Köln - Madrid and other stories

Third time’s a charm: this time I saw the car AND I had my camera at hand.

It is not the same car as the one J spotted back in September, but this sure must be a popular licence plate in Bitburg.

Edit 17/02/08:

Some people do have happier licence plates, though:

For those who have been in this part of Germany, you may have noticed that some of the locals seem to be hopelessly touchy feely kissy.

They even have an old drinking tradition that involves kissing: the Brüderschaft trinken.

It consists in two people standing in front of each other, each one with a drink in the right hand. They lock their right arms together so that one is above the other’s and that the glass or the bottle is reachable for its owner to drink. In this position they drink up and then unlock their arms. Then they give each other one peck on each cheek and one on the mouth.

Amongst the many meanings that this tradition must have had at one point, I was told that it represented the moment when two people would decide to get on first name basis (Du instead of Sie), which is why in this moment, each one would also tell their first name to the other one. Kissy, but formal after all.

Nowadays, the tradition persists but in my experience, a certain amount of alcohol seems to be needed before anyone does a Brüderschaft trinken.

More on the subject – in German – here.

Talking of kisses, if you are visiting France, you will perhaps notice that a lot of French people, when greeting a person they are familiar with, may give them a certain number of pecks on the cheek. Now that is where it gets confusing, as the number of kisses tends to vary from one region to the other. Even the French get confused sometimes.
So, here is for us all, a rough guideline with a map on the subject: http://combiendebises.free.fr/

Remember these, from the Fast Show?

• “Like cheese? Like peas? Then you’ll love these! Cheesy Peas!”
• “Like cheese? Like peas? Like Cheesy Peas? Then you’ll love new Strawberry Squeezy Cheesy Peas! It’s easy-peasy!”

Now let’s try this with German delicatessen:

• “Like veal? Like liver? Then you’ll love this! Veal liver!”
• “Like veal? Like liver? Like veal liver? Then you’ll love Kalbsleberwurst, a German veal liver sausage. Now in pistachio flavour…”

Hey, it works! Scorchio!

I have not tried Kalbsleberwurst yet, but I am truly, truly thinking about it. Especially the pistachio one, really got me intrigued.

And now, on a slightly more serious note, I just discovered an interesting looking web magazine on all things European. It is called Sign and Sight - a pun on Heidegger’s book Sein und Zeit? - and has a whole section on Germany.

And of course, the ever so funny section of International Spiegel on the Germans explained, written for and by native English speakers. Hilarious.

La artista alemana Patricia Waller ha puesto en su página web unas fotos de sus obras más delirantes con peluches de ganchillo.
Recomendado a quién no le gusta ni el ganchillo, ni los peluches (y a los demás también, claro).

Si comme moi vous n’aimez ni les peluches ni le crochet, passez voir le site de Patricia Waller, une artiste allemande qui fait de délirantes peluches… en crochet.

If, like me, you think fluffy toys are best reserved for toddlers and crochet knitting is for your grandma, go visit the website of German artist Patricia Waller with some of her… ahem… weirdest interpretations of the subject.
Not for the faint hearted.