Haus der Offiziere, an army base settled in south Berlin which has been working till the 90s      

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Have you ever heard about Haus der Offiziere?                                         

Wunsdorf, Germany. Approximately 27 miles away from Berlin lies an army base called “Haus der Offiziere,” which stands for the “officers’ compound.” Opened in 1916, the building hosted Kaiser William II’s troops. Later on, it was used over World War II as a Nazi command center. The fortress “operated” until 1994, when the last soldiers permanently abandoned it.

Haus der Offiziere as Moscow secondment during the Cold War

Werner Borchert, 67 years old, works as a tourist guide in the building; the man claims that “Haus der Offiziere appears to be a tiny Moscow in a German territory.” In fact, during the Cold war the building became the center of the soviet army for the Eastern part of Germany. Inside the building were several facilities, such as a theater, a museum, a swimming pool, many barracks and different kinds of shops. The army base, approximately 4 miles wide, is surrounded by an eleven-mile-long wall and can contain about 40.000 soldiers. The complex still worked after the reunification of the country. Since the mid-1990s, the base has been abandoned and left unattended.

How the “forbidden city” appears today

During the soviet regime, it was almost impossible to reach the army base. Due to this reason, the building earned the name of “forbidden city” as German citizens couldn’t get into the building. Today, if you want to visit the ex-army base, it is possible to do so by booking tickets in advance. At the main entrance stands a Lenin statue; also, a set of Nazi vaults is to be found there. Currently, the base belongs to the federal state of Brandenburg; however, the building doesn’t have a real owner who can refurbish it.

Photo: Herr_Rettschlag CC0

Kurt Drummer: the most followed chef by DDR housewives

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Kurt Drummer: a tv chef throughtout the DDR period

The Chef Kurt Drummer played an important role during the DDR period. In fact, he was the leading figure of a German tv program called “Der Fernsehkoch empfiehlt”, which means “Advice from the tv Chef”. The show went on air in 1958 on a television broadcaster service which belonged to the eastern side of Berlin. Over his 25-year-long career, Chef Drummer had the chance to undertake food science studies and to be a chef in a well-known hotel chain called Vereinigung Interhotel. Moreover, he won several international cooking competitions in London, Budapest and Vienna.

“Der Fernsehkoch empfiehlt”: Kurt Drummer’s tv show

Kurt Drummer was born in Germany (Gornsdorf) on 20th March 1928. He was both a Chef and a German showman during the DDR period, when almost 650 episodes of his show came out. Drummer started his career in August 1958. The first episode of the cooking show was called “Delicious fish meals”. Over the years, he released lots of episodes in which he showed people his recipes. Drummer’s tv show episodes usually went on every Saturday night and, in some occasions, on working days or in prime time. With a chef uniform and a white hat, Kurt Drummer shared his passion for food paying attention to its nutritional value. His advice was really popular among his audience. One of his suggestions was to use one ingredient rather than another: for instance, margarine instead of butter to make brown bread.

The tv show ending

The cooking show “Der Fernsekoch empfiehlt” was really appreciated by DDR housewives. Thanks to the easy and healthy recipes presented during the show, people enjoyed Drummer’s work. The program was interrupted in 1983 due to Drummer’s health problems. The chef explained to the spectators that he had no longer energy to fetch ingredients and come up with new recipes as stated by the tv contract.

Photo: Pexels CC0

Inka Grings: the first female coach of a German men’s team

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Inka Grings: the first female coach of a German men’s team

Inka Grings becomes the first woman in Germany coaching a men’s team. She was both an ex-football player of the German National team and a technical supervisor of a female soccer club called Duisburg. From now on, she is officially involved in the SV Straelen a team which stood the fourth tier in the Oberliga Nordrhein. Her nomination was taken into account thanks to her ex-Football coach, who proposed her candidacy.

The woman who replaced Hermann Tecklenburg

Hermann Tecklenburg, the old coach, relieved of his charge, seems to have failed the expectations of the team supporters, and backed the candidacy of Inka Grings. The woman, ex-football player, is recognized as the most high-scorer player of the Bundersliga. Also, Martina Voss, who currently coaches the German National team, supported Grings’ candidacy. Germany is getting ready for the first woman on charge that coaches a men’s team. But that’s not all, because also France and Italy have already several women who coach men’s team.

