Archive for 'Culture'
An Introduction to Bavarian Posted by Constanze on Jul 27, 2014
Well, when I first started writing for this blog I promised I would bring some Bavarian into it. So here goes! Firstly, why Bavarian? The German side of my family come from Bavaria. I grew up speaking Bavarian more than Hochdeutsch (standard German), and even today, hearing it is as natural for me as hearing…
Sayings + Expressions 3 – The Winner and the Oil Posted by Sten on Jul 24, 2014
Hi there! Today, I will go over one saying and one expression again. Both are related to actions – if you dare, what can happen? That connects both the saying and the expression. As always, let’s start off with the saying! Wer nicht wagt, der nicht gewinnt Who doesn’t dare, doesn’t win (i.e. no guts, no…
My Big, Fat, Bavarian Wedding Posted by Constanze on Jul 23, 2014
… OK, so the title of this post is a tad misleading. I didn’t have a big, fat, Bavarian wedding. But I went to one, and that was just as good! Last year, I attended my cousin’s wedding in Bavaria. It was the first Bavarian wedding I’d ever been to, and there were several things…
Sayings + Expressions 2 – The Square and the Concept Posted by Sten on Jul 14, 2014
In this second post, we have another two! Let’s start off again with the saying. Das Runde muss ins Eckige the round (thing) must go into the square (thing) Very much football-related, and not very translatable to English, this saying has quite some background meaning. Of course, it talks about the football entering the goal, which it has to…
Germany’s World Cup-Song 2014 (music video and lyrics) Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jul 8, 2014
The World Cup’s semifinal is calling. In a few hours Germany and Brazil will compete at Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. The German TV station ARD is responsible for the live broadcast of the game. In order to accompany the impressions of the soccer World Cup musically the ARD chose Andreas Bourani’s song Auf uns…
The German culture of cleanliness: Putzfimmel and Kehrwoche Posted by Constanze on Jul 6, 2014
Everyone I know who’s been to Germany has commented on what a clean country it is. Germany is stereotyped as being clean, anyway – although how much of this is a stereotype, and how much of it is the simple truth? There are two words in the German language that suggest Germany has a culture…
How to Watch Football Like a German Posted by Constanze on Jun 30, 2014
Tonight we’ll see the tense football match between Germany and Algeria. It’ll be the first time these teams have played one another since the controversy of the 1982 World Cup, which was claimed to have been “fixed” so that Germany and Austria would go through to the next round at Algeria’s expense (Click here to…