Wednesday, November 29, 2017

German Childhood: Oma's Apron

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OMA'S APRON


My Oma (grandmother) was a true Hausfrau (housewife/homemaker)Before World War II, she was trained to cook from scratch, and she took care of large families - to include her own 10 half-siblings, the last of whom was born just a year or so before her own first child.  Even when she worked outside the home later, she was a Putzfrau (cleaning lady) for businesses.  For this reason, and because it was the norm for many of the women of her generation, she wore an apron almost every day while doing her housework.  


Schürze = apron


My Oma loved her little kitchen - and for that reason, so did I!  


In between doing her work, my Oma sat in her chair at the kitchen table, enjoying her coffee, doing crossword puzzles, balancing her household accounts, or writing in her daily calendar/diary.


Looking at these pictures of my Oma with her various aprons, I vividly remember the patterns and colors.  I still own one of her practical, cotton aprons!


Oma's apron pockets usually held a tissue and were handy for filling with clothes pins when it was wash day.  My Oma never had a dryer.  Her small washing machine was in the kitchen; clothes were hung to dry outside in the summer and in the attic of the apartment building in the winter or on a rainy day.


Of course, if she went outside the house, the apron always came off!  I think my Oma was so beautiful.  I always admired her so much.

Every day, after lingering over a cup of coffee and maybe some buttered bread for breakfast, she always got completely dressed to include her stockings, girdle/garter, and then fixed her hair.  My Oma almost always wore a skirt and blouse or a dress.  And of course, she then tied on her apron!


Here's a Christmas gift idea -

How to sew an apron:
youtube video is AUF DEUTSCH




Thursday, November 23, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving!


An equivalent to Thanksgiving in Germany is Erntedankfest (Harvest Thanks Fest), which was celebrated on October 1 this year.

Erntedankfest in Germany is foremost observed through church services in both Catholic and Evangelisch (Lutheran) congregations, although many villages do decorate and celebrate as well.  A hymn often used in the church services is "Wir Pflügen und Wir Streuen".  Here is a youtube version with English translation "We plough the fields and scatter":



Happy Thanksgiving!  Today I am thankful that I have been able to blog for over 1 year now about something dear to my heart and share ein klein bisschen German with you.

May you enjoy a day of Familie, Freunde, und Festlichkeit
(Family, Friends, and Celebration!)   



Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (X, Y, Z)


Yes, I am cheating to get this project FINISHED!  3 letters at once...
X, Y, Z - today on the blog.
It all started a long time ago (June 2017) with BUCHSTABE A.
If you want to check out A through W, follow the links on the side bar. >>>








Animals:  die Ziege (goat), das Zebra (zebra), der Zugvogel (a migratory bird), das Zugtier (a draft animal), der Yak (yak)

Food:  Zwiebel (onion), Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart), Ziegenkäse (goat cheese), Zander (a type of fish), *Zigeunerschnitzel (schnitzel, gypsy-style), Zimt (cinnamon), Zitrone (lemon)

source - Nadia Hassani
A wonderful web-site called Spoonfuls of German gives a fun narrative about the political incorrectness of the above pictured *Zigeunerschnitzel (pic from that web-site also), which has been on restaurant menus since the Nazis coined the term "Zigeuner"/gypsy for the Balkan population, specifically the Sinti and Roma poeple group.  I guess now we can call it "Schnitzel with pepper sauce and mushrooms."

Names:  Xavier, Xander, Yvette, Yvonne

Cities:  Xanten, Zeil, Zell, Zweibrücken, Zwickau


Verbs:  zuhören (to listen), zuhauen (to dig in), zünden (to ignite), zappeln (to fidget), zittern (to shiver, to shake)

Words you may recogize:  Xylofon/xylophone (xylophone) - also called Glockenspiel (although a xylophone has wooden bars and a Glockenspiel has metal tubes or bars).  
Ypsilon - the pronunciation of the German letter Y.  
Zugzwang - a chess term; also means "a tight spot"
Zeitgeist - literally "time spirit" - means spirit of the age

**VOCAB TIDBIT**:  
X-malig is sort of a word  that starts with X --- it literally means "x-times".  This word is used when you have done something infinity times, over and over, umpteen times ... same goes for the term x-fach.

