No, I'm not going to discuss Spaghetti Westerns today. I'm going to list some of my expat likes (the good), dislikes (the bad) and major gripes (the ugly) related to living in Germany. Although I'm going to start with "the bad," you should know that my "good" list is...
The GW Expat Blog
Tag
Berlin
Something from home
"Can we bring you anything that you can't get there?" is a common question our visitors from the UK ask. We usually spend a good ten minutes, both of us running through supermarket shelves in our minds' eye, but almost always to no avail. Aside from the odd big pack...
Berlin’s desk revolution
"It's like being interviewed for a shared flat," my German friend, the freelance TV producer, says to me one Wednesday morning over one of those pungent Berlin coffees. Having left our laptops gently purring on our dining table desks, we are now sitting outside a...
Football Daze
It is a perfect Northern European midsummer's evening, the sky a delicate swirl of gentle pastels and the soft air just cool enough for a cardigan: we have our window open. Then, quite suddenly, outside a tremendous roar erupts. Men, women and children let out shouts...
German efficiency and Berlin’s new airport
There is a German term for "German efficiency" – several in fact: deutsche Gründlichkeit, Effizienz, Fähigkeit, Leistungsfähigkeit, Tüchtigeit. German efficiency can be found gloriously in German doors and windows, in energy use (hall lights that only turn on if...
Germans: We don’t need no stinkin’ apartment numbers
It never really dawned on me that the Germans don't use apartment numbers – until I lived in a German apartment house. The only way the postal carrier (Postbote/Postbotin) can deliver mail to the correct apartment in even a large apartment complex is by the surname on...
“Almanya” in San Diego
San Diego kicked off its first German Film Festival, German Currents in 2011. It seemed to be a long time coming considering that there are an estimated 100,000 Germans living in the San Diego metro area and Orange County. The festival opened with the screening of...
No time for nostalgia: The Berlin Wall’s 50th birthday
Fifty years ago today (August 13) the Berlin Wall rose its ugly head (in 1961). While the collapse of the Wall may be fresher in our minds, the construction of the Berlin Wall was one of the world's most glaring crimes against humanity – even though many people still...
German Residence Permit Day – A true story
Or how not to get your Aufenthaltstitel The big day started at 6:30 a.m. when I suddenly woke up and realized that it was was the day and date of my appointment at the Berlin Ausländerbehörde (Foreigners Authority, now known as the Landesamt für Einwanderung, the...
Marlene Dietrich stars in Berlin
Things can move slowly in Germany and Berlin. Especially things having to do with "the war" and the Nazi past. The German-born film actress Marlene Dietrich falls into this category. Some Germans (the dumb ones) still view Dietrich as a traitor to Germany. They fail...
Going Native (on Sundays)
Oh my goodness... I always knew there was more than a little bit of European in me; but my conversion to the German Way was more subtle and insidious than I could have imagined. I, unlike most other red blooded, consumer oriented, individualistic Americans was...
American small talk vs German no talk
Germans don't do small talk. (Well, sometimes they do – but they rarely admit it.) Most German-speakers will tell you that their language is too serious and precise to be wasted on small talk or chitchat, especially with strangers. Anyone who has lived in Berlin for...
The Wall turns 48 – What was the Berlin Wall really like?
NOTE: This post from August 2009 has been updated for 2019. August 13 marked the 48th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall (in 2009; the 58th anniversary in 2019). During the night of 12-13 August 1961, East German soldiers and other workers began...
The downside of English as the universal language
Why is it that many Anglophones seriously consider going to Germany to work when they have zero German skills? A German would never for an instant think that he/she could go to Britain or the United States to work without knowing English well. So why would it be OK...
Rx for Drugs in Deutschland
One of the more important items on the pre-departure checklist for expats or travelers headed to Germany concerns any prescription drugs they may require during an extended stay. Those who need certain medications can bring their own prescription drugs with them when...
Recent Comments