Not the most auspicious day to visit the sprawling Neoclassical Prussian castle and grounds, but it was still interesting, particularly the little exhibition of German Romanticist paintings in the New Pavilion. I’m sure Germans consider Caspar David Friedrich schlocky, but man, could he paint. And since my working definition of art is “Things I can’tContinue reading “Field Trip Fridays: Charlottenburg”
Tag Archives: Berlin
German Word of the Week: Glückspilz
A glückspilz is someone who’s happy-go-lucky: sort of a cross between the American expressions “Pollyanna” and “lucky devil.” It transliterates “happy/lucky mushroom” and is, in fact, the German name of the (poisonous!) flycap or fly agaric that Euro-American kids associate with fairytales and gnomes–the one with the red cap and white spots. As a metaphor,Continue reading “German Word of the Week: Glückspilz”
Berliner Dom
The largest Protestant church in Germany dominates the Museumsinsel in the center of Berlin. The site of the Hohenzollern dynastic crypt and one church or another since the 1400s, it now boasts a hulking Baroque Revival cathedral built at the turn of last century by Emperor Wilhelm II. It’s not a pretty church. Constructed onContinue reading “Berliner Dom”
Pizza!
I can’t remember whose vlog I was watching, maybe Ashley Choi’s, but she got pizza and wine with a friend on a cold winter night, and I thought: That is a great idea. I’ve been cooking well for myself since I arrived in Berlin, but I haven’t gotten much in the way of local takeout,Continue reading “Pizza!”
Field-Trip Fridays: Wollparadies Fadeninsel
My knitting needles finally arrived today (let’s not talk about how much I paid to have that box shipped to me), and so I went to a yarn store today to get ready for my next knitting project. Wollparadies Fadeninsel is on Oranienstraße in the cute, hip neighborhood of Kreuzberg. The staff were *super* friendlyContinue reading “Field-Trip Fridays: Wollparadies Fadeninsel”
German Word of the Week: Baumschule
Before I get into discussing baumschule, I have to point readers to Ben Schott’s adorable little book Schottenfreude, in which he makes up German words to describe special situations he thinks there should be a word for, like “Zwillingsmoral – Reading horoscopes you don’t believe in.” Since German lets you build nouns of incredible length, it’sContinue reading “German Word of the Week: Baumschule”
Field-Trip Fridays: IKEA with Lucky
I did this when I lived in Münich–try to take a day trip every Friday to somewhere new and interesting. Fridays worked well because my collaborator had to take the train back home to her family that day, and museums, national parks, etc. were less busy on Fridays than on the weekend. So, I’m tryingContinue reading “Field-Trip Fridays: IKEA with Lucky”
The Rookery 