Thanksgiving Special: The 10 German Words I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving my dearest followers!

Okay, I know Thanksgiving is a time to wax sappy and poetic about the people (my family, friends, teachers at Agricola, sometimes my students, and you, vague Internet lurker, reading my blog instead of eating turkey) and the things (Skype, Ritter Sport, the Nischel, dense novels, and perfectly mixed brownie batter), for which you're most thankful, but I'm not going to be that person.

Instead, I'm going to share the 10 German words whose sheer existence brings me joy.  (I've also linked the word to an online dictionary with a pronunciation guide, so you can work on learning one or two of them to impress relatives at Christmas.)

10)  Schadenfreude 

       Schadenfreude is one of those glorious words that German has and English doesn't have. It's now totally overused (and sometimes even misused) in English. Of course, it made its way to English because it perfectly describes the glee you feel when someone else screws up or is in pain.  It's a wonderful word for an utterly malicious feeling.

      

At first, I wasn't going to include on the list, but then I was in class with my 12th graders who are struggling valiantly through Shakespeare.  We were having a discussion about the characters of A Midsummer Night's Dream and one of my students was trying to say that a character was feeling happy because of the other character's problems.  She looked at me after struggling to say this and said: "What's the word for that, you know, Schadenfreude, in English?"

To which I said simply: "Yeah, we use Schadenfreude, too. We don't have a word for that in English."

9) na ja

    Okay, technically it means, "oh well", but na ja serves as the perfect filler word, not unlike "like" in English.  But, paired with a shrug, it also conveys the perfect amount ambivalence when someone asks you a question. 

8) Really, really long German words

     

     German is a strange and wonderful language, filled with compound words that are jammed into other compound words, just because....well, because Germans can.

       

        For example:

           Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz

It roughly translates to "the law for the delegation of the monitoring of beef labeling". For many years, with its 63 letters, it was the longest German word, but it was actually retired this year when the law became obsolete.  (For inquiring minds, here's a link that teaches you how to pronounce it.)

But of course, this job as "Danube steamship company captain" is still available:   

  Donaudampfschiffahrtgesellschaftskapitän

      

7) Kummerspeck

    Another word that doesn't exist in English: the weight you gain from emotional eating.  Literally translated as "comfort bacon", because apparently kummerschokolade wasn't good enough?

6) Treppenwitz

 

     Yet another word we desperately need in English: the witty comeback you think of waaaay too late. The word conveys the image of someone walking down the stairs (Treppen) (probably away from the argument) and then thinking of a good comeback.

5) bummeln

     Although it's often translated as sauntering, traipsing, or strolling (all of which are wonderful English words), bummeln is more than just sauntering through town or through a store.  It is a deliberate careless and pointless wandering that is relaxed and also not in any way negative or connoting laziness.  Also, it's fun to say.

4) naschen

     Although snack is a great English word, the German version, naschen is also great.  Usually it means you like to snack or nibble on sweet things, but the word itself is very onomatopoeic.

3) Backpfeifengesicht

    A person with a face you just want to punch or slap.  

   There's really nothing else I can say except that English linguists dropped the ball on this one by not giving us a tidy English equivalent 

2) Fremdscham

     Another word that needs to exist in English - the feeling of being embarrassed for someone else, usually a stranger.   The closest thing we have in English is sympathy or empathy, but both of those lack the painful reality of being vicariously embarrassed by someone.

1) Handschuh

     It's simple.  Hand = hand, schuh = shoe.  

    Shoe for your hand = glove.  

     It's still my favorite German word because, like Germans themselves, it's honest (to the point of being obvious) and practical.

I hope you all enjoyed these fun German words and I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving with your loved ones.  I had a very fun Thanksgiving my roommates here (even though I screwed up the cranberry sauce)!

Lots of Love (and Turkeys),

Your Humble Blogger

Proud Free Cities: Bremen and Hamburg (Tour of the North, Part I)

Hello my dearest followers!

First things first,  I finally updated my email feed! Yippie!

So, if you'd like to receive email updates whenever I post a new entry, just click the little button (the one with the winged letter) on your right and you'll be directed to my new email subscription service! I promise I won't barrage you with emails - just little snippets about the latest posts.

I'm also trying to get the RSS feed updated, but that is proving to be a greater battle than anticipated...

Anyway, back to my fall break.

After the gang of six in Prague broke up, Melody and I decided to travel to the Northern part of Germany.  We were joined by a Russian teaching assistant who works in the same town as Melody -Sophia!

