Last November I was in a funk. I had found myself in visa limbo after living in Germany for many years, newly laid off, and facing a big decade birthday. I kept telling myself it would all work out, but the anxiety was eating me alive and an impending birthday...
The GW Expat Blog
Tag
beer
Beyond Munich: Germany’s Other Beer and Wine Festivals
As I write this, Oktoberfest in Munich is about to end on October 3rd. Oktoberfest, which begins in September, is by far Germany's largest and most famous folk festival (Volksfest), but there are many other attractive options all across Germany. These other events...
What Not to Do at Oktoberfest
If you missed it, this weekend kicked off Okoberfest in Munich. With the tapping of the keg and the magical words of “O'zapft is” (“It's tapped”), the biggest beer festival in the world has begun. Last year was the first year after the pandemic that the event was held...
A Brief (Germanic) History of Mexican Beer
The German, Austrian, and Swiss Heritage of Cerveza Today both the Mexican and US beer brewing scenes are quite similar, reflecting the global phenomenon of Big Beer. In both countries it is difficult to know the true company behind a particular beer brand, even if...
10 Things Expats Miss After They Leave Germany
Reverse culture shock can be disconcerting, even scary. While driving in my US hometown recently, I had a flashback to my time in Germany when I noticed a few things that Americans do that contrast with normal practice in Germany and Europe. Some of them are funny,...
Life and Customs: Germany versus Sweden
Expats living in Europe have a unique opportunity to travel and visit interesting places in many countries. Traveling from Berlin to Stockholm, for instance, is only a 75-minute jet flight – about the same time as flying between Los Angeles and San Francisco in the...
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Part 2a)
Today I'm continuing my list of expat likes (the good), dislikes (the bad) and major gripes (the ugly) – all related to living in Germany. In Part 1 I began with "the bad," but my "good" list has turned out to be even longer! So long in fact, that I need to split my...
Swabian Delights
Because most of my experience in Germany has been in the Southern half of the country, I often believe that all German food is as delicious as it is here in the region of Swabia. Occasionally, we venture North on vacation and I realize with disappointment that this...
An Oversimplified (Personal) History of Pilsner Beers
Like most Americans, my first exposure to German beer was to one of those mass produced brews designed for good shelf life and consistency... not necessarily for flavor or quality. Being lucky enough to have been living in San Francisco at the time, I was exposed to a...
Recent Comments