Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

On the show this week:We welcome Dilli Algama back to the show and just in time for Simon to reveal his mystery anniversary gift from last week’s show. We kick things off by discussing trips to the zoo, Simon introduces Dilli to the red panda and we marvel at the many places that sell beer in Germany.We talk about Zukunftsangst this week as we look at the supposed top ten German fears. We talk about what apparently scares Germans most about the future and look at some of the ways those fears are mitigated.  In the final segment, we take a tour of the local Apotheke or pharmacy. Nic wonders if they have to look like medieval apothecaries, Dilli tells the lads why it’s sometimes difficult to get medication from the doctor and we all ask why Homeopathy is so prevalent in German medicine. 

On the show this week:We’re welcoming a guest host to the show this week as we’re joined by the writer Courtney Tenz! We discuss whether picking random fruit off trees is worth the risk, Bavarian vegetarian options, wedding anniversary gifts and Simon celebrates the arrival of a new David Hasselhoff album partly inspired by some classic German hits.With the Federal elections only weeks away, Courtney explains the current state of German politics. Having arrived in Germany weeks before Angela Merkel became Chancellor, Courtney discusses the impact of Merkel’s time in office and what the future might hold for Germany.

On this week’s show: Nic learns that like many things in Germany, there are some important rules to remember when ordering a takeaway. Simon talks about his love of currywurst and defends his favourite comfort food from his co-hosts food cynicism. The lads celebrate the upcoming release of Sam Fender’s new album and take some time out from discussing the peculiarities of German life to discuss how mental health is a central part of the Geordie musicians work and why men, especially in the UK find it difficult to talk about their feelings. They also talk about how living in a different country has impacted them.Finally, Simon and Nic ask if Germany has a class system similar to the UK and whether social class is obsessed over in the same way as their former home.

On the show this week: By god it’s Johann Goethe’s birthday! Simon wants to celebrate the birth of one (if not the) greatest Germans of all time, but Nic can’t help insulting the birthday boy.The lad’s enjoy the annual list of Jugendwort des Jahres 2021 (Youth Word of the Year) and ponder whether their young or cool enough to use any of them. They also wonder what they even mean.In an attempt to predict what words might feature on the list next year, Simon and Nic suggest some possible entries from a list of long forgotten English insults, will Breedbate make it or is it all just the work of two Flalpdoodlers?Finally, Nic asks if swearing in German is really such a problem or is it just the English speaking community being oversensitive and over protective of their language in Germany.

On the show this week:We’re back for a full episode baby! Nic has finished laying floor and painting walls in his new home and he’s not entirely sure if DIY is really his thing, does Simon have the DIY DNA or is he as equally underwhelmed with the idea of putting up shelves and playing with power tools?Nic and Simon ask whether there is any real need to buy a house, given that renting is so popular in Germany and we find out if Nic has managed to improve his German as well as his woodworking skills while he’s been away.Since neither of the lads have been on holiday for a while, they finish the show by talking Stadtstrand or city beaches. they ask if the Germans really understand how to have a good beach holiday and whether it’s time to introduce some of the more popular British beach attractions to the city beaches of Germany.

As Nic finishes up his work on the house, we have a chance for a SUMMER REPEAT!!!!Simon & Nic discuss flags and national symbols as we look at different ideas on national flags coming out of Germany, the UK and the US. We discuss new flag rules in the UK, if the US has more rules than Germany when it comes to flag flying, whether flying the German national flag is still an issue in Germany and Nic tests Simon’s knowledge of the flags of the German states.

On the show this week:Simon has been buying fish, but much to Nic’s surprise he doesn’t plan on eating them with some chips. We celebrate the birthday of one of the most famous spies in history as we discuss the life of Mata Hari and her exploits spying for Germany during WWI.Due to Nic’s life getting in the way, we’re bringing you some of our favourite segments from previous shows as we go back to episode 20 to hear our discussion on the increase in the wolf population of Germany and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of rewilding the German countryside. We then jump to episode 25’s discussion on Nic’s obsession with British pork pies and Simon introduces some of the harder products to find in a German shop and suggest possible alternatives to British favourites. Finally we finish on the question of whether David Hasselhoff was really the reason that the Berlin wall fell and why it is that so many non-Germans think he’s a Deutsch icon from episode 20.

On the show this week:We’re finally taking our first steps back into the land of the normal as Simon joins a large group of foodies for a tour of Nürnberg, while Nic ventures out to visit the Augsburg Plärrer. We discuss the anniversary of the lowering of the German voting age in 1970 and take some time to celebrate the life of everyone’s favourite Chancellor, Willy Brandt.We discuss the curious case of the “Peppa Effect” a supposed shifting of accents seen in US children due to overexposure to the cartoon Peppa Pig and ask if this is an example of British soft power in action. We question whether it’s true that “Everyone speaks English” in Germany and if it’s possible to live here without any German language skills and why the British are so bad at learning languages.Finally we look at how native English speakers differ between the UK and the US and why sometimes it’s better to not copy what the British or American English speakers are saying.

On the show this week:Simon kicks-off the show celebrating Jürgen Klinsmann’s birthday and reminisces about one of his favourite footballers of all time and we talk about how Germans see Britain and whether either of us feel embarrassed when we have to explain some of the extreme news stories coming out of our former home.We’re focusing on our adopted home this week, the mighty Freistaat Bayern. We talk the many differences between the 16 German states and why Bavaria could be compared to the English county of Yorkshire. We finish the show with a quick look at some of the best cities to visit in Bavaria.

On the show this week:Simon returns from his sick bed and joins Nic to talk about some exciting changes to the podcast, There’s also the small matter of a football game to discuss. Simon and Nic commiserate over England’s loss and take some time to talk about the wider impact of a successful tournament on English culture and politics. We also go back to episode 13 to hear about some curious German superstitions and why saying ‘Prost’ with a pint of beer isn’t as easy as you might think.