- having vineyards since 3 AD, Stuttgart is the only city in Germany with a municipal wine estate, which covers 15.5 hectares
- City of science – Stuttgart has the highest density of scientific, academic and research organizations in Germany
- Cradle of the automobile – housing two of the world’s most popular car firms Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Stuttgart offers to automobile museums (of course Mercedes and Porsche) and the Käfer (second most sold car of the world) was developed here!
- featuring many vineyards, parks and forests Stuttgart belongs to the greenest cities of Europe. Especially ‘The Green U’ a 8 km long ring made up of parks, offers many recreational areas
- The Teddybear as we all know it today was invented and born in Stuttgart by Richard Steiff
- Stuttgart’s Ballett ranks among the world’s best dance institutions and is highly renowned
- The first TV tower of the world was build in Stuttgart and you can still visit it!
- City of the Maultäschle – Maultäschle, a typical Swabian dish (and Stuttgart is the capital of the Swabian region) was invented for being allowed eating meat on Good Friday. Normally, you do not eat meat on Good Friday, however the Swabians invented Maultaschen as ‘God is not able to see the meat inside the dough’. So they could eat meat and god did not notice
- one Europe’s largest christmas markets takes place in Stuttgart every year between the last Thursday of November and 23rd December. Dating back to approximately 1692 and comprising about 280 decorated stalls it attracts around 3 million visitors every year!
- Keeping up with Munich: Stuttgart has it’s own Oktoberfest – they call it Wasen instead of Wiesn and celebrate it two times a year! A bit smaller than Munich’s Oktoberfest, however it attracts nearly as much visitors as its big brother and is at least as amusing as the Wiesn
Tag Archives: Living
Top 10 Fun Facts – Berlin
- Berlin is unique, a city of superlatives and there are far more than 10 facts you should definitely know
- Sunny weather and culturally intense: Berlin has more museums than rainy days per year. Berlin offers more than 180 museums covering everything from arts over history and technical stuff to Currywurst and toys, while it rains only on about 106 days a year.
- Ever-moving city: Every hour 18 people move from one district to of the city to another one.
- Highly international: About 500,000 foreigners live in Berlin, coming from about 185 different nations. But Berlin is not only interesting to foreign nationalities: Many people from all over Germany live in Berlin and so it may not surprise that only 1/4 of all people living in Berlin, are born and raised in Berlin.
- Growing city: Every day 435 people move into Berlin while only 327 leave the city.
- Green, greener, Berlin: More than 44% of the city’s area is made up by parks, woods, river and other recreational areas. This makes Berlin the greenest city of Germany and high-ranking worldwide.
- City of superlatives:
- KaDeWe is the largest department store of Continental Europe
- longest beer-garden in the world (2.2 km long)
- East Side Gallery is largest open-air gallery of the world
- more than 9 times bigger than Paris
- more bridges than Venice
- Berlin is the only city in the world having 3 opera houses, comprising more than 4000 seats
- Ever wanted to get gold directly from an ATM? – At the Gallerie Lafayette in Friedrichstraße this is possible! You can buy gold in 250g portions from the ‘Gold ATM’
- Relaxed mentality: Berliners are least worried about the future than everyone else in Germany.
Top 10 Fun facts – Hamburg
- John Lennon said: “I was born in Liverpool but raised in Hamburg
- When Hamburgers refer to the DOM they do not mean a church or cathedrale but a huge fair, taking place three times a year in Hamburg
- Hamburg has approximately 2500 bridges and hence not only more than Venice, Amsterdam and London combined, but it has more bridges than any other city of the world
- There are more millionaires living in Hamburg than in any other German city
- Hamburg is 7 times bigger than Paris and 14% of Hamburg is green space
- In Wedel is the ‘Willkomm-Höft’ situated. The only ship greeting dock of the world. It welcomes every ship entering the harbour of Hamburg with the national anthem and flag of the originating country
- The VIP-seats of the FC St.Pauli Stadium offer each an own Astra Pils tap as well as a small ice-rink where fresh Currywurst is served
- The Miniature Wonderland Hamburg is the largest railway museum as well as the largest model railway in the world. It inherits more the 12km of railway lines
- Only men as well as those women working there are allowed to enter the ‘Herbertstraße’ in Hamburg
- “Hummel, Hummel” “Mors, Mors” is a very common salutation in Hamburg. However, it is mere used as a distinctive mark and a battle cry among Hamburgers
Top 10 Fun facts – Munich
- Beer is considered food and not an alcoholic beverage in Bavaria
- The Biergartenverordnung allows you to bring and eat your own food in a Bavarian beergarden
- Oktoberfest is held in September mainly and ends the first weekend in October
- The Bavarian dialect is difficult, even for other Germans: Brötchen (Buns) are called Semmeln and the city’s name ‘München’ becomes ‘Minga’
- Munich’s specialty the ‘Weisswürste’ (white sausages) is served with sweet mustard and freshly baked pretzels and ONLY until 12:00 noon
- not counting the cities in Alaska, Munich is located more north than any larger city in the US
- The city’s name ‘München’ was derived from the old High German ‘Munichen’ and means ‘by the monks the place’
- According to legend the architect of the well-known Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Lady) tricked the devil into thinking the church having no windows. However, when the devil realised he had been duped he stamped his foot near the entrance. You can view the footprint called the devil’s step even today.
