This two-volume collection is about modern Germany, seen not through the eyes of a tourist, but by someone who lives there. The first book helps us understand the structure of German everyday life, its hidden rules, habits, and social mechanisms, without which it's easy to get into trouble. The second is an honest diary of life in Germany in the late 2010s and 2020s, against the backdrop of COVID-19, war, migration, and changes within the country itself. Together, these books form a vivid, personal, and highly accurate portrait of Germany—not the ostentatious Germany, but the real thing.