Archive for 'Culture'
How to eat a Weißwurst? Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 28, 2015
The Weißwurst (veal sausage) is a Bavarian specialty, most notably the Munich Weißwurst. Eating it seems to be a science on its own. Fortunately, you won’t make a fool of yourself when choosing one of these methods: peeling, scraping, or sucking. Clinking glasses and beer drinking people who sway, sing along, and dance to party…
All About The Lederhosen and Dirndl Posted by Constanze on Sep 25, 2015
As Oktoberfest is in full swing in München, many of you will be seeing (or wearing!) the traditional garments known as Lederhosen or Dirndl. In this post, I’m going to tell you a little about where they originate, why they were worn (and how they are worn today), and give you a few other facts…
The Turkish Guest Workers of ’60s Germany Posted by Constanze on Sep 20, 2015
The Turkish make up the largest ethnic minority group in Germany. But why is that, exactly? Der Gastarbeiter (pl: Die Gastarbeiter) It all began during the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) of the 1960s and 1970s, when Germany and Austria experienced rapid industrial growth and reconstruction of their economies following WW2. However, being severely low on labour…
Wetten, dass…? The forgotten Game Show of German TV Posted by Sten on Sep 8, 2015
Top, die Wette gilt! With this sentence Thomas Gottschalk would start the various Wetten (bets) in the TV show Wetten, dass…? (Wanna bet?). It ran for 34 years in the German-speaking world, from 1981 to 2014, and was known as “größte Fernsehshow Europas” (largest TV show of Europe). Thomas Gottschalk, of course, was not the only host of the show…
Untranslatable German Words: Arschgeweih Posted by Constanze on Aug 29, 2015
Guten Tag! Welcome to another edition of German untranslatable words, dedicated to teaching you quirky German words, their meanings, and how to use them! Today the word is das Arschgeweih. What does Arschgeweih literally translate to? This German compound noun is made up of the words der Arsch (butt/ass/arse) + das Geweih (antlers). Its literal…
Vocabulary for food in German Posted by Larissa on Aug 24, 2015
I’ve composed a list to help you understand what you’re buying in der Supermarkt (the supermarket). I’ve listed basic everyday food below and I’ve also added the plural to each one. The general rule when saying an object is plural in the nominative and accusative cases is that the gender changes to “die”: for example der Apfel…
The Power of German Traffic Lights Posted by Constanze on Aug 17, 2015
Who knew a pedestrian crossing could have such an impact? Yet that’s exactly what the Ampelmann (also sometimes called by its more endearing term, Ampelmännchen) has been doing in Germany and Austria over the years! A LITTLE BACKGROUND The fascination with pedestrian crossings in Germany started with the famous Ost-Ampelmännchen, which was born in Berlin…