Friday, June 30, 2017

Nostalgie: Sommer 1959


VOCAB TIDBIT:
My title today is not a misspelling of "Nostalgia:  Summer 1959".  Nostalgie (derived from French) is how the Germans say nostalgia; Sommer is summer.  Both the words Sommer and Nostalgie are "cognates" to their English forms.  To be cognate means to be from a similar or same background, from the same source, related.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As for the nostalgic nature of the pictures here, let me introduce my mother (probably age 14) with her mother (my Oma- above) and her father (my Opa - below).   The date ca. 1959 is penciled on the back of these black-and-white photos.  

These pictures reflect summer in Germany in the dress (the swirly skirts of the 1950s and early 60s) and the garden my family is standing in.  My Opa might be in his short pants; however, I rarely saw him wear a t-shirt or just his undershirt (unless he was mowing grass or working).  He was always distinguished and somewhat formal - and handsome!  I remember my Oma telling me how in the 1950s, after the hard years of the war (WWII) and then the rebuilding of their lives in a Frankfurt that was destroyed, the comparatively prosperous 1950s with more money, more access to food and indulgent items, made her plump (rundlich in German, literally "round-ish")!  Which makes me laugh, because as you can see, my Oma was by no means chubby.  She was a tall, long-waisted woman who carried herself upright and lean.  And I love my mother's outfit in these pictures:  breezy and summery and well put together.


As in America of the 1950s, times were a little more carefree in Germany as well ... despite the frugality practiced by those who had experienced war.   The "Greatest Generation" was raising their children with more than they themselves had in many cases.  It seemed like an idealistic time - lovely fashions:  girls in full skirts, men who still wore hats and fedoras; children who were taught good manners; fun music; and clean, entertaining movies.  



The photo below from a German fashion catalog in the Spring of 1959 translates to say:
"These fashions make us pretty again."
source

Of course, culture was progressing and things like rock-and-roll music were becoming main stream.  From 1958 to 1960, Elvis Presley lived in Germany, where he was stationed with the US Army.  He was already fairly famous, as a 23 year old, and very recognized everywhere he went in Germany.  He was stationed in Friedberg, lived in Bad Nauheim, and was occasionally spotted (according to my mom and Oma) walking along the Zeil (a German shopping street in Frankfurt).  

Elvis apparently did not embrace the German cuisine; he surrounded himself with his family and a few close friends (despite dating German Fräuleins!) and ate the Southern fare his grandmother cooked for him every day instead of venturing out for meals.  He was said to be generous with giving autographs and greeting eager fans however.  He also met Priscilla while in Germany; her father was an Air Force officer -and she was only 14 years old (although "mature for her age", according to Elvis....); they didn't marry until about 8 years later.  There is an interesting article about this time in Germany on the blog The German Way & More if you are interested in the exact dates and details.  

Life was good ... or at least better ... in Germany in the 1950s - at least on the West side (East Germany is an entirely different story).  Here is a picture taken in West Berlin in the 50s, which to me is the essence of a carefree, summer day:  


Technology was continuing to make things easier; people had access to modern conveniences; they were able to travel (as evidenced by the posters below from the 1950s) and relax a little after the war years and their consequences ... It just seems like the Summer of 1959 in West Germany would have been a very enjoyable time!  





Just a Little PSA:

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!

After a few very frustrating, unsuccessful attempts, I now have a BLOG BUTTON (see side bar-->)!  If you have a blog, I would be honored if you would add my button to your side bar, if you do that kind of thing.
Otherwise, just be VERY PROUD of me; I used HTML CODE to create this thing!!  (with a little help from a tutorial).



Thursday, June 29, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (J)

"J" isn't a letter used a lot in the German language ... but here are a few words I thought of.  Can you think of any more??!



