Germans have their own way of doing things. True, not all Germans are alike, but... The German way of life is not the same as the American way of life, nor should it be. But US Americans (that's a German influence I've adopted as a US American) and other foreigners...
The GW Expat Blog
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driving
Weird in the USA: Things That Foreigners Find Odd
Cultural Differences in Reverse You never fully understand your own culture until you leave it and experience a different one. When US Americans (more about that term below) travel to Mexico or Europe for the first time, they immediately notice the differences in...
On the Road Again: Renewing my Acquaintance with the German Autobahn
Today I drove from Frankfurt am Main to Berlin, a distance of about 550 km (342 mi). Most of that drive is on the iconic German Autobahn, and the trip reminded me that German drivers can be just as bad as American drivers, only at much higher speeds. It wasn't the...
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...
Moving to Germany: The Top 10 Things to Consider
Moving anywhere is a challenge. Even a short move across town can be problematic. An international move presents additional complications, but a little preparation will mean fewer hitches. Even if you are fortunate enough to be using the services of a relocation...
Racing in the Right (or Wrong) Direction
This post came about because I happened to see a photograph of a German horse race, similar to the photo below. It reminded me that horses usually gallop around a German race track in a clockwise direction, while in the United States they run counterclockwise. It made...
White Knuckles
Galavanting about Europe in my early twenties, I spent a spring holiday in Italy. The journey began in Germany, meandering from Frankfurt down through the Black Forest, into Switzerland and through the Gotthard Tunnel (17 km!) to get to the Italian border. The entire...
Comparing Germany and France and…
There was a time when I thought certain practices and cultural quirks were uniquely German (or Austrian or Swiss), but as I traveled around Europe more and more, I realized that some "German" things are actually European things. The fear of a draft or breeze, for...
An Expensive Lesson in the Laws of the Land
For most of my first year in Germany I didn’t drive. I come from a small Canadian city with no major highways, and so the thought of the autobahn seriously freaked me out. I was, and remain, very surprised at how easy it was for my husband to simply turn in his...
Adventures in the Ämter
Last week I achieved a milestone in my life as an expat. I finally received a permanent residence permit. You might think that after 10.5 years in Germany, I would have done this long ago. Alas, it seems I’m not very good with this kind of bureaucracy. There were a...
Expats All Over Again: 10 Things I’ll Miss (and 10 Things I Won’t) About Germany
Like Jane and her husband, we are also on our way out of Germany. Unlike them though, we are becoming expats once again, this time in Ireland. There are so many things I love about living in Germany. This move happened quickly, and it was a choice for us, but it is...
Learning to Drive in Germany
I decided to depart my single, independent life years ago when I moved to Germany to marry my now husband. It involved making a lot of significant changes in my life all at once, including learning German, leaving a metropolis of the world (London) to move to the...
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