Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

Following a busy weekend, we discuss family birthdays, how to bake cakes for Germans, and what makes the perfect party goodie bag. Nic also learns what it takes to throw him into a homicidal rage. The release of the InterNations Expat Survey, and Germany’s awful results, leads us to a discussion on whether expats are a trustworthy source, what the results tells us about Germany, and where Germans and expats might agree.Berlin once again went to the polls, this time for a referendum on climate neutrality. Sadly for climate activists, but seemingly typical of Berlin, things didn’t go according to plan. We ask whether referendums are ever a good idea, and why the results may not be as catastrophic as some might believe. We finish this week on the “Megastreiktag” that occurred on Monday, and saw much of Germany’s transport networks totally shutdown. We look at why the strike happened, the demands of those on the picket lines, and how Germany handled a day with no trains.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 CreditFoto von John Cutting auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

After a week off with Corona, Dili is back in the co-host hot seat, and comes equipped with questions about Nic’s adventures on St Patrick’s Day. We discuss how to survive an all day drinking session, changing trains with a hangover, and the secret power of cheese and ham croissants. We tackle the thorny issue of Wahlrechtsreform after the German government voted to change the current election system, and reduce an overly bloated Bundestag. How will these new plans change the next election, and why might the opposition to reform create some strange political alliances? Finally, the announcement that one of Germany’s largest department store groups, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, is planning to close 50 of its 129 stores across the country leads us to a discussion about the changing face of German city centres, and how empty shop spaces might be used for something more innovative. 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 CreditFoto von Paul Hanaoka auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Sadly Dili was out this week, but luckily for us freelance writer & journalist Aaron Gasch Burnett was able to step into the breach. Some listeners may know Aaron from his work on the Germany in Focus podcast, as well as a variety of articles for many other publications.We kick off proceedings in typical German fashion with a test on Aarons credentials, and by credentials we mean opinions on German politeness, maple syrup, and of course cakes. Aaron discusses his experience of hosting the I am Germany Twitter account (@Germany_iam), his German grandparents, and even schools Nic on Canadian rodeo.With attention on potential changes to citizenship rules in Germany, Aaron shares his thoughts on the likelihood of a new law coming into effect, how things might actually change for those hoping to gain dual citizenship, and potential stumbling blocks along the way. We finish this week on the rivalry between Bavaria and Berlin, and why Berlin is one of the best places to live in Germany. 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 CreditFoto von Moises Gonzalez auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Fire the confetti cannons, producer Simon’s back in the booth after three weeks away! We celebrate the returning hero in the traditional fashion, by demanding he give us some gifts from his travels….well Nic does at least. For her part, Dili has more decorum, unless of course we’re talking about biscuits.After last week’s foray into wolf filled forests, we return to the wilds for a wolf related update concerning a pet attack in Ostsachsen. We also follow up on the Berlin election and wonder why it is that the capital of Germany won’t see a government in place until the end of April.A protest by climate activists Letzten Generation over the weekend leads to condemnation across the political spectrum, and leads us to a discussion on the merits of the current protest movement, and whether the outrage is justified. We finish the show with a chat on the proposal to make English Germany’s official second language.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 CreditFoto von Stephanie Klepacki auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

It’s been three weeks since producer Simon went on holiday and Dili & Nic are really missing him; Dili misses his stern eyebrows, while Nic misses his editing skills. In order to cheer themselves up, your hosts discuss which superpowers would be most useful for living in Germany, and why might the desire to be invisible be a sad indictment on how women are treated here.With the closing of a 130 year old mineral water company in Baden-Württemberg, we take a look at the German love of bottled water. Is tap water so terrible, and where do Germans store all their crates of water they seem to buy in ever increasing quantities? Dili also shares her favourite part of drinking fizzy water: the gas!We discuss the Meldestelle Antifeminismus, or Anti-Feminism Reporting Office, which has been operating a portal to document anti-feminist incidents across Germany. We talk about whether such a platform is useful, and if its critics have a point. We finish with a Grimm’s Fairy Tale come to life after a cyclist comes face to face with the big bad wolf.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 CreditFoto von Thomas Bonometti auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