A BONUS CATEGORY - ONE OF MY FAVORITE CANDY BARS:  Yogurette


And now this project is zu Ende!  (through, brought to a close, Finished!)









Saturday, November 18, 2017

LECKERBISSEN: Toast Hawaii


Leckerbissen is a German word meaning treat, tidbit, or delicacy.  
Lecker means yummy or delicious; ein Bissen is a bite.  

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I realize that all the cooking talk these days revolves around the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday; 
however, here is a recipe that you can make if you end up with any left-over ham.
**Also consider substituting the traditional maraschino cherry with cranberries, 
if you are using holiday left-overs.**

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


When you think of German food, you may think of cheese and fruit (apples, grapes, fresh cherries, pears) or of wonderful varieties of bread and meats - but you probably don't immediately think of PINEAPPLES (Ananas auf Deutsch).

Believe it or not, a very popular German dish, especially with my parents' generation (post-World-War II) was Toast Hawaii.  It was introduced in the 1950's because the ingredients were potentially in every household.   It was CHEAP and easy to make, but sounded very exotic.  

In America, there is such a thing as Hawaiian-style pizza, right?!  It it ham and pineapple on a cheese pizza.   You either love it or hate it, I think!  I happen to love it, but that probably is a result of my mother's love for Toast Hawaii, which was served every so often as I was growing up.  

The ingredients for Toast Hawaii are - like has been said - simple:  a piece of white bread (toast), a slice of cheese (so many varieties to use!  I like Swiss or provolone.  A slice of American cheese is the perfect size, too.), a round slice of canned (or fresh) pineapple, and if you want to make it REAL FANCY, a maraschino cherry for the center of the pineapple (I don't need one of those myself.).   
***You might consider substituting that cherry for CRANBERRIES if you have any left-overs at Thanksgiving!!***


To make Toast Hawaii, you just stack your bread, ham, pineapple, and cheese on a baking sheet.  Bake until the cheese is soft (350 degrees for about 15 minutes).  Optional, add a maraschino cherry in the center!   
Now, this is important:  EAT IT WITH A FORK & KNIFE like a good-mannered German.  

Here is a web-site called Live Like a German that has a far more detailed description and 2 different recipes for Toast Hawaii to offer:  Toast Hawaii Recipe  




Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (W)


4 more letters to go to complete this Projekt!
Today all things "W" auf Deutsch ...



Animals:  der Wolf (wolf), der Wurm (worm), das Walross (walrus), der Wal (whale), das Welpen (puppy)

Food:  Weisskohl / Weisskraut (cabbage or "white" cabbage), Wirsingkohl (savoy cabbage), die Wurst (sausage), Wienerschnitzel (breaded pork/veal, Vienna-style), Wassermelone (watermelon)

Names:  Wolfgang, Wilhelm, Wilhelmine, Walter, Waltraut, Werner, Wilfried/ Wilfrid

Cities:  Weimar, Würzburg, Wittenberg, Wilhelmshaven, Wiesbaden

MEMORY LANE -
My husband and I lived in Würzburg, Germany from January 1996 until January 1999; my son and I returned in March of 2013 to see where he was born and spent the first 3 months of his life.

^ January 1996 - our first week in Würzburg, entering the "gate" to the Residenz

Looking down on the Main River & city of Würzburg from the Fortress (Festung)

My son at the Residenz, March 2013

My son at what used to be the Army Community Hospital, where he was born - now turned into apartments, after the US Army post closed.

