[Meal kits:hassle-free cooking? €45 off for the local readers]

After a welcome summer break, September is often the time to re-establish a routine that can help simplify your life.

Finding the time and energy to prepare tasty and nutritious meals is a real challenge – especially as it starts to get darker and colder. From convenience to culinary variety, we all know the perks of meal kits that bring you all the ready-to-cook ingredients you need straight to your door.

But what about the downsides? From expats to locals, plenty of us have reservations about meal kits. Aren’t they expensive? Don’t they produce loads of food waste – not to mention all the packaging?

And then there’s the necessary cooking skills. What about those of us who haven’t spent the last decade diligently watching each and every cooking show with a pad and pen, who somehow seem to mess up everything in the kitchen – even a piece of toast?

Together with our partners Hello Fresh, The Local have dished up some tasty facts on meal kits. From giving you the low down on just how it works to smashing some persistent myths, this is everything you need to know about the modern meal kit.
 

Read more about Meal Kits and the special offer for readers of TheLocal from Hello Fresh in Germany – or Switzerland or Austria in our FULL ARTICLE

[Sponsored: Five reasons expats in Germany are dangerous to know if they don't have Haftpflichtversicherung]

You’re always on time, you think of Angela Merkel as ‘Mutti’ and you’ve even found yourself craving currywurst (well, some of you). You think you’ve assimilated in Germany.

But many expats have failed miserably with a vital ingredient for true integration: private liability insurance. (Haftpflichtversicherung). While not compulsory, it’s widely seen as essential protection against the risk of harming another person or their belongings; almost nine in ten Germans have it. 
 

In partnership with Coya Insurance, The Local presents five pathetic excuses (we were being kind when we said ‘reasons’ in the headline) that explain why so many expats in Germany don’t have private liability insurance.

Read the 5 reasons in FULL ARTICLE here.

[Sponsored: Why it's a good time to join an online language school]

The restrictions on life due to coronavirus offer the ideal opportunity for self-improvement projects. But life remains busy and social distancing is no fun.

Learning German as a new language can not only boost your confidence and social circle but also enhance your career prospects. Research even shows it could help protect against dementia. Here are six reasons why joining an online language school like Lingoda could give you the best chance of learning German or achieving your other linguistic goals. LINK

How is your language learning going? Have you changed your in-person classes to online only? Have they been effective in extending your learning? Let us know. 

[Leipzig Infographic: 14 facts that explain Germany's fastest-growing city]

The Local worked with 'Invest Leipzig' to produce this infographic to help new people who may want to move to the area understand what this up-and-coming city in East Germany has to offer. What do you think? Is it accurate? Does it line up with what residents have experienced? Read more about the area here: http://bit.ly/LocalLeipzig

 

 

[Sponsored: Business in 2020s]

Here in the waning weeks of 2019, it’s natural to look back at the decade that’s drawing to an end. But the close of a decade is not just about looking backward - it’s also a good time to consider what the next ten years have in store.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/34X2iGm

[Sponsored: The biggest culture shocks experienced by expats in Europe]

We asked our readers across Europe what surprised them most about working and living in Europe. This is what they had to say. http://bit.ly/2PiGiiF

[Sponsored: More than business: Why Frankfurt is an ideal city to live and work in]

Frankfurt is consistently ranked as one of the world’s most liveable cities yet can’t shake off an unfair reputation as a dull finance centre. We spoke to alumni of Frankfurt School of Finance and Management to get a better idea. http://bit.ly/34Iw2Xn

 

[Sponsored: The perks of private health insurance for expats in Germany]

Public healthcare in Germany is not as catch-all as one might hope. Find out why going private could benefit both your health and your bank account.

http://bit.ly/2rpvcAd

 

 

[Sponsored: Nine reasons why Leipzig lives up to its hype]

Berlin’s gritty bohemian allure has long appealed to voguish creative types. But its popularity has come at a cost. The city has undergone rapid gentrification, you’re as likely to hear English on the streets as German and, despite strict rent control laws, rental prices have soared.

http://bit.ly/2K2jXUL

[Sponsored: How to negotiate a personalized expat health insurance plan]

Health insurance policies are never one-size-fits-all and life circumstances have a habit of changing. The Local spoke to an expert from leading insurance broker ASN to help you get the best value bespoke insurance policy.

