A discussion on condiments gives Simon a chance to introduce his new favourite segment, The Potato Quiz! Having moved to Bavaria for the beer, among other things, we’re slightly concerned by news of dropping beer consumption in Germany. Is the pandemic to blame? We discuss a Munich museum that’s investigating the origins of it’s Cameroonian art collection and we finish the show on the plight of the humble tattoo artist.
Nic has a strange experience while helping someone move house. While he kicks himself for not taking the opportunity to make more jokes about it at the time, Simon’s been playing the new internet sensation Wordle, even going as far as to try it in German! We talk about taking the opportunity to travel, discuss public holidays in the UK and Germany, why masks might make you more attractive and we finish on a the first recorded image of UFOs coming from Simon’s home town of Nürnberg.
Following a suggestion from a listener, we dedicate this week’s show to finding the perfect football team for a new arrival to Germany. Football can be a great way to meet new people, but which team should someone choose? Is it better to be a winner, a glorious loser or the ultimate football hipster? We review the many different teams from all corners of the country, why lower league teams might help you get to know the country and, most importantly, why you should never support Bayern Munich.
We’re talking hobbies this week. Nic takes us through the differences between Germany and Britain when it comes to choosing a hobby and Simon makes some suggestions for British hobbies that could be more popular here. We finish up on some worrying UK statistics from the NHS that outline the dangers of taking on new hobbies, while Simon celebrates some unconventional uses for military ordinance.
Well done, we’ve made it through the first week of 2022! We celebrate with some chat about three kings, public holidays and friends who bring the gift of beer. Nic wonders whether he’s old or if it’s only the pandemic that’s preventing him from clubbing, while Simon just wants to go to the pub with his mates. Thanks to a listener, Simon questions whether every kebab is really great while Nic talks about his German family’s reaction to a humble PBJ sandwich. To finish, we talk about government plans to improve the quality of food production.
With festivities coming to an end, we talk about leisure drinking during Christmas, New Year’s cocktails and accidental impoliteness. Simon discusses the importance of winning video games against relatives and Nic reflects on his cheese and stollen fuelled nightmares. We chat about plans for New Year’s Eve, fireworks bans, and New Year’s Resolutions. Finally, we finish the first pod of 2022 with a previously unheard conversation taken from our chat with Dr. Sandra Jansen, way back in episode 44.
It’s Christmas Day and we bring you tidings of beer world cups and how to celebrate Christmas when half your family are German and the other British. Is Christmas the 24th, the 25th or both? Can anyone celebrate back to back Christmases and hope to survive? We delve deeply into the importance of food to British festivities and why the typical Weihnachtsmenü can often leave a lot to be desired. We finish the celebrations with an important experiment as we answer one of the most challenging questions known to humanity: which cheese goes best with a nice piece of Stollen?
After disappointing news from the UK, Nic and Simon survey what remains of their Christmas plans, for Simon that means finally buying a Christmas tree, for Nic it’s navigating strange shops in search of decorations. Christmas maybe cancelled in the UK, but that doesn’t mean we have to miss out; Simon is here to help with his top plätzchen choices, while Nic happily accepts his new position as the Lord of Christmas (Long may he reign!). Nic explains why he’s now legitimately scared of German spiders and we finish with a German record amount of Christmas trees squeezed into one apartment.
We’re joined by Tom the Abroad American to talk konterbier, turkey hangovers and why the British should be celebrating Thanksgiving. Nic does some emergency baking, Simon enjoys his new snow shovel and Tom tells us what it’s like to go to university in Germany. We discuss why Germans don’t enjoy spicy food, Nic shares his dream of buying a sword, and we finish by looking at a recent report on Corona protests in the East of Germany.
We’ve finished sweeping up the confetti and recycling the champagne bottles from episode 50, so we turn our attentions to the future. For Nic that means cancelling Christmas and for Simon, buying a snow shovel. We talk the perfect weather for a crime drama and our recent appearance on The Expatcast. Simon takes us through the chaos of the recent Bayern Munich AGM, and we finish this week with a look at the new German government and their plans for the next four years.
Crack out the champagne, put on your best set of headphones and come join us for episode 50! We’re joined by two, yes two, guests as Dilli and Sandra return to discuss new jobs and moving to a different German state. To celebrate 50 episodes, we answer 50 quick fire questions. Why is Simon disgusted with Nic’s movie choices? Where would Sandra go if she could travel back in time? How is Dilli’s dream home also a zombie proof fortress? All these answers and more on the Decades from Home 50th extravaganza!
Simon has broken the seal and cooked his first roast dinner of the year and Nic is desperate for the details. To accompany the food mood music, Nic is preparing for his annual favourite meal in Germany, although he’s not exactly sure how it’s made. We dive into the deep waters of German football to ask why Bundesliga tickets are so much cheaper than tickets for the premier league and we see out the show with a quick discussion on the possibility of cannabis legalisation 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.
Nic discovers his admiration for Germany’s only actor Matthias Schweighöfer, we discuss the return of Christmas markets, Christmas dinner in a can coming to British consumers this year, why are many people in Britain and Germany choosing to switch jobs, and we finish on the opening of the German Bundestag and look at the new intake of German politicians.
After a barrage of ridiculous headlines from our former home, we finally crack and decide talk about what the hell is going on in Britain. Is Germany really more sane or does it just feel like that by comparison? We discuss why Germans might want to avoid a beach holiday in Britain for the foreseeable future, why British government communication feels dystopian and a new initiative to solve the truck driver shortage.
This week we’re joined once again by guest-host Dilini Algama as we discuss Simon’s short but sharp experience of a house full of small children.Having lived through the torment of being a ginger haired child in Britain, Nic marvels at the distinct lack of ginger hair hatred in Germany, Dilli recounts her experiences of being told off by Germans for inexplicable reasons and finally, we take a look at a Raccoon in Heidelberg that has given up on freedom and voluntarily moved into the local zoo.
We welcome Dr. Sandra Jansen to the show, just in time to talk about controversial cocktail opinions and the recent takeover of Nic’s favourite football club, Newcastle United. However, we didn’t ask the good doctor on to only talk booze and football. Sandra is a sociolinguist and she has more than a few interesting observations about how Nic and Simon speak. Simon introduces us to a language ban in a London school and we talk about why German dialects are often more appreciated. Finally we look at some Geordie and Southern English phrases that would catch out many Germans travelling in the UK.
Simon takes in some amatuer football and we find a possible official Decades from Home football team, while Nic celebrates a new job. A wild boar attack in Barcelona gives us a chance to ask whether German Boars are more mild mannered than their Catalonian brethren, Simon goes on a saucy adventure as he looks at a survey on the regional condiment choices in the UK and to finish off, Nic looks at two recent stories from Bavaria that suggest what kind of problems we might face at the post-pandemic Oktoberfest.
We’re joined by Marty this week, better known as The Honorable Husband on Twitter, to talk Oktoberfest withdrawal and the pitfalls of living and working in a different language, Simon celebrates the Tag der deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day), Nic asks what other countries could offer their populations to improve vaccine uptake and lads finish up with a discussion on the words and phrases connected with Angela Merkel.
We’re joined by Richard from Ingolstadt, allowing us to form the mighty Bavarian triangle! We talk Deutschrap, Simon makes Richard feel welcome by bringing us a story from the UK and introducing us to a new term “Beaning”, Nic can’t help talking about his favourite topic following a story about the increase in vegan pies and we take the Wahl-o-mat quiz to find out which political parties we’re aligned with.
