Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

In the latest installment, co-host Nic bravely airs his grievances against asparagus and men in shorts, inadvertently sparking a feud with Producer Simon, a proud member of the shorts-wearing community. Amidst the playful banter, Dili gracefully steers the episode back on track by sharing heartwarming listener feedback, prompting reflections on past experiences in Germany. From reminiscing about o...

In this week’s episode, Nic shares his ordeal of dealing with back pain after engaging in a traditional wood-chopping session with his German family, and begs his fellow hosts for potential remedies. Meanwhile, Dili opens up about the bittersweet reality of celebrating birthdays separated from loved ones, shedding light on the complexities of being away from family during special occasions. Your t...

This week we’re joined by the one of our favourite people, and founder of the popular Twitter account @germany_iam , the lovely Kat for a discussion of Easter video games, brutalist church architecture, and why dressing up as Jesus is a bit cringe. After many months of tracking the topic of new cannabis laws in Germany, the 1st of April saw partial legalisation across the country. Will the arrival...

This week we have Berlin tour guide extraordinaire Jonny Whitlam joining Nic & producer Simon for an Easter trip through the world of tour guiding in the German capital. We find out how Jonny first started taking tours, despite not enjoying history much at school, and gradually became one of the most popular guides in the city. We quiz Jonny on what makes a good tour group, the most visited sp...

After a few weeks away, Dili returns to the podcast and wastes no time by dropping bombs on her erstwhile co-host Nic. I think we can all agree he probably deserves it, which is why Producer Simon gets in on the act too. Having dealt out some much needed discipline, Dili shares her discovery of a new Mexican restaurant, and why sharing rice is the sign of a great friendship. St Patrick’s Day was l...

In our continuing attempts to collect all our favourite podcasters, we welcome the fantastic Nina Wooten of the Everyday Germany podcast to the show! Nina joins Producer Simon & Nic to discuss her ongoing move to the US. We talk about exchange trips to American high schools, living in Baltimore, and the benefits of seeing a totally different environment. With Nina planning her imminent move to...

With Dili taking the week off, it’s left to the lads to hold down the podcast fort, but it doesn’t take long for Producer Simon & Nic to start squabbling like unruly siblings. Wary of fully derailing the running order, your hosts pull themselves together to discuss when a host should offer their guest a nice drink, and whether things are different in Germany. Moving on from etiquette, we welco...

With Dili away for the week we need a guest host, preferably someone with some experience with this podcast malarkey. Lucky for us, we have the perfect guest to fill in, it’s the wonderful Shaun Behrens of the Everyday Germany podcast! Shaun joins Producer Simon & Nic to discuss the benefits of being totally unprepared for life in Germany, the difficulties of finding a job, and why having a no...

Things are decidedly zen this week, with good vibes spread by Nic after he sat in total silence for three hours. He’s not been on some transcendental meditation retreat however, but invigilating exams for the university’s Prüfungswoche. Perhaps it’s this peace of mind that leads to our first topic of the week: creating a ten point plan to fix Germany. Having created a clear path for Germany’s futu...

It was Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, and it turns out your co-hosts aren’t incurable romantics, if anything, we’re all very curable. We discuss plans for “the most romantic day of the year” which involve cooking leaves, editing podcasts and sitting quietly on our own. From love to shopping, Nic is shocked by the state of his local city centre. Boarded up shop fronts, closing down sales, and genera...

New week, new episode, new cold suffered by Dili. It’s not all negative though, this weeks variant of low level sickness has gifted Dili some Miley Cyrus level vocals, which we all appreciate. From one pop starlet to another, a quick music chat leads to the revelation that Producer Simon is less than enthusiastic about Taylor Swift’s back catalogue. Don’t worry listeners, we’ll make a Swifty of hi...

As we come to the end of the month, Nic celebrates an accidental Dry January, until Dili & Producer Simon point out an obvious flaw in his logic. No matter, perhaps sobriety is overrated, but at least Nic can console himself with a conversation about brunch, or is that an argument about brunch? Inquisitions into breakfast food aside, we thankfully have some less contentious issues to discuss,...