Find out more via the article: http://bit.ly/36LRs7F

[How do you retain connection to your home cultures?]

-Sponsored content-
Moving abroad changes you in many ways but perhaps most surprising is the way it affects your relationship with your home country. The Local in Partnership with Readly asked international residents how they retain their connection to their home cultures while living abroad, read the article here.

[How to understand and minimize your salary deductions in Germany]

Do you find the salary deductions in Germany a bit tricky to navigate? You're not alone.

The Local in partnership with private health insurance company ottonova has written a useful guide on how to understand and minimize your salary deductions when working in Germany. See here for more information.

 

[The French business school helping students craft more meaningful careers]

Two MBA graduates from EMLYON Business School explain how their studies helped them to land their dream jobs working for international organisations.

When you spend upwards of nine months as part of a diverse team working on a single project, you learn a thing or two about cultural differences and how to overcome them. These are lessons that prove invaluable for those pursuing careers in international organisations that bring together employees from around the world.

 

Read more on The Local: The French business school helping students craft more meaningful careers

 

[10 extraordinary facts about Sweden's dazzling High Coast]

The Swedes know a thing or two about beauty. After all, they live in one of the most captivating countries on the planet. They have the cosmopolitan allure of water-surrounded Stockholm; the vast sweeping beaches of Skåne; the skyscraping white sierras of Lapland and much, much more. Yet, when they were asked in a survey which part of Sweden was most beautiful they chose none of these celebrated places.

 

Read more on The Local: 10 extraordinary facts about Sweden's dazzling High Coast

 

 

 

["Brexit & You - Free Weekly Newsletter"]

31 minutes ago, fraufruit said:

 

So is it once or twice?

 

 

Not falling for your clickbait.

 

Once per day, and twice in total - so once on one day and once on another day.

 

It's not clickbait. Clickbait is misleading headlines which lure you into an article only to find something completely different. This is an announcement about a free newsletter on a very topical subject of concern to a lot of people. We think is informative and useful.

["Brexit & You - Free Weekly Newsletter"]

The ad on Toytown was only set up an hour ago, although it has been running on thelocal.de for a few days.

 

It should not appear more than once per day, and only twice in total. If you've clicked on it to find out more, you shouldn't see it again.

["Brexit & You - Free Weekly Newsletter"]

Well, the main problem as you know is that nobody has a clue how this is all going to pan out. But instead of covering the party political drama in London and the posturing between the negotiators, we're talking to people around Europe - businesses, national governments, Brits - about how they are planning for life after March 2019 and what their expectations are.

 

We're also rounding up the views from the European press - which you could of course get from Google but we're saving you the hassle.

 

And finally, we are listing and linking to local events around Europe which could shed some light on the situation and allow people to air their views.

["Brexit & You - Free Weekly Newsletter"]

Oh, sorry, we sent the wrong ad. Now there's one that's clearly from The Local. It should only present itself once per day, tops. 

 

If the facepalming was a general Brexit-related facepalm, we hear you. But with this newsletter we're trying to avoid the politics and stick to more useful info for Brits in Europe who are wondering what the hell is going on. So far people have been very positive about it.

[Thieves 'steal and rape dog' in Berlin]

A Berlin woman was reunited with her stolen dog on Sunday only to discover that it had likely been sexually assaulted. There may be more than one attacker, vets said.

 

Kessie, a three-year-old mongrel, was stolen from outside an Edeka supermarket in the Neukölln area of Berlin while her owner was inside on Wednesday, the BZ newspaper reported.

