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The Great German Bake Off

by | Oct 9, 2017 | , | 0 Comments

Before coming to Germany I thought I was a fairly good at baking. Lemon drizzle cake, raspberry muffins, carrot cake, treacle tart, no problem. I’m not claiming to be Mary Berry (British baking legend), but I could confidently walk in to the office knowing my baked goods would go down a treat. However, that confidence was soon rocked on my first attempt at baking in Germany.

Success! The sticky toffee cake as mentioned PHOTO: Sarah E

I find baking quite therapeutic so setting out to make some cupcakes for my partners colleagues was going to be the perfect activity to remedy the stress of moving countries. But I soon learnt that it wasn’t going to be as straightforward as I thought. The first hurdle is to tackle the baking aisle at the supermarket and the hundred and one flours available. The choice is great but when you just want a self-raising flour, think again. After much internet searching I discovered self-raising flour doesn’t exist here, so it’s a case of getting plain flour and adding baking powder. I find that Type 405 flour is the best option then add the required amount of Backpulver, usually zwei Teelöffel (teaspoon) per 150g of flour. As baking is all about the chemistry, it’s better to get this as exact as possible otherwise your sponge will sink or taste like iron. read more…

On the campaign trail

by | Oct 4, 2017 | , | 0 Comments

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 party in the Bundestag and the first far right party in the German parliament since 1945. That, and the global sigh of relief that Angela Merkel, the kind and sensible “Mutti” figure at the head of German politics, nevertheless has won a fourth term in office, remaining a bulwark against the impetuous world leaders who appear to surround her. This is not the forum to give you detailed political analysis of how any of this came to pass; plenty has been written elsewhere.

But what I can say superficially about the election, as an expat, is a word on election posters – by far the most visually striking element of these last few weeks. These posters, promoting both parties and individual candidates, are said to have more impact on popular political opinion than TV ads. When you walk around and see the energy invested in putting them up on literally every lamppost, in defacing them, and in taking them down at the end of the election (a work in slow progress), this seems plausible. There is a practical reason for this: in stark contrast to US elections, there is a strict limit on campaign airtime and campaign spending for all politicians and political parties, which restricts their options. Despite online methods of mobilising voters, the political poster remains a strong and much-used tool. read more…

Pumpkins are here, and not just for Halloween

by | Sep 25, 2017 | , , | 0 Comments

I love food. In my opinion all the best people do. I look forward to trying new dishes and perfecting my favourites at home. Due to particularly scarring food experiences on the school German exchange and that stereotypes are generally born out of truths, I had some very low expectations of German food when I arrived. There are a lot of sausages and sauerkraut, that was expected but the commitment to seasonal, fresh and still reasonably priced foods was a delicious surprise. read more…

The Expat Crisis

by | Sep 18, 2017 | , , , | 0 Comments

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 good perspective on how all the other crises are sometimes nothing more than blown-out-of-proportion tantrums. But there is a special kind of crisis that does not happen to everyone. It is reserved for those who have chosen to leave their birthplace and while doing so, have put many kilometers between them and their homeland.

I do not believe anybody ends up far away from “home” by accident. Sure, the reasons and motivations for it are as varied as life stories can be, but at the core, there’s always a logical and sensible explanation as to how and why a person ended up quite far away from where they happened to be born and raised. Maybe it all started when they took a vacation, maybe with an ambition, maybe even due to a crisis. Whatever the reason, it happened. You are out of there, far away and you have to get your life rolling at whatever the cost because this was your decision and you will be sticking to it. read more…

Potty Training in Germany

by | Sep 11, 2017 | , , , , , | 0 Comments

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.

Our German potty seat PHOTO: Erin Porter

History of Potty Training in Germany

Germany has an interesting history with potty training and – like so many things – it was done differently in the East than in the West.

read more…

How to work remotely whilst living in Germany

by | Sep 4, 2017 | , , | 0 Comments

A new employment opportunity or study is often the reason for people moving to another country. However, this is not the case for this expat. It was my partner’s career which brought us to Bremen, I continue to work for a company I was employed with in the UK.

Working from home in Bremen PHOTO: Sarah E

I am lucky in that the organisation I work for have allowed me to work remotely in Bremen. This was the first time I was going to be working from home so I was totally stepping in to the unknown, both working remotely and in a different country where I knew no one. I recognised that it would be a challenge no matter where I was living. Lacking motivation and being easily distracted were the things I worried about. I was naive in not realising there are a few things to consider when moving to a new country and making your home your office. read more…

Goethe and Schiller in San Francisco

by | Aug 28, 2017 | , | 0 Comments

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 wife and I were standing in a very long line of people, slowly making our way towards the entrance to the California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park. (And we all already had tickets!) As the line flowed at its glacial pace, I noticed a statue of two figures standing on a stone pedestal. I remarked to my wife that it looked like a German or European statue. As we got closer, the bronze figures seemed even more familiar.

Once we were standing right in front of the statue, I was amazed to read the inscription on the reddish stone base: “Goethe. Schiller.” As I gazed up at the large bronze figures of Germany’s two greatest poets and philosophers, I realized why they looked so familiar. This statue seemed to be the same one my wife and I had seen a few years earlier in Weimar, Germany. How the heck did it get here? What was the story behind this larger-than-life symbol of German culture standing in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco? Did any of these people in line, besides my wife and me, even know who Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Friedrich Schiller were?

I took out my iPhone and snapped a picture of the statue (photo below), thinking I would try to solve this mystery later.

Goethe Schiller statue

The Goethe-Schiller memorial statue in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (Dec. 2009). PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

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Fitting in at festival time

by | Aug 23, 2017 | , , , , | 0 Comments

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 certainly just around the corner. The shops are filled with back to school products and small children trying on enormous Schulranzen (school backpacks) for size, one bag and all its accessories will see him or her through for the next few years, a most important decision for one so small.

Behind the fountain pens and neon highlighters though are some other seasonal items that you might want to pick up if you are attending a festival, particularly one held in Southern Germany. A Volksfest (Peoples’ Festival) is a common event in most German towns. The most famous Volksfest in Germany is Oktoberfest which takes place in September in München (Munich), Bavaria. Both Spring and Autumn are filled with festivals, historically many were (and still are) in celebration of a new season of growth (in the fields) and the consequent harvest. read more…