Kultur 3

I enjoyed the article about pessimism. My mother is always optimistic and my brother and I are pessimistic and often bring her down. The article went from funny

"It can be pseudo-intellectual:

• According to Nietzsche, God is dead, the world sucks, we’re all doomed. It's no use to even try.

• Romantic love is just a vestigial construct of the Victorian era; human nature runs counter to long-standing relationships.

Or a personal favorite, which someone actually told this author once:

• Anyone with any intelligence could never be as happy as you."

 to being rather deep in the history and minds of the German people

"Deep down inside, however, it seems as if even the most pessimistic Germans yearn for a certain Leichtigkeit (lightness) that their apparently genetic neuroses, cultural heritage, perhaps even inherent fears of erring, make difficult for them to achieve in their everyday lives (notice their zeal for mandated fun like Carnival or soccer games, or propensity to go stark raving mad while abroad). The only tack to take is to show them that there is, indeed, another way.".

I enjoyed this change in tone. Most articles we read don't humanize Germans as much as they deserve, and this one did.

Kultur 3 - Henry Warrington

The first three articles I read were "An Obsession Explained: Beer, Brewskies and Liquid Bread," "Capping the Bottle: Germany Looks to Tighten Up Public Drinking Rules," and "Yo Dude, What about the Turks? An Introduction to Germany's Real Fast Food Joints." I feel like these articles all give a great idea about the normal day to day culture of Germany while addressing some interesting stereotypes. The Beer, Brewskies, and Liquid Bread article is interesting because it reminds me of the emerging microbrewery industry in the US and how each state seems to have its own take on beer. Having lived in both Michigan and Colorado during the last year and tasting many microbrews from both places I have favorites in both places and cannot find comparisons.
The public drinking article was interesting not because it talked about public drinking but because of one paragraph where they mentioned teenage binge drinking. In the US we are tired of the 21 year old requirement to purchase alcohol and try to use European countries as examples for why we should lower it. The fact that Germany still has an issue with teenage binge drinking shows that a lower drinking age wouldn't fix our issue of teenage binge drinking.
The real fast food of Germany article was interesting because when most people think of the US fast food they think of McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's but each part of the country has its own fast food such as In n Out Burger, Whataburger, and other local chains like Skyline Chili around Cincinnati.  While McDonalds and the like are the most well known they are not necessarily the most popular anymore.
The articles about Germans being pessimistic and also their humor is an interesting thing to think about because a lot of the humor is how I act with my friends. We are always playfully ribbing with each other and making fun of each other while knowing the boundaries.

Kulture 3 Leah Mattfield

The three articles I chose to read were "The Dark Side: Optimists Are Idiots", "Teutonic Humor: Vee Have Vays of Making You Laugh" and "German Fast Food: Forget the "Mett", Try a "Frikadelle"".

I thought it was so interesting how negative these articles were. I actually wasn't aware of the pessimistic stereotype for Germans. I love that a German can tell it like it is, but I think that too much of a good thing is always a bad thing and in this case, they seriously need to lighten up. They seem to be an American's opposite. We try to always look on the sunny side and they think 'Why bother?'. I do think, however, that although it is funny to talk about, this is not a very healthy lifestyle. A positive attitude can really make you feel better. So if I had my friends crushing my enthusiasm every time I shared something exciting, I think I would very quickly fall into a state of depression. But hey, that's why I'm an American I guess.

The second article talked about humor in Germany. Apparently, different parts of Germany have different tastes in humor. You can make a joke in one part, receiving blank stares and zero response and then re-use that same joke in another part of Germany and have folks rolling on the floor with laughter. I find this very interesting but I also think that it would make traveling in Germany kind of stressful. I wouldn't know where or when to use which joke.

The third article was kind of just a summary of different fast foods you can find in Germany. All in all I was disappointed. None of the food sounded very good. That's one thing that doesn't excite me about visiting Germany. This article kind of made me think that I wouldn't enjoy a visit so much because they don't seem to have very good food, nor do they seem to have much of a variety of food . . .

