Cultural Insightz

Bad Taste in Germany

2011-08-02T23:54:00.000-07:00

Some examples of bad taste (at least this is my opinion) in Germany:
Cuckoos Clock - which is however very popular with Americans and maybe nowadays there are more people outside Germany who own one than in our country.
You can by them on the net and they assure world wide delivery.
You can also visit the world largest Cuckoos Clock in the Black Forest and choose your clock for yourself.
I mean, if you like cuckoos clocks.

Another accessory is the "Wackeldackel"
which you will find in the rear rack of some cars. It is a Dachshound - once one of Germany's favorite dogs along with the German Shepherd - made from plastic with a moveable head.
If you want to have one for your car - go ahead, you can buy it here.

Still for the car, somebody once invented the idea to put a toilet roll on the rear rack of the car. In order to cover the offending object, he had the idea to crochet a hat for the toilet roll. Now it is even more obvious that this car is driven by someone with digestion problems.
Strangely this object is returning to fame due to artists. You can buy them on Dawanda which is the German Etsy Shop.

Another feature is a special kind of table which is made out of wood with tiles on it. This could look also very nice but unfortunately most of them look like these:

There is even a Website which is called "German Tile Table Museum" which describes how many times this weird table is shown in German TV trash and reality shows.

For other bad taste examples have a look at these bad taste car accessories.

Then let's go outside, have you ever noticed one of these in a German garden?

In German they are called "Gartenzwerg" -maybe "garden gnome" in English. I have mainly seen them in gardens of older people. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and can be bought here if you want to buy one of them online.
These are hand crafted and you can visit this special museum in Thueringen, East Germany
With time people usually are divided between lovers or haters of this garden decoration. The haters have their own - Anti-Gartenzwerg products.

Let's talk about beauty and fashion. What do you think about these tattoos?

Then there are special sandals which seem to be on everybody's feet in summer (and even before and after), possibly with white socks. Did you know that one man complained about the beach of his holiday resort. It was too dirty - which he noticed because the white socks which he wore in his sandals were gray after walking along the beach.

More bad taste coming up, surely. I have to bring my camera along. What do you think, are other examples of bad taste in Germany - or maybe in your country?

Stuttgart Apps

2011-07-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

Getting around in Stuttgart, albeit walking, cycling or jogging now is supported by the new apps which you can find here: www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/tourenplaner
The three different apps are: Wandern Stuttgart (walking), Radfahren Stuttgart (cycling) and Laufen Stuttgart (jogging).
There are two varieties: one basic for free and the premium edition for 4,99 €
The tours are displayed on maps which can be zoomed and every tour has a short description with the most important details like distance, length of time, descent and ascent.
The premium app also gives you the opportunity to load down special routes for using off line which is quite helpful in regions without connection. You can register your tours live, attach photos and waypoints and mail the whole thing to your friends. The "wandern app" includes this feature: direct your iPhone to the horizon and mountains in your surroundings until 150 km of distance will be shown with elevation.
I am afraid it is only in German but there is still Google Translater which works well for these things.

Toad Migration

2011-05-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

As we had a lot of cut scrub from our garden to bring to the green waste deposit near the forest, the thought sprang to my mind: Let's hope, they haven't closed it because it is a Sunday. The reason for closing the "Häckselplatz" as we call it in German, isn't the noise which would be connected with this procedure, a reason why you are not allowed to wash your car on a Sunday. During this season there is the toad migration which is taken very seriously in our region. The place was open this time, but one of our neighbors had told us that in the evening after 6 pm, the barriers will be down for the protection of the amphibians.
I really didn't know very much about this toad migration other that they are even building costly tunnels for them, so I informed myself about it.
The population of common or European toad is diminishing due to the cut of their habitat through streets. During their migrations especially from their winter home to their spawn waters and after that to their summer living space, there are huge losses caused by cars. Therefore NABU and other organisations have arranged for flexible plastic fences which will lead them into buckets. These buckets are brought to the other side of the street by the people. Another procedure is the creation of waters which substitute the existing ones and where the toads don't have to pass streets for reaching them. Tunnels are built as well and sometimes whole streets are closed during this period of migration.

Ritter Sport Blog

2010-12-23T00:41:00.000-08:00

Ritter Sport is a famous chocolate factory south of Stuttgart and I remember them still from my childhood days. In their blog they offer you to design your chocolate. So I have to embed a widget on my blog - you can do so as well, just get it from the link above - and hope that it works. I am curious how much success they will have with this kind of marketing but it worked with me at least. I am looking forward to trying it myself.

The factory is in Waldenbuch and they have an outlet where they sell chocolate at special prices. If you are in the region, just pay them a visit. They also have special offers with varieties of smaller chocolate - great for little presents or for taking home (if the authorities let you bring food in your country). http://www.ritter-sport.de/#/de_DE/home/
So- try the widget, if you have any problems, just let me know

Bicycle riding on a car-free road

2010-09-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last week end we went the second time to "Pfalz" - about 2 hours from Stuttgart in car. Every last sunday in August the "Deutsche Weinstraße" (German Wine Road) will be closed for cars on 80 km from 10 am to 6 pm. Lots of people take advantage of this fact by going on tour with bicycles, inline skates, wheel chairs or even on foot. It is more a social than a sportive event - sometimes you will find crowded streets, especially in the center of the towns. Every few meters there will be stands with food, wine, music, bicycle repair items and other stuff. It is a great collective event and highly recommendable. In Pfalz people don't drink quarters of wine like we do in Baden-Württemberg, they drink "Schoppen" im "Dubbeglas" (= Tupfenglas/ Spot Glas) which holds a quantity of half a liter. The "Schorle" (usually 1 half wine and 1 half water) tends to be at least 3 quarters of wine with just a litte space left for a splash of water. Specialities to eat are "Saumagen"- stuffed pork stomach, potato soup with plum tart (yes, they eat them in one course), liver dumplings and many more.

