Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Nürnberg
On our way back to Lübbenau from Ingolstadt, we stopped in Nürnberg, for a short look around this very old, and very nice, city. There are many beautiful old buildings and churches, as well as a fortified wall that surrounds the city. Well worth the stop!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Ingolstadt
As previously mentioned, Ronny, his parents and myself spent Easter in Ingolstadt, where Ronny's aunt and uncle live. Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the south of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River. The water adds to the charm of the city. Ingolstadt is surrounded by a fortified wall, which goes all the way around the city, except for a span of 300 meters. The old wall now houses apartments and shops.For those of you who are interested in cars, it is in Ingolstadt that you will find the headquarters of the automobile manufacturer Audi. It is thus no big surprise to see that almost everyone in the city owns a car from that maker!
Friday, March 28, 2008
A German mullet!
I am not sure why or when it started, but I have always been intrigued by mullets. No, not the fish- the hair cut! I find it fascinating that people actually go to the hairdressers and ask for a mullet. What goes through some one's mind that one day they decide to get such a hair cut? Mullets have many different names. In Québec French, they are referred to as a "coupe Longueuil". In English, as a "10/90" or "Hockey hair". And in German, they are known as a "Vokuhila", which is the short version of "vorne kurz, hinten lang"- short in the front, long in the back......Germans know it! Worth it!!!!!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Strange
Do you find that anything is strange about this restaurant's name? I do! Why is this called a "China Restaurant" and not a "Chinesisches Restaurant" (Chinese restaurant)??!?!?!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
An old tradition- Sorbische Ostereier
Hello everyone!!!
As most of you will have noticed, I was away from my computer for the past couple of weeks. I am presently on holiday (students of all levels get two weeks off for Easter- what can I say, it's
good to be a teacher here in Germany!) and so I went to Lübbenau to spend time with my oyster, although he, unlike me, only got two days off for the egg holiday (but that's probably one day more than most of you got). Easter is very celebrated here in Germany and mostly everyone gets both Karfreitag (Good Friday) and Ostermontag (Easter Monday) off.
We spent Good Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Ronny's aunt and uncle who live in Bavaria- more precisely in Ingolstadt. We had a lovely time- stay tuned to hear more about this old city and to see some pictures.
While Ronny was hard at work, I kept myself busy by catching up on a few things that needed catching up on, namely, sleep, German trash-TV and then a little more sleep! But I also managed to be slightly productive. Last Thursday, I learned how to decorate eggs using the old Sorbian technique. The Sorbs are a Slavonic nation settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. Today, there are approximately 60 000 people with Sorbian roots left. Many of them live in and around the Spreewald region.
The owner of a small shop in Lübbenau had invited an artist that specializes in decorating eggs using the Sorbian technique, and had told me to come by if I was interested in learning how to make my own egg. Seeing the ones on display in the shop, the decision was easy to make: Of course I'll come by!
So there I was, on Thursday afternoon, eager to learn how to make a Sorbian egg. What is the Sorbian technique you ask? The Sorbian technique consists of applying beeswax to an egg using quills and then dipping the egg in colour. The quills are made from geese feathers, which are "carved" into different shapes. You need to dip the quill into the beeswax and then apply it to the egg, following the pattern that you have chosen of course. In between the different steps, you dip your egg in jars of colours- the regions that have received wax do not absorb the colour, which is what you want. I thought that using the quills would be tricky, but you quickly get the hang of it- which does not mean that my wax application was perfect- far from it, but I did what I could and I think that the end result is pretty good for my first Sorbian egg! Once all the wax has been applied and the egg has been dipped in its last colour bath, you need to carefully bring the egg next to a flame to melt away the wax. By doing so, the regions that were protected by the wax will reveal their original colour. The last step is to empty the egg. Sorbian eggs only have one hole. How then is the egg emptied you wonder? The egg is emptied using a special pump that pushes the egg yolk and white out of the egg. It's the most delicate step of the whole Sorbian egg decorating process, and I let my teacher empty my egg for me, as I did not want to break my egg after all the work I had put into decorating it! It takes about an hour and a half to two hours to decorate each egg, depending on the pattern you choose and on how experienced you are. It is interesting to note that Sorbian eggs are actually not really made for Easter. Sorbian eggs are made throughout the year. The shape of the quills represent different things, and by looking at an egg's pattern, you can tell whether is was made to bring someone luck, love, health or joy, for example.
http://www.grundschule-pretzschendorf.de/en/Handicrafts/Easter_eggs/guidance.html
As most of you will have noticed, I was away from my computer for the past couple of weeks. I am presently on holiday (students of all levels get two weeks off for Easter- what can I say, it's
good to be a teacher here in Germany!) and so I went to Lübbenau to spend time with my oyster, although he, unlike me, only got two days off for the egg holiday (but that's probably one day more than most of you got). Easter is very celebrated here in Germany and mostly everyone gets both Karfreitag (Good Friday) and Ostermontag (Easter Monday) off.
