Archive for 'Holidays'
Neuschwanstein is 150 years old! And it has a surprise up its sleeve Posted by Sten on Sep 5, 2019
You’ve heard of this place. And you have definitely seen it, or a version of it. Schloss Neuschwanstein (Castle Neuschwanstein) is celebrating its 150th birthday today, on September 5. We say herzlichen Glückwunsch! But there’s more: it comes with a special Geburtstagsüberraschung (birthday surprise)! Grundsteinlegung Schloss Neuschwanstein is one of Germany’s most famous sights. With its märchenhafte (fairytale-like)…
German Sayings + Expressions 22: Heat, Heat, Heat Posted by Sten on Jul 4, 2019
These past few weeks and the upcoming ones have been showing tropische Temperaturen (tropical temperatures) in Germany, with up to 40°C (104°F). Not only time to look for some Sonnencreme (sunscreen) and some Schatten (shade), but also a Sprichwort (saying) and an Ausdruck (expression) that go along with it! As always, let’s start with the Sprichwort. For older posts, please follow this link. Now, let’s…
Dwight Schrute’s Terrific German – Part 4: Dwight’s Christmas Party Posted by Sten on May 30, 2019
You may remember Dwight Schrute, the quirky top paper salesman from NBC’s “The Office” (by the way, there is a German spin-off, called Stromberg). While the sitcom celebrated its finale back in May 2013, it is still one of the most watched shows today. And Mr Schrute is one of the audience’s favorite characters. Not…
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…
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…
Witches In Germany’s Harz Mountains Posted by Constanze on Oct 29, 2018
Guten Tag! Recently I gave you the creepy story of Walpurga Hausmannin, one of Germany’s most famous witches from the 16th Century. In today’s post we’ll continue on the witch theme by talking about a place in Germany that is famous for its association with witchcraft. To get to this place you need to visit…
Big German Travel Phrases Resource Posted by Constanze on Jul 25, 2018
Guten Tag! It’s holiday season and, having just come back from holiday myself, I started thinking about all of the phrases I used to communicate to the locals in different situations. There are many excellent posts in the blog archives on specific areas of holidays, like booking a hotel room in German, or how to…