Germany Blog

Stories, tips, and reflections about life, travel, and culture in Germany.

  • German Boxing, Coming To The International Stage

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    I’m torn on this. I was reading boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko’s blog at www.KlitschkoBlog.com after his fight with Britain’s David Haye (July 2nd), where it stated that Mr. Klitschko (the younger of the two heavyweight champion brothers) dominated the 12-round bout.

    Um, I watched that fight — and this champ, whose adoptive hometown is Hamburg, might have won the match, but dominate? Nah, I don’t think so.

    I agree that at times Haye boxed like a little kid afraid for a mother’s slam on his face for stealing candy from the kitchen table. But this didn’t make my beloved Wladimir dominate the match.

    However, I won’t be a Monday morning quarterback on this sport that’s often called barbaric.

    And German fans are rough; sometimes they’ll boo you as soon as they look at you, even if you are a local boy (sorry, Wladimir you might have won but the thousands of Germans in attendance still booed you). I thought that only happened in Philadelphia, USA where they’ll consistently boo their own team, let alone an opposing one.

    At least the Germans aren’t known for throwing snowballs at Santa Claus (yes, that really happened in the City of Brotherly Love).

    I only brought this up to talk about how boxing in Germany is yet another sport to add to the long list of other blood pumping, adrenaline rushing activities.

    A few famous boxers from Germany have been making international headlines (read: title fights) recently besides Wladimir. His older brother Vitali, also a heavyweight champ, is another professional boxer that has made Germany his home base.

    Vitali fights Tomasz Adamek in Wroclaw, Poland on September 10th. With any luck, I’ll give you my analysis of that Klitschko fight on September 11th. ;-)

    Arthur Abraham would be another champ (an IBF World Middleweight Champ, to be exact) whose title reigned from 2005 to 2009. He’s proud to be Armenian, but he’s also proud to call Berlin home.

    Just so you know, you’ll find quite a few amateur and professional boxing gyms in Germany’s capital. It might be off the beaten path, but why not come into one of ’em, you never know who you might find training. Right?

    It would also be a disservice to leave out German boxer Felix Sturm, whose win against Irish boxer Matthew Macklin in a split decision bout not too long ago in Cologne has been controversial to say the least.

    Say what you will, German Sturm did get to keep his WBA belt; and he got to do it in front of his hometown crowd.

    I look forward to a much anticipated rematch.

    —Marcus

  • Swabian Culinary Delights

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    I got to hand it to Ruth on her German Way blog talking about a yummy Swabian Delight dish known as Linsen mit Spätzle, or Lentils with noodles. There are all kinds of bacon, onion, and carroty goodness in there.

    This got me to thinking about other Swabian culinary delights.

    Soups are real popular in Swabian cooking, as are potatoes. Try the Schupfnudeln (cooked mashed potatoes) and Kartoffelkuchen, a potato pancake topped with egg.

    Of course, if you want to try some true German wurst, Swabian cooking can hook you up there, too. Not all of them are served hot, so you’ll find them in salads or sliced as cold cuts. Hmmmm…

    I probably should not be writing this when I’m hungry… ;-)

    Here are a few other dishes that’ll wet your appetite while traveling around Swabia.

    Gaisburger Marsch — A beef and veggie stew, also made with carrots as well as potatoes and Spätzle.

    Maultaschen — This is a ravioli kind of stuffed pasta filled with everything from bacon to onions, bratwurst to spinach generally served in beef broth.

    Leberklöße — For those of you who don’t like liver, this dish served with onions might not be for you. But, try it anyway! You actually might not taste the liver part at all.

    Hefezopf — Slather this sweet braided bread with butter, and you’ve got a seriously special Swabian supper side dish.

    Krautkrapfen — Yeah, that’s right, sauerkraut. Did you really think you could try to eat German food and not find sauerkraut in there somewhere? Don’t worry, it’s not all about the sauerkraut, there’s caraway seeds, onions, and bacon in there, too.

