Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

On the show this week:Living in Germany presents unique challenges, not all them are entirely predictable, such as fighting an 8 year old for a seat on the train. Dili may not have known she was about to throwdown with a small child, but she’s never been one to shrink from a confrontation. We discuss confronting unruly kids, another Bavarian Volksfest, and an invasion of hornets.With Germany still suffering from a heatwave, we look at government advice for keeping cool, and why putting your pants in the freezer is an alternative to air conditioning. We also turn our attention to the recent electoral success of the AfD in Thuringia, and the ramifications of the first district administrator from the far right party.We finish on a happier note as Nic attempts to educate Dili on the wonders of football in the run up to EURO 2024, starting with choosing a name for the tournament’s new mascot. For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

As your two hosts attempt to not melt in the heat, we discuss the how the sunny weather seems to bring out all the smokers in Germany. Despite being a reformed smoker, Nic has some sympathy for his nicotine stained former brethren; Dili on the other hand has no time for them whatsoever. Where is it still acceptable to light up, and is one of those places a Biergarten?From complaints about smoking to complaints in general, do Germans really complain that much and is it actually so bad? We ponder this question and whether there’s a difference between British moaning and German complaining, and if one is more practical than the other.We finish the show on the topic of multilingual relationships and how speaking another language can make someone a more attractive proposition. We also look at how people in long term multilingual relationships develop their own languages, and whether it’s easier for people to move to Germany when their partner already lives there.For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:Summer might have brought us some lovely weather in Germany, but it’s also exposed Dili to some maddening behaviour from her neighbours. From constant watering of their lawn, to burning random pieces of plastic, the warmer the weather, the hotter is Dili’s rage.Aside from enjoying German summer activities, we also have come to appreciate our newly discovered powers of prediction; sadly our newfound skills make for depressing news. We also discuss whether challenging objectionable social media content can ever be beneficial, or is it better to simply ignore it.We finish on the story of Germany’s first AI church service, can the mind of the internet teach us anything about the human soul?For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

With producer Simon taking the night off, Dili and Nic quickly go off script to discuss their experiences of living in shared accommodation, and the horror that entailed. From naked men in the kitchen, to hearing roommates having very loud sex, we look at the lows and very low lows of living in Germany.We discuss the novel way Germany celebrates the great and the good by honouring them with their very own traffic light. Although we may have to wait for the official Decades from Home pedestrian crossing, there are plenty of others to be found around the country, but does Dili know in which cities they can be found?We also take some time to chat about the usually calm Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz going rage mode, the riots in Leipzig, and the recent polling success of the AfD.For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

After leaving listeners with a slight cliffhanger last week, we return with some exciting news: Nic has a son! Not only that, we also have a the youngest fan of the podcast. Sure he has no idea what a podcast is, but that’s not stopping us from counting him among the listenership. With so much going on in Nic’s life, we dispense with the current events this week and talk about what it’s like going through the birth of a child in Germany. Why do doctors wear Crocs, what’s the etiquette for cutting the umbilical cord, and who is allowed to crack jokes in the operating theatre? We also discuss neighbourly gift giving, speaking German with sleep deprivation, and disappointing hospital food.For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:Dili returns from her holiday, and as is tradition on the show, Nic demands to know what exciting souvenirs she brought him from her week in France. He may be disappointed by the lack French cheeses coming in the post, but it’s not really an issue, Nic has far bigger fish to fry as his wife prepares to give birth the day after recording the show. We discuss all the exciting details, and the many things Nic is looking forward to over the next week. However, before any of that, we have some other stories to share with you dear listener. We look at a survey that tells us more about the Germans than perhaps anyone ever really needed to know, the return of plagiarism scandals to German politics, and the terror of getting stuck on a chair lift at the top of a mountain.We also have some time to discuss the historical knowledge of the average member of the Bundestag and why being a young woman in politics is seemingly a massive problem for a lot of German men. We finish this week with a story about how a tattoo may help you save someone’s life. For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:Dili is on holiday this week, but we’re joined by the wonderful Rachel Loxton of The Local & The Germany in Focus Podcast to talk about being Scottish in Germany, how paying the bill separately is a sure fire way to upset British friends, and why pretending to be Scottish might help make friends.Loneliness is a common complaint for many who move to Germany, but a recent initiative in Bavarian supermarkets may have the solution. Rachel and Nic discuss chatting at the checkout, why it can be a cure to the blues, and what may prevent small talk with your average German cashier. We finish off the show with Rachel’s experience of rising rents in Berlin, and why the capital isn’t the only city where affordable housing is hard to find. For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

An angry reaction to a curious Oma leads to questions about whether it’s ever OK to compliment someone else’s child, and why Nic’s resting face may be preventing him from making friends with other parents. We also discuss ever increasing supermarket prices, and what a small selection of groceries tells us about the state of the German economy.We run through some of the major news stories, with claims of nepotism hitting the government, we wonder if it’s ever alright to employ friends and family. We also take some time to discuss EU proposals to make drivers over 70 retake their driving tests every five years.We finish with the nightmare scenario taking an exam, only to find that there’s an unanswerable question. Who should be blamed for such an extraordinary screw up, and should pupils be expected to resit the exam at a later date? For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

A listener email concerning the coronation finally breaks our resolve, and we address the exciting news that a rich man will finally get to sit on his mother’s golden chair. We ask whether the many public appearances of Markus Söder are a cause for concern, and we address the recent criticism of Annalena Baerbock by public “intellectual” Richard David Precht. The sight of Maibäume appearing all around Bavaria gets us in the mood for spring, as we look at the many accompanying traditions to celebrate May 1st. What does a modern Maibaum party look like, do you really need Lederhosen, and why might stealing someone’s may pole lead to a reward?We finish the show with a look at scandal merchant and Mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, who was criticised for his defence, and repeated use, of the N-word. For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenImage CreditPhoto by form PxHereTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Hell hath no fury like a Dili scorned, a lesson that a certain German bank learned when they attempted to overcharge our erstwhile co-host. Luckily for Nic, he owns his own bank, which certainly seems to help. We also discuss adventures in the Bavarian Wald, and whether observing German traditions is vital to living here. The price of ice cream has become a major talking point in the German media, and as experts in eating various scoops of the sweet stuff, Dili & Nic breakdown why. Why are prices increasing so dramatically, and is the price of an Eiskugel a good way to measure annual price inflation?We also turn our attention to the debate raging over government plans to phase out gas and oil heating systems across Germany. Is the anger over the proposed law warranted, and how feasible is it to make people change the way they heat their homes? Ice Cream articles mentioned on the show:Und plötzlich kostet eine Kugel Eis locker zwei EuroKostet Eis heute wirklich so viel mehr?War die Kugel Eis früher wirklich günstiger?For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenImage CreditPhoto by Abby Savage on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß