
Pumpkins are here, and not just for Halloween
Pumpkin Time It's pumpkin time (Kürbiszeit) once again in Germany. Among other things, that means pumpkin items are again on the menu. This post has been UPDATED for 2024. I love food. In my opinion all the best people do. I look forward to trying new dishes and...
Potty Training in Germany
I've talked about raising a child in Germany and I've talked about toilets. Now these two things have combined as I attempt to potty train in Germany. Give me strength. History of Potty Training in Germany Germany has an interesting history with potty training and -...
Goethe and Schiller in San Francisco
German Culture at the "Goldenen Thor" During a recent visit to San Francisco I got a surprising reminder of how truly widespread and important German culture once was in the United States – before two world wars drastically changed the role it played in America. My...
Fitting in at festival time
The summer is almost over here in Germany. The weather is still warm but lacks the intensity of mid summer, sun kissed families are returning from their adventures abroad, small businesses are reopening and pumpkins are already ripening in the fields. Autumn is most...
Bremen in Summer
Having passed my first year in Bremen, I feel qualified to say summer in the city is the best season to visit. Amongst the numerous festivals taking place, Breminale stands out. For five days in July the banks of River Weser are lined with open-air tents with music...
Summer holidays: a postcard from England
As every summer, we are holidaying in the north of England, where compared to Berlin the days are cooler and the evenings longer. I should be used to it because this is where I grew up and it has the unpredictable (or all too predictable) summer climate of my...
Exercise and wine? Count me in!
Germany has many compound words. Plenty translate easily and quite literally like Der Handschuh (hand shoes or rather gloves) and bittersuß (bittersweet). So when I came across a sign that featured the word Weinwanderung (wine ramble/walk), two of my all time...
German and Austrian Pioneers in LGBTQ Rights
Update: This post was last updated in April 2023 to reflect new laws and to add information for Switzerland. Although we tend to think of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) rights movement as a modern, fairly recent phenomenon, the advocacy of...
Half-Timbered Germany
Having grown up on musicals and fairy tales I had a picture in my head of what countries like Germany, Austria and Switzerland would look like. There would be cobbled streets, half timbered houses and castles around every corner. My first visit to Hamburg on a school...
What’s in Your German Basement?
Don't worry - this is nothing to do with Josef Fritzl...although mentions of basements seem to bring up that imagery. (To be fair, Fritzl was from Austria like another infamous German speaker). This post is about the German basements (Keller or Souterrain or...
Red Bull and the Richest Man in Austria
According to the Forbes annual tally, there were seven billionaires in Austria in 2016. (Only one of them female.) Dietrich "Didi" Mateschitz (1944-2022) was at the top of that list – the wealthiest person in Austria before his death on 22 October 2022 at the age of...
Summer: an ongoing Berlin love affair
It always comes upon you suddenly, the Berlin summer. One day you’re shivering in your down coat at the playground, lamenting with friends how it is already May but barely 10 degrees celsius. The next day you’re sweating in your shirtsleeves, the powerful sun beating...
A smashing good time at a Polterabend
With the warm weather along comes another season, wedding season. The Rathaus (Town Hall) has been steadily getting busier the last few weeks; on Fridays and Saturdays the city steps are filled with heart shaped balloons, Sekt and brides. All German weddings having to...
Days for the Frauen and Männer
Holiday Alert! It is Muttertag (Mother's Day) this Sunday which means elegant brunches and bundles of flowers - no matter which side of the pond you are on. Mother's Day in Germany But the history of the holiday in Germany, Switzerland and Austria has a unique...
Austria and Germany: Worlds Apart
Billy Wilder (1906-2002), the noted Austrian-American film director (Double Indemnity, Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot), as famous as he was, used to complain about how he was frequently misidentified as German. Americans often get Austria and Germany mixed up. Sometimes...
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