This man has been causing English speakers issues

This statue in Frankfurt looks so innocent...until the English speaker tries to pronounce the person's name. The subject of this statue is Johann Wolfgang von Göthe, a very famous German author born in Frankfurt.

To English speakers, we usually hear his last name as "Gerta." However, there is no letter r in his name. My German teacher explained to me how the o with an umlaut becomes an r sound (at least to the ears of those whose first language is English). I still don't get it. It just "is" and we all must make peace with it!

Also, if a person is typing and doesn't have access to the umlaut on the keyboard, she can add an e after the letter. That also explains why Göthe's name is also written as Goethe.

Roadside candy machines: Frankfurt

I saw this gem when I was in Frankfurt for the book fair. Someone spray painted "Ich!" (I! in English) on it.

 

There's even a view of the Main River behind it.

A visit to the Frankfurt Book Fair

I just motored home from a trip to Frankfurt for a visit to the Frankfurt Book Fair and some city exploring. The Frankfurt Book fair, or Buchmesse in German, is the biggest trade book fair in the world. According to the book fair's website, there are 7500 exhibitors who visit from more than 110 countries. The first three days of the fair are limited to trade professionals and the last two days, on the weekend, are open to the general public.

I was curious about the fair; I had read about it in the US and thought that since I live about an hour or so from Frankfurt and I had some free time this weekend, it would be a good trip to make. I bought a ticket and was pleased to see that it also included a public transit ticket throughout the Frankfurt region. That wasn't a bad deal for 17 euros.


The fair took up most of the Messe, or the exhibition hall in Frankfurt, and that place is HUGE. It reminds me of an airport in many ways; it even has those moving sidewalks. Just like the airport, the Messe seems to offer almost unlimited walking.

The event itself is huge, too. Even though it's a trade show, the general reader can very much enjoy it too. Keep in mind that most of the books will be in a foreign language -- mostly German (yeah, duh); after all, this book fair is held in Germany. There is also a huge selection of foreign publishers; there were books in French, Spanish, Asian languages, Portuguese, etc.


I was most impressed by the reproductions of illuminated manuscripts. One booth featured a demonstration of a woman sewing the spine of the vellum pages! Her colleague was hand stamping leather bookmarks and handing them out.

There were also a great section with some beautiful art books. I was thrilled to look over the prints and recognize many of the art pieces or at the very least, the art period, all thanks to the art history class I'm finishing now.

Some of the booths had gifts like post cards, little notebooks, and cards for sale. One booth was selling these unusual cardboard cutouts, about the size of a book.

The book fair didn't offer just books; there were also discussions, author talks, and even a cooking show!

In addition to the cooking show, the other "show" was people watching. It seems that about a third of the attendees were teenagers dressed in costumes. It made more sense once I found out that the Book Fair even hosts a cosplay championship. Wonders never cease! (Okay, I feel really old writing that.)

Kids these days! They have tails.

All in all, it was a very interesting (and exhausting) day. Even for those only read English books, it's still worth a visit to look at the art books, flip through some books in Turkish, and even better yet, people watch.

Frankfurt Buchmesse is this weekend! (Book Fair)

This weekend is the Frankfurt Buchmesse, or book fair. It's a huge, internationally recognized book fair. In fact, I remember reading about it while I was living in the US. It's big and included on the list with the New York book fair.

Here is the website with more information, in English: www.buchmesse.de/en/

That's it for what I'm going to write now, but I'll definitely have more to say about it after the visit!

This is all

This is all I have to say.

Review: Yolicious Frozen Yogurt, Heidelberg, Germany

Yolicious Frozen Yogurt
Ziegelgasse 26
69117 Heidelberg
www.yolicious.de/

During our escapades the weekend of Heidelberger Herbst, we stopped by Yolicious for some frozen yogurt. Just off the main pedestrian zone, it's a small shop with limited seating, mostly appealing to the takeout crowd (not unusual for frozen treats, of course).

The store has simple offerings: regular frozen yogurt with toppings, parfaits, and smoothies. In addition, the store has some beverages available, including warm drinks like cappuccinos and cold drinks like bottled water.

There is just one flavor of yogurt (yogurt flavored, of course!) with a wide assortment of toppings. I ordered in German and meant to order the cheesecake, but got a little confused when I was asked something else and ended up getting blackberries. It was totally my fault - I thought I could order two toppings and I must have overrode the original topping or something. That's what I get for trying to use German!'

Either way, it tasty. I really liked the tartness of the yogurt and how it wasn't overly sweet. The blackberries were plump and delicious. I recommend this store for a nice yogurt treat with options of natural, fresh toppings, or, for those who can't help themselves, candy alternatives.

Things I do not like

Here's a bit of randomness. There are many, many things that I ~do~ like, but today...

Here are some things that I do not like:

1. Feet.

2. Mudpuppies.
3. Walking on grates or things that wobble as one walks on them (I will usually skirt these).
4. Receiving/giving hugs.
5. Public displays of affection (holding hands is okay/slightly juvenile, but full on tonsil searching? Ew, no one wants to see that!).
6. Eating fish and most meat.
7. When people are mean to other people and/or animals.*
8. When people carve into trees (i.e. initials) and put love padlocks on bridges, etc. (damages nature/public property, is juvenile, and not cool in my book).
9. Insincerity.



*it is not mean to make one's cat wear a costume that embarrasses the cat