On March 19, 2022, Frank-Walter Steinmeier was re-elected President of Germany. Many people in the United States who are unfamiliar with the German political system are probably wondering if Germany has a Chancellor, what the German President does, and how the German President is Elected. The system is much different from the presidential election in the USA, but the job…
Author: karenanne
History and Tradition of Karneval Orden
During Karneval Season, you will see people wearing military-like medals called Orden around their necks. These colorful medals, dating to the 1800s, were initially designed to mock the establishment. Today, people consider them a prestigious honor reflecting status and importance. What is the history of Karneval Orden? And how do Karneval groups carry on the traditions today? History of Karneval…
Things to Do in Bremen, A Beautiful City in the North
Traveling to Germany? Most people think of the South- Bavaria, Munich, and the Oktoberfest- but one of my favorite cities to visit is Bremen in the north of Germany. This gem of a City/State, located on the Weser River, was once part of the Hanseatic League and, as a result, gained enormous wealth that it poured into culture and commerce.…
German Eiswein- The sweet Dessert Wine created by Frost
Although you wouldn’t think that frost or icy conditions are good from wine production, some growers count on the the cold so they can make Eiswein. But …. what is German Eiswein (Ice Wine)?? Is it frozen wine? Is it wine-flavored ice cream? Eiswein (Ice Wine, Eis Wine) is a refreshing and sweet (but not cloying) dessert wine produced in…
What is a Lumpenball? The End of the Karneval Party!
While adding events to the Fasching Celebration pages and the German Girl in America Events Pages, I keep coming across something called a Lumpenball. What IS a Lumpenball?? A ball of lumps? That can’t be right! (… although one website had an article about painting a ball of rags). A Lumpenball is the final Karneval party. The clearing out celebrations.…
Submit a Guest Post To German Girl In America
As you may have noticed… I love it when I get to share guest posts to the German Girl in America site…. It’s so fascinating to read other people’s stories and see that we really are all one big club. Don’t think to yourself “oh, I can’t write” or “no one is interested”! We would all love to hear…
The House By the Lake by Thomas Harding- History of a Home
[no_toc] The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time reading books I would have avoided a few years ago… books about Germany in the 20th century. The emotional toll was just too high. But, despite my anxiety about going down that…
The Dinner for One Film- A German New Year’s Eve Tradition
Some German Traditions are completely baffling to me, like the German love of the Dinner For One Film on New Year’s Eve. How on earth did this British Comedy sketch become a nationwide phenomenon? So, of course, I had to start digging to find the origins. Why is an English-language movie about an elderly woman’s 90th Birthday party so…