Why the Brits like to be different…

The final straw came last week at another international party. At the end of the evening, as at the beginning we all had to kiss each other and then the inevitable and embarrassing nose graze happened…

One of the most popular stereotypes of the British is that they love to drink tea, and at 5 o’clock.

Last Sunday was a special occasion here in Hamburg. It was the first ‘Verkaufsoffene Sonntag’ of the year, or in English, literally a ‘Shop open Sunday’ – a Sunday when the shops are open…

…for the past few weeks it has not been the articles or the du/sie question that has been baffling me. It has been something that until now I thought was relatively simple to comprehend – the greetings…

I am starting to feel like somewhat of a celebrity here in Hamburg. It seems no-one has ever met a Brit before, let alone someone that speaks the Queen’s English. I am, therefore, somewhat of a novelty over here…

The use of Denglish in the German language…

My first experience of a German taxi rank filled me with despair. For a country famous for being orderly I could not comprehend the chaos that ensued and the people pushing past me to hail the next cab. ‘This is the queue!’ I stifled in my best pigeon German, but…