Toytown Germany

Germany's English-speaking crowd
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Welcome to Toytown Germany, an English-language community website for Germany. Over 9,500 English-speakers are currently active members. Read the introduction, view the members map, or jump right into the chat forum.

Germany | Berlin | Munich | Other cities | ...all cities

Germany appeals to International Court of Justice - Germany has sued for legal protection against Italian courts in a fundamental disagreement regarding Nazi crimes, asking for confirmation of its immunity by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Den Haag. In the recent past, Italian courts had awarded judgment to several claimants holding Germany liable for crimes and atrocities committed by German forces in WW II. Germany is concerned that these precedents will lead to thousands of individual… read more…

Legality of chopping down your own Christmas tree - Now this, obviously, is a purely hypothetical question and not remotely linked to anyone real at all. Purely hypothetical in fact. Mere conjecture. BUT if someone had the notion of going out into a non-specific, entirely generic forest and just happened to be carrying an axe and a small fir tree happened to collide with said axe and then fell over into someone completely imaginary's hands and said person decided to befriend said fallen item by giving… read more…

German woman becomes head of Michelin Guides - Juliane Caspar has become the new head of the Guide Michelin reports the German woman edits Michelin guide (BBC News). A new editor-in-chief of the French edition of the feared Michelin restaurant guide has just been appointed - and to general surprise the job has gone to a German. Juliane Caspar, a 37-year-old former restaurateur from Bochum in western Germany, is not only the first foreigner to take over at the French edition - she's also the… read more…

Germany produces the best TV in the world - Jörg Pilawa gave an interview today in the Hamburger Abendblatt. He states: Ich bin viel international unterwegs, kein anderes Land macht so tolles Fernsehen wie wir. (I travel a lot internationally, no other country produces such great TV as we do). Well, what do you think? I too travel globally, and with the possible exception of Namibian TV (also German language), German TV is the worst on the planet. But rules are rules, so I'm probably not allowed… read more…

Health insurance law changes from 1.Jan.2009 - Hi fellow TTers, my health insurance is provided by AXA PPP and is an international scheme for expats. I just received a letter from them stating the following: "As you may be aware on 1st January 2009 a new German health insurance law will come into force. The regulations of the new German Insurance contract Law (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz) oblige residents of Germany, who are not part of the compulsory state health insurance scheme, to hold… read more…

Latest news headlines via spiegel.de:
Latest news headlines via thelocal.de:
Latest news headlines via Die Welt:

Deutsche Bahn immediate increase in prices by 3.9% - Well, here it is. After all of last year's strikes, the leadership at the Deutsch Bahn have raised their prices. No big surprise. The guys at the top want to make more money to line their pockets, the guys with the Union don't get the fact that the upper crust won't take the cuts - but that we, the consumer will have to pay more to support their strikes and their "wanted" pay increase. Bad economic times? Inflation? Nope - they're blaming… read more…

Chief of Police in Passau knifed by neo-Nazi - The Chief of Police in Passau, Alois Mannichl, was attacked and seriously injured by a neo-Nazi at his own home in Passau, Bavaria. Mr. Mannichl, who has been fighting neo-Nazis for years already, was stabbed by a 1.90 meter tall skinhead. The skinhead rang his doorbell. Mr. Mannichl personally opened the door. The skinhead shouted that Mannichl would no longer trample down the graves of their comrades, rammed an eleven centimetre long knife into… read more…

German Government has lost secret files - Germanys ministry of the interior is so the anti-NSA. Seen in the Local. Government has lost files so secret their contents are unknown The German government has lost more than 300 files that are so top secret no-one knows what was in them, it was confirmed this weekend. The 332 files were considered top secret, but have been lost over the last ten years, with no clue as to where they have ended up. They were of ‘considerable significance,’… read more…

21 million German bank account details for sale - The Register: 21 million German bank accounts for sale. Identity thieves who claim they stole details of 21 million German bank accounts are offering to sell the data on the black market for €12 million, a German magazine reported over the weekend. To prove they weren't bluffing, the crooks produced the compact disc containing the names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, account numbers, and bank routing numbers of 1.2 million accounts. Original… read more…

UK ISPs censor 1970s German album cover (NSFW) - The image right is the cover for Virgin Killer, the 1976 album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions. The album has been freely available for purchase for 32 continuous years since its release. Now internet service providers in the UK have decided that the cover consitutes child pornography and must be blocked. At least six major UK ISPs are denying access to Wikipedia's copy: Image:Virgin Killer.jpg This means that a majority of web users in the… read more…

Hoffenheim currently top of German football league - A last gasp winner from Toni saved the blushes of Bayern München on Friday evening at the Allianz arena but despite this Hoffenheim still remain top of the German Bundesliga. Hoffenheim, the name may be unfamiliar to some of you, but this is the German footballing equivalent of a Lewis Hamilton, coming from nowhere to the top of the pack. Off course they have a financial backer but this is no Malcolm Glazer or Roman Abramovich; their investor is… read more…

New customs charges from December 1, 2008 - December 1st this year signalled a relaxing on the rules and charges for importing goods into Germany and the EU from foreign parts. With immediate effect the "duty free" personal allowance for international travellers arriving at German sea and air ports from non-EU countries is increased to €430 - previously the limit was €175. Travellers entering into Germany or the EU by train or car have an allowance of €300 per person. The allowance… read more…

Latest topics from the lo-fi chat forum:

Washing machine delivered late - Scheduled to arrive by 1pm, arrived a...
German for 'coarse and game fishing' - Can this British expr...
Expat telephone toss, do you also do this? - Avoiding answering for fe...
Dishwasher turns my silverware purple - Any ideas what I'm doing ...
Recommended types and brands of washing machine - Advice on what to bu...
Best methods for moving across Germany - How to transport yourself and...
Writing a note to a neighbor regarding alarm clock - Neighbor's l...
Where to buy a normal mop for cleaning floors - Advice on mopping at h...
Native German thinking of moving back home - Any others returned to Ge...
German children's books recommendations for adults - For improvin...
Neo-nazi threat against mayor of Warin - In hiding after far right thr...
Where to buy restickable glue - Answer: In a stationery shop
The DB Lidl-Ticket (cheap day rail tickets) - Terms and conditions, ca...
German Language Learning Log - Motivate yourself to learn the language
Expats in Germany who never learn German... - And complain why there a...
Owning a horse in Germany - Equine culture here
What kind of gloves are the warmest? - My fingertips freeze so fast
Germany appeals to International Court of Justice - Italy attempting t...
Germany considers accepting Guantanamo inmates - To help close the US ...
People from the Northwest US, what do you miss? - It seems there are l...
Mentally converting the Euro into Deutsche Marks - Why do Germans stil...
Which is the least racist country? - Germany, UK, US, Canada, or Austr...
Muslim academic questions the Prophet's existence - God doesn...
Sending an unwrapped parcel from a post office - Will they wrap it, or...
Moving dogs from the U.S. to Germany - Advice on shipping, paperwork, ...
Becoming adjusted to hearing the German language - Understanding immed...
Latest nutty proposal from a SPD politician - Compulsory loans from th...
30-minute wait time after dialing emergency 110 - Anyone else experien...
Native English accents when speaking German - What do we sound like?
Pensioners' entitlements in Germany - Benefits, reduced-price tic...