Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

As regular listeners know, we’re all about the positivity on this here podcast. OK, maybe not Nic, but Simon’s usually fairly positive…or maybe it’s just that he talks about Döner more than the woes Germany’s faced over the last few months. Thankfully for us, our guests this week, Chris Reiter & Will Wilkes, didn’t follow Simon’s example. Instead they confront the problems facing Germany in th...

There’s a lot of good vibes flying around the podcast this week. Producer Simon is quietly delighted with New Zealand’s sporting endeavours, but the real positivity comes in the form of Simon’s story on a Hanoi based Instagrammer who’s memeing themselves to a solid German education. All that positivity puts us in good stead given we do have to quickly look at the bin fire that is politics. We find...

After a good few weeks of hard podcasting work, it’s time for a holiday, but not just any holiday. No, we need something special, something specific, something…Geordie. Luckily we have someone to guide us as Nic tells Simon all about his Geordie German adventure. In Munich, Nic catches a Sam Fender gig and learns something about the different types of British people who seem to live in Bavaria’s f...

There’s a beautiful bit of symmetry this week as we begin where we left off last week on topic of kebabs, although these ones have nothing to do with football legend Lukas Podolski. No, these kebabs are in a more British variation, as we discuss and award winning kebab pie in the UK, and why Australia seems to have cornered the market in German pies. From pies, we turn to the topic of cups and cup...

Finally free from covering the Federal Election, we head into less controversial waters this week, by asking which is the correct term: Karneval or Fasching? Thankfully Simon has the perfect compromise, although it might take some time for “Happy German Time” to catch on. No matter, there’s plenty of other pre-Lent celebrations to cover, including the satirical Rosenmontagswagen in Düsseldorf. Hav...

If there’s one thing we’re all about on this here podcast, it’s fulfilling dreams. Ok, maybe seeing Bayern Munich isn’t exactly fulfilling a dream, but Simon did see Harry Kane in the flesh, and that’s got to be worth something. We discuss catching a footballer’s attention, matchday atmosphere, and when it’s OK to leave a game early. Leaving seems to be a bit of theme this week, as we finally reac...

Despite the fact we’ve only recorded the podcast in the same room once in 219 episodes, that doesn’t mean we should be lax on health and safety. That’s why we sent Nic on some training over the weekend, to the Feuerwehrerlebniswelt in Augsburg. We find out whether he actually learnt anything, aside from how to scare the other parents. From firefighting, we return to class conscious grub, after dis...

It’s bloody typical, isn’t it? You wait around for Germany’s most expensive property to go on the market and then two come along at once! Following last week’s oligarch owned villa on the Tegernsee going for an eye watering €25 million, this week we learn Berlin has a property going for significantly more. We discuss how many en suites are too many, and why Brad Pitt is to blame for all this. From...

It’s not often that a bit of random doom scrolling leads to a nice chat, but thanks to Simon’s algorithm, a forgotten Werner Herzog clip gives us our first topic of the week. We discuss the work of one of Germany’s greatest directors, and somehow manage to avoid doing any impressions of him. Having reached the heights of German arthouse cinema, we plumb the depths of Germany’s real estate market....

The end of a gloomy January beckons, but despite the dark cold evenings, Producer Simon did the podcast proud by wrapping himself up and going to watch some Bundesliga football. Thankfully his team won, and he brings that joy as he reports on his footballing frisk. Try as we might, we can’t aoid German politics, and there’s a lot of it flying around at the moment. We discuss Elon Musk’s giant head...

There’s a lot of news going round in Germany at the moment, so sometimes we miss a few stories, but we rectify a massive error in the running order last week as Nic finally updates the pod on his DJ set we discussed in Ep 213. We ponder what might get Gen Z dancing, and Simon & Producer Simon share their own suggestions for a student club night. As the various Federal election campaigns contin...

After his triumphant return to the podcast last, Simon is settling in nicely, so much so he takes the reins of the podcast to bring us a segment on the various alternative versions of German cities in the good old USA. Why live the poor but sexy life in the original Berlin when you could move to Berlin, Connecticut and enjoy the cookie cutter world of small town America? Perhaps moving countries i...

