The Frankfurt Files: Tales of an American in Germany

Ever hear of a log-sawing ritual at a wedding ceremony? Or renting an apartment with kitchen space, but no kitchen? How about having to bring birthday cake to work on your own birthday? In The Frankfurt Files: Tales of an American in Germany, David Conte moves overseas to Frankfurt, Germany, so he can save his relationship with his German girlfriend (now-wife). But when he finds himself having to relearn life in a very different way, his storybook romance becomes one big lesson in surviving culture shock: hauling a couch up a flight of stairs alone after being abandoned by furniture movers; participating in civilized nudity at a wellness center; addressing the all-important issue of cream cheese abuse in German sandwiches. As a discerning idealist turned idiot among foreigners, he relates the good, the bad, and the in-between of his offbeat encounters as an expatriate.