Happy birthday, BRD!

The BRD was born on May 23 1949!

Celebrating 75 year of Bundesrepublik Deutschland! Happy birthday 🎈

What is typical German?

Birkenstock sandals!

Gendern!

Bravo magazine.

Everyone back in the 80s, 90s was reading the „bravo“ – best magazine for teenagers back then!

Eatable paper.

Steiff & Knopf im Ohr

Various colors of Mülltonnen

In Swabia: yellow (plastic), green (paper), brown (compost), black (everything else), and a basket for bottles and glass. We are recycling fanatics!

Spezi!

Bread!

Kännchen

Freibad Pommes

The best part of a summer day, if you could afford fries in the public swimming pool kiosk.

Haribo Gummibärchen

Stolpersteine

Spaghetti Eis

The sweet variant of spaghetti bolognese is spaghetti ice cream – founded by an Italian in Mannheim.

Personalausweis

Handy and mandatory for German adults to carry around. If you don’t and get stopped by the police, you usually pay a fine. We call that „Ausweispflicht“.

White socks in sandals

Bestimmt gibt es weltweit die eine oder andere Geschmacksverirrung. Aber für die weiße Socke in der luftigen Sandale dürften die überwiegend deutschen Männer weit über ihre Landesgrenzen hinaus bekannt sein. Leider sieht die aber, egal welches Label auch auf dem Riemchen stehen mag, mit der Tennissocke einfach nur sehr besch… bescheiden aus.

Schwarzbrot

Hard typical German bread. Like it or leave it!

Erster vw

First VWs in Germany, affordable for most of the Germany. Those were good times. I wonder what happened since…

Das deutsche „Sie“

Weinrömer

The style of the glass, very famous for drinking wine in Germany.

Tatort

Fußball

Funktionskleidung

Without right gear in Germany, you cannot go on a hike, motorbike, cycling trip!!!

Badetuch

›Nothing’s faster than a German towel!‹ Niemand reserviert so schnell und organisiert die besten Sonnenliegen am Pool wie wir Deutschen. Schon kurz nach Sonnenaufgang ist die erste Reihe belegt. Die bunten Badehandtücher in extra large kommen dafür mit auf jede Reise.

Mett Igel

Like it or hate it (I am hating it): it’s raw pork minced meat… a classic for a farewell party in the office.

Ahoi Brause

Milchschnitte

Claudia Schiffer

Brezel

Rotbäckchen Saft

When we were kids and sick… a bottle of red healthy juice with that label on would cure us!

Übergangsjacke…Bier…Weinschorle…Biergarten…Sonntag = Ruhetag und alle Geschäfte haben geschlossen…Mittagspause: Shops are closed…Restaurant Nordsee! 🐟

What is typical German for you?

Happy birthday, BRD!

Good news (cw21)

Japan will always be way ahead of the rest of the world in terms of education.
* This neighbor decided to paint their house and the painters put up some mesh to protect the other houses from splashes and not uncomfortable during the job.
In addition, neighbors who were not going to remove their cars while the company was working, they were covered with a tarpaulin so they wouldn’t damage them at all…
Empathy, education and respect are values I admire in this country

Die Beatsteaks gehen im Juni auf Tour und treten dabei ausschließlich in autonomen Jugendzentren im Osten auf, um “diejenigen (zu) unterstützen, die durch die (aktuellen politischen) Entwicklung starken Gegenwind erfahren, Angriffen ausgesetzt sind und Widerstand leisten”.

Tokyo, Japan ..
The Japanese have started puting floating gardens on the roof of public parking lots. Not only creates beautiful spaces but also helps bees and other polinators to survive …

Drinking on the tube might have been banned, but soon you could have an actual party in an Underground station. TfL is offering the chance to hire out tube stations for shindigs.

Linda Benson started surfing at age 11 and was the first woman to surf the great big waves of Waimea Bay on the North Shore of O’ahu.
That was at age 15. And she’s still going!

Happy Pfingsten! 🌸

„Swifties“

It’s all about „swiftie“ these days and for the last couple of months. Heard about it?

„Swiftie“ means nothing else than being a very passionate and loyal fan of the very popular musician Taylor Swift.

I mean, why else would Americans fly across the Atlantic to Paris to see one of her concerts combined with a bit of European travel & shopping? You must be a swiftie! Another reason is that tickets in Paris are apparently cheaper compared to the USA. Is that all crazy? Yes!!!

It’s cheaper to get a French vacation then it is to get one ticket back in the USA!

Can’t afford Taylor Swift concert tickets in the U.S? Not a problem! Travel to Paris to save some US$ and spend some € instead! (The EU loves the idea, thanks Taylor!)

VR Friendship bracelets at the Eiffel Tower presented by NRJ Hit Music Only in honor of The Eras Tour Paris. Awwwww 💗

Speaking of concert ticket prices. I think it’s too crazy! But Taylor is not the only one with ticket prices hard to afford… Adele, Coldplay, etc. are similarly crazy.

The media is all about Taylor Swift. She‘s American. She’s talented. She’s attractive. She’s a singer as well as a songwriter. She’s an entrepreneur. She’s in love with the famous American football player, Travis Kelce. She makes political statements. She’s successful. She’s a billionaire. In fact she is joining the ranks of the world’s wealthiest individuals. She seems to have it all.

Taylor Swift wearing Travis Kelce’s team colors (Chiefs) on her 87th The Eras Tour show. She’s a mastermind!

Yeah, that’s Taylor. The „swift-mania“ seems to continue… Even German priests started playing her songs in Sunday mass in Heidelberg: 1,200 teenagers are back in church! It’s so simple! lol.

