How Germans Trick Or Treat Quite Differently Posted by Sten on Nov 14, 2019
Last Sunday, I was having dinner with my brothers and sisters. Since winter nears, it was already pitch black outside – and suddenly the doorbell rang. Who’s that? My brother opened the Tür (door), young, high Stimmen (voices) began to sing, and we looked at each other in horror – we forgot the Süßigkeiten (candy)!…
The Germans on the Germans: East & West Posted by Constanze on Nov 13, 2019
Hallo! Every country has names for people from different regions within that country. Over the next few posts we’ll look at what words Germans have for other Germans, and why. In this post we will look at what people from eastern Germany call people from western Germany, and vice-versa. A follow-up post will look at…
How UFO’s Streik Affects Thousands of Germans Posted by Sten on Nov 7, 2019
Since a few hours, hundreds of thousands of Passagiere (passengers) are waiting at Flughäfen (airports) for their flights – Lufthansa cancelled a lot of them today and tomorrow. Because of a Streik (strike) of UFO. Who’s UFO and why are they doing this? Let’s find out. What’s going on? The Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation (UFO) e.V. (independent steward organisation…
The Last Remaining Part of East Germany? Posted by Constanze on Nov 6, 2019
Following the end of the war in 1945, Germany was divided in two. One side, the east, became Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) while the other side, the west, became Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD). When the country was eventually reunited in 1990, the BRD absorbed the DDR, and so what was formerly East Germany ceased to exist…
German Sayings + Expressions 26: Geister! Posted by Sten on Oct 31, 2019
Finally, Halloween is here! But do you want to use some ghostly sayings and expressions? Then you’re in the right place! Where I looked at the word Geist last week, we now use it in a Sprichwort (saying) and an Ausdruck (expression). Let’s go! For older posts, please follow this link. Der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach Literally: The spirit…
The Austrians on The Germans Posted by Constanze on Oct 30, 2019
Guten Tag! Recently we talked about the word Kraut which, as well as being the German word for ‘herb’, is an offensive term for a German person. In this mini-series, we will look at some words the Swiss, Germans, Bavarian-Germans, and Austrians use to describe one another. Some are meant in a derogatory way, whilst…
The World’s Largest Pumpkin Festival Posted by Larissa on Oct 29, 2019
There is nothing that screams Autumn (and Halloween) more, than pumpkins! Although pumpkins originate from South America, I was surprised to find out that the world’s largest pumpkin festival is actually held in Germany – in Ludwigsburg Castle. This year marks the twentieth year that the Kürbisaustellung (pumpkin exhibition) has been held, with over 400,000…