German culture

It can snowboard!

Somehow I doubt an ad like this would fly in the US, especially as a billboard in a location frequented by children.

Starkbierfest Munich: when regular beer isn’t strong enough

Finally we’ve made it to that time of year again – time for a beer festival in Munich. Starkbierfest is a lot like Oktoberfest, with a few key differences: Different beer (duh). Starkbier is very strong and so sweet it’s practically undrinkable. No smoking! Smokers have to go outside. Your throat will still hurt from … Read more

Obama loves German reality TV

While I’m glad that the Germans adore Obama as much as I do, I found this to be a little much (it’s the intro for DSDS, the German version of American Idol). To quote David Sedaris, get your own black president!

Slumming through the world of German reality TV

Germany loves reality television, especially when it has to do with houses or food. I can’t bring myself to watch most of it (except for when it has to do with singing – those shows are pure awesome), but recently Headbang got us interested in a show called Mein Restaurant. The premise is simple – five couples each get to open a restaurant in their hometown (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg, and Leipzig) based on a concept they have developed. Once the restaurants are up and running, they get eliminated one by one, until only the winner restaurant is left. Upon each elimination, the losing couple has 15 minutes to clear out and close down… forever (imagine that said by a spooky voiceover guy).

Read moreSlumming through the world of German reality TV

Here it comes!

Little wooden huts are being constructed all over the city. All over the country, really. The huts are being filled with Christmas kitsch of every kind. They will open for business at the end of the week. I can’t wait! The snow and cold weather this week have more than put me in the mood … Read more

Two days down, 14 more to go

Greetings from Oktoberfest 2008! We are still alive and well. The city is awash with drunken tourists and locals alike, most of them wearing some kind of tracht, or at least funny hats (note to self: take more photos of funny hats). Many precious memories are in the making here, I tell you, and we … Read more

Does Oktoberfest have its own language?

All over the place I’ve been hearing references to Bayerisch (the Bavarian language) in connection to Oktoberfest. The official website has an English-Bayerisch dictionary. A friend gave me an Oktoberfest song book* which also includes a Bayerisch phrase guide (and an interview with Roberto Blanco, of all people. WTF? All I know is that if … Read more

Cologne: a city full of beer pansies?

While I admit that nearly 8 months in Munich has possibly skewed my perception a bit on such things… doesn’t 2 dl (less than 7 oz) seem a little too small to be considered a ‘beer’? (Note the fork I placed in the photo to the left, so you can appreciate just how ridiculously diminutive … Read more

Adventures in cross-cultural gynecology

Two short stories for you from my recent trip to the gynecologist in Munich: Story #1: The waiting room was quite full, and the women were getting restless. Glimpsing the crowd, the doctor came out to loosen us up with a joke (here translated by me from the German): “What’s the difference between an Ossi* … Read more