It's hard to tell what the weather will be like day-to-day in Berlin. You can wake up to bright sunshine, leave your Wohnung (apartment) amidst deep fog and return home to an epic downpour. Other places like Freiburg may boast more sunshine than anywhere else in the...
The GW Expat Blog
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Tips, advice, suggestions
On your bike
I knew a little in advance that I wouldn’t be driving a car in Germany when I arrived, but since I would be living in a city with good transport links and had two perfectly usable feet, I wasn’t overly concerned about being four wheels down. The one thing I was...
Housewarming Traditions in Germany
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...
A week on the farm
Like many expat families, we think we fly too much. Though some of these trips - for work - are unavoidable, the rest we do gladly to keep in touch with family and friends, whether for weddings, birthdays, or general catching up. There is, however, our annual summer...
What to Do if you Get Pregnant in Germany
When I first found out I was pregnant in Germany, I freaked out. I was married and happy, we were kinda trying but I was still terrified. I suspect I would have been apprehensive no matter where I was, but there were so many questions about how this would go in...
A Tramp Abroad: Observations of a Former Expat and Frequent Traveler in German-speaking Europe
As I find myself rediscovering many aspects of daily life in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, I can't help but think of Mark Twain, who wrote so masterfully about his travels in Germany and Europe in A Tramp Abroad (1880, translated into German as "Bummel durch...
A new wine season has started
Did you hear the klaxon? That's the sound of a new season arriving and with it all the delicious seasonal food and drink Germany has to offer. The pumpkin spiced latte has nothing on the colourful Rote Bete (beetroot), creamy sauce coated Pfifferlinge (Chanterelle...
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...
On the Road Again: Renewing my Acquaintance with the German Autobahn
Today I drove from Frankfurt am Main to Berlin, a distance of about 550 km (342 mi). Most of that drive is on the iconic German Autobahn, and the trip reminded me that German drivers can be just as bad as American drivers, only at much higher speeds. It wasn't the...
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...
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....
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..."...
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...
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 -...
Eight Essential Life Skills Learned through Studying in Germany
A few months ago, a list published by former Stanford dean Julie Lythcott-Haims started making the rounds on social media. In it, she expounds on her list of the basic skills everyone should have by age 18. Reading it, I realized that it wasn't until I started...
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...
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