Americans in Germany: How to make the most of fall in Germany

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Dear Americans in Germany,

Fall or autumn is a special time of year for many in the United States, marked by spooky cobwebs on doorsteps, weekend trips to the pumpkin patch, drinking apple cider, baking apple pies and searching for the perfect Halloween costume. 

But not all of these traditions are observed in Germany, or at least not to the same extent.

One reader said as much in a comment on a recent social media post. In response to a question to our audience about what they liked to do in autumn in Germany, one woman from Pennsylvania wrote: “No apple cider or pumpkin patches or anything really fun to do…nothing like home.”

So, for any Americans in Germany who are prone to a bit of homesickness around this time of year, here’s some tips on how and where you can enjoy some of the same fun fall traditions here in Deutschland.

For when you miss pumpkin patches:

While most German households may be content to make their pumpkin purchases at the nearby grocery store, there are in fact pumpkin fields to be found around Germany, and at least a few of them come complete with the pick-your-own pumpkin experience, corn or straw mazes and other seasonal funfare.

To find one nearby, you could of course start with a simple search in your favourite navigator app. A search for “pumpkin patch” in English in Google Maps reveals a few across Germany. 

To find more results you can try searching for the German terms online. Note that a search for Kürbisbeet, which is the more literal translation for pumpkin patch, is more likely to send you to gardening blogs. Instead you might try Kürbisverkauf or Kürbisfeld.

Here are a few places recommended around Germany:

• Erlebnisbauernhof Gertrudenhof near Cologne/Bonn
• Hitscherhof Farm in Rhineland Pfalz – also Sunshine Pumpkin Farm nearby
• Hofis in Lochhausen near Munich

For anyone in Bavaria, this article has the details for a number of options across the state.

Also there’s pumpkin themed joy to be found at some German pumpkin festivals, like the Kürbisausstellung Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart.

The winner of the European pumpkin championships present their prize pumpkins at Schloss Ludwigsburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Schmidt

For when you want to celebrate Halloween:

I won’t sugarcoat it: Halloween in Germany is not really celebrated in the all out – giant-skeletons-on-the-neighbor’s-roof and cobwebs on every door – kind of way that you may have been used to stateside.

But you can probably find a few festivities to celebrate the scary season no matter where you live in Germany.

Trick-or-treating may be more successful in the suburbs, as opposed to city centers where people tend to live in apartment buildings. If you do go out for it, keep in mind that in Germany people say “Süßes oder Saures” instead of ‘trick-or-treat’.

Another fun activity for the homebodies is making a Kürbislaterne, just as you might do back home. Or, if you really want to try something more authentically German – and also quite a bit more difficult – you might go in for a ‘turnip ghost’ instead.

Or, if you’d rather go out and celebrate the night, you can instead look for Halloween themed parties and festivals, which are common in Germany’s bigger cities. We rounded up ten good options around the country for you here.

For when you miss American football:

Another source of homesickness for many Americans abroad can be the lack of American football on television. In Germany, however, there are quite a few good options to see the games.

You can watch live NFL games on tv on RTL (and its sister network NITRO). They air Sunday games each week starting at 7pm, along with playoff coverage and the Super Bowl. There are also paid options with broader game slates, and airing the authentic US broadcast. For this you can subscribe to Sky Sport (or stream it via WOW) or pick up the extra game package on RTL+.

For college football, DAZN carries NCAA games and an NCAA pass in Germany, meaning you don’t necessarily have to jump through US cable hoops. 

Meanwhile online, US providers like Hulu+ or ESPN+ enforce aggressive geo-blocking and will require a reliable VPN to access.

Another tip is to visit local American sports bars. Many of these will have licenses for international sports packages, and some pack the house for Sunday evening kickoffs.

Also, there is at least one chance for fans to catch a real NFL game in Munich this fall: the New England Patriots are set to face-off against the Detroit Lions at the Allianz Arena on November 15th.

READ ALSO: Millions of NFL fans – How Germany fell in love with American football

…and about Bavarian building codes

Lastly, reader Corbett Rowell dropped us a question in our ongoing Americans in Germany survey to ask, “How big of a garden house I can build in Bavaria without asking for permission?”

Well building codes are always a bit complicated, so forgive us for starting this by saying that this answer should be considered guidance and not strictly legal advice. 

But generally speaking, it seems that in Bavaria you can build a garden house or shed with a gross volume of 75 cubic meters on your own built-up property, or up to 20 cubic meters on an undeveloped property.

So if the height of your structure is 2.5 meters, the footprint can be up to 30 square meters (or 98.4 square feet if you prefer.) Keep in mind that by definition a garden house does not include a living area, toilet or fireplace.

That’s all for now. Happy Halloween!

Bis zum nächsten Mal…