German Music - Roger Cicero

2010-07-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

A German singer with great music and lyrics

Here are the lyrics in German and English:

Wir wollten nur was trinken, We just wanted to have a drink together,
plötzlich war'n wir hier. but sudddenly we were here.
Auf dem Nachttisch steht ein Foto On the night table there is a photo
von ihm und dir. with him and you.
Er scheint mich zu fixieren, He seems to be focused on me,
seit du dich ausgezogen hast since you have taken off your clothes
und ich Verräter liege hier an seinem Platz. and I - traitor - am at his place.
Ich hab ihn dir damals vorgstellt, Then, I presented you to him,
als wir wieder essen war'n. when we had been eating our.
Ich lies mit dir nichts unversucht, I tried everything to succeed with you,
doch du bist mit ihm gefahr'n. but you went off with him.
Ich ging zitternd in den Regen, I went into the rain, trembling,
um meine Wut hinauszuschrei'n. for crying out my fury.
Doch er war und bleibt für mich der beste Freund. But he was and will be my best friend.

Und wenn ich euch seh', And when I see you,
tobt ein Sturm durch meinen Bauch. there is a storm raging in my stomach.
Es brennt mir der Kopf My head aches
und mein Gefühl steht auf'm Schlauch. and my feelings are confused.
Mein Herz schlägt auf den Tisch My heart knocks on the table
und schreit: Ich will sie, immer zu. and shouts: I want her, always.
Doch du bist für mich tabu. But for me you are tabu.

Ich storniere diesen Marathon I cancel this marathon
Zentimeter vor dem Ziel. centimeters before the goal.
Ich hätte dich fast angefasst, I nearly would have touched you,
das ist ein Scheißgefühl. this is a terrible feeling.
Sieh zu, dass du das hinbekommst, Try to work this out,
ab jetzt gibt's nur noch euch. from now on there is only the two of you
Auch, wenn ich es jetzt besser weiß, Even if I know better now,
da muss ich durch. I have to cope with this.

Und wenn ich euch seh', And when I see you....
tobt ein Sturm durch meinen Bauch.
Es brennt mir der Kopf
und mein Gefühl steht auf'm Schlauch.
Mein Herz schlägt auf den Tisch
und schreit: Ich will sie, immer zu.
Doch du bist für mich tabu.

Mein Herz schlägt auf den Tisch
und schreit: Ich will sie, immer zu.
Doch du bist für mich tabu.

Ossi and Wessi

2010-04-17T22:07:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time our country was divided in two parts - West Germany and East Germany (DDR), as some of you might remember. With the fall of the Berlin Wal l in 1989 we were reunited. This reunion wasn't as easy as it seems. In the beginning - apart from the language - there were far more differences between East- and West Germans than between Germans and other West European citizens.
40 years of communism left their traces and as the two nations converged, they had to learn from each other. East Germans were called "Ossis" and West Germans "Wessis" or even "Besserwessis" (which is a mix of besser=better and wissen=to know/means you Germans from the West think you know everything better) by each other. This, however was 20 years ago.
Now we had a lawsuit filed by an East German woman who claims to be discriminated against because she was from the former DDR.
When she got her job application documents back, on the right side of her CV she found the remark (-) Ossi written by her potential future employer. The woman had applied for a job as accountant in the summer of 2009 at a company from Stuttgart, without success. She believes that this is due to her origin from East Berlin.
The labor court dismissed the case. The sentence stated that East Germany is no people of its own and for this reason there is no discrimination founded on ethnic origin.
Now the wants to go on, the judge allowed an appeal from first instance. There is the possibility for this lawsuit to go on for up to one year, going from one instance to the other and finally ending up in federal court.

The whole matter created a lot of jokes like this one:
Ossi: We are one people
Wessi: We too.

Easter in Germany

2010-03-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Easter in Germany

Easter in Germany symbolizes the and of the fasting season and traditionally starts on Good Friday which is called Karfreitag where - following to the catholic tradition - your are supposed not to eat any meat. The day before is Gründonnerstag - green thursday. The origin of this name isn't totally clarified. One theory is that it stems from the tradition to eat much green vegetables and herbs for gaining strength and health for the rest of the year. In some regions it is the first day to dessiminate in the garden for having large crops all year.
Easter Sunday is the happy day of resurrection and the favorite day of the children where they search for Easter eggs. The parents hide small nests with eggs, small bunnies made out of chocolate or caramel and other items for their kids.
Why easter eggs - one explanation is this:
During the fasting period people weren't allowed to eat any eggs. So in the end there was a large overage of eggs. The symbolic relevance of eggs reflects the emergence of new life and the resurrection. The custom of painting Easter eggs goes back to the Ancient Egypt.
In the period before Easter you will find many ideas for Easter handicraft work. The traditional decoration usually includes willow twigs which is adorned with painted empty easter eggs.
Have a look at this handicraft site which offers many ideas not only for Easter but all year.
The last day of these holidays is Easter Monday where many families make a trip or picknick enjoying theses first warmer days of spring.

Frohe Ostern 2010 ! Easter eggs
What do we eat during these days?
Green Thursday - in our region it is the famous "Maultaschen"..
Good Friday - Fish
Easter Sunday - Lamb or rabbit, asparagus, fresh strawberries and sweets like the easter bunny:
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:

1 kg flour
1 tsp salt
160 g soft butter
600 ml room-warm milk
1 tbsp sugar
40 g yeast
24 hazel-nuts or raisins
2 yolks for coating

Dissolve yeast in the warm milk, add some sugar, and leave the dough until bubbles appear on it's surface. Put the rest of the ingredients into a big bowl, pour the milk& yeast mixture in and mix well till the dough is smooth (~10 min). Put the bowl in a warm place and let it stay there till its volume at least doubles. At this point the dough requires intensive kneading. After that, let it rest for about 20 min.
Knead the dough again and cut it into 12 equal parts. Form the Easter Bunnies: separate the dough part into 3 pieces, and adjust them to each other as a head, body and tail. Form two ears on top of the head. Press the nuts or raisins onto the head as the rabbit's eyes. Put the bunnies onto a greased and floured cook sheet. Coat with the yolk, let rest for 30 min, and bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 min.

I wish you great Easter holidays - Frohe Ostern! Happy Easter!

