The Kraut Konspiracy

[SleepyWitch]

ok, here's a quiz for you. I'll give you a week to solve it, i.e. it ends on Friday 30 Nov. the first 3 ppl who get all the answers right, win 2 postcards of Germany. if you want a postcard, you'd have to PM me your postal address, though. If you are under 18 please ask your parent's permission. Please, send me your answers by PM on 29 or 30 Nov, so everyone has a chance to do some research. please don't post your answers here! (German's can't take part, since it would be too easy for them)
(you can find the answers on the net, I've tested it and they are not difficult to find). so here goes.

Castle Neuschwanstein Quiz



1. When was Neuschwanstein built?
a) in medieval times
b) in the 16th century
c) in the 18 the century
d) in the 19th century

2. Who built the castle?
a) Sissi (Elizabeth), Empress of Austria
b) King Ludwig II of Bavaria
c) King Maximilian II of Bavaria
d) Charlemagne

3. what was the form of government in Bavaria at the time the castle was built?
a) absolute monarchy
b) constitutional monarchy
c) dictatorship
d) republic

4. Which hero did the owner of the castle identify with?
a) Siegfried
b) Marie Antoinette
c) Parzival (Percival)
d) Thor

5. how did the builder of Neuschwanstein Castle die?
a) drowned in a lake
b) shot by an assassin
c) fell off his/her horse
d) poisoned

[Sweets America]

hey, when is French-German youth friendship day? sometime in summer, isn't it? I've never celebrated it, although one of my ex-bfs is French. we should celebrate it together next time

I don't know when it is, but yes we should celebrate that together!
Oh, I want to buy this castle that you put on your quiz. Seems like a nice place to live in! But, I would have to rename it, because I cannot pronounce that name!!

[Virgil]

I'll have some sauerbraten and a German beer. Can you recommend a beer?

But Sleepy did you have to call this thread, "The Kraut Konspiracy." "Kraut" is such a derogatory term, at least in the US. I know ifs about yourself, but still. People should not only not put down other identities, but they should especially not put down their own identity. Everyone should be proud of their identity.

[B-Mental]

Hey Virgil, try one of these... I lived in Germany when the wall came down(1987-1990), and took an overnight train from Bremen to Hamburg to Munchen to Oberammergau. I ended up in the hall, because there were no berths available on but tickets were still sold. Drank many of these thru the night.

[Virgil]

Hey Virgil, try one of these... I lived in Germany when the wall came down(1987-1990), and took an overnight train from Bremen to Hamburg to Munchen to Oberammergau. I ended up in the hall, because there were no berths available on but tickets were still sold. Drank many of these thru the night.

Thanks B-M. I've heard of Carlsburg but i never heard of Elephant beer. Whenever I've been in a German restaurant I've order German imported beer, but I can never remember which ones I've had,

[B-Mental]

In general, when it comes to German Bier the Southern Beers are my favorite. I love the Bier Halls in Munchen...and of course the enormous mugs of beer...Noch ein Mass Bier, bitte.

[crazefest456]

That's it, I'm packing my bags and flying to Germany. Black Forest Cake is a part of my childhood! My mom used to make it (in Pakistan) and I loved it! A small world, it is...

[applepie]

First, you are all making me drool Anyhow, big question. I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio, and it was a mostly German settlement back in the day. We've this oddity of food called Goetta. It's oats, pork, and spices (I think) that is flattened and fried for breakfast. I digress... it's really good, but I've an aunt from Germany who disclaims all knowledge of it actually being a German food. Is it?????

[B-Mental]

I'm going to defer to Sleepywitch on this one, never heard of Goetta, but it sounds sort of like schnitzel.

[SleepyWitch]

That's it, I'm packing my bags and flying to Germany. Black Forest Cake is a part of my childhood! My mom used to make it (in Pakistan) and I loved it! A small world, it is...

haha, that's funny! where did she pick up the recipe?

First, you are all making me drool Anyhow, big question. I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio, and it was a mostly German settlement back in the day. We've this oddity of food called Goetta. It's oats, pork, and spices (I think) that is flattened and fried for breakfast. I digress... it's really good, but I've an aunt from Germany who disclaims all knowledge of it actually being a German food. Is it?????

oats, pork and spices? and you ate that for breakfast? I must admit I've never heard of it. of course it all depends on what region in Germany you look at .. so it might be a regional specialty somewhere. It could also be Swedish or Norwegion, though, judging from the spelling/pronunciation.

