Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany – Détails, épisodes et analyse

After three weeks of general calm, we welcome Nic back to the podcast, fresh from some serious holiday adventuring. Before we can get to that though, there’s some admin to cover, and an important question to ask: how come the podcast gets the best reviews when Nic is away? We probably all know, but better not to tell him…

We take some time to pick through the recent and rather depressing results from state elections in Sachsen & Thuringia, and ponder how to form a government from the disparate selection of political parties that have been elected.

On a less serious note, we finish the show on Nic’s time away, and find out whether eating lamb for every meal is a good idea, and find out what it’s like to be 300 meters away from Adele.

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Once again we're "Nic-less" this week (let's hope he still remembers how to pod when he does finally return!), leaving Dili and Kat to helm our way through another episode.

Thankfully, we have a great new guest to welcome the show, Berlin-based writer Jacinda Nandi! Jacinda first came to Berlin in 2000, spending only a year there, but returned in 2002 after completing her degree and has called Berlin home ever since.

Jacinta talks about the pre-Euro days when everything in Germany seemed so affordable, and how the British seem to forget that the UK is not that far away from Germany. As a mother of 2 bilingual sons, she explains that trying to do the right thing by speaking English with them can lead to some odd situations, especially in public spaces.

We compare various cultures' attitudes to swearing and ask Jacinta to share her experiences of the German health system as an immigrant.

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

There’s a sense of sadness on this week’s podcast as Germany’s favourite football team, Scotland, have been eliminated from Euro 2024. In fairness, the Scottish fans have left their hosts with some lovely memories off the pitch, leading Dili to ponder whether the Scottish accent might be a cheat code for changing Germany’s cash based society.

One change that may be coming to Germany is reform for pharmacies. Dili brings us the details on what the German government is planning, how Apotheken are reacting, and why we might need a Zoom call to pick up some paracetamol.

We finish the show as Producer Simon returns to a continuing story on Ukrainian refugees in Germany, and why one German politician has suggested sending vulnerable people back to a warzone.

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

We’re back from Bonn, but we still have some important things to discuss, namely how did all that Haribo taste. Simon might be putting off trying the cake flavoured Gummibärchen, but Nic has been glorying in the wide open spaces of novelty flavour country. Nic has also been to Bamberg recently, which gives us a chance to talk Rauchbier and whether one of Bavaria’s most famous cities is really “the Venice of Germany”.

Oktoberfest ended this week, and despite many expecting it to be the busiest for years, numbers were actually down, as were beer sales. More disturbingly were the numerous reports of inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment directed towards women working in beer tents or stands throughout the Wiesn. We look at some of these reports and what it means for Bavaria’s most famous festival.

We travel back in time for the second part of our Bonn meetup, where Simon shares his experiences of being in Britain for the Queen’s funeral, the chaos enveloping the British government, and why Britain has such a problem talking about its history. We finish the show with Simon’s recollections of being thrown out the famous Heide Park Resort.

Oktoberfest Articles:
Die fremde Hand am Hintern

"Verschwinde, hau ab!", hat die Chefin mir nachgerufen

„Wenn es abends voll wird, dann ist es nur noch eklig“

„Ich habe zehn Tage gekellnert und 100 Euro draufgezahlt“

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can:

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Image Credit

Photo by Itai Aarons on Unsplash

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

After two weeks away from the pod, Simon is back in all his glory, but this isn’t the only thing we’re celebrating in this week’s episode. For the first time since we started the show, both Simon and Nic are in the same room for the first of two episodes recorded at our producer’s house in Bonn. Aside from being the home of our producer, there’s another good reason to be in Bonn: it’s the home of Haribo. We talk about the British equivalent of Germany’s favourite gummy sweets, our favourite Haribo choices, and we find out why Nic can’t eat a Chocolate Orange.

Simon talks about his adventures in the UK, and why taking the ferry is easily the most enjoyable way to visit our former island home. Sure, the “seasickness” wasn’t great, and the karaoke left a lot to be desired, but damn it there was a really nice dressing gown in the VIP cabin.

