Decades From Home - Episode 35

Decades From Home - Episode 35

Nic Houghton

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, we then jump to episode 25’s discussion on Nic’s obsession with British pork pies and finally we finish on the question of whether David Hasselhoff was really the reason that the Berlin wall fell.

Decades From Home - Episode 34

Decades From Home - Episode 34

Nic Houghton

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. We question whether it’s true that “Everyone speaks English” in Germany and finally we look at how native English speakers differ between the UK and the US.

Decades From Home - Episode 33

Decades From Home - Episode 33

Nic Houghton

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.

Decades From Home - Episode 32

Decades From Home - Episode 32

Nic Houghton

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.

Decades From Home - Episode 31

Decades From Home - Episode 31

Nic Houghton

After 30 episodes and some hard work over the last few months, Simon deservedly has taken the week off. Nic could easily have gone off the rails, but luckily for us he decided on a clipshow instead. This week go back in time to hear conversations on a the connection between a fish and German music from episode 14, East Germany’s favourite car the Trabant from episode 15, Simon’s love of kebabs from Episode 19 and an interview with 40percentgerman.com guest contributor Dilini Algama on her experiences of German dating from episode 23.

Decades From Home - Episode 30

Decades From Home - Episode 30

Nic Houghton

Simon celebrates Sebastian Vettel’s birthday and explains why the F1 driver holds British humour in such high regard. Despite their best efforts, the lads we can’t avoid talking football especially with the England v Germany fixture. A new shop in Berlin proudly selling LSD to the masses attracts Simon’s attention and finally we discuss traditional German health remedies and why going to a homoeopathic practitioners conference might be more fun than you think.

Decades From Home - Episode 29

Decades From Home - Episode 29

Nic Houghton


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.

Decades From Home - Episode 28

Decades From Home - Episode 28

Nic Houghton

Nic comes down with a severe case of football fever and there ain’t no vaccine for that, the lads discuss the start of Euro 21 and the teams they plan on supporting. Following on from last week, Simon and Nic discuss funny German words they’ve still not fully got to grips with and explain why having a childish sense of humour is useful when speaking German. A failure in translation brings an end to a court case in the UK, Simon & Nic celebrate the return of German hero David Hasselhoff and Simon introduces us to the most rebellious musician in Switzerland, or at least the most rebellious Alpine horn player in Switzerland.

Decades From Home - Episode 27

Decades From Home - Episode 27

Nic Houghton

Simons & Nic are increasingly optimistic as lockdown restrictions being to ease, Nic celebrates the end of the mask mandate in Augsburg by going on a one man pub crawl. Your hosts still find some parts of Germany a little strange, Simon bemoans the lack of mixer taps in British kitchens, while Nic explains why Germany is ready for the Zombie apocalypse. Simon introduces us to the world of Bernd das Brot, a depressed loaf of bread that has inexplicably become an award winning kids TV show character. To finish off the show, Simon & Nic look to a post-pandemic future and talk fests, Lederhosen and their favourite beer festival, the Erlangen Bergkirchweih.

Decades From Home - Episode 26

Decades From Home - Episode 26

Nic Houghton

Having finished moving house, Simon tells Nic all about it. Simon explains the differences between moving in the UK and Germany, is moving house harder in Germany? The lads discuss why painting before you leave is a double edged sword and why so many Germans seem to buy kitchens but not houses. Finally, we look at a DW.com article, Nic talks housing estates vs Plattenbau and Simon questions whether we should be putting our names on our houses.

Decades From Home - Episode 25

Decades From Home - Episode 25

Nic Houghton

We’re talking about shopping this week, Nic’s admits his obsession with British pork pies and Simon introduces some of the harder products to find in a German shop. We look at the curious world of high street favourite Tchibo and ask how a shop that sells an ever changing selection of random products can be so successful. Finally the lads try to find the best place to pick up the weekly shop, looking at the most popular supermarkets in Germany.

Decades From Home - Episode 24

Decades From Home - Episode 24

Nic Houghton

We’re diving headfirst into music this week as Simon & Nic take you on a tour of their current playlists. Simon takes us through some of the popular genres of German music, we discuss the revelations over German musician Cro, the lads question the logic of dog licenses for pet owners and we finish on whether it’s really possible to fake your own death if you have a very photogenic dog.

Decades From Home - Episode 23

Decades From Home - Episode 23

Nic Houghton

We’re discussing romance and dating in Germany this week, Simon and Nic talk about how they met their wives and look at an article about the financial realities of online dating in Germany. We ask if the British are really as suave and sophisticated as they appear with a guide to dating in Britain. Finally, we welcome our first guest to the podcast as 40percentgerman.com guest contributor Dilini Algama joins us to talk about her experiences of German dating and using dating apps in Germany.

Decades From Home - Episode 22

Decades From Home - Episode 22

Nic Houghton

On the show this week, Simons and Nic discuss moving house as Simon settles into his new home. We discuss the reintroduction of wolves and other wild animals to Germany and ask what you should do if you discover a wolf wandering down your street. We talk Oktoberfest 2021, cancelled in Germany, but Simon introduces an alternative in Dubai of all places. The arrival of May gives Nic a chance to talk Maypoles and finally, Simon tries to make Nic uncomfortable with a story about finding sex toys in a tree and why a recent discovery in a German forest sparked a bomb scare.

Decades From Home - Episode 21

Decades From Home - Episode 21

Nic Houghton

We’re talking work this week as we delve into what it’s really like to have a job in Germany. Is everyone really on time and what exactly do Germans wear in the office? Simon and Nic discuss how useful English is for work and do Germans actually enjoy speaking a different language in order to do their jobs. We go through the horror of English buzzwords with a quick round of bullshit bingo. We find out the truth of German business etiquette. Finally we tackle the terror inducing world of honest and direct German feedback.

Decades From Home - Episode 20

Decades From Home - Episode 20

Nic Houghton

To celebrate reaching the dizzying height of 20 episodes, Simon & Nic take on the challenge of the 20 most frequently asked questions about Germany (plus a couple of twitter suggestions). We tackle the tough topics, such as: ‘Why is German so hard?’, ‘What’s the deal with the Autobahn?’, ‘Why do Germans love Paprika flavoured crisps?’ and ‘Was David Hasselhoff really the saviour of Germany?’. Plus, Simon tells us about his favourite German pork dishes and Nic explains why the Germans are more polite than many people think.

Decades From Home - Episode 19

Decades From Home - Episode 19

Nic Houghton

This week Simon & Nic discuss German food, specifically sandwiches, Kebabs and cake. We search for Danish bacon in Germany and ask why is it that German sandwiches leave so many people disappointed? Simon reminisces about drunken kebab adventures in Cardiff and campaigns forcefully for high quality lunch-time Kebabs. Finally we talk cake and what the German tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen has in common with the very English afternoon high tea.

Decades From Home - Episode 18

Decades From Home - Episode 18

Nic Houghton

This week Simon & Nic discuss German TV, is it really so bad? How are two German comedians making waves with an innovative idea for prime time TV? Is long running crime drama Tatort overrated? And how faithful are German TV remakes of English language TV?

Decades From Home - Episode 16

Decades From Home - Episode 16

Nic Houghton

This week Simon & Nic discuss road rage and if Germany is less violent than the UK, how insulting people on German roads can lead to heavy fines and even jail time, one German who found the fines for insulting police officers can get very expensive very fast, the proposed new laws in UK to shutdown protests and why swearing in English is so popular in Germany and why many people get it wrong.

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