From being a player to coaching

Inka Grings career starts in 2014, when the first female football team has been set up by the MSV Duisburg. Thanks to her technique, she carried her team from the youth field till the Fußball-Bundesliga. Between 2016 and 2017, her team gained the Bundesliga.

Photo: jarmoluk CC0

Franzbrötchen, the German croissant born as rebellion against French occupation

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The flattened croissant: traditional pastry of northern Germany come from historical conflict

The Franzbrötchen – literally “french roll”- is a classic pastry of Hamburg commonly found in the northern Germany, including Berlin. It looks like a croissant, but has a flattened shape with more strong flavour due to the addition of cinnamon. Its birth can be trace back to the early 1800s and seems to be connected with the siege of Hamburg city by Napoleonic troops.

Born as “pacific rebellion”

During the French occupation (1810-14), Hamburg was pushed to modify its own confectionery tradition. Indeed, the Napoleonic troops, being nostalgic of homely taste, wanted local bakers to make croissant. However, the outcome was far enough away from the original pastry, as can be experienced tasting the Franzbrötchen. There are two possible explanations about it. The first one is that the German bakers weren’t good at recreate the softeness of French pastry, accustomed to use more heavy dough compared to. Based on Atlas Obscura, it could be another one which is much more sneaky.  Likely, Hamburg bakers pretend to misunderstand the French request and, as a gesture of “pacific rebellion”, supplying a “german-style croissants” to enemy soldiers, with addition of cinnamon.

The recipe

Without regard to different hypothesis, Franzbrötchen is still today an enjoyable pastry to bake and eat. We show you below a version of  its recipe.

Ingredients (6 serves):

For the dough:

  • 300 g flour
  • 1 egg
  • 35 g softened butter
  • 35 g white sugar
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1/4 small cube of fresh yeast
  • 125 ml warm milk

For the stuffing:

  • 35 g softened butter
  • 35 g white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions:

Combine flour, egg, butter, sugar and salt in a big bowl. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk, then blend into the rest of the ingredients and knead until smooth. Cover and let rise about an hour. Next, roll out the dough on workbench and smear softened butter on the surface. Using a teaspoon, sprinkle a mix of sugar and cinnamon. Roll up onto itself and then cut transversely into slices with an angle of 45° in the shape form of trapezium. Place on baking sheet and slightly press in the middle of each section with handle of a wooden spoon. Bake in the oven at 180 °C for 20 minutes. Et voilà, ready to taste! 😉

Pexel  CCo creative commons

German flag

All you need to know about the German flag

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The origin of the German flag

If you want to trace the birth of the German flag, you need to go back to the 18th century. During that period, Europe started to put together several former states. In the past, coats of arms were used to identify a dynasty or a land. Germany occupied a wide territory and was made of several members. Some of them were more powerful than others, like Prussia and Austria. Also, the Holy Roman Empire exerted a limited influence over the lands, ran by different dynasties. The German flag typically depicted in black, red and yellow as we know it, appeared for the first time in 1832. The selection of these three colours represented a choice made by patriots to identify themselves as a group with clear political ideas. However, this choice also reflected a sort of compromise among patriots; even if they were democrats, part of them regretted the Emperor’s leadership, the symbol of which consisted of a black eagle drawn on a yellow background. Red and black instead, stood for people who wanted to get rid of Napoleon’s authority.

Black, red and yellow: the German flag colours

The idea of a unified German state came out during the 19th century as a protest against the French emperor Napoleon I. During that period, new colours were selected, such as black, red and gold. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the former states refused to gather all the states under a single one; in a certain way, democracy was considered as a risk. German history recalls a revolutionary period between 1830 and 1870, when the industrial revolution was setting out, too. Unemployment, poverty and bad harvests were just a few reasons that put up several insurrections. The golden colour, which was widely used for flags, was replaced by yellow, which together with black and red, created a distinction between Nationalists and Democrats. Over the years, the flag became a symbol of the 1848 Revolution, the aim of which was to obtain democracy. When the revolution failed, colours were banned.

German reunification and flags of the new country

A unification became necessary to release Germany’s own economy and to avoid constraints and customs blocks. Prussia, which at the time was guided by Bismarck, pushed for freedom. Bismarck was a former politician, who worked to embitter political relations with Austria and marginalize it. Furthermore, he moved against France, which represented Germany’s historical enemy and also a major power of that period. In 1871 Germany was unified and Bismark chose new colours for the nascent state’s flag, such as black, white and red. Today’s colours of the German flag came into force in 1918 with the rise of the Republic and the Emperor abdication.

