My name is Steffi. And I have a podcast addiction. Going for a walk? Podcast. Cooking dinner? Podcast. Having a bath? Podcast. Taking the bins out? PODCAST. I’m even listening to a podcast as I write this post (Today in Focus by the Guardian, one of my favourite current affairs podcasts). I’ve been in love …
“A German joke is no laughing matter” wrote Mark Twain in his famous dual-language essay, ‘The Awful German Language / die schreckliche deutsche Sprache’. Native English speakers have this long-standing belief that Germans have no sense of humour. Of all the stereotypes we have of the Germans, I think this is the biggest myth of …
“How do you find living in Germany as a vegetarian?” is one of the most common questions I get asked by friends and family back home. Little do they know that since moving to Germany, my vegetarian diet has become a liiiiitle more flexible. Okay look, schnitzel and sausage are staple foods here in Bavaria. …
I have briefly mentioned the comprehensive recycling system in Germany in a previous Culture Shock post. Here’s a more in-depth look at it! Why so serious? Recycling in Germany is serious business. And in 2021, I think we can all agree that recycling is a good thing, right? Climate change is the biggest problem we …
Smoking in Germany is still very popular. So popular, in fact, that a study conducted by the RKI in 2017 showed that 20.8% of women and 27% over the age of 18 smoke at least occasionally. There has been a strict smoking ban in public spaces in the UK since 2007. Over the following ten …
Germans are weird. Don’t deny it. If you’re a born and bred German, you’ll probably think these things are completely normal. But to Germany’s 11.2 million foreign residents, these 10 weird things came as a shock to the system the first time they encountered them. Disclaimer: some of these might be local to Bavaria, as …
