Tag Archives: germany
Two of the Longest Words in German Posted by Larissa on Jan 22, 2019
As an English speaker we are used to short, simple words, which means it can be quite intimidating when reading German words that are three times as long as what they are in English! Here’s a post with two of the longest German words, what they mean, and some tips on helping you decipher those…
The origin of Stollen Posted by Larissa on Dec 25, 2018
Stollen is a traditional German Christmas cake that is still very popular to this day. In this post I will explain what exactly it is and how it came about. The first ever Stollen dates back to 1545. Nowadays, Stollen is made out of flour, butter, yeast, raisins, almonds, marzipan and spices like cinnamon and…
What is Glühwein and where did it come from? Posted by Larissa on Dec 18, 2018
Every December the Christmas markets go up in Germany and people come together to drink Glühwein. But what exactly is it and how did it come to Germany? Glühwein literally translates to “glow wine”. In English we know it as mulled wine. Although the drink is very popular in Germany, it’s origin does not come…
German Companions of Saint Nicholas Posted by Constanze on Dec 5, 2018
Guten Tag! As you may know, tomorrow (December 6th) is Nikolaustag (Saint Nicholas Day) in Germany. This is a German Christmas celebration separate to that of December 24/25. If you are not yet familiar with Nikolaustag, I recommend reading this post and this post first, to get a good introduction to it. If you are…
How to apply for a German Citizenship Posted by Larissa on Nov 27, 2018
I am a british citizen living in Germany and as we all know, Brexit is looming around the corner. Because of this I have been researching this topic on how to get to a German citizenship and passport. Luckily for me it isn’t too hard as my mother is German, but I thought I would…
The Phonetic Alphabet in Germany Posted by Larissa on Oct 16, 2018
Over the past few months I have been using the telephone more and more at work, which means when someone wants to spell their name or address to me they use the phonetic alphabet (also known as Funkalphabet). At first I was completely unprepared and once they started to spell something I would begin just…
Celebrating Birthdays in Germany Posted by Larissa on Sep 18, 2018
Hello, my birthday was a couple of weeks ago which inspired me to write this post. I love birthdays – there is nothing better than a day of giving or recieving presents, eating cake and just generally being happy! Germany celebrates birthdays pretty much the same way as in the UK or USA, there is…