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CRAZY Snow Weather in Germany! Posted by Sten on Feb 8, 2021
It doesn’t happen often that the Wetter (weather) is the headlining topic in the evening news. And yet, it happened this weekend in Germany. Suddenly, Germany was hit with a big winter storm. It meant real Wintereinbruch (onset of winter) in Germany. Starting in my home state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), the Schneesturm (snow storm) swept across the country. What happened? And what’s…
Don’t Let It Confuse You! – Devise Posted by Sten on Feb 4, 2021
In this series, we look at words that exist in both English and German, but really don’t mean what you might expect them to, so-called false friends. We also look at words that sound or look deceivingly similar. Today, we look at a rather rare one, but you may have come across it. A word…
German Idioms 29: You’re So Wasteful! Posted by Sten on Feb 1, 2021
Here’s a new post of Sprichwörter und Ausdrücke (Sayings and Expressions). The title of this series is different now, I changed it to “German Idioms” to give it a bit more flexibility and make it a bit more compact. Today, we’ll talk about Abfall (trash) and Müll (waste). Weird, huh? Read on. For older posts, please follow this link. Ex-und-hopp…
How Germans Helped Destroy Emotet, A Massive Computervirus Posted by Sten on Jan 28, 2021
The virus is defeated! Well, not that one. I’m talking about a rampant Computervirus (computer virus) called “Emotet” that was responsible for 30% of Schadsoftware (malware) attacks worldwide. Here’s briefly what happened, and how Germans talk about computers and computer viruses in their language! Was ist Emotet? To be fair, Emotet was not really a Computervirus…
Does Germany Need an Impfpflicht? Posted by Sten on Jan 14, 2021
In the last few weeks, Impfstoffe (vaccines) against the Coronavirus have been rolled out around the world. However, the rate at which Impfungen (vaccinations) have been administered caused a lot of concern. Also in Germany. With 1207 deaths in one day, the country saw a new record; and yet, the amount of people that are open to an Impfung remains…
Bleigießen – Will this German Tradition Tell Your Future? Posted by Sten on Jan 11, 2021
Happy new year, everyone! Some days ago, we looked at some German NYE traditions. Today, I want to talk about a tradition that came to an end, but we could still do this year – Bleigießen (“lead pouring”). What is it, how do you do it and where did it come from? Drop it like it’s…
4 Questions On German Räuchermännchen Posted by Sten on Dec 24, 2020
It’s the most wonderful time of the year again. German Christmas! The Kamin (fireplace) is crackling joyfully and the warm and sweet Glühwein (mulled wine) relaxes the soul and the Räuchermännchen disperse their wonderful Christmas scent. Perhaps I lost you on that last one. What are Räuchermännchen? Little smoke men? Actually, kind of! 1. What is a…