Archive for the ‘Culture & Art’ Category

Artists Favor Berlin Over Other European Capitals

Monday, March 8th, 2010

I mentioned earlier this year that Germany was recognized as one of the best places in the world to live, and I’m happy to see more evidence piling up! ;-)

This time the news comes in the form of a special lifestyle feature out of Amsterdam. The piece focuses in on artists and other creative types who are leaving their homes to move to a new creative capital — Berlin.

Berlin has served as a creative capital of Europe before, and insiders know that the museums, theaters, and concerts are second to none.

In this time of economic uncertainty, however, Berlin’s numerous cultural charms are being seconded by the financial realities.

Berlin is cheap.

Don’t scoff! Compared to many other cities in Europe, the cost of living in Berlin is surprisingly low. Artists and others who make their living in creative fields can find reasonably priced homes and apartments throughout the capital. The stable real estate market in Germany helps keep prices from fluctuating wildly, making it easy for artistic types to survive and thrive in the capital.

Another factor in many artists decision to move to the city is the overall economy in Germany. Unlike other countries in Europe, Germany’s economy is strong and stable. Both the government and the average person have money to spend on artistic items, such as museum visits, tickets to performances, paintings, sculpture, or other things for the home.

Though many people want to believe in art for art’s sake, the truth is that artists need a market of buyers in order to survive, and in Germany that market is vibrant!

Though other places in Europe may be crying over their lost artists, Berlin is happy to see new arrivals and support their work. With a low cost of living, strong market for artistic goods, and strong arts culture, it is no wonder artists favor Berlin over other European capitals.

Naturally, what is good for artists is also good for anyone interested in living in Berlin. Even visitors will benefit from all the new artistic activity coming to the capital, so be sure to save a few days for Berlin in your next vacation! ;-)

—Marcus

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Germany Shined In 2010 Winter Olympics In Vancouver

Monday, March 1st, 2010

The closing ceremonies are freshly over, but the memory of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver will last for a long time in Germany. Though many predicted a strong showing for German athletes, few anticipated just how well the Canadian team would do in the Winter Olympics this time (Congratulations, Canadian friends!).

For me, it has certainly been enjoyable to see Germany’s shining performance in the Winter Olympic games again. True, Germany has traditionally done well at winter sports, thanks to our honorable attitude, many mountain ranges, excellent skiing opportunities, and the exemplary national support, but we were not always a medals leader.

During these games, however, German athletes certainly seemed to be going for the win again. You can see from our final standings just how well we did in the overall medals count. In both team and individual sports, Germany’s Olympic champions gave their all to earn recognition for their event and their country.

Besides, in the all time Winter Olympics medals count we are, with 358 medals thereunder 128 gold medals, a convincing number one. :-)

Germany’s strong showing at the 2010 games has broader implications than just enhancing our national pride. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we have an upcoming bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. Munich has put in an official bid for the games, with the theme Die Spiele im Herzen, meaning “The Games in the Heart.”

If Munich wins the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, it would become the first location in the world to have hosted both the Summer and the Winter Games. It would also be the first Olympic Games hosted in Germany since the reunification, which would be meaningful for many Germans.

The bid has an environmentally conscious bent, promoting the use of existing winter sports facilities near Munich, like the ski jump courses at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the bobsled, luge, and skeleton tracks at Schönau am Königssee in the kingly Berchtesgadener Land. It is also being promoted by Katarina Witt, one of Germany’s most famous (and gorgeous ;-) Winter Olympic champions.

By doing so well in the 2010 Winter Games, Germany enhances its chances of getting the bid for the 2018 Olympics. Our strong performance testifies to the high quality of our training sites and competition grounds as well as exemplifying our commitment to sports excellence.

Keep your fingers crossed that we win the bid, and I’ll save you a seat next to me at the 2018 Winter Olympic games! :-)

—Marcus

Posted in Culture & Art, Events, Sports, Traditions | No Comments Yet »

No Valentine? Here’s How To Find A Date In Germany

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Well, Valentine’s Day is here, and even though Valentine’s Day isn’t a historical holiday in Germany it has become popular to celebrate it here. Usually, couples will exchange flowers or other small love tokens. It isn’t as big of a deal like it is in the United States or France, but I know I’d still better get something for my wife!