Taylor Swift service fills German church.

You go, girl.

Hope you don’t have a swiftie at home 😂

Good news (cw20)

Die Schweiz 🇨🇭 gewinnt den ESC 2024! Deutschland singt sich zurück aus dem ESC-Keller und landet mit Isaak und dem Song “Always on the run” auf Platz 12.

Madonnas Konzert war eines der bestbesuchten Konzerte der Geschichte. Auf Madonnas Website war es als das grösste Konzert der «Königin des Pop» angekündigt worden. Es war der Abschluss der Welttournee «The Celebration Tour», mit der Madonna 40 Jahre Karriere feierte.

Aurora nights all over Europe…

Lady Aurora and all her colors over the Giant’s Causeway… Those who take photos of the northern lights haven’t seen such a show in the sky for a long time as yesterday!

Or more like…

In Mainz sollen die städtischen Beete neu bepflanzt werden. Die 12.000 Frühlingsblumen sind aber viel zu schade zum Wegwerfen – deswegen werden sie verschenkt.

Über Tausend Seelöwen liegen derzeit im Pier 39 in San Francisco. So viele wie seit 15 Jahren nicht mehr.

Have a great week!

Moms

Moms are everything.

🫶 To all you special moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

Good news (cw19)

Have a good week!

Rheinmetall aus Düsseldorf hat ein neues Konzept zum Laden von E-Autos vorgestellt: Ladebordsteine.
Als quasi liegende Ladesäule sind sie unsichtbar im Bordstein untergebracht. Im April 2024 ist ein entsprechendes Pilotprojekt in Köln gestartet!

From 6 founding countries, to 27 member states!
Twenty years ago, the EU experienced its greatest EU enlargement with = Cyprus, L Czechia, — Estonia,
Hungary, = Latvia, • Lithuania,
Malta,
Poland, lu Slovakia, and e Slovenia
joining the European Union.
Since then, the pace of change across the Union has been remarkable, offering tremendous opportunities to people and businesses alike, such as:
450 million Europeans now enjoy freedom of movement within our Union
~ The EU economy has grown by 27%, fostering prosperity across nations
26 million new jobs have been created, with 6 million in the 10 new EU countries
« Global international trade expanded by €3 trillion since 2004, reaching €5 trillion in 2023.
& Motorway lengths tripled in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia in the last two decades.
% Over 2.7 million young people participated in the Erasmus+ programme from the 10 new EU countries.
• Energy efficiency has improved by almost 33%, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

Danach kann man noch ne gute Woche telefonieren!

Längster Flug der Welt? Neuer Flug nach Mexiko.

Regeneration innerhalb von 3 Jahren … einfach durch das Graben von Löchern! Die gegrabenen
‘Erdlöcher’ verlangsamen den Abfluss der Regenfälle, so dass sich die Vegetation festsetzen und das Wasser im Boden halten kann.
Die Arbeit von Justdiggit in Tansania.

May!

And so it is May. The month with the least work days (in Germany) and the most bank holidays, and bridge days…

It’s also my birth month. Yippie.

And it’s the month of asparagus & strawberries. And beer garden visits. Spending time outside (minus the allergies).

“Wonnemonat Mai”, the merry month of May!

Good news (cw18)

Happy new week!

10 Pollinator Plants – Bring Bees To Your Garden

In Japan, there are bus stops equipped with pedal benches that allow you to get some exercise while waiting for the bus, and to generate electricity to power street lighting.

Banksy Art, of course!
Murales a Napoli.
Amy Winehouse.

Passenger trains in the United States vs. Europe. I guess only good news for Europe.

Der italienische Konzern plant generalstabsmäßig die Expansion seines Likörs. In der Expansionsphase Nummer eins nehmen die Konsumenten den Aperol Spritz noch an sommerlichen Nachmittagen in den Bars zu sich; in Phase zwei zieht sich der Genuss das ganze Jahr über hin, etwa auch in den Skiresorts. Zu Phase drei gehort dann, dass der Aperol Spritz als Aperitif zum Mittagessen dazugehört. „Deutschland befindet sich in Phase zwei, aber nahe an Phase drei. In Italien sind wir in Phase drei”, berichtet der Campari-Vorstandsvorsitzende Matteo Fantacchiotti. Jetzt muss nur noch die Börse daran glauben. Cheers 🥂

You just know that the German sense of humour means that Lufthansa is going to send this plane to the United Kingdom!

Something to remember, and not only the next time you’re out and about on streets around Cologne.
“Somebody loves you! Drive carefully.”
Shown when there are no pressing dangers, or problems, on the roads.

kitchen party

The concept: genius. An open kitchen to see how our several-course-menu was prepared. Including fine details done by incredibly talented hands.

The menu:

„Michelin star hands“ preparing our dinner.

The absolute most amazing and delicious plate of today: the white asparagus, a tasty explosion in our mouths.

Watching the preparation was as amazing as eating it!

We loved the „look over the shoulder of the star chef” moments & of course enjoyed all those amazing dishes!

Last but not least, finishing with cheese.

Great night. Amazing food. Fantastic company.

PowerPoint Karaoke

If you have an office job like me… and a daily dose of 10 hours work is not enough… I recommend spending your evening at a special form of karaoke: PowerPoint karaoke!

That form of karaoke is around since a little bit but still new to most of us (and me).

Powerpoint Karaoke is an improvised game where you give a presentation from a slide deck you’ve never seen. It’s a game that tests your skills, gets people laughing, and keeps everyone wondering what will happen next.