People often talk about having a “sweet tooth“, but what do you have if you prefer savoury food?
I don’t think it would be wrong to say that, as a nation, the English have got a “sweet tooth”. Brits are famous for their sweet cakes; such as, scones, Victoria sponge cake and apple pie – but the days of eating them everyday, for most people, have gone. Thank goodness!
Continue reading “A Sweet Tooth”I haven’t written for a while but my energy level is up again after a wonderful visit to my home city of York.
We left Düsseldorf with its breezy -5 degrees and arrived, after a short flight in a small propeller driven “Flybe” plane, at Leeds/Bradford airport to +12 degrees. Why did we pack all our winter woollies?
Read moreOne of my favourite songs is “No Roots” by Alice Merton. This fits with my recent post about our visit to a restaurant in York. Alice Merton sings about not having any roots (Wurzeln) and that she is always on the move. The question is: how important is it to establish roots? Are, as she implies, memories (Erinnerungen) enough?
Continue reading “No Roots”Before coming to Germany I had never heard of the expression “false friend” before. I soon learnt through my mistakes! There are some words in English which sound or look similar in German, but have a different meaning. This can cause confusion, if not, on occasions embarrassment.
You can find a list of the most common ones in every English school book or check out the link: www.englisch-hilfen.de.
I once embarrassed myself at a party when a German friend told a joke about a “Präservativ”. I thought he was talking about “jam” (Konservierungsmittel) only to be told he was actually talking about condoms!! No wonder I didn’t get the joke!
Here are some False Friends to be aware of:
backside: das Hinterteil die Rückseite: back
bodybag: der Leichensack die Bodybag : mono-strap backpack
chef: der Küchenchef der Chef: boss
gift: das Geschenk das Gift: poison
If a German were sitting in a restaurant and heard you say: “Did the boss give you a gift for your birthday?”, he or she may be a little worried!
Kettle: “a container or device in which water is boiled, having a lid, a spout and handle”.
I recently received a high tech kettle as a birthday present. It’s great. I can now boil the water at the correct temperature for all my teas. No longer do I have to take the lid off the kettle to wait until I think it’s cooled to 80 degrees. White, yellow, green, black.. all tasting perfect.
This blog is pure self-indulgence. Written as a record of my ramdom thoughts. I sometimes think my pattern of thinking is a little like a rubber ball (Flummi) bouncing around in my head. So many ideas pinging off in all directions. (That reminds me of the song:”Rubber Ball” by Bobby Vee from 1961. Check it out on You Tube!)
Continue reading “About me”I am sure you are aware that we English celebrate Christmas in a different way to people in Germany. The most obvious difference is that presents are not opened until Christmas Day, 25th December. This can prove a bit of a challenge when you have children and live as an expat in Germany.
Continue reading “Christmas Confusion”
Jürgen Klopp, the German football manager of Premier League club 
Liverpool , has given a lot of press interviews in English. His English is actually very good but at times he has caused a little confusion and hilarity amongst journalists. His use of German idioms or expressions, which he directly translates into English, do not always make sense to an Englishman.
I call this “Klopp-English” or kloppism. Maybe the most famous of these was: this is not a “wish concert.” (Das Leben ist kein Wunschkonzert).
Here is a list of possible kloppisms and the English expression. Do you recognise them?
“Don’t be the offended liver sausage!”- Don’t get in a huff!
“That is jacket like trousers.” – It’s the same difference.
“Keep the ears stiff” – Keep your chin up.
“Dead trousers” – Nothing happening/doing.
“A soft egg” – A wimp or wussy.
Mongolian Tea (Suutei tsai) is an important part of Mongolian culture and is apparently quite different to any other tea. Served in little bowls with most meals, it is made with green tea (often of poor quality), yak milk or butter and salt! This sounds a little strange but given the chance I would try it.
Continue reading “Mongolian Tea”Whilst it’s easy to translate Heimweh (homesickness) into English, I am really struggling to find an English word to describe Fernweh. Perhaps you can help.
Homesickness: “a feeling of longing for your home during a period of absence from it.“
Example: ” I have lived in Germany for 22 years and have never felt homesick”
Fernweh?
Maybe we can use these words but I am not convinced.
Wanderlust: “a strong desire to travel.”
Itchy feet: “a sense of boredom or restlessness causing a desire to travel or move on.”
When compared with homesickness these definitions do not seem strong enough. There is no suggestion of pain or heartache.
What do you think?