    Great, now I’m really hungry.

    So besides touring your way around Germany’s scenic routes and looking at all the medieval castles and and palaces, make sure to eat your way around the country too — starting with all these Swabian delights! :-)

    —Marcus

  • FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011

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    It’s time for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011!

    From June 26th to July 17th, 2011, folks are looking forward to the matches, and new records in terms of the number of spectators are to be expected as women’s football (a.k.a. soccer) is still fairly young.

    So let me list the nine host cities (in alphabetical order) with the names of the stadiums and the schedule of the matches so you know where to go when.

    Bookmark this page as I will update this page on a regular basis during the course of the World Cup!

    Augsburg

    The Impuls Arena in Augsburg will host four matches:

    June 29th at 15:00: Norway – Equatorial Guinea (1:0)
    July 2nd at 14:00: Korea DPR – Sweden (0:1)
    July 5th at 18:15: England – Japan (2:0)
    July 10th at 13:00: Quarter-Final 3: Sweden – Australia (3:1)

    Berlin

    The historical Olympiastadion in Berlin hosted one match only:

    June 26th at 18:00: Germany – Canada (2:1)

    Bochum

    In Bochum it’ll be the Rewirpowerstadion that will proudly host four World Cup matches:

    June 27th at 15:00: Japan – New Zealand (2:1)
    June 30th at 18:00: Canada – France (0:4)
    July 3rd at 14:00: Australia – Equatorial Guinea (3:2)
    July 6th at 20:45: Korea DPR – Columbia (0:0)

    Dresden

    Historical Dresden is among the eleven host cities of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011, and its Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion is where you’ll want to go see the following four matches live:

    June 28th at 18:15: USA – Korea DPR (2:0)
    July 1st at 18:15: New Zealand – England (1:2)
    July 5th at 20:45: Canada – Nigeria (0:1)
    July 10th at 17:30: Quarter-Final 4: Brazil – USA (7:5)

    Frankfurt am Main

    Frankfurt with its legendary Waldstadion (a.k.a. FIFA Women’s World Cup Stadium) is happy to host these matches here:

    June 30th at 20:45: Germany – Nigeria (1:0)
    July 6th at 18:00: Equatorial Guinea – Brazil (0:3)
    July 13th at 20:45: Semi-Final 2: Japan – Sweden (3:1)
    July 17th at 20:45: FINAL: USA – Japan

    Leverkusen

    The Bay-Arena in Leverkusen is able to accomodate almost 30,000 fans for these four matches here:

    June 28th at 15:00: Columbia – Sweden (0:1)
    July 1st at 15:00: Japan – Mexico (4:0)
    July 6th at 18:00: Australia – Norway (2:1)
    July 9th at 18:00: Quarter-Final 1: England – France (4:5)

    Mönchengladbach

    In Mönchengladbach, look out for the Stadion Im Borussia-Park to find these three matches here:

    June 29th at 18:15: Brazil – Australia (1:0)
    July 5th at 20:45: France – Germany (2:4)
    July 13th at 18:00: Semi-Final 1: France – USA (1:3)

    Sinsheim

    You’ve probably never heard of the town of Sinsheim yet, but for us Germans it became famous for its successful 1899 Hoffenheim football club which plays in the Bundesliga here in its Rhein-Neckar-Arena — and hosts/hosted the following four matches:

    June 26th at 15:00: Nigeria – France (0:1)
    July 2nd at 18:00: USA – Colombia (3:0)
    July 5th at 18:15: New Zealand – Mexico (0:1)
    July 16th at 17:30: Third Place: Sweden – France

    Wolfsburg

    In Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen city, it’s the Volkswagen-Arena that will happily greet tens of thousands of fans for these four matches:

    June 27th at 18:00: Mexico – England (1:1)
    July 3rd at 18:15: Brazil – Norway (3:0)
    July 6th at 20:45: Sweden – USA (2:1)
    July 9th at 20:45: Quarter-Final 2: Germany – Japan (0:1)

  • On June 26 Everyone In The World Is Ein Berliner

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    The date of June 26, 1963 may not be a day that stays in the mind of many people these days. However, for those living in West Berlin at the time, this marked the day that everyone in the world was with them in mind and spirit. This was the date when the US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy stood in front of the City Hall and spoke these words: “Ich bin ein Berliner.”

