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Photo of Munich's Rathaus, in Germany |
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Photo of Salzburg area |
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Willkommen zu Deutschland (Welcome to Germany):Germany is one of the most beautiful places in Europe. The culture, the nature and the architecture are something not to miss out on. All the old fashioned buildings are kept in good condition and you won't find a building in bad condition anywhere. In my opinion Germany is only good for tourism because it is very difficult (for a foreigner) to live here. My suggestion is to come and see the places and try to survive, because itispossible. The problem is that a person from the UK or from America might have trouble getting used to German ways (most of which have existed since World War 2). If you try to ignore Germany's strange ways (and just keep in mind that you're in Europe,) then you'll enjoy living here. Here is my opinion on Germany: The German language:this is the worst thing someone could ask you to learn. I'll start with the basics: each German noun starts with a capital and prepositions are hardly used. Each German noun is distinguished from female, male, neutral genders: DIE, DER, DAS. But you have to which nouns belong to which genders. The hardest thing that could make you do that is the fact that they change for the sentence to make sense. What confuses me very much is the fact that "die" could also mean "they", and that some nouns don't change at all in the plural form. (ex. Die Mädchen means "the girls", but das Mädchen means the girl). I think the most confusing thing is the use of sie (she), sie (they), Sie (you: used when talking to strangers). I'm not even sure how to tell them apart. Perhaps if you have a German friend then they could tell you. The worst thing is that each German region speaks slightly differently and with slightly different accents. You might say you know German as a language, but could you understand each dialect? Now the numbers:From 1-20 they're easy, but starting from twenty-one they get tricky. For instance, a German person wouldn't say twenty-one, but one and twenty (pronounced : ine oond tzvantsig). The ine has to rhyme with "wine" (for example). Side story: My father told me a funny story about buying a weekly ticket (for public transportation) at the reception office. The receptionist told him (in English) to pay €27. My dad replied, "Are you sure about that?" She then corrected herself by saying, "Oh, sorry, I meant €72. That's because seventy-two is pronounced "zwei und siebzig", meaning two and seventy and she got them confused by saying 27. The same thing happens when native English speakers (or any other kind of speakers) try to speak German. Click here for a quiz on what you just learned about the German language German holidays:There are many holidays scattered throughout the year. But, not all of these are celebrated in all the German regions. Some German regions celebrate what other German regions don't. The most popular and most fun holidays are the Oktoberfest(celebrated from mid-September to mid-October), and the Faschingsfest(celebrated in March for 3 days, with the last day being Ash Wednesday). I think the most wonderful time in Munich is during Christmas, because it turns into a really beautiful winter wonderland. But unfortunately, when I was there -- December didn't get much snow, so it wasn't much of a winter-wonderland. The four Advents (starting sometime in November), mark the starting of Christkindl Markt on Marienplatz, followed by the setting up of a large Christmas tree near the Rathaus (City Hall) and the lighting of it each night. That's when Gluhwein (a type of traditional wine) is sold hot, anywhere on Marienplatz. Each advent marks a week in December and the fourth advent is on the week of Christmas (or Weinachten). It's interesting because Germans buy these wreaths with four fat candles and I think a candle is lit for each Advent and then let to burn until Christmas. New Year's Eve: or Silvester This is an interesting time when you can buy do-it yourself fireworks (there's probably an age limit to buying them). That's when it can get dangerous because people throw the fireworks all over the streets and it's hard to see someone at night. Many (or probably all) German restaurants are full for New Year's Eve, and Christmas Eve/Day, so get your reservations early. Keep in mind that there are so many holidays (at least one every month), and few Germans could remember all of them. German Autobahn:This is interesting because there's no speed limit when you get on Deutsche Autobahn but you can't take much advantage of that because it's always under construction. The worst thing about the Autobahn is that when there's an accident, the police are slow at reporting it. This causes a huge traffic jam which could last many kilometres. The good thing is that German radio stations report where there are accidents and they report how many kilometres the traffic jam is. Just listen for the word "shtau" or look for "stau" signs on the autobahn. Crossing the borders:The Deutsche Autobahn can take you to many other parts of Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, France or Switzerland. Just keep in mind that you need to buy a special sticker near the Swiss and Austrian borders (You might need a sticker to get to France and a sticker to go to Czech Republic). The stickers for each country are different in style, so an Austrian sticker can't help you in Switzerland. The sticker shows that you're paying money for: using their roads, and for polluting their Alpine air with your car. If you have to rent a car, then let me explain how useless these stickers are: An Austrian sticker is valid for 10 days or a month, while a Swiss sticker is valid for a whole year. It's so stupid how the people of Switzerland don't sell stickers for both a year or a few days. At least you get to choose which you want in Austria. I think you could go to jail or get a ticket if you don't buy a sticker. The stickers leave a mark on the car if you try to peel them off. |
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European Photos
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