I'm still stunned. How could I never have heard of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s visit to Berlin? He even outdid JFK and Reagan by not only going to West Berlin in 1964, but crossing the Berlin Wall into East Berlin – where he gave not one, but two sermons! Do you...
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Germany
A week on the farm
Like many expat families, we think we fly too much. Though some of these trips - for work - are unavoidable, the rest we do gladly to keep in touch with family and friends, whether for weddings, birthdays, or general catching up. There is, however, our annual summer...
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...
Staying cool in the German summertime
Summer in Germany is a humid and sweaty affair, especially down here in the landlocked south. For a pale, sea breeze loving Brit my first summer was indeed a baptism of fire. When I heard of a beautiful place where you could swim and laze away a day it seemed to be...
You Know You’re a Real Expat in Germany When…
A while back, someone in our Expat Forum posted a clever "You know you're in Germany when..." I happened to run across that list again recently and thought I'd use it as inspiration for today's blog entry. These brief "You know you're not in Kansas any more when..."...
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)....
7 books which will help you get to know Berlin
Alongside relishing delicious tapas, sunbathing, and swimming in the sea, I spent our two-week summer holiday in Andalusia last year reading “Tales of the Alhambra” by Washington Irving. Reading relevant books for the location is something I like to do - Henry James...
Eight Essential Life Skills Learned through Studying in Germany
A few months ago, a list published by former Stanford dean Julie Lythcott-Haims started making the rounds on social media. In it, she expounds on her list of the basic skills everyone should have by age 18. Reading it, I realized that it wasn't until I started...
Expats at the playground – the fun of combining cultural observations
This blog post could start like a silly joke. A Yorkshire lass, a Scot, a Brazilian, and a New Yorker go with their children to the playground … But, given I'm still working on the punchline, let me provide the context. Today was beautifully sunny. The advent of...
Getting Ready for your Bachelor’s Degree in Germany
For many high school students in the United States, the college process begins in middle school, and all college-bound students need to get serious by the time they reach their junior year. For American students interested in continuing their studies in Germany,...
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...
Who am I, really? Talking Identity with German Freshmen
I've been living in Germany for 4 years now, three of which I'm spent teaching first year students at a private university in Cologne. More than anything else, this experience has taught me humility; I realize now just how thankful I should be that I'm not 19 anymore....
Healthy eating in the Hauptstadt
One of my favourite things about working on in Mayfair, London was that I was a stone’s throw from amazing health food shops and cafes. I loved popping out on my lunch break to pick up a sweet potato, pomegranate, and feta salad, or working my way through various...
Learning to Hate Deutsche Telekom
I had no strong feelings about German internet providers. Sure, I love TV and the internet, but how it got to me was of no concern. That is, til Deutsche Telekom screwed us over. First, the good news. We have a new apartment! After months (and months) of searching for...
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...
Berlin Tip: Grand Opening of the Pfefferberg Theater Berlin
When I first came to Berlin in 2002, Pfefferberg was just about the coolest place I'd ever been to. Sitting out under the stars in the Berlin summer, drinking a good German beer, and listening to live music was for me the absolute height of sophistication. On the way...
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...
US Women Destroy Germany’s World Cup Dreams
The headline in today's Bild online says it all: US-Girls zerstören unseren WM-Traum. In a contest between the top two teams in the world last night, the United States came out on top 2-0 in a surprisingly dominant performance, outlasting a loaded German side in the...
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...
12 Cities, 12 Fates: Germany Looks Back on the Eve of the 70th Anniversary of World War Two
Horror on an unprecedented scale engulfed Europe in the 1940s, but it was only after the smoke had cleared that the true scope of the brutality came into focus. Millions across the continent were dead, tens of millions displaced, and whole nations found themselves on...
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