Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

After almost two years of podcasting, we’ve finally reached the summit of 100 episodes! We’ve spent a lot of time wondering how we should celebrate such a massive milestone, and the only logical conclusion is to take a BFF quiz from Teen Vogue. Yes listeners, we’re going to share our deepest darkest secrets with you, and should we fail to answer, well the punishment will be a shot of something tru...

On the show this week: We’ve been enjoying the halloween spirit this week, to differing degrees of success. Nic accidently watched the scariest horror movie of all time, while Simon rewatched an old favourite which he’s sure had significantly less nudity the first time around. We also chat about a day trip to one of the weirdest, and most Bayrisch, tourist attractions in Germany. We have a special...

Even though we’ve been here for two decades between us, we still can’t get the hang of German pillows. Simon knows this better than most, especially after suffering a pillow related injury. Never let it be said we don’t suffer for this podcast! Neck pain aside, Simon did manage to get out of the house to forage for mushrooms. He must be pretty good at telling his champignons from his deathcaps, be...

On the show this week We have a bundle of updates from last week, with Union Berlin still flying high in the Bundesliga, among other news. We discuss the recent debate on keeping three nuclear power plants open until 2023, which is a good chance to learn some interesting new German vocabulary. Additionally, we also have to look across the channel at the ongoing idiocy of British politics. With sho...

On the show this week: Growing up is tough, especially for parents, as Nic discovers when his daughter gains the freedom to wake him up at all hours of the night. Of course, Simon is very sympathetic, although perhaps his suggestions on how to resolve the issue lacks a certain level of nuance. We welcome episode 96 with a trip down memory lane, to the year 1996 and the exploits of a certain Geordi...

We’re back from Bonn, but we still have some important things to discuss, namely how did all that Haribo taste. Simon might be putting off trying the cake flavoured Gummibärchen, but Nic has been glorying in the wide open spaces of novelty flavour country. Nic has also been to Bamberg recently, which gives us a chance to talk Rauchbier and whether one of Bavaria’s most famous cities is really “the...

After two weeks away from the pod, Simon is back in all his glory, but this isn’t the only thing we’re celebrating in this week’s episode. For the first time since we started the show, both Simon and Nic are in the same room for the first of two episodes recorded at our producer’s house in Bonn. Aside from being the home of our producer, there’s another good reason to be in Bonn: it’s the home of...

With Simon still galavanting around the UK, Nic enlists the help of listener favourite Dili Algama to steady the good ship Decades from Home. That being said, Nic might not have been fully prepared for the levels of German directness that Dili brings along with her. We unpack our feelings the day after the Queen’s funeral, and wonder what five mile queues and enforced mourning mean for the UK. Tha...

Simon is away on holiday in the UK this week, but the show must go on, even if half of the show is knee deep in sausage rolls and pints of warm beer. Luckily for Nic, we’ve been able to secure a fantastic guest as we welcome historian and journalist Katja Hoyer to talk about dealing with British greetings and how to correctly pronounce the word “scone”. It’s rather lucky we have a historian with u...

On the show this week After four days back in Germany from adventures in the UK, Nic is feeling a bit weird. Thankfully, Simon is on hand to talk through the process of returning home from, well, home. One significant difference is how low-fi much of life in the south of Germany can be, but is that maybe a positive? Then again, not having to deal with British indirectness is certainly a positive a...

Simon very much enjoys the summer camp feel to this week’s show as Nic commandeers his niece and nephew’s bunk bed for the record. The new environment blends nicely with Nic’s new sultry deep voice, a hard won benefit after a weekend spent living in the 17th century with the Sealed Knot. What’s it like to come face to face with a musket block and live to tell the tale? Leaving the past behind, Sim...

Nic is back in the UK, so enjoy some extra special audio from some passing seagulls and the full skinny on what’s happening in Britain. Nic has fallen in love with tiny North East breweries, but he’s far more excited that his daughter loves a traditional sausage roll just as much as he does. Simon and Nic talk about the state of the UK, why German news isn’t necessarily a refreshing change and six...

Maybe we’re getting old, but usually when we talk about “getting pickled” it’s after a night on the sauce, but not this week. After receiving a delivery of vinegar, Simon’s taken to pickling anything he can get his hands on, but how do Germans feel about a pickled egg? Nic has more pressing concerns than Simon’s new hobby though; what do you do when you lose interest in a long German sentence? Is...

