Relic

When I see Toni this morning I hardly recognise him. This is strange because normally Toni is instantly recognisable. He's maybe a decade and-a-half older than me but refuses to allow age to become a dictating factor in his fashion sense. He's our local man-about-town, always strutting up and down the main street with things …

The Real Germany

Today I'm going in search of the real Germany. It won't take long because I know exactly where to find it. I'm almost there already actually. I'm sitting on a bench by the gates of Zons, a medieval walled town close to the city of Düsseldorf. The tower in the background reminds me that Zons …

Affirmation

Slow, slow, quick-quick, slow. German bureaucracy is no waltz in the park -- but occasionally it dances to a foxtrot. There's a letter waiting for me when I get back from Odenthal. It's from the Federal Office For Migration And Refugees. It can only be one thing: the results of my citizenship test. The envelope …