Kultur 3

"Eco-Centric German: Organic Food Obsessions"first tells us how horrified most Germans are of genetically modified foods. "Fully 70 percent of Germans say they would never touch gene-manipulated food," (dsl). This mindset is seemed to stem from the fact that Germans spend a lot of time thinking about their health and the environment. Seeing as supermarket fruits and veggies travel long distances and are bruised, battered, and old, it is quite apparent why these organic supermarkets have become so popular. German has more than 300 supermarkets that sell only pesticide, antibiotic, and hormone-free products. Many Germans would rather go without than have to go inorganic...


Neil Hunter's article, "German Fast Food: Forget the "Mett," Try a "Frikadelle"," discusses the fare of German "Imbiss"or "Schnell Imbiss," aka fast food restaurants. Popular menu items include the following:

• Bockwurst- a pork, beef, and/or turkey Frankfurter boiled in brine, aka a hotdog.
• Bratwurst- standard fried sausage served in a half-slice of white bread.
• Currywurst- a sliced up bratwurst served with a dollop of curry ketchup.
• Frikadelle- comparable to America's hamburger, also called Bouletten, and is sometimes served with Nudelsalat or Krautsalat.
• Mett- raw, minced pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, served on rolls topped with raw onions. Considered a specialty because its quite expensive and delicious.
• Schnitzel- fried pork coated in bread crumbs, varieties include Wiener, Jäger, and Zigeuner.
• Spätzle- noodles served with stews or goulasches...

"Yo Dude, What About the Turks? An Introduction to Germany's Real Fast Food Joints"informs us that a surprising 2.3 million Turks live in Germany. It is very common to find inexpensive Turkish Imbisse along the streets of Germany. A Döner is a kebab consisting of lamb and chicken, a Durum Döner being a wrap. Your sauce choices are scharf (hot), knoblauch (white), or kräuter (orange). You can either have your food zum mitnehen, to go, or zum hier essen, for here. A couple other vocab words in this article were the following:

• Köfta- ground seasoned meat patties, Turkish hamburgers.
• "Turkish pizza"- a meatless döner, recommended to be avoided.
• Milchreis- a dessert that can be enjoyed with cinnamon.

"The Dark Side: Optimists Are Idiots" explains that Germans are often pessimistic. Just like the articles that we have read previously, this one touches on German's brutal honesty. Lastly in this article, the author tells readers to "tell him or her to lighten up" in response to a German's negative comment, they will ultimately thank you for it.


"Teutonic Humor: Vee Have Vays of Making You Laugh" tells us that beneath Germany's reputation for having a stern demeanor, there is a sense of humor. Spiegel Online has created the four following stereotypes of humor:

• The Bavarian: heavily language-based, the more dialect you learn, the more you'll appreciate it.
• The Rhinelander: stand-up comedy at Karneval, filled with witty punchlines.
• The Berliner: snarky comments, disrespectful jokes.
• The Hamburger: more cool nd calm, often witty banter.

Kultur3

For Kultur 3 I learned a lot about German beer and their attitude toward drinking. The first article described the different types of beer there are. Some are light, with low alcohol content that can be refreshing in the afternoon. Other are very dark and heavy. They have a high chance of, "Waking up in the ditch with a headache." Germans absolutely love their beer and they like to drink it everywhere. It's not uncommon to see a person walking down the street drinking a beer or in the park drinking or even on the train after work. There have been many attempts to ban public drinking. Most have been turned down and the few that were passed were over turn a short while later.

The articles also discussed the German sense of humor. Most people don't think Germans have a sense of humor mainly because the jokes don't translate into other languages very well. Also, the humor is very diverse. There are "regional dialects" of humor. Something that is absolutely hilarious in the north might not be understood in the south.

