Gratuitous Moo Cuteness: he likes his toy
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
Frankfurt Book Fair is this weekend!
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Store review: Galerie Wagner, Kindsbach - gift store
Are you looking for a lovely and traditional gift that's actually made in Germany? In Kindsbach, a suburb of Kaiserslautern, shoppers can find just that at Galerie Wagner.
It's a delight of German handicrafts with everything from cuckoo clocks to doll houses inside the store. The highlight there is the selection of traditional German Christmas items. Räuchermännchen (little smoker men, which use incense inside so they appear to "smoke"), Christmas pyramids, ornaments, Schwibbögen, nutcrackers, and snow men line the shelves. Some items come from the Erzgebirge, a mountain area in Germany known for its handmade wooden figures.
Beyond that, there are paintings by German artists, Black Forest cuckoo clocks, pewter steins, music boxes, and Easter decorations. Everything is tidily packed into the store, making effective use of the small space for a large selection.
It's not just the items for sale that make a store worth a visit. Friendly and knowledgeable service is important too and Frau Wagner, the store keeper and namesake, offers just that. I've visited the store twice; the first time, just to look, and the second time, to purchase gifts. I never felt rushed or pressured to buy anything; I actually enjoyed my shopping experience.
Frau Wagner, fluent in English, is happy to answer questions about the products, make suggestions, and explain German traditions and how the pieces in her store relate to the traditions. She has operated the store for forty-five years and takes pride in offering quality items that have been actually made in Germany. She told me that items marked "Germany" were probably not made there; items marked "Made in Germany" were produced in-country, which is a requirement to receive that stamp.
Guided by Frau Wagner's helpful advice, I bought some really nice gifts for my family. I felt that prices were fair and very much in line for handcrafts actually made in Germany and I was happy to support an independently owned local business.
VAT forms are accepted
Galerie Wagner
Address: Kaiserstraße 35
67862 Kindsbach
Free street parking is available directly in front of the store or behind the building.
Phone: +49(0)637115144
Website: www.wagner-galerie.de
********
Note: these opinions are entirely my own, based on my shopping experience there. I received no compensation from Galerie Wagner for this review.
 |
| Galerie Wagner, Kindsbach, street view |
It's a delight of German handicrafts with everything from cuckoo clocks to doll houses inside the store. The highlight there is the selection of traditional German Christmas items. Räuchermännchen (little smoker men, which use incense inside so they appear to "smoke"), Christmas pyramids, ornaments, Schwibbögen, nutcrackers, and snow men line the shelves. Some items come from the Erzgebirge, a mountain area in Germany known for its handmade wooden figures.
 |
| Räuchermännchen (und Frauen!) |
 |
| Mini Christmas pyramids and holiday scenes |
 |
| Pewter items for sale |
Frau Wagner, fluent in English, is happy to answer questions about the products, make suggestions, and explain German traditions and how the pieces in her store relate to the traditions. She has operated the store for forty-five years and takes pride in offering quality items that have been actually made in Germany. She told me that items marked "Germany" were probably not made there; items marked "Made in Germany" were produced in-country, which is a requirement to receive that stamp.
Guided by Frau Wagner's helpful advice, I bought some really nice gifts for my family. I felt that prices were fair and very much in line for handcrafts actually made in Germany and I was happy to support an independently owned local business.
VAT forms are accepted
Galerie Wagner
Address: Kaiserstraße 35
67862 Kindsbach
Free street parking is available directly in front of the store or behind the building.
Phone: +49(0)637115144
Website: www.wagner-galerie.de
********
Note: these opinions are entirely my own, based on my shopping experience there. I received no compensation from Galerie Wagner for this review.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
My week: October 4 ed.
I realized I haven't written an update on my week for a while. I spent most of September preparing for, and conducing, another huge staff training. It took up so much of my time, energy, and mental effort that I didn't want to do a whole lot beyond that.
-Anyway, I had my regular tandem speaking meeting and was able to have my tandem partner explain Indirekte Rede a bit more, which was definitely appreciated. I've started up Volkshochschule classes again and had learned it there but didn't fully grasp it. It's wonderful to receive extra tutoring from my tandem partner!
