All tagged Berlin
After a weekend of fun at Nürnberg’s annual Badentreffen open air festival, Nic is still recovering from too many pints of…fun? We talk about one of Germany’s best festivals, and some weird interactions with the locals. We ask whether anyone can really tell the difference between a lioness and a pig, politicians on holiday, low-fi solutions to social media, and bans on junk food advertising.
This week we discuss changes to Elterngeld in Germany which will see couples earning over €150,000 become ineligible for state support. Is this progress or regression? We debate parental responsibility and whether we can judge people’s parenting from social media posts, and we finish on an initiative in Berlin to test illegal drugs without involving law enforcement.
Dili is on holiday this week, but we’re joined by the wonderful Rachel Loxton of The Local & The Germany in Focus Podcast to talk about being Scottish in Germany, how paying the bill separately is a sure fire way to upset British friends, chatting at the checkout, and Rachel’s experience of rising rents in Berlin.
Following a busy weekend, we discuss family birthdays, baking cakes for Germans, and the perfect party goodie bag. The release of the InterNations Expat Survey leads to a discussion on whether expats are a trustworthy source, and what the results tells us about Germany. We also look at the climate referendum in Berlin, and finish on the “Megastreiktag” that shutdown transport across the country.
Sadly Dili was out this week, luckily for us freelance writer & journalist Aaron Gasch Burnett was able to step into the breach. Aaron discusses his experience of hosting the I am Germany Twitter account, his German grandparents, and schools Nic on Canadian rodeo. Aaron also shares his thoughts on changes to citizenship rules in Germany, and we finish on the rivalry between Bavaria and Berlin.
Fire the confetti cannons, producer Simon’s back! We celebrate by demanding he gives us some gifts….well Nic does at least. After last week’s foray into the forests, we return to the wilds for a wolf related update, there's a follow up on the Berlin election, a discussion on the merits of the current climate protest movement, and we finish on the proposals to make English Germany’s 2nd language.
Dili discusses her true passion for cake, the merits of jelly, the power of Bienenstich, and why a bad cake can still be a good cake. Nic and his daughter enter the lion’s den of a Kinder Faschingsparty, we discuss the recent Berlin election results, creative ways to take revenge on critics, and plans from Leipzig to make companies pay their employees to sleep at work.
A listener’s email gives us a chance to celebrate Dili’d new microphone, and we ask why tea so maligned here, and might it have to do with some good old British Schadenfreude? We take a look at the world of German politics as planning for 2023 begins, mudslinging between Bavaria and Berlin, and a right royal scandal in the UK.
New year, new episode and we kick off with a lesson on gracefully offering New Years greetings, Nic discovers New Year’s Day has a morning, and Dili argues that sleep is the best way to celebrate Silvester. We question the current fireworks debate, Dili brings us positive news as two Berlin museums offer to return items taken during the colonial period, and we finish with 2023 predictions.
It seems like everyone is coming down with something this week, as cold and flu season kicks into gear, we discuss homemade remedies, fear of the Apotheke, and why taking a day off from work isn’t as big a problem in Germany as it is in other countries. We also chat about the scandal at Buckingham Palace, German pessimism, and renaming Berlin streets.
We have a special guest this week, we’re joined by William Noah Glucroft, a freelance journalist based in Berlin. We talk trick or treating in Berlin, controversial beer opinions, and favoured pieces of German culture. Of course, we didn’t just, bring William in to chat about the niceties. We break down the first year of Germany’s traffic light coalition government and find out whether life after Angela Merkel has all been downhill.
For some reason Simon and Nic are really happy this week, possibly it’s the sunny weather, but more likely it’s finally seeing an England football team win a major tournament. We share our stories of jubilation, tears and glorious lobbed goals from the final of the European Women's Championship.
After the highs of last week’s show, we resume normal service as we discuss having family come visit us in Germany, the complex dance of German and British politeness, and why it’s impossible to find an ice cream van when you need one. Although we can’t offer you a Mr. Whippy, Simon might be able to offer you something much better: the opportunity to win a trophy!
Nic and Simon discuss potential hangover cures and why the best must combine some weird ingredients. Following on from our chat with Abby Young-Powell last week, we bring you part 2 of our discussion as we focus on the differences between Berlin and Bavaria. Do all Berliners have to have blue hair, does Bavaria have techno, and which location is the best for new arrivals in Germany?
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 have an update on the winner of Jugendwort des Jahres 2021 and we return to the topic of German reality TV.
Simon kicks-off the show celebrating Jürgen Klinsmann’s birthday and we talk about how Germans see Britain. 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.
We’re talking two of our favourite topics this week football and beer, although the second of these is a little tricky for Simon as he recovers from partying with his neighbours. Nic explains why JFK is unfairly remembered in Germany for claiming to be doughnut, Simon questions a recent Greenpeace protest and asks Nic how much money the podcast could knock off the value of a major soft drinks company. Finally, we end the show by deep diving into the topic of German beer and choose their own top five German beers.
This week Nic & Simon discuss whether pickle juice is a viable alternative to salt or grit for frozen roads, issues of recycling and waste in lockdown and do the English really get drunk the most?
This week, Nic and Simon discuss problems with passwords, baby names in Berlin, why your name is important for the covid vaccine roll out in Saxony, why Berlin’s new airport is a potential health hazard and breaking up covid house parties in house shoes.
This week, Nic and Simon discuss hunting for elusive FFP2 masks, skyscrapers in Munich and Germany’s tall buildings, footballers breaking lockdown for a haircut, traditional German bakeries dying out, and Why a German man’s missing password is the key to a $240 million fortune.