 

Lena H. and her flatmate searched around before hanging up lost dog signs in the Herfurthplatz area. She received a call from an animal shelter in Lichtenberg on Thursday, saying her dog had been found trembling and tied to a fence.

 

Click to read the full article.

[White House 'ended NSA Merkel phone tapping']

The United States flatly denied on Sunday that President Barack Obama had been informed years ago that US spy agencies were monitoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone calls.

 

German media reported that eavesdropping on Merkel's phone may have started in 2002, when she was Germany's main opposition leader and three years before she became chancellor.

 

It also claimed the spying was being conducted from a secret listening station within the US Embassy in Berlin which is just a few hundred yards from the German parliament and chancellor's office.

 

On Monday pictures of the embassy were in several German newspapers running alongside stories claiming it contained the listening station from where Merkel's phone was being tapped.

 

Click to read the full article.

[Obama was aware of Merkel spying: Report]

US President Barack Obama was personally informed of mobile phone tapping against German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which may have begun as early as 2002, German media reported Sunday as a damaging espionage scandal widened.

 

Bild am Sonntag newspaper quoted US intelligence sources as saying that National Security Agency chief Keith Alexander had briefed Obama on the operation against Merkel in 2010.

 

"Obama did not halt the operation but rather let it continue," the newspaper quoted a high-ranking NSA official as saying.

 

News weekly Der Spiegel reported that leaked NSA documents showed that Merkel's phone had appeared on a list of spying targets since 2002, and was still under surveillance shortly before Obama visited Berlin in June.

 

Click to read the full article.

[One in six Germans at risk of poverty]

Despite the strong economy, the number of impoverished Germans has been steadily increasing. Figures from a European-wide study released on Friday show one in six people are at risk of poverty.

 

That is considerably more than in Germany's neighbouring countries, the Czech Republic and France.

 

The figures from the German Office of National Statistics (Destatis) and Eurostat, which included 13,145 German households, showed 16.1 percent of Germans were at risk of falling into relative poverty, compared to 9.6 percent in the Czech Republic, 10.1 percent in the Netherlands and 14.1 percent in France.

 

Click to read the full article.

[Lady Gaga celebrates new album in Berlin club]

Popstar Lady Gaga launched her third album Artpop with a party at Berlin's famous Berghain nightclub on Thursday night and displayed some of her trademark bizarre outfits to the German crowd.

 

The 100-strong audience at the venue, a converted power station in east Berlin, "were all ecstatic fans and c-list celebrities" reported the Spiegel.

 

Gaga has been in the capital since Wednesday, when hundreds of fans waited for autographs in front of the Hotel Ritz Carlton in Postdamer Platz where she is staying.

 

CLICK HERE for photos of Lady Gaga in Berlin

 

Click to read the full article.

[Where your TV licence fee goes]

Since January, German households have had to pay a monthly broadcasting license fee of €17.98, regardless of whether they own a television or radio. Now public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have revealed where that money goes.

 

ARD gets €12.81 of the fee from each household, while ZDF gets €4.37, Deutschland Radio €0.46 and other outlets €0.34.

 

Fans of Germany's flagship detective show, Tatort will be pleased to know that 15 cents of their monthly contribution goes towards producing their Sunday night staple.

 

ARD's big-name talk show hosts, Jausch, Plasberg and Maischberger get 10 cents for their programmes from every household while the Tagesschau and Tagesthemen daily news shows get 26 cents.

 

Click to read the full article.

[Merkel: relations with US not 'one-way street']

UPDATE: Chancellor Angela Merkel said the relationship between the United States and Germany was not a "one-way street" and that actions, not words, mattered in the future.

 

She made the comments following a meeting of the European Commission in Brussels.

 

Merkel said EU member states had agreed on the importance of co-operation between US and European intelligence services in ensuring the safety of citizens. However she added that "rather than making co-operation easier, mistrust makes it more difficult."

 

She also announced that Germany and France intended to redefine their security co-operation with the US by the end of this year.

 

Click to read the full article.