We spent Good Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Ronny's aunt and uncle who live in Bavaria- more precisely in Ingolstadt. We had a lovely time- stay tuned to hear more about this old city and to see some pictures.
While Ronny was hard at work, I kept myself busy by catching up on a few things that needed catching up on, namely, sleep, German trash-TV and then a little more sleep! But I also managed to be slightly productive. Last Thursday, I learned how to decorate eggs using the old Sorbian technique. The Sorbs are a Slavonic nation settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. Today, there are approximately 60 000 people with Sorbian roots left. Many of them live in and around the Spreewald region.
The owner of a small shop in Lübbenau had invited an artist that specializes in decorating eggs using the Sorbian technique, and had told me to come by if I was interested in learning how to make my own egg. Seeing the ones on display in the shop, the decision was easy to make: Of course I'll come by!
So there I was, on Thursday afternoon, eager to learn how to make a Sorbian egg. What is the Sorbian technique you ask? The Sorbian technique consists of applying beeswax to an egg using quills and then dipping the egg in colour. The quills are made from geese feathers, which are "carved" into different shapes. You need to dip the quill into the beeswax and then apply it to the egg, following the pattern that you have chosen of course. In between the different steps, you dip your egg in jars of colours- the regions that have received wax do not absorb the colour, which is what you want. I thought that using the quills would be tricky, but you quickly get the hang of it- which does not mean that my wax application was perfect- far from it, but I did what I could and I think that the end result is pretty good for my first Sorbian egg! Once all the wax has been applied and the egg has been dipped in its last colour bath, you need to carefully bring the egg next to a flame to melt away the wax. By doing so, the regions that were protected by the wax will reveal their original colour. The last step is to empty the egg. Sorbian eggs only have one hole. How then is the egg emptied you wonder? The egg is emptied using a special pump that pushes the egg yolk and white out of the egg. It's the most delicate step of the whole Sorbian egg decorating process, and I let my teacher empty my egg for me, as I did not want to break my egg after all the work I had put into decorating it! It takes about an hour and a half to two hours to decorate each egg, depending on the pattern you choose and on how experienced you are. It is interesting to note that Sorbian eggs are actually not really made for Easter. Sorbian eggs are made throughout the year. The shape of the quills represent different things, and by looking at an egg's pattern, you can tell whether is was made to bring someone luck, love, health or joy, for example.
Everything you need to decorate an egg- Sorbian style!
Quills of different shapes and sizes, all made with geese feathers
Jars of colour. The beeswax is kept liquid by the heat of a tea candle.
Step 1: The first wax and colour application.
Step 2: The second wax application and colour dipping.
Looking good so far!
Step 3: The third wax application and
the last dip in colour.
The end result! Can you tell which one is mine?!?!?
http://www.grundschule-pretzschendorf.de/en/Handicrafts/Easter_eggs/guidance.html
Thursday, March 13, 2008
To ring in spring!
To take full advantage of the beautiful weather we had on Monday (sunny and 15 degrees), my roommate Anja and I decided to go for a walk. We live 5 minutes away from Tiergarten, Berlin's version of Central Park. We leisurely strolled along the park, sitting down on a bench that was drowned in sun, sticking our faces in the direction of the heat source, to jump start the transformation from white-as-a-sheet to golden brown! But our walk had a goal- a very delicious and so very German goal: we were going for ice cream!!! Germans LOVE their ice cream. I see someone eating an ice cream cone almost everyday, regardless of whether it is cold or warm outside. So when Anja told me she knew a good place for Italian ice cream (Gelato), I said yes right away. We were not the only ones with that idea, but thankfully the ice cream tubs were nice and full, and there was plenty to go around!
When in Germany, do as the Germans do!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Grandma sees everything!!
Monday, March 10, 2008
A Pearl-fect pairing!
My tandem partner, a few weeks ago, came over for our weekly meeting. She was in charge of desert. After a nice meal, many corrections and a few frustrations (German is Not an easy language!), I was ready for desert. I was looking forward to something decadent and chocolaty- a multi-layered chocolate cake of some kind, preferably with a croquant at the bottom, like the one from La Patisserie De Gascogne, would have made my night! So you can imagine my disappointment, when instead of pulling out a cake out of her bag, my tandem partner pulled out a jar of yogurt! I mean, I love yogurt, don't get me wrong, but that's not what I had in mind at the time. But this was no ordinary yogurt- this was the Pearl-fect yogurt for a Pearl like me! Why you ask? For two reasons: poppy seed and marzipan!!!! Yeah, you read this right- this was no ordinary vanilla yogurt, or the typical fruit kind; no, this was a marzipan/poppy seed yogurt! It was clear to me right away that this was going to be delicious and the first spoonful proved it! Who knew poppy seeds and marzipan could combine in such a fantastic way?! The German knew, that's who! This yogurt is now always included on my shopping list- I simply can't get enough of it! And one more thing: it comes in a glass jar, like in the old days!
Worth it!
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