The Kraut Konspiracy

[Taliesin]

Pommern is in Poland today, but apparently some people regard the Baltic Sea coast of Germany as a part of Pommern, as well. hehe, I forgot my history lessons, but I think Poland and the Baltic region (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) had a lot of German as well as Russian settlements, as borders and territories in Europe kept shifting before the invention of the 'nation state' and even after.
edit: I think there were some vikings there too, but that must have been quite a long time ago

Estonia has a lot of German influence due to being conquered by Northern German Crusaders in th 13th century and them and their descendants becoming local manor holders and nobility. Lots of words have German origin and so on. They stayed here for quite some time, lost their lands mostly after Estonia's independence and most left before the Second World War.

Sleepy, if you are so keen on everybody belonging to the kraut conspiracy, then my great-great-great-great(give or take a few greats)-grandfather was a German baron's bastard.

[SleepyWitch]

Estonia has a lot of German influence due to being conquered by Northern German Crusaders in th 13th century and them and their descendants becoming local manor holders and nobility. Lots of words have German origin and so on. They stayed here for quite some time, lost their lands mostly after Estonia's independence and most left before the Second World War.

Sleepy, if you are so keen on everybody belonging to the kraut conspiracy, then my great-great-great-great(give or take a few greats)-grandfather was a German baron's bastard.

thanks for the explanation, Tal! yep, I heard about the Crusaders in Estonia, but I didn't know how long they stayed there etc. very interesting
bastard? what a harsh word to use about your great-great-great...grandfather!
anyone can join the Kraut Konspiracy, whether they have German great-grand-bastards or not

[crazefest456]

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

I think it's because of my dad: he used to be some sort of engineer and had to fly around to Germany, China, UK, and the US...My mom would make him get recipes from those places, I guess. My dad bought a Chinese recipe book for her, so I think my family was one of the first (in Karachi) to eat authentic sweet and sour chinese rice with soup.

[SleepyWitch]

nobody's done the quiz yet?

[Whifflingpin]

When was Neuschwanstein built?

2. Who built the castle?


3. what was the form of government in Bavaria at the time the castle was built?


4. Which hero did the owner of the castle identify with?


5. how did the builder of Neuschwanstein Castle die?

[SleepyWitch]

aaaaaaaaargh,
Whiffle, please PM your answer to me, don't post them here

.
.

[Niamh]

I love that castle. *sighs* Its so fairytale....

[Whifflingpin]

Ooops - sorry about that.
Thanks Editor for repairing my blunder

[SleepyWitch]

it's OK Whiffle
if you want to take part, you can PM me the answers.

I've extended the deadline

(some of your answers were incorrect, by the way admit it, it was all just a ruse to get a second chance *joking* )
__________________________________________________ ________________

Quiz Deadline Extended

Castle Neuschwanstein Quiz

hehee, this quiz seems to have gone the way of all promote-your-country schemes (i.e. down the drain).
I'll extend the deadline till Dec. 14. so if you wanna win some postcards, you've got two more weeks.

hint: if you search Neuschwanstein in wiki, there's a link at the bottom of the article that's got the answers to all the questions (in English )

[Whifflingpin]

"if you want to take part, you can PM me the answers.
I've extended the deadline

(some of your answers were incorrect, by the way admit it, it was all just a ruse to get a second chance *joking* )"

No - I'm just a doughbake - but, at least my answers were my own. I thought at the time that my answer to 4 was probably wrong, Neuschwanstein has too much sparkle to be associated with the hero I chose.

Still, if no-one else answers, I win - but everybody knows that the game is not over, so get reading Wiki everyone - or better still "Royal Flash" by George MacDonald Fraser .

[SleepyWitch]

hehehe yep, if nobody else takes part, you win, but there's two more weeks to go

[B-Mental]

Gonna have some Bratwurst und Leinenkugel's tonight...Leinies is a beer from Wisconsin near my house...Its delicious. There is a huge German population in Wisconsin, especially in Milwaukee. Many of the German's situated themselves there, because the geography is similar. German influence is so great that the breweries "that made Milwaukee famous". The baseball team is called the Brewers. Bratwurst is actually the state sausage I believe.

Aufwiedersehen, B

[SleepyWitch]

hi guys, I've got some German music for you.
today I'll post some songs by the 70s/80s rock band Ton Steine Scherben
I'll translate the lyrics for you. Sorry if the translation sounds wobbly...

1. Wir müssen hier raus (~We've gotta get out of here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp2Q5QtE-eI

Im Bett ist der Mensch nicht gern alleine
people don't like being alone in their bed
und in meinem Bett ist grad noch Platz für dich.
and in my bed there's just enough room for you
Doch mein Alter ist fast jeden Tag zu Hause
but my old man is home almost every day
und ich glaub, er hat was gegen dich.
and I've got a feeling he doesn't like you
Für mich ist die Welt nicht mehr in Ordnung,
for me the world isn't OK anymore
nicht früh um Sieben und auch nicht nach der Tagesschau.
not at 7 a.m. and not after the evening news, either
Für mich heißt das Wort zum Sonntag "Scheiße"
for me the message on Sunday* is "sh!t" *[when a priest/reverend appears on the telly for ten minutes on Sunday and gives ppl advice for the next week]
und das Wort zum Montag "Mach mal Blau".
and the message on Monday is "take a day off"