Foods:   Jägerschnitzel (hunter's style schnitzel)

Animals:  der Jaguar

Common Names:  Jürgen, Joachim, Johann, Johannes, Johanna, Jutta, Julia, Jakob

Cities:  Jena


Words you may recognize:  die Jacke (the jacket), der Journalist

verbs:  jagen (to hunt, to chase)

German brands/companies:  Jacobs (coffee); Jägermeister (liquor)





Monday, June 26, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (I)

I am moving along in the "Von A bis Z" series ... Today's letter is "I".
In German, the letter I sounds like what we consider to sound like "ee" in English (sounds like ee in feel):


Foods:  der Imbiss (the snack)

Animals:  der Igel (the hedgehog)

Common Names:  Inge, Ingrid, Irme, Irmtraut, Ingetraut, Ignatcius, Irmgard, Ilse, Ines, Iris

Cities:  Ingolstadt, Idar-Oberstein
Felsenkirche - church in the crag - the symbol of Idar-Oberstein

Words you may recognize:  der Indianer (the Indian), die Industrie (industry), intelligent, die Insel (the island)

verbs:  interessieren (to interest)

An "I" tidbit:
Liebe ist niemals ohne Schmerz, sagte der Hase, als er den Igel umarmte.
Love is never without pain, said the Rabbit, as he embraced the Hedgehog.  



Thursday, June 22, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (H)

And today I am at "H" in my attempt to blog through the alphabet auf Deutsch.  A through G are in the previous posts.
The object of this project is to write all the words you can think of in a short period of time for each subject.




Foods:  das Hähnchen (the chicken)

Animals:  der Hase (the rabbit), der Hahn (the rooster), das Huhn (the hen), der Hummer (the lobster), der Hund (the dog)

Common Names:  Heidi, Hans, Heinz, Helmut, Hedwig, Hildegard, Hilde/Hilda, Heike, Harald, Herbert

Cities:  Hannover, Hammeln, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Hanau

beautiful Heidelberg castle

Words you may recognize:  das Haus, das Hotel, die Hand, der Hammer, Hallo!, Halt!

verbs:  haben (to have), hören (to hear), helfen (to help)

companies/brands:  Haribo (candy), Henkel (cutlery)

tongue twister:
 Hottentottenpotentatentantenattentat
Hottentot potentate's aunt assassination. (Note: This long, humorous German word uses only seven letters of the alphabet. The correct term for "Hottentot" is actually "Khoi-Khoi," a now virtually extinct African tribe in what is now Namibia, formerly German South-West Africa.)



Can One HodgePodge in GERMAN!?

I blogged somewhere else for a few years ... and I participated in this fun weekly HodgePodge there occasionally ... but now that I am focusing more on my GERMAN blog, I am going to try to HodgePodge here ... because one can HodgePodge anywhere, right?!??

By the way, a FUN German word that means about the same as HodgePodge is Mischmasch!  




1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week. What are ten things you'd put on your list of  quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?

Will I manage, I don't know ... but here's what I love about summer:  hamburgers on the grill (should be able to accomplish!!), any food on the grill just about, a pool, a lazy river, fireflies (the German word for firefly is Glühwürmchen, which literally means (little) glow worm), porch sitting on warm evenings, sunsets, walks in the park, flip flops, and getting out of town - or out of state - or out of the country - with the family.

2. Do you collect seashells when you're at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home? What's your favorite place to comb for seashells? How many of these 'best beaches for hunting seashells' have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit?

Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey's Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas

Our family vacationed near Galveston and visited the Island in the summer of 2014... it wasn't pretty.  The year we went, the seaweed had taken over the beaches.  There were warnings everywhere about the seaweed ... and big tractors were trying to shovel the seaweed off the shore.  See all that brown stuff all the way to the water??  Yeh, seaweed.

We managed to make the best of it ... but let me tell you, it was NOT the best beach experience I've ever had:



I think I'd much rather see the pristine beaches of Lanai Hawaii!!  or any other beach that does NOT have the potential for seaweed overload.

3. At a snail's pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up...which 'shell' phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.

Snail pace is a fun word in German as well:   Schneckentempo 
I am looking forward to my upcoming vacation where life will hopefully go along at a Schneckentempo.

