Christmas in Europe is a special time. A Christmas market, trees and decorations, Christmas carols … But all this you find not on Christmas itself, but earlier – on Advent. From December 23 to January 27, Europe is not the best place to visit: just before Christmas, everyone completely empties the store shelves and lies at the bottom: long weekends, no one works, except gas station, Donners and a few restaurants. The interval between Christmas and New Year and after the New Year is the time of sales of old clothing collections. And immediately after January 6, the holidays are completely over: the lights and the trees are removed.
Expat’s life
Joint building ventury (Baugemeinschaft)
The joint building ventury Baugemeinschaft is a popular form of organizing the construction of apartment buildings in Germany.
Summer surprise. Real estate declaration in Germany
Germany apartments search. Decoding ads
New heating law in Germany
Homeowners association in Germany
Fighting condensation and mold in Germany
How to sort waste in Germany – what waste is going where
Renovation cost in Germany. Who pays
Christmas cookies in Germany
This post is for those who have just met the fanaticism of Christmas cookies in Germany and don’t know where to start. You can easily find a couple of hundred cookie-themed recipes on the Internet, here are the most basic ones for beginners.
As soon as the children go to the kindergarten, the kindergarten and school “tribute” begin. For St. Martin, to sell at the Christmas market, to fundraise for the trip, for Basteltag, for the pre-Christmas breakfast in the garden, for the school Christmas breakfast, for Easter …
Pregnancy in Germany. 3. What is hebamme, how to find her and what is Mutterpass
We continue the topic of pregnancy and childbirth. Now: What is hebamme and what is Mutterpass, what is written in Mutterpass. We will learn how to get a midwife and why you need one at all, and decide where to give birth.
In the first part there was infertility and miscarriage, in the second part – mandatory and additional tests, illnesses and inconveniences accompanying pregnancy.
Fighting condensation and mold in Germany
Fighting mold is an essential part of life in most German homes. The problem is blamed on users. They say tenants do not ventilate, overcool, etc. etc. In reality, of course, builders have crooked hands and save at the expense of residents. Our friends lived in Holland and did not observe this problem there, although Holland is clearly ahead of most German cities in terms of humidity.
Saint Martin Festival Germany. Songs
The main children’s autumn holiday is on the way – Saint Martin Festival in Germany. Processions with lanterns are timed to this holiday.
The memory of Saint Martin is celebrated on November 11th. But processions in his honor usually take place after All Saints’ Day, that is, after November 1, and small processions of one kindergarden or urban area can be scheduled for any day of the last week of October.
DIY silhouette lantern for Saint Martin feast. Part 5
We end our big review with diy silhouette lantern: red leaves and black figurines.
German wine classification system and wine regions
Since we live in a wine region, we had to explore German wine classification system. And German wines are not bad at all, if you make right choice.
In this post about different classifications (classic German wine classification + EU, taste, VDP), wine regions, popular sorts.
DIY lantern for Saint Martin feast. 4. “Drums” and “Houses”
“Drum” – the simplest and fastest form for diy lantern. The choice of motive is limited only by your desires and imagination. “Houses” are cubes or other prisms. Here you have to work more and plan more time, that is, this is an option for older children.
4th grade. Gymnasium or Realschule?
What secondary school to choose – Gymnasium or Realschule? High school choice is not as obvious now as it used to be. Secondary education in Germany has changed significantly over the past 15 years.
I have so far examined the structure of education in half of the federal states (see the topics “Schools after the Grundschule”) and will continue to do so.
The main conclusion: the idea “if you want to go to a university, you need to fight to get into a gymnasium” in most Bundeslands no longer works. The strictest vertical is preserved in Bavaria and Saxony.