Germany

Wurst by Liesl Pfeffer

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Wurst im Brot, Berlin
Germany
October 2018

Last October, we went out to Gruenewald for a walk in the woods with Kai, Christin and Emily. In very German fashion, the trail ended at an old brick tower with a biergarten surrounding it and views of the river. We sat in the sun and ate wurst and drank wine spritzers and I worried about getting sunburnt but everyone assured me I could begin to relax my extreme vigilence about UV factor in Berlin in Autumn.

Camping by Liesl Pfeffer

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Somewhere north of Berlin, Germany
August 2018

Late Summer, Kai drove Nico and I and his daughter to a campsite on a lake, about 60 minutes north from the city. Unusual for me, I had no hand in planning the trip and had no idea where we were or what the lake was called. It was very pretty walking along the lake at dusk, and another highlight was making camp stove coffee in the morning and talking for a few hours before we packed up the tent. We haven’t camped since then but I am getting ready to plan some trips soon.

Berlin by Liesl Pfeffer

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Kreuzberg, Berlin
Germany
October 2018

A local corner bar (called a Kneipe in German) not far from where we live in Kreuzberg. Taken on a cool day back in Autumn, back when I was welcoming a change of season after Australian summer followed by south east Asian and European summer. Now it’s two days from the beginning of Summer and I can hardly wait.

In a new place by Liesl Pfeffer

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Leipzig, Germany
February 2019

I keep a list on my phone of things I like about Germany. Here’s what I have after 10 months here.

  • The apartment windows (they open out on two different hinges, one for letting in a small draft and one to open the entire window so you can ventilate your apartment and watch the world outside whilst leaning over the sill)

  • Wurst

  • How they put a tree on a construction site to celebrate finishing the walls/foundation

  • The way they eat bread with toppings for dinner and call it Abend Brot

  • Kaffee und Kuchen in the afternoons every day if you want to

  • Only major industrialised nation to commit to phase out nuclear power after Fukushima

  • The word Feierabend and the act of enjoying Feierabend

  • No plastic bags

  • The announcement on the U-Bahn that is so much longer in German (“Bitte achten Sie auf den Abstand zwichen Zug und Bahnsteigkante”) than in English (“Mind the gap”)