Germany
All posts from Germany
Bavaria at a glance
Posted 6 May 2008:One of the explanations for Tyrolians to feel like they are different from average Austrians is that the most convenient connections from Tyrol to lower Austria either run trough the north of Italy, or through the South of Germany. On my way from Innsbruck to Salzburg, I am making a small detour to include Munich in the list of cities visited only to jump back into Austria tomorrow.... Read more
It all happened here (1)
Posted 30 Jun 2008:Getting to Berlin after spending two weeks in Poland is quite an event. More so than most Polish cities, Berlin is huge, international and diverse. All of that becomes instantly clear to me when my train arrives at Berlin`s new Central Station: a huge railway in the centre of the city that serves as an immense crossroad. On the exact border of former East and West, I am left wondering how much both sides are still different. Before diving into that, here`s a first impression of what people remember from the years surrounding die Wende, the changes caused by the reunification of Germany.... Read more
It all happens here (2)
Posted 1 Jul 2008:After yesterday`s introduction of Berlin`s recent history, it`s now time to look at how much East and West Berlin are still different today. `Not at all`, some say. `Still quite different`, says the majority. East Berlin seems to be suitable for everything related to students, modern art and parties. West Berlin is business-related and cares for the `established arts` rather than the anarchist type. What else is typical for either of the two halves?... Read more
Nine neighbours
Posted 2 Jul 2008:No country within the EU shares as many borders with other countries as Germany does. The list of neighbouring countries has no fewer than nine members: Denmark in the North, Poland and Czech Republic in the East, Austria and Switzerland in the South and France, Luxembourg, Belgium and The Netherlands on the Western side. In each of these nine countries, inhabitants have distinct ideas about the Germans. But what do the Germans themselves think about their `Nachbarn`?... Read more
Growing up in the DDR
Posted 3 Jul 2008:Children who grew up in Germany before 1989 had very different childhood bases on whether they were born in West Germany or in East Germany. The general perception of West-Germans is that children in East Germany must have suffered a lot under the poverty. DDR kids had fewer toys and fewer opportunities to go on holiday, but whether they were really unhappier because of that remains hard to say. Eik (29) enjoyed his childhood years and would not have wanted them to be different from what they were. Here`s his story:... Read more
Dresden news review
Posted 4 Jul 2008:After discussing some national newspapers in previous countries along my way, I thought of today as a suitable occasion to pick a regional newspaper instead. Germany has many of those. My stay in Dresden made me opt for the local S?chsische Zeitung, which has quite some controversial topics on offer today, most of which seem to focus on procedures, procedures and even more procedures.... Read more
Contemplating the past
Posted 5 Jul 2008:Each country has a different way of dealing with its history. The Portuguese are nostalgic about it, the Hungarians proud, while the Poles are trying to eradicate the negative consequences that their history still casts on them. Almost every country glorifies its past by honouring those who helped create, protect or even enlarge the nation. The situation in Germany is a bit more complicated than that. How does the current generation of young people deal with the legacy of Germany`s troubled past?... Read more
Continuous improvement
Posted 6 Jul 2008:Being too happy with yourself is not a virtue in Germany. It is however equally unacceptable to engage in something without being good at it. The best compromise is to be very good at something without bragging about it. Altogether, it takes some effort to get a Germans to tell what they are good at.... Read more
Fighting uncertainty
Posted 22 Jul 2008:I`m back in country number #26: Germany. After the first introduction from Munich (early May) and the couple of articles I wrote earlier this month, I trust I can start writing without starting off with another introduction of the country. I will simply continue from where I was. One thing I found out during earlier interviews in Germany is that Germans seem to feel uncomfortable with unexpected events, or at worst: scared of change. That observation made me come up with today`s question: what are you scared of and what would you do if you weren`t?... Read more
Finding company
Posted 23 Jul 2008:During the days I spent in Germany so far, it did not take me much effort to find out that Germans can be quite demanding, both to themselves and to others. Wondering how much that affects their personal relations, I am asking young Hamburgers today: what should your perfect partner be like? ... Read more
Cheap travelling
Posted 24 Jul 2008:The size and age of an average car is one of the biggest differences between Denmark and Germany. Cars in Denmark are very expensive: the newer, the more expensive and the heavier, the more expensive. As a result, many Danes drive around in small, rusty and functional cars. The average German car is fast, smooth, oil-consuming, spotless, scratchless and heavy ? with the exception of exceptions. Fortunately for the environment, many young Germans practice car pooling. And it wouldn`t be Germany if that happened in an unstructured way.... Read more
Doing nothing
Posted 25 Jul 2008:Separating work and private life seems to be a recurrent subject in my conversations with young Germans. It seems like many of them suffer under the imposed expectations of always having a higher income in the year to come, regardless of how much of their own personality they need to give up to stay tuned with their ambitions. Hence today`s question for some young people from G?ttingen: What`s your preferred way relax?... Read more
It`s the economy, ..
Posted 26 Jul 2008:After visiting the keep-the-French-happy- capital of the EU (Strassbourg), the two political capitals Brussels and Luxembourg and the most European capital of all, Berlin, I am now reporting for duty from the EU`s financial capital Frankfurt am Main. Or Mainhattan if you wish.. I am surrounded by tall yet unexciting buildings of the European Central Bank as well as headquarters of all German banks. Today`s question also deals with money: how much are the Germans suffering from the financial downturn that is reigning the western world these days?...... Read more
Travel advice.DE
Posted 27 Jul 2008:To whoever thought that all of Germany looks the same: it does not. Apart from the language and the car license plates, it may be hard to imagine that Munich, Hamburg and Berlin are all in one country. Germany is the one and only country that separates Switzerland from the North Sea, and Czech Republic from The Netherlands. Seen like this, there would not even be a possibility that Germany is less diverse than it is. That`s how I got to today`s question for people in the streets in Frankfurt: which place in Germany do you like most, and which one do you like least?... Read more
Destination unknown
Posted 28 Jul 2008:Beside being the financial capital of the European Union, Frankfurt is also one of the main air traffic hubs of the continent. Frankfurt International Airport ranks third in number of passengers, with only London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle having a higher passenger turnover. Thanks to the holiday season, today is one of the busiest days of the year at the airport. Thanks to the Us Europeans project, I now finally have a reason to ask people something I always wonder about when I am visiting airports.. What are they there for and where are they heading?... Read more
Daniel, designer
Posted 29 Jul 2008:Quitting a prestigious job is not a typical German thing to do. Still, I found somebody today who has made `fun` the most important part is career. Daniel Siegl (27) has worked on graphic design projects of some of German best-known companies, but he has decided that it`s time to move on to work that really pleases him.... Read more
Basic German
Posted 30 Jul 2008:German is the most important language of Europe when measured by the number of people who speak it as their first language. The German speaking family has no less than 90 million native speakers, which dwarfs French (65 million speakers) and English (64 million speakers) as native languages within the EU. Still, German is not the most popular language of the continent. Few non-native German speakers learn it as a second language. Most Europeans see English as more practical, French and Italian as more romantic and Spanish as more fashionable. But what about German then?... Read more
Why travel?
Posted 31 Jul 2008:Cynics might argue that if you leave somewhere and take an entire year to get back to the very same place again, you might as well have stayed there for a whole year in the first place. The funny thing about travelling is that is doesn`t work that way. For today`s article ? the one but last of all (!) ? I am asking people in Cologne: what was your biggest ever travel so far and how did you experience it?... Read more
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