Posted by Angelika Davey on Wednesday, November 9, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
22 years ago today, on the 9th November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. You may remember the pictures of that day and the news when it happened, and if you can't remember it, google it and you'll find lots of pictures of that day. But how much do you know about the wall and how it was built?
Here is a fantastic animated video about the history of the Berlin Wall:
Were you aware of all this? Did you know how much was involved? I certainly didn't and I'm very grateful that the wall has gone.
Posted by Angelika Davey on Monday, October 31, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
Last year I wrote about Halloween and how we didn't celebrate it in Germany as, at the time, it was almost unheard of. And yet, the 31st October was a public holiday for us, not for all of Germany, but for the Protestants and areas where the population was largely protestant. The 31st October is Reformation Day, Reformationstag in German. It was the day, when Martin Luther (1483 -1546) criticised the Catholic Church, which then caused the split between Catholics and Protestants, Lutherans in ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Tuesday, October 18, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
44 years ago today, on the 18th October 1967, 'The Jungle Book' came to our cinemas. I wasn't aware of this until I received an email about it yesterday. Immediately I was taken back in time ....
I don't remember when the film came to Germany but I do remember my mum taking me and my brother and some cousins (I think) to the nearest town with a cinema to see 'Das Dschungelbuch'. My mum did something very British: she queued! Everbody else behaved German: they didn't! Result, by the time we got...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Sunday, October 16, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
Every day I get a variety of German newsletters in my email box and often they get deleted as there is nothing of interest to me. An article in one of today's emails, however, caught my attention:
Living underneath the motorway bridge
If you like, read the original article here 'Wohnen unter der Autobahnbrücke'. The article starts with 'Mr Gligorov is not at home...' and shows a picture of a mattress with bedding, a few rugs around the bed, chairs, flowers and other belongings, all unde...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Tuesday, September 20, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
Did you know it is World Children's Day in Germany today?
No, I didn't either. It was mentioned on a calendar today and I googled a bit. The first Children's Day happened on the 14th December 1954. There is an Universal Children's Day on the 20th November but lots of countries have their own dates.
Germany has two dates, the International Children's Day (Internationaler Kindertag) on the 1st June, which until 1990 was the East German version of the children's day. Then there is the World Chil...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Tuesday, August 30, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
Mein erster Schultag
This is a picture of me on my first day at school with my brand new school bag (Schultasche) and my 'Schultüte' (roughly translated as school cone). My school bag had my first lot of exercise books, text books and a pencil case, but what was in the school cone?
All German children get a school cone on their first ever day at school. It is designed to make their start into school life a bit sweeter and inside they will find sweets and usually one or more toys (depending ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Saturday, March 26, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
I came across a German text message abbreviation the other day that looked like an English word, so I searched the net and found a few, which either looked like an English word or like an English abbreviation.
Posted by Angelika Davey on Wednesday, February 2, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
When I took my driving test many years ago in Germany we had to be 18 before we could drive, but there have been changes in the last few years. Lower-Saxony started it seven years ago and since January 2011 is has become law in all of Germany: the possibility of driving at 17!
However, unlike in Britain, they cannot drive alone. Until they are 18 they must have another driver with them in the car. This driver has to be at least 30 years old and in possession of a clean driving licence for at ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Thursday, January 6, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
When you're driving through Germany and you need to fill up with petrol, you may come across an aditional pump at the petrol station, as it is now possible to get a biofuel with 10 percent ethanol called Super E10. It is not available at every petrol station yet as it will take months to adjust pumps for it, but -
The question is, should you use it?
90% of cars can use it but there are cars which could get engine damage if you use E10. There is a list you can download here about the compatibili...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Sunday, December 5, 2010,
In :
Life in Germany
If you are driving to Germany this winter you will need winter tyres. As from Monday 29th November 2010 it is mandatory to use winter tyres (or snow & mud tyres) in Germany. Failure to do so can result in a instant fine of 40 Euros. If you cause a traffic disruption because your car has summer tyres, that fine increases to 80 Euros, and if you are involved in an accident and you haven't got winter tyres, you are in big trouble!
So, if you are driving to Germany this Christmas, please abide b...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Tuesday, November 2, 2010,
In :
Life in Germany
Luckily not literally!
You've heard these holiday stories: holiday makers go to the beach and find all good places have been taken by the Germans who got up early and put towels on favourite spaces in order to claim them ;-)
This habit has moved to university libraries. Students arrive early and leave their books on tables in order to claim them. They then disappear to lectures to return later. This hasn't been much of a problem so far but recently it has turned into a problem as more and more ... Continue reading ...
Nikki Pilkington's blogging ebook has been very helpful to me. Check out what other books you can buy from her by clicking on the '30 Day Blogging Challenge' book.
