300920. Let me say right now, that I am going to change to format of my blog as of today, with the latest writings or ramblings being at the top of the page with older stuff at the bottom. It took a while to realise this but it will definitely improve your reading 🙂
A friend of mine suggested a couple of things to write about and one of them was “What is your experience of living in Germany?”
Well, that seems like an interesting and on-going subject to talk about.
I came here is September 2000. There was a job offer and for me it was a toss-up between living in France, a country I really like and being in a country where I had been before but only for a short while. Another difference was being self employed (Germany) and having a job and being paid regularly with everything found (France). I opted for the former. So, that is the why I am here.
I find that Germans can be very varied in their attitude towards me as a foreigner. Most are pretty nice and communicative and a few …. well. The same as most other countries that I have visited. If you speak a little bit of their language then things begin to flow a little better.
Not as an excuse but I speak very little German. When I arrived here I took a course in Beginners German and found that I was in the wrong level group. Then I was very busy at work and my evenings were taken up with planning for the next day. Teachers back me up here, please! So having sort of mastered the basics of the Menu so I could eat and the basics of buying food, filling the car, saying hello to people, asking for directions and buying wine, that was where my German stayed. Enough to survive but not enough to talk with people who don’t speak English. Relationships are based on how good their English is or how much effort I want to communicate with the other person, using dictionaries and on-line translators (thank you, Internet), and hands and feet. You know what I mean, don’t you!
Off for a walk now, more later.
080920. It is actually two days later. The sun is shining, little wind and the Biergarten is only 1/3 full. No clouds and a little wind. Feel sorry for the people in California. 50 Grad, nor surprised that things burn so easily. So here is where I usually try to write something in my blog.
Got side-tracked ….. but back to Germany.
The south is populated by an old group or tribe of people called the Schwab. The possible origin of the name has been traced to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (a state between Hamburg and Poland) as early as 1298, when Ulrich Schwab, the first Count of Nemerow, lived. Some people say that they have their own language as it is, for me, extremely hard to understand. The south is different to the north and I understand that an east-west line, meaning sort of based on Frankfurt, separates the two. The south seems less talkative to the north and less sociable than the north. Never having lived in the north then I am not an expert on this subject. Not that I am an expert on the south either :-).
Bit of research told me that there are 7,000 types of beer brewed by 1,300 breweries which are mainly in the south and this is celebrated by the Oktoberfest, which was due to start October 19, now cancelled because of the Corona virus. Cases in Germany 254K with 9,405 deaths and in Baden-Württemberg 42,925 with 1,865 deaths – Baden-Württemberg is the county where I live. Germany has 16 counties (Land/Länder) like partly-sovereign states, the largest is Bavaria, famous for the Bayern-München football team.
The south specialises in Spätzle, a sort of pasta dish made from flour, eggs, water and salt. If you are into cooking – for more information on German food by regions.
But back to the Oktoberfest. First held in 1810 as a part of the royal wedding of Prince Regent Ludwig of Bavaria, the later King Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen, and is today one of Bavaria’s biggest attractions. During the event, large quantities of Oktoberfest Beer are consumed: during the 16-day festival in 2013, for example, 7.7 million litres, (66,000 US barrels; 1,700,000 UK gallons) were served. I don’t know how many people have drowned there. :-).
A lot of girls/ladies wear Dirndl’s, which is a traditional costume and I think are very pretty. Dirndl’s are traditionally worn by women and girls in southern Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein and Alpine regions of Italy. You can sometimes find waitresses in Dirndl’s in some restaurants – if you are lucky! Lots of colour and different styles – and LOTS of smiling ladies too, as you can see!
Guys can wear Lederhosen which are great for showing your hairy legs off when you go out hiking or just walking around the town. Comfortable and very long lasting. In 1913 they were called immoral by the Archbishop of Munich – now it is OK if you want to get married in Lederhosen. Waiters sometimes wear them, too, but you can’t beat the girls as waitress wearing a Dirndl!
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