However, if you are without a date for Valentine’s Day it can be a little depressing. Fortunately, there are many ways to meet single people in Germany. One method that is growing in popularity in Germany is online dating.

There are several different types of online dating sites in Germany. The biggest four German dating sites, based on paid membership models, are listed below. You can register for free and browse listings, but you need to pay a subscription to actually talk and/or connect with dates:

Neu.de is also good for listings across Europe and around the world, as it is affiliated with Meetic, a global dating network.

If your budget is tight, you can also try some of the popular free sites. Two popular free German dating sites are Freenet Singles, and Single.de. You can meet good, interesting people on the free sites, but you will need to have more patience than with the paid German dating sites as you will find there are more ads, junk, and poor matches to look through.

There is also one up and coming site for dating German academics, which is ElitePartner. They promise fast matches based on a scientific matching system, though I haven’t tried this for myself yet.

I have personally tried many of the other sites — after all, I met my wife online! ;-) So I can tell you truly that you can meet a wonderful date for Valentine’s Day in Germany by registering with the German dating site of your choice. Millions of my single countrymen (and women!) are waiting to meet you. And rest assured that your soul mate DOES exist!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

—Marcus

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Listen To German Authors Read Their Work To You With Zehnseiten

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

While many complain that the Internet is killing the written word, here is an example of German organization who is using the power of the web to distribute good literature. Knowing that many people would love to find more good books to read, they have arranged a system for authors to read their work directly to you, presented via the Internet.

Zehnseiten was created by five friends from Munich while they were out having drinks.

I know that many people dismiss German beer hall culture as simple drunkenness, but the truth is that while we are drinking we Germans discuss everything. Literature, art, science, politics . . . there is no better way to really work through an idea than with your friends and some good German beer by your side. :-)

In this case, the discussion was pointing out that when you go to a book reading by an author, you are usually very familiar with their work. However, due to work schedules or unfamiliarity with the format, many people never go to book readings. This is unfortunate, because there is no better way to really connect with a writer and their work.

To solve this problem, the friends arranged for German and international writers to read ten pages from their newest novel aloud. The format is simple. The authors are presented in black and white, sitting at a table and looking straight at the camera. You get to see them as well as hear them read you their favorite sections of their latest work.

The recordings are available through an iPhone application as well, so you can take your favorite readings with you. Shorter recordings are about ten minutes, while some of the longest videos are thirty minutes in length.

Presently, Paul Beatty, Norbert Niemann, Tim Parks, Thomas Meinecke, George M. Oswald, Stephanie Geiger, and Andreas Neumeister are among the authors featured. New recordings are added weekly.

I’ve already found several new authors to enjoy through Zehnseiten, as well as gotten to see some of my favorite writers read aloud.

There are select recordings in English, but most of them are in German. So why not practice your German listening skills while discovering some truly interesting writers? :-)

—Marcus

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The Four German Meals You Can’t Miss

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

In Germany, we don’t eat three square meals a day. At least, not by American standards. There’s no piping hot breakfast, and we eat our cake in the middle of the afternoon instead of after dinner.

Of course, we Germans are hardly going hungry. In fact, we do quite well with our German food. Our secret? It’s our four meals a day. ;-)

Breakfast is known as Frühstück, and traditionally served cold on a specially carved board. Often this is shaped like an animal, and these boards are usually bought from local artisans in the town markets. A typical German breakfast consists of bread (of course!) with cheese, yogurt, fruits, a boiled egg, or muesli. Coffee, milk or tea is more common than juice.

Lunch is the main meal of the day, and we take the Mittagessen very seriously. Eaten between noon and 2 pm, it usually consists of soup or salad followed by a main course and a light dessert of custard, fruit salad, or ice cream. Drink whatever you like with lunch, including alcoholic beverages, but save a bit of thirst for the strong coffee that traditionally closes the meal.

Later in the afternoon, it is time for the third meal, Kaffee und Kuchen. This is a sit down affair with coffee or tea and pastries. Eaten between 3 – 5 pm, all the rich cakes and cookies others might think of as desserts we take care to consume at our leisure well before the evening meal.

The final meal of the day is generally eaten at around 7 pm. Known as Abendessen (or Vesper in the south-west), it is traditionally a cold meal of bread, cheese, and meats eaten at home. Modern families having been shifting it to a large, hot meal as more and more German parents work.

