To all karaoke fans, this one is for you.

Matthias and friends performing "Billie Jean"

Having lived in Berlin all my life I thought I had seen everything worth seeing, but I was mistaken: Last Sunday I experienced the time of my life at the Mauerpark (wallpark), a park in my new favorite district, Prenzlauer Berg.

The former grounds of today’s Mauerpark were split by the Berlin Wall, but after the fall of the wall the area became the most popular “outside-in-nature-gathering-area.” Sunday at noon, I jumped on my bicycle and headed toward the park while enjoying the warm spring breeze.

Flickr: thomas_gigold

When it comes to national stereotypes, even those of us who love Germany and love living here will readily admit that some of them are true. For example, Germany is popularly characterised the world over as a country of humorless, strict, and detail-obsessed car-makers: and while not lacking in humour, Germany does indeed have a huge auto-industry which known for its minutely designed vehicles and exceptionally tough quality control.

Fittingly, what Germany also has are some of the strictest vehicle safety tests the world over. Known in German as TÜV, roadworthiness tests here are carried out biennially and are reputed for their vigour. Cars that would still be on the roads of several other European countries are simply laughed out of the approved inspection garages around here; meanwhile, some American states don’t even require safety inspections of any kind – or so confused Americans here in Germany tell me…

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” Or maybe women say to you: “Hmm, I just loooove football players…”? Maybe she does – or maybe she just likes their money. Whatever the case, football players don’t seem to have any trouble attracting women.

Tastes have changed. Before, it was your Formula 1 racing-drivers that got the girls; it was all fast cars, fast guys and even faster babes. You had drivers like Jackie Stewart, Nelson Piquet, Jody Scheckter, and Mario Andretti – proper playboys for the tabloid press. Nowadays, though, your average Formula 1 racer is nothing more than a boy without the play, the kind of clean-shaven goody-two-shoes you could introduce to your maiden aunt: just look at Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton. Not one of them has even a whiff of scandal on them – boring!

Luba and Inga

Everyone has been talking about the volcano in Iceland, but let’s see the positive side: Thousands of tourists are stuck in Berlin and are allowed to spend more time seeing just how beautiful this city can be in spring. Thank you, volcano!

Many international students who should have been on a flight back home now can linger around Humboldt University and learn about exchange programs. At the cafeteria, I meet Luba Levkina and her friend Inga Matalinova, two girls who decided to do an exchange program without the help of the infamous ash cloud. Both went to school together in Russia. Read on to hear their experiences coming to Berlin.

Young Germany: Hello Luba, hello Inga, what brings you to Berlin?

Playing music on the streets of Germany can get complicated. Photo (cc) flickr user Phil Dragash

Music on the street on a sunny spring day: I enjoy it when I pass it by on my walk to the farmer’s market or while sitting in the park.  But I had never attempted it myself.

Germany is a country that regulates everything from television and radio ownership to pets—if you own the former you are expected to pay a yearly fee to the GEZ and if you own the later you need to both register and (at least this is the case for dogs) pay “dog tax.”  Playing music on the street, in most cities, is no different. 

Hmm, beer… (Image: BM)

“Oh God“, I hear you cry, “he’s writing about beer again!” Well, with three of my posts in the last year having beer in the title and my recent post on bottle deposits, you might think the topic has been covered as much as it can.

Yet far from being ashamed, I stand by my record! After all, there’s a good reason I drink so much beer in Germany: it’s the sheer variety, the fizzy excitement of discovering a new brew almost everywhere I go.

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” What did yours used to say to you? What about this one: “I’m taking you with me to South Africa”? If he did, he was probably just offering to take you on holiday.
But we’re talking World Cup, and Germany is going mad for it – with still two months to go. The media are making things worse, speculating constantly on the make-up of the team – e.g. whether the national coach Löw will cap Kuranyi or not. Everyone in Germany has an opinion on who he should take, especially Franz Beckenbauer.