It’s the first pod of 2025, and boy is it a doozy! Among the new year’s well wishes, we also have a few changes to mention, as co-hosts Kat and Dili take a much deserved break from the show. Losing two co-hosts does present a bit of a problem: who will help Nic & Producer Simon with the podcast? Luckily for you dear listeners, we have the perfect candidate, as an old friend makes a surprising...

It’s a brand new year, which necessitates some deep soul searching on the podcast this week as we try and remember our personal highlights from the last 12 months. With concerts, podcast guests, and new hosts, it’s been a full one in 2024, so we have plenty to choose from on the list, and we have a few beers and talk about them all. The booze does come in handy, especially since it’s been a somewh...

It’s that wonderful time between Christmas and New Year, where time has no meaning, and we’re all surviving off of the last of the Plätzchen and whatever leftovers we can find in the fridge. Speaking of leftovers, we find out what everyone’s been eating over Christmas, and how to deal with unfortunate dessert theft. Instead of bringing the weird and wonderful news of Germany, we instead focus on s...

As some may have noticed, the pod is late in this week. Due to the recent attack in Magdeburg, we decided to remove some of the segments and release a shorter episode than usual. We hope you all understand, and join us in sending our sympathies to the victims and their families. Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß It’s not just Glühwein and Sausages on the agenda this week though. If your home is...

Although it might be too early to call an intervention, it is becoming clear that Nic has a growing Weihnachtsmarkt addiction which is probably why he keeps bringing them up on the podcast. In fairness, it would take Scrooge-like levels of humbug to deny him his festive enjoyment, so we kick things off with a discussion of Glühwein price gouging, stealing mugs from the market, and the dubious name...

We always knew Producer Simon was award worthy, but now we have definitive proof as we celebrate our stalwart Producer’s first podcast award. Sadly, it turns out he’s been off winning recognition for another podcast…splitter. Anyway, we’re not jealous, especially with so much going on across Germany. Kat catches a moped parade of Santas, Nic discovers the 2024’s Weihnachtsmarkt beverage of choice,...

Has Christmas come early? Kat certainly thinks so, especially since her neighbours seem to be putting up their trees even before December has begun. Though we don’t really care when people decide to start the festive joy, Nic is a little worried about how to keep a Christmas tree from falling apart after two weeks. Continuing the festive vibes, we discover what it takes to be the Christkind as the...

You might have thought the last weeks of November in Germany would be the calm before the storm of December, but you’d be sorely mistaken. First of all, Karneval or Fasching is back again, providing a much needed levity to those dark winter nights, although as co-host Kat points out, Germany’s Fifth Season isn’t without its problems. We may not be dressing up in costumes and hitting the streets of...

We welcome the fantastic Kinocow back to the podcast to join regular co-hosts Kat, Nic, and Producer Simon after a week of politcal turmoil. While many eyes were watching the results of the US elections, the German government took the opportunity to collapse itself in a show of solidarity. We sift through the rubble of the Ampelkoalition and wonder what the hell might happen next. Thankfully, poli...

It’s been an exciting week for all our hosts, Kat’s in Vienna, Simon has been messing around in his garden, and Nic, well he got himself a haircut. OK, maybe only Kat has had an exciting week, but wait till you hear about Simon’s exciting new topiary! We’re not here for gardening tips though, so we kick off proceedings with the controversy surrounding Russian songstress Helene Fischer and her new...

It’s pretty scary on the podcast this week, although it’s nothing to do with Halloween, and rather more to do with the Germany’s Women’s Football Team having something of a horror story against Australia this week. Luckily for us, Producer Simon was in attendance, and he brings us all the gory details. Slightly less scary, though no less controversial, is the debate around Daylight Savings Time in...

It’s an action packed episode this week, which isn’t good news for Nic who seems to be a little under the weather. Luckily Kat has a sure fire remedy, although it might not pack as much of a punch as Nic’s less complicated concoction. From medicine to language, we review the vote and various controversies over the 2024 Jugendwort des Jahres and find out which new bit of English will be invading th...

It’s back to school, or rather university, this week as Nic returns to the classroom for another semester of inspiring students with jazzy Powerpoint slides. We discuss issues of technology, where to find an overhead projector, and why a room full of engineering apprentices is a terrifying vision. A story coming out of Stuttgart catches our attention, I mean it’s not often that an opera ends in 18...