International Women's Day

2010-03-08T03:43:00.000-08:00

Today is International Women's Day and I nearly forgot it. Somehow we don't have this long tradition and the day doesn't have this impact as it has in other countries. If my Russian colleagues hadn't made congratulations I wouldn't have taken much notice.
The first person to organize this day was actually a German woman, the German socialist Clara Zetkin (1857-1933) organized the first Internationaler Frauentag (International Women's Day, IWD) in 1911.
The date however goes back to a strike by Russian women textile workers in St. Petersburg on March 8, 1917. Although it was observed in the GDR (East Germany) until German reunification, the celebration of IWD in West Germany (by the SPD party) never caught on, and the date goes largely unnoticed by most Germans today. Unlike in other countries like Russia or Cuba it has never been a national holiday.
In the last years I noticed that restaurants were taking up the occasion for organizing Women's special evenings. There it is used primarily as another commercial possibility like Valentine's day or Halloween which hadn't been known as German traditions 10 years ago.
The main subject in Germany mentioned by the newspapers are the different wages for men and women. Women still get paid up to 25 % less in wages than men for the same kind of work.
Apart from equal rights and opportunities for women we still have to stand up against violence against women and girls which unfortunately belongs to the life of many female citizens all over the world.

Storm in Germany

2010-03-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

The last day brought storm Xynthia to Germany. After passing France where many people died it entered our country causing many incidents mainly by falling trees. People had been warned before to stay away from woods and possibly not use the cars if they hadn't to.

The trains were blocked in several parts of Germany. In the Stuttgart the S-Bahn connections were partly stopped due to falling parts. Traffic signs and parts of constructions sites and bricks had been flying around. After 1 pm the traffic between Zuffenhausen and main station was stopped, the Zuffenhausen was closed entirely. The insulating boards of a shopping center in Feuerbach fell off the building and fell on the rails and overhead contact lines. Firemen had to secure these boards before train traffic could start again.

Of course it is always fastidious if you spend 1 and a half hour to come back home instead of the normal half hour, but I must say that the reaction by the responsible people from the VVS has been very quick and you were informed about alternative possibilities.

Salsa dancing in Stuttgart

2010-02-28T01:28:00.000-08:00

Stuttgart has a large salsa scene and offers possibilities for dancing throughout the week. Many locations have opened and closed again during the years, several try to do one salsa evening per night - generally these places aren't only into salsa but also other dances and will play other kinds of music on the rest of the week.
The most beautiful und one of the largest locations is the Buddha Lounge, formerly Schützenhaus which offers salsa every Sunday night and sometimes on Fridays on special "Latin Nights".
Another place with a long tradition since 1989 is El Pasito which offers Salsa twice a week as well as Salsa, Tango, Flamenco and Spanish lessons, it is managed by a Peruvian guy, Francisco who also has other offers like Spanish courses and lessons about South American Culture.
Zapata is an old factory buildung transformed in a Club. In former times the salsa nights were held on the largest floor - these were the times all Salsa lovers still remember as the "Good Times". Nowadays they are reduced to one of the smaller floors on Saturday night.
There is 7 Grad in Theodor-Heuss-Straße every Thursday night.
Litfaß hosts a Cuban night every Wednesday.
You will get other information going to the sites www.salsa-stuttgart.de and www.latin.de where all the events are listed.

Asparagus

2010-02-17T23:31:00.000-08:00

A speciality in Germany are the white asparagus - the season is always from April (start depends on the weather) until the 18th of June (Johannis).
Usually they are served with new potatoes or pancake (salty) - in Baden also Kratzete which is a destroyed pancake and melted butter or sauce hollandaise.
You can add ham or bacon, steak or salmon, there are millions of recipes.
During the season there are special stands - mostly from Baden where you can buy asparagus and strawberries. Of course you will also find it in your local supermarket and on the market.
If you are in or near Stuttgart, I can recommend the stand which is in Königstraße - right in the center of the pedestrian zone in front of WMF. Just look it up on Google Maps, the adress is Königstrasse 31. Take the thickest ones, they are great, not ligneous in any way and easy to peel. Most asparagus from our region come from Pleidelsheim and Schmiden (Württemberg) and Bruchsal (Baden).
How do you prepare asparagus the German way?

First peel them with a peeler or small knife - I prefer the peeler, I think it is easy that way. It takes some time to get the practice, the trick is not to cut too much which is a pity and not to cut too little - eating asparagus which hasn't been peeled properly gives you a feeling like eating a salad which still has sand in it - I hope I render the idea. At the end the asparagus are always more woody so I will peel this third twice and cut the ends.
Many stands offer to peel it for you, some have these machines:

You put them in the boiling water which has been seasoned with a little salt, sugar and a flake of butter (or oil, I use this). It takes them between 15-20 minutes to get cooked depending on the size. Then you just take them out and you are done.
Side dishes:
Small new potatoes - cooked in their peel in salt water for about 25-30 minutes.
Kratzete or Flädle
Butter or hollandaise sauce. If there are remnants you can cut them and make a delicious asparagus salad.
For time saving you can peel them some time before cooking - just wrap them in a moist kitchen towel and put them in the fridge. Since the season isn't very long you might want to put some in the freezer. That is ok, no problem. The important thing is that they have to be peeled before freezing.

Ingredients for Kratzete:
250 g flour, 4 eggs, 1/2 liter milk, salt, butter or oil

Recipe for Flädle (salty pancakes)

500 g flour, 1 l milk, 2 tea spoons of salt, nutmeg, 4 eggs, butter or oil
Mix the luke warm milk with the flour and salt and leave for half an hour. Then whip up the eggs and add them. Scald a pan with butter or oil and add one large spoon of dough. Let it fry on both sides until it has a golden color.

Restaurant Tip

2010-02-17T05:33:00.000-08:00

Nothing to do with Germany but a nice restaurant with ethiopian dishes.
It is called Jambo and is situated in Ludwigsburg.
Nice decoration and great artistic photographs. We had assorted plates with different kinds of meat, spinach, lentils, salad and the typical ethiopian bread, injera. The dishes were spicy and really good.
Don't forget to order a coffee after the meal. There is a special ceremony which goes with it. I took this video from youtube since we didn't make any videos in this restaurant.

Guenther Oettinger - English for Beginners

2010-02-11T01:32:00.000-08:00

After the refusal of Guido Westerwelle, our minister of foreign affairs, to speak English, he has well thought about it. His English hasn't been brilliant though.

