A gothic building with a huge animatronic clock My spouse's mother was German and emigrated to the United States in 1958. Until 1975 German mothers did not pass on citizenship to children born in wedlock. My spouse was not born a German citizen for this reason. The modern state of Germany has decided that this gender discriminatory policy was unconstitutional, and defined a declaration process called Staatsangehörigkeit § 5 (StAG5) by which descendants of such persons can declare their German citizenship.

Hand holding four German Reispässe Our journey in this area began in 2020 with genealogical research, then filing a declaration of citizenship for spouse and our children, and finally taking trips to Germany as new German citizens. I've written a number of blog posts on this topic, roughly categorized below.

German Genealogy and Citizenship

Other Topics of Interest to Americans, Concerning Germany

Monday, August 4, 2025

Germany trip 7.2025

Reprising last year's trip, we spent another July in Europe this year.

One somewhat less pleasant aspect of last year's trip was the flights, particularly the return from Frankfurt to San Francisco where we spent 13 hours in the air. This year we broke up the time in the air:

San Francisco -> Pittsburgh, to visit family
Pittburgh -> Iceland
Iceland -> Munich, Germany
Munich -> Potsdam, near Berlin
Potsdam -> Hannover
Hannover -> Hamburg
Hamburg -> Reykjavik, Iceland
Iceland -> New York City
New York -> San Francisco

Pittsburgh

We mainly visited family in Pittsburgh, but saw a few sights like the Duquesne Incline.

Iceland Geothermal Exhibit

We rented a car in Iceland and went to the Geothermal Exhibit, all about Geothermal power. My spouse is a Professional Geologist, for whom this was an especially interesting tour.

Turbines and steam pipes — Geothermal power plant at Hellisheiðarvirkjun

Munich

We spent four days in Munich, a highlight was watching a performance of the Glockenspiel.

A gothic building with a huge animatronic clock — Munich Rathaus Glockenspiel

Potsdam

Last year we stayed in Berlin, and didn't find time to make it down to Potsdam but wanted to. So this year, we spent four days in Potsdam. We toured the Sanssouci Palace.

Hannover

My wife's family is from Hannover, we visit each time we are there. This year we went to Lake Maschee and the Herrenhäuser Garten.

Statue of a man laying in the lap of a woman — Herrenhäuser Garten

Hamburg

We loved Hamburg. Hamburg and Potsdam were our favorite cities on this trip, mainly because of the water. It reminded us of the San Francisco Bay.

Miniature replica of a city — Miniatur Wunderland

Reykjavik

We went back to Iceland on the return trip, staying in Reykjavik. We visited the Hallgrímskirkja church.

New York City

I've been to New York a number of times but the rest of the family had not been, so this was a special treat. We took tours of the United Nations and of the Empire State Building.

View of a large room with two concentric seating areas, the UN Security Council chamber — United Nations

View of Manhattan from high above — View from the Empire State Building

Coding Relic

Saturday, August 16, 2025

Survey of my Germany-related blog posts