We finish the show by getting our dirty mitts on some bottles of Kölsch, which isn’t so much a beer as it is a way of life, and one of the many benefits of being north of the Weißwurstäquator.

Decades from Home - A podcast about Germany

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can:

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Image Credit

Photo by Meg Boulden on Unsplash

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

With Simon still galavanting around the UK, Nic enlists the help of listener favourite Dili Algama to steady the good ship Decades from Home. That being said, Nic might not have been fully prepared for the levels of German directness that Dili brings along with her.

We unpack our feelings the day after the Queen’s funeral, and wonder what five mile queues and enforced mourning mean for the UK. Thankfully we have more cheery topics to cover, such as the delights of moving house in Germany, why having a kitchen is not guaranteed, and how to avoid getting trapped in the seven circles of IKEA hell.

Dili discusses what it’s like to live in a small village in the east of Germany, why we often seek out the negatives of living here and whether we’re too German or not German enough.

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can:

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Image Credit

Photo by Corina Rainer on Unsplash

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Simon is away on holiday in the UK this week, but the show must go on, even if half of the show is knee deep in sausage rolls and pints of warm beer. Luckily for Nic, we’ve been able to secure a fantastic guest as we welcome historian and journalist Katja Hoyer to talk about dealing with British greetings and how to correctly pronounce the word “scone”.

It’s rather lucky we have a historian with us after a week of deep historic importance. Nic and Katja discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth II and preparations for the funeral on Monday. Nic finds out what it’s been like in Britain since the news dropped, we talk about the meeting of “Ancient customs” and 21st century realities, and we wonder why Paddington Bear plays such a prominent role.

We didn’t just ask Katja on to talk about current events though. As the author of Blood and Iron: the Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871 -1918, Katja is the perfect person to ask about how Germany was unified, the connecting lines from 1871 to modern day Germany, and why Bismarck doesn’t get much love, in Bayern at least.

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can:

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Image Credit

Photo by Craig Bradford on Unsplash

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week

After four days back in Germany from adventures in the UK, Nic is feeling a bit weird. Thankfully, Simon is on hand to talk through the process of returning home from, well, home. One significant difference is how low-fi much of life in the south of Germany can be, but is that maybe a positive? Then again, not having to deal with British indirectness is certainly a positive about being back in Bavaria.

Speaking of Britain, there’s a new Prime Minister to discuss, and a new cabinet. We ponder what this all means for the UK and whether things will actually improve now that Boris Johnson has packed his bags and left 10 Downing Street (spoiler: probably not).

We celebrate a true German success story as a group of local butchers conquer the World Butchers' Challenge in Sacramento. What does it take to be the world’s best butcher? Sticking with interesting contests of skill, Simon introduces us all to the World Gravy Wrestling Championships in the UK, which leaves us with a serious question: which professional wrestler would be the best at fighting in a pool of delicious gravy? To finish we discuss 9th century punishments for angry bees in Worms and why Hartlepool isn’t a safe place for monkeys.

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can:

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Image Credit

Photo by Jordane Mathieu on Unsplash

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

Simon very much enjoys the summer camp feel to this week’s show as Nic commandeers his niece and nephew’s bunk bed for the record. The new environment blends nicely with Nic’s new sultry deep voice, a hard won benefit after a weekend spent living in the 17th century with the Sealed Knot. What’s it like to come face to face with a musket block and live to tell the tale?

Leaving the past behind, Simon and Nic talk about sharing food, Kamikaze Sandwiches, and why chicken wings are the most sensual of foods. We also wonder whether service stations in the UK are worse than in Germany and whether paying for the toilets is actually quite sensible.

With Nic getting ready to leave the UK after two week’s holidays, we talk about the many things people find weird about Britain. We discuss toilet carpeting, the dreaded two tap system and small houses.

For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can:

Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.

Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

Save the Children

Ärzte ohne Grenzen

Image Credit

Anguskirk

Theme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß