Archive for December, 2018
Sayings + Expressions 20: Good Luck! Posted by Sten on Dec 27, 2018
Welcome to this year’s last Sayings + Expressions! At the end of the year, we look back at the last twelve months, and look forward to the next. Of course, we want the next year to be (even) better! The Germans have their ways of expressing this. Let’s find out how! For older posts, please follow…
The origin of Stollen Posted by Larissa on Dec 25, 2018
Stollen is a traditional German Christmas cake that is still very popular to this day. In this post I will explain what exactly it is and how it came about. The first ever Stollen dates back to 1545. Nowadays, Stollen is made out of flour, butter, yeast, raisins, almonds, marzipan and spices like cinnamon and…
The End of Germany’s Coal Posted by Sten on Dec 22, 2018
Die letzte Zeche wurde geschlossen! In 2007, Germany decided to phase out hard coal production in 2018, which was today. Steinkohle was an important component to rebuild Germany after the Second World War. The reason is simple: Germany’s coal was simply no longer competitive on the global market. The last day of Steinkohleförderung (hard coal mining) took place at Schachtanlage (shaft…
Astro-Alex Came Home! Posted by Sten on Dec 21, 2018
Early in the morning (6 a.m. CET) yesterday, Alexander Gerst landed with two Kollegen (colleagues) with their Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan. After being fished out of the capsule and a few check-ups, the Astronauten (astronauts) were received alive and well. What did we learn from Alexander Gerst, and what did his time in space mean? Landung nach 200 Tage…
Christmas & New Year In Untranslatable German Words Posted by Constanze on Dec 19, 2018
Guten Tag and, since it’s almost time, Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)! Weihnachten (Christmas) and Neujahr (New Year) is the time of the year when people experience a whole range of emotions, from excitement over receiving presents to annoyance about being in the company of certain family members, from feeling nostalgic and reflective about the year…
What is Glühwein and where did it come from? Posted by Larissa on Dec 18, 2018
Every December the Christmas markets go up in Germany and people come together to drink Glühwein. But what exactly is it and how did it come to Germany? Glühwein literally translates to “glow wine”. In English we know it as mulled wine. Although the drink is very popular in Germany, it’s origin does not come…
The German Diminutive Posted by Constanze on Dec 12, 2018
Guten Tag! Today I’m going to tell you about diminutives in German. Diminutives are words that are altered to express a smaller, younger or ‘cuter’ version of themselves. An example of an English diminutive is the word droplet, from the word drop, and the word booklet, from the word book. In English, words often become…