Hirschhausen’s Column „Gehirn und Geist“: Signing Signatures Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jan 13, 2014
One of my favorite German comedians and cabaret artists is Dr. med. (MD) Eckart von Hirschhausen, a „jack of all trades“. First of all, Hirschhausen is a doctor. But he is also a writer, comedian, cabaret artist, conjurer, and host of different German shows. His secret of success is that he knows how to combine…
The Top 5 Reasons (besides the Kölner Dom) to visit Nordrhein-Westfalen on your trip to Germany Posted by mickeymickey on Jan 7, 2014
Having spent a total of sixteen months in what some might call Germany’s “ugliest Bundesland”, I would like to dispel that perception by sharing with you a few of the charms of Nordrhein-Westfalen that make me proud to call it mein zweites Heimat. From classical treasures to quirky traditions, NRW has a lot to offer…
“Stufen” von Hermann Hesse Posted by mickeymickey on Dec 31, 2013
Hallo liebe Leute! Ich hoffe, ihr ihr seid gut am ende 2013 angekommen. In honor of the New Year, I would like to share with you one of my favorite poems. It is called “Stufen” and it was written by Hermann Hesse in 1941. You may be familiar with Hesse’s novels Siddhartha or Steppenwolf (the…
“Aber bitte mit Sahne” – Udo Jürgens shares a Cautionary Tale Posted by mickeymickey on Dec 18, 2013
I’m not the biggest fan of German music. Wait let me rephrase that. I’m not the biggest fan of German music post-Liszt. The best music I’ve ever heard was composed in Germany. But somehow when it comes to modern pop, the only German music I’ll listen to is instrumental or hip-hop. The same goes for…
The Coldest Winter: Bilingual Thoughts on the Weather and How We Perceive It Posted by mickeymickey on Dec 13, 2013
Es wird immer kälter hier in Chicago. I’ve been thinking a lot about the last two winters I spent in Germany. Irgendwie fand ich das Winter dort krasser als hier. Of course, last year’s did make headlines in Europe as the darkest winter Germany had seen in 43 years. Je kälter der Winter, desto schöner…
What’s Good on TV in Germany? Posted by mickeymickey on Dec 11, 2013
What better way to start this post than with a show-stopping musical number? That, my friends, was the first five minutes of the first episode of the new German TV show Neo Magazin mit Jan Böhmermann. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t get all the jokes. Even a fluent German speaker would have to already be…
Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself Posted by mickeymickey on Dec 6, 2013
Hi! I’m Mickey Mangan, and I’m new to the Transparent German blogging team. If my name rings a bell, it’s probably because you read the guest post I wrote for the site back in July. I’m best known among the German learning community as the guy who made The Lernen to Talk Show. Seit knapp drei…