But Sleepy did you have to call this thread, "The Kraut Konspiracy." "Kraut" is such a derogatory term, at least in the US. I know ifs about yourself, but still. People should not only not put down other identities, but they should especially not put down their own identity. Everyone should be proud of their identity.

yep, I know, but I picked that title on purpose because it's flashy plus, I'm also using it ironically. some people (mainly those from a small island in Europe, which they don't consider part of Europe) are obsessed with the idea that the Germans are constantly plotting with the French to invade that small island I got to hear quite a lot of this when I lived on the small island for a year and found it quite funny (even though it was rather annoying)
I know most people from other countries don't have this stereotype, but still... in order to make life easier for those from the small island I'll admit upfront that I'm conspiring to invade it, so they'll know what they're up agains Hey, Sweets, are you with me? we'll forcefeed them dumplings with frog legs, OK?
no offence to our small-islanders on LitNet. I'm only joking and you guys probably don't believe in this stereotype

I'll have some sauerbraten and a German beer. Can you recommend a beer?

I agree with B-Mental, southern beers are the best (and of course I'm not only saying this because I live in the south). The problem with southern beers is that the best ones are local, so you probably won't get them in NY.
Out of the bigger breweries, Paulaner and Erdinger Weisse are OK. Paulaner is the one that is served at Oktoberfest.
don't try EKU (Erste Kulmbacher Aktienbrauerei) unless you want to lose weight the wrong way round
if you stumble on a small German restaurant in NY (not one that got OKTOBERFEST written on it in neon letters and has blokes dancing the Schuplattler in Lederhosen), ask if they've got Franconian beer (Franconia is the name of my region).

I don't know when it is, but yes we should celebrate that together!
Oh, I want to buy this castle that you put on your quiz. Seems like a nice place to live in! But, I would have to rename it, because I cannot pronounce that name!!

it's not that difficult

nɔɪˈʃvaːnʃtaɪ̯n

Neu sounds like boy in English
sch sounds like sh in English (ship), or ch in French (château)
w is like v in English (van)
the a is long, a bit like star in British English (i.e. pronounced without the final r)
st is pronounced sht, like some Scottish people say shtop or shtraight instead of stop
ei sound like I or eye

see, German is easy, it took only 7 lines to explain the pronunciation of a whole word.. and a long word at that

Hey Virgil, try one of these... I lived in Germany when the wall came down(1987-1990), and took an overnight train from Bremen to Hamburg to Munchen to Oberammergau.

wow that must have been cool. I was a little kid at that time, the first thing I ever heard about the GDR was 2 months before the wall came down. the only vivid memory of it I have is that former GDR people bought tons of chocolate as soon as they hit the West because there was no chocolate in the GDR due to their planned economy going wrong





^^^^ If I'm not mistaken this brand of chocolate is Swiss, actually, but everyone thinks it's German

[Taliesin]

Actually, German pronunciation makes sense. More than English, actually, come to think of it.
We learned German for six years and all that we can remember is:
"Ich bin Peter, du bist Paul
Ich bin fleissig, du bist faul"
(there should be the letter that looks like b instead of ss in fleissig, but it is not on my keyboard)
Ohwell, we can remember more, We guess we could understand German text, however, to speak ourselves... we should start talking with some German or read something in German to brush it up.

[SleepyWitch]

Actually, German pronunciation makes sense. More than English, actually, come to think of it.
We learned German for six years and all that we can remember is:
"Ich bin Peter, du bist Paul
Ich bin fleissig, du bist faul"

hahahaha this is a funny one I've never heard it before
that letter is ß but I don't know what it will look like once I post my msg. dunno if the forum software supports it.

[Idril]

Can I be an honorary Kraut? My grandmother was German, that has to count for something. To be German here means lots of Knoephla soup, Pfefferneuse and Fleischkuechle and Beck's beer, I prefer Beck's Dark.

[SleepyWitch]

Can I be an honorary Kraut? My grandmother was German, that has to count for something. To be German here means lots of Knoephla soup, Pfefferneuse and Fleischkuechle and Beck's beer, I prefer Beck's Dark.

oh my god, Knöpflessuppe? hehe, you caught me off guard there I think it's from my mother's state (Baden-Württemberg) and/or from a region called Swabia (which straddles the Bavarian-Württemberg border). my mum made it when i was a kid.. it might also be from Silesia (Poland), coz my granddad is Silesian, but Swabia sounds more likely

edit: of course you can be an honorary Kraut

[Idril]

oh my god, Knöpflessuppe? hehe, you caught me off guard there I think it's from my mother's state (Baden-Württemberg) and/or from a region called Swabia (which straddles the Bavarian-Württemberg border). my mum made it when i was a kid.. it might also be from Silesia (Poland), coz my granddad is Silesian, but Swabia sounds more likely

edit: of course you can be an honorary Kraut

Thank you.

And I don't know if this helps at all but a lot of the Germans around here are German Russians so, I don't know if there was a particular area in Germany where a lot of those immigrants who made their way to Russia were from. My grandmother was from Pommern? Does that name make sense? I know it started with Pomme... My brother said it was an area where there were a lot of Scandinavian settlers once upon a time, way, way back but I think he might just be making that up to make us more Scandinavian than we really are.