-We had a going away dinner for one of our colleagues from another department and found it funny when we all showed up wearing black. It looked as if we were either mourning his leaving or we were part of some sort of mafia.
We then had a hilarious, bawdy conversation. If you get the vapors at such a thing, skip the next two paragraphs. We met J's friend, whose name also starts with a J and will be the focus of the story. J #2 has a pet hedgehog so of course I had tons of questions for him. He was sharing anecdotes about these unusual pets. There was a Youtube video of a new owner petting his new hedgehog. Suddenly J stopped the story, worried that it might offend us. Of course I had to hear the story then but I can appreciate his wanting to be polite with new acquaintances. Anyway, experienced hedgehog owners saw the video and just about died. The person in the video was surprised at how much the hedgehog liked having its belly rubbed. Well, a male hedgehog's, um, male bits are on his belly and the new owner was inadvertently petting everything, without realizing it. (That gave me pause but it makes sense, given all of the quills on the rest of the 'hog.)
J took a sip of his beer and peered at us, trying to ascertain if we were offended by the story. I asked, "So, did he at least give the hedgehog a cigarette afterward?" and J spit his beer out in surprise and laughter. Obviously the story didn't offend me and I learned an important thing: I don't want to pet any hedgehogs!
-On Saturday, I planned to attend a housewarming party that my friend was having in Saarbrücken. Since I wanted to maximize my time in the area, I also decided to visit Forbach, which is a French town on the border. I wanted to see the tourist sights, if any, and go shopping at Cora, a megastore with extensive grocery options.
I had a dickens of a time finding things to do in Forbach. Their tourist information website isn't translated very much and it wasn't playing along with Google Translate. I finally decided that I'd visit Schlossberg, a castle ruins and I'd decide on further sights after stopping by the tourist information center.
I was so bent on doing all of this because I've visited Forbach before and found it quite depressing. Since it's so close to my friends, I wanted to see if there were any redeeming features about the city for future visits. Considering that the city was damaged heavily during WWII, and it was a mining town that saw the major employer, the mine, close, it's not too surprising that the town isn't exactly beautiful with its out-of-place modern buildings, commercial area, and traffic-heavy vibe. Honestly, it reminds me of my visit to southern New Jersey.
My first stop was the tourist information center. I had researched its hours and thought it should be open. Well, if it were still September, it would have been, but it's not open on Saturdays in October. D'oh. I decided to walk around downtown and walk up to the castle hill.
Downtown is strange. The main road through town is congested and ugly. There are some abandoned-looking 60s buildings, the tourist office (in a worn out historical building - late Baroque, I think), and a hideous 60s-city administration building. I crossed into the downtown shopping district and it was a bit better but still a weird mix of the new and the old.
I continued up the hill to the Schlossberg, which is a city park located at the base of a castle ruins. Ah, this was more like it, with a forested area of paths leading up to the castle. For a two euro fee, one can climb the tower, which is the main section remaining of the castle that's been rebuilt multiple times (including the tower itself). I didn't do that but did pick up some tourist brochures.
After that, I fetched my car to join the madness of shopping at Cora. It was the German day of unity so all the Germans* left Germany since its stores were closed and headed to Cora in France for some groceries. It was complete madness there and I had not only my normal feelings of crankiness from shopping, but added crankiness because it was hard to move around. A German guy tried to cut in front of me in line at the cash register and I gave them a look that my horse would give before squealing and kicking at another pestering horse. The dude backed off ;)
It was a relief to load up the car and return to Germany. I met one friend for a decent TexMex dinner at Cafe Especial in Saarbrücken. I've eaten at this and the Cologne location. It's somewhat expensive but reasonably close to TexMex and it doesn't have any curry in it so that's a plus.
I then made my way to my friend's housewarming party that she was hosting with her boyfriend. I didn't bring them bread and salt, which is a traditional German housewarming gift. Instead, I bought her boxes of macaroni and cheese, Doritos, and peanut butter cups. There is flour and salt in the mac n' cheese so I figure that's close enough to the German gift. Plus, she really likes these American snacks, so why not? My good friend R and his girlfriend S showed up so it was a happy reunion for all of us. I drove home around 4 a.m. I haven't been out that late in ages. I must be getting old ;)
*well, not all of them, of course!