From Hitler’s period till nowadays

When Hitler rose to power in 1933, a new symbol thrust upon Germany. A black swastika with white and red colours in the background appeared. The third Reich colours were black, white and red. Ever since 1935, all symbols were forbidden with the exception of the Nazi one. With Germany’s division in 1949, DDR government adopted the classic flag colours (black, red and golden) adding three symbols: a hammer, which represented workers; a divider, which represented intellectuals; and a spike, which represented farmers. Germany Federal Republic adopted some colours without any symbols. After the unification, the last flag became today’s German flag.

Photo: marselelia CC0

 

Second stop: Fernsehturm … But what is it exactly? All you need to know about the Berliner TV tower

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Not just a symbol of the German capital city! The Berliner Fernsehturm has got a complex history behind its back

As a multifaceted country, Germany hides lots of secrets and interesting cultural places. Berlin offers different fascinating monuments, such as Brandenburger Tor, Berliner Dom and the German Parliament (the so-called Reichstag). Last but not the least: the huge Fernsehturm. But, apart from being one of the most popular attractions of the German capital city, what is exactly the Fernsehturm?

Some bits of history

 

Fernsehturm is actually a “television tower” for radio and TV broadcasting stations in central Berlin. An essential building with a long political history behind its back. For instance, during the division of Germany in East and West Berlin, the monument was a simple antenna. It was indeed built under the directive of the German Democratic Republic (known as GDR) inside the eastern part of Germany, so that it could be seen from anywhere in the country, especially from West Berlin. Its main purpose consisted in showing how modern and functional was GDR. The building was built under a political strategy: at first, it should have been constructed in the South-East part of Berlin. However, the works were then interruped because of its proximity to the airport. It could, therefore, have caused issues with the flights. The Berliner TV tower was then built in a central part of the city, becoming the new symbol of the German capital city. 

At the end …

On October 3rd, 1969, Walter Ulbricht inaugurated the TV Tower and since October 7th, 1969, (The Republic Day) it has been opened to the public. Located in Alexanderplatz, Fernsehturm is 368 meters high. During the sunny days, you can also notice a cross on its surface, formed by the sunrays (known as “the Pope’s revenge”). German Democratic Republic tried to solve the problem, but without any success.

Photo by Michael Jin on Unsplash

German is spoken in Hollywood, too! 15 celebrities that surprisingly speak German

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When it comes to catching and reproducing sounds, such as an accent, a language or a melody, both actors and musicians are great talents.


However, only a very few of them did ever try their best with German sounds, whether for working reasons or family origin.
Here is a list of German-speaking worldwide celebrities.

Bud Spencer

Carlo Pedersoli, also known as Bud Spencer, was born in Naples and moved to Rome with his family when he was young. Together with his film partner Terence Hill, the actor was very popular in Germany. Indeed, his biography, “Mein Leben, Meine Filme” reached the top of books selling lists, selling more than 100 thousand copies in one year. He gained popularity during the 70s and appeared in numerous German TV shows. Not only a successful actor and swimmer, the actor could also speak numerous languages, including German. 

Sandra Bullock

People’s Most Beautiful Woman of 2015, highest paid actress worldwide in 2010 and 2014, Oscar-winning in The Blind Side. Sandra Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia, daughter of John Bullock, an army employee and Helga Mathilde, a German voice teacher. The couple met in Nürnberg, when John was working at the Army’s Military Postal Service base in Europe. Despite she was born in the US, Sandra Bullock lived in Nürnberg until 12.

Chris Pratt

Marvel’s Star-Lord learned German at school. The actor, which boasts German origin from paternal side, has revealed his enthusiasm for Goethe’s language in tender age.

Leonardo di Caprio

Perhaps more famous for his Italian origin, the actor boasts also strong German origin by his mother’s side. German was Leonardo’s second language at home, where he got to practice in particular with his maternal grandmother. Despite his German has shrunken, the actor still knows how to impress his public.

