Coming out of the pandemic, my family limited our long-distance travel and started exploring places closer to home. These day trips from Berlin are some of my favorite places and we have re-visited often. But I am always looking for somewhere new. Enter the...
The GW Expat Blog
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German history
The “New” City of Dresden
It feels like every year at about this time I hear rumbles of dissatisfaction with Berlin. Sometimes they are coming directly from me, but this year I've noticed more online posts than usual complaining about the rising costs of the city, the dismal winter weather,...
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...
30 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall
About 5 years ago, on November 9th 2014, I watched from the hospital as Berlin put on a grand display to celebrate 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. I had been looking forward to attending the event - a spectacular display where thousands of lighted...
On the campaign trail
In case you missed it, there was a general election last week in Germany. Receiving most of the international media coverage was, understandably, the fact that the AfD (Alternativ für Deutschland) won just under 13% of the popular vote, making them the third strongest...
Schäl Sick: Life on the Wrong Side of the Rhine
Here in Cologne, people tend to scrunch up their faces a bit when I tell them I live on the "other" side of the Rhine. And not in Deutz, close to the river and the city, but Kalk, deep into the hinterlands of the Falsche Seite. Kalk is a neighborhood with a reputation...
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...
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...
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