- Munich’s English Garden is heavily influenced by Asian architecture, comprising Chinese pagodas, a Japanese teahouse as well as temples
- the oldest building in Munich known today is neither a church nor a Bavarian pub or tavern – it’s a toilet of the year 1260
Another kind of integration: participating in Carnival
Its coming closer again – every year between early-February and mid-March there is no other topic as highly discussed and dividing as Karneval or Fasching or Fasnet.
First, it divides German society in those going jeck (mad, crazy) during Karneval and those fleeing from the country to either go skiing or enjoying sun in a far-away Karneval-escape. Next, this season divides those who love Karneval into different groups, calling it Karneval, Fasching or Fasnet, depending on where they live.
While North-Rhine-Westphalia is a carnivals stronghold where it draws serious consequences to call this week of drinking alcohol and running around in crazy outfits Fasching. In the south however, it is opposite: do not say Karneval in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg! It is at least Fasching, however a true Swabian would never say Fasching but Fasnet!
And of course every carnival stronghold is the best, in their eyes. The title of being THE carnival stronghold is highly contested, especially Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz are competing against each other and make fun of the others’ attempts of celebrating.
A quick tip:
When you participate in Cologne’s Karneval: Never say HELAU, shout ALAAF whenever possible 😉
When participating in Düsseldorf’s or Mainz’s celebrations use HELAU and do not try out what happens if you shout ALAAF.
ICH-Will-Deutsch-Lernen
“ich-will-deutsch-lernen” new onlineplatform for refugees and migrants
The German „Deutsche Volkshochschul – Verband” provides a tool to support migrants and refugees in learning German. Name of the webportal is “ich-will-deutsch-lernen”. The available platform implied a German language course which helps to learn and improve German language skills, starting from level A1 to level B1. The Volkshochschul – Verband want to support the integration of refugees and migrants in culture and social living.
The content of the digital courses is according to the rules of integration courses in Germany.
Furthermore the portal offers an extensive range of material for alphabetisation. And last but not least the portal provides also one tool to improve German professional jargon. The user can choose out of 30 cross-sectoral scenarios and 11 professional communication activities.
Everybody may use the tool: do-it-yourself-learner, teachers and professional learning classes.
Teacher of integration courses and German courses have to register and build up their own class online. Then they are able to supervise their participants. Learners who start on their own will be supervised by tutors of DVV.
ich-will-deutsch-lernen.de
update: there are new features available
Munich „Oktoberfest“ has started
The world biggest beer festival “Oktoberfest” had have it’s grand opening on Saturday. Many visitors will be there drinking beer, riding a roller coaster and walking around the “Wiesn” during the next two weeks.
Some hints for the “Wiesn”
- The special beer “Wiesn Maß” costs Euro 10.40 to 10.70 this year
- You can only enter the festival through one of the nine entrances (security reasons)
- Backpack and bags are forbidden, you must deposit them at the entrance in a box.
- the 14 large as well as many smaller tents provide for lots of beer, Bavarian food like Schweinshaxe & Co. and brass music.
- Going to the festival by public transport
Everybody hope that the rain will stop and the weather will be fine again.
Munich – the world’s biggest beer festival
“O’zapft is” in Munich
Soon again Wiesn, Oktoberfest or how you want to call it starts again in Munich. The world’s largest and most popular fair will be held again at the Theresienwiese from September 17th until October 3rd. Being an important part of Bavarian culture Oktoberfest celebrations take place since 1810.
After the opening parade the first beer barrel will be tapped in the Schottenhammel tent by Munich’s lord mayor at 12:00 with the exclamation “O’Zapft is!”. Afterwards the fair is started and the 14 large as well as many smaller tents provide for lots of beer, Bavarian food like Schweinshaxe & Co. and brass music.
A bit of Rio in Berlin?
Nearly a month after the Olympic games in Rio have ended Berlin-Marathon is coming up again and brings the Rio-feeling to Berlin. In mid-end September on September, 24th and 25th a weekend full of sport events, music, and happiness turns the city upside-down.
Berlin-Marathon is always an adventure for participants as well as for people cheering along the track. Samba drummers and music stations along the track motivate and fire up participants and spectators.
Berlin-Marathon is one of the best-known marathons of the world, part of the World Marathon Majors, and as popular as the races in New York or London. Runners, Inline-skaters or hand-bikers – there is a race for everyone even the smallest (born 2006 and younger) can participate in the Bambini-race. You are not that into sports? Just cheer along the track! Starting in the Tiergarten it runs through Berlin’s diversity in Mitte, Neukölln, Kreuzberg and Schöneberg, through quieter and village-like districts such as Friedenau, Schmargendorf and Wilmersdorf and coming back to the vibrant heart of the Marathon weekend around Brandenburg Gate, where the runners reach the finish line. Along the track various music stations, first aid and refreshing station ensure good mood along and on the track!
Flat or holiday apartments Berlin
New decision concerning holiday apartments in Berlin!
About 16000 flats are now allowed to be rented as holiday apartments as they are used only rarely by their owners. The administrative court of Berlin decided that secondary residences may be rented out to tourists and are not covered by the “Zweckentfremdungsgesetz” (law of misappropriation).
What consequences does this decision have for the already tense housing market?
Berlin’s housing market is tense since several years and will be tense in future. It needs to be awaited whether and how the decision influences the market. However, only flats which are used as secondary residence are allowed to be rented out, and are only allowed to be rented for several days or a few weeks a per year. The owners need to proof their own usage of the flat. Hence, the flat wont be on the housing market, even without the decision.