Archive for 'Culture'
Endangered German Dialects Posted by Constanze on Feb 28, 2017
On 21st February the world celebrated International Mother Language Day – otherwise known as Tag der Muttersprache in German. On this day the hashtag #TagderMuttersprache was popular on Twitter, and when I clicked on it there were plenty of German articles about Bairisch – Bavarian! Bavarians are famously proud of their language and culture. Even…
German Culture In The USA Posted by Constanze on Feb 22, 2017
Guten Tag! When you think about countries relating to the German language and culture, the first (perhaps only) countries that come to mind are Germany and Austria. But there are, in fact, many countries around the world that have German as a second or minority language, with towns & cities that have German roots. Today…
Untranslatable German Words: Wichteln Posted by Sten on Feb 9, 2017
In the pre-Christmas time, many groups throughout Germany practice an old tradition: Das Wichteln. But what is that? Find out here, in another post in the awesome series on untranslatable words in German that Constanze started on this blog! What does Wichteln mean? Wichteln is a tradition where all participants get a gift for someone else in the group. Mostly, the originality…
The Curiosity of “mein Freund” Posted by Sten on Jan 30, 2017
Der Freund, die Freundin. The friend. A simple German word, but one that can lead to confusion. Why? Find out here, and find out what to do about it. Freund: What Does It Mean? First and foremost, Freund is friend. Nothing more, nothing less. However, if you make it possessive, things change. If you say…
Grand Opening of the Elbphilharmonie Posted by Sten on Jan 20, 2017
Last week on Wednesday, one of the largest, most modern and acoustically best Konzerthäuser (concert halls) in the world had its Eröffnungsfeier (inaugural ceremony) in Hamburg – the Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall). It was highly anticipated, and the opening was a great Erfolg (success). However, there were some issues with building it. And is it really that toll (nice)? Is it worth the millions of Steuergelder (tax…
The German Expression ‘Bock Haben’ Posted by Constanze on Jan 4, 2017
Hallo! Gutes neues Jahr! 🙂 Today I’d like to bring you a curious German expression known as ‘Bock haben’, and show you how to use it. This phrase is quite commonly used in Germany nowadays, so you’re likely to come across it at some point! Bock (auf etwas) haben This phrase is a more…
A few things to know about delicious Sachertorte Posted by Sten on Dec 29, 2016
At the beginning of this week, there was this mysterious Holzdose (wooden box) on the Küchentisch (kitchen table) at work. A decorated S crowned the words Hotel Sacher, written in Schönschrift (calligraphic writing). Located in WIEN, as the box revealed. A Siegel (seal) underneath told me what’s inside: Original Sacher Torte, it said, again in Schönschrift. You wonder what that is? Soft, chocolatey crumbles, a perfectly sweet…