Many backpackers have in their mind to go backpack around Europe for a summer and use the trains. European travel becomes (rightfully) associated with trains. They are usually reliable, if not always punctual. If you plan ahead, they are not dreadfully expensive. Sometimes the problem can be as simple as finding the train station in a foreign language, so here is a short guide.
When you ask someone to list the most appealing languages, German is quite unlikely to be in that list. This is unfortunate. Perhaps it is not flowy and melodic like the romance languages nor as flexible as English, but there is an elegance in the perceived perversity.
Honey and bee related things are far more common in Germany that I experienced in the US. The Freiburg market has several stands at least from Imkereien selling honey in small and large bottle in tends of different sorts. Beeswax candles with their distinctive deep yellow color are also common. At Christmas Market time, the markets attract more stalls. The second soggy Saturday in a row I ventured out to the Christmas market and an Imker stall to sample the wares and see what the retail side of an Imkerei looks like.
Wurst is a basic term for sausage in German. Anything that is a sausage is a type of Wurst. Germany being the land of Sausage, there are lots of types of Wurst. These are however some more widely known types and a look at the language of sausage.
Commuting in the US was roughly 45 minutes each way during my last job. This was on the low to middle range among my friends, some driving far longer. I have been commuting by bicycle for 2 of the 3 years that I have been in Germany. It has some ups and downs, but overall a much better thing for me. It is amazing to me how similar the commuting public is regardless of car or bike.
Here are some more insights into the oddity of the German Language. The last “Fun with Translation” was indeed so much fun that I decided to do some more. German is often quite descriptive in naming things. The idea of smushing words together to describe something quite exactly is a germanlanguagetrait. This gives some interesting translations of animal names when you go directly into English.
Language and culture are very closely linked. Knowing a language gives you such insights into that culture. Liv offers this piece about how she learned Turkish and the benefits of it
Experiencing different cultures is one of the travelers most common goals. To see the world and experience the traditions of other people. This is fun, I like doing this too. As an expat in Germany though I end up getting to see my own home culture in a different light. The oddities from the germanic perspective as it were. This week, the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.