Refrain:
Wir müssen hier raus! Das ist die Hölle!
We've gotta get out of here! This place is hell!
Wir leben im Zuchthaus!
We live in a prison!
Wir sind geboren, um frei zu sein,
We're born to be free
wir sind zwei von Millionen, wir sind nicht allein.
we're two out of millions, we're not alone
Und wir werden es schaffen, wir werden es schaffen.
And we'll make it, we'll make it

Mein Alter sagt, die Welt wird sich nicht ändern,
My old man says the world isn't gonna change
dabei weiß er ganz genau, was läuft.
but he knows how things are
Doch er glaubt, er vergißt die ganze Scheiße,
but he thinks he'll be able to forget all this sh!t
wenn er abends in der Kneipe hängt und säuft.
if he hangs around at the pub and gets drunk at night
Er sagt, der schönste Platz ist immer an der Theke,
He says the nicest place is at the counter
da hat er recht, zu Haus ist kaum noch Platz für drei.
and he's right about that because at home there's harldy enough room for the three of us
Darum bin ich auch den ganzen Tag auf Arbeit,
that's why I spend all day at work
man kann sagen, ich bin so frei.
you could say I take the liberty

Refrain...

Wir werden es schaffen.
we'll make it
Und was kann uns hindern? Kein Geld, keine Waffen,
What can stop us? neither money nor weapons
wenn wir es woll'n. Wir werden es schaffen.
if we really want it. We'll make it.
Wir sind geboren, um frei zu sein.
we're born to be free
Wir sind zwei von Millionen, wir sind nicht allein.
we're two out of millions, we're not alone

Wir sind geboren, um frei zu sein,
we're born to be free
Wir sind 60 Millionen, wir sind nicht allein.
we're 60 millions [the population of Germany at the time], we're not alone
3x Wir sind geboren, um frei zu sein.
Frei!

[SleepyWitch]

this one is bit more psychedelic, but really cool

Jenseits von Eden (On the other Side of Eden), Ton Steine Scherben 1981
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr7avzr3IoQ

Heiß, heiß, kochend heiß,
hot, hot, boiling hot
heiß, heiß, hundert Grad,
hot, hot, a hundred degrees (centigrade)
heiß, heiß, glühend heiß,
hot, hot, boiling hot
heiß, heiß, blühend weiß.
hot, hot, brilliant white
Jenseits von Eden.
on the other side of Eden
Euphrat und Tigris
Euphrat and Tigris
Allah wollte es - so
Allah wanted it this way
Sechshundertsechsundsechzig
sixhundredsixtysix
schütze uns vor Gestern
shelter us from yesterday
Eins neun dreiunddreißig
one nine thirtythree
In 3D und Farbe
in 3D and colour
Dann ist Sendepause.
then there's a silent intermission

Das war der Wilde Westen.
that was the Wild West
Hält Gott die Zehn Gebote?
Does God obey the ten commandmends?
Ich will nicht,
I don't want you
daß du in schwarz gehst
to go into the dark
weil ich tot bin.
because I'm dead

Wo warst du im Krieg?
What were you doing during the war?
(literally:Where were you during the war
Weißt du, was ich meine?
Do you know what I mean?*
Ich war auf der Suche,
I was searching
du warst auf der Flucht.
you were running away
Hörst du die Räder rollen?
Can you hear the wheels rolling
Durchsichtig und klar
transparent and clear
Irgendwann in der Nacht
in the night
In Musik gebadet
bathed in music
Jede Blume hat ihren Schatten
each flower has its shadow
Zweitausend Lieder
two thousand songs
Zweitausend Tode
two thousand deaths (dead ppl)
Mamamama, warum hast du mich gebor'n
mummy mummy, why did you give birth to me
oder hat mich der Esel im Galopp verloren?
or did the galloping donkey lose me?

Ach ich spring ins Leere.
Ach, I jump into the void/emptiness
Halleluja Schwestern
Hallelujah, sisters
Ich hab den Text vergessen,
I forgot the lyrics
ich bin mein Fragezeichen.
I'm my own question mark
Doch ich komm morgen wieder,
But I'll be back tomorrow
gib mir deinen Segen.
give me your blessing
Liebe, was ist das?
love, what is that?
Das ist das Leben in der Stadt,
It's life in the city
was soll daran schlecht sein?
what's wrong about it?
Liebe kommt von unten.
Love comes from down there
Liebe hat schwache Worte.
love has weak words
Ach ich bin so müde.
I'm so tired
Ich geh hier nicht weg,
I won't leave here
geh zurück ins Meer,
I'm going back into the sea
such mir meinen Engel.
I'll look for my (guardian)angel
Wer ist hinterm Spiegel?
who's that behind the mirror?
(...alles ein mal wiederholt...)


*I'm not quite sure what these two lines refer to, but I think it's the rage of the 60s generation who found out that their parents were Nazi's and hushed it up. the kids were really furious with their parents for being such cowards

[PrinceMyshkin]

LULZ - maybe I'll start a CANUCK thread

Sleepy, the first German clichés that came to mind were sausage (?) (all those pale tasteless 'wursts') lederhosen, and of course OKTOBERFEST (which is a very big deal here)

"Pale tasteless wursts," you HOSER! You are talking about my beloved Weisswurst! Which I doubt you've ever had there in Lower Pleasantville!