Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

After two weeks away from the pod, Simon is back in all his glory, but this isn’t the only thing we’re celebrating in this week’s episode. For the first time since we started the show, both Simon and Nic are in the same room for the first of two episodes recorded at our producer’s house in Bonn. Aside from being the home of our producer, there’s another good reason to be in Bonn: it’s the home of Haribo. We talk about the British equivalent of Germany’s favourite gummy sweets, our favourite Haribo choices, and we find out why Nic can’t eat a Chocolate Orange. Simon talks about his adventures in the UK, and why taking the ferry is easily the most enjoyable way to visit our former island home. Sure, the “seasickness” wasn’t great, and the karaoke left a lot to be desired, but damn it there was a really nice dressing gown in the VIP cabin.We finish the show by getting our dirty mitts on some bottles of Kölsch, which isn’t so much a beer as it is a way of life, and one of the many benefits of being north of the Weißwurstäquator. Decades from Home - A podcast about GermanyFor 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 Meg Boulden on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

With Simon still galavanting around the UK, Nic enlists the help of listener favourite Dili Algama to steady the good ship Decades from Home. That being said, Nic might not have been fully prepared for the levels of German directness that Dili brings along with her. We unpack our feelings the day after the Queen’s funeral, and wonder what five mile queues and enforced mourning mean for the UK. Thankfully we have more cheery topics to cover, such as the delights of moving house in Germany, why having a kitchen is not guaranteed, and how to avoid getting trapped in the seven circles of IKEA hell. Dili discusses what it’s like to live in a small village in the east of Germany, why we often seek out the negatives of living here and whether we’re too German or not German enough. 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 Corina Rainer on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Simon is away on holiday in the UK this week, but the show must go on, even if half of the show is knee deep in sausage rolls and pints of warm beer. Luckily for Nic, we’ve been able to secure a fantastic guest as we welcome historian and journalist Katja Hoyer to talk about dealing with British greetings and how to correctly pronounce the word “scone”.It’s rather lucky we have a historian with us after a week of deep historic importance. Nic and Katja discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth II and preparations for the funeral on Monday. Nic finds out what it’s been like in Britain since the news dropped, we talk about the meeting of “Ancient customs” and 21st century realities, and we wonder why Paddington Bear plays such a prominent role.We didn’t just ask Katja on to talk about current events though. As the author of Blood and Iron: the Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871 -1918, Katja is the perfect person to ask about how Germany was unified, the connecting lines from 1871 to modern day Germany, and why Bismarck doesn’t get much love, in Bayern at least. 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 Craig Bradford on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this weekAfter four days back in Germany from adventures in the UK, Nic is feeling a bit weird. Thankfully, Simon is on hand to talk through the process of returning home from, well, home. One significant difference is how low-fi much of life in the south of Germany can be, but is that maybe a positive? Then again, not having to deal with British indirectness is certainly a positive about being back in Bavaria.Speaking of Britain, there’s a new Prime Minister to discuss, and a new cabinet. We ponder what this all means for the UK and whether things will actually improve now that Boris Johnson has packed his bags and left 10 Downing Street (spoiler: probably not).We celebrate a true German success story as a group of local butchers conquer the World Butchers' Challenge in Sacramento. What does it take to be the world’s best butcher? Sticking with interesting contests of skill, Simon introduces us all to the World Gravy Wrestling Championships in the UK, which leaves us with a serious question: which professional wrestler would be the best at fighting in a pool of delicious gravy? To finish we discuss 9th century punishments for angry bees in Worms and why Hartlepool isn’t a safe place for monkeys. 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 Jordane Mathieu on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Simon very much enjoys the summer camp feel to this week’s show as Nic commandeers his niece and nephew’s bunk bed for the record. The new environment blends nicely with Nic’s new sultry deep voice, a hard won benefit after a weekend spent living in the 17th century with the Sealed Knot. What’s it like to come face to face with a musket block and live to tell the tale?Leaving the past behind, Simon and Nic talk about sharing food, Kamikaze Sandwiches, and why chicken wings are the most sensual of foods. We also wonder whether service stations in the UK are worse than in Germany and whether paying for the toilets is actually quite sensible.With Nic getting ready to leave the UK after two week’s holidays, we talk about the many things people find weird about Britain. We discuss toilet carpeting, the dreaded two tap system and small houses. 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 CreditAnguskirkTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Nic is back in the UK, so enjoy some extra special audio from some passing seagulls and the full skinny on what’s happening in Britain. Nic has fallen in love with tiny North East breweries, but he’s far more excited that his daughter loves a traditional sausage roll just as much as he does. Simon and Nic talk about the state of the UK, why German news isn’t necessarily a refreshing change and sixties nostalgia.

Maybe we’re getting old, but usually when we talk about “getting pickled” it’s after a night on the sauce, but not this week. After receiving a delivery of vinegar, Simon’s taken to pickling anything he can get his hands on, but how do Germans feel about a pickled egg? Nic has more pressing concerns than Simon’s new hobby though; what do you do when you lose interest in a long German sentence? Is it normal to daydream while waiting for a verb to appear in German conversation and how can you train your brain to pay attention when someone uses an infinite number of commas?New Year is still a good few months away, but Munich has been planning a party to remember…well, we say planning. The beginning of August saw the announcement of a Silvester Rammstein concert on the Theresienwiese, much to the surprise of everyone. However, this week it was cancelled after safety concerns and arguments over support for local arts and culture bubbled to the surface. What has been going on in Bavaria’s state capital?We discuss the reappearance of 17th century Hunger Stones in many German rivers and finish with a discussion on the benefits of a plant-based diet. 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 Andy Makely on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

After enjoying a surprise Augsburg only public holiday on Monday, Nic is feeling quite relaxed, a fact that only intensifies Simon’s jealousy at having missed out. Luckily for Simon, he didn’t have to suffer through FC Augsburg’s opening game of the season, a 4-0 loss to Freiburg. Nic was there, and he’s still not fully recovered. It’s not all negatives though, Simon got a new tattoo and possibly made a new friend along the way. In Nürnberg, an over zealous father calls the police on his daughter, which leads us to ask: is it ever ok to snitch on your children? Equally worthy of discussion is the fact we learnt about this story from a police twitter account; should the police be reporting their cases via Twitter and if so, should they try to be funny?To finish, we discuss Das Grüne Band, an 870-mile long nature reserve that runs along the former no-man’s-land between East and West 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 CreditPhoto by Paulina Ponce on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

For some reason Simon and Nic are really happy this week, possibly it’s the sunny weather, but more likely it’s finally seeing an England football team win a major tournament. We share our stories of jubilation, tears and glorious lobbed goals from the final of the European Women's Championship. After descending from cloud nine, we dive into a legal dispute between a woman and her insurance company who refuse to pay for her to get leg lengthening surgery, and discuss the some of the issues in the German health system. We celebrate the lucrative legal victory of an underdog Berlin tenant over their longtime landlord, and Nic confesses his fear of German numbers.Finally, we learn of the demise of one of Germany’s favourite hobbies: finding a bargain. With many shops choosing to discontinue paper advertising, we ask whether the schnappenjager is an endangered species and why Germany should stop using the word porno in it’s headlines.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 PixabayTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

The lads have been doing a bit of travelling around Germany this week. While Nic stuck to the safety of Bavaria, Simon went further afield, and on the way spotted some fellow Brits who’ve managed to avoid the traffic and make it to Germany. We talk about a recent funeral held in a forest and why that might be the most German of send offs, and we go over the recent travel chaos at various airports that’s certainly not the expected level of German organisation. A kebab shop in Munich has recently laid claim to the title of most expensive kebab in the country, which gives us a chance to suggest our own luxury kebab recipes and how best to make a dessert kebab. All this kebab chat is hungry work, but clearly not as much as fighting in the UFC, where a young fighter wowed an recent press conference by eating two kebabs in under ten minutes. We finish this week with a catch-up on German Comic Con, which may be smaller than its more famous American cousin, but might well be the most pleasant event of its kind in the world. We discuss German cosplayers, asking celebrities questions in a second language, and recommend some of the best graphic novels by German artists. 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 Dev on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß