PinnedSpace InvadersThe surprising way the pandemic brought me back to my American roots — Many things are hardwired into us at a young age. Experts say learning a language accent-free is only possible up to age nine — except for Henry Kissinger, who has a German accent despite emigrating to the States as a child. …Mwc Space7 min readMwc Space7 min read
PinnedSpectators turned spectacleCorona’s surprising effect on an evening at the theater My favorite small theater has reopened after months of lockdown and we are attending a two-woman show called Primacomedy. I return here with mixed feelings. Would it be full? How will they deal with the social distancing inside the theater? I…Coronavirus5 min readCoronavirus5 min read
Jan 28The new, improved me — courtesy of the EU-conform driver’s licenseListen to “Expat Chatter” on Apple podcasts / google podcasts / Spotify One of the first things I did after arriving in Germany was to get a local driver’s license. All I needed to do at the time was to present my Virginia driver’s license and they issued me a…5 min read5 min read
Jan 27Catapulting the plague into Europe and other viral talesListen on Apple podcasts / google podcasts / Spotify Now that China has ended its zero covid policy, the virus is exploding, prompting the EU to require testing Chinese passengers before boarding a plane to Europe. In other words, it’s back to the good old days. Not the early days…5 min read5 min read
Jan 25Belt out “Walk the Line” all you want, but walking in the U.S. is not an optionList to the audio version on Apple podcasts / google podcasts / Spotify People ask me occasionally if I would ever move back to the U.S. I pause to ponder. I do miss my family, the humor, and particularly the buckwheat pancakes at IHOP which I still haven’t managed to…5 min read5 min read
Dec 31, 2022Blasting our way into the New YearRead by the author Bang, bang, bang! In the U.S., this noise usually means guns and maybe even another mass shooting. Fortunately for us here in Germany, it just means that it’s that time of year again: December 31st. New Year’s Eve in Germany means elaborate fireworks displays. But in…4 min read4 min read
Dec 14, 2022The 100 meters between fascism and democracy in MunichListen here or on Apple podcasts / google podcasts / Spotify As someone who grew up in a cookie-cutter American suburb, I am surprised again and again to discover secrets of buildings in Munich whose histories I thought I knew. Walking past Munich’s Bayerischer Hof Hotel on the way to…Munich4 min readMunich4 min read
Dec 13, 2022What happened to my pumpkin pie?It wouldn’t be a holiday without pumpkin pie, but what I bake today is a far cry from what my mother used to put in the oven. Read by the author I have cherished memories of holiday meals from my childhood. Certain foods were always on the table for Thanksgiving…Pumpkin Pie5 min readPumpkin Pie5 min read
Dec 12, 2022The best show the World Cup has to offer is outside the stadiumsRead by the author or subscribe at Apple podcasts / google podcasts / Spotify I don’t like sports and I don’t care that the Germans were eliminated early on at the World Cup. I’m far more interested in everything happening off the pitch. Growing up on basketball and ice hockey…5 min read5 min read
Nov 16, 202250 years later — Triumph and tragedy of the Munich OlympicsPart II: Tragedy People associate Munich first and foremost with the Oktoberfest, but this was not always the case. In post-WWII Germany, the city was strongly associated with the place where Hitler came to power, as Munich was the site of his attempted putsch and it was here that he…4 min read4 min read