4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?

Yard work.  Heat.  Humidity.  Sweating.

5. What's something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?

With so many brands of eReaders these days from Kindle to Nook and beyond, I fear books are becoming obsolete.  It doesn't bother me though because you will still find me at the library, the bookstore, and holding real books with pages that turn!



6. Insert your own random thought here.

To add to the SUMMER MISCHMASCH, here are a few German Summer words:

Summer = Sommer
Sun = Sonne
Sun screen = Sonnencreme
HOT = heiss
Swimming pool = Schwimmbad
Bathing Suit = Badeanzug
Vacation = Urlaub
Ice Cream = Eis 
Ice Cream Parlor = Eis Cafe'





Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (G)

I am blogging my way through the alphabet AUF DEUTSCH (in German).  This is a fun exercise (for me) to think of as many words for the categories as possible - with minimal editing.  Can you think of any words to add?!

Today I am blogging all things "G" --- see previous posts for A-F.




Foods:   die Gurke (the cucumber); die Gurken (the pickles); die Garnelle (the shrimp)
das Gemüse (the vegetables)

Animals:  die *Gans (the goose); der Gepard (the cheetah)

***********VOCAB TIDBIT*************
The plural of *Gans is die Gänse.  2 words come to mind using this plural form:
Gänsehaut & Gänseblümchen

Gänsehaut is literally "geese skin".  In English, we call this GOOSE BUMPS!  :)
Gänseblümchen is literally "(little) geese flower".  It is the term used for the common daisy.

********************************************
Common Names:  Gisela, Gerhard, Gabriele, Gabi, Gudrun, Günter / Günther, Georg, Gerda

Cities:  Giessen, Gelnhausen, Gross Gerau, Garmisch-Patenkirchen

Words you might recognize:  das Gras (the grass), Gold

**BEWARE:  The German word (das) Gift does NOT mean "a present; a gift" ... it means POISON!

verbs:  geben (to give), gehen (to go)

companies/brands:  Grundig (electronics)

Guten Tag!




Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (F)

I am blogging my way through the alphabet auf Deutsch von A bis Z.  The exercise is to think of as many words as possible in just a few minutes for the letter of the day.  With the exception of the letter "C", this has been easy so far!  "F" should prove to be Fun as well.

If you've missed out on the other letters, you can catch up by clicking here:  (A), (B), (C), (D), (E)




Foods:  das Fleisch (the meat), Frikadelle (meatloaf-style pattie)

Animals:  der Fuchs (the fox); das Flusstier (literally "river animal", hippopotamus); der Frosch (the frog); die Fledermaus (the bat); die Fliege (the fly)

Common Names:  Frank, Friedrich, Frieda, Franz

Cities:  Frankfurt, Friedberg

Burg Friedberg

Words you might recognize:  der Fisch, der Finger, die Farm, der Frost, der Film

verbs:  finden (to find), fangen (to catch), fragen (to ask), fliegen (to fly)

famous brands/companies:  Faber-Kastell (writing instruments), Fraport (Frankfurt airport)

Tongue Twister (Zungenbrecher):
Fischers *Fritze fischt frische Fische; frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritze.
Fred Fisher fishes fresh fish. It is fresh fish that Fred Fisher fishes.
* "Fritze" is a northern German colloquial form of "Fritz" = "Friedrich".


FINISHED - FERTIG!



Monday, June 19, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (E)

A fast and fun exercise brain-storming auf Deutsch - through the alphabet.  Can you think of other "E" words to add?

Catch up on Projekt von A bis Z:  (A), (B), (C), and (D)


Foods:  die Erdbeeren (literally "earth berries"; strawberries); das Ei, die Eier (the egg, the eggs); die Erbse (the pea); Erbsensuppe (pea soup); Eis (ice cream)

Animals:  die Ente (the duck); der Esel (the donkey); der Elefant (the elephant); der Elch (the elk); die Eidechse (the lizard); das Eichhörnchen (literally, "little oak horn", the squirrel)

Common Names:  Emil, Elena,  Ellen, Erich, Elisabeth, Ernst, Erika, Elfriede

Cities:  Essen, Eisenach

Eisenach is known for the Wartburg, where Martin Luther was protected and hidden by Frederick the Wise from 1521 to 1522 - and where he translated the Bible from Greek into German.
ALSO:  Johannes Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685.

