Stories from my life and travels as an American expat in Germany. Awkwardness guaranteed!
Playgrounds in Germany range from the average to the impressive. There are a lot of them, too; in my little city of Wolfsburg alone, with a population just over 120k, you’re within a 5 minute walk of a playground from basically any starting point. Depending on where you live, that might not sound so impressive; for me, though, it’s definitely…Continue Reading
Learning German can be quite difficult. It can also be really boring if you spend the entire time with your nose in a textbook. One of the best tools for learning a new language, besides speaking it regularly, is consuming media in your target language. When you’re just starting to learn, merely hearing how the words sound is helpful, even…Continue Reading
The Hannover Zoo is the fifth-oldest zoo in Germany and contains around 237 different species. My husband and I, along with two good friends, recently had the chance to visit. There are several different themed areas, including the African savanna, the jungles of Asia, the Australian outback, and the Yukon. They also have an area called Gorilla Mountain, which houses…Continue Reading
Bugs! They’re (mostly) disgusting! They’re also everywhere; especially here in Germany. This post contains a (blurry) photo of a spider, so if you don’t want to see that…turn away now! …OK, just the brave folks left? Great! Of all the stereotypes I’d heard about Germany before moving here, “there’s a lot of bugs” definitely wasn’t one of them. It’s…Continue Reading
Cologne was the beginning and end of our cycling vacation this year. My husband drove from home with our bikes, and I took the NightJet all the way from Vienna. Then, we left the car in Cologne and took the train to Mainz; over the next five days, we biked at a leisurely pace back to Cologne, stopping at castles…Continue Reading
My husband and I recently completed a 5-day cycling trip along the Rhine River in Germany. This post covers the last three days of our vacation. If you’d like to read about the first half, which is full of castles and deadly toboggan rides, click here! Day 3 On our third day, we stopped to explore Stolzenfels Castle. Many important…Continue Reading
Cycling along the Rhine River is a popular Summer vacation here in Germany. So much so, there are tourism companies dedicated to planning your entire cycling trip. They book all your hotels and transport your items, so you don’t have lug them around on your bike like some kind of peasant. Not sure where you’re going? No idea how to…Continue Reading
I’ve recently returned from an amazing two-week stay in Vienna, Austria. I was there for the Goethe Institute’s 2-week language and culture course. We spent about 4 hours learning German every morning, and the rest of the day was centered around leisure activities. Of course, you’re under no obligation to do any of these activities. If you want, you can explore…Continue Reading
By Sunday morning, Düsseldorf was a ghost town. We didn’t see a single person on our way to get breakfast. Perhaps, they were all still asleep after a night of partying extra hard to Schlager music. There were a few other guests getting a bun or coffee, but the place was by no means full. About halfway through our breakfast, another guest sat…Continue Reading
Two weeks ago, my husband and I met up with an American friend of ours in Düsseldorf, Germany. I’d never been there before, and neither had my husband. Now that Germany is my home, I’ve made it a goal to see as much of it as possible. We would have been excited to meet up with our friend even if he…Continue Reading