None of us had been to the Northern parts of Germany before and we had an extra week to spend.  We mapped out the cheapest tour by train:  Chemnitz to Bremen, Bremen to Hamburg, Hamburg to Lübeck, Lübeck to Schwerin, and from Schwerin to Chemnitz.

In essence, the perfect little tour of 4 "states" in Northern Germany - Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

At this point, you might be saying - Whaaaaat?! Bremen and Hamburg are German "states"?! 

(You might also be saying - Whaaaa?! Germany has states?!  But I don't want to insult your intelligence, dear reader, so click here quietly and we'll never speak of this again, 'kay?)

Back to my point:  Bremen and Hamburg (and Berlin too, since we're talking about it) are the only cities in Germany which are also states.  Which makes them city-states, I guess.

What I know for certain it makes them is incredibly proud and independent cities with a long tradition of being proud and independent.  Bremen and Hamburg have their own unique quirks and their own history, so I've tried to consolidate and make mini-posts about each city, with the best sights and adventures we had.

Bremen - Beware, Plattdüütsch.


Bremen, which sits in between two branches of the Weser river, is an old trade city and once belonged to the powerful Hanseatic League that basically ruled Northern Germany from the 13th century until the 17th century.  Its Altstadt is renown for its beauty and the city was popularized by the Brothers Grimm in their fairy tale, the Bremen Town Musicians.  (Unlike many of the Grimms' amazingly gory fairy tales, it's a cute little tale about 4 animals - a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster - who travel to Bremen to find freedom.)

As Melody, Sophia, and I arrived in Bremen, we realized that this German town had a lot more to offer than just a charming Altstadt.  In fact, we stumbled onto Bremen during its yearly festival (which is currently celebrating its 979th year!):  the Freimarkt!

But more on that later - let's first take a little tour of the old city center, which is gorgeous.

Some of the Freimarkt was already set up downtown!

Needless to say, we indulged in some street market food (read: crepes) as we strolled along, examining the trinkets and souvenirs for sale.

Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten!Rubbing the donkey's leg is said to
bring good luck.

This is Roland.
He's been guarding the Bremen town square
 since 1404.

Although there are other statues in cities that
belonged to the Holy Roman Empire,
Bremen's Roland is the biggest.

The Bremen Cathedral

The Rathaus.

The Post Office.

Farther into the heart of Bremen, near to the Weser River is a reminder of the times past, when fishing and trade were the lifeblood of the city.  The Schnoor (Schnoor Quarter) got its name from the weavers who made ropes, cables, and lines for ships.  The tiny, winding streets and half-timbered houses reminded me a lot of Tübingen...

The beginning of the Schnoor Quarter

Sophia and Melody!

The Bremen Town Musicians (again); this time
a little more literate!

An inscription in Platt Deustch, the dialect
of the area.
Roughly translated:
Dies Platz bevor uns [ist] das alte Schnoorhaus
(The place before us is the old Schnoor house)

Once, again, for the record - German makes no sense.

An art gallery in front of a fountain.

After touring the Schnoor Quarter and grabbing dinner, we headed over to the central train station and the real Freimarkt. 

It was crazy!  Behind the train station was a fairground that is put into use just for the yearly Freimarkt. And it was packed with people.  The smells of fair food and the sounds of arcade games would not be out of place at an American state fair.  (Of course, it was all the German variety, so more bratwurst and beer than corndogs and elephant ears.)

There were moments where I could imagine I was back home at the county fair...

Although I don't think we ever set up a 5 loop roller coaster.

And then there were times that were wonderfully German too...

A whole half meter of Bratwurst.

(Ketchup not included, because Germans only eat it with
mustard.)

A place to grab a beer and break out in your best rendition of
"Schatzi, schenk mir ein Foto"

I couldn't ignore this wonderful copyright infringement
that gives this blog its name.

A friendly anthropomorphic gingerbread heart reminds
visitors and vendors not to serve booze to kids.

But I have a feeling that no one was getting carded that night.

Although the Freimarkt was very loud and very bright (at times, possibly seizure inducing), I can't say it was a highlight.  Maybe I'm just a jaded American, but it's something I see nearly every year, except with more show llamas and 4H projects and much less alcohol.

Unless you're a connoisseur of fair food and arcade games (is that a thing?), I wouldn't recommend making the trip all the way to Bremen to see it.

The next day, we took a leisurely morning stroll along the Weser and admired the quieter part of town and the changing leaves.

We all fell in love with a very yellow Ginkgo tree and we had a little photoshoot.  Melody and I both have our Facebook profile pictures (you know that means serious business) in front of this tree!

