Expat Chatter

Germany already experimented with a cheap train ticket last summer. People loved it so much that as soon as summer ended, they started clamoring for a repeat performance. So now we’re getting another one, but a cheap ticket doesn’t compensate for the real problem with the rail system.

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Brenda Arnold

The U.S. is not just a large country, everything in it seems bigger, too. This includes the huge piles of garbage created from every restaurant visit that are not recycled. For someone living in Germany, a country that prides itself on recycling, it takes all your willpower not to separate your garbage and instead put the whole pile straight into the garbage can. In the end, I found I just couldn’t do it.  

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Brenda Arnold

Eyeglasses and watches used to be mundane utilitarian accessories until designers were invited to the table. The ordinary sock has now joined in on the game and is no longer a simple stocking, but a formidable fashion statement. And, as it turns out, an opportunity to have a little fun with a perfect stranger.

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Brenda Arnold

Just as I was getting used to not being a mother, my COVID-harassed daughters came home - left - and came home - repeatedly. Now I'm trying to remember, what was it again that I always did for Easter?

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Brenda Arnold

Chicago was named by French fur traders who founded the city, which was destroyed by a big fire started by a cow. It is the windiest city in the country and is called Second City, trailing behind New York. So goes popular wisdom; but popular is not the same as true. All of these things are wrong. 

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Brenda Arnold

I fantasize about taking my kids back to where I grew up to show them the real America. Except when I arrive, it’s often to discover that many things have changed. Shops have disappeared, new restaurants have sprouted up. I may wax nostalgic, but were the old ways really better?

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Brenda Arnold

When is a snack a meal? It depends on what country you’re in, as Germans discover when they go to America to find potato chips on their dinner plate. Europeans brought foods with them across the Atlantic but many of them were transformed into something new. 

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Brenda Arnold

New York feels like another world compared to Munich. Many elements are obvious and in plain sight, but the essence of the city is more elusive. New Yorkers are different from Munich residents in so many ways. We discovered a few hidden gems on a recent visit.

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Brenda Arnold

American companies have made serious inroads into the economies of Europe and elsewhere, but this has come at a cost. There have been some pretty big flops along the way as executives naively thought they could simply replicate the American marketing model in other countries without making any changes. Some of these misjudgments are rather entertaining, and with the introduction of a coffee/olive oil concoction by Starbucks in Italy, we may soon witness yet another product derailment.

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Brenda Arnold

There are grocery stores, and then there’s Aldi. In the decades since WWII, this discounter chain has not only won over the wallets of its customers but also their hearts. Faithful Aldi customers from all walks of life wouldn’t dream of shopping anywhere else. But behind the well-oiled Aldi machine, there is also plenty of intrigue in this family-owned empire.

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Brenda Arnold