Sommer Reise Nach Deutschland

As a high school graduation present, my family agreed that they would pay for a trip for me and a few friends to Europe. Both of my good friends that are tagging along are of German heritage, and I am obviously taking German as a foreign language in college. So, what better idea than to hop around Germany for a few weeks? I have spent a lot of my time recently researching must see sights in each of the cities we plan on traveling to. In Berlin, we figured we would need to see the Berlin Philharmonic, although tickets are very expensive and very hard to get. A few museums we would need to see would be the Neues Museum, Deutches Historiches Museum, and the Pergamon Museum. The Berlin Wall is another must see! Next up, Stuttgart, has a ton of museums in honor of the great automakers of Germany, including Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. Several Schlossen lie just outside the city, so we plan on making it a point to see these as well. Last, but not least, we would need to see the Schlossplatz, or the main plaza of Stuttgart. Our last stop is Munich, and there is plenty to see here, especially historically speaking. There are a ton of old churches that we plan on seeing, including St. Peter's Church. If we can get tickets, we are very interested in going to the Opera Haus, although none of us are huge opera fans. Much more planning needs to go into this trip, but for the most part I think we have plenty to do. We plan on never sitting down!

Kultur 6

I have never actually heard of Bild Zeitung, but the article addressing it was very interesting. To know that Germans, a stereotypically stern and serious society enjoys tabloids as much as, say Americans or Brits, is interesting. Even more interesting is the fact that they get the majority of their news from these tabloids, something not particularity smart. As I stated above, many Americans enjoy tabloids or political satires of that sort. The difference, however, is that I do not believe Americans or other nationalities get the bulk of their news from outlets like the Colbert Report or the National Inquirer. On a side note, Bild Zeitung probably doesn't hack into phone lines.

AMD 6 Lola Rennt und Die Simpson's

For this AMD, I did the suggested topic in which we compare an episode of the Simpson's to Lola Rennt. There were definitely a few similarities, but I must be missing out on some because I feel like I did not notice as many as I should have. The most similar was Lisa's day. When she leaves the house and begins running, I am pretty sure that the music is the exact same in both films. Does Lisa look a lot like Lola too? I think yes. Her hair is identical (minus the whole red part). I didn't really catch what she was on a mission for (class maybe), but she cannot be late just as Lola cannot be late to Manni. She even almost gets hit by a car, just as Lola does several times.

Kultur 5

At this point we have read quite a few articles describing the "rudeness" that Germans exude. A couple of blog posts back, the most shocking article was about "the stare." Now, we learn that many Germans do not even say excuse me when they bump into another person. Granted, the article explains how the streets of Germany are a bit more bustling than that of other places, but I do not understand why there is such a lack of what we Americans call common decency.
On a separate note, the most intriguing article this time around was the one about the Klofrau. In America, we are very used to the idea of public restrooms, and in fact, even the thought of paying to use the bathroom is laughed at. Never in my lifetime, while in America, have I had to pay to use the bathroom. Yes, there are bathroom boys, who, at times, give you a nice hand towel and expect a tip, but thats it. I was in Italy this summer and I actually was denied use of what I assumed to be a public restroom. I had to pay 2 euro and I had no money on me, having just spent it all on souvenirs. That sucked. I, for one, am glad that private restrooms are going extinct, or so the article says. I don't want to pay for something that I have to do!!

AMD 4 Low German

I sat for a while just typing in different key words having to do with Germany and the German language when I funally stumbled upon an article discussing what they called "Low German." Obviously intrigued, I read through what turned out to be a very interesting article. It went into great detail discussing how the speakers of this dialect of German were slaughtered after the post WWII boundary changes in Europe. It also mentioned that Low German has had a very significant impact on the Scandinavian languages, especially Finnish. For the most part, it sounds the same as what we know as German, save for a few consonant pronunciations, which would just be mistaken for an accent. The big difference is spelling and the names given to nouns. Also, genders given to nouns are seemingly non-existent or very far from the genders given by the German language. For example, der becomes de, ein becomes een, and das becomes dat. With education becoming popular in the 18th and 19th century, Low German went into a free fall, with a more common, official German taking its place. It is still spoken in Northern Germany and parts of Poland and Denmark and is officially recognized as a regional language, despite fights for it to recognized as an official language of the EU.

