Thursday, April 25, 2013

What should you eat in Germany

German food has a rich history and is a highlight of German culture.
The potato plays an important role, dating back to the 18th century when King Frederick II provided his people with seed potatoes and showed them how to make them grow. The post WWII division of Germany into East and West led to the development of Russian influenced cooking in East Germany while the food of West Germany maintained the traditional roots. Since the war, West Germany's economic model has relied on export of technology to support full employment. This has led to a high level of immigrants from around the European Union and as a result a broadening demand for foods influenced by the culture of these immigrants.

With that historic tapestry, let's look at a typical day.


Breakfast 

A typical German breakfast includes bread, (toast and bread rolls supplemented with jam, honey, marmalade) and eggs with a cup of strong coffee or tea. Delicacies like deli meats, ham, salami are also common on breakfast menu.


Lunch and Dinner

Like other agrarian cultures, lunch has been the main meal of the day while dinner was a smaller meal. But, over that past 50 years, as farming has moved from family operations to large corporations and
people have moved to commercial job, a smaller lunch and a larger dinner have become the norm.


Desserts

All cultures have their sweet treats and Germany is no different. You will find a large variety of tarts, cakes and roles made with fresh fruits such as apples, plums, strawberries, and cherries. Berliner,
Krapfen, Donuts and Cheesecake are also very popular. Puddings are a favorite with  'Rote Grütze', a red fruit pudding, 'Rhabarbergrütze' , a rhubarb pudding and 'Grüne Grütze', a gooseberry pudding topping the list. Italian ice cream parlors popularized ice cream and sorbets and led to a popular ice cream treat called Spaghettieis.




So now let's see which are the most typical dishes in Germany.

Currywurst

Currywurst can be found in fast-foode stands throughout Germany.  It is a wurst, or a sausage, sliced up and slathered with ketchup flavored with curry powder.




Frikadeller or Frikadellen

Influenced from Denmark, Frikadeller are flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat served with a variety of vegetables. They are a popular dish in both Denmark and Germany.





Kartoffelsala

German Potato Salad - boiled potatoes with relish, ham or bacon, garnished with vinegar, oil and mayonnaise. You can find a diet version with yogurt substituted for the mayo.




Goulasc

Influenced from Eastern Europe, Goulasc is fried beef and pork cubes stewed with onions and red or green pepper. It is served with boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes or noodles.





Erbsensuppe

This is a lovely pea soup with onions and potato, cooked in a beef broth. It is usually served with pieces of Bockwurst (a thick fine sausage).






Wiener Schnitzel

A popular German favorite provides a is thin, fried breaded veal fillet. It is served with red cabbage, chips or salad.





20101012sauerbraten .jpgSauerkraut & Sausage

If you are lucky enough to be in or around Munich in October, then you can fill yourself with the perennial German favorite, Sauerkraut and sausage along with pretzels and beer. Sauerkraut, cooked with a variety of scrumptious sausages, sometimes a ham hock or pork chops is a mouth watering dish.






A Primer on German Sausage
If you are traveling to Germany, you must know your sausage! Because of the high fat content in the sausage, they balance out the acid in the sauerkraut and the creaminess of the potato salad, creating a well balanced meal. In addition, the spices found in the "Wurst" aid digestion.  Here are a few basic types, but keep in mind when out in the countryside, you may find something a little different. Enjoy!

Bratwurst 

Bratwurst is a pork and beef sausage, boiled or smoked and then pan fried or grilled.


Knackwurst  

Very similar to the frankfurter, some claim it is the predecessor to the hot dog. Knackwurst is an all-beef sausage that is typically boiled. It has a thick skin that makes a Popping sound , "knack" when pricked with a knife during cooking.

Weiss-wurst

From the Bavarian region, this sausage features veal, marjoram and light spices. As a result, it is much more delicate that those above. It can be boiled or grilled and is usually served with a sweet mustard as a breakfast sausage.

Bauernwurst

Bauernwurst, also known as a farmer's sausage, is a combination of pork and beef. It has a higher fat and spice content than the other sausages. This sausage is great on a hard roll with mustard. It's almost always boiled, and sometimes even smoked.

Krainerwurst 

My favorite is Krainerwurst, a smoked bratwurst made with garlic, pork and beef. It is usually smoked before serving and stands up to reheating.

So, I hope you enjoy!

 






Friday, April 19, 2013

History of Germany

Germany has a tremendous amount of History, so I will give you a overview.

Germanic tribes are believed to have existed in what is today northern Germany since around 500 B.C. These tribes migrated and settled in the central and southern regions of Germany.
They first became part of the Frankish Empire under the rule of Charlemagne, who is considered the father of the German monarchy. Much of Germany also became part of the Holy Roman Empire.

From 1700 to 1918 the Kingdom of Prussia was established in Germany. In 1914 World War I broke out. Germany was on the losing side of the war and is estimated to have lost 2 million soldiers.

In the wake of WWI, Germany tried to recover. There was revolution and the monarchy collapsed.
Soon a young leader named Adolf Hitler rose to power. He created the Nazi party which believed in the
superiority of the German race. Hitler became dictator and decided to expand the German empire. He started WWII and at first conquered much of Europe including France. However, the United States, Britain and the Allies managed to defeat Hitler. Germany was divided into two countries; East Germany and West Germany.

