2.9 - G+T's Summer in Germany

Welcome back to season two of G+T Conversations! We are your hosts, Gwenda + Tatjana, and in this episode, we speak about our summer in Germany and what it's like to travel home as expats as well as some tips for you if you plan to visit Germany.

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G+T Catch-up:

• Mumbai is experiencing heavy rains during the monsoon.
• Tatjana started Hindi classes and enjoying it.
• Gwenda watched local football matches in Germany (FC Verden 04 vs Werder Bremen; FC Viktoria Berlin vs Turbine Potsdam)

Some of the things we mentioned in this episode:

As expats living abroad, travelling to Germany is not a typical holiday. It's a "mandatory" family visit.

• We spend a lot of our annual "holidays" going back to Germany to visit family and friends, connect with German culture and Zeitgeist, etc.
• Which in return means, we have less time and money to travel to new countries and explore new places.
• Tatjana's hometown is Berlin (capital of Germany) and Gwenda's hometown is Verden (population is around 30,000).
• Favorite things we like to do in Germany: go to the supermarket, cycling, people watching.
• Observation: Our societies have become more diverse despite the growth of right-wing extremism.
• Both Tatjana and Gwenda use a lot of public transport when in Germany (no need for a car).
• THE culture department store in Berlin Dussmann: ⁠https://www.kulturkaufhaus.de/en/start⁠
• Tatjana bought ONLY 10 books in Germany.
• German Foods we love: Doener, (Beef) Hamburger, Broetchen and Cheese (German breakfast culture), bake goods, seasonal fruits/vegetables such as asparagus, berries, etc.
• Germany has different regions that are very diverse: mountains in South, beaches in North, cities - natures, castles, cars/Autobahn, etc.
• Germany Train Ticket - "Deutschlandticket" (1 months, all public transport and local trains in Germany - excluding fast trains such as ICE and IC) ⁠https://deutschlandticket.de/⁠
• Sunday is a public holiday and ALL shops, supermarkets, etc are closed
• Restaurants: Many restaurants are closed on Monday (instead of Sunday), and many restaurants shut at 9 or 10pm in the evening.
• Drinking Water: No house water in restaurants - you have to pay for it. At home, you can drink tap water. Bottled water is with or without gas.
• Weather: Much more unpredictable than Indian weather. You may experience warm sunny weather and cold rainy weather on the same day.

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Tune in every other Friday for a new episode. * G+T Conversations is created using Spotify for Podcasters and Pixabay.