Even worse was the speech of Guenther Oettinger. He was even emphatic about the fact how important it is to speak English. "English will be the working language". Have a look at this video with subtitles on youtube:

This generated a whole row of other videos like the Oettinger-Rap

or English lessons for Oettinger

Going out in Stuttgart - Theaters

2010-02-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

There is quite a large cultural scene in Stuttgart. First of all there is the Staatstheater Stuttgart which offers a large variety of opera, ballet and theater. The ballet is quite famous due to the John Cranko Ballet School. It is situated in the Schloßgarten which is behind the Old and the New Castle in the center of town.
The Theaterhaus has moved a couple of years ago from Wangen to Pragsattel and now offers 4 different halls and a gym. Many plays are shown for quite a long time. The most famous one is "Caveman" . (Written by the American Rob Becker).

On the website Schauspielbühnen.de you will find those theaters:
Altes Schauspielhaus which offers classic plays by authors like Shakespeare or Schiller and Musicals.
Komödie im Marquardt offers comedy,
Theater unterm Dach has a choice of small alternative spectacles
while the International Theatre produces plays in foreign language, right now in English, French and Spanish.

Theater über den Wolken (theater above the clouds) has a variety of different plays and a fantastic view from the Fernsehturm.
Children will love the Theater U18 (under 18).

Theater der Altstadt entertains you with a variety of plays from classics to comedies.
Other theaters: Theater Rampe, Wilhelma Theater, Krimifabrik.
Of course theater plays will be shown also in other cultural centers and halls. I will write about these in one of the next blogs.

Landesmuseum - Treasures of Old Syria - Qatna

2010-01-08T23:48:00.000-08:00

Exhibition in the Old Castle/ Landesmuseum "Treasures of Old Syria"

More than 3.000 years Qatna was buried underneath the earth. Now the Landesmuseum presents a special exhibition "Treasures of Old Syria" - The discovery of the royal crypt of Qatna.

An unbereft royal crypt
Visitors are relocated back to the times of about 3.500 years ago: Once the royal town of Qatna was a flourishing trade metropolis in the heart of Syria. In 2002 , under the remnants of a monumental palace, archeologists from Tübingen who cooperated with an international investigators' team discovered an unbereft royal crypt.

Discoveries of inestimable value, arms, jewellery, crimson colored cloths, cylinder seals, valuable vases and an extensive archive of cuneiform scripts - all these discoveries are now national treasures of Syria and can be seen for the first time here in Stuttgart.

The highlight of the presentation is the multi media reconstruction of the emperor's palace and the crypt. Animations simulate the live in the ages of Bronze in Syria - the religious ideas, the cult of the dead, everyday life in trade and crafts and the extensive cultural excange in this region.

The exhibition will be open until the 14th of March 2010 - every week from Tuesday to Sunday - 10 am until 6 pm. There are numerous other accompanying events like lectures, discussions and presentations about the restoration.

More information:

Gorilla baby in Stuttgart zoo Wilhelma

2010-01-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Baby Gorilla born in Stuttgart Zoo- Wilhelma

Gorilla woman Kolo made a special Christmas present to the Wilhelma, our Stuttgart zoo. It has been already the second gorilla baby in 2009 which was born in the "year of the gorillas" in Stuttgart.

In the early morning on the 22nd of December Kolo gave birth to her baby amidst her family. She retreated to one corner of the conjoint enclosure, built a nest made of excelsior and shortly after 8 am the little one arrived.
Kolo already has a 6 year old son, Lengai and had a baby the year before which unfortunately died. Right now Lengai is very curious of his new brother or sister.

Foto: Wilhelma

In March 2009 Gorilla woman Mutasi had a little girl - Mawenzi - she was the 30th Gorilla baby which was born in Stuttgart. Father of both children is Kibo, the benevolent silverback of the clan who likes to play with the three "oldest" children: Meru, Shira and Lengai.

Right now you will already be able to catch a glimpse of mother and child. Also small Mawenzi and all the others are looking forward to the visitors durin the calmer winter season.

First Christmas Market in Germany 2009

2009-09-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

Due to a participation in a competition arranged by Antenne 1, Tamm (Kreis Ludwigsburg), a town about 25 km from Stuttgart, held the first christmas market this week. They promised to make a snowman of the height of the city hall. There were stands everywhere selling christmas items, hot spiced wine, cake, sausages and meat.
Just have a look and enjoy the photos.

There is the snowman. You could say that it is as high as the town hall if you count the hat. I think they could have made some more effort. I mean, if you do it then do it right! I expected something more spectacular.

Speaking of christmas markets, the season starts always at the end of November, usually with the weekend of the first advent and ends 1 or 2 days before christmas.
Maybe you know the most famous, the Nürnberg Christkindlmarkt. Stuttgart holds the largest christmas market in Germany. There are many other ones in the South German region. Ludwigsburg always arranges a Baroque christmas market with very nice stands of applied arts. Esslingen has a normal and a medieval christmas market which is also worth a visit. Another quite small but very interesting christmas market is the one of Bad Wimpfen. However, nowadays it has become a tradition that every little town organizes at least one weekend during the last 4 weeks before christmas.

Flohmarkt

2009-09-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

What is a "Flohmarkt" - The translation I found was junk market (which, honestly, sounds a bit negative) or flea market. In the last 10 or 20 years these markets have been increasing everywhere. They usually are held in large parking lots on Saturdays and Sundays. Several of these flea markets will be held even 3 times a week.
There are special themes where people sell CDs, records, antique furniture or childrens' clothing. Others just offer anything you can possibly imagine. Even if you decide just to have a look and not to buy anything it rarely happens that you won't come home with some object or other. You can do great bargains you never expected, especially things like china, glasses, tools, games, books etc. I once got a great dog sofa for a ridiculous price. I didn't search for it - just found it.
Stuttgart offers a large Flohmarkt on the Karlsplatz every Saturday from 8.00 am to 4 pm. http://www.flohmarkt-karlsplatz.de/

For most flea markets in the region of Baden-Württemberg just try this link: http://www.marktcom.de/veranstaltungen-im-bundesland/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg or have a look at the local papers.

