Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

On the show this week:It’s Christmas Day and we bring you tidings of beer world cups and how to celebrate Christmas when half your family are German and the other British. Is Christmas the 24th, the 25th or both? Can anyone celebrate back to back Christmases and hope to survive? Nic thinks he can, but one thing is for sure, if you bring a Raclette to his house, you’ll wish you hadn’t.Since it’s Christmas, we take the chance to talk about one of our favourite things, yorkshire puddings. We also delve deeply into the importance of food to British festivities and why the typical Weihnachtsmenü can often leave a lot to be desired. Simon has a suggestion for what to do with leftovers and Nic takes some tips on working off his dinner from a famous British convict.We finish the celebrations with an important experiment as we attempt to answer one of the most challenging questions known to humanity: which cheese goes best with a nice piece of Stollen?

On the show this week:After disappointing news from the UK, Nic and Simon survey what remains of their Christmas plans, for Simon that means finally buying a Christmas tree, for Nic it’s navigating strange shops in search of decorations. Christmas maybe cancelled in the UK, but that doesn’t mean we have to miss out; Simon is here to help with his top plätzchen choices, while Nic happily accepts his new position as the  Lord of Christmas (Long may he reign!)We discuss forced Christmas traditions, why mince pies are amazing and misunderstood lyrics to Christmas songs. Joshua Kimmich makes another appearance as we talk vaccines in football and Simon takes the opportunity to mention Schalke’s big win against his German hometown Nürnberg.Nic explains why he’s now legitimately scared of German spiders and we finish with a German record amount of Christmas trees squeezed into one apartment. 

On the show this week:We’re joined by Tom the Abroad American to talk konterbier, turkey hangovers and why the British should be celebrating Thanksgiving. Nic does some emergency baking, Simon enjoys his new snow shovel and Tom tells us what it’s like to go to university in Germany.We discuss why Germans don’t enjoy spicy food, what German foods might be improved with the addition of a serious rate of Scovilles and where to find a decent curry, at least in the south. Nic shares his dream of buying a sword, while Simon wonders if it’s finally our chance to remake The Highlander. With Merkel finally stepping down after her caretaker Chancellor role over the last few months, we wonder about her leaving ceremony, why German soldiers were involved and what a Nina Hagen song sounds like when played by a military band.We finish by looking at a recent report on Corona protests in the East of Germany, and Nic takes us all through the favourites for the 2nd Deutscher Bier pokal.

On the show this week:We’ve finished sweeping up the confetti and recycling the champagne bottles from episode 50, so we turn our attentions to the future. For Nic that means cancelling Christmas and for Simon, buying a snow shovel. We talk the perfect weather for a crime drama and our recent appearance on The Expatcast. Simon takes us through the chaos of the recent Bayern Munich AGM and the limitations of the 50+1 rule in German football and we also discuss the discovery of a true breakfast kebab, complete with bacon and…salad?A shiny new German government is about to take power after some serious negotiations since September, so we finish this week with a look at some of the new ministers and the plans for their next four years. 

On the show this week:Crack out the champagne, put on your best set of headphones and come join us for episode 50! We’re joined by two, yes two, guests and Dilli and Sandra return to discuss new jobs, moving to a different German state and alternative ways to deal with a large collection of romantic fiction when moving countries. A race between a horse and the internet in North Rhine-Westphalia leads us to discuss the German internet. We find out if our experiences in different states match-up and why rubbish WIFI isn’t always the fault of the internet companies.To finish off the celebrations we answer 50 quick fire questions to celebrate 50 episodes. Why is Simon disgusted with Nic’s movie choices? Where would Sandra go if she could travel back in time? How is Dilli’s dream home also a zombie proof fortress? All these answers and more on the Decades from Home 50th extravaganza!

On the show this week:Simon has broken the seal and cooked his first roast dinner of the year and Nic is desperate for the details. How were the roast potatoes, did the Yorkshire puddings get all fluffy, and what was Simon’s secret recipe for the vegetables? To accompany the food mood music, Nic is preparing for his annual favourite meal in Germany, although he’s not exactly sure how it’s made.We dive into the deep waters of German football to ask why Bundesliga tickets are so much cheaper than tickets for the premier league. We talk about the German matchday experience, the joy of the standing section and the best stadiums to watch football in Germany.We see out the show with a quick discussion on the possibility of cannabis legalisation in Germany. What’s changed in supposedly conservative Germany, how will Germany’s cannabis culture develop and what comparisons can be drawn from the US experience of a legal, taxable cannabis industry?

On the show this week:We’re joined by Marty, the honourable husband on Twitter, to talk positive experiences of German bureaucracy, Berlin’s creaking infrastructure and why Bavarian villages are being gentrified. We also take time to enjoy one of our favourite topics: German beer!We have an update on the winner of Jugendwort des Jahres 2021 and Marty cringes at the amount of English being introduced into casual German communication. Is this the death knell of the German language, are the kids alright or are we just worried about nothing?Given Nic’s love of Shopping Queen, we return to the topic of reality TV. Marty shares some of his favourite guilty pleasures, Simon learns more than he ever wanted about farmer dating shows and we look at the grim existence of Germany’s Next Top Model. 

On the Show this week:After finally finding some time to watch TV, Nic discovers his admiration for Germany’s only actor Matthias Schweighöfer, while Simon explains why many Germans may be suspicious when they meet a Richard Wagner super fan.With Halloween out the way, there’s nothing stopping the inevitable advance of Christmas and that means two things: Nic’s going to destroy some Stollen and the return of Christmas markets to many German cities. After the pandemic, things will be different, but Simon has you covered with his overview of the changes to Nürnberg’s world famous market .We continue the festive buzz by looking at the obscure announcement that Christmas dinner in a can will be coming to British consumers this year. Can a tin contain the power of a festive meal and will anyone want to eat what is essentially brown soup? While Britain’s quietly destroying it’s food rep, We look at possible German foods that would work well in a can.The pandemic continues to dominate news headlines and everyone’s lives, but it’s also given many people a chance to reconsider their lives. Why are many people in Britain and Germany choosing to switch jobs and creating a supposed “Great Resignation”?We finish on the opening of the German Bundestag and look at the new intake of German politicians. Are they as elitist as news stories here suggest or has there been some progress made in modernising the the makeup of German governance?

On the show this week:After a barrage of ridiculous headlines from our former home, we finally crack and decide talk about what the hell is going on in Britain. Is Germany really more sane or does it just feel like that by comparison? We discuss why Germans might want to avoid a beach holiday in Britain for the foreseeable future, why British government communication feels dystopian and why the current campaign to reform social media may have a massive flaw.Finally, we look at a new initiative to solve the truck driver shortage by using prisoners on day release as replacement drivers and why that might actually be a good idea.

On the show this week:We’re joined once again by guest-host Dilli Algama as we discuss Simon’s short but sharp experience of a house full of small children. While Nic can sympathise, Dilli impresses the lads with her creative distractions for parents and babysitters alike.Having lived through the torment of being a ginger haired child in Britain, Nic marvels at the distinct lack of ginger hair hatred in Germany, whereas Simon points out that there are other types of hair discrimination and Dilli explains why people seem so desperate to touch her hair.Dilli recounts her experiences of being told off by Germans for inexplicable reasons and why it is that Nic and Simon are unlikely to suffer such public abuse. Finally, we take a look at a Raccoon in Heidelberg that has given up on freedom and voluntarily moved into the local zoo.