    Let’s go back a bit before this speech to see why it resonated so much with the citizens of Berlin.

    Twenty-two months before this famous visit, one of the monstrosities of modern time was erected in the city of Berlin. This was, of course, the reviled Berlin Wall, which divided the city as well as families and friends by a huge block of concrete and barbed wire.

    Berlin, for those who haven’t yet visited our lovely country, was situated in the middle of former East Germany, which was under the power of the Soviet Union.

    As occupied Berlin was split into four zones, those who lived within the Soviet area soon found that the repressive nature of the Soviet Union was working its way into their beloved city. And so, they began to flee into the western half of the city.

    Naturally, the USSR did not appreciate this drain on their population and built the Wall to prevent such freedom of movement. However, they claimed that the Western part of Germany had not yet been properly “de-Nazified” and that the Wall was really for the protection of East German citizens. They called it the “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart.”

    Meanwhile, citizens living in West Berlin felt like they were surrounded by the enemy, who was hoping to take control of the rest of Berlin and fully incorporate it into East Germany.

    And so, we can imagine the feeling of these West Berliners when the US President reminded them that they were not alone, and that they were not forgotten.

    This speech is regarded as one of Kennedy’s best and is still well-remembered in the United States and around the world to this day. The famous words were repeated twice as the President said:

    “Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis Romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’”

    —Marcus

  • Germany Gets Greener As It Abandons Nuclear Power

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    Many of us watched in horror as the double tragedy of earthquake and tsunami hit Japan earlier this year. The disabled nuclear power plant at Fukushima reached levels of meltdown that haven’t been seen since the days of the Chernobyl disaster.

    But while the rest of the world briefly discussed the possibilities of moving away from this controversial power source, only Germany has made real plans about its nuclear future. The government has announced that all remaining nuclear power plants will be put out of commission by the year 2022.

    The first nuclear power plants were opened in Germany in the 1950s. During this half a century, the country experienced three near-catastrophes that resulted from problems with the reactor.

    The first was in 1975 in Greifswald, East Germany. A fire brought about by an electrical error came close to causing a meltdown after the main coolant pumps were destroyed. Two other calamities occurred in the 1980s.

    In 1986 in Hamm-Uentrop, a broken fuel rod led to the release of an excess of radiation, which contaminated the surrounding area.

    And again in 1987, a stop valve malfunctioned at Biblis Nuclear Power Plant in Hesse and released more harmful radiation.

    Of course, the disaster at Chernobyl was one of the worst for Germany, despite the fact it didn’t even happen within German borders! While the meltdown occurred in modern-day Ukraine (then a part of the USSR), Germany was just downwind from this catastrophe. In some areas of southern Germany, it is still possible to find traces of radioactivity in the mushrooms or in some wild animals.

    Currently, Germany has 17 nuclear power plants, which provide about 25% of the country’s energy. Seven of the oldest reactors have already been shut down because of safety concerns. These power plants will be replaced by newer renewable-energy technology that will not emit greenhouse gases, which places Germany in the forefront of green countries.

    Many believe that Germany could provide the “road map” that will enable other nations to give up the risky nuclear reactor system for something more environmentally-friendly.

    In addition to the news about nuclear power, which was greeted with happiness and applause by many staunch environmentalists, Chancellor Angela Merkel also promised to reduce the carbon emissions of her nation by 40% in the same ten-year time period.

    So in the next decade, all eyes will be on Germany to see how well it adapts to an economy and environment with clean energy and new cutting-edge technologies.

    The future will be an exciting place for us! :-)

    —Marcus