Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

On the show this week: Crack out the champagne, put on your best set of headphones and come join us for episode 50! We’re joined by two, yes two, guests and Dilli and Sandra return to discuss new jobs, moving to a different German state and alternative ways to deal with a large collection of romantic fiction when moving countries.  A race between a horse and the internet in North Rhine-Westph...

On the show this week: Simon has broken the seal and cooked his first roast dinner of the year and Nic is desperate for the details. How were the roast potatoes, did the Yorkshire puddings get all fluffy, and what was Simon’s secret recipe for the vegetables? To accompany the food mood music, Nic is preparing for his annual favourite meal in Germany, although he’s not exactly sure how it’s made. W...

On the show this week: We’re joined by Marty, the honourable husband on Twitter, to talk positive experiences of German bureaucracy, Berlin’s creaking infrastructure and why Bavarian villages are being gentrified. We also take time to enjoy one of our favourite topics: German beer! We have an update on the winner of Jugendwort des Jahres 2021 and Marty cringes at the amount of English being introd...

On the Show this week: After finally finding some time to watch TV, Nic discovers his admiration for Germany’s only actor Matthias Schweighöfer, while Simon explains why many Germans may be suspicious when they meet a Richard Wagner super fan. With Halloween out the way, there’s nothing stopping the inevitable advance of Christmas and that means two things: Nic’s going to destroy some Stollen and...

On the show this week: After a barrage of ridiculous headlines from our former home, we finally crack and decide talk about what the hell is going on in Britain. Is Germany really more sane or does it just feel like that by comparison?  We discuss why Germans might want to avoid a beach holiday in Britain for the foreseeable future, why British government communication feels dystopian and why...

On the show this week: We’re joined once again by guest-host Dilli Algama as we discuss Simon’s short but sharp experience of a house full of small children. While Nic can sympathise, Dilli impresses the lads with her creative distractions for parents and babysitters alike. Having lived through the torment of being a ginger haired child in Britain, Nic marvels at the distinct lack of ginger hair h...

On the Show this week: We welcome Dr. Sandra Jansen to the show, just in time to talk about controversial cocktail opinions and the recent takeover of Nic’s favourite football club, Newcastle United. However, we didn’t ask the good doctor on to only talk booze and football. Sandra is a sociolinguist and she has more than a few interesting observations about how Nic and Simon speak. She teaches us...

On the show this week: Simon takes in some amatuer football and we find a possible official Decades from Home football team, while Nic celebrates a new job. Release day coincides with “Curious events Day”, so Simon questions Nic on the Loch Ness Monster and why the Royal Family are lizard aliens. A wild boar attack in Barcelona gives us a chance to ask whether German Boars are more mild mannered t...

On the show this week: We’re joined by Marty this week, better known as The Honorable Husband on Twitter, to talk Oktoberfest withdrawal and the pitfalls of living and working in a different language.  Simon celebrates the Tag der deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day) and why it’s a little different from other national days around the world. With sausages being used for political promotion and...

On the show this week: We’re joined by Richard from Ingolstadt, allowing us to form the mighty Bavarian triangle! Simon introduces us to one of his favourite German rappers, we talk Deutschrap, American influences and why different parts of Germany produce better music.    Simon makes Richard feel welcome by bringing us a story from the UK and introducing us to a new term “Beaning”. What...

On the show this week: We welcome Dilli Algama back to the show and just in time for Simon to reveal his mystery anniversary gift from last week’s show. We kick things off by discussing trips to the zoo, Simon introduces Dilli to the red panda and we marvel at the many places that sell beer in Germany. We talk about Zukunftsangst this week as we look at the supposed top ten German fears. We talk a...

On the show this week: We’re welcoming a guest host to the show this week as we’re joined by the writer Courtney Tenz! We discuss whether picking random fruit off trees is worth the risk, Bavarian vegetarian options, wedding anniversary gifts and Simon celebrates the arrival of a new David Hasselhoff album partly inspired by some classic German hits. With the Federal elections only weeks away, Cou...

