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German posts
Video of the day: a goaty guide to pronouncing foreign cheeses
Nov 12th, 2011 at 4:00PM: The holidays are Cheese Season. At no other time of the year are cheese and specialty food shops as thronged by dairy-seeking customers. They're hungry for a fix or searching for a gift, recipe ingredient, or the makings of a cheese plate. Cheese is love, and one of the easiest, most elegant ways to kick off a cocktail party or conclude (or make) a memorable meal.
With that in mind, the folks ...
Useful foreign phrases, Part 2: how to say, "Can you write this down for me?" in 10 languages
May 5th, 2011 at 1:00PM: A post written by Chris on Tuesday reminded me of this little language series I started in March. In "Ten things Ugly Americans need to know before visiting a foreign land," Chris recommended brushing up on the local language. He joked about dashing around Venice clutching his concierge's handwritten note, "Do you have 220/110 plug converters for this stupid American who left his at home?"
...Ode to the expat newspaper
May 3rd, 2011 at 3:00PM: One of my favorite things about traveling, in addition to foreign supermarkets, oddball museums, and miniature toiletries, is the local English-language expat newspaper. When I'm home in New York, I tend to get all my news online, either directly from news websites through specific searches or curated from friends' links on social media (one of the best sources for news from US newspapers is ...Italy's South Tyrol: Language disputes
Apr 27th, 2011 at 7:30AM: In the Italian region of South Tyrol a language dispute has emerged over the exclusive use of German on mountain trail signs. In the Telegraph, Nick Squires provides an overview of what he terms a "language war."
South Tyrol's German-language Alpenverein is responsible for replacing all trail signage. Squires claims that around 1500 of these hiking path signs are written exclusively in German. ...Useful foreign phrases, Part 1: how to say, "I'm just looking" in 10 languages
Mar 24th, 2011 at 12:00PM: I've frequently pimped Lonely Planet's Phrasebooks on this site, but I swear I don't get kickbacks from the company. It's just that I'm a big believer in not being a). A Tourist (although, let's face it, if I'm not at home, I am indeed A Tourist) and b). helpless.
Even if you're the biggest xenophobe on earth--which would make foreign travel a really weird and pointless pastime you might want ...The Visigoths: Spain's forgotten conquerors
Dec 31st, 2010 at 2:30PM: When most people think of the fall of the Roman Empire, they think of hordes of howling barbarians swarming over the frontier and laying waste to civilization. That's only partially true. In reality, many tribes were invited, and even those that weren't came with their families not just to conquer, but to settle. This is why historians prefer the term "Migration Period". And although these tribes ...Oktoberfest: Lots of food and more than 8 million gallons of beer
Oct 7th, 2010 at 11:24AM:
Oktoberfest grew like an indelible beast as Munich crowds headed by subway, bus and foot to the Theresienwiese fairgrounds. It was the last night, after all -- and there was still plenty of beer to consume. Thousands converged, happily dressed in everything from traditional colorful dirndls, lederhosen and vests to ordinary t-shirts and leather jackets. It really makes no difference what you wear ...Meet the "Rotel," the hotel on wheels
Apr 6th, 2010 at 5:30PM: Why are hotels so stationary? Wouldn't it be great if your hotel could travel along with you wherever you go? Apparently there is such a mobile accommodation, and it's called the Rotel.
Website Jalopnik brings us up to speed on this unique hotel on wheels concept, a fleet of vehicles owned by a German company called Rotel Tours. A quick Google Translation of the company's website offers some ...Winter festivals in the Midwest
Dec 28th, 2009 at 11:30AM: What is it about snow that just makes us want to play in it? A fresh, fluffy layer of snow means snow angels and snowmen, building forts and having snowball fights. And for some people, it also means making really, really big snow sculptures like these found on WebUrbanist.com.
To see some smaller, but no less impressive, snow sculptures in the Midwest, check out one of the area's many winter ...German tourist arrested for bomb threat at Disney World
Dec 2nd, 2009 at 4:00PM: Seriously folks, who out there doesn't know by now that it's just not okay to make a bomb threat? It's not okay at the airport, and it's not okay at Disney World either. But still, we have yet another story about someone getting arrested for making a false bomb threat.
