Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

After a weekend heatwave, Simon has discovered the joys of wild swimming, but only as long as all the boats stay out of his way. Nic, on the other hand, made the counterintuitive decision to watch some horse jumping to beat the heat. He doesn’t like horses or hot weather, so this one will take some explaining.We tackle the myth of a modern Germany as we look at a celebrity businessman’s less than innovative idea for creating Germany’s Silicon Valley, we find out why German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had trouble getting his passport, and a genuinely life changing way for people to get prescription medication.We turn our attention to the recent AfD conference in Riesa that collapsed in acrimony, and we finish on why Nic hates shorts, even when he’s wearing them. Link mentioned in the show: Alice Weidel und die NazizeitungFor 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 Greg Rosenke on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

After a weekend of adventures up north in Hamburg, Nic returns with tales of Disney musicals, art oggoling, and riding on Mississippi Riverboats. Simon has a lot of questions, most importantly of all, how was the fish? Moving on from holidays, Nic quizzes Simon’s knowledge of German ice cream, while Simon returns the favour with some curious ice cream flavours. Anyone for fried chicken ice cream?Always concerned with our listeners finances, Simon brings some serious economic news as we go through the newly released Oktoberfest beer price list. Which tent has the most expensive beer, who has the cheapest, and what about the Spezi? We look at where visitors can save a bit of money, and discuss why we should be thankful Oktoberfest isn’t in Britain.We finish this week with a story of pissed up plans, millions of euros of fraud, and a non existent Covid test centre. 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 Caroline Hernandez on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Sadly Simon is out sick this week, but Nic battles on by inviting the listeners to join in on the conversation, pity he forgot to mic them up. Instead of wasting an hour of your time and his sanity, Nic and our lovely, shiny new producer have complied a themed clip-show for your listening enjoyment!We go back to Christmas to revisit our brave experimentation with cheese and stollen, Simon loses his mind after learning from a listener that Hawaii Kebap exist, but he quickly recovers his composure to celebrate the arrival of a new kebab shop at then end of his street. We engage in the fun and frolics of a potato quiz, learn about the horrors of Fish Finger Pizza, and ask why Germany seems to be so rubbish at takeaway 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 GrenzenImage CreditPhoto by Freddy G on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Simon surprises us all by announcing he’s become a Lord in the UK. No one has any idea why, but he’s making demands we all use his new title. To celebrate this sudden elevation to the ranks of the aristocracy, Simon has been binge watching Downton Abbey. Between that and his new title, Nic is beginning to worry about his podcast pal.Of course, there’s a reason for all this indulgent Britishness, it’s only the bloody Queen’s Platinum Jubilee! Granted Nic is a republican and Simon is monarchy agnostic, but surely a parade of pensioners on mobility scooters will liven up proceedings. We talk all things jubilee, ask what the hell is the point, and even find some time to talk about the perfect celebratory lunch (hint: it includes a trifle).We also find some time to discuss the top 9 Brexit benefits that for some reason weren’t printed on the side of a bus, recent technological problems with credit cards in Germany, and we finish with a sneaky Boris Becker update.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 CreditBild von Jhoan Cordoba auf PixabayTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Things are heating up in the podcast cave, so much so that Simon has shaved his beard. Now looking more man than bearded beast, Simon discusses being reunited with his neck and why you should always be careful around a beard trimmer.Luckily for Nic and everyone else in Nürnberg, Simon did keep his beard long enough to display it a the recent Punk in Drublic music festival. We talk about a wonderful sunny Saturday of punk music, beer and diffusing arguments at the bar. The €9 train ticket has finally gone on sale, allowing Germans to travel the rails around the country for next to nothing. Nic wonders why Bayern always has to complain about nice things, while Simon is just happy to ditch his car. We finish on a similar theme by looking at where you should go to get the most out of all this public transport with some of the best rail journeys 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 CreditPhoto by Alexander Bagno on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

It wouldn’t be the podcast if we didn’t at some point talk about the weather. While Nic was enjoying the sun in a beer garden over the weekend, Simon was slightly concerned at the chunks of pollen that could be seen all over the place.While the sun is out, it’s probably a good time to reflect on the end of the football season in Germany as we ponder the curious delight some German football fans get from invading the pitch after games across the country. Perhaps that’s not such a bad idea, after all, it’s far better than sitting as we learn from football legend Philipp Lahm that sitting might be as dangerous as smoking! We talk sitting, smoking and how best to approach geeting fit.To finish off the show, we return to the almost weekly topic of struggling food companies, this time it’s one of Britain’s favourite dishes, the wonderful Fish and Chips, which is under threat from lack of suppliers and the cost of living crisis. 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 Adrian Diaz-Sieckel on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

It’s been a weird week for British people as they watched the Queen’s Speech in the House of Lords, which for the first time in 59 years, didn’t actually include the Queen. Are we ready for a Elizabeth-less existence and will Prince Charles ever explain where he got all those shiny medals?From British royalty to the nearest German equivalent, David Hasselhoff was in the news as he promoted a niederbayerisches Weinfest…for a price. We bemoan our missed opportunity to get our own personal message from the Knight Rider and wonder which other celebrities we could engage on our behalf. Simon brings us a story from Braunschweig concerning the dangers of riding late night trams and we finish with our now beloved segment “Boris Becker Update”.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 Luca J on UnsplashTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Nic’s dreams have finally come true as we finally rid ourselves of our placeholder theme tune and celebrate a very Bavarian collaboration with techno DJ Kloß mit Soß. With upbeat Blasmusik blaring in our ears, we turn our attention to the recent announcement that Oktoberfest will be returning in 2022 and ask whether Jürgen Klopp is Britain’s favorite German. Having warmed up with some Bierfest chat, it would only seem sensible to actually discuss beer. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of good news from Germany’s favourite beverage as prices are set to be increased. We look at the reasons for rising prices and what impact that may have on the industry and consumers at large. We make a disappointing visit to Simon’s favourite kebab shop and we finish with an update on Boris Becker’s legal woes. 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 Creditmaria-anne via Pixabay Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

The world’s favourite cartoon super villan/saviour of the universe, Elon Musk, has dominated the news this week, at least in the English speaking media. We discuss why the German news has avoided focusing too heavily on Tesla’s “Technoking”? Language learning has never been the UK’s strong point, after all, everyone speaks English. While true, it might be the case that they will no longer be speaking the Queen’s English as we investigate reports of a crisis in language learning sector as Germans look to other countries to get their grammar fix.Der Spiegel recently reported in-depth on the rapid increase in obesity among British children. Is it all the fault of junk food or are we missing something. Finally, a fish restaurant has haddock enough of complaints about unruly kids and has decided that children have no plaice in their establishment. Are they right to ban families or are their rules a big load of Pollocks? 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 karl muscat on Unsplash

Simon is sick of all the pleasant walks he’s been on, while Nic is worried he may be damned for all eternity after almost insulting a local nun. Not to worry though, we still have Easter chocolate to comfort us!Speaking of Easter, we discuss some of the curious Easter traditions we witnessed over the weekend, such as runaway church bells, flaming wheels, and nicely decorated village fountains. We also find some time to celebrate one of the lesser known ethnic communities within Germany, the Sorbs. To finish, Simon talks about one of his Heros, Boris Becker, a man lauded for his tennis skills, but not for his creative financial efforts. 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 Xavier Teo on Unsplash