Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

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.

On the Show this week:We welcome Dr. Sandra Jansen to the show, just in time to talk about controversial cocktail opinions and the recent takeover of Nic’s favourite football club, Newcastle United.However, we didn’t ask the good doctor on to only talk booze and football. Sandra is a sociolinguist and she has more than a few interesting observations about how Nic and Simon speak. She teaches us how to recognise a Glottal Stop and various other phonetic points about Simon and Nic’s very different accents.Simon introduces us to a language ban in a London school that might be more than simply trying to improve student’s speech and we talk about why German dialects are often more appreciated than in the UK. Finally we look at some Geordie and Southern English phrases that would catch out many Germans travelling in the UK.

On the show this week:Simon takes in some amatuer football and we find a possible official Decades from Home football team, while Nic celebrates a new job. Release day coincides with “Curious events Day”, so Simon questions Nic on the Loch Ness Monster and why the Royal Family are lizard aliens. A wild boar attack in Barcelona gives us a chance to ask whether German Boars are more mild mannered than their Catalonian brethren and ponder: what does all of this have to do with nude sunbathing.Simon goes on a saucy adventure as he looks at a survey on the regional condiment choices in the UK and we ask what British condiment choices would work for our Pommes in Germany. To finish off, Nic looks at two recent stories from Bavaria that suggest what kind of problems we might face at the post-pandemic Oktoberfest.

On the show this week:We’re joined by Marty this week, better known as The Honorable Husband on Twitter, to talk Oktoberfest withdrawal and the pitfalls of living and working in a different language. Simon celebrates the Tag der deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day) and why it’s a little different from other national days around the world.With sausages being used for political promotion and to entice people to get the Covid vaccine in Germany, Nic asks what other countries could offer their populations to improve vaccine uptake and why German politicians seem more “normal” than in the UK.The lads finish up with a discussion on the words and phrases connected with Angela Merkel as she heads for the exit door.

On the show this week: We’re joined by Richard from Ingolstadt, allowing us to form the mighty Bavarian triangle! Simon introduces us to one of his favourite German rappers, we talk Deutschrap, American influences and why different parts of Germany produce better music.   Simon makes Richard feel welcome by bringing us a story from the UK and introducing us to a new term “Beaning”. What is it? Why is it? And why does it make Nic hate humanity? Nic can’t help talking about his favourite topic following a story about the increase in vegan pies, while Richard wonders why pies aren’t as popular in Germany. With the federal elections in Germany only hours away, we take the Wahl-o-mat quiz to find out which political parties we’re aligned with.