Discussing expat life in German-speaking Europe


Posts tagged Hyde

Mark Twain in Berlin: Back a book!

Feb02
2012 Leave a Comment Written by HF

Mark Twain traveled the world and wrote about it in several of his books. When I went to Hawaii, I learned that Twain had long ago beat me to it, back when the Hawaiian Islands were still better known as the Sandwich Islands. I also knew he had been to Europe and Germany, but I didn’t really know about his time in Berlin, along with his family.

Recently I wrote a review of a book about the Berlin Wall produced by Eva Schweitzer’s Berlinica publishing house. Now Dr. Schweitzer has announced a new book about an interesting but little known topic: Mark Twain in Berlin in the early 1890s. In an unusual twist for publishing, she is inviting potential readers to help fund the book, with an intended publication date of June 2012.

But first, let’s look at a bit of obscure history concerning America’s most famous humorist author. READ MORE »

Posted in Book reviews, History and culture - Tagged , , ,

The German Past raises its ugly head

Dec26
2011 1 Comment Written by HF

A couple of days ago I opened my local newspaper here in Reno and turned to the “Nation & World” section. Wow! A huge headline jumped out at me: “Germany links serial killings to neo-Nazi sympathizers: Turks are outraged by slow action.” The Reno Gazette-Journal rarely contains any news from Germany, but there it was – in bold print and with color photos!

I had been following this story in the German media for some time, but I was really surprised to see it so prominently displayed in an American newspaper, much less in my local paper, covering almost half the page. Labeled “Special for USA TODAY,” with a byline for Ruby Russell, the story began: “BERLIN – The first to die was Enver Simsek, 38, a flower vendor shot in the face in Nuremberg in 2000. The last was Halit Yozgat, 21, shot in the head in the Internet café he ran in Kassel, six years later.” READ MORE »

Posted in History and culture, Red tape and bureaucracy - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Book Review: The Berlin Wall Today

Nov28
2011 Written by HF

The Berlin Wall Today: Remnants, Ruins, Remembrances
by Eva C. Schweitzer (photographer), Michael Cramer (foreword)
Publisher: Berlinica

Book cover

It’s amazing how quickly the massive, 100-mile-long Berlin Wall disappeared after it was first breached on the night of November 9, 1989. By the time of official German reunification in 1990, most of the Wall that had stood for 28 years had simply vanished! A little over two decades later, even less of the Wall remains. If you want to find its traces, you need a guide like The Berlin Wall Today.

But this book is much more than a mere guide for would-be Wall explorers. It is also a history book of the best kind: short and to the point. Through words and pictures it gives the reader a better understanding of the Wall – past, present and future. (The future includes plans to expand the marking of significant Wall landmarks.)

Michael Cramer’s introduction offers a good summary of the Berlin Wall’s past and the struggle to preserve even a few bits and pieces for future generations. READ MORE »

Posted in Book reviews, History and culture, Miscellaneous - Tagged , , ,

Bad Nauheim and Elvis

Oct31
2011 Written by HF

Towards the end of my October visit to Austria and Germany, my wife and I drove to Bad Nauheim in the state of Hesse, about a half-hour drive north from Frankfurt am Main. When I told Germans why I was going there, I usually got chuckles in response.

Today the spa town of Bad Nauheim (pop. 30,365) is famous for its effervescent salt baths, special medical clinics, and what the Germans now call “wellness.” In the 1920s the then luxury resort town was popular with the rich and famous (Marion Davies, Albert Einstein, Lillian Gish, William Randolph Hearst). In 1891 the future US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt even spent time there as a child with his family. But Bad Nauheim and neighboring Friedberg are also known for something else: Elvis Presley’s military years in Germany. I had earlier done some research on Elvis in Germany when I first wrote an article on the topic for the German Way.

Elvis lived in Bad Nauheim from 1958 to 1960 when he served in the US Army. Unlike most G.I.’s in Germany at the time, Elvis lived off-base, first in hotels, later in a rented three-story villa. I wanted to take some photographs of various Elvis landmarks in the region called the Wetterau (named for the Wetter river), as well as get a feeling for the place where Elvis spent 17 months of his life when he was still in his early twenties. As I walked through the streets of Bad Nauheim I couldn’t help thinking about the kind of expat life Elvis had in Germany. We stayed at the beautiful hillside Johannisberg Hotel and Café Restaurant overlooking Bad Nauheim, where Elvis had once caused a furor with his presence. He drove his sporty BMW 507 up the same winding road we took. I was driving a rented BMW 118 diesel. (Not quite the same thing, but at least it was also a stick shift.) READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture - Tagged , , , , ,

Germany’s Colonial Past

Oct03
2011 Written by HF

Today is the German national holiday, known as German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit). October 3 only became a holiday in 1990 after German reunification following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Before that, East Germans celebrated their national day on October 7, the date of the founding of the German Democratic Republic in 1949. Few West Germans could have told you the date of the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany (May 23, 1949), and there was no West German equivalent of the American Fourth of July. Even the October 3 observance is pretty tame compared to Independence Day in the US. Nationalistic flag-waving is not really a German thing (except at soccer matches).