Mark Strong 

Mark Strong, born as Marco Giuseppe Salossia, is the son of an Austrian mother and Italian Father. Besides his numerous Award-nominee for Best Supporting Actor, Mark Strong is also popular for his German language skills. In particular, the actor attended German Law classes at Ludwig Maximilian University for one year, before returning to England and pursue the acting career.

Kirsten Dunst

Her dad was a German doctor from Hamburg, and her mother, of Swedish descent, worked as employee at Lufthansa. Kirsten learned German mainly at home. In 2011, the actress gained German citizenship.

Paul McCartney 

Beatles bass-guitarist and co-singer Paul McCartney learned German at school. Yet, it was only at the very beginning of his musical career, that the artist came across the German culture.
In fact, Hamburg played a fundamental role for the band’s success. Allan William, the owner of a music coffee bar in Liverpool, was organizing a tour in Germany for the Liverpool band The Seniors. Eventually, the owner ended up replacing the Liverpool group with The Beatles. The band was still unknown at the time. From 1960 to 1962, the band launched their career by playing in famous clubs, residencies and by working/ recording in professional studios of the city. Click here for Bild’s full article.

Terence Hill

Terence Hill was born Mario Girotti by Italian Father, Girolamo Girotti, and German mother, Hildegard Thieme.
The family moved to Dresden when Hill was four, where they survived the Bombing of Dresden. He spent his childhood in Germany, before moving to Venice.

Gene Simmons (Kiss) 

Kiss’s singer Chaim Wits, also known as Gene Simmons, was born in Haifa, Israel, to Jewish immigrants from Hungary. His mother, who survived the Nazi camp, spoke fluently German and taught both German and Hungarian to her son. Besides German, the singer speaks numerous language, including Hungarian, English and Hebrew.

Vladimir Putin

The former Colonel of KGB’s intelligence office and the current President of Russia, Putin has shown its good German skills numerous times.
The President studied German at Saint Petersburg High School and spent 5 years in Dresden, working for KGB.

Michael Fassbender

The actor was born in Heidelberg but was raised in Ireland, by Irish mother and German father. Michael speaks German fluently. Perhaps, his good German convinced Tarantino to choose him for playing the British officer Lieutenant Archie Hicox.

Kim Cattrall

Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones was married from 1982 to 1989 to Andre Lyson, with whom she lived in Frankfurt and learned to speak German.

Karl Urban

Famous for his roles of Éomer in The Lord of the Rings’, as well as Leonard McCaoy in Star Trek, Karl Urban was born and raised in New Zealand. However, his father was German and used to speak German at home.

Sarah Chalke 

Every Scrubs’ fan knows it well: Sarah Chalke’s German is superb. For that reason, you might see her performing some German in various sketches of the TV comedy.

Donna Summer

LaDonna Adrian Gaines, or simply Donna Summer, was an American singer and actress. During her career, Summer moved to Munich after obtaining the role of Sheila in the counterculture musical Hair. During her time in Germany, she became fluent in German, eventually singing various song in that language.

 

Photo: Screenshot Youtube 

I have learned German. Now, my English is a disaster!

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Learning a language might sometimes become a long, challenging and very arduous journey

English is the third most-spoken native language in the world as well as the co-official language of the United Nations and the European Union. Since its birth, in the 12th century, the English language has evolved by meshing with different cultures such as Romans, Vikings and French through wars, invasions and conquers. English is much more than just a language. It is a melting pot of cultures.
English is a West Germanic Language, along with Dutch, Frisian and German. Despite those languages diverged in the course of time, some of them still preserve numerous similarities, like English and German. However, as every language learner should know, similarities between languages might be a double-edged sword when it comes to learning them. 
In fact, if language similarities may be helpful to understand words, on the other side they can lead non-native speakers to confusion. In particular, during the switching phase. 

Let’s now see in detail some of the most common cases of Denglish 

Ending questions with “or”

To ask for confirmation, English people usually add to the question “isn’t it?” Germans add the word “oder”, which means “or”. 
It can be misleading, or?

Verbs at the end of the sentence

In German, the conjugated verb comes always at the end of the sentence when it comes to a subordinate sentence. Therefore, always remember to put the verb after wenn (when), weil (before), just to make some examples. 

Pronouncing numbers

Counting in German is no easy work. From 21 to 99 numbers form, German people count by switching digits and tens’ order. Hence, you might pronounce 25 “ Fünf und zwanzig”, “five twenty