Come warmer weather, fields of flowers and endless sunshine, the cows of the Alpine region frolic around the lush Alpine pastures, grazing to their heart’s content. The cows meander comfortably in the high altitudes with plenty of fresh air, nutritious grass and crisp evenings. Cows are not the only ones to be spoiled by the endless beauty of the Alps but also calves and goats! All over the region, thousands of cows from Germany, Austria and Switzerland spend their summers at the Alm.
Every year, the small town on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic, Furth im Wald, holds their yearly centuries old Festspiele, or play in the city center. The play, Drachenstich or “Spearing the Dragon” takes place for two weeks at the end of July to mid-August, where the whole town partakes in the play! The town turns the small city center into an outdoor theater for about two weeks.
Castles & Palaces…. what dreams are made of! As a little girl, I always dreamed of living the fairy tale life as a princess in a beautiful castle perched upon a hill, with my long locks of brown wavy hair flowing over the castle window waiting for my prince charming to come and sweep me off my feet. Oh wait…that’s Rapunzel. While we may not have many “castles” in the United States, Europe has more than enough to make up for it. But how can we tell the difference between a ‘burg’ and a ‘schloss’?
1. Luck in Love For those of you who are hard core board/card gamers, maybe it’s best if you loose every not and there. As the Germans say, “Glück im Spiel, pech in der Liebe” which translates to “Luck in the game, unlucky in love.” I’d rather get lucky oh sorry, I meant be lucky […]
One of the many things that people automatically associate with Germany is the traditional Bavarian costume. However, this is a big misconception about the German people. What most people don’t realize is that the Lederhosen and Dirndl are a Bavarian tradition and therefore not worn throughout all of Germany. Nor are they worn all the time. For the most part, Bavarians wear their Lederhosen and Dirndl on special occasions, however it is quite possible to see some hard core Bavarians wearing them for no special reason other than the fact that they are proud of their heritage. But don’t be surprised when you are walking around Bavaria and not everyone is wearing them.
Let’s just face it: Germany is an AMAZING country! I dare not say the best because each and every country we have ever visited is amazing in it’s own right, different and more unique than the last, but I can honestly say, after having lived in Germany twice now, it makes it hard to leave and even harder to stay away. Germany is loaded with amazing history, fantastic architecture, delicious food and so much more! Something must be said about the strict, rule book way of life Germans live by and without it, nichts wäre in Ordnung!
STARKbierzeit (or Strong Beer Time) is this special period in Bavaria between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday. This is a time when Monks in Bavaria were supposed to fast and is considered to be Bavaria’s 5th season. However, monks were tricky little men who found a loophole around this special time period of no eating by […]
Carnival or Fasching (or what we call Mardi Gras in New Orleans) begins on November 11th at 11:11am and finishes at midnight on Shrove Tuesday (or Faschingsdienstag) before Ash Wednesday which is celebrated with parties and parades. This is known as the “fifth season in Germany” (only for Bavaria Starkbierzeit coincides with this). Fasching in Germany is what Halloween is for Americans.
There is just so much to learn about Germany, it’s impossible to learn it all! So instead, here are some historical interesting facts about Germany you might not have known! Whether you’re looking for historical facts about Germany or simply fun facts about Germany, I’ve collected and put together a list of random facts about […]
At the moment, I am suffering from an illness only found in Germany. Don’t worry, it’s not contagious and it’s not serious which nonetheless inspired this post. Since living in Germany, I’ve heard several interesting sicknesses that my coworkers or German family has suffered from that I had NEVER heard of before that can only […]