So it comes as a bit of a surprise, even to most Germans, to learn of Germany’s colonial past. Unlike Britain, Spain, Portugal and other European powers, Germany (Prussia) came late to the colonial game. Nevertheless, the German Empire (Deutsches Reich) extended its reach to territories located in Africa, the South Pacific and even China. READ MORE »

Posted in History and culture - Tagged , , , , , , ,

German Authors in English

Sep05
2011 Written by HF

The Hangman's DaughterI’m normally not an avid reader of fiction. I generally prefer biographies and history, but every now and then I enjoy a good novel, especially mysteries and crime thrillers. Currently I’m part way through a novel that has been dubbed a “historical thriller.” The Hangman’s Daughter is a translation of Die Henkerstochter, a German novel written by Munich-born author Oliver Pötzsch. Three books in the Henkerstochter series are now available in German, but only the first one has been published in English, translated by Lee Chadeayne. It is a story of murder and witchcraft hysteria set in 17th century Bavaria.

Life in the small town of Schongau, even in the best of times, is rather unpleasant in 1659, about a decade after the Thirty Years’ War. But a series of murders of local orphans sets off a chain of events that makes life even grimmer for the townspeople of Schongau. People begin jumping to conclusions about a local midwife, and the town fathers’ sense of justice leaves a lot to be desired. Ironically, it is the town’s executioner (Henker), Jakob Kuisl, who leads the effort to actually solve the crimes and discover the truth. But the local leaders want him to use the usual method of torture to force a confession from the midwife, whom they now believe to be a witch. READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, History and culture, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , , , , ,

Expat Book Review: Expat Women

Aug24
2011 Written by HF

REVIEW: Expat Women: Confessions – 50 Answers to Your Real-Life Questions about Living Abroad by Andrea Martins and Victoria Hepworth

Book coverThe term “confessions” can be a little misleading here. These “confessions” from expatriate women are really (often desperate) questions from women living abroad and facing the many problems that anyone, male or female, living in a foreign place can encounter. The 274 pages of Expat Women: Confessions offer practical, reassuring answers to 50 pleas for help from women living the expat life in various places all around the globe. These are real questions from real women living the life of an expatriate.

Based on advice posted at the ExpatWomen.com website and email responses to many women around the world, the book offers advice and encouragement for women dealing not only with the typical difficulties of culture shock, but also serious personal or family problems. Each of the two co-authors has many years of experience living and working abroad, and their advice reflects that.

The book’s basic, underlying message is “you are not alone.” The authors reassure expat women that they are not the only ones experiencing emotional turmoil and doubts. Never condescending, the authors offer solid, step-by-step suggestions for dealing with problems ranging from workplace difficulties to teens (or a spouse) who can’t seem to adjust to the expat life. But they also aren’t afraid to remind expat women that in the end they themselves are responsible for their own happiness. They remind us that sometimes we need to step back and gain some perspective on ourselves before we can solve certain expat and personal problems. READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , ,

No time for nostalgia: The Berlin Wall’s 50th birthday

Aug13
2011 Written by HF

Fifty years ago today (August 13) the Berlin Wall rose its ugly head (in 1961). While the collapse of the Wall may be fresher in our minds, the construction of the Berlin Wall was one of the world’s most glaring crimes against humanity – even though many people still fail to realize that.

Berlin’s mayor, Klaus Wowereit, had to remind people of that today. He chastised those Germans and others who somehow have some nostalgic view of the Wall (Berlin mayor criticizes nostalgia for Berlin Wall). There is nothing nostalgic about a concrete barrier set up to divide families and imprison a country’s entire population – and that led to many deaths. READ MORE »

Posted in History and culture - Tagged , ,

Credit card differences

Aug08
2011 Written by HF

I was planning to write today about the problems sometimes encountered by Americans when they try to use their US credit card in Europe. As fortune would have it, I experienced exactly the reverse yesterday: Trying to use a German card in the US.

I was helping a German friend who is visiting us in the US use his credit card at a gas station. He inserted the German Deutsche Bank MasterCard into the gas pump. First he had to choose credit or debit. It’s a credit card, so he chose credit. Then a message appeared that I’ve seen a lot at gas pumps during my US travels lately: “Please enter your ZIP code.” Well, a German Postleitzahl is the same length as a US ZIP code, so he tried that. “Please see the clerk” was the machine’s response. We tried debit also, but it wanted a PIN that didn’t work. So it was off to see the clerk.

We were able to get the German card accepted with the clerk handling the transaction (and showing a German ID), but we had to guess how much gas we needed. If it was less than that amount, we would have to return to have the clerk enter a refund of the difference. Luckily, we guessed about right and did not have to do that. But the entire experience was a hassle caused by the differences in the way US and German credit cards function.

Basically, American credit cards are out of date (überholt in German). READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, The euro and money matters, Tips, advice, suggestions - Tagged , , , , , , ,

How many Germans are international travelers?

Jul25
2011 Written by HF

Germans have a reputation as travelers. They even claim to be the Reiseweltmeister (world champions of travel). Indeed, many citizens of Germany do travel abroad and in Germany. If you visit US national parks, as I did this month, you could get the impression that Germany is almost empty, and that most of the country’s population is in the US this summer. You will often overhear German, French and other languages as you hike the trails of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon.

But in 2009 (the latest year for which statistics are available), Germans represented just 5.8 percent of all foreign visitors to the United States, totaling 1,881,944, a bit fewer than in 2008. That means that in 2009, barely two percent of all 82 million Germans crossed the Atlantic to tour the USA. Not only that, READ MORE »

Posted in Daily life, Expat issues - Tagged , ,
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