We kick things off this week by discussing the things we love about Germany, why Indian food feels like home, and why many people who move here fall into a negativity trap. We look at the resignation of Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, the comments on migration by opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the CDU, and our experiences of the never ending discussion on migrant integration.
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.
After a Christmas weekend to remember, we recap our festive adventures. Dili’s exploits in the Netherlands bring some exciting salad recipes, and tales of caviar fueled partying. We also discuss missing family and friends, We look at our highlights over the year, as well as some of our favourite moments on the pod, and we finish with our overall favourite events and bits of culture from 2022.
It’s only bloody Christmas! We bring you a bumper festive episode, as we discuss secret recipes, fun socks, and the art of decorating a Christmas tree. Dili shares her Christmas plans, and her opinions on Peppa Pig toys, while Nic remembers his first Christmas in Germany.
Disaster strikes as Dili catches the flu, but luckily for us, an old friend is there to save the show. Yes listeners, for one final time, Simon returns to the show! We talk about his decision to leave the show, his favourite moments, and the episode he’s most proud of.
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.
December is upon us, and with the arrival of Advent we discuss wooden Advent calendars, homemade calendars, and why giving chocolate to children at eight in the morning seems a terrible idea. We also chat German football terminology, direct translations, and our most used German words and phrases.
Dili and Nic discuss Simon’s recent announcement, the return of the DuetscherBierPokal, and why grapefruit beer is an acquired taste. After a conversation with his wife, Nic wonders if buying people alcohol for Christmas is acceptable in Germany, who doesn’t want a pint of wine around the Christmas tree? We also talk about boycotting the World Cup, celebrity activism, and the proposed changes to the benefits system in Germany.
Nic is joined by Dilini Algama this week to discuss the arrival of the NFL in Munich, quince season, and trying to shower in under two minutes flat. As German cities announce plans to continue banning fireworks in certain areas on New Years Eve, do we welcome a less explosive end to 2022? Nic has become fascinated with the culture surrounding world famous Berlin club Berghain, and we finish with another Boris Becker update.
After almost two years of podcasting, we’ve finally reached the summit of 100 episodes! We’ve spent a lot of time wondering how we should celebrate such a massive milestone, and the only logical conclusion is to take a BFF quiz from Teen Vogue. Yes listeners, we’re going to share our deepest darkest secrets with you, and should we fail to answer, well the punishment will be a shot of something truly awful.
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.
Even though we’ve been here for two decades between us, we still can’t get the hang of German pillows. Simon knows this better than most, especially after suffering a pillow related injury. Never let it be said we don’t suffer for this podcast! Neck pain aside, Simon did manage to get out of the house to forage for mushrooms. He must be pretty good at telling his champignons from his deathcaps, because he’s still here to tell us all about it.
We have a bundle of updates from last week, with Union Berlin still flying high in the Bundesliga, among other news. We discuss the recent debate on keeping three nuclear power plants open until 2023, which is a good chance to learn some interesting new German vocabulary. Additionally, we also have to look across the channel at the ongoing idiocy of British politics.
Growing up is tough, especially for parents, as Nic discovers when his daughter gains the freedom to wake him up at all hours of the night. Of course, Simon is very sympathetic, although perhaps his suggestions on how to resolve the issue lacks a certain level of nuance. We welcome episode 96 with a trip down memory lane, to the year 1996 and the exploits of a certain Geordie footballer.
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”.
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!
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.
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”.
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.
