On September 26th 2021, Germans will go to the polls to elect a new Chancellor for one of Europe’s largest countries. Huge changes are ahead, since this is not totally […]
The medieval trade association that shaped Germany and modern Europe Welcome to a journey back into history and up to the very North of Germany, the realm of the “Hanseat”, […]
Let’s jump right in: The term „Handy“ causes plenty of confusion between Germans and native English speakers. The German word for mobile phone sounds so very English that it’s hard […]
Nature might not be the first idea when thinking about Germany. Engineering, industry, car manufacturing, the Autobahn, densely populated cities spring to mind. But then there are, of course, other […]
Sometimes back in the philosophical revolutions of the early 19th century, German intellectuals coined the phrase of the “Land der Dichter und Denker”, the country of poets and thinkers, to […]
“Iss auf. Sonst regnet es morgen.” German kids know this sentence when growing up: Empty your plate, or it will rain the next day. Quite a few of my German […]
Being in lockdown with a small kid brought back something that we neglected due to all the offers of the electronic age: Family and group entertainment via parlour games, a […]
Trigger warning: Bad words and naughty language ahead. Admittedly the author enjoys swearing quite a lot (probably even more since moving to England 10 years ago), so there is literally […]
Already made up your New Year’s resolutions? Do you actually believe in them? Let me go out on a limb: Probably not. And neither do Germans. Despite their reputation as […]
Every November brings a challenge for German parents: The candy collection. If you now think of Halloween, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. The very American habit of “trick or treating” […]
On 21st of September this year a pioneer of space travel died – after a long and exciting life full of adventures, always on the bleeding edge of history. Sigmund […]
„East or West?“ – this dreaded question followed Germans around the globe whenever they were traveling until 1989, when the political status as “front state of the Cold War” finally […]
Being German, one can’t avoid the biggest of clichés (if we leave out “Don’t mention the war!”): Lederhosen, beer, pretzel, Oktoberfest. The most German thing of all seems to be […]
The English language doesn’t know a word with the same meaning as the German “Heimat”. The translation as “homeland” doesn’t remotely touch the emotional charge of its German counterpart, which […]
Two decades ago Germany lived through a shellshock. The world famous PISA study classed the country’s schools as merely average, while Finland took the pole position. This was an attack […]
Legend has it that beer was popular in ancient Egypt. The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi mentions beer in 1754 B.C. and lays down explicit rules regarding brewing and serving of […]
Growing up in West Germany in a Catholic surrounding with just a few protestant sprinkles, it was normal for me to witness plenty of church rituals. Many of my friends […]
Thursday, May 30th is Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension of Jesus) and a national holiday in Germany. What would be a “bank holiday” in England, demonstrating the historical power of banks and […]
I remember the term “May Day” being confusing to me when I heard it the first time. As a non-native speaker, it was a little too close to the “Mayday” […]
A few years back I found myself in hospital for surgery on a more or less auspicious date: Outside the gates (and a little bit also inside), carnival had taken […]
No, don’t worry, this article won’t complain about insults thrown at Germans. Rather the opposite: We want to correct an inaccurate stereotype and replace it with something far better. Yes, […]
When the news broke that Germany now officially recognizes a third gender in official documents, many people were surprised to see this kind of breakthrough in a country as focused […]
While the UK celebrates Remembrance Day on November 11th, for many parts of Germany the date (and the time 11:11am) marks the start of carnival celebrations, with red noses, clowns […]
When we moved to England, one of our first experiences with local dialects was Liverpudlian. Our life in Britain has been an exploration of local lingo ever since, with various […]
“When you’re at home, behave as if you were on the king’s table. This way, when you’re at the kings table, you can behave just like home.” Many German kids […]
“The ball is round, and a game lasts 90 minutes” – famous words of German football legend Sepp Herberger, and a common proverb even among people usually not very interested […]
October 3rd marks the anniversary of Germany’s unification. Across the country, people remember the date in 1990 when East and West Germany united to become one federal Germany. Why was […]