Tag Archives: Culture
The Swiss Silvesterklaus Posted by Constanze on Jan 3, 2018
Guten Tag und Prosit Neujahr! Hope you’ve all had a good rest and had a fantastic start to 2018! In my last post I talked about the origins of the German word for New Year’s Eve: Silvester. I also mentioned the Swiss character known as Silvesterklaus. Today I’d like to tell you a little more…
Top 10 German Posts of 2017 Posted by Constanze on Dec 22, 2017
Guten Tag! As 2017 draws to a close, many of you will be reflecting on your past year. Here on the German blog, we like to do the same! Thank you very much for all of your views, likes and comments over this past year. We hope you’ve enjoyed our posts as much as we’ve…
A Strange Tradition: Soester Wippen Posted by Sten on Dec 14, 2017
Every country has its traditions, whether that is Krampus, Oktoberfest, Richtfest, or Maibäume. Some regions also have their very own traditions. And one of these, I want to discuss today: The Soester Wippen. Rocking stairs of punishment The Soester Wippe is a rocker with stair steps in the city of Soest. It was used as a means of humiliating punishment from the 14th up…
5000 New German Words Added To Dictionary Posted by Constanze on Aug 9, 2017
You may have seen articles floating around the past couple of days about how 5,000 new German words have been added to Duden. But what is Duden? And what are the words? Duden is a dictionary of the German language. It was first published by Konrad Duden (hence the name) in 1880, and has just released its…
Smoking In Germany Posted by Constanze on Jul 19, 2017
Today’s post is about das Rauchen – smoking – in Germany. I was recently in Munich and one of the things that fascinates me every time I go there is the presence of smoking ads and cigarette vending machines in the streets. In the UK, you will not see one single smoking advert, and you…
Richtfest: A German Tradition Posted by Constanze on Jun 28, 2017
Hallo! Wie geht’s? Today I’d like to introduce you to a German tradition called Richtfest. I only learnt about this recently, as my parents are having their roof re-done and my mum said she wanted to get some beers for the builders once the roof is finished, “like they do at a Richtfest”. Naturally, I…
8 Places To Visit In Munich Posted by Constanze on May 31, 2017
Guten Tag! Recently, someone asked me for recommendations for things to do in München (Munich) as a first-time visitor, so I thought I’d write my own little guide and share it with you all. For each attraction, I have included the nearest U-Bahn (underground) or S-Bahn (overground or ‘suburban’ trains) stop to get off at…