Since this post is sandwiched between Halloween and a truly terrifying presidential election in the USA, I thought this was the perfect time to go over some German superstitions, or Aberglauben. Every culture has them, but when you aren't raised around them they can...
The GW Expat Blog
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The logistics of leaving Germany
The decision to return to England, our home country, after three years in Germany took us a while to make. From the time we made the decision, it took seven months before we landed on home turf with our remaining belongings spread across eight suitcases. Although we...
A passion for adverbs
Twice this week I have been thinking about adverbs – German adverbs. Now before you start wondering what sort of dictionary-obsessive is writing this post, I must admit that the logic of German grammar was one of the aspects which first attracted me to the language...
Shopping for women’s clothes in Germany
In a few weeks, I'll be heading to a friends wedding in the UK, which means I am in search of a new outfit to wear. The prospect of this might be exciting for some people but I am not a fan of clothes shopping. In recent years I have grown tired of wandering around...
Planning holidays: Travel insurance and vaccinations in Germany
Currently, I am planning a holiday to Sri Lanka. Why would I leave Germany for a holiday with everything it has to offer? Well, northern Germany doesn't offer much Vitamin D at this time of year. There was a brief rise in temperature in February and it looked like...
The Bavarian Breakfast
A recent wave of visitors, thanks to snow topped, Glühwein filled Christmas in Germany meant that a few big breakfasts needed to be made. As much as I love the full English or the full German meat, cheese and all the bread there is usually one which is either...
Germany, you still surprise me
As a long term resident in Germany I would love to say that little surprises me anymore about life here. I know how things work. I feel at home in my adopted land. Then I have an extended stay in the UK and BAM suddenly I’m in a bambi like state of ‘what? Was this how...
City life or village life?
I get a lot of emails from potential expats asking where they should live in Germany. Is the city the place to be? or would a village be better? If I have experience in the place that they are asking for I feel able to give them a decent idea of what to expect but...
When it snows in Germany…
…the country does not grind to a halt. Granted, life is a lot colder and a good deal more slippery than usual, but snow is apparently no excuse to shut schools and businesses. Coming from a land where the mere mention of a snowflake's possible arrival is enough to...
The Top 4 German Signs you have gone from Visitor to Resident.
When you move to a new place it takes a while before you start getting the feel of belonging, the sensation that you are on some sort of vacations or just visiting takes some time to start wearing off and in my experience with Germany, this is a job that's done both...
Is It True That German Men Can’t Flirt? (Asking for a Friend…)
Not so long ago I had the chance to spend a year surrounded by a large group of twenty-somethings coming from all corners of the world, we were scattered all over Germany and every three months we had to meet up in different cities each time for week-long seminars....
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...
The Expat Crisis
There are typical crises that happen in every person’s life: the identity crisis of the teenage years, the mid-20’s crisis, and the famous midlife crisis. Of course there are also the financial crises. Sadly, it's common to have more than one of these, but they are...
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 -...
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...
Picking the Right Äpfel
Apples are one of those marvellous foods which fulfil all requirements – at once delicious, nutritious, versatile, and practical in form. Boiled eggs, though slightly more fragile, are similar. It is unsurprising then that apples form and have formed a staple part of...
Schäl Sick: Life on the Wrong Side of the Rhine
Here in Cologne, people tend to scrunch up their faces a bit when I tell them I live on the "other" side of the Rhine. And not in Deutz, close to the river and the city, but Kalk, deep into the hinterlands of the Falsche Seite. Kalk is a neighborhood with a reputation...
All Day School (Ganztagsschule)
Here in Eppelheim (near Heidelberg), there has been a lot of controversy about the new Ganztagsschule that started this school year. There had been talk of it for ages, but it finally came to fruition for this school year. However, many, many people are unhappy with...
Birthdays at Work (or the Joys of Raw Meat)
My first job here in Germany was in a publishing house (Verlag) in Freiburg, and that job was actually my first real job after college. It was certainly a different way to be indoctrinated into the world of work. It was the early nineties and it was the Schwarzwald....
Foods that are hard to find in Germany, part 2
Hyde wrote a blog about this topic last year, but here are my thoughts... I have been living in Germany most of my adult life, and for the most part, I have learned to move past the few foods that I really miss from the US and just simply live without them. I moved...
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