-Anyway, I had my regular tandem speaking meeting and was able to have my tandem partner explain Indirekte Rede a bit more, which was definitely appreciated. I've started up Volkshochschule classes again and had learned it there but didn't fully grasp it. It's wonderful to receive extra tutoring from my tandem partner!
-We had a going away dinner for one of our colleagues from another department and found it funny when we all showed up wearing black. It looked as if we were either mourning his leaving or we were part of some sort of mafia.
We then had a hilarious, bawdy conversation. If you get the vapors at such a thing, skip the next two paragraphs. We met J's friend, whose name also starts with a J and will be the focus of the story. J #2 has a pet hedgehog so of course I had tons of questions for him. He was sharing anecdotes about these unusual pets. There was a Youtube video of a new owner petting his new hedgehog. Suddenly J stopped the story, worried that it might offend us. Of course I had to hear the story then but I can appreciate his wanting to be polite with new acquaintances. Anyway, experienced hedgehog owners saw the video and just about died. The person in the video was surprised at how much the hedgehog liked having its belly rubbed. Well, a male hedgehog's, um, male bits are on his belly and the new owner was inadvertently petting everything, without realizing it. (That gave me pause but it makes sense, given all of the quills on the rest of the 'hog.)
J took a sip of his beer and peered at us, trying to ascertain if we were offended by the story. I asked, "So, did he at least give the hedgehog a cigarette afterward?" and J spit his beer out in surprise and laughter. Obviously the story didn't offend me and I learned an important thing: I don't want to pet any hedgehogs!
-On Saturday, I planned to attend a housewarming party that my friend was having in Saarbrücken. Since I wanted to maximize my time in the area, I also decided to visit Forbach, which is a French town on the border. I wanted to see the tourist sights, if any, and go shopping at Cora, a megastore with extensive grocery options.
I had a dickens of a time finding things to do in Forbach. Their tourist information website isn't translated very much and it wasn't playing along with Google Translate. I finally decided that I'd visit Schlossberg, a castle ruins and I'd decide on further sights after stopping by the tourist information center.
I was so bent on doing all of this because I've visited Forbach before and found it quite depressing. Since it's so close to my friends, I wanted to see if there were any redeeming features about the city for future visits. Considering that the city was damaged heavily during WWII, and it was a mining town that saw the major employer, the mine, close, it's not too surprising that the town isn't exactly beautiful with its out-of-place modern buildings, commercial area, and traffic-heavy vibe. Honestly, it reminds me of my visit to southern New Jersey.
My first stop was the tourist information center. I had researched its hours and thought it should be open. Well, if it were still September, it would have been, but it's not open on Saturdays in October. D'oh. I decided to walk around downtown and walk up to the castle hill.
Downtown is strange. The main road through town is congested and ugly. There are some abandoned-looking 60s buildings, the tourist office (in a worn out historical building - late Baroque, I think), and a hideous 60s-city administration building. I crossed into the downtown shopping district and it was a bit better but still a weird mix of the new and the old.
 |
| A prettier section of the pedestrian zone - unfortunately, not so much of it was this nice. |
 | ||
| This guy was taking a nap in the window of the hair salon. |
 | |
| This guy was vacuuming up leaves with what amounted to a giant vacuum. |
 |
| Schlossberg, Forbach |
It was a relief to load up the car and return to Germany. I met one friend for a decent TexMex dinner at Cafe Especial in Saarbrücken. I've eaten at this and the Cologne location. It's somewhat expensive but reasonably close to TexMex and it doesn't have any curry in it so that's a plus.
I then made my way to my friend's housewarming party that she was hosting with her boyfriend. I didn't bring them bread and salt, which is a traditional German housewarming gift. Instead, I bought her boxes of macaroni and cheese, Doritos, and peanut butter cups. There is flour and salt in the mac n' cheese so I figure that's close enough to the German gift. Plus, she really likes these American snacks, so why not? My good friend R and his girlfriend S showed up so it was a happy reunion for all of us. I drove home around 4 a.m. I haven't been out that late in ages. I must be getting old ;)
*well, not all of them, of course!
