Doing business in DACH (Deutschland, Austria, Switzerland) on the fly

While writing about my clients’ needs branching out and doing business outside of Germany, I realised it might be easier to explain German business to the Germans themselves. As an Ausländer (foreigner). Why? Many small and medium sized companies in Germany, Austria and even Switzerland (the DACH Region) still do more business at home or… Continue reading Doing business in DACH (Deutschland, Austria, Switzerland) on the fly

Get your English back to where it was…easy peasy!

How does this relate to you learning enough English so you can communicate with your own little carpet munchers? Maybe you already understand and even speak English when you travel, and you’d just like to practise a bit.

if you don’t like it or think I should grieve otherwise, you could perhaps go read something else

‘The subtle mental shifts we experience over time and how they lead us down our paths’ Heidi Jones There’s my writing prompt. It’s from my friend Heidi, who I saw recently at my thirtieth high school reunion. That was a trip, by the way. Like a psychedelic one, I mean. The good kind of trip.… Continue reading if you don’t like it or think I should grieve otherwise, you could perhaps go read something else

Stealing from little baby Jesus

So is he coming, or isn’t he? Kids around the world, well the Christian &/or western world I should say, are wondering if & hoping that St. Nick makes an appearance tonight. Even in northern Germany, the little ones are waiting for the Weihnachtsmann (Christmas man, literally). He purportedly comes early enough on Xmas Eve… Continue reading Stealing from little baby Jesus

relaunching this blogging lark with a whimper in the night

Watching baseball in the middle of the night with a newborn in one arm and scattered thoughts running through my brain, I’m reaching for a decent explanation of why my digital scrawling is worthy of your (or even my) attention. For the last several years I haven’t bothered sharing my life’s minutiae, as I did… Continue reading relaunching this blogging lark with a whimper in the night

‘I got a hamster’ brought to you by Diamond Cookieoftruth

‘Hello Violet,’ he said. ‘It’s Uncle BK…‘ ‘Really? All the way from Germany?‘ ‘All the way from Germany, yes. I saw you got a hamster. A hamster named Alexander, right? Let me tell you about the history of the domesticated hamster,‘ I started to mansplain to my second oldest niece. ‘Got it covered, Uncle BK.… Continue reading ‘I got a hamster’ brought to you by Diamond Cookieoftruth

Curating for @I_amGermany and reminded why I used to enjoy twitter

Quite a week here in Munich. The Oktoberfest is waiting impatiently at the gates like heathen hordes. The skeptical and easily spooked locals are sure terrible things are going to happen at this year’s Biggest Beer Festival in the World. All the while, I’ve been curating the @I_amGermany account over on twitter. I don’t talk… Continue reading Curating for @I_amGermany and reminded why I used to enjoy twitter

Missives from this corner of Old Europe

For quite some time, I’ve intended to change the tagline on this personal blog. I’m not certain how long it’s been, but it might’ve been from back when I started that if you clicked on my site, you’d see: ‘pay no attention to the man behind the curtain’ It was an allusion to the Wizard… Continue reading Missives from this corner of Old Europe