Oh look, it's me!

Sophia had to catch a ride to Hamburg earlier, so Melody and I were left to bum around Bremen.

Which meant we went to the Kunsthalle!

Photo Credit: Bremen Tourism Office

The Bremen Art Museum has to be one of the weirdest art museums I've ever been to.  Okay, to be fair, the Tate Modern will always win that battle (remember the installation made with goat poop and a ironing board? I do.), but the Bremen Art Museum was a such a strange juxtaposition of Romantic art and Modern installation art.

The museum is known for its collection of Romantic and Impressionist art.  The museum's curators have everything roughly arranged by periods, but they also love to mix media and periods.  In one area we found overly romanticized landscapes nestled next to sharp black and white photography.  Most of the time, the strange mix worked.  Other times, it was less than successful and the mixture of the art medias was a little overwhelming.

Now, if you may recall, I'm not a huge fan of modern art. 

And I especially despise installation art, which, in my opinion, is the height of pretentious, hideous, and generally pointless art. 

Yet to every rule, there is an exception, and this is proving to be the year of exceptions. 

The Bremen Kunsthalle has a lovely modern art installation by James Turrell, which makes use of all three levels of the museum.  Above - Between - Below was installed in 2010.  Oval, LED-it glass panels that are placed in the identical location on each floor, making it possible for the viewer to look above and below on each floor. 

Photo Credit: The Internet! Thanks Google!

The base floor panel shows a backlit image of space, which is lit differently through each progressively higher panel, until you reach the third floor, where the viewing room is cold and LED light is white. Overall, you feel like you're in space, looking out into the stars.

Now, when I was really little, I really wanted to be an astronaut (and then I learned you had to be good at math to do that - sigh) and I also really loved my astronomy class in college.  The science of space just blows my mind and I love it.  So, yeah, I loved this installation.

Go you, James Turrell, for restoring my faith in modern art.

Well that is, until I walked into the next room, where it was a just a television that showed a someone tying their shoes and brushing their teeth in an endless loop.  

Melody and I had the same reaction.

Or the next room, with the "landscapes" that were slightly curved lines drawn in crayons on sheets of paper.

So we peaced out and made our way to Hamburg (or tried to - our train went from being 5 minutes late to 50 minutes late in less than one minute).


Hamburg - Windy, Cold, and Wet.  

First things first: Hamburg is, officially, my least favorite city in Germany!

Okay, maybe it was the weather and time of year we went.

But still.

It made me incredibly sad and disappointed because I wanted to like it so much.  My friend Emily loved her time in Hamburg and still talks about it fondly.

Hamburg did improve while we were there, but it is still not one of my favorite cities.

We started off the first day (which was really the evening by the time our train got us there) on the wrong foot.  Even though our hostel was very nice, it was in St. Pauli, which, in hindsight, should have been a clue that we were in the party district.

St. Pauli is also home to the (in)famous Reeperbahn street, which is really not as cool or scary (depending on what your views on red light districts are) as everyone says.  

Okay, the sheer number of sex shops is creepy and awkward, but honestly, they're everywhere in Germany.  Unless you've never seen one before, it's probably shocking, but downtown Chemnitz has one across from the Opera house and the Stuttgart airport has one by the arrivals gate.  (Both are strange places to build a sex shop, I admit.) 

Germans.

But what actually shocked me more about the Reeperbahn (and Hamburg in general) was the high level of poverty, day-drinking, homelessness, and general despair.  Many people had warned me that the former East, especially cities like Chemnitz, would be the epicenter of Germany's unemployment, poverty, and alcohol problems.  Yet, I saw more of that in Hamburg than I have ever seen anywhere else in Germany including "the East".  Parts of Hamburg were just very sad and depressing.

But I digress.

We decided to set out for a quick evening stroll to the famous St. Pauli Fishmarket, which actually sells fish only on early Sunday mornings.  We missed our chance to go on Sunday morning, but apparently it's very cool.

It was cold and windy.  And by the time we reached the landing docks, it was already dark.  We were all hungry and tired, but we had trouble finding a place to eat.  And then we got lost.

So then we were lost, hungry, tired, and cold.

This would become the theme of most of our time in Hamburg.

Hamburg is known for being the Broadway of Germany.
The Lion King (in German, of course) has its own
floating theater that can be reached by ship.

Eventually, we found our way back and we found a grocery store along the way, so we munched on sandwiches in the basement of our hostel, which was also a bar.  We chatted with some of the other backpackers (from the Netherlands and England) who were there and we crawled happily into our bunk beds and passed out.

