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...
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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...
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...
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..."...
3 Ways I Embarrassed Myself at the German Sauna
Don't worry guys, I brought a towel to sit (and sweat) on in the sauna, and didn't try to wear my swimsuit into the nude areas. I'm not a German sauna newbie. I've been once before. That one time was at touristy Tropical Island. I highly recommend it if you are also a...
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....
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...
Food at German Schools
Every morning I scramble around our kitchen, looking for appropriate snacks for a 15-month-old. Cucumber? I think she is eating that lately. German roll, or rice cake? Blueberries are always a yes. Is Würstchen trying too hard? Blearily, I stash these goods in her...
From Smoke Detectors to Electric Cars: New and Revised Laws in Germany for 2016
Sometimes it's surprising how a modern nation like Germany can lag behind in certain areas. A good example from the past is smoking. While the US and many other countries long ago banned smoking in restaurants, the workplace, and other public areas, Germany was slow...
Bilingual Nagging
I continue to navigate my way as a parent of bilingual children. We extol the joys and merits of having children grow up speaking two languages -- the cognitive agility, the tendency towards more open-mindedness, and the acquisition of the language itself. The nuts...
Newbies Guide to German Christmas Markets
My parents are coming to Germany for Christmas for the very first time. Sure, they've been to Germany before. They've climbed the 111 steps up to our beloved Dachgeschoss in Berlin; they've driven all over the Romantic Road, they've fallen in love with its small towns...
An Expat Thanksgiving in Germany
It's that time of year again. If you were in the United States right now, you wouldn't miss a beat in knowing what I was talking about. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Although this great American tradition is not celebrated in Germany, expats and their...
Preparing your Child for Preschool in Germany
Do Germans have a saying for "When it rains, it pours"? After months (and months) of house hunting we finally got a place, only to be offered another Wohnung right after that. Now we just need to find a Nachmieter (a renter to take over our current lease), move, clean...
Englischunterricht: English Class in German Schools
Your child is a native English-speaker in the German school system. So now what? Many of us expats are raising our kids multilingually. In many of these cases, our children are native English-speakers. We've been told that this is a great thing to do, and I for one...
Airbnb in Germany: The Debate Continues
Every year, millions of tourists flock to Germany, a number that has been increasing year over year for over a decade. Most choose to stay in traditional forms of accommodation, but an increasing number are renting rooms directly from locals through websites like...
In Case of an Emergency
Accidents happen. Unfortunately one happened to a child of mine under the watch of an au pair whose redeeming characteristics became harder and harder to appreciate as the weeks of her time with us went by. Rima, the tourism and gastronomy student from Kyrgyzstan...
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