Tag Archives: Germany
The strange cult status of white asparagus
If you are in Munich and see people jostling for a spot in line at....
2 Comments
Apr
Cozy? Let’s sabotage that by opening a window
Once you're comfy and cozy, a German is bound to open the window to air....
Apr
The Superbowl is super in Germany, too
Football may be America's favorite sport, but it's gaining ground fast in Germany, too. I....
7 Comments
Feb
‘Twas the Night Before Weihnachten
On a trip to a Christmas market in Munich, I was inspired by The Night....
Dec
Christmas cookies: Good, better, German
I loved Christmas cookies growing up and thought they were pretty good, but have since....
Dec
What happened to Santa Claus?
Santa Claus, St. Nick, or the Christ child? The figure we associate with Christmas takes....
3 Comments
Dec
The 37 Days of Christmas
Germans don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but they celebrate Christmas half the winter. Starting at the end....
Nov
If this is punctuality, my watch is broken
Germans have a reputation for being punctual, but trains are a different story. During a....
Nov
What happened to my pumpkin pie?
It's not a holiday without pumpkin pie, but what I bake is a far cry....
3 Comments
Nov
No Halloween? No way. My sneaky and successful plot
Some Germans celebrate Halloween, but not all of them. I was determined to find a....
2 Comments
Oct
‘Tis the season of the Wiesn: The Oktoberfest for locals and tourists
What some probably don’t realize is that while the Oktoberfest is the biggest folk festival....
4 Comments
Oct
Spicing up an e-mail is as easy as 1-2-3
Every language has its peculiarities, which should be respected. But when you translate into another....
3 Comments
Sep
The tiniest stars of the Oktoberfest live in a drawer
The Oktoberfest is synonymous with beer for most people. Yet half of the fairgrounds consists....
2 Comments
Sep
Germans delight in overengineering, taking helicopter mothering to new heights
Any foreigner in Germany knows all about the country’s love of overengineering. All it takes....
4 Comments
Aug
A knack for snacks
When is a snack a meal? It depends on what country you’re in, as Germans....
2 Comments
Mar
Christmas cookies: good, better, and German
I loved Christmas cookies growing up and thought they were pretty good, but have since....
Dec
The 100 meters between fascism and democracy in Munich
On just a 10-minute walk through Munich, I passed a murder scene leading to the....
Nov
Led astray by my naïve trust in a native speaker, but I should have known better
My trust in native speakers was boundless, and it caused me to maneuver myself into....
Nov
What is the Inquisition doing in 21st-century America?
Looking at U.S. politics over the past few years, Germans recognize many patterns from the....
Nov
No Halloween? No way. My sneaky and successful plot
Some Germans celebrate Halloween, but not all of them. I was determined to find a....
Oct
Welcome back, fleas! The Oktoberfest is on
Following a three-year hiatus, Munich’s favorite party returned. Corona didn’t dampen people’s spirits, but I....
Oct
Bombs away! The WWII gift that keeps on giving
Listen to Brenda tell the story One of the punctuality challenges to the Munich train....
Jul
Get that rotten banana peel out of the plastic recycling
Listen to Brenda tell the story Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash My muesli stuck....
Feb
I tried to escape the Oktoberfest. I failed.
Listen to Brenda tell the story For the second time, the Oktoberfest has been canceled....
Oct
The library, the monk and the sandals
Listen to Brenda tell the story “Take their books! They’re useless propaganda. Get rid of....
2 Comments
Sep
The 400-year-old Marketing Flop You’ve Never Heard of
Listen to Brenda tell the story They told me in college that marketing was invented....
1 Comments
Aug
Give us our daily bread, but please let it be German
Listen to Brenda tell the story A good friend of mine recently returned to the....
2 Comments
Aug
Vaccination Fascination
25 July 2021 A strange thing has set upon us. Suddenly, we’re all doctors. Better....
2 Comments
Jul
The Prussian Rock Star in my Wardrobe
18 July 2021 Many people have been using their downtime from the pandemic to tackle....
2 Comments
Jul
Grave Thoughts Indeed – Part 3 – Royal rollicking and frolicking
This cemetery is anything but dead boring. The people buried here come from many centuries....
Mar
How war shaped the Alter Südfriedhof
Part Grave Thoughts Indeed – Part 2 Small German towns have monuments to the dead....
3 Comments
Mar
Grave Thoughts – the Alter Südfriedhof Cemetery
Now in the middle of the city, this cemetery was once outside the city walls.....
3 Comments
Mar
From Munich to Philadelphia with love
A chat group of expat Americans provides moral support during a days-long chat leading to....
6 Comments
Dec
Italian – no problemo
I walked into Italian class and saw a room full of pensioners. But I didn't....
6 Comments
Oct
Spectators turned spectacle, thanks to corona
Theaters are allowed to reopen, but only if they leave several empty seats between audience....
7 Comments
Oct
Mail-in ballots are sometimes the only way to vote
Mail-in ballots should be simple and foolproof. The technology is there, so why not use....
2 Comments
Oct
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