This pretty castle can be found at the banks of the river Mosel in West Germany. The Reichsburg Cochem was built around 1000 A.D. and was a medieval defense fortress.
(pic via mosel-hotel-loewen.de)
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German Social Manners Part 3
Part 3: PUNCTUALITY
Being on time is very much appreciated in Germany. I’d even go so far and say that punctuality is one of the most important - if not the most important - social etiquette. Being late will usually leave a bad impression, especially when you have a business meeting. But even if it’s just a social event with friends or familiy, arriving a couple of minutes earlier is better than arriving minutes too late. Sometimes a late arrival is unevitable of course. In those cases please make sure to inform the people who are waiting for you.
The stereotype of the punctual German definitely has some truth to it ;)
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This is a yummy Bavarian Weißwurstfrühstück. A Weißwurstfrühstück consists of:
a) heiße Weißwurst (hot white sausage)
b) süßer Senf (sweet mustard)
c) frische Brezeln (fresh pretzels)
d) kühles Hefeweizen (cool wheat beer)
It’s perfect after a night of partying or during the summertime in a shady beergarden. It’s called “Frühstück” (das Frühstück = breakfast) because you have it in the late morning/early lunch time, almost like a brunch.
(pic via welt.de)
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Almdudler is an Austria carbonated soda and I’d say it’s one of my favourite sodas of all time. I remember loving it as a kid and it was always a very special moment when my parents bought me a can or bottle.
It has a herb flavour similar to ginger ale or elderberry juice. The name derives from “auf der Alm dudeln” which means something like “to make music/sing on an alpine meadow”.
(pic via oesterreichmarkt.de)
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Time for some music made in Germany again. One of my readers asked me recently, if I knew the band Seeed and if I liked them. Well, personally I’m not into this kind of music really, but I certainly recognize what people like about it! :)
Click on the picture to watch the official video (which is full of monkey puppets ;)) “Ding” = thing.
The song is about a macho type guy who leaves his family at home to cheat on his wife with other women. “Ohohoh du hübsches Ding, ich versteck meinen Ehering” (chorus) = “Ohohoh you pretty thing, I’m hiding my wedding ring”.
If you’re interested in hearing more, here’s Seeeds video channel on youtube.
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Yum! Brezeln! Ich liebe Brezeln!
Die (Laugen-) Brezel / Breze / Brez’n was invented in Germany over 900 years ago and are very popular in Southern Germany nowadays. It consists of wheat flour, salt, water, yeast and malt. Right before baking the dough is dipped into a natron soda lye (Natronlauge) to get the nice brown color - that’s why it’s called “Laugenbrezel”.
Brezeln are an important cultural import to the United States - pretzels (soft pretzels). However, the American ones that I’ve had don’t taste exactly like the ones I can buy at a bakery here. Maybe they add sugar?
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German Social Manners Part 2
Part 2: KISSING
Unlike in some countries, kissing somebody on both cheeks to say hello and goodbye is only acceptable when you’re good friends or family members! NEVER do that to strangers or in business situations. It’s also more common among women than men. Guys usually prefer a pat on the back or something similar.
To be on the safe side wait for the reaction of the German person. And even if it’s only a handshake, accept it and respect the physical distance that’s being kept. :)
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“Acht, neun, zehn” (Eight, nine, ten) is a graphic novel by a young, talented German comic artist called Arne Bellstorf. It was his diploma thesis and he also won an award for it. The story is about this kid Christoph. He doesn’t really get along with his mom, has to repeat his last schoolyear and is kinda lonely. It’s a really nice story and I love the drawings. If you’re into graphic novels, check it out. In German of course ;)
sitzenbleiben (irreg.) = (to) repeat a schoolyear
der Comic (-s) = comic
der Zeichner (“) = graphic artist (-s) / drawer (-s)
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German Chocolate cake. What in the world is German about this cake? ;) (my thoughts when I saw it at a US supermarket for the first time)
The answer is: N-O-T-H-I-N-G. At least nothing “German” meaning “Germany-related German”. The guy who invented the cake in the 19th century was an English dude whose last name was: German. HA! And although it was called “German’s Chocolate Cake” at first, the “‘s” was dropped after some time.
I was already worried that I had missed an important part of German food culture! Now I’m really curious and I wanna bake one. Does anybody know a good recipe?
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After attending the Grundschule (elementary school) for 4 years, the students have to decide which of three possible ways they want to go. Well, very often it’s not the students’ decision but the teachers’ or parents’. However, students can influence this decision by their grades and behaviour.
Let’s talk about die Hauptschule first. It offers the lowest of secondary education in Germany and concentrates more on getting students ready for the workforce than for a college or university degree. Therefore the focus on academic studies is low and subjects are taught at a much slower pace. Students attend die Hauptschule from 5th to 9th grade before graduating by passing the so-called “Quali” tests (der Hauptschulabschluss = CSE). Then they will hopefully get an apprenticeship position in a job that requires practical skills.
Die Hauptschule has become something like a “storage room” for kids living in problematic social environments. The general stereotype is that students who attend die Hauptschule are hard to handle and come from low class families that e.g. deal with unemployment problems, drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence or have a different cultural background. Due to this bad reputation (which unfortunately does come from somewhere) their chances on finding a good job after school are slim.
Starting this year, some German Federal States have decided to abolish die Hauptschule and to merge it with die Realschule about which I’m going to talk in my next post Germany’s school system.
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