It’s a week of rather fruity voices as both Nic & Dili have varying degrees of cold, thanks to germ infested children and coughing commuters. Of course, that won’t stop the pod, and we kick things off with a forceful debate over the correct terminology for underwear. We have a number of updates to cover from last week, with listeners providing solid advice on his bakery goblin problems, which...

After a major microphone malfunction last week, Producer Simon is forced to eat a healthy slab of humble pie, much to Dili’s enjoyment. Once the admin is out the way, and Simon has finished crying, we turn to the important issue of Nic’s burgeoning hatred of a particular bakery employee. We also look at some updates on the ongoing farming protests across Germany. We dedicate a large portion of thi...

Well, it’s finally happened, after weeks of low level insults, Dili decides to go on strike. Thankfully that’s a major topic in Germany at the moment, so at least one third of the podcast is on topic. Luckily for Nic and Producer Simon, Dili quickly returns to work, and good thing too since no one else is capable of talking about the world’s first botanical garden. With many areas of Germany facin...

It’s the first podcast of 2024, and we’re all still recovering from an action packed festive couple of weeks. Producer Simon has been enjoying himself a little too much and after a week of almost solid eating, he attempts to podcast via the recovery position. Nic has been fighting off a variety of flus & colds, while nursing his wife and children through their own seasonal sickness. Finally Di...

As 2023 begins to make itself scarce, we look back on a year of the weird and wonderful, not only in Germany, but among your podcast hosts. We recap Dili’s short-lived segment on fruit and find exactly who was to blame for vetoing such creative output. We are also once again joined by Nic’s infant son, who is more than happy to offer up his opinions on DfH over the year. It’s not all recrimination...

It’s almost Christmas which means we throw off the shackles of podcast structure and unleash the festive chaos, although some of us may be more chaotic than others. As Dili and Nic’s baby son compete for who can cause the most on-mic pandemonium, Producer Simon kicks back and enjoys a few beers as all semblance of order crumbles about his ears. It falls to your erstwhile Geordie co-host to enforce...

After a week of brainstorming, Nic has come up with a new introduction for co-host Dili. Despite his best efforts, the result doesn’t quite land they way he’d hoped, but at least he still has his health, unlike last week. After days of drinking randomly flavoured tea, which is the cure-all for any sickness in Germany, Dili wonders which is the best beverage to recover from a cold and why it has to...

Dragging himself from his sickbed, Nic debuts his new smoky radio voice, which frankly isn’t worth the suffering. Sick or not, this doesn’t stop him bringing up Euro 2024, much to Dili’s disappointment. Knowing that one third of the hosting team is close to collapse, Dili takes up the politics beat by discussing the questionable social media use of a certain Bavarian politician. Despite our genera...

After being inspired by talk of Christmas markets last week, Dili decides to sample the delights her own town’s festive offering. While she ponders the right amount of condiments that should go on a bratwurst, Nic is trying to work out how much porridge he can eat after he received a slightly strange advent calendar. We turn our attention to the retirement of Thomas Gottschalk, one of Germany’s mo...

No matter how hard you may try, it’s impossible to ignore the imminent arrival of Christmas markets to Germany. While we look forward to the lovely treats on offer, Dili is preoccupied with the availability of roasted chestnuts, and whether they will be better than the ones she’s been making at home. Famous for the largest Christmas market in Germany, we turn to Nürnberg, but less for the festive...

It’s rare that Nic’s history of drunken shenanigans actually comes in useful, but it turns out it makes him pretty useful in very specific parenting situations. Sadly, this particular set of skills didn’t help when trying to get hold of Euro 2024 tickets, but it might aid in dealing with the disappointment. The beginning of Fasching means a chance to talk about the weirdness of Germany’s fifth sea...

The adventures of parenthood continue as Nic deals with a sick child, which Dili can sympathise with. To keep our minds off germs, we look at the recent news story about cuts to the Bundeswehr’s food budget. It’s said that an army marches on its stomach, but apparently not in Germany. Following the recent election in New Zealand, Producer Simon takes us through the ins and outs of the political pr...

Your trio of hosts are back together again and just in time for Halloween. With all those ghouls and ghosts knocking about, safety in numbers makes sense, you never know who might knock on the door at this time of year. We discuss the increasing popularity of Halloween, posh pumpkins, and avoiding trick or treaters. School holidays mean Nic can’t go to his usual lunch spot, and instead must face t...