Girls just wanna have fun - Die Mädels wollen ihren Spaß.

My best girl friends visited and I gave them the grand Black Forest cliché tour. You might have seen some of it but imho it never gets old.

Ich hatte dieser Tage Besuch von meinen besten Freundinnen. Diese bekamen natürlich die große Schwarzwald Klischee Tour von mir. Man wird hier auf dem Blog sicherlich schon das eine oder andere gesehen haben, aber m.E. ist es immer wieder auf's Neue schön.

Kitsch with red 'Bollen'

Triberg village and the waterfalls 
Triberg Dorf und die gleichnamigen Wasserfälle

Hemingway had been here, too and loved the region for its trout fishing.

Hemingway war auch hier, er mochte die Gegend wegen der Forellen.

 

The world's only designated parking spot for men.

Der weltweit einzige Männer-Parkplatz.

 

Bollen hats and the world's largest cuckoo clock.
Bollenhüte und die größte Kuckucksuhr der Welt.

Vinyards and wine tasting at castle Staufenberg.

Reben und Weinprobe am Schloss Staufenberg.

At All Saints abbey ruins and falls.
Allerheiligen Klosterruine und Wasserfall.

Mummelsee, the world's largest tourist trap, and kitsch stores galore.
Mummelsee, die größte Touristenfalle der Welt mit Kitschläden ohne Ende.

Gengenbach, the region's poster child village. Once you have seen this town, you've seen them all.

Gengenbach, die Vorzeige-Stadt der Region. Wenn man eine gesehen hat, kennt man sie alle.

Gengenbach's monastery, a very peaceful place.
Gengenbachs Kloster, ein friedvoller Ort.

Above all we had a lot to talk about, lots of fun and lots of food and wine and laughs. Good times were to be had by all (or so I hope).

Darüber hinaus gab es viel Gequatsche, viel Spaß, lecker Essen, lecker Wein und viel Gelächter. Es hat (hoffentlich) Spaß gemacht.

A willful misinterpretation of a saying or Freudian slip: There are moments, when rosé (the wine, not the flower) becomes more important than a slice of bread. 

Eine bewusste Fehlinterpretation eines Spruchs: Es gibt Augenblicke, in denen ein Rosé (der Wein, nicht die Blume) wichtiger ist, als ein Stück Brot. Was würde wohl Freud dazu sagen?

Not sure what flower/plant this is, but it looks like an alien is sitting on it. (meanwhile did some research on it: It's likely a passion flower.)

Keine Ahnung was für eine Blume/Pflanze das ist, aber es sieht so aus, als wenn ein Alien auf ihr sitzt. (habe inzwischen recherchiert: es handelt sich wohl um eine Passionsblume.)

Last but not least: a perfect sunset at Brandenkopf. 

Zu guter Letzt: ein perfekter Sonnenuntergang am Brandenkopf.

Sometimes it's good to be German

We stumbled upon a recent survey called visa restriction index, and learned that it pays off to hold a passport of Germany. Us Germans have the privilege to be able to enter 177 out of 218 countries without visa regulations, or by receiving a visa on arrival. That's our kind of freedom. Having visited a mere 30 of them, we still have a lot to chose from. So many countries, so little time. Well, where shall we go next...?

Kürzlich fiel und eine Umfrage zum Thema Reisebeschränkungen in die Hände. Dabei haben wir erfahren, dass sich der deutsche Reisepass wirklich bezahlt macht. Wir Deutschen haben das Privileg, ohne Visum-Einschränkungen 177 von 218 Ländern bereisen zu können. Freiheit, die wir meinen... Bisher haben wir leider nur 30 davon besucht. So viele Länder, so wenig Zeit. Nun, wo sollen wir denn mal als Nächstes hinfahren...?

made with TravelTip

It's Morning all Day in the North!

It is being said that people from "the North" are not very talkative, although they invented social gatherings such as teetied, but they prefer it to be a quiet time. Naturally they have mastered to reduce the ritual of salutation to the max:

Moin! (Good Morning!) The greeting works for all times of the day, and all situations of life.
Moin! Said with emphasis means: So nice to see you, I wish you a wonderful day.
Moinmoin. Is for the chatty kind.

Another example of an elaborate conversation:
Hm. With a nod it is meant as an agreement, but it could also have a pensive meaning: I don't quite believe what you're saying...
Hm? Whats going on? Really? I can't believe what's happening! Or something along the line...

Source

Due to the minimalistic style of communication the rest of the world is kept under the impression that Northern Germans are a bit slow and stupid. Everybody is poking fun at Eastern Friesians, there are jokes like how many of this kind you need to change a light bulb etc., coming to think of it, aren't there very similar to jokes going around about Newfies?

And of course Eastern Friesian fashion consists of oilskin and rubber boots all the time. The waterproof yellow garment is being called Eastern Friesian mink after the mustelids, which are farmed locally and skinned at a young age in order to produce the flattering attire. That's a fact.

When the sun is out one gets to wear blue and white striped shirts and red scarfs, and don't forget to match it with white pants... and then we go for a ritual walk in the mud, it's true.

Eastern Friesians are very business minded. For example, they rent out apartments to city slickers promoting an ocean view, and all they get is a tidal flat vista, which is basically a mud field, the water is almost never to be seen.

Oh well, what can I say, it's simply the greatest region of Germany, and the natives are very smart. I'm part Eastern Friesian, and proud of it.

Little me and my brother dressed in Friesian Mink
on a boat (of course)

And there is more to learn about the northern breed on YouTube:

Die deutschsprachigen LeserInnen werden ja so ziemlich alles über "den Ostfriesen" kennen, schließlich haben wir ja dafür unseren ostfriesischen Botschafter Otto geschickt, aber damit sich auch der Rest der (deutschen) Welt ein Bild von dieser besonderen Gattung Mensch machen kann, schreibe ich diesmal nur in Englisch...