Words you might recognize:  das Echo, das Experiment, das Element. die Explosion

verbs:  essen (to eat), erben (to inherit), erzählen (to tell), erhalten (to receive)

famous brands/companies:  Esso (fuel)

DAS ENDE (The End)


Sunday, June 18, 2017

Father's Day auf Deutsch

While Germany has adopted many of the American "holidays" such as Valentine's Day and Halloween, some also celebrate Father's Day on the 3rd Sunday in June as we do in America; however, the "real" Vatertag (Father's Day) in Germany is traditionally celebrated on Ascension Day (Christi Himmelsfahrt), which occurs on the 40th day after Easter.

Because the German Father's Day falls on a religious holiday, in many regions of Germany, it is a true day off from work and school.  Some families celebrate Dad (Vater, Vati, Papa, Papi) much like we do with his favorite meal, cake or a Torte, and maybe an outing to a favorite park or walking trail. In some regions, Father's Day is also known as Men's Day (Herrntag) and includes all men - fathers or not.  Its celebration actually involved the men getting a break away from their families - by having men only grill parties or hikes or bike rides ... and can include a lot of indulgences of alcohol and other vices.  Ironically, this "holiday" also has the statistically highest rate of arrests for violence.

As it pertains to this holiday of Father's Day, I think I prefer the American way of celebrating and taking the 3rd Sunday in June to celebrate our fathers with cards, his favorite meal, and lots of spoiling!


Happy Vater's Day!



Friday, June 16, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (D)

This is a continuation of a series of practically unedited blogging through the alphabet IN GERMAN (auf Deutsch).  You can review previous letters - and try to think up your own German words to add, by viewing previous posts:  (A), (B), (C)

Today I am taking 5 to 10 minutes to blog all things I can think of about the letter "D".



der Delfin = the dolphin


Food:   Dampfnudeln (:'steam noodle'; a sort of white bread made of yeast dough, steamed in a pan and then served with various toppings, e.g. sugar, cinnamon, poppy seeds, jam, butter and vanilla sauce)



Animals:  der Dackel (the dachshund), der Dachs (the badger)

Common Names:  Dagmar, Dagbert, Dagobert, Dieter, Dietrich, Daniel, Daniela

Cities:  Darmstadt, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Dortmund

Words you might recognize:  Dokument, Diplomat, Depression, Doppelgänger, Danke

verbs:  dienen (to serve), denken (to think), dürfen (to allow)

famous brands/companies:  Daimler-Benz (Mercedes!), Deutsche Telekom (T-mobil), Deutsche Bahn (German train system), Deutsche Bank (banking)

Deutsche Bahn:  ICE (Inter-City Express) train

And a poem/tongue-twister with lots of D's:
  • Denke nie gedacht zu haben, denn das Denken der Gedanken ist gedankenloses Denken. Wenn du denkst, du denkst, dann denkst du nur du denkst, aber denken tust du nie.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (C)


Blogging through the alphabet in German.
See previous posts:  (A) and (B) by clicking on the (letter).

C is not a much used letter in German, actually.  C is pronounced like "tse".  Centuries ago, words now written with a C in German were represented by K or Z, depending on the word.
This post could pose to be more of a (c)hallenge.




Animals: das Chamäleon (chameleon)

Common Names:  Cornelia, Conny, Claudia, Christel, Christina, Conrad, Curt

Cities:  Coburg, Chemnitz, Cochem, Celle

Reichsburg (castle) on the Mosel River in COCHEM

Words you might recognize:  der Cowboy, der Clown, das Cello, Café, Charakter

German brands/companies:  Commerzbank (financial)

Ciao!