Schau ins Land Blog: Reflections on life in Germany and German culture

Deutsche Post doesn't send me

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:30:48 PDT

A trip to the nearest post office can rile me these days, and plenty of other people in Germany too. It starts with the walk. In a bygone era -- 10 or 15 years ago -- five minutes were all I needed...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Fired up for spring

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:10:42 PDT

Hamburg awoke yesterday morning under a blanket of fresh snow. While winter here was mild again, spring, which officially started a week ago, has been as cold as a li'l witch's itty bitties. So far,...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

GEZ (Who?) Came to Dinner or: Agents on the Track of Folks Who "Watch Black"

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:49:01 PST

The doorbell rang during dinner. I got up from the table, opened the door, and looked into the eyes of a man I didn't know. He showed me his badge. He asked me some questions. He jotted a couple of...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Qualms Away!

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:44:33 PST

Something like this was waiting to happen. Here's the background: Smoking in Hamburg's public buildings has been banned since January 1. But Hamburg's most famous citizen, ex-chancellor Helmut...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Jingle Glöckchen

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:43:26 PST

Advent and Christmas are the time for carols, of course, a time when you can close your eyes in Germany and imagine you're in Nebraska. "Deck the Halls," "White Christmas," "Rudolf the Red-Nosed...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

That clinking, clanking sound

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:45:41 PST

One of my wife's cousins, now working in Sweden, commiserated with her recently on the phone. My wife lapped it up. Having lived in Germany for almost five years now, she's solidly in Phase II of...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Make me free, Schatzi!

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 02:59:48 PST

She asked me to come with her, so I followed her into the room. We were alone. She was attractive. And she wasted no time with pleasantries. "Get undressed please!" she said. But wait! This wasn't...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Drei Strikes und du bist draußen

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:46:57 PDT

Ah, October! The golden days ache with sweetness and longing, apples hang heavy on the bough, and a man's thoughts turn to ... ... the World Series. An American man's thoughts, anyway. Which brings...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Berlin, ick liebe dir ooch

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:04:32 PDT

An American abroad rarely has to sit through paeans to the homeland these days, the W. & Co. wrecking crew be praised! But last weekend I did. The setting, naturally enough, was Berlin, where my wife...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:30:56 PDT

When I was growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, the words "German bakery" -- like "Chinese laundry," "Italian barbershop," "Jewish law firm," or "Thai massage parlor" -- were synonymous with...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Quiet (Mostly) Flows Das Vaterland

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 04:29:47 PDT

Upon returning from a stateside vacation, I was reminded of how quiet Germany is in comparison. The atmosphere in the commuter train that took my wife and me back home was almost funereal. And the...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Where rules rule, reason fears to tread

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:46:38 PDT

The postman rang our doorbell last week and asked me to deliver a letter. It was addressed to the people living in the apartment on the other side of the staircase. The name tag on their mailbox...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Times a-changin'

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:18:27 PDT

You know your time is winding down -- if you're in my modest price league, anyway -- when you need a new watch and wonder, "Could the next one be my last? Will my mortal ticker stop before the...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

All in the family

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:21:19 PDT

"Hah! The Poles are making trouble in the EU now. They got on our nerves too." My wife, normally not disposed to Schadenfreude, made this remark the other day after hearing a report about Warsaw's...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.

Smoke Gets in My Nose

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 03:35:22 PDT

I should be happy. Germany, at long last, is cracking down on smoking. Much of Europe already has. Smoking has been banned at workplaces in Ireland -- including pubs, where having a cig with a pint...

Schau ins Land Blog - daily reflections on life in Germany and German culture, from writer and journalist Tim obojski. Visit the website to discover more.