Auf Wiedersehen, Erlangen!

Things I will miss...

Vanilla sauce

Tassimo Latte Machiatto

Süsstoff (sweetener)

Cheap Beer (sometimes cheaper than a Coke!)

No speed limits on the autobahn

Good drivers

Hikes in the Frankische Schweiz

Skiing in the Alps

Not having to pay when people text you

Apple Strudel

Good Public Transportation

Bike Paths

Glühwein

Dogs in the mall

Lederhosen

Bavarian Countryside

Easy access to many other countries

New friends

I can't wait for:

Cold Stone Creamery
Library with the drop off box
Garbage Disposals
Ice Makers
Big Freezers
Free Water at Restaurants
Big Parking spaces
Cheap Gas
Diet Snapple Ice Tea
Shopping on Sundays
Shopping after 8:00 at night
Mexican Food
More than one choice of movies in English at the theater
Netflix
Panera Bread
Target
Waiters who bring you the check
Chocolate Chips
Proper Brown Sugar
Pumpkin Pie
Seeing family
Old Friends

Silk Painting: Erlangen

One of my friends here in Germany, Jeanette, likes to teach Silk Painting.  I had painted a scarf depicting Nuremberg last time and this time I wanted one that depicted the town we live in, Erlangen.  I did a preliminary sketch of the layout and she came up with a final design.  It depicts scenes from Erlangen with flowers from the botanical gardens in the background.

Closeup of the Schlossgarten.  The Schloss (Castle)was built in 1700 and is now used by the local University.

For the 1000th year anniversary of Erlangen, Artist Isolde Kunath created giant "pins" to commemorate notable historical places and monuments in the city.  

The World War I Memorial:

The Headquarters of Siemens in Erlangen, known as the Himbeer Palast (Raspberry Palace) due to the color of the bricks.The Siemens AG central was moved after World War II from Berlin in the undestroyed city of Erlangen.  Erlangen was also easily reachable by canal and highway.

Neustädter Universitätskirche in Erlangen.

Every June Erlangen hosts the Bergkirchweih, and annual fair and beer festival in Erlangen, Germany. The Bergkirchweih starts on the Thursday before Pentecost at 5PM. The opening ceremony called "Anstich", which is carried out by the town's mayor, takes place in a different beer cellar every year. Thousands gather to watch the opening spectacle hoping to get one of the free beers from the first barrel. Twelve days later the last beer barrel is buried in the cellar where the next Anstich will take place. The Bergkirchweih area is located in the northern extremities of the town of Erlangen and is roughly a kilometer long (0.6 mi). It contains beer cellars, booths and rides - a huge Ferris wheel is the Berch's traditional landmark.

With its wooden benches under elms, chestnuts and oaks it is the biggest Open-Air-Biergarten of Europe with more than 11,000 seats.

The Bergkirchweih has taken place since 1755. . Roughly a million people - about ten times the town's population - visit the event, making the Bergkirchweih the third biggest fair in Bavaria after the Oktoberfestin Munich and the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing.

Depiction of beer at the "Berg":

Flowers from the Erlangen Botanical Garden:

Flowers from the Erlangen Botanical Garden:

A view from Erlangen looking toward Buchenbach across the meadow.  Sometimes sheep graze there!  Our house is sort of behind the trees on the left.

Pin commemorating the "Knight's Academy", an educational institution for the sons of the nobility.

Bonus: This is one I did of Nuremberg:

Fun with Textify.it

Can you guess what these pictures are?
Note that each picture is created out of the letters in the title of the photo.

German Nationalism

This cartoon is kinda true...

Normally you only see German flag during the Soccer World Cup or maybe on German Reunification Days.

Field Guide to German English Speakers

When I moved to Germany, I wanted to learn some German of course, so I took 3 classes of German. However, often I don’t know enough German to communicate what I need, and since I live in a University town many people speak English. However, it is important to know what level of English they know so you can know how to talk to the person. To determine what type of English Speaker you have spotted, ask them the following question:

“Sprechen Sie Englisch?”

(Do you speak English)

Depending on the answer, you will know what you are dealing with. If the answer is:

1. Nein!

Name: “bureaucratius nonhelpfulus”.
Description: They can’t or won’t speak English. Get out your phrase book. They will look askance at your German.
Environment: Large Instutions, such as the Post Office or the Bank.

2. Nein, schlect.

Name: “deutschius speakerus”.
Description: They haven’t learned English. Try your German, they will try very hard to understand you.
Environment: The Doctor’s office personnel, aside from the Doctors.

3. Ein Bisschen

Name: “unconfidentius speakerus”
Description: They know a little English, but more than they think. If you stick to talking about what they sell, you may be okay.
Subtype: “colleagueius fetchicus” If you overwhelm them, they will fetch a colleague who they think speaks better English.
Environment: Large Stores, such as Saturn or Staples.


4. A Little

Name: “prettygoodius speakerus”
Description: They actually speak English fairly well but won’t admit it. You can speak about what they sell/do with no problem.
Environment: Large Stores, such as OBI.

5. Yes

Name: “confidentius speakerus”.
Description: They can speak English very well.
Environment: Owner-owned stores, Doctors, people who work for large companies.

6. Of Course!

Name: “overconfidentius speakerus”.
Description: Why wouldn’t I speak English? I can’t believe you even asked.
Environment: High End stores, such as Tommy Hilfiger.



7. Bonus Type of speaker

Name: “Sneakius speakerus”.
Description: Recognize that you speak English from your conversation with the people with you or your terrible German Accent, even though you ask for “Zwei Hamburgers” answer you in English. Seem to be happy that their English has come in handy even though they are working retail.
Environment: Fast Food places, Grocery Store.