Afrika-Haus in Heutingsheim

2009-09-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

I passed a many times the sign "Afrika-Haus" when I drove from Ludwigsburg to Freiberg and was always curious to know what there would be. Some information on the internet told me that it was about modern African art and that it is open only on Sundays. Being on the right spot and in the right time we jumped at the chance of having a closer look at this museum. The Afrika-Haus is situated in a residential area in Heutingsheim which belongs to Freiberg. We passed around 3 pm and found out that it was open from 3 to 5 pm this Sunday. A nice lady greeted us and showed us around. The owner, Mr. Benseler, unfortunately is very ill and not able to be there himself anymore. In 1957 he made his first trip to Africa with a friend. They stayed more than one year. After this he made several more trips to Africa - always for several months. There he collected different pieces of modern African art - statues and pictures. The collection grew larger and larger. In the end he decided that he had to build a house in order to exhibit the pieces of art properly.
We have seen many interesting pictures and skillful statues. It is definitely worth a visit. As we were told there is an African festival every year in August with special African music and food. So we look forward to this as well.
If you want to visit it as well just follow the signs after the first traffic cirle from Ludwigsburg to Freiberg.

Baumarkt - Germans do it yourself

2009-09-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

10 Things you shouldn't do when you are in a "Baumarkt"

You might call them building centers or do-it-yourself stores. Living in Germany you might have noticed the numerous ads for them. They are called OBI, Hornbach, Globus, Toom or Bauhaus.
What are the exactly? You could say: hardware store meets garden department meets building material meets sanitary plumbing, pet food and accessories, lights - whatever. Everything which you can possibly install, mount, repair, build or fix yourself and all the necessary machines can be found there.
This is fantastic because you will find most of the stuff you need in one place and you don't have to browse different shops.
My advice to women: Leave your partner at home if you know what you have to buy. Otherwise you will loose precious time of your life waiting for him until he has finished admiring all the different machines like drills, saws, grinders, steam cleaners....

2009-09-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Some information I took from Good News Stuttgart

8 Facts for Cannstatter Wasen - Stuttgart Beer Festival

More than 330 funfair operators make Cannstatter Wasen the largest fairground festival of the world
The energy consumption equals the consumption of a city of 35.000 inhabitants.
The erection of a large festival tent takes from two to three months and costs about half a million Euro.
About 17.000 persons work directly or indirectly for the Cannstatt Beer Festival.
Every year from four to five millions visitors on the Wasen.
The Festival is already 191 years old.
The historical symbol of the "Wasen" - the fruit column is adorned with more than 3 tons of vegetable and plants.
More than 20.000 persons who are members of the Volksfest Association travel to Stuttgart from New York , Philadelphia and Chicago to visit Stuttgart and the "Wasen".

Turtles in Stuttgart

2009-08-27T04:13:00.001-07:00

You don't have to go to Wilhelma, our local zoo to see turtles. You will find them directly in the center of the city, in the "Feuersee". These animals have been in the small artificial city lake for 2 decades already. Originally from the USA and Mexico they found their way in the 80s to the waters of Stuttgart, set free by owners who wanted to get rid of them or thought they were better off there.
The German law for the protection of environment prohibits the settling of plants or animals in the wild if they are a danger to local fauna and flora. These turtles aren't because they don't disturb the other animals. There is plenty of vegetarian food for the grown ups. They will bury themselves in the earth if the temperature goes below 10 Centigrade Celsius. In April they start with sunbathing in order to make the temperature rise in their body. They lay their eggs and let them warm by the sun, nonetheless it is difficult that there will actually be an eclosion. Since a turtle can become up to 40 years old in good conditions there are still about 150 animals in the Stuttgart waters. Just come and visit them next time you are here.

Barbecue in Germany

2009-07-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

When the first warm afternoons and evenings start around Easter you will find every second garden with the odor of grilled meat and sausages. So - what is the usual stuff you will find on the grills: marinated meat from porc, chicken, turkey and beef - sausages - shashlik skewers are the common features. Side dishes are usually mixed salad, potato salad or baked potatoes and lots of different sauces. If you are invited for a BBQ and you are able to put something together just ask if they want you to bring something along like e.g. a salad or some dessert.
This is my special recipe for a potato salad:
Ingredients: Potatoes (naturally) - be sure to choose the type which won't become farineceous.
Look out for "festkochend" - not "mehligkochend" or "vorwiegend festkochend" - these qualities won't do.
Onions, beef broth, vinegar, oil (rape or sunflower oil), salt and pepper.
After cooking the potatoes in their paring, rinse them with cold water and chop them in really thin slices. In the meanwhile you heat the broth and cook the onions which have been chopped in small cubes before.
Then pour the broth with the cooked onion cubes over the potatoes. Let it marinate at least one hour, then add the vinegar and the oil and some salt and pepper if you like.
You can also add thin cucumber slices, ham or hard boiled eggs. I like to add some rocket as well, that is not the Swabian version but I have lots in my garden and the taste is great as well.

German Beer

2009-06-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

Germany is famous for its beer and there are many kinds of it. It is not just the "Maß" you would get at the Oktoberfest or Cannstatter Wasen. We have Weizen or Weißbier (as they call it in Bavaria), a beer made from barley which is mostly drunken in summer. Strangers have to get used to it and the taste. There is the more bitter Pils and the sweeter Export, the Düsseldorf region prefer to drink their Alt whereas the people from Cologne like to have a glass of Kölsch. Many people like to mix their beer, the most common mixture is Radler or Alster where you mix the beer with lemonade.
There are many "Brauereiwirtschaften" where you can drink the beer which is directly produced at the location.
Some of them are:
- Calwer Eck Bräu in Stuttgart
- Sophie's Brauhaus in Stuttgart
- Roßknecht in Ludwigsburg
- Rommelmühle in Bietigheim

Open air music

2009-05-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

We spent some time at the "Wunderland", an open air festival with several bands in Bietigheim. The weather was ok, it wasn't exactly warm but at least it didn't rain. This year is the 2nd time that the town organizes this festival with 6 stages and music which offers from Hip Hop and Flamenco, Blues and Swing and lots of other stuff. Just have a look at the website.
We have been particularly impressed by a band with the name "Hitboutique" which transform well-known hits from the 80s in Jazz or Swing versions.
The event was completely free and really worth going to, if you missed, just remember next year - hopefully they will repeat it.
Nonetheless there will be an other interesting festival in this town from 16 to 18 July. The tickets cost 5 Euro per person for all three days. You will get a badge to use for these days.
Rock meets Blues - in "Best of Music" - don't miss it! The town will provide several stages and of course lots of food and drinks.

