Popular things to do at New Year or Silvester

Here I collected some ideas how to celebrate the New Year's Eve.
This is mainly if you celebrate at home. Otherwise of course you can find many parties in Berlin. 
Some links to help you around (although in German):

http://www.berliner-silvester.de/feiern/992578-990341-silvesterambrandenburgertor.html
http://www.berliner-silvester.de/feiern/party/
http://www.silvester-party-berlin.de/


OK now for home party:
Hopefully you have a Raclette set at home and done some shopping.
This is what we will do this Silvester. It's such a pleasant thing to do together on the last day of the year. Same goes for Fondue. Creative ideas could be:

Cheese Fondue with
Marinated (Marinated with grated Orange skin and chilly) meat for Fondue

Raclette with:
 Ginger scampi skewer, Sausages filled with cheese, Figs, Olives, potatoes, nuts, bacon. Otherwise any vegetable and meat works well. Of course you'll need Raclette Cheese.

Home made fortune cookies
Bake them yourself.
Recipe: what you need is:
* 40 g wheat powder
* 10 g corn starch
* 50 g icing sugar
* 1 egg white
* 1 tablespoon oil
* 1 pinch salt

Mix all ingredients and 2 table spoons of cold water. Let it sit for an hour. Prepare a circle out of cardboard paper (diameter 9cm). Then put approx 1 tablespoon of dough in the circle. (sorry don't know how to say it better).
Preheat the oven 160 degree Umluft, or 140 degree gas oven on 2. Bake them cookies for 6 to 8 minutes till the sides are golden. Take a cookie immediately. Then put your paper of self made saying in the middle of the cookie and close the dough like a tortellini. Put it to cool into a small glass in order to keep the shape.

Dinner for One
In Germany a MUST. It seems all Germans sit in front of the TV in the evening and watch this. It's the program broadcasted the most. Some people might take a drink each time James does.

"Bleigiessen"
Lead is melted over a candle and forms into shapes which are supposed to tell your fortune for the coming year. You can use an old spoon to place the lead on. I think this is also a very German thing to do.


Anyway whatever you do on this night, HAVE FUN and "Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr". This too is a very German expression, literally saying good slide into the new year.

Finally MIDNIGHT is here and the firecrackers, kisses and Champagne. Oh and then they Germans say "Frohes Neues Jahr"

Also in Germany don't miss to eat a "Pfannkuchen" a filled doughnut. It's absolutely part of New Year.

Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

When the snow falls wunderbar - A wonderful German-English Weihnachtssong

When the snow falls wunderbar

(Unbekannter Autor)

When the snow falls wunderbar
And the children happy are,
When the Glatteis on the street,
And we all a Glühwein need,
Then you know, es ist soweit:
She is here, the Weihnachtszeit

Every Parkhaus ist besetzt,
Weil die people fahren jetzt

All to Kaufhof, Mediamarkt,
Kriegen nearly Herzinfarkt.
Shopping hirnverbrannte things
And the Christmasglocke rings.

Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...

Mother in the kitchen bakes
Schoko-, Nuss- and Mandelkeks
Daddy in the Nebenraum
Schmücks a Riesen-Weihnachtsbaum
He is hanging auf the balls,
Then he from the Leiter falls...

Finally the Kinderlein
To the Zimmer kommen rein

And es sings the family
Schauerlich: "Oh, Chistmastree!"
And the jeder in the house
Is packing die Geschenke aus.

Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...

Mama finds unter the Tanne
Eine brandnew Teflon-Pfanne,
Papa gets a Schlips and Socken,
Everybody does frohlocken.
President speaks in TV,
All around is Harmonie,

Bis mother in the kitchen runs:
Im Ofen burns the Weihnachtsgans.
And so comes die Feuerwehr

With Tatü, tata daher,
And they bring a long, long Schlauch
An a long, long Leiter auch.
And they schrei - "Wasser marsch!",
Christmas is - now im - Eimer...

Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...