Kultur 3

The article I chose to read first was called "An Obsession Explained: Beer, Brewskies, and Liquid Bread". If the title doesn't lay out what the piece is about, it's all concerning the German obsession with beer. It's like water to them. They drink it on their lunch breaks, sell it at McDonald's and movie theaters, and even keep stocks of it in their office kitchens. There's approximately 1,274 breweries and 5,000 different types of beer in Germany. It takes them three minutes to pour a beer. In America, it takes along the lines of about three seconds. They're so appreciative of their beer, it's like an art-form. The author went into a few different types of beer, but the best ones sound like the Pils and Weizenbier/Weissbier.
The next article I read was "German Fast Food: Forget the 'Mett', Try a 'Frikadelle'". This was all about the types of food sold at a typical German Imbiss, or fast-food "shop". Germans are all about their Würste. Bockwurst, bratwurst and currywurst are the choices listed in the article. The currywurst sounds a little odd, but the others sound delicious. A Frikadelle seems like it would probably taste awful. The Händchen and the Krakauer sound alright. The Mett would be terrifying to eat. Raw pork? No thank you. When I used to live in California, there was a restaurant called Wiener Schniztel. It was delicious. Towards the end of this article that was all I could think about. I wish there was one in Michigan.
I then read on to "Yo Dude, What about the Turks? An Introduction to Germany's Real Fast Food Joints". It's all about how the Turkish Döner kebab is famously delicious throughout Germany and it's availability at fast-food stands around the country.
Next was "The Dark Side: Optimists Are Idiots". This article humorously explains how Germans are the most pessimistic people and how they laugh at Americans who are "ridiculously optimistic". Their negativity stems back centuries. There's not really an explanation as to why they're that way, but it's pretty funny. So when a German shoots a negative comment at you, shoot one back. They'll respect you for it.
Finally, I read "Teutonic Humor: Vee Have Vays of Making You Laugh". Despite being famous for their cold-hearted pessimism, the Germans really do have a knack for humor. It's subtle, and usually sarcastic, but when you catch onto it, it can be pretty hilarious. The four stereotypes explained are the Barvarian, the Rhinelander, the Berliner and the Hamburger. The Barvarians' sense of humor isn't subtle but it's heavily language based. The Rhinelanders' humor is all about jokes and good punch lines. The Berliners' humor is all about sarcasm and snarky comments. If you're not sensitive, that's the humor for you. Finally, the Hamburgers' humor is all about understatements and irony. If you're not quick-witted, you probably won't pick up on their humor.

Kultur 3 - Philip Picon

I read a lot of articles and I think each one was greater than the next. The first one I read, naturally, was the one about Bier. I loved how they talked about many Bier, gave a summary, and described the hangover risk. I am pretty sure that you can't find anything about a hangover risk on a Coors. If I had to choose my favorite Bier from the article's description, I would choose Berliner Weisse. No hangover risk, you've got to be kidding me. The capping the bottle article was interesting just because in America we are not allowed to drink in public at all. However when I went to England I saw everyone just drinking a casual Bier while taking a walk. To be honest, the Eco-Centric article was probably my least favorite of the bunch just because I honestly do not care much about it. However, I thought the optimism article was superb, not only because of the content, but because of a joke I heard once. It went something along the lines of "if you get a divorce and then remarry, you are not an optimist about love, you are an idiot." Finally, the Teutonic humor was great to read just because it is interesting that the type of humor people use varies regionally. Some people like slapstick while other people like wit. I really felt like I learned a lot about German culture after reading these articles and I look forward to the next Kultur.

Kultur 3

First thing I want to say is that I really don't like beer. But I do like how the article about Germans and beer listed some common types of beer. It's almost like a guide for drinking in Germany: What to have, what not to have. And I kind of respect the fact that they take their beer quite seriously over there. Though, it worries me when I think of all the consequences that all that drinking can bring to the table. Since one of the articles stated that public drinking bans have come increasingly popular, I can understand why this has come to be. But, I disagree with completely banning alcohol because there are, like it said in the article, civilians that drink beer casually and do not disturb the public. So preventive measures like isolated drinking areas could be a better step towards solving this whole debate about public drinking.
Organic foods aren't new to my family. My parents are really concerned about our health so they try to pick out the freshest of produce, without any genetic or chemical changes. I think they would really like grocery shopping in Germany. And when it comes to pessimism, no one can do it better than my mother. But I think she sees pessimism as being realistic, and that I can understand. Even so, I try lightening her mood in case it brightens her day because it's what I can do for her. Also, I believe the U.S. conversion, measuring, whatever system is really unnecessary. Life would be easier for me if we just stuck with the metric units. The German mealtimes appeal well to me, especially the coffee and cake time even if I don't drink coffee. One last thing, I think a lot of stuff in this world is funny, but irony and sarcasm may be in the top five. Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by so many people that are ironic or sarcastic or even both.

