Tag Archives: German history
New German Crime Series: Dark Woods Posted by Constanze on Feb 16, 2022
Guten Tag! A new German crime drama came to our televisions recently in the UK, which is always an exciting event! In today’s post I’d like to talk about the series and the true story it’s based on. The series is called Dark Woods (‘Das Geheimnis des Totenwaldes’ in the original German) and it’s just…
The German Lebkuchenhaus (Gingerbread House) Posted by Constanze on Dec 22, 2021
Guten Tag und Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)! Over the years we’ve made several posts on German Christmas traditions, of which there are many. Today we’re adding one more into the mix and talking about the Lebkuchenhaus – gingerbread house! Made from gingerbread and lavishly decorated with coloured icing and a variety of other Süßigkeiten (sweets)…
Did You Know This About Mozart? Posted by Constanze on Nov 3, 2021
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous classical composers of all time. Mozart lived a short life (1756 – 1791), dying at the age of 35. However, he composed more than 600 musical works during his lifetime, with Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Serenade- often called A…
How Two Families Escaped to West Germany in a Balloon Posted by Sten on Sep 17, 2021
It’s September 16, 1979. Germany is still separated in East and West. The Berlin wall has stood for almost 20 years. Germans live and grow up in two very different realities. One communist and supervised by the state, the other capitalist and free. Before the wall, things were easier. Many chose to leave their homes…
How Did Germany Climb Out of Poverty In No Time? Posted by Sten on Aug 26, 2021
People are hungry and lost everything. They are perspektivlos (without prospects). But then, within 10 years, the GDP triples. There is Vollbeschäftigung (f, full employment). In fact, there are so many jobs, that people from other countries are urged to come to fill all the vacancies, the so-called Gastarbeiter (guest workers). Everybody can afford a car…
Germany’s Abandoned Amusement Park Posted by Constanze on Jun 30, 2021
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at Germany through the lens of urban exploration. When travelling, I am always fascinated by places that are abandoned (verlassen), eerie (unheimlich), or otherwise strange (seltsam), so I thought I’d write a series of posts on places in Germany that meet that criteria! If you are also a…
The German Word ‘Volk’ Posted by Constanze on Jun 9, 2021
Guten Tag! We have talked before on the blog about words with loaded meanings/stigma attached to them – such as this post, German words associated with Nazism. Today we’re going to look at another such word in more detail. It’s a very small, simple word, but sometimes even these words have a surprising amount of…