Germany Blog

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

  • River Surfing In Southern Germany — Care To Catch A Wave?

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    Surfing in Germany is something that the uninformed associate with the North Sea or Baltic Sea. While there are some top coastal surf spots in Germany that have been surfed since the 1970’s, that’s not where the German surfing scene is hottest at this time of year.

    To catch a wave in German, you really need to head south.

    River surfing in Germany is a major sporting institution, and one that locals take very seriously. They have their own surfing leagues and there is a German surfing magazine (German only).

    The epicenter of the action is in Munich, where a permanent wave generator has been set up on the Eisbach river. Here, locals and visitors alike prove their skills on a narrow channel of water, cheered on by passing spectators and surfer groupies. Experts surf at the wave generator near the Haus der Kunst museum in the Englischer Garten, while beginners ride the waves further up the tributary at Floßlände near the Thalkirchen campground.

    There is no doubt that the wetsuit clad surfers look very cool in the midst of the city. They’re freezing, of course, because of the water temperature. No one was kidding around when they named the river — the English translation is Ice Stream and it averages about 6 °C or 42° F! As a result, all but the most dedicated wave riders limit their surf time to the summer months.

    This makes right now the best season for getting an eyeful of the local tricksters and surf champions, and provides sightseers with the opportunity for a good, warm afternoon in the park as well.

    To prepare yourself for the day out, you’ll need a picnic blanket, snacks, sunblock, and a crash course in German surf culture.

    As far as German surf culture is concerned, start by listening to the best German surfer bands online — there’s Sportfreunde Stiller from nearby Germering, The Love Preachers from Düsseldorf, and Plan 9 from Berlin, just to name a few of the more famous bands to put you in the surfing mood.

    From there, practice being polite and holding your board aloft as you wait in line for your shot at the river or start practicing your whoops and cheers for the local boys showing off.

    If you can’t make it out to the Eisbach but wish you could, pick up the documentary on German river surfing that took 10 YEARS to make. Called Keep Surfing, it will let you see how the waves were made and showcase the lives of those who spend their days surfing South Germany.

    —Marcus

    P.S. Here’s a video of a surfer on the Eisbach river in action…

  • German Words You Already Know

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    I hear so many people tell me they would love to travel to Germany, but they are worried about being able to communicate. Not everyone is interested in language camps and schools in Germany, or even improving their German with German TV online.

    So rather than pointing out that you can easily learn German, I thought I would use this post to point out the German words you already know.

    These words are pure German, but English speakers use them all the time. They are what linguists call “loan words” or “borrowings,” which basically just means words you English speakers have adopted as your own.

    Check out the list below . . . you’ve been speaking German all along and not even knowing it! :-)

    • Hamburger, anyone? You think this is a universal word from the American, but it’s really German. And so are delicatessen, strudel, frankfurter, bratwurst, sauerkraut, schnapps, vermouth and lager. Along with aspirin, which you may need if you have all of that together!
    • Many pets have German names, including your hamster, Dachshund, Schnauzer and Doberman. And your children attend Kindergarten which is German, of course.
    • Angst is a straight crossover word, along with gestalt.
    • Fest is a party in both languages, and the glitz at the party is also German.
    • Autobahn are those movie type of superhighways in Germany with no speed limit (given there is none).
    • More fun words include kaput (German: kaputt), hinterland, halt, pretzel (German: Bretzel), glitch, carabiner, nickel, poltergeist, rucksack, and wanderlust.

    Along with straight crossovers, some words have shifted in meaning, but they are still German in origin. How many of these do you use?

    • Blitz is German for a lightning, but you English speakers now talk about an “advertising blitz” and also use the word to describe attack plays in American football.
    • Flak was originally an acronym for a type of machine gun in Germany, but English speakers now use the word to describe heavy criticism.

    There are many other German loan words on record, including dozens that are more technical. Keep your ears peeled and your mind open to see how much more German you really use, thinking you are speaking pure English! ;-)

    —Marcus

  • Best German Beers Of Summer 2010

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    German beers cater to almost every taste, but did you know that they also cater to the weather? Not only do we Germans change our wardrobes with each season, but we also change our beers.

