It’s travel season, so I’m getting a lot of questions about money exchange in Germany. Cash is still king in Germany! Around 80% of all transactions happen with CASH,  so you will need to get used to walking around with bills. Changing money used to be a hassle… long lines at money changers who charged […]

In a perfect world, we all would have learned to cook from our Mothers or Omas. Standing together in the kitchen, wearing a practical apron, watching to see how to develop those delicious German flavors that came so effortlessly to them. Cookbooks and recipes are fine, but there is a missing element. Those little hints, […]

When I was growing up, I fell in love with Birkenstock sandals. Sadly, years ago, the ONLY way you could get them was to hop on a plane to Germany (or send someone over with money and your size). Today, everyone is wearing Birkenstocks! I see them all over the college campuses (my daughter wears […]

When the Wall separating East Germany from West Germany fell, many of the icons produced by the East vanished, mostly because something different already existed in the West, and the Wessi got to keep its job. There is one BIG exception. The Sandmännchen. What is the Sandmaennchen? And how did he continue to thrive despite […]