Expat Chatter

On a trip to the Christmas market in Munich, I was inspired by the holiday cheer and the number of foreign tourists and was especially impressed by their boisterous enthusiasm for holiday wares. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

I loved Christmas cookies growing up and thought they were pretty good, but have since discovered that German holiday confectionary is in a league of its own – the premier league. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Germans don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but they celebrate Christmas half the winter. Starting at the end of November with the first of Advent, it culminates on January 6th, Heilige Drei Könige, Three Kings’ Day, or Epiphany, which is the Eastern Orthodox Christmas, but Germans figured it’s another holiday—we’ll take it.  Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

I have cherished memories of holiday meals from my childhood. Certain foods were always on the table for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it just wasn’t a festive spread without them. Pumpkin pie for dessert was a must. But that was many years ago and 8,000 kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean and the pie I bake today is quite different from the one my mother made.   Pumpkins originally come from A...

My experience with mushrooms was confined to cans as a kid. In Germany, collecting them is a cherished hobby – but don’t bother asking anybody where to find them because they aren’t telling. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Americans celebrate fall with Halloween, but Germans have St. Martin. Children carry lit lanterns in processions through the dark, singing. It sounds so lovely, until you’re the one out there battling the cold wind to keep the lantern lit. This is a festival best enjoyed indoors. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Halloween used to be unknown in Germany. That has changed and there are now pumpkins for sale on every street corner and sometimes kids go trick-or-treating too. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

The English language has its downsides. But when you compare it to German, French and Spanish it suddenly looks surprisingly efficient and user-friendly. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

It’s that time of year again: The leaf blowers are back! They add to an increasingly noisy world, but it’s also possible to create pleasant sounds or eliminate them altogether. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

I thought my French was good enough to get me around southern France. But language skills were not enough. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Those of us who predate GPS know how to get around without using technology. Knowing the points of the compass is helpful for navigating in an American city, but in Europe, the streets often date from the days of footpaths and donkey carts. These willy-nilly labyrinths can dead end, disappear or lead you in a circle. So how does a North American get around a European city? Support the show www.exp...

I used to feel sheepish whenever I took an overpacked suitcase home on a trip to the U.S. But when I thought about it more closely, I realized there was a very good reason for doing this. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

I fantasize about taking my kids back to where I grew up to show them the real America. Except when I arrive, it’s often to discover that many things have changed. Shops have disappeared, new restaurants have sprouted up. I may wax nostalgic, but were the old ways really better?   Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

The real founding father I just recently overcame my amazement that Alexander Hamilton was not Anglo-American but from the Caribbean island of Nevis, contrary to the lore of America’s Founding Fathers. Thanks to the musical, this has become common knowledge,.  But now I learn that Chicago was not founded by French fur traders but by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a black man from Haiti. Not until 2...

France’s national holiday is Bastille Day, July 14th, which sparked a revolution that sent shock waves across Europe. But French culture had already been impacting many countries’ architecture, language, cuisine - and even your backyard – for centuries. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

It’s been over 200 years since these two broods of cicadas hatched at the same time. Just by chance, I’ll be traveling right through the middle of the swarms.  Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

If you are in Munich and see people jostling for a spot in line at a produce stand, you can bet they’re queuing for white asparagus. Don’t bother telling them that the green kind is better, because the white stuff has cult status here. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

If you’re just settling in on the couch, then don’t let any Germans into the room. They’ll open up all the windows to let in fresh air – regardless of the outside temperature.   Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

We are accustomed to seeing cemeteries full of tombstones honoring the dead from both world wars, but this cemetery stretches even farther back into the past. The French Revolution,  the ensuing Napoleonic Wars, and even the 30 years’ war left their mark on this historic cemetery. French generals have French Republican dates on their tombstones, now illegible to non-historians, and the woman who w...

An almost nostalgic story, written during the pandemic. Remember all those strange projects we took upon ourselves for lack of anything better to do? I discovered the strange parallels between my wardrobe and the methods of the famous German scientist and explorer, Alexander von Humboldt. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

You might think that Germans would mostly miss the beer when they go to the U.S. - but you'd be wrong. What they really pine after is German bread, which is so hearty you might want to refrain if you've just had dental work done. But foreigners living in German grow to love it, too, and woe to those who have to leave the country! Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Germany is the land of soccer, especially in Munich, home of the world-famous FC Bayern. But American football has gain in popularity. Across the country, fans are gearing up for the Superbowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.  I spoke with two Munich football fans, Stefan and his son Ben, to hear how they fell in love with this sport, despite the huge success of the loca...

Germans are now confronting the fact that Christmas is over but winter is just getting underway. They console themselves by getting an early start celebrating carnival, which involves consuming large quantities of a special pastry, called Krapfen, to prepare for a period of fasting for Lent. True, hardly anybody fasts anymore, but no matter – Krapfen are delicious. Not only are these pastries popu...

We train dogs, but they have much to teach us. Babies are fluent in body language but over time it is sacrificed to verbal communication. Studying the behavior of dogs gives clues to body language that will serve us well. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold