Category Archives: Germany
Hello from Lake Baikal
Birch trees and water. If you don’t look too closely, you can hardly tell the difference between Lake Baikal and Lake Cospuden. But because I don’t like to go to a penal colony for 10 years or suffer a fatal … Continue reading
Hiking on the First Day of Spring
Zur deutschen Fassung. Whatever the weather forecast, the calendar, meteorologists or theologians say – for me, yesterday was the first day of spring. And so I went for a hike: As always in this area, plenty of water, requiring large … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago – the episodes you missed in 2022
Writing two blogs, one in German and one in English, is a lot of work. Not quite twice the work as writing one blog, because I can use the same photos twice. But it’s more work than some might think. … Continue reading
Müggelheim, where Berlin looks like Sweden
Zur deutschen Fassung. Staying in Berlin for two months, I get plenty of calls from readers, fans, friends and foes who happen to live in Berlin and want to meet up in person. “So, where in Berlin are you?” they … Continue reading
Köpenick – First Impressions
Zur deutschen Fassung. Berlin, at least as you know it today, is a rather young city. It was only created in 1920, when several surrounding towns, villages and rural estates were incorporated into Greater Berlin, which became 13 times the … Continue reading
The most beautiful city in Germany that you never heard of
Zur deutschen Fassung. It always makes me sad when people visit Germany, and their only plan is to see Berlin and Munich. Or maybe that silly castle in the mountains. Which is really just one of thousands of castles in … Continue reading
Winter is Coming
Suddenly, there were heaps of that crazy white stuff all over the place. It did make the cold a little bit more agreeable, though. Anyway, it was a good enough reason to leave the desk and computer for a day … Continue reading
Naughty Towns and Sin Cities
Have you also been wondering why some towns in Germany have to put a “Bad” before their name? Well, this happens when a town misbehaves. If they are found to have done so, they need to put the “Bad” before … Continue reading
Learning German with Hamlet
I am always impressed when someone manages to learn German. It’s not the easiest of languages – though not the hardest, either – and every 50 kilometers or so, it is pronounced in a completely different way. Even I, as … Continue reading
Journey to the Center of Europe
Zur deutschen Fassung. It is July 15th, 2022. The early hours of the day are still morning-pleasantly fresh, although it will turn into a very hot day. There is even a bit of a drizzle in between. The kind of … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 