East Germany was a communist state under control of the Soviet Union, while West Germany was a free market state.

The Berlin Wall  was built between the two countries to prevent people from escaping from East Germany to the West. It became a central point and focus of the Cold War. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and communism, the wall was torn down in 1989 and on October 3, 1990 Germany was reunited.

Following the formation of European common market, Germany has reason to become the most powerful economic force in Europe.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Difference between small and big things

Most people can manifest the small things quickly. This is because they do not have any resistance around the small things, and because they don't think thoughts that contradict them. When it comes to the bigger things, however, people often emit thoughts of doubt or worry that contradict those bigger things. This is the only difference in terms of the time it takes for something to manifest.
Nothing is big or small for the Universe.
 
Rhonda Byrne

Thursday, April 11, 2013

How careful should you be going to Germany

Violent crime is rare in Germany, but can occur, especially in larger cities or high-risk areas such as train stations. There have been several reports of aggravated assault against U.S. citizens in higher-risk urban areas. However, most incidents of street crime involve the theft of unattended items and pick pocketing. Take the same precautions that you would in any large city.

Don’t become a victim

Petty crime such as pick pocketing is known to occur and is usually directed at foreign tourists. Prime pick pocketing areas include busy tourist attractions as well as train and bus stations. Be especially careful during the tourist season and in high traffic areas. Late night trains where tired passengers often fall asleep are a favorite of pick pockets. The rules are the same everywhere.
  • Don't become alone at night in dark places
  • Don't go into isolated or poorly lit areas and don't use ATM's in poorly lit areas
  • Don't carry your wallet in the open
  • Don't carry more cash that you need that day, leave extra cash, credit cards, and personal documents at home or in a hotel safe
  • Don't leave your belongings in airports, train stations and other highly trafficked areas 
  • Don’t buy counterfeit merchandise. Not only are the bootlegs illegal to bring back into the United States, but by purchasing them you could also be breaking local law.
Be a smart traveler. Remove the temptation - visible luggage or personal items from cars when parking, especially near popular tourist sites. The American Embassy has learned of some cases where travelers discover a flat tire and someone immediately volunteers to assist. Capitalizing on the distraction, an accomplice meanwhile steals valuables from the vehicle.

If you become a victim

If you or someone you know becomes the victim of a crime abroad, you should contact the local police and the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. They can:
  • Replace a stolen passport;
  • Help you find appropriate medical care if you are the victim of violent crimes such as assault or rape;
  • Put you in contact with the appropriate police authorities, and if you want they will can contact family members or friends; and
  • Help you understand the local criminal justice process and direct you to local attorneys, although it is important to remember that local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crime.
They also maintain information on their website on where to get help in child abuse situations.

In Germany, there are two separate phone numbers that correspond to 911 in the United States: In an emergency, dial 112 for an ambulance and 110 for the police.

While traveling in Germany, you are subject to its laws, even if you are a U.S. citizen. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different from our own. While you are overseas, U.S. laws do not apply and if you do something illegal in your host country, your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. It is very important to know what is legal and what is not, as criminal penalties vary from country to country. There are also some things that may be legal where you are traveling, but illegal in the United States; for example, if you engage in sexual conduct with children or use or disseminate child pornography in a foreign country, you can be prosecuted in the United States.

Be safe!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

The Genius "Albert Einstein"

I have to talk about this famous German man.
"Albert Einstein".  He is a legend and someone that deserves to be talk about. I remember him from when I was in high school; but, I had to do a lot of research to give you the right information about him.

Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientist who ever lived! He was a theoretical physicist and mathematician, and a genius in both. Most of us have heard of one of his better known achievements - mass-energy equivalence equation: E = mc2.

However, Einstein's achievements go well beyond E = mc2.  For example he developed the theory of relativity and he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect. He also won the prizes at Copley Medal, Franklin Medal, Max Planck Medal, Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Matteucci Medal.

His contributions amounted to a radical change in the view of our world and universe. Before Einstein, the beliefs in the scientific community assumed that Newtons "laws" of gravity were a given and that time was a constant, perceived by everyone the same way regardless of where they were. Einstein extended the theories of Galileo, who proposed that motion was relative, to account for the constant speed of light and in the processed  turned these assumption on their head with his theory of special relativity - velocity impacts mass and time - specifically when objects approach the speed of light.

Some say that Einstein was the father of the atomic bomb but that is not true, he did not participate directly in the invention of the atomic bomb- but was instrumental in facilitating its development. Fermi, an Italian and Oppenheimer have that distinction., Einstein extended the Special Relativity to create a General Theory of Relativity to account for gravity as we know it.

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, Germany. At 22 years old, while studying in Switzerland he renounced his German citizenship and became a Swiss citizen. He continued to study at the Swiss Federal institute and the University of Zurich where he got his PHD in 1905.
He married Mileva Maric in 1903 and they had a daughter and two sons; their marriage was dissolved in 1919 and in the same year he married his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal, who died in 1936. 

A devoted Pacifist, Einstein fled Europe in 1933 to escape the Nazi's and became a US citizen in 1940. Einstein died on April 18, 1955 (aged 76), in Princeton, New Jersey, US.

I also I have to tell you that Einstein was a extremely grateful person, he used to say thank you for everything and everyone on his life, 100 times a day and that is pretty amazing!
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