Verbs:  wandern (to wander, to hike), wundern (to wonder), warten (to wait), wetten (to bet)

Words you may recognize:  Wagen (wagon), Waffe (weapon, also Luftwaffe = Air Force)

Companies/brands:  Wella (hair care products), Wüsthof (cutlery), Warsteiner (brewery)



Sunday, November 12, 2017

A German Childhood: My Oma's Story

My Oma was born in 1918 in Gross Lattana, East Prussia, located along the southeastern Baltic coast.  Her village/town was called Peitschendorf, and now it is called Piecki as this area is part of Poland today.  It was in the Masurian lake district - known for its 2,000 lakes.  


A QUICK HISTORY LESSON:
Prussia's history is complicated - it was a providence of the German Empire after 1871; after 1918, at the end of World War I, the territory became an enclave (separated from the mainland) of the new German Republic.  Between the end of 1944 and 1945, East Prussia was part of air assaults and offensives by the British army as well as invasion and siege (and atrocities) by the Russian Red Army.  Many ethnic German Prussians fled - to include my Oma (at this point, married with a child, my uncle who was born in 1943) and her family, which included many of her younger siblings.  

Refugees who tried to return to East Prussia were prevented, and many of those remaining were expelled by its new Communist regime.  Labor camps were established; orphans from the who were left behind in this Communist zone were called "Wolf Children" and are a whole sad story unto themselves.  My Oma eventually made it to Frankfurt, where my Opa's family was from, and her family eventually also came over to the West after living in Eastern Germany for a short time.

The East Prussia my Oma lived in 1923 -1939

Following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II in 1945, East Prussia was partitioned between Poland and the Soviet Union according to the Potsdam Conference. Southern East Prussia was placed under Polish administration, while northern East Prussia was divided between the Soviet republics of Russia (the Kaliningrad Oblast) and Lithuania (the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region). The city of Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. Most of the German population of the province had left during the evacuation at the end of the war, but several hundreds of thousands died during the years 1944–46 and the remainder were subsequently expelled.  (source)

But back to my Oma's childhood:  from her stories, it was pleasant in that the area she grew up in was beautiful, wooded land with lush forests and fertile farms.  Her father was a stern man, a constable of the town.  Her mother, sadly, died when my Oma was almost 7 years old of tuberculosis despite efforts to send her to a sanatorium for treatment.  

This picture below is interesting - it was taken in 1921 or 1922:


The little girl in the picture ^ is my Oma:  Hildegard Anna; she was born in 1918.
Her father is beside her (Gustav, 1881 - 1968).   Seated is my great-grandmother (Ur-Grossmutter); her name was Anna (my daughter is named after her and my Oma); she lived from 1896 until 1925.  Anna's sister Wilhelmine stands behind her - and she became my Oma's step-mother later.  

ANYWAY ... back to my childhood:




My mother and I moved to the United States (Maryland - then Virginia) with my dad (an Army soldier) in 1974, right before I turned 4 years old.  My Oma and Opa came to visit in 1975.  Airplane travel was quite an adventure back in those days, and it was a brave endeavor for them to come with their limited English with the additional challenge of getting stuck overnight at the airport in New York City.  The above 2 pictures are from this visit.  

Starting in 1977, I traveled to Germany yearly, each summer after school was out, to spend about 2 1/2 months with my grandparents and other German relatives.  Because my grandparents lived in the city of Frankfurt in an apartment, they rented a small garden, as many city dwellers did, to grow a few plants, enjoy some green space, and in my grandparents' case have a little hut for parties and family to hang out.  This is where we came almost daily during the summers because our garden also had rabbits to feed and cages to clean.  (click on the link to see an aerial view of the gardens now - ours was the plot closest to the railroad tracks.  Today it has no grass, as the owner uses it for chickens; however, when we rented it, the surface was grass.)

VOCAB TIDBIT:
Our garden was part of a rabbit breeding club - a Kanninchenzuchtverein.  How's that for a nice, long word!!?  Let's break it down:  Kanninchen = rabbit, Zucht = breeding, Verein = club
We showed our rabbits each year, and they were judged, kind of like the Kennel Club's dog show you might be familiar with.  
Kanninchen = rabbit; schau = show

So it was at this little garden that I spent many happy hours playing - on my swing, in my playhouse, in the hut, and with other children whose families were a part of the club.


