Last month I met my parents in Iceland for a week of travel and an epic reunion. We hadn’t seen each other in over two years; since my 2-year-old was a baby, since we used to travel, since Corona was just a beer you drank on Cinco de Mayo. At the end of June 2021,...
The GW Expat Blog
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Travel and transportation
Traveling to Germany in Covid Times: What You Need to Know
Before You Go If you, like me, have been champing at the bit, eager to once again fly to Germany from the USA, it is now possible. While we don't currently have truly ideal conditions, US-Americans are now taking long-haul flights across the Atlantic and landing in...
The Matterhorn and Zermatt: What You May Not Know About the World’s Most Iconic Mountain
Berg der Berge (Mountain of Mountains) Let's start in Zermatt, a city without combustion-engine autos (to preserve its pure mountain air). Electric-powered shuttles provide local transport. Most visitors reach Zermatt via the cog railway from the nearby town of Täsch....
48 Hours in Leipzig
After over a year and half of going no further than Brandenburg, we had to get out. It was time to travel. But still only half vaccinated and with most places partially shut down we didn’t want to go too far. So we decided on a weekend trip to Leipzig. We had visited...
Why Does Berlin (BER) Have So Few International Long-Haul Flights?
Why is Berlin such an international flight provincial backwater? For a major European capital city, Berlin has very few international nonstop flights. Long-haul flights to and from other continents are a rarity in Berlin, Germany's largest city by far. (The Berlin...
Is Christmas 2020 Canceled in Germany?
If you have ever been in Germany at Weihnachten (Christmas), you know it is a magical time. Christmas markets bring people together, the glühwein flows, the smell of Gebrannte Mandeln is everywhere, and Germans are at their jolliest. It is also a Coronavirus...
A Tale of Two Airports: From TXL to BER
Berlin Gets a (Fairly) New Airport It finally happened on the last day of October 2020 (Halloween!). It was a long wait, but despite scandals, false starts, huge budget overruns, and a major black mark against vaunted German efficiency, Berlin Brandenburg Airport...
Thomas Jefferson’s German Connections
Jefferson's European Education In 1788, while serving as an American diplomat in Paris, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) spent two weeks on the road for an unofficial private journey along the Rhine. In my article, Germany’s Route 66: A Road Trip on Bundesstraße 3, I...
Day Trips from Berlin that Deserve More Love
COVID-19 has changed a lot of things. Some things suddenly and drastically, while more changes are sure to continue happening for the foreseeable future. Life is different than it used to be just a few months ago. I am doing my best - like so many of us - to embrace...
Who invented the bicycle? The German connection
"Bicycle" in German: das Fahrrad and das Velo The bicycle is one of those everyday things we take for granted. Almost everyone as a child learns to ride a bike (trainer wheels with mom or dad as coach). I grew up riding various Schwinn bicycles (more on that below)...
Walt Disney’s European Tour in 1935: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
The Nazi Rumors and Disney Over the years, at various times, Walt Disney's been labeled anti-Semitic, a Nazi sympathizer, and a racist. When Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003) visited Hollywood to promote her Olympia film in 1938, Walt Disney was the rare exception of a...
The Baltic Sea and the German Riviera
Germany's Baltic Resorts and Attractions You've heard of the French Riviera, the Italian Riviera, and maybe even the Mayan Riviera of Mexico, but how about the German Riviera? Although Germany has no Mediterranean Sea coast it does have coasts on two seas: the North...
Dreaming of a Move to the Netherlands
I have heard this period between Christmas and New Years described as Zwischen den Jahren, or "between the years". It is a quiet time where Germans spend quality time with friends and loved ones, chatting and drinking and eating at homes as many restaurants and shops...
Long-Haul Flights With Kids
I am in the midst of my third trip back to the USA with kids. Along with questions about jet lag and reverse culture shock, one of the questions I always get is about taking kids - particularly a baby - on a long-haul flight. And it is a flight. I live in Berlin with...
Flying Across the Atlantic for Less
Bargain Flights Between North America and Europe Whether you're an expat in Germany looking for a bargain flight for a visit to North America, or a tourist looking for a good deal on a flight to Europe, there are tricks and tactics you need to know in order to save...
Germany’s Bicycle Autobahns and the Battle Between Cyclists and Pedestrians
I don't think there's a German over the age of five or six who doesn't know how to ride a bike. Seeing an 80-year-old German lady zipping along on her bike is nothing unusual in Germany. I have witnessed rush hour in the small town of Burghausen, Bavaria, which means...
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...
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...
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