Lindenmuseum

2009-05-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today I will tell you about a very interesting museum in Stuttgart. The Lindenmuseum is a museum of ethnology and offers very interesting exhibitions. The museum has a very long tradition. They present special exhibitions and permanent exhibitions for the regions of Oceania, North America, South America, Africa, Orient, Far Eastern Art and South Asia. Right now there is an interesting special exhibition about the Shamans of Siberia which will still last until the 29th of June - so, why not try to pay a visit one of these days. Due to rearrangement the permanent exhibitions are partly closed right now until the 29th of July, so inform yourself on the website which parts will be open still. Anyway, the exhibition is enourmous and very diversified. You will find glass cabinets with special exhibition pieces, films which are displayed on the various TV-screens an imitated street which passes the rooms of different craftsmen and much more.

Mercedes Benz Museum

2009-05-12T09:26:00.001-07:00

Obligatory for every car fan - the Mercedes Benz Museum.
The building has a very special design and takes up the form of a snail house. There are 7 storeys leading from the beginning in 1886 to the most futuristic car models. The entrance fee right now is 8 Euro per person, children under 15 don't have to pay anything. There are audio guides in several languages. The German audio guide also has a children's section where things are explained a little simpler - I preferred it to be honest. But of course if you are a car fanatic you will stick to the normal version! After handing out the audio guide you will be led to a futuristic elevator which brings you up to the top floor where the tour begins.
f you wish you can also experience the feeling of a Formula 1 pilot in one of the two simulators (usually there are queues so it takes some time until it is your turn).
Here are some impressions of our last visit:

I

Biergarten

2009-04-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

Translated this would mean: Garden of beer. We don't grow it but we drink it. Some are the characteristics to define a real "Biergarten". Usually you sit on wooden benches or chairs under trees - preferably chestnut trees. The floor is covered with pebbles. You may drink beer (Export, Pils or Weizen), Radler (half beer, half lemonade) or a variety of other mostly non alcoholic drinks like for example "Apfelschorle" - a very popular drink in Germany which is a mixture of 50 % apple juice and 50 % mineral water, Spezi - mixture of Cola and Fanta. You may have the possibility to get something to eat as well. In most of the locations you pick up your drink and food at the counter and then choose your table. Sometimes they are served as well or even have a served and a non-served section.
One of the largest Biergarten is found in the Stadtgarten.
These are some of my favorite places in and around Stuttgart:
Teehaus - great view over Stuttgart, especially nice to sit there when it is very hot downtown because it is on the hill and there might be a little breeze
The Biergarten in Bad Cannstatt not far from the "Mineralbad"
In Feuerbach Im schönsten Wiesengrund
In Bietigheim Rommelmühle and Paulaner Biergarten
In Ludwigsburg Uferstüble
In Markgröningen Flohberghaus - it is right in the forest, unfortunately I couldn't find a website, they will be having Live Music with a Country Band on the 3rd of July 2009

If you have any special tips I am looking forward to them!

Health assurance in Germany

2009-03-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

German health assurance has been better in former times but it still isn't so bad compared to many other countries. When you are employed permanently you are automatically assured by one of the national assurances. There is a large variety from which you can choose. Since this January the contribution you have to pay is the same for all health assurances, it varies only due to the amount you earn because a certain percentage is deducted from your salary like the contributions for unemployment assurance and taxes.

However, the benefits vary from assurance to assurance. Some offer refunds if you participate in check ups or join health courses, others return money if you haven't gone to the doctor for some time. It really depends on your interests. I am with an assurance which offers a very good service offering you to participate in up to 4 sports or health courses and they also offer a very large variety to choose from. If you have found a course yourself and it is rated qualified they will pay also this one. The courses usually offered are: yoga, pilates, back exercises, muscle relaxation, nutrition seminars and many others.

People with their own business must assure themselves through a private health assurance. There is also a large variety of those. The rates depend on your age, sex and health record.

When you visit the doctor for the first time be sure to bring along 10 Euro. This is the "Praxisgebühr" = charge for medical registration which is due every 3 months. The doctor will write you a "Überweisung"=referral for other doctors. If you don't have this sheet you will have to pay once again if you visit another doctor. My habit is to ask for all the referrals of likely doctors where I might have to go every time I pay the 10 Euro - so I don't have to go back again to ask it explicitly when I need it.

If you private for medical treatment and pay yourself you can negotiate the prices usually. So if you plan to have a treatment in Germany, you can combine it with some sight seeing or shopping. Just contact me for more information if you are interested. I know a really great dentist with a dental technician. They can fix your treatment in a relatively short time since they don't order cheap stuff from China but make everything here. If something doesn't fit, he can fix it without problems.

Waste Separation in Germany

2009-03-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

One thing other Europeans grant us in Germany - among other things like building good cars and being quite punctual on meetings- is that we are really good at separating garbage. The point is that - if you take off glass, paper, compost, plastic and clothes - there isn't very much left to put in the trash bin. The incentive is that you only have to pay for what is left now. We are so good at separating that garbage is so damp now that they have to add paper again for burning the stuff!

Every district has its own system. There are yellow bags in Stuttgart for plastic, in my home town we have green, black and brown bins. The brown ones are the most disgusting ones, they are meant for organic waste. Try to do this during summer when they collect it only once a month and you will know what dying by odor means. If you are audacious enough to put even meat inside you will also have the visit of fluffy friends like rats or worms. In this case I advise you to put on sun glasses when you throw away the garbage or just use the organic ton only for garden waste like I do sometimes - avoid freshly mown grass which can be just as bad! If you have a large garden you can bring all your garden stuff to the "Häckselplatz" - where they shred all the branches and you can bring back home some "Rindenmulch" which is bark mulch.

Insider Tip - Some German necessary

2009-03-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Although the blog is in English, I hope you plan to learn some German while you are here- I recommend it for any stay in a foreign country. Even if you are just go on a vacation, the more you understand the language, the more you will enjoy your sojourn and be able to participate in every day life. If you speak a little bit of our language I have a great leisure and culture tip for you. We have been to a fantastic theater show yesterday. The form of theater is called "theater sport" or "improvisation theater". This means that the spectators participate in the show by suggesting cues for the different scenes. The actors take up the cues and create an individual intelligent and funny show. You will never know before what happens because it always depends on the prompts of the people. We spent a great evening with great company in a nice cellar in downtown Bietigheim - near Stuttgart. Looking forward to repeating it!