Me & my Oma - ca. 1977 or '78.
Is it crazy that I remember those flip flops that I have on?  They straps were made of velvet and the foot bed was straw, kind of like these:  

But better than the memory of my awesome shoes is the memory of having fun with my Oma!

You can also ready my Opa's Story:  here




Friday, November 10, 2017

Projekt: Von A bis Z (V)

Nearing the end - 5 more letters / posts to go!  Today I am blogging all things "V" (pronounced "pfou" auf Deutsch, but in words, usually makes the sound "fé" - as in Volkswagen) that I can think of for the categories below.  Add some words if you think of them!




Animals:  Vogel (bird), Vieh (cattle, livestock)

Common Names:  Verena, Volker

Cities:  Vilseck (the US Army has a post here, Rose Barracks), Vechta in Lower Saxony (my mother was born here)



Foods:  Vollmilch (whole milk)

verbs:  verlieren (to lose), vergeben (to forgive)

Words you may recognize:  Violet (violet - the color), Vase (in this case, the V is pronounced "ve"),  Volk (the people), Vater (father)

German Companies/Brands:  Volkswagen (vehicles), Villeroy & Boch (ceramics)







Tuesday, November 7, 2017

A German Childhood: The Beginning / Der Anfang

This is my story ...

I was born in Frankfurt, Germany in the earliest of the 1970's.  My birth occurred in late November, and from what my mother tells, it was cold and wet and dreary; but this is when I first met some people who would mean the very most to me - the memories of these people I never want to forget!  They are people I wish my children could have known, but I have many stories to share, some of which I will record here.

a peek into my carriage (Kinderwagen) - 1971

Of course, my parents were - are - very important in my life.  I am so thankful for OUR story, especially the journey my mother and I would make through our lives and to this day... but outside of my parents, my grandparents, particularly my mother's parents - whom I called Oma and Opa - would influence my childhood and give me a rich heritage and sense of being loved that I carry deep down in my heart.  Even writing about them now makes me kind of teary ... I still miss them even though many, many years have gone by since they left this earth.

On my very first Christmas, I wasn't even a month old yet.  The picture below is of my father's mother, holding me.  Her name was Klara; she had an interesting yet somewhat tragic and hard life.  Her husband died in Russia in World War II (I think it was in 1942).  She raised my father and his sister while managing a small grocery store.  I don't know much else about her actually - apparently, she had a very bad temper as a younger woman;  but you'd never know that from this picture as she tenderly holds her granddaughter.  Klara died in 1974, just a few years after this picture was taken.


Also in the picture above is my Opa; this is my mother's father.  His name was Wilhelm.  My Opa was born in or near Frankfurt, the oldest child with 1 brother and 5 sisters:  Paul, Elisabeth, Maria (Ria), Johanna (Hanni), Helene (Leni), and Margot.  He was a soldier in World War II and later many things to include a streetcar conductor, but ultimately, he worked in civil service for the post office.  He was also my biggest fan!


Because my mother had to go to work, my grandparents babysat me every week day.  My Oma liked to tell the story of how she told my mother she promised to have very little to do with child-rearing of the new baby ... until the day I was born - and then my grandparents were an active part of my life, practically daily!  My Opa in particular just knew how to be fun - and he was so patient with me.  He sang to me, read me stories, and watched me play.  Later, he built me a swing, a play house, and set up monkey bars for me to climb.  



I am not sure if I realized how very good I had it when I was when I was little ... to be so carefree and to be the center of some one's world.  I do know there was a wonderful security in that feeling, whether it is conscious or not; I never doubted that I was very loved. 

Of course, my Oma - my mother's mother - was very special as well.  And I will share more stories about her as time goes on ...

New Year's Eve - 1973
My Oma & I prepare for the new year *1974*

So, this is my beginning ... and there is so much more to tell ...