Egyptian Artifacts and a Wealthy Berlin Patron of the Arts If you want to see the famous bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti (c. 1370 – c. 1330 BCE), the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, you have to visit Berlin's Neues Museum (New Museum) to experience it in person. The...
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Berlin
Bike School in Germany
During the pandemic my family would take long walks around our neighborhood in Berlin. As nearly nothing was open, it was our entertainment and we wandered far and wide, through forests and meadows, parks and gardens. As the pandemic-measures wore on, playgrounds...
My Favorite Berlin Christmas Markets
I am fresh off the high of my favorite Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). After the disaster of the pandemic years, my appreciation for Christmas markets has only grown. My personal favorite only runs for one weekend every Christmas season. I eagerly anticipate its...
Weather in Germany
I left a sweltering Berlin for an almost as hot Washington State. People always think of Seattle as rainy, but on the day my family arrived back in our home state it was over 80 degrees F (27 degree C) and clear skies meant the "mountain was out" as the locals say....
Adventures on a First Class ICE to Munich
My last post was about revisiting Berlin after a five-year pandemic-related pause. In that post I promised to later write about Munich, our next destination, and I will. But today my subject is Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the "adventure" of rail travel in Germany these...
Unusual German Sports
After a turbulent couple of months, my husband's 40th birthday was swiftly approaching. As this is one of those big birthdays that end in a zero I wanted to pull out all the stops. I needed a venue that could accomodate a small private party, ideally something with an...
Berlin: Then and Now
Germany: Before and After the Covid Pandemic Before this year (2023), my last trip to Germany and Berlin was in March/April 2018. It was a true European journey that ranged from Budapest, Hungary to Rotterdam, Netherlands (a river cruise), and also passed through...
German Filming Locations: The Hunger Games Prequel
Die Tribute von Panem: The German Title for The Hunger Games The upcoming 2023 Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is neither the first Hunger Games film nor the first major Hollywood picture to be filmed in Germany in recent decades. One of...
Going to the Hospital in Germany
Something that is not on many visitors' bingo card is a trip to the hospital. But life just happens and sometimes the unexpected becomes a reality. That has been the case for my family this last month. As I neared my due date for Berlin baby number three, my parents...
Berlin’s Quirky and Unusual Museums
Germany's capital city is famous for its museums – and with good reason. Berlin's museum offerings are both wide and deep, covering just about any topic or field you can imagine. And some you can't. Updated for 2024! Unfortunately, not all museums stick around...
Prepare for a Hospital Birth in Germany
Spring (or Frühling) is in the air! If you have been following German-Way on Instagram, you may have noticed these tell-tale signs in our stories: Frühblüher (early bloomers), Easter chocolates, and even the swarm-like appearance of Feuerkäfer (fire-coloured beetle)....
A Love Letter to Berlin Photo Booths
One of my favorite parts about living abroad is that you get to make your own traditions. Deciding we really aren't fans of turkey, we still host an annual Thanksgiving party but usually buy a half dozen halbes hähnchen (half a roasted chicken) from the nearest Döner...
Mark Twain in Berlin and Vienna
Mark Twain, whose passport bore the name Samuel Langhorne Clemens, crossed the Atlantic Ocean 49 times. In Europe the American writer visited many German-speaking cities, from Berlin to Vienna, and many points in-between. The future globetrotter's first foreign trip...
Going to the Doctor in Germany
I recently spent a week semi-anxiously waiting tests results from my doctor. They had told me it was going to be 4 or 5 days (business days) and the test was on a Tuesday, so I kept an ear out for a ring through Tuesday - just to be safe. On Wednesday I assumed I was...
How to Celebrate German Unity Day
Today is a national holiday in Germany, Tag der Deutschen Einheit or German Unity Day. Like every year, I feel it is almost forgotten until it is upon us. It honors the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rejoining of East to West Germany. So it is strange that a day...
Lost Luggage in Germany
This summer people were ready to forget they ever heard of the Coronavirus and get back to travel. Everyone I knew had travel plans whether it was by train (many via the brilliant 9 euro ticket plan), by car, or by air. But no sooner were tickets booked than reports...
Quirks of Vacation Days in Germany
It is the day after Ostern (Easter) when this post goes up, so still a holiday in most European countries. As I am on vacation in Spain, I was pleased I wouldn't have to take Friday or Monday as vacation days as they are public holidays throughout Germany. That isn't...
Life in Germany since the Invasion of Ukraine
I was in the throes of Covid when the invasion of Ukraine began. In my own personal pits of exhaustion and despair, I watched in disbelief as a war in Europe began. The first 48 hours we were glued to the news. I watched line after line of Russian military vehicle...
What’s in a Name? Exonyms: Köln vs Cologne, Donau vs Danube, Beijing vs Peking
Exonyms: Shape-Shifting Place Names "Munich" is the English exonym for the city that Germans call München. An exonym is a name used in a specific language for a geographical feature situated outside the area where that language is spoken, and differing from the...
Comparing the Covid Response of the USA and Germany
After 2 years of not seeing my family, I was back in the USA twice at the end of last year. In October we booked emergency tickets and were back visiting a sick family member within 72 hours. A Christmas trip was planned. Both trips were a low-key shock to the system....
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