Losing a pet is an experience I don't like to relive, but I am sharing my trauma in the hopes it will relieve your drama if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. Here's the story of how we lost our cat in Berlin - and got her back. At first, we were puzzled....
The GW Expat Blog
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German vocabulary
3 Ways I Embarrassed Myself at the German Sauna
Don't worry guys, I brought a towel to sit (and sweat) on in the sauna, and didn't try to wear my swimsuit into the nude areas. I'm not a German sauna newbie. I've been once before. That one time was at touristy Tropical Island. I highly recommend it if you are also a...
Baedeker, German Reiselust, and vacation days
Kings and governments may err, but never Mr. Baedeker. - A.P. Herbert, in his 1929 English libretto for J. Offenbach's operetta La Vie Parisienne[1] In both German and English, the term "Baedeker" (BAY-day-ker) is synonymous with "travel guidebook" (Reiseführer)....
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...
Preparing your Child for Preschool in Germany
Do Germans have a saying for "When it rains, it pours"? After months (and months) of house hunting we finally got a place, only to be offered another Wohnung right after that. Now we just need to find a Nachmieter (a renter to take over our current lease), move, clean...
Swimming in Germany
It's summer time and those of us in Germany have just emerged from an intense week of record breaking heat (40 degrees C/104.5 degrees F). What to do in this heat in an air condition-less country? Hit the water. While dipping your feet into that water might be all you...
Mahlzeit!
For the first time since we moved to Berlin over five years ago, I am required to go (most days, at least) to an office with lots of German people. Up until a few months ago, I'd either worked from home or from a small co-working space. But now, from behind computer...
Babysitting in Germany
It was not that long ago that the concept of babysitting (das Babysitten/Babysitting; Kinderhüten is the old-fashioned term) was little-known in the German-speaking world. When it did happen, it was usually Oma, a neighbor, or one of the older children watching over...
It’s not quite cheese, it’s not quite yoghurt
I first heard of quark (such a wonderfully German name) 7 years ago in the "exotic" dairy section of a high-end UK supermarket in London. I was with my German husband. "Oooh" he exclaimed, with tangible excitement, "Look, quark - shall we get some?" I didn't have a...
Applying for a Wohnung in Berlin
When we found out we were pregnant, we knew a two-room (one-bedroom in American) apartment was no longer going to cut it. So we went on the hunt for a three-room, ideally with a balcony, high floor, a little class and great transportation links. Slowly at first, and...
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...
Take my baby! Please? Applying to Krippe
About two weeks ago I found myself sitting in a school office with my husband and 4-month-old in her most respectable onesie. We were applying for a spot in next fall's class and doing our best to look like an upstanding family they would want in their KiTa. But -...
How I Became Fluent in German Fast
NOTE: Updated for 2022. I've been meeting many more expats now that I am living in the heavily populated Rhineland/Ruhr region of Germany. These expats range from old timers/lifers to newbie/temporary assignees. As any expat can relate to, the newbies are grappling...
Tag der Deutschen Einheit: a view of Berlin 24 years on
As I sat looking out over the tourist boats on the Spree, drinking up the soft autumn sunshine, I had a flickering insight that this moment encapsulated much of modern Berlin. How fitting, I thought, for the occasion, and returned my mind to the conversation. This was...
Prenatal Courses in Germany
Do I look a little tired here? That's because I am. Last week was baby week. After 35 weeks of pregnancy, we were cramming hospital registration, one of our last doctor visits (plus ultrasound) and 2 long nights of prenatal courses into just a few days. My dad...
Keine Gelegenheit versäumen – don’t miss your chance …
I remember that when I lived in Berlin for a year as a student ten years’ ago, I approached every conversation as a language-learning opportunity. Like a hungry caterpillar, I would gobble up more and more words whether talking to taxi driver or a philosophy...
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....
When a Brötchen is a Bömmel …
The definite preference in Germany may be for dense, dark bread made with various combinations of wholewheat, spelt, rye, seeds and nuts (it accounts for over 90% of bread consumption), but the small, white, crusty bread roll does maintain an iconic status - whether...
The Famous Swabian Hausfrau
I was delighted to find an article in the February 1, 2014 edition of The Economist dedicated to the mindset of the Swabian Hausfrau. The article links the economic mindset of this stereotype from Germany's Southwest to the economic mindset of Germans within Europe....
From freelance to Angestellte to Arbeitslos
Remember my last post where I talked about my wonderful new job? The one I was excited about after the eight months of freelancing and running around in many directions trying to make a living? Well, one of the perils of working for a start up company is the very...
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