    Summer beers tend to be lighter on the tongue than winter beers, and some of them are designed with specific taste pairings in mind. There are even German summer beers that rely on sweetened fruit syrups added by the drinker to achieve their ideal flavor!

    To find the German summer beer that will be your new favorite, I’ve compiled a list below to help guide you in your tastings based on what’s popular now in the last summer days of 2010. Feel free to disagree with me on what’s best (why else do we have hundreds of different sorts!), but be sure to sample each beer generously before making your decisions! ;-)

    • The Premium Pilsner by Bitburger is heavy with hops for a light, dry finish. As Germany’s originators of the Pilsner style, this Bitburg based manufacturer is hugely popular in the German market and exported abroad. If you can’t find the Bitburger, the Tannenzäpfle Pilsner by Rothaus is also an excellent choice from the Pilsner category.
    • Kölsch beers are brewed in Cologne, made using yeast that is aged in a lager style. The Mühlen Kölsch by the Malzmühle Schwartz brewery in Cologne is a delicious example you’ll want to try this year.
    • Berliner Kindl offers a distinctive sour tang. Summer fans can request seasonal fruit syrups to add to the beer, allowing for some fun finding your perfect personal version. I’ve also found that the slightly bubbly nature of the beer helps make it a smart summer choice.
    • Finally, no summer German beer review would be complete without including a Hefeweizen. As a beer garden staple, this light wheat beer is good with or without food but please, eat something. ;-) Then you can have more Hefeweizen like the excellent Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier by the world’s oldest brewery, Weihenstephan brewery in Freising.

    To summer, and to your health!

    —Marcus

  • MyGermanCity.com Is NOT A One-Man Show

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    I know that many MyGermanCity.com visitors thought that this Web site is driven by only one person, me. Well, I’m not blaming you for it… It says “I” and “Marcus” all over the place.

    However, there is, in fact, a small group of smart people behind MyGermanCity.com, eagerly working with me to provide you with a one-of-a-kind guide about Germany.

    Curious? I’ll bet you are! :-)

    Visit the revamped About page to get to know each one of us a bit better…

    http://www.mygermancity.com/about

    —Marcus

  • No More Public Smoking In The German State Of Bavaria

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    Smoking is a hot topic in Germany at the moment, thanks to a vote in Bavaria on July 3rd to put a new public smoking ban in place. It is being called one of the strictest in Germany, and has commentators wondering what this will mean for the weak smoking bans currently in place in the rest of the country.

    Smoking bans, after all, are hardly new in German. You can’t smoke in federal buildings, and there were a number of bans on smoking in restaurants and pubs passed in 2008.

    However, the way things work in Germany, the national government doesn’t handle the smoking laws. Instead, each individual state has their own rules, and some of them are more strict than others.

    Some of them are not very strict at all . . . and even the 2008 rules were rather quickly relaxed.

    It’s not because Germany is a country of die-hard smokers. Yes, the smoky beer hall is a tradition in some areas, but just like people in the rest of the world my fellow Germans and I enjoy meals and public spaces that are smoke free.

    The larger issue, of course, is that we Germans don’t always appreciate being told what we can and can’t do. Restaurant owners and bar managers also feel that smoking bans hurt their businesses by driving away customers and raising expenses as they need to create new spaces for smokers. So the smoking bans become controversial, and a subject of hot debates.

    Many establishments work around the smoking bans in Germany by turning their businesses into private clubs, where smoking is still allowed. You may find yourself surprised to get a ticket or a membership card when you sit down for a drink or a meal, but it’s just a way to help skirt the local laws.

    The bigger deal with the smoking ban in Bavaria is that it has been extended to include Munich‘s famous beer tents in the fall. For 2010, the authorities are saying they won’t do much in the way of ban enforcement, but for 2011, expect your trip to the Oktoberfest to be a smoke free experience!

    —Marcus