Kultur 3

The first article I read was "An Obsession Explained". I found it really interesting about all the different types of Bier and how it can mixed with Cola and Lemonade. Also the fact that 115 liters of Bier is consumed per person is crazy. That is so much Bier to drink. I also wondered what Deutsch Bier would taste like. I have only had a sip of Bier here and it sucked so I'm curious as to if I would like Deutsch Bier. The next article I read was "Eco-Centric Germans: Organic Food Obsessions". The fact that 70% of Germans would never eat genetically modified food can be seen as strange, especially in America in which most of the selection available is genetically modified. Although it is getting easier for Americans to buy organic food with Farmer's Market and some organic food stores. Everyone in Germany must be really healthy if they mostly eat organic, they probably don't have chemicals in their bloodstream like us Americans do. The last article I read was "German Fast Food: Forget the "Mett", Try a "Frikadelle". I definitely now know to never try Mett when I go to Germany, like never ever. My Dad, who has been to Germany on multiple occasions, has made Wiener Schnitzel for us with Spätzel though. Germans seem like very depressing people to be friends with. But I liked the ending about making money off of your stupid idea and demonstrating what could happen. That sounds harsh calling Germany A "humorless nation". The Berliner's aren't the nicest funny people. I don't think their humor is for me. Out of all of them I think my humor fits best with the Bavarians. I hold my fork in my left hand and knife in my right even though I'm right handed. Mittagessen is the main hot meal for Germans, in America dinner is the main hot meal. It would be weird to use grams or liters to measure things with. I think it would be fun to travel to Heidelberg and I would't mind going to Mannheim. Mein Vater would be more interested in Mannheim because he is an electrical engineer.

Kapitel 3- Amanda Knop

I chose to read the article titled "An Obsession Explained: Beer, Brewskies and Liquid Bread". I knew that there was a stereotype about Germans and beer, but I didn't realize how true it really was. I was shocked that you could purchase beer at McDonalds. I also thought it was funny that Germans would lie to you in order to get you to drink more beer (saying that it has no preservatives or ingredients that will give you a hangover).

I also chose to read "Eco-centric Germans: Organic Food Obsessions". I think that its a good idea to stay away from genetically-modified food. In America, a lot of people are health conscious, but not to that degree. I think its great that they want to eat organically. I, however, cannot afford to do that.
I read the fast food article also. I found it funny that most of the foods that were discussed in the article related to sausage- another German stereotype.
I thought it was interesting that Germans are viewed as so negative. I agree with the fact that they have a realist perspective, and tend to be just blatantly honest. I don't think that it would be very enjoyable to talk to a German person if they were so negative, but I would appreciate their honesty. It would take a while to get used to.

Kultur 3

Eco-Centric Germans: Organic Food Obsessions

• First of all, this article is very true. When I was in Germany, I went to a mall in Schwerin that has three floors, and a large part of the first floor was dedicated to an organic food place. Also, some organic vegetable (mainly tomatoes or cucumbers) would be a part of dinner. Furthermore, this article brings back memories of how Marie was always talking about harmful pesticides, and how organic foods were so much better. 
• "Germans spend a lot of time thinking about the environment and their health." This quote pretty much sums up the whole point of the article. 
• On this note, I also find it interesting that Angela Merkel announced a plan for Germany to go 50% renewable by 2050. 

German Fast Food: Forget the "Mett," Try a "Frikadelle" 

• First things first, fast food in Germany is absolutely amazing! To be honest, it is a lot better than the US. I have to agree with the article's title: forget the mett! Every day for lunch, I would go into the Platz, and they would always have that ready to go. However, the Schnitzel, pommes, and bratwurst are pretty good, depending on where you get them.

Yo Dude, What about the Turks? An Introduction to Germany's Real Fast Food Joints

• The fact that Turkish fast food places are very popular is true. Döner is a very popular sandwich in Germany. In Ludwigslust alone, which is a city of about 13,000 people, there were at least 3 places that sold this sandwich. I recommend that if anyone ever goes to Germany they try döner because they are delicious. 