It’s nice to know that after all this time, Germany still has the capacity to surprise, as Dili discovers when she learns something new about her washing machine, and German, that’s been staring her in the face for 12 years. From surprises to the strange, as we discuss what we still find odd about Germany, from dead balcony plants, to hidden factories in the forest.With Fasching well and truly over, attention turns to Bavaria as the great and good of German politics go on all out attack as Politischer Aschermittwoch returns from a three year break. The tradition of aggressive speeches and verbal dexterity might seem like fun, but is it really what Germany needs in 2023?We finish with a discussion on our love/hate relationship with Deutsche Bahn. Do they really deserve all the complaints levelled at them, and what do they do that we can really celebrate?Article Mentioned in 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 CreditFoto von form PxHereTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Although Dili has built a reputation for being the pods expert on fruit, her true passion seems to be cake. Luckily she lives in Germany, a land of amazing cakes and happens to have an equally cake loving co-host to share her favourite cake choices. We talk the merits of jelly, the power of Bienenstich, and why a bad cake can still be a good cake.Fashing has arrived right on schedule, and Nic goes above and beyond for the pod as he enters the lion’s den of a Kinder Faschingsparty, with only his 2-year old monkey daughter and a gorilla costume to protect him. Germany’s best new drama, Berlinwahl 2023, had its season finale last Sunday, but despite the Berlin election coming to end, the fallout may last just as long. We discuss coalition negotiations, the importance of making friends, and why acting like a grown up might be a refreshing new strategy.After a ballet director lashes out at a critic in the worst way possible, we discuss creative ways to take revenge on critics, and we finish with a government plan from Leipzig to make companies pay their employees to sleep at work. 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 CreditFoto von CouleurTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

A simple question on shopping opens a can of worms as we discuss our experiences of the fabled German customer service. With politeness on the mind, Nic ponders what he should do when confronted with impolite people in social situations, and whether stabbing people with a fork is an acceptable reaction.Moving on from the horrors of social discourse, we turn our attention to the rapid arrival of Fasching or Carnival. Germany’s fifth season is a time for costumes, parades, and tiny bottles of schnapps, so what’s not to like? Well, for one of the hosts of the podcast, all this fun is a bit too much…can you guess which one?We discuss the merits of mountain climbing and recap a recent story of two mountain climbers who had to be rescued from one of Germany’s most dangerous mountains, and we finish on the news that those celebrating their 18th birthday in Germany will be receiving a special gift from the government. Articles mentioned in the showMountaineers rescued from the WatzmannGerman government to offer 18-year-olds a KulturpassFor 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 CreditFoto von Dominik Lückmann auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

After bickering over who gets to ask our kick-off question, Dili wins the battle of wills and wouldn’t you believe it, she wants to know about favourite vegetables. Thankfully, Nic takes it all in his stride, since no vegetable chat could compete with the hell he experienced after his family weekend trip to IKEA. We find some time to introduce a new segment, Dili’s Sports Roundup, and Nic recounts his first sojourn into the TV festival that is “Berlin, Berlin”.Thankfully pandemic lockdowns are becoming a distant memory, but the shadow cast by them still remains, especially in education. A recent analysis of various studies around the world shows that many children have educational deficits after two years of online classes. We discuss how we both dealt with teaching online, and what can be done to help children and students overcome the numerous gaps in their studies. We finish off with a look at the pension system in Germany and the news that the government are looking at pension reform. Articles mentioned in the showAnalysis of global studies on education gaps 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 CreditFoto von Vsevolod Tymofyeyev auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Nic is worried that the producer is trying to blackmail him, although Dili seems less than supportive of his current predicament. We discuss problem neighbours, if it’s better to live next door to family or have them as far aways as possible, and whether independence is both a blessing and a curse. Also, Dili challenges Nic to watch an awarding winning German TV show that seemingly revolves around an incestious relationship.We look at how moving to Germany presents some unique challenges to new arrivals, chief among them being making friends, but also how migrant success can give a person a deep sense of pride. We also take some time to look at how children can change perspectives, hunting for Kindergartens, and different cultural approaches to raising kids.The resignation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern leads to a discussion on how women in public life are treated in Germany, shock at how patriarchal Germany can be, and the sometimes worryingly rigid ideas about gender roles.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 CreditFoto von Kelly Sikkema auf UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß