This morning the sky was grey, I think. It was difficult to see though through the even greyer fog. Tis the season of grey, which is exactly how many Germans view their country’s Einheitsfeier, or Germany’s Day of Unity, which takes place today (3rd Oct). Here in Bavaria the feelings of blaise are even more acute.… Read More Germans Love a Day off, even if the Reasons behind it Are Uninspiring
In biblical times Abraham was married to a woman, Sarah, whose father was his. In the Greek writer Sophocles’s tragedy, Oedipus the King, the title character fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and married his mother though he attempted to do everything he could to stop it. More recently, incest has always been a… Read More Germany’s Law Banning Incest May Be Changed, or not.
This post is a guest post from my good friend Albert Mooney, who sums up succinctly what about half of the people in Munich actually think about Oktoberfest. It must be like living in Rio and hating Carnival. Or being a Dubliner who dreads St. Patrick’s Day. Or a citizen of Nero’s Rome who has long grown… Read More Oktoberfest: Confessions of a Hater
Exactly 32 years ago today, a pear-shaped man named Sepp (Josef) looked at his watch, took a last sip of his coffee, and grabbed his cap. The sun was trying to switch on under a thick blanket of ubiquitous grey German sky. As he was leaving the bakery all he could think about was how… Read More Oktoberfest: A Bad Reception
If you travel by train or car in Germany for any distance, a few aspects of Germanness are inescapable. They all share similar ideas of orderliness, tidiness, and structure. Other pillars of Germanness, especially in the workplace, include punctuality, productivity, and thoroughness. These are the things that unite them, a sort of common consciousness, a… Read More Germany Still Has a Wall that Divides
There are many things about Bavarian culture that I have embraced. A close connection to the land, hearty food in winter, and an affinity to art and history are but a few. Another thing that fits nicely into my world view is the absolute worshiping of the sun in Bavaria. I was born in San Diego, after… Read More Man CAN Live on Bread Alone. In Bavaria.
Laptops And Lederhosen 