On this week’s show: Nic learns that like many things in Germany, there are some important rules to remember when ordering a takeaway. Simon talks about his love of currywurst and defends his favourite comfort food from his co-hosts food cynicism. The lads celebrate the upcoming release of Sam Fender’s new album and take some time out from discussing the peculiarities of German life to discuss how...

On the show this week: By god it’s Johann Goethe’s birthday! Simon wants to celebrate the birth of one (if not the) greatest Germans of all time, but Nic can’t help insulting the birthday boy. The lad’s enjoy the annual list of Jugendwort des Jahres 2021 (Youth Word of the Year) and ponder whether their young or cool enough to use any of them. They also wonder what they even mean. In an attempt to...

On the show this week: We’re back for a full episode baby! Nic has finished laying floor and painting walls in his new home and he’s not entirely sure if DIY is really his thing, does Simon have the DIY DNA or is he as equally underwhelmed with the idea of putting up shelves and playing with power tools? Nic and Simon ask whether there is any real need to buy a house, given that renting is so popu...

As Nic finishes up his work on the house, we have a chance for a SUMMER REPEAT!!!! Simon & Nic discuss flags and national symbols as we look at different ideas on national flags coming out of Germany, the UK and the US. We discuss new flag rules in the UK, if the US has more rules than Germany when it comes to flag flying, whether flying the German national flag is still an issue in Germany an...

On the show this week: Simon has been buying fish, but much to Nic’s surprise he doesn’t plan on eating them with some chips. We celebrate the birthday of one of the most famous spies in history as we discuss the life of Mata Hari and her exploits spying for Germany during WWI. Due to Nic’s life getting in the way, we’re bringing you some of our favourite segments from previous shows as we go back...

On the show this week: We’re finally taking our first steps back into the land of the normal as Simon joins a large group of foodies for a tour of Nürnberg, while Nic ventures out to visit the Augsburg Plärrer. We discuss the anniversary of the lowering of the German voting age in 1970 and take some time to celebrate the life of everyone’s favourite Chancellor, Willy Brandt. We discuss the curious...

On the show this week: Simon kicks-off the show celebrating Jürgen Klinsmann’s birthday and reminisces about one of his favourite footballers of all time and we talk about how Germans see Britain and whether either of us feel embarrassed when we have to explain some of the extreme news stories coming out of our former home. We’re focusing on our adopted home this week, the mighty Freistaat Bayern...

On the show this week: Simon returns from his sick bed and joins Nic to talk about some exciting changes to the podcast, There’s also the small matter of a football game to discuss. Simon and Nic commiserate over England’s loss and take some time to talk about the wider impact of a successful tournament on English culture and politics. We also go back to episode 13 to hear about some curious Germa...

On the show this week: After 30 episodes and some hard work over the last few months, Simon deservedly has taken the week off. Without the stabilising influence of Simon, Nic could easily have gone off the rails, but luckily for us he decided on a clipshow instead. This week go back in time to hear conversations on a the connection between a fish and German music from episode 14, East Germany’s fa...

On the show this week: Simon celebrates Sebastian Vettel’s birthday and explains why the F1 driver holds British humour in such high regard. Despite their best efforts, the lads we can’t avoid talking football especially with the England v Germany fixture taking up so much of this week’s news. Simon & Nic talk about terrible media takes, football rivalries and who to support once your favourit...

To celebrate the upcoming England v Germany game Nic & Simon discuss the upcoming fixture and what it means to them. They remember past meetings between the teams and try to predict who will win on Tuesday.

On the show this week: We’re talking two of our favorite topics this week football and beer, although the second of these is a little tricky for Simon as he recovers from partying with his neighbours. Nic explains why JFK is unfairly remembered in Germany for claiming to be doughnut and your hosts discuss marxist footballers and why a minority of English football fans are booing their own team. Si...

On the show this week: Nic comes down with a severe case of football fever and there ain’t no vaccine for that, the lads discuss the start of Euro 21 and the teams they plan on supporting. Simon tells Nic all about Dirk Nowitzki (the insurance salesman) in honour of the giant German’s birthday. Following on from last week, Simon and Nic talk discuss funny German words they’ve still not fully got t...