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...
The GW Expat Blog
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celebrations
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...
10 things I find weird and wonderful about Germany
The week between Christmas and the new year beginning is often a 'no man's land'. No one knows what day it is or what to do as normal service is out of sync. It's not helped when you're driving between different locations, unpacking one day and re-packing the next....
Days Off
I assume our family is not unusual in using the few days of peace and quiet between Christmas and New Year to start planning our holidays for the coming year. In this uniquely pleasurable endeavour, our predictable starting point, as for many working parents, is...
A British Weihnachten
For the past three Christmases whilst living in Germany, my partner and I have spent the big day back in the UK. They say Christmas is the time of year for family and friends, and that is where the majority of them are and so that is where we shall go. Except this...
Finding greeting cards in Germany
Valentines cards, anniversary cards, confirmation day cards, get well soon cards. In the UK there seems to be a folded piece of decorated card available to send to a recipient and recognise any and every occasion. The public invests in to whatever the greeting card...
Engaged in Germany
Recently I got engaged whilst on holiday in Japan. I spoke about my great passion for the country in 'Konichiwa Germany' but missed out this very special part. Most people would say how romantic (it was!) but I questioned my fiancé's intentions. No, he wasn't asking...
Der Handwerkerbaum – or how traditions travel
My first experience of May 1st (Erste Mai) celebrations was as a student in Berlin in 2002 drinking beer in a park Kreuzberg. I don’t much like beer - not then and not now - but that was what everyone else was drinking and it felt like the right thing to do. Along the...
Reasons to love Germany in spring
Der Frühlingsanfang (beginning of spring) holds lots of special memories for me. My first time in Germany was in the spring of 2016. There was a lot riding on this visit. It wasn't just any long weekend away in Europe but a chance for me to check out Bremen before...
Christmas Means Cookies
For almost a month already, we have been floating in the yearly jolly atmosphere that smells like cinnamon, shines with the twinkle lights and tempts us with delicious food. Germany is famous for its wonderful bread and it’s a very well-deserved reputation, however,...
Bremen in Summer
Having passed my first year in Bremen, I feel qualified to say summer in the city is the best season to visit. Amongst the numerous festivals taking place, Breminale stands out. For five days in July the banks of River Weser are lined with open-air tents with music...
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...
Birthday Etiquette
Nothing unsettles a German quite like wishing him or her a Happy Birthday before the actual birthday. The tradition of precision isn't just in engineering appliances or designing public transport. In Germany, birthdays are also measured with exactness. I grew up with...
Eggs on trees – 5 favourite German Easter traditions
I love Easter in Germany. It's full of decorations, rituals and get togethers - almost like a mini Christmas but with better weather promising the arrival of spring. It is a bigger celebration than anything I experienced in the UK. This could be because in my...
How to Survive a Berlin New Year’s
New Year's Eve in Berlin Can Be Dangerous (gefährlich) For the first time ever, I have returned to my childhood home in the Pacific Northwest to celebrate Christmas. Partly due to our new arrival and our desire for her to meet her American fam, it was also just time....
A Golden Cup
Tomorrow one of the most coveted trophies in sport will come to Berlin. Today Germany woke up collectively hungover but with a jubilant smile on its face. Yesterday, just before midnight, the nation erupted into euphoria when the German football team won the World...
Kids’ Birthdays in Germany
This has been a month of kids' birthday parties for us, on the organizational side and on the invitational side. My third child turns seven on Friday and her younger brother attended a birthday party for a friend of ours' son the week before. Olivia attended a ninth...
Birthdays at Work (or the Joys of Raw Meat)
My first job here in Germany was in a publishing house (Verlag) in Freiburg, and that job was actually my first real job after college. It was certainly a different way to be indoctrinated into the world of work. It was the early nineties and it was the Schwarzwald....
German Weddings
Having spent my formative adult years in Germany, I have been to more German weddings than American weddings. There are some striking differences in how each culture approaches the celebration (and paperwork) that accompanies two people committing their lives to each...
Laternenfest – Lantern Festival
It was during our second winter in Berlin that I first became aware of Laternenfeste (lantern festivals). We had little twin babies and, despite early heavy snows, I spent much of my time traipsing icy streets pushing the pram whilst they slept. There was a period in...
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