Expat Chatter

The New Year means more than resolutions. All of Germany sets off firecrackers at midnight on December 31st. This has a huge negative impact on animals, people, and the environment. Calls for restricting or banning fireworks entirely are getting louder every year.  Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

On a trip to a Christmas market in Munich, I was inspired by The Night Before Christmas. Many parallels sprang to mind, but with throngs of last-minute shoppers, Christmas markets, and packed trains, I found myself wishing to be whisked away in a sleigh. 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

Santa Claus, St. Nick, or the Christ child? The figure we associate with Christmas takes on many shapes and forms in different countries. In Germany, he also travels around with a partner who isn’t quite so nice named Knecht Ruprecht. The whole holiday is more complex than you’d think. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Christmas markets are popping up on every corner in Germany, including the medieval town of Regensburg and city of Munich, where they sell Christmas decorations and a few unexpected items like fake Fabergé eggs (somehow the Czar’s court got involved). The historic backdrop and mulled wine create a unique atmosphere that’s hard to beat. 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

Germans have a reputation for being punctual, something which does not apply to its train system. During a recent train strike, it was striking (ahem) to note that many people felt there was not much difference to regular service. I’d say that’s a roundabout, polite way of saying that the trains just aren’t as reliable as they used to be. And that’s being overly polite, too. Support the show www.e...

It's not a holiday without pumpkin pie, but what I bake is a far cry from what my mother's version. I was shocked to discover that Germany  didn’t have ready-made, canned pumpkin mix. This was followed by the equally shocking prospect of having to make pumpkin pie from scratch. Quel horreur! 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

Some Germans celebrate Halloween, but not all of them. I was determined to find a way for my kids to enjoy it the way I did, spurring me to take some unusual action. I recreated the holiday faster than you can say “Boo!” Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

School has started, a good moment to consider the burden on mothers with children in German schools. The extra work required to support their children in German schools  – or rather systems of schools - is so great that women from other countries literally do not believe it. Until reality hits. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

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

What some probably don’t realize is that, while the Oktoberfest is the biggest folk festival worldwide, it is very much still a local attraction as well as a draw for tourists. Even during the pandemic, without any assistance from people out of town, restaurants learned that people want to party whether the official event is on or not. This has become a permanent change. Support the show www.expat...

Every language has its peculiarities, which should be respected. But when you translate into another language and aren’t careful, elements of the original one can remain. This can cause confusion or more often, simply make for a shoddy translation. To my horror, I recently spotted a peculiar strain of German called Beamtendeutsch creeping into English.    Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Br...

The Oktoberfest is synonymous with beer for most people. Yet half of the fairgrounds consists of roller coasters, kiddie cars, and shooting galleries—and what might possibly be the world’s last attraction of its kind: a flea circus. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

You know Fall has arrived when the leaf blowers start blasting through the open window. But whose idea was it anyway to have lawns that need so much upkeep? French culture impacted many countries' languages and cuisine - and even the front yard. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Munich had a run-in with e-bikes once a few years ago. They successfully battled the bikes—quite literally—and won, leaving mangled two-wheelers strewn all over the city. Some citizens in San Francisco are also unhappy with the city government’s decision to introduce self-driving taxis. They can’t throw them in the river, as residents of the Bavarian capital did with the bikes, but they found an i...

Do you speak English? This question is often answered with “Yes” all around the world. Why bother learning another language if everyone speaks yours? Apparently, this is what many U.S. universities are thinking as they eliminate their foreign language programs. But this language hegemony leads to cultural ignorance, perhaps not an ideal state of affairs for a world power such as the U.S. Support t...

People’s identities are tied up closely with their names. But even when you are careful to pronounce it correctly you can still get into trouble. In Germany, some people with doctoral degrees have two “doctors” in front of their names—a doctor to the second power, perhaps. And then some people have “baron” in their name but aren’t royalty, while other royals are six years old and wear sweatpants....

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...

Any foreigner in Germany knows all about the country’s love of overengineering. All it takes is trying to fill out a single form to get a residence permit. Less talked about is how German mothers also overengineer. Are they just responding to the system? I found out when my daughters started school. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Gridlock is a word often used in connection with legislators in the U.S. Congress, but for people who work in the Washington, DC area it brings something else to mind: the terrible traffic situation. But Yankee ingenuity has carried far south enough to inspire commuters to a brilliant solution to allow more cars into the carpool lane. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

The hand of history has done its work on the city of Munich. Named after the monks that founded it, it was disgraced by its role in vaulting the Nazis to power. Many decades later, it has just been chosen as the training site for European rabbis. Munich has not only redeemed itself but become an important center for Jewish culture. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

It is astounding how places can change over time, sometimes transforming from sites of great trauma into parks where people take walks, barbecue, or fly kites in peaceful skies. Berlin is full of such spots, and the old Tempelhof airport is one of the most fraught locations of WWII and intricately interwoven with the start of the Cold War. Support the show www.expatchatter.net   Brenda Arnold

Imagine if your wedding were so spectacular that people would want not just to reenact it, but turn it into a month-long spectacle. Introducing: the Landshuter Hochzeit , the recreation of a wedding that took place in the 15th century, complete with a bridal couple in a gilded carriage pulled by noble steeds. But don’t bother getting dressed up – costumes are reserved for the knaves, damsels and k...