I’m Excited to Announce!! The Cuckoo Clock Shop is Giving Away ANOTHER Fabulous CUCKOO CLOCK! Enter to win an Authentic Swiss Chalet Style Cuckoo Clock from the Cuckoo Clock Shop! Bring a little Black Forest Magic into your World! The Cuckoo Clock Shop has an amazing selection of Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks From Classic Vintage Styles to…
Category: Celebrating German Culture in America
German False Friends List- German words that SOUND like English
Sometimes, you hear a word in German, and you are certain that you know the meaning, even if you’ve never heard the word before. It makes perfect sense that the word Banane means Banana. And then, sometimes, you hear a German word that sounds English, but the meaning couldn’t be more different. The most obvious of these “False Friends” is…
What is the Vogelhochzeit? It’s a song to Welcome Spring!
Germans love to sing, and they especially love their folk songs. One of my favorite German Folk Songs is “Vogelhochzeit.” In German School, I loved singing the fi-de-ralala part over and over. And with so many verses, the song can go on longer than the Twelve Days of Christmas! (I have a feeling that’s why my German School teacher seldom…
German Girl in America Book Corner- Books about Germany
The first printed book was in German, and Germany publishes about 94,000 titles per year. It’s no wonder I love to read! It’s in the genes! And I love recommending books. (I should have become a librarian.) Since getting all of you in my house for Book Club could be tricky, I created the German Girl in America Book Corner.…
German Easter Nest Tradition- From Germany to Texas
My friend Chuck grew up in Yorktown, Texas, about an 1 ½ hours south of New Braunfels (the heart of German Texas), where his great great grandfather Johann Jost settled in 1848 after leaving Womelsdorf, Germany. Much of his family is still there. Because of the pandemic stay-at-home order, his sister is sorting through Afflerbach family history, and recently came…
How to Watch German Movies and German TV in the US
I‘m frequently asked how to watch German movies or TV shows here in the US. Generally, I turn to MHz or slip a German DVD into my multi-region player. But that’s just a tiny percentage of the German Programming available to us here. YouTube, apps, and certain websites make watching German TV easier than ever. (Even Tatort!) The availability is…
The German Christmas Shop at Easter Favorite Easter or Springtime Memories Giveaway 2020
[no_toc] I’m delighted to announce! The German Christmas Shop at Easter wants to help brighten up our Springtime with a special Contest! The German Christmas Shop at Easter loves those special holiday memories with family and friends. Delicious traditional meals, fun Easter activities, remembrances of special decorations. Maybe cute bunnies hiding on the dining room table? Or making an…
Lunch at the Wurstküche Regensburg- Oldest Restaurant in Germany?
Next to the Steinernen Brücke (Stone Bridge) in Regensburg, you will find a small green building surrounded by crowds. The Wurstküche Regensburg has been serving up sausages to dockworkers and now tourists for hundreds of years in that exact location. So, of course, while visiting Regensburg for the Christmas Markets, I could not pass up eating at the oldest continually…
Thinking about Muttersprache – Tag der Muttersprache
Deutschland.de reached out to me to do a piece for the Tag der Muttersprache (Day of Native Language), which falls on February 21. So I was thinking about Muttersprache and its LITERAL meaning… Mother Speech. Although I grew up in California, German was my first language—the language of my mother. And after THIS MANY years of living in California (imagine…
Sweet Valentine’s Day Angels- Beautiful Gifts from the Erzgebirge
[no_toc] One of the nicest ways to show someone you love them is with a charming Valentine’s Day Angel from The German Christmas Shop. These adorable guardian angels are hand crafted in Germany by the Günther Reichel workshop. I fell in love with them when we visited Seiffen. Süß!!! (SWEET!!) Lovely little angel figures holding flowers, balloons, or of course,…