Until that is, our roommates came back from their pub crawl and decided that they should turn on all the lights and yell a lot.

Yes, this is a hazard of hosteling, but most people aren't horrible and obnoxious.  (I'm glad to report that they were Australians, not Americans. Whew.)

By the time we woke up (again) in the morning, we were all a little grumpy.  We set out for the Altstadt to catch the free walking tour.  When we left, it was warmish and sunny.  Things got a bit better and the world was looking to be a better place.

Hamburg is an industrial Venice, with hundreds of bridges spanning financial buildings and warehouses.  (It actually has more bridges than Venice!)

In an effort to get people to stop littering,
the trash cans in Hamburg are a bit sassy.

"Stay clean, my Hamburg!"

We met our tour near the Rathaus and began our tour around the city!  

Hamburg was the home of the Hanseatic League, who ruled the city with a fist and rejected the rule of kings and emperors.  Hamburg was ravaged by the Vikings, the Black Death, fires (one in 1284 and one in 1842, which destroyed a quarter of the city), the last wave of the cholera epidemic, and heavy bombing during WWII.  It is unsurprising then, that the majority of city is fairly "new", at least in terms of cities like Bremen.

The Rathaus

Part of the square around the Rathaus

This church door knocker which survived
the Great Fire of 1842, shows that German
craftsmen in the 14th century had no idea what
real lions looked like!

A counting house in Hamburg built during the height
of Hamburg's success during the Victorian era,

The walls are emblazoned with the shields of various
trading guilds and craftsmen.

One of Hamburg's first skyscrapers, the Chilehaus.
It is famous for its very sharp look!

Another counting house, the Afrikahaus,
was built by the Woermann trading company
who profited from the German colonization
of Africa.

St. Nicholas' Church was the tallest church spire
in the world during the 1800s.
Unfortunately, its height also made it the perfect
landmark for RAF planes carrying fire bombs in WWII.

The church, except for its spire and back wall, was completely
destroyed during the war.  It remains as it is today as a memorial
to the victims of WWII.

This statue is dedicated to those in the Hamburg
area who were murdered in Nazi concentration camps.

Another view of the bombed out tower.

A statue dedicated to the victims of Operation Gomorrah.

A view of the houses from a floating dock.

A simple memorial to the spot that started the Great Fire of 1842.

The more modern part of the city is HafenCity ("Harbor City").
HafenCity was originally created and was rapidly built as the
taxation-free zone of Hamburg.

The Speicherstadt (or Warehouse Quarter) in
HafenCity is home to old Victorian
warehouses that were located in the tax free zone.

The newer part of HafenCity is set to become an urban
housing development.

 Currently, it is an architectural playground, which the new
Elbe Philharmonic building as its crown jewel.

If it ever is finished being built, that is. 

Although our tour was nice, we had to compete with chilly winds and rain throughout the whole tour. We also got lost on the way back home too.  And we also encountered more difficulties in finding food. 

Sophia eventually prodded us into a little Italian restaurant.  I was skeptical because the majority of the menu was handwritten and it looked a little sketchy, but Sophia pushed us in.  

It was decorated with family photos and large televisions showing the latest soccer matches.  The owner yelled out orders to the chef in loud Italian.  It had a very homey vibe and was very authentically Italian.  And let me say this - it was the best Italian food I've ever eaten.  It was especially welcome after a long day of walking in the wind, the cold, and the rain!

After our delicious meal, our waiter/the owner inquired if we were German or not.  We all explained that no, we weren't, and we each said our hometown.  

Now, when I'm asked, I usually default to "near Chicago" because: a) It's easier and b) most people in Europe have some idea where Chicago is.  

(Except for my younger students, who asked me what New York was like because "I live so close", which means they think Chicago and Boston are the same place. Sigh.  Which means they also think Boston is close to New York. Double Sigh.)

The owner immediately lit up when I said "near Chicago" and vigorously shook my hand, with a huge smile on his face, repeating the word "Chicago" each time he shook my hand.  I smiled stupidly back at him for the next half of a minute while he did this.  That is, until he yelled out "Chicago!" to kitchen, where four or five Italians popped out to look at the American from Chicago. They all smiled at me and cheered "Chicago!"  

Meanwhile, Melody and Sophia were both gigging while the owner kept beaming at me and shaking my hand like I was a long lost relative.   We were eventually set free to go back to our hostel, laughing the whole way.

The next day, the weather was even worse.  Which I didn't think was possible.  

We actually just thought it was bad weather, until we learned that no, this was actually a storm named St. Jude.  It knocked out trains for the day and killed eight people.