After enjoying a surprise Augsburg only public holiday on Monday, Nic is feeling quite relaxed, a fact that only intensifies Simon’s jealousy at having missed out. Luckily for Simon, he didn’t have to suffer through FC Augsburg’s opening game of the season, a 4-0 loss to Freiburg. Nic was there, and he’s still not fully recovered. It’s not all negatives though, Simon got a new tattoo and possibly...

For some reason Simon and Nic are really happy this week, possibly it’s the sunny weather, but more likely it’s finally seeing an England football team win a major tournament. We share our stories of jubilation, tears and glorious lobbed goals from the final of the European Women's Championship. After descending from cloud nine, we dive into a legal dispute between a woman and her insurance compan...

The lads have been doing a bit of travelling around Germany this week. While Nic stuck to the safety of Bavaria, Simon went further afield, and on the way spotted some fellow Brits who’ve managed to avoid the traffic and make it to Germany. We talk about a recent funeral held in a forest and why that might be the most German of send offs, and we go over the recent travel chaos at various airports...

After the highs of last week’s show, we resume normal service as we discuss having family come visit us in Germany, the complex dance of German and British politeness, and why it’s impossible to find an ice cream van when you need one. Although we can’t offer you a Mr. Whippy, Simon might be able to offer you something much better: the opportunity to win a trophy! After avoiding the chaos of Briti...

Well listener, aren’t you in for a real treat! We’re joined by the the most incredible of special guests, the definitive English language voice of the Bundesliga, Derek Rae. Derek is ESPN’s lead commentator for the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal, La Liga and the Deutsche Fußball Liga. He’s also, along with Lee Dixon & Stewart Robson, the commentator for hundreds of thousands of daily Fifa 22 games...

Simon returns after a week of avoiding a house full of Covid, and not a minute to soon either. Nic needs an answer to a burning question: why do Germans enjoy eating piping hot meals, even when it’s hotter than the mouth of hell outside? We try and find an answer to this puzzler, among many other important questions. A recent proposal to make English an official bureaucratic language gets us think...

We are joined by two very special guests this week, Marty and Marcy, who join Nic for a special Pride episode to discuss their experiences of life in Germany. We talk about culture bubbles, the price of Vegemite, and the glory of American convenience food. After a weekend of terrible news from the US, wevdiscuss the loss of established freedoms, and the threats to LGBTQ rights. We turn to Germany...

After a weekend heatwave, Simon has discovered the joys of wild swimming, but only as long as all the boats stay out of his way. Nic, on the other hand, made the counterintuitive decision to watch some horse jumping to beat the heat. He doesn’t like horses or hot weather, so this one will take some explaining. We tackle the myth of a modern Germany as we look at a celebrity businessman’s less than...

After a weekend of adventures up north in Hamburg, Nic returns with tales of Disney musicals, art oggoling, and riding on Mississippi Riverboats. Simon has a lot of questions, most importantly of all, how was the fish? Moving on from holidays, Nic quizzes Simon’s knowledge of German ice cream, while Simon returns the favour with some curious ice cream flavours. Anyone for fried chicken ice cream?...

Sadly Simon is out sick this week, but Nic battles on by inviting the listeners to join in on the conversation, pity he forgot to mic them up. Instead of wasting an hour of your time and his sanity, Nic and our lovely, shiny new producer have complied a themed clip-show for your listening enjoyment! We go back to Christmas to revisit our brave experimentation with cheese and stollen, Simon loses h...

Simon surprises us all by announcing he’s become a Lord in the UK. No one has any idea why, but he’s making demands we all use his new title. To celebrate this sudden elevation to the ranks of the aristocracy, Simon has been binge watching Downton Abbey. Between that and his new title, Nic is beginning to worry about his podcast pal. Of course, there’s a reason for all this indulgent Britishness,...

Things are heating up in the podcast cave, so much so that Simon has shaved his beard. Now looking more man than bearded beast, Simon discusses being reunited with his neck and why you should always be careful around a beard trimmer. Luckily for Nic and everyone else in Nürnberg, Simon did keep his beard long enough to display it a the recent Punk in Drublic music festival. We talk about a wonderf...