Evening meals in restaurants, of course, will be hot, with multiple courses and large portions. After dinner liqueurs are common, or there is always to option of a little espresso to counteract the effects of a heavy meal.

As you can see, although we don’t have the same dining traditions as other countries, we Germans are certainly not starving. ;-)

Guten Appetit!

—Marcus

Posted in Culinary, Culture & Art | 4 Comments »

Merry Christmas 2009!

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Christmas is upon us at last!

Here in Germany the snow is on the ground, making the white lights of the German Christmas Markets really twinkle and shine. I luckily and gratefully enjoyed them in person here in Berlin, by the way.

Of course, on Christmas Day we will all be together for a big meal and the exchanging of presents. The day after Christmas I’ll be around visiting close friends and other family members. I traveled a lot this year, so I have a bunch of stories to share and people to catch up with before the year is through.

Wherever you are, I wanted to take a few minutes this day to wish you the very best of the holiday season. Whether you will be celebrating Christmas in Germany or another corner of the world, I want you to feel the warmth of the German holiday season. Even for those who celebrate for purely secular reasons, it is a truly magical time of the year.

There are carolers and live music performances all over the country. Some of the carols that are shared I’ve collected here so that you can listen as well (links open in a new window):

Stille Nacht (The famous Silent Night)
Herbei, o ihr Gläubigen (O Come All Ye Faithful)
Lasst uns froh und munter sein (Let Us Be Happy And Cheerful)
Am Weihnachtsbaum die Lichter brennen (On The Christmas Tree The Lights Are Burning)

You may be able to catch some of these performances live, of course, via the webcams that are over the Christmas markets. I don’t have webcams for every town in Germany yet, but several of the bigger markets are covered, with more added all the time (including you, thank you!).

You can watch the markets via webcams in Dresden, Munich, and Berlin from several different parts of the city.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

—Marcus

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Hug A Tree For Good Luck On Thomasnacht

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

You know from reading about recycling in Germany that we Germans care deeply for the environment. However, on Thomasnacht, when you see someone hugging a tree, they’re not doing it because they love Mother Nature. OK, they probably do, but… they’re mainly doing it for good luck.

Hugging trees for good luck is just one of many traditions that are celebrated around Thomasnacht (this very night from December 20th to 21st), which usually coincides with the Winter Solstice.

Another tradition is baking Kletzenbrot, which is a kind of fruit cake with lots of dried pears and raisins. Unmarried women can also toss shoes over their shoulders, and if the toes land pointing out, they will marry in the next year, as Thomasnacht is supposed to be a good night for predicting the future.

Of course, you don’t have to stay in trying to guess what’s going to happen to you in the year ahead. Instead, you can go out and have a good time at one of the Thomasnacht parties being held around Germany. Rüdesheim am Rhein plays host to a particularly well-developed party for this special day.

The Rüdesheim town association puts on the Thomasnacht party, which includes special drinks, pageants, and presentations. Locals dress in historical costumes and reenact scenes from the town’s history, while performers do street theater based on tales from the Brothers Grimm. There is even a special cruise down the Rhine with live classical music.

While the occasion is certainly festive, community events like these also serve as a way to get more people to come out to the Christmas markets. Since most of the shops close up on the 24th for the season, Thomasnacht also serves as a last hurrah for gift buyers and those looking to get souvenirs from the markets (including me ;-).

Thus, whether you just want a night out or you are trying to pick up a bit of good luck by hugging a tree, don’t neglect to take advantage of the peaking of the festive spirits around Thomasnacht! ;-)

—Marcus

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Germany’s BAMBI Marks A Solid Gold Achievement

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

While Bambi might remind you of a certain cartoon character by Disney, in Germany a BAMBI does not live in the forest. If you have one, it lives in a place of honor in your home or is on display at your office. The solid gold fawn represents a pinnacle of personal achievement.

The BAMBI Award may not be well known in the U.S., but in the world of European and international entertainment it is better known than the Oscars or the Grammy’s. In Germany, surveys have shown that 94% of the population is aware of the award — and I’m assuming the other 6% are still babies (who were left unasked… ;-).

The BAMBIs are simply that big.

