Post Tagged with "Marcel"

Law and order in Germany

A really interesting, bilingual blog that I stumbled upon recently is the Transblawg.

In this blog Margaret Marks from Fürth in Bavaria writes about German-English legal translations, mostly on the basis of existing and recent court decisions. She also reports about the going-ons in her personal life and the area she lives in – and I can really recommend this blog if you’re looking for a direct comparison between the German and English language above a level of “I’d like to buy two beers and a sausage!”.

Read more:
More German blogs featured on Blogs of the World
Celebrating Christmas in Germany
Berlin counterculture in Tacheles kunsthaus

Culchies?

One of the most-read Irish blogs in my feedreader is culch.ie. A gathering of some of Irelands mot prolific bloggers and writers, among them Darren Byrne and Rick O’Shea, this funny bunch supplies a constant flow of blogposts on all things pop-culture, Irish and world-wide.

So if you are interested what movies, concerts and youtube-videos are the talk of the land here, please pay them a visit.

And, by the way, a culchie is a person from rural Ireland, often used in an insulting sense. But this should not put you off.

Read more:
Irish blogs on Blogs of the World
On yer bikes! Dublin discovers bike sharing
Ireland’s top five tourist destinations without tourists…

Christkind or Weihnachtsmann? Christmas in Germany

Christmas traditions in Germany vary a lot, depending on the area you live in, and also if this area is predominantly a Catholic or Protestant one.  We even have two entities bringing presents: the Christkind and the traditional Santa or Weihnachtsmann. Most Germans do share one of the following traditions though:

The start of all Christmas-related actvity (especially as it is also the opening day of our world-famous Christmas Markets) is marked by the first Advent-Sunday, four weeks before Christmas. Most families will light the first candle on their Advent wreath, adding a burning candle each week until all four candles are burning on Christmas Eve.

(image via)

The first important day for most children is December 6 (Saint Nicholas day), when they have to put their shoes outside the door to have Santa Claus fill the shoes with sweets and little presents. This does depend on if the children have been naughty or nice: nice children will receive the aforementioned sweets, naughty children only get a “Rute“, or rod, to represent the fact that they’d have received a spanking back in the old days.

The one main difference to most European Christmas celebrations is that for Germans Christmas Eve is the most important day. Though no official holiday, most people will finish work around noon, to be home in time to set the tree and prepare the elaborate evening meal. And it is after this dinnner that children will receive their presents, so you can imagine the state they are in come dessert (or even worse, come Papa’s cigarette after dessert).

After the unwrapping and connected commotion most families will settle down for the evening to watch TV or chat under the Christmas tree, though in some areas families will attend late Mass around ten in the evening.

A nice local tradition from the Rhineland is that instead of serving a vast, multi-course meal people will sit down to a helping of sausage and potato salad. After all that hassle you had before the holidays, chasing down presents and preparing the household, Mama does not want to spend hours and hours in the kitchen.

After all the feasting and excitement on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are reserved for visiting relatives and friends (and more eating), and of course to relax and wind down. And to start thinking about the plans for the New Year’s Eve-party.

Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr! (Merry Christmas and a happy new year!)

This was the last in our series of Christmas around the world posts.

Read the rest here:
Sunny Christmas: Christmas in New Zealand
Magic Christmas – Christmas in Catalunya
Christmas regained – Christmas in Romania
Windy Christmas – Christmas in Costa Rica
White Christmas – Christmas in the UK

Ireland’s top five tourist destinations without tourists…

..or at least a limited number. As Ireland is a major holiday destination (especially during the summer months), it’s quite difficult to escape the guided-tour buses and camera-wielding crowds most of the time, even more so when you visit the “must-sees” as mentioned in most travel guides: the Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle (and Blarney Stone) or the Ring of Kerry.

That’s why I thought I’d give you an overview of some of Ireland’s not-so-crowded destinations, which will still give you a good (first) impression of the Emerald Isle. You may also combine these with a longer intineray.

Dunmore East

If you’re looking for a nice little getaway at the sea, with Waterford and its impressive Viking history at hand, Dunmore East is the place to go. Excellent connection to road and rail network, but still a feeling of remoteness prevails here with the 5 local pubs, 3 bed and breakfasts and 1 hotel.

I recommend to visit it in Autumn or Winter to enjoy a look at the ocean battering at the quay wall while sitting snug into a pub and enjoying a warm fireplace and a cold Guinness. It only gets crowded during the annual Bluegrass Festival.

West Cork

Less crowded than the Ring of Kerry or Connemara, this is scenic Ireland at it’s best. Travel along the N71, passing by the small towns of Baltimore and Schull, and end your journey at Irelands most south-western point, where the Atlantic splashes against the rocks beneath the Mizen Head-lighthouse.

Slieve League

Impressive sea-cliffs are your thing? Forget about the Cliffs of Moher. The Slieve League-cliffs are the highest sea-cliffs in Europe and not for the faint-hearted. Avoid after rainfalls. The ground gets slippy….

Achil Island

In the very north-west corner of Ireland lies this little gem, almost a miniature-Ireland in itself. Extrordinary beaches allure flocks of surfers in summer, but also outside the main season the Atlantic Drive and the scattered ruins all along the mountains make for a nice and scenic visit.

Glendalough

Glendalough, you are asking? The one tourist attraction that’s easiest accessible from Dublin and Lonely Planet lists as “the one thing to see when Ireland”. And still it is on this list. Because if you visit in autumn, during a heavy rain shower, or in winter when everything is cold, damp and miserable, I promise that you’ll have the place almost for yourself. And Glendalough during heavy rain (and with the right attire) has an eerie charm for itself. But by all means don’t. Visit. During. Summer. It’s like an Irish Disneyland complete with foodstalls and buses full of schoolchildren.

image source

Read more:
On yer bikes! Dublin gets bike-sharing
Ireland blogs from Blogs of the World
The best of Thailand at Pattaya floating market

Is there a German way?

The German Way Expat Blog is a really usefull source of information for English-speaking expats (and those planning to become such) on the going-ons in all German-language countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Created as part of the German Way website, entries are written by webmaster Hyde Flippo and co-bloggers Geoff Galitz, Sarah Fürstenberger, and Jane Park; all are expats living in Germany.

To gain insight on the way expats experience everyday-life in Germany and all other German-language countries, this blog is a really good read. I’d also recommend it for native Germans (and Austrians and Swiss for that matter) who are interested in a different view on their country.

Read more:
German blogs on Blogs of the World
Global goes local: hearing it from the locals
Immigrants and expats: citizens of the world

All about Dublin. And hats!

On the pages of the St. Stephens’s Green Preservation society you’ll find tons of usefull information on the going ons in the capital of Ireland, interesting for both visitors and locals.

Here’s what they write about, in their own words:

What we hope to achieve with this blog is to give people out there some ideas about things to do in Dublin when you’re alive. As opposed to things to do in Denver…well, you get the idea. Gigs, markets, exhibitions, good pubs – nowhere is safe from our gruesome grip of tyranny. Or our recommendations. To be honest, we’re just going to do whatever takes our fancy on any given day. We’re considering a Hat of the Week section. But people dig hats right?

I personally dig hats, so I see no reason why you should not pay a visit to this outstanding blog – especially if you are looking for something to do that is not listed in the Lonely Planet-Dublin edition.

Read more:
Irish blogs on Blogs of the World
On yer bikes! Dublin discovers bike sharing