A 37-year old German tourist told security that he had two bombs in his backpack as he was passing through security at Walt ...German pilot dumped, lives in Brazilian airport for two weeks
Oct 31st, 2009 at 9:00AM:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Breakups are tough, but we always seem to get through them. Whether it's strip clubs or buckets of ice cream, there are plenty of coping mechanisms. The latest is to move into an airport. I don't know how this makes you feel better, but it seems to be working for a German tourist. Heinz Muller, a former pilot, ...
Hikers on new trail in Germany may see more "nature" than they want
Sep 24th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Apparently, nudity is big in Germany. The German Nudist Association organizes outings for naturalists to nude beaches and campgrounds and now, there's even a special path for naked hikers. Yeah, I said naked hikers.
The 11-mile long trail will run from Dankerode to the Wippertal dam and officially opens in May. The trail will be marked with signs warning hikers that nudists are in the area. "If ...Brits continue to self-congratulate on cleanliness
Apr 19th, 2009 at 10:00AM: Brits are the best-behaved hotel guests, according to a survey by TripAdvisor. More than 3,000 participated in the study, and the results are certain to reinforce stereotypes. Forty-three percent of hotel guests from the UK make their own beds every morning ... which is nothing compared to the 79 percent who put their clothes neatly in the closets.
But, tidiness comes with a price. Travelers from ...Top 10 wine spots, none in U.S.
Apr 12th, 2009 at 4:00PM: I realize that, on the world stage, our homeland isn't exactly the most popular place right now. Part of it stems from eight years of political buffoonery, and a healthy dose comes from traditional "old world" bias against the United States. Like most of us, I've learned to adjust for a touch of this when I read international news coverage. To a certain extent, I understand it ... we're more like ...President Obama thinks 'Austrian' is a language?
Apr 7th, 2009 at 12:30PM: By most accounts, President Obama had a pretty successful maiden voyage to Europe this past week. But it was not without its gaffes. But relative to the era of George W. Bush, this one seems pretty minor. In response to a question from an Austrian reporter about his impressions of European leaders, President Obama said that in fact the interaction between European lawmakers was really not all ...
Germans still traveling to U.S.
Feb 26th, 2009 at 3:00PM: You'll find plenty of German tourists at just about any major destination in the world, and this is unlikely to change. As of October/November 2008, German tour operators are reporting a 4 percent to 9 percent increase in tour bookings.
Trips to the United States were up 5 percent for the first 11 months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. Seventy-nine percent of the tour operators ...Apparently you can't strip in airports
Feb 4th, 2009 at 1:30PM: You're late for a flight. Your clothes are wet and filthy. You have a change of clothes with you in the airport. What do you do? If you said, "find the closest restroom and put on your fresh duds," then you are well on your way to staying out of jail in Salvador, Brazil.
It seems that two German tourists decided to just strip down and change their clothes in the middle of the Salvador airport. The ...Berlin celebrates 20 years of wall's collapse
Jan 12th, 2009 at 12:00PM: The Berlin Wall was pulled down 20 years ago, giving birth to a new industry: selling pieces of the Berlin Wall. Remember that? Well, all the pieces were probably bought long ago (well, except the "real" one that you picked up last week, of course), but there is still plenty you can do to celebrate. The list of cultural events is long and impressive, like the German translation of a short word in ...Expedia survey rates the world's worst tourists
Jun 25th, 2008 at 8:30AM: The French, Indians, and the Chinese have been voted as the world's worst tourists by a group of 4000 hoteliers, in a survey conducted by online travel search engine Expedia. On the other hand, the best tourists are 1) Japanese 2) British and Germans. Yup, looks like the annoying and continuous photo taking of everything in sight by the Japanese, and the drunken stag parties of the British and the ...How Much Would You Pay for a Pair of Lederhosen?
Sep 4th, 2007 at 6:53PM: A new world record has been broken recently -- most expensive pair of Lederhosen. A version of the traditional alpine outfit recently sold for 85,000 euros, which is $115,000. Lederhosen, which are traditionally made from the hide of an animal -- typically a goat, pig or elk -- is strangely enduring fashion trend in the Alps. This particular pair is adorned with 116 diamonds, each set in gold. ...