Created in 1948, the award originally honored movie stars. Over the years, it has evolved to glorify all facets of media entertainment as well as global achievements and excellence in general categories.

Despite the versatility of the categories, the criteria remains strict: You must be extremely popular in your category. Also, award winners are those who “with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public” for that year.

The award winners are selected exclusively by Hubert Burda Media, the largest print media group in Germany (they run more than 60% of the magazines). The exclusivity and the limited award categories makes the prize truly treasured.

The 2009 and 2010 BAMBI awards will be presented in Potsdam, at the Babelsberg Film Studio Park. This park is the world’s oldest studio grounds and a very prestigious one, having shot movies with everyone from Marlene Dietrich to Tom Cruise and Matt Damon.

The ceremony tomorrow, November 26th, will be a glittering celebrity event, as it is every year. More than 6 million Germans tune in to watch annually, and the event is carried on most major networks along with Deutsche Welle.

Attending is the place to see and be seen for the fall, so everyone who is anyone will be out on the red carpets, hoping to be noticed and wishing to win a BAMBI of their very own.

—Marcus

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Stay Connected To Germany With Deutsche Welle

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

It can be very hard to keep up with all the news in Germany when you aren’t in the country. I remember in my early travel days trying to call home and get the latest information, or hunting down old newspapers for stories. I am glad those days are gone!

For three years, I’ve found myself depending on the main news network from Germany, Deutsche Welle. It provides updates for the international community from Germany. It is a service I have found invaluable for helping me stay in touch as I travel, and I know many others who also love it.

You can enjoy their updates in many different ways. There is the online portal, DW-World.de, which is available in 30 languages. There is also a DW-Akademie, which runs a radio broadcast and trainings. Last but not least is DW-TV, available on satellite and cable worldwide networks in German, English, Arabic, and Spanish.

Even though I am not an advocate of television in general, watching Deutsche Welle from time to time makes me feel more connected to my beloved homeland whenever I’m abroad. They focus on current events, and pan-European decisions that impact Germany. Unlike some of the tabloid and infotainment offerings you can find, Deutsche Welle is very well regarded as a credible news source.

You can also use it as a way to improve your German language skills or keep your ear in practice. Though you can watch it in English, Spanish, and Arabic, their German language programming is targeted at people learning German in addition to those who already have German language skills. This is much better than boring tapes or classes!

New programs and formats are added constantly as the network expands. They currently claim more than 100 million worldwide listeners weekly.

I like to think of so many other lovers of Germany out there tuning in with me, and I invite you to be sure to take advantage of all the free resources and information provided at your finger tips by Deutsche Welle. :-)

—Marcus

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Ostalgie — Germany’s Unique Nostalgia Returns Again

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Throughout October and culminating November 9th, Germany is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Brandenburg Gate will serve as the site of the final celebratory concert and symbolic destruction of a 2 million domino wall.

However, while the German Democratic Republic may now be part of one Germany, Ostalgie is raising it from the dead.

Ostalgie is a German phrase that refers to the love of all things East German. It’s a very focused kind of nostalgia. Products, people, and habits that characterized East German life are the main beneficiaries.

For example, take the Trabant. The car was a symbol of East German life, and now it is being revived, thanks in part to Ostalgie. The Ampelmännchen, a traffic crossing man in East German, has been reborn as a lollipop.

Then there is the food . . . Spreewaldgurken, a kind of pickled cucumber that was a staple of East German cuisine, sells quite well. It has a kind of cult status, rather than a true deliciousness (in my opinion!).

And then there are the people . . . thanks to Ostalgie, many East German sports stars, celebrities, and entertainers have seen their careers reborn as commentators and guest stars. This only increased after 2003, when the movie Good Bye, Lenin! brought Ostalgie much more into the mainstream mind.

However, not everyone is amused by Ostalgie. Some Germans are still very emotional about the divided period, ambivalent about reunification, or hesitant to address it at all. It’s certainly something to be aware of as you watch and discuss the 20th anniversary celebrations.

To play more with the world of Ostalgie, seriously or in jest, you will find many links on the web.

You can find sites selling German border crossing signs, greeting cards with East German icons, and even sites that collect East German jokes. One of the largest English based sites is Grenzschild, which also publishes a guide to additional sites in English, German, and Russian to explore.

—Marcus

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