Archive for 'Culture'
Seven reasons to like the transport system in München Posted by Constanze on Jun 29, 2014
Public transport is generally not something to get excited about. In London, at least, travelling by train or bus can be a stressful, claustrophobic, and somewhat unhygienic experience. But each time I get a train in München, I am always pleasantly surprised by what a nice experience it is. Last time I was in München…
Untranslatable German Words: Gemütlichkeit Posted by Constanze on Jun 26, 2014
Guten Tag, and wilkommen to week 3 of my series of posts on ‘untranslatable’ German words! In this series of posts I talk about one or more German words that there is no direct translation for in English. In my first post on this topic, I suggested that the reason for this was to do…
Sayings + Expressions 1 – the Will and the Thread Posted by Sten on Jun 23, 2014
Hi there! This is the first of some posts about great sayings and expressions in German. One of each every week. Many sound very wise in German. The language just helps you convey that wise, mysterious tone you want such sayings and expressions to have sometimes. Let’s start off with the saying! Wo ein Wille…
Language Listening Lesson – Freude für den Fußball Posted by Sten on Jun 19, 2014
I have already started this on the Dutch blog, where it was received quite well. I hope you will like the German version as well! A Language Listening Lesson (Triple L) consists of a German text, with translation and audio file to listen to it. That is the idea – you listen to it and…
Andreas Gabalier spices up German folk music Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 13, 2014
It is an open secret. German folk music is not very popular among young Germans. Women in dirndl dresses. Men in leather pants and Tyrolean hats. Someone is playing the accordion. Another one is playing any other folksy instrument, for example, the tuba or the bugle. All dressed up they sing about love in a…
The German you: duzen und siezen Posted by Sten on Jun 1, 2014
Yes, I know. There are German words that do not have a really good translation in (many) other languages, like Gemütlichkeit, Schadenfreude and Wirtschaftswunder. All nouns. What about the verbs? There are two quite handy ones, that you are likely to encounter the next time you visit the Germans. The verb duzen means, literally to you (informally) and siezen means, literally to you (formally). Nowadays…
Ballermann! The German way to celebrate life (for some)! Posted by Sten on May 30, 2014
The summer can be a party! In Germany, this Feiern (partying) can take very special, interesting forms. A very well-known form is Ballermann, a word combination of the words ballern, which is only used colloquially for drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, and the word Mann, which just means man. Probably this combination was chosen because ballern can rather be ascribed to men. This…