But we were walking outside in the wind and the rain, because we didn't know any better.  (And also because Germany dropped the ball on issuing a travel warning.)

We decided to explore the Elbtunnel, which (surprise, surprise) is a tunnel that goes underneath the Elbe River.  We had heard the tunnel was a cool sight and supposedly we could see the water around us, like a glass tunnel.

Well, people are liars.  The tunnel was not very exciting at all and certainly not see-through. But it did keep us out of the storm for while!

The middle of the tunnel puts you 21 meters under the Elbe!

When we emerged on the other side of the tunnel, the wind and rain had let up a bit.

We also took a stroll downtown, even though it was very windy!  We also popped into a couple of stores and churches.

We also strolled into Spicy's Spice Museum (no seriously, that's it's name) in HafenCity. The museum was set up as a tribute the brisk spice trade that Hamburg did during its height as a port city. 

It was a weird museum, but the smells and sights were pretty amazing.  I also think it's funny, considering that Germans are notorious haters of anything vaguely spicy (with the exception of Döner, of course).

An old spice cabinet.

An interactive spice exhibit, where you
could smell, touch, and (for the daring)
taste all types of spices.

Later in the evening, we went to Hamburg's top rated attraction: Miniature Wonderland.

Now, when I first heard of it, I was a skeptic.

The world's largest model train set? Whatever.

But then I went there.

Since it's a such a popular attraction, you have to reserve a time to visit.  Ideally, you should spend two hours going through the exhibit.

Melody and I spent 3 hours.

The beginning of the exhibit is a short tour of German history, complete with narration.  The little dioramas are amazingly detailed and viewers can watch as the city and fields alter through time.

You can spot farmers in the field...

Knights jousting...

Plague ridden bodies being hauled away...

A miniature Luther and his miniature theses...

And even a pied piper!

We travel through time from the Germanic tribes to the present day, experiencing the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, the World Wars, and the division of Germany.

Aftermath of WWII

The first barrier between East and West in 1949.

You can watch as the barrier becomes
more heavily fortified and the disparity
in the development of East and West happens.

The last diorama depicts the Fall of the Wall in 1989...

In another room, the exhibit from the 2008 Elections in Germany invited the political parties to create dioramas that depicted their ideal society.  It was a cool exhibit!

One of the parties corrects the slogan of the French Revolution
 "Freedom, Equality, and Brotherhood" to
"Freedom, Equality, and Sisterhood". 

Another party depicts the role of Germany in the EU
with the EU flag as the foundation of the land.

All of these exhibits were cool, but then we turned the corner.

The main exhibit is divided into many parts that flow into each other across 2 floors: Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the imaginary German city of Knuffingen and its airport, Scandinavia and America (but really only the West Coast).  They're currently working on Italy right now.

The exhibit cycles between daytime and nighttime every 20 minutes and small parts of the exhibit can be controlled by viewers with the push of a button.

When you first see the actual visit, you encounter the Swiss Alps...

The sun sets on Switzerland.

Size perspective.

Various trains run through the exhibit,
timed to perfection.

The exhibit also has adorable jokes and details,
like this cheese truck with wheels of cheese
on the loose down the mountainside.

Or this elephant helping out with road paving!

Meanwhile, in the Germany section...

During the nighttime, the concert lights up and the singers on the
stage move and sing.

Germany's most iconic castle - Neuschwanstein -
also makes an appearance.

The Knuffingen Airport is an amazing feat of

technology with planes that land, take off,

and taxi through the airport. Various cars

and trucks also roam through the airport.

You can track the arrivals and departures on

a board.

Unfortunately, my camera battery died before we could reach America and Scandinavia, but let me assure you, it was amazing.

If you go to Hamburg, it's a must see!

Our last half-day in Hamburg, we spent visiting the Kunsthalle in Hamburg, which has a huge and gorgeous collection of all types and eras of art.  It also famously houses a great collection of one of Germany's most beloved artists: Caspar David Friedrich.

Getting to see "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog"
was a highlight.

Did you know that his coat is actually a dark hunter
green?!
Yeah, it is.

Melody and I had a great time in the museum and it was a great way to end our trip to Hamburg.

Although Hamburg was cold, rainy, and sometimes very miserable, the city did improve while we were there.  Hamburg may be my least favorite city in Germany, but there still are some really great sights in the city!

Next Post:  The last part of my fall break trip! We visit the charming city of Lübeck and indulge in its marzipan, and we also tour the "Neuschwanstein of the North" - Schwerin Castle!