Teutonic Humor: Vee Have Vays of Making You Laugh

• One thing I found interesting about this article was how the culture in Germany is reflected through the humor of different regions. 
• I think that how Bavarian humor is dead-on because I remember my friend Marie telling me about her cousins that live in Bavaria, and how she said she never understood their sense of humor, let alone what they were saying because of their dialect is so much different than hers. 
• I think this quote is very interesting: "Berliners are also famous for being highly disrespectful of pretty much everyone and every thing and most major buildings or monuments in Berlin have a less-than-flattering nickname." 
• I think it's interesting because this is exactly what I experienced in Berlin.
• I also found it interesting that this article mentioned that more and more World War II jokes are being made. To be honest, I still think this is a very sensitive subject that hardly anybody is comfortable talking about. I have been able to get Marie to talk about that once, and not one time after that. In fact, when my friend Elizabeth asked the German she was hosting about WWII, Nessa avoided the question, and brought up a completely new subject. 

The Dark Side: Optimists are Idiots 

• One aspect of this article that I found interesting is how the so-called "pessimism" is another facet of Germans' tendency to be brutally honest. 
• However, in my experience, I don't think this is true. Not all Germans are pessimistic, and a great majority of the Germans I met were very optimistic.

Kapitel 3 Kultur

The first article I read was "An Obsession Explained: Beer, Brewskies and Liquid Bread." I love that the stereotype of Germany's love for beer holds true. I didn't know they could even make over 1,000 types of beer. The custom of looking people in the eye when clinking glasses brings me back to the article describing Germans' obsession with eye contact. 

I also read "Eco-Centric Germans: Organic Food Obsessions."I really like the idea of eating organic but it's not as easy here as it is in Germany. It's different here, though, because we get produce grown here and in Mexico, which is relatively close, so it's still good when it's in our grocery stores. I can't imagine going to the store and finding old, gross fruit.

Lastly, I read "German Fast Food: Forget the Mett, Try a Frikadelle." I noticed that everything except for the french fries was some kind of meat. It's all pork or chicken in different variations. It makes me laugh that the last article I read focused on their obsession with health. Maybe it's just the tourists that eat this food. If I went to Germany, I could only eat fries. I wouldn't eat them with mayonnaise. 

I learned that the Germans can be pretty depressing! I wouldn't want to tell a German any of my good news. I understand why they would play it safe and are more pessimistic than others. Us Americans are often too optimistic and make careless decisions because we think everything will somehow work out. Germans seem much more realistic with the harshness of the world.

It was really reassuring to read about the lighter, funnier side of Germany. It's really interesting to think that German humor is geographically divided. I guess it differs in the U.S. as well, but Germany is so much smaller than the U.S. I guess it means that they have a very diverse population despite their size.

Callie Chappell- Kultur 3

Eco-Centric Germans: Organic Food Obsessions: This is really great to read. As a strong proponent of organic food, it's encouraging that organic is becoming global and no long simply an "unnecessary luxury".
German Fast Food: Forget the "Mett", Try a "Frikadelle": German fast food is just so much better than here! Schnitzel is always amazing--- even though I have to have "puten schnitzel". I also was surprised about having mayo with pomme frites. I never had it in Germany, but it was certainly big in Belgium. (Where pomme frites were invented....)
Yo Dude, What about the Turks? An Introduction to Germany's Real Fast Food Joints: Turkish immigration in Germany seems to be a contentious issue, and this is certainly indicative of their cultural assimilation. Interestingly, this increase in Mediterranian food has also spread to Ann Arbor..
Teutonic Humor: Vee Have Vays of Making You Laugh: The characterization of Bavarians is right on, especially the language part. Literally the first thing I was told in Bavaria was about their strong accents.
Also, the evolution of WWII humor seems very interesting. It seems like still a very touchy subject.
The Dark Side: Optimists Are Idiots: This seems just like another aspect of German's dreary outlook on life. Although we've read a lot of articles about this, from my experience, this just doesn't seem to be true. I guess I'll just have to return to Germany and see!

Willkommen!!

Welcome to our class blog!

We will be using this blog throughout the semester for two kinds of assignments:

1. Once per chapter, the homework plan will direct you to post a response to the culture readings for the chapter on the blog.

2. Roughly every other week, the homework plan will direct you to post here for your Abenteuer mit Deutsch (AMD) assignment. First you do a fun activity that involves German, then you post about it. You should spend an hour total on this (maybe 45-55 minutes doing something, 5-15 minutes posting about it). See Was ist ein AMD, AMD Ideen and Beispiele for ideas. This should get you excited about the kinds of things you can do!

Whenever you post something, please include your name and the name of the assignment (e.g. AMD2, Kultur5) as labels. See "Blog: How To" for more details!