Kultur 4

It is very interesting to note the difference between Germany and America regarding transportation laws, stereotypes, and assumptions. Perhaps the most interesting article, and most relevant to us at the University of Michigan is the article about crossing the street. We at Michigan, at least myself, tend to get in the habit of just crossing the street instead of looking both ways, crossing at crosswalks, and paying attention to the walk/do not walk signs. We are used to cars yielding to us, not having to yield to cars. Granted drivers around campus may be similar to those in Germany when it comes to accelerating towards crosswalks and honking at the pedestrians.
Perhaps the least relevant, at least to me, albeit the most interesting, is the article about train tickets and the honor system that goes along with it. I know for a fact that I have gotten on to the Metra train in Chicago and not been asked for a ticket, perhaps a fluke, but I do not understand how the German government can be so trustworthy and still be able to run a viable transportation system that can support itself. Evidently it works though!

AMD 4 Reinheitsgebot & Beer in Germany

For many years, in fact, since 1516, the brewing of beer followed strict guidelines according to the Reinheitsgebot. Reinheitsgebot literally means "purity order" and involves laws regarding the actual process of brewing and the ingredients involved. For the majority of years that Reinheitsgebot was in existence, the only ingredients that could be involved in the brewing process were water, hops, and barley. Since 1993, luckily, beer production has followed the guidelines of the Provisional Beer Law, which is not nearly as strict as its predecessor.
Although I stated that the brewing of beer has followed strict guidelines since 1516, no one is actually sure when the Reinheitsgebot was actually implemented. Some Bavarians even contest that we can look all the way back to 1434 to see a "common list of ingredients" that include water, wheat, and barley. This document was discovered in 1999 in the town of Runnenburg. Before the Reinheitsgebot was repealed, it was the oldest food regulation law in the world.
It is interesting to note the strict laws that governed beer, a staple of the stereotypical German diet, when you would think the opposite would be true.

AMD 3 Nena

I am sure you have all heard the song "99 Red Balloons". Well, how many of you knew that the English "99 Red Balloons" came from the German song "99luft Balons?" It was the German hit of 1983, sung by the 23 year old Nena, her first call to fame. She has gone on to sing other hits with David Bowie and Rammstein to name a few.
Regardless, Nena sings both versions of the song, German and English. If you listen/translate the German and English songs one after another you will notice that, although they are technically the same song, lyrically, they are completely different. The German song sings about war and death and loss, while the English version is more jovial talking about toy shops and the likes. Its interesting to see how adaptable Nena's musical abilities are based on her audience, seeing as Americans would approve of the more jovial version. Why is the German song more violent? I am not quite sure, but noticing the difference is interesting enough.

Kapital 3

As some of the posts below stated, it was very interesting to read about drinking and the opinions that the Germans have of it. To begin with, An Obsession Explained: Beer, Brewskies and Liquid Bread, because it listed out a ton of different beers brewed in Germany and explained the opinions held by all. It mentioned a staggering statistic regarding alcohol consumption; Germans consume an average of 115 liters a head of beer a year. I also didnt know Germany produced 3/4 of the Europe's beer. Insanity. I love how the article explained their affinity to beer because they needed their thirst quenched. Interesting point.
On a separate note, the public drinking argument is an interesting one. I think half of the issue here is that we treat alcohol as a treat or reward and are more likely to binge, whereas Europeans view it as more of an aspect of their culture.

Kultur 2

I found these articles to be much more interesting than Kultur 1 simply because of the topics. These provided information that would actually be useful if you were to travel to Desutschland. The two most articles that I found the most interesting were "The Germanic Stare Down" and "by the Numbers: Obsession with Statistics." I feel as Americans we are the exact opposite in these regards. We are actually taught NOT to stare at very young age. It is associated with rudeness and intimidation, something the Germans are actually stereotypically known for (the staring probably doesn't help). My favorite quote being: “Late night last night, eh? You got home at 3:08 a.m.” Statistics do not seem to be as important here as were often hear said, "you're more than just a number." Whether this can be traced back to our manners I am not exactly sure, but what I can be sure is that Americans do not usually ask about the statistics of a specific place. A more common question might be, "what do you like to do on the weekend?"

Frankfurt Flughafen AMD 1

Seeing as this pertains to a German experience, and one that has actually helped my understanding of it I think it is acceptable to use. This summer I took a vacation to Italien with my family. On the way back, we were delayed for 40 hours in the Frankfurt Flughafen. Not one of my favorite memories. I knew at this point that I would be taking Deutsch 101, so I took advantage of the situation and matched up the German words with the English words that were posted on the signs. Words like Pass (passport), Polizei (police), and of course Bratwurst (giant sausage). I even bought a German picture dictionary, which is surprisingly useful. I picked up a few words from hearing people speak as well. With all of the Deutsch grammar around, I was exposed to different forms of verb conjugation as well as adjoining verbs.