A Boatstour in Spreewald

Last weekend we went for an outing to the Spreewald. We drove the Berliner Ring A 13 direction Cottbus taking the exit Luebben. From Berlin Wilmersdorf it takes less than an hour.
Luebben -at the heart of Spreewald - is a cute little town offering diverse cultural and leisure activities.

Schloss Luebben (castle)

We reached our hotel and then later went to the harbor in Luebben. Very near the museum castle Luebben. At the entrance of the harbor we took a boats tour - the famous "Kahnfahrt" in the many canals of the Spree. You can go in traditional boats and take different tours, even a tour at night. We went for a round trip for two hours but they also offer longer tours. Our boats driver was very talkative -probably they all have to be- and he mostly seemed to complain about the tourists renting canoes. Often they don't know how to canoe probably and give the boat drivers like him a hard time ... at least according to him. We were lucky to have nice sunny weather, and not too many mosquitoes. It was also busy in the canals and some boats with young guys obviously had a lot too drink and were rocking the boat. Their poor driver had to balance the boat


We enjoyed our boats tour. It was very calming and relaxing.

The boats can "park" on the side at the stalls for a rest and taste of traditional pickled cucumbers

 You can see a "Heuschober"

A box to keep the fishes cool especially at the time when there were no fridges

We stopped at Lehde for a small break but only to get eaten up by mosquito However there is a museum where you can learn about Spreewald history but we didn't have enough time to visit it.


Back on land:
Near the harbor there is a small traditional market selling hand made baskets, pottery items and of course various pickled cucumbers.

 Bread baked in a wooden oven   

                                                                                                All the famous Spreewald specialties on sale

Most famous is the pickled cucumber in vinegar (saure Gurke) but the cucumbers are also pickled in mustard  (Senfgurke) or garlic (Knoblauchgurke) or Chilly or pepper (Pfeffergurke) or other herbs.

What do Germans love to do in summer?

Yeahhh, 100 points if you said it: "Grillen". As soon as the first rays of sun come out and the temperature rises just a bit, THE Germans take out their barbecue equipment and go bananas on their balconies, in the garden, in a park, wherever possible. And also all sort of stuff can be put on the barbecue: of course various meat, sausages, barbecue cheese, fish, vegetables like corn, mushrooms, tofu spits, zucchini, and so much more.

A few weeks ago when finally some sun came out, even the cashier lady at my supermarket asked me if I would do barbecue on my balcony. And well, no we don't. And in fact just the last weekend was the first time in 2013 that we opened the "Grillsaison" at my parent's garden. And here some pictures:

And here meet the "Grillmeister"

 And at the same time the marinated chicken spits were done on the electric barbecue as well.

Normally you'll also find all kind of salads, bread and sauces or dips as well on a "Grillparty".
And then we enjoyed all this.

Happy Easter!

Easter is a Christian festival. The roots of the Easter celebration are to remind us about the Resurrection of Jesus. Also death does not manifest the end but a new beginning.

The week before Easter is called Holy Week (Karwoche) and is an important date in the Christian calender.
Religious tradition has it that on Good Friday (Karfreitag) people grief. It's the death of Jesus, his crucifixion which people mourn. Then on Saturday, Holy Saturday (Karsamstag) the fasting period ends.

And finally on Easter Sunday the Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus and rejoice.

In some churches Easter fires are organized.

The custom is to color eggs and decorate branches with Easter eggs. There will be Easter pastry in shape of bunny or lambs. Very important is the Egg hunt on Easter day. Children are looking forward to search the eggs which the Easter bunny hid. Ideally this is done outdoors, in a garden. Colored chicken eggs or mostly chocolate eggs. And sometimes you might see a bunny when hunting the Easter eggs.


Actually in our courtyard there are some bunny sometimes. So maybe we can see them on Easter Sunday.

Easter Monday is a public holiday in Germany and usually again spend with the family.

 But what about the Easter bunny? Why would he bring the eggs? It should be the hen, isn't it. Apparently there are a few different conclusions. Already in Greek mythology the bunny is a holy animal and as a sign of fertility belongs to Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. Also the egg is a symbol of fertility and origin of life.

This year it's the coldest March and really really cold. It even snowed yesterday. It's also the time for clock change. Yeah, Summertime starts. I head the chirping of birds. Hopefully a good sign for the start of spring soon.

Wishing all of you a Happy Easter - Frohe Ostern -  and have fun looking for eggs even though it's still freezing cold.

Germans celebrating Silvester - New Year's Eve

Maybe I should have told you a day earlier..... but anyhow.

I want to share with you German tradition for Silvester - New Year's Eve.

First of all, before the new year everybody wishes you "Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr". Meaning is Happy New Year but literally meaning is something like "have a good slide into the new year".

Not missing for decoration should be paper streamer (Luftschlangen)

Then lucky charms for New Year are:

- Pigs (Schwein)
- Chimney sweeper (Schornsteinfeger)
- Four-leaved clover (Vierblaettriges Kleeblatt)
- Poisonous toadstool (Fliegenpilz)



People present each other with these in various forms and shapes.


Some people also do "Bleigiessen" (lead pouring). A very German tradition where lead or tin is melted. You can buy these sets before Silvester. Then it's poured into cold water. And the lead quickly forms shapes. Now these shapes are interpreted and are telling you your fortune for the next year. Nowadays I guess most people don't take it too seriously but at one point like in the middle ages people did.

Then don't miss Pfannkuchen -basically filled doughnuts - which are also called Berliner. In Berlin nobody calls it Berliner like in the rest of Germany. For obvious reasons... we don't want to eat ourselves. :-)

At midnight people wish each other a Happy New Year (Frohes Neues Jahr) while cheering with sparkling wine or champagne.

I hope you enjoyed your Silvester Party and had a good start into the New Year!

Coping as a Re-Expatriate

Sometimes friends ask me "How is it to be back in Germany?"
Do you want the long or short version? Anyhow, here's some medium version. Basically it's not too hard to settle back in because I've grown up here in Germany and know the place. BUT sometimes it doesn't feel easy going. Lots of things have changed, I have changed ... First when we came here, we struggled with some bureaucratic stuff- and experienced typically German complicated bureaucracy- it's just awful. Anything takes time, you need to bring documents that you don't even know exist or where to get, you have to wait and wait.... the list goes on. Of course also in India things are slow but still somehow different. Especially for my now husband it's very frustrating because in South Korea things work much easier and customer friendly. He keeps telling me so.

Apart from these matters, life in Germany has changed -  I've been away for 15 years. And I don't only mean that "Schrippen" (buns are called Schrippe in Berlin) are more costly now. I somewhat feel that because of the economic situation people are more grim. People work harder, will have to work much longer. Parents often have less time for their kids. It's harder to get a job or hold your career. All these constraints have effects on people. Less smiling and less easy going, more rushing. Of course, this is a generalization and therefore leaves short the other positive examples.

Newspaper and TV report of much more violence that I've heard when I grew up. Of course, also technology has changed and banking systems are different, many more departments have become more computerized and it does take time for me to figure out how stuff works. Ok that might be a generation issue. My son has no trouble at all. Nowadays you don't find any staff at U- or S-Bahn platforms which used to be when I was young.
Sometimes I feel a bit foolish realizing that life has changed. Generally I'm happy to be in Berlin now and still think it was the right step at the right time. And Berlin is a great place too.

source: wikipedia

Why are Germans so damn serious?

Just yesterday I has a silly accident in the S-Bahn. In one hand I was holding a cup of coffee and with the other hand I was pulling my jacket off. Somehow, suddenly OOOOPPS one big sip of my coffee had spilled right onto the lady's white pants sitting opposite me. I immediately apologized. 

Well, ok definitely I've been clumsy and it's not a nice thing to get a coffee stain on your white pants sitting in the S-Bahn. Anyhow, this lady punished me with utterly neglect. She took one quick glance at her pants, pulled her legs a little aside and looked into the other direction. I just thought to myself: "Why are Germans so damn serious?" She could have said something.  Whatever. Some response. She could have shouted, or cried or laughed. I don't know. Ok I've messed up but why so serious about it. Shit happens sometimes.  I wonder what the reactions would have been in say a bus in India ... Any ideas?