Cannstatt Spring Festival

2009-03-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Still some time but not so long to go. On the 11th of April starts the Canstatt Spring Festival (Cannstatter Frühlingsfest). You will find all the things you can find at the "Oktoberfest" in Munich which will be known to most people. There are large tents catering traditional German food and - of course beer - as well as non alcoholic drinks and a large variety of other stuff. They will offer folkloric German music as well as modern Rock or Techno - just choose the tent which you fancy the most. Before that - why not take a trip on the roller coaster and have some cotton candy or toasted almonds.

Wild Garlic

2009-03-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

Wild Garlic (German: Bärlauch; Latin: Allium Ursinum) makes part of the garlic family and is one of the wild herbs you will find in many places in our region in spring.

You can mix the leaves with cottage - or curd cheese and butter or add it to your salad or soup. It protects against high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis and other illnesses.

This herb usually can be found near broad-leaved trees, you can smell them by the distinct odor of garlic. Pay attention, it is very important when it hasn't flowered yet because the leaves are also quite similar to those of the lilies of the valley which are poisonous!

Dried they loose their qualities, however you can freeze them. It is not like the fresh stuff but not too bad for the winter season. Don't cook it with the dish like rosemary or thyme, just add it before you serve it.

You can also find it on the markets during the season if you don't want to search it yourself, however I have seen it even in the "Stadtgarten" in the center of Stuttgart.

Spätzle

2009-03-18T02:13:00.000-07:00

Introduction

Spätzle are a Swabian noodle speciality - Usually it is used as a side dish like potatoes or rice,

but there are also other dishes like "Käsespätzle" - where it is made with cheese and onions and usually served with a green salad.

Of course, nowadays it is easy to just buy the ready made Spätzle in the supermarket and toss them in a pot of boiling water

If you want to get the real thrill of producing Spätzle yourself, you have to take some time and it is worth it!

The traditional way is to make them using a cutting board and a special scraper:

It takes a little time to learn it, just practise a little bit before inviting guests - so you can impress your guests with your new ability. Click on this link - it is in Swabian but quite slow- so you will understand without speaking the language or dialect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5DqFq1GQFI&feature=related

Recipe:

This is the standard recipe - however every Swabian has his or her own recipe. Just try this first, then try to alter it if you wish. You can work with different kinds of flour, you can add spinach for green spätzle, walnuts or herbs like wild garlic (I will write about this, too - it doesn't take long until it grows again).

500 g flour
5 eggs
1 tea spoon of salt
water

This recipe is calculated for 4 persons (abundant)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and whip them. Most traditionalists do it manually. You can also use a hand mixer is you wish. When the dough has a rubbery texture without tearing it is right. Otherwise add water or flour.

Fill a large pot with water and let it boil. Add salt. Prepare bowl and strainer. When the water boils put the board and scrape for a moment in the pot, then start the procedure. Put 1 or 2 spoons of dough on the board and smooth it out.
When the Spätzle appear on the surface, they are ready. Take out the Spätzle with the strainer and put them in the bowl which is already filled with cold water. - That's it. When you have finished you can take the prepared Spätzle and heat them up in a pan with a lump of butter.

tips and tricks:

The dough won't stick to the board if you put the board and the scraper in the boiling water before adding the paste.
If you want to create an especially opulent dish, you can replace the water by more eggs
You can replace part of the dough by semolina. This will give the Spätzle a more soure
If you use mineral water instead of normal water, the dough will have a more fluffy consistency
You can prepare a larger quantity and freeze them without problems.

You can say you to me

2009-03-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

One problem for people who learn the German language, coming from an English speaking background, is the usage of the "Du" and the more formal "Sie" when speaking to a person.

Germany is not the only country in Europe where you have this difference, but every country has other rules which aren't always easy to learn and are changing constantly.

I have lived and worked in Italy where the "Tu" is used much more easily than the formal "Lei" and the general trend is really that you use the informal form much more than in Germany.

General rule of thumb - if the person is older than you are, use "Sie". If you meet people for the first time and it is not a leisure situation like sports or friends who are presenting you to other friends, use Sie. If the person addresses you with "Sie", do the same. If you are not sure, use "Sie", even if it is somehow wrong in the situation, it is better because people will tell you to use "Du" and the first name. On the other hand nobody will tell you, not to use "Du" if it isn't appreciated because they don't want to offend you and refrain from telling you because you are a stranger and probably don't know the difference. Best practice is also to avoid any decision and to wait how the other person starts the conversation with you. It takes some time to get used to the practice and and develop a feeling for the situation.
If people start formal, they may switch to informal afterwards. If there is a large age difference, it is always the older person who makes the suggestion. Sometimes this can also happen after years and it feels awkward to change after such a long time.

Fasching- Carnival in Germany

2009-02-13T06:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes called also the fifth season - The Fasching, also known as Karneval and Fastnacht is the festival season where everyone dresses up - not everyone, it really depends on the region. Generally it is like this: you love it or you hate it. Nearly every town in Germany has a - you guessed it - Verein - where they plan all year for the carnival days. The season starts on the 11. of November at 11.11 am and runs until "Aschermittwoch" - a wednesday in February where it ends. The last day where you party would be the tuesday before that - "Faschingsdienstag". The most appreciated day is "Rosenmontag" - monday where all the large parades are going on in the city centers and everybody parties.

The most known carnival towns are in the middle of Germany, namely Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz.
In Cologne they would say "Kölle Alaf", in Mainz "Helau" and in Freiburg "Narri Narro".
You are expected to dress up but not everybody does so. Tuesday is usually the day where all the children have their party, the "Kinderfasching". Loads of cowboys and indians.

Gemütlichkeit

2009-02-09T05:45:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't know this typically German word which doesn't have a real equivalent in English. Maybe you could call it cosy but it doesn't really explain the word. When a restaurant is "gemütlich", it means that there is a nice temperature - not too hot or cold-, you are comfortably seated, there is a nice atmosphere and you feel at home.
Specific to German restaurants - I know it also from Austria and Switzerland - is the fact that you may come to eat there and then stay there all evening until you decide to go home. It isn't expected of you that you change for a bar or other location after you have finished your meal.

We even have a song which describes it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR8VmCDdt5o
In this case it is a song which is frequently sung at beer festivals.
If you like other German drinking songs, try out this one:
http://www.rhapsody.com/playlistcentral/playlistdetail?playlistId=ply.12753633

Verein

2009-02-09T04:45:00.000-08:00

A Verein is an association where Germans meet for the pursuit of a common interest. Even the smallest village can offer at least 10 different "V". The purpose ranges from social (neigborhood V.), moral (virtue V.), religious (CVJM - like YMCA), economic (stock V.), ecologic (protection of nature V.), leisure (sports, theater, model making, breeding of long-aired rabitts) to other aims like any imaginable topic on earth. Just tell something which could be interesting for a couple of people and they will found a "Verein". This is a highly official activity which requires a lot of paper work. Then there is an election for the executive committee, the treasurer, the responsible for the kids, the responsible for the adults, choose any function you like. The crucial thing is to think up as many functions as possible in order for every person to have a certain responsibility and to feel really important. The members of the association have to pay a minor fee every year which is usually under 100 Euro, sometimes it can be much higher for a hobby like horse riding or golf. Since there are many other duties which have to be carried out, every member has to work a certain amount of hours for the association. These working hours could result in lawn mowing, cooking for all the members or other necessary actions. Since every Verein needs some extra money, there is the possibility to organize a festivity once a year and to keep all the profit for the association. This usually looks like this: a picture from this website: www.dcc-lv-wuerttemberg.de

a picture from another website: www.musikverein-adelhausen.de
The members build up a large tent and sell their specialties, mainly sausage, grilled chicken, sandwiches, different kind of soft drinks and - of course - beer. For other explications just have a look at the English Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_association
If you want to dig deeper, have a look at this:
http://www.kordt-law.com/download/SR_10.pdf

Kehrwoche - Sweep Week

2009-02-06T02:46:00.000-08:00

"Kehrwoche"

Sweep Week

- Roughly translated: "Communal areas cleaning week - Up to you this week"

Cleaning of stairs, entrance and basement and the areas in the house that can be used by all of the tenants.Keeping access and the sidewalk in front of the property clean. In winter it also means that you have to keep the entrance to the house and the sidewalk in walkable conditions (e.g. remove ice or grit the sidewalk, remove fallen snow etc.). Sometimes you are also responsible to put the waste containers out on the street when they are collected by the garbage removal. Some people are really strange and I happened to live once in a house with three apartments - all owned by different landlords - with one shared garbage can. One of the residents passed one day with a key in his hand and wanted to hand me out a key for the chain of the trash can. His original words for those who understand German - and Swabian" I han do a Kette an dr Mülleimer nogmacht. Do kommt do jetzt glei a ganz anderes Gschmäckle nei" - roughly translated: "I put a chain on the garbage can. So there will be a totally different flavor (or odor) to this house". As I said I didn't see any sense to putting a chain to a garbage can - let them steal it! - and refused to participate in this farce, I was called "kleinkariert" which means narrow-minded.

The landlord has the responsibility for these duties but he may delegate it to the tenants and establish a schedule (whose duty it is to sweep, shovel or clean). Instead of this often a commercial service is contracted and you don't need to worry. For the winter duties also a professional service could be contracted. The more comfortable the apartment or the bigger the apartment complex the more likely is such a professional cleaning service.

If you see a "Kehrwochen-Kalender" at the bulletin board or if you see a sign "Kehrwoche" in your stair-case and you have the impression, that this sign keeps moving from apartment to apartment, then you can be quite sure, that there is no cleaning service contracted and the work is done by the tenants on a regular base and schedule. For details ask your neighbors or the landlord. In winter this includes the duty to keep the sidewalks passable.

In the winter you need to keep access to the house and sidewalk in passable conditions. From mornings (about 7 a.m.) till evenings (about 10 p.m.). Passable conditions mean, that someone can walk there, considering the special weather conditions. It does not mean that you have to stay at home when it is snowing in order to keep the sidewalk always free of snow. When it is snowing you don't have to do anything during this period, just clean the sidewalk again when the snowing has ceased. If there is ice on the sidewalk, put grit on it. It is enough, if the ice is not so slippery any more. In most cities the use of salt is illegal. There is a a variety of grit available in many stores, there are also large orange or yellow boxes on the road side where you may take the grit. You may leave the grit on the sidewalk afterwards.
Best, if you check, what are all the other neighbors doing. If they all remove the snow, do so too. If they all let it sit, you may do so too, (grit it to be on the safe side!). Please note that you might be responsible if someone gets hurt because you didn't prevent danger.

Some tips to be accepted at once and praised for your outstanding cleaning commitment:

begin very early on Saturday morning so everybody can see and hear you
step up and down a couple of times, move the water bucket around and let the broom slide down the stairs at least one
us a lot of water so everybody can see that you have cleaned
clean the bell panels as well and try to touch all of the bells. If somebody answers tell them that it was just you cleaning the panel.
Any other tips from your side are appreciated, tell me about your experiences

Brezel

2009-02-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

Traditionally this pastry consists of wheat flour, malt, salt, yeast and water.

Before putting it in the oven the Brezel is dipped for a few seconds in caustic soda (3 to max. 5 % in water). This provokes the typical brown color and special taste. Through the heat the caustic soda reacts with the surface of the pastry with carbon dioxide from the air and turns to sodium carbonate and water.

The formula for those interested in chemistry:

Bakers use a special procedure for forming the loops.: The dough string is rolled by both hands and extended for thinning it out at the ends. Then the string is kept by the hands on both hands and by a short, jerky motion the thicker middle part is given a 180 grade spin and at the same time put down on the work space. After that the two ends just have to be attached to the sides.
This procedure takes about 1 second but it takes lots of time to practise. They say it takes year to be able to loop the perfect Brezel.: Large bakeries have special machines for forming the Brezels.

In Stuttgart's pedestrian zone, the "Koenigstrasse" we have several Brezel stands which are called "Brezelkoerble" - in English this means "small Brezel basket".

Just found this post by a blogger written in catalan, have a look:

http://evoluciofinestreta.blogspot.com/2008/04/brezelkrble.html

Welcome

2009-02-05T05:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome everybody.
Since I am an absolute beginner at blogging, I hope you will excuse me for my initial mistakes. If there are any, please inform me. I appreciate your feedback and advice.
I write this blog in English - the universal language of most internet users.
If you have any comments, feel free to write me also in other languages. I speak a couple of languages and if I don't speak yours, I will just feed the internet translator and hope to understand what it spills out!

Please write me about your experiences here in Germany and feel free to ask me questions or make suggestions for future subjects.