Thursday, October 1, 2015
My summary of Far from the Madding Crowd
If I were to sum up the novel Far from the Madding Crowd: dog-shooting, a
very confused form of feminism, courting by literally waving a sword in
someone's face, melodrama galore, and sheep, lots of sheep.
Monday, September 28, 2015
In which the American expat in Germany gets a bit British
As an American acquaintance and I were getting ready to go run an errand, I told her, "oh, just a moment -- I'm going to go and put on some proper trousers."
She started laughing and I did too. It was such a British thing to say!
I'm not surprised, though; I know that my manner of speaking has changed a bit since I've moved here almost three years ago. I can see some of the influences of speaking German as sometimes I'll use that language's word order, such as "I went yesterday to the store."
Other times I use a lot more of British style English; I tend to say "trousers" instead of "pants," and "queue" instead of "line." It's not that unnatural of a conversion since Germans around here speak a mix of British and American English. I've also hung out with some Germans who are English teachers and they sound incredibly British, which makes sense as it's the standard for English teaching here (and part of me wonders if they enhance the accent a bit).
Beyond the influence of Germans who've learned Oxford English, I'm also influenced by my own history. I've lived in a suburb of London before and perhaps I've unearthed some of the linguistic habits I had when I lived there, though I have yet to call my cell phone a "mo-BILE" again. I'm okay with that last one!
She started laughing and I did too. It was such a British thing to say!
I'm not surprised, though; I know that my manner of speaking has changed a bit since I've moved here almost three years ago. I can see some of the influences of speaking German as sometimes I'll use that language's word order, such as "I went yesterday to the store."
Other times I use a lot more of British style English; I tend to say "trousers" instead of "pants," and "queue" instead of "line." It's not that unnatural of a conversion since Germans around here speak a mix of British and American English. I've also hung out with some Germans who are English teachers and they sound incredibly British, which makes sense as it's the standard for English teaching here (and part of me wonders if they enhance the accent a bit).
Beyond the influence of Germans who've learned Oxford English, I'm also influenced by my own history. I've lived in a suburb of London before and perhaps I've unearthed some of the linguistic habits I had when I lived there, though I have yet to call my cell phone a "mo-BILE" again. I'm okay with that last one!
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Why speaking the local language as an expat is awesome
As an expat living in Germany, I'm keen to fully experience German life and culture. Part of that involves learning German and I'm finally starting to see some tangible fruits of my language learning labor.
Learning the local language affords one the following benefits:
Learning the local language affords one the following benefits:
- Conducting your day to day responsibilities is so much easier. Even if one's job is in her primary language, she is still confronted by the realities of day to day living. Even in Germany, where many people know English, it's not always possible to conduct business in English. For example, when I call my internet provider, staff will not speak English.
- It deepens communication with people who already speak fluent English. For example, I have friends who are very fluent in English but once in a while aren't familiar with some of the concepts or vocabulary that I use. At this point, I can often supply the German word for it and we both have the "ah-ha" moment. It's awesome!
- It gives one an opportunity to meet people that one might not have had the chance before. For example, I'm able to have a conversation with a Tunisian woman because we both can speak German together; she doesn't speak English.
- It allows one to join community events. For example, I joined a meeting of a local organization and could basically understand what was going on.
- It takes some of the stress out of traveling. I can (usually) decipher the announcements on the train when service is disrupted. If I can't catch the message the first time, I can ask another passenger.
- It allows one a less touristy experience. For example, I don't have to eat at restaurants where there are pictures of the food or menus in English. I can go to the more local restaurants and translate the menu and order for myself, in hopes of avoiding the tourist traps.
- It gives a person a new way of seeing things. The German language, for example, has words that express concepts really well. The English language doesn't have such words as Schadenfreude or Kummerspeck but we could certainly use them to talk about taking pleasure from someone else's misfortunes or gaining weight from sorrowful eating.
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