Health tourism with tradition: Germans in “Kur”
“Ist zur Kur” – if you are interested in German language and culture, this skid of Hanns Dieter Hüsch, a brilliant wordsmith and satirist, is worth listening to. It describes […]
Hanseatic nobility and civic freedoms
The medieval trade association that shaped Germany and modern Europe Welcome to a journey back into history and up to the very North of Germany, the realm of the “Hanseat”, […]
No nonsense: Fashion, made in Germany
What do you think of when you hear terms like “Haute Couture” or “Pret a Porter”, when you imagine super models on glamourous catwalks and sophisticated, if a bit pretentious […]
Where music gets real: Festivals in Germany
For over a year fans of music festivals around the world have lived through a drought. I remember the collective shock among some of my friends when Glastonbury was cancelled. […]
German Cinema Part 2: Modern movies
In our last article, we had a close look at the history of German movie-making, with all its ups and downs and its historical landmarks. Now is the time to […]
From Metropolis to The Lives of Others: History of German movie-making
Do you remember the last German who took home an Oscar? It was in 2017 when Gerd Nefzer won the Academy Awards for Visual Effects on an American movie “Blade […]
Office of Honour: The “Ehrenamt” – Voluntary commitment in Germany
When I came to England ten years ago, many things seemed weird, often quirky and in many cases confusing. One of these things were the idea of Special Constables – […]
Valentine’s Day special: Flirting, dating, wedding – the German way
It is fast approaching: The opportunity to shower your loved ones with all the attention and treats that a busy life might have deprived them of. The day to prove […]
Could you pass me my Handy, please? How Denglish influences modern German language
Let’s jump right in: The term „Handy“ causes plenty of confusion between Germans and native English speakers. The German word for mobile phone sounds so very English that it’s hard […]
Charitable Germany: The culture of giving
Christmas is coming, and with it the talk of love and care for others, of charity and compassion. It is a time of huge spending not only for gifts and […]
Digital Germany – How the world leader in invention struggles to pick up speed in digitalisation
Talking to people visiting Germany from abroad, they often mention two things they found interesting before anything else. One of them is cleanliness. Especially Americans are always fascinated with the […]
Dass ich nicht lache – “Don’t make me laugh!”German humour is no laughing matter
“Don’t mention the war!” This legendary Fawlty Towers quote is a prime example how English people like to make fun of Germans. “I did once, but I think I got […]
Beyond Halloween: Being spooked, German style
Soon the gates will open to the realms of darkness, for ghosts and demons to wander the world and scare the living daylights out of ordinary people – by ringing […]
How the New German Wave made steel sheets fly
Nosediving vultures, astronauts lost in space, red balloons chased by fighter jets, dancing dairymaids and golden horsemen… this colourful pandemonium defined the beginning of the 1980s in Germany’s music world.
Back to nature: German’s national parks and the return of the wolves
Nature might not be the first idea when thinking about Germany. Engineering, industry, car manufacturing, the Autobahn, densely populated cities spring to mind. But then there are, of course, other […]
The country of poets and thinkers (and maybe engineers and inventors)
Sometimes back in the philosophical revolutions of the early 19th century, German intellectuals coined the phrase of the “Land der Dichter und Denker”, the country of poets and thinkers, to […]
The Nile of Germany: The River Rhine and its legacy
Rivers are the literal life line of civilisation. The heart and soul of many countries developed on their banks. Not to say that mountains, forests and of course the coasts […]
Skilled trades have “golden foundations” in Germany
The benefits and setbacks of a dual education system “Handwerk hat goldenen Boden”: When choosing your career as a young person in Germany, this sentence will be thrown at you […]
Grim, grimmer, Brothers Grimm: German traditional fairy-tales and their secret backgrounds
There are fairy-tales all around the world, and quite a few of them have been made into Disney movies, but no cultural heritage has been as successfully disneyfied as the […]
Why it always rains in England: Your food defines the weather ;-)
“Iss auf. Sonst regnet es morgen.” German kids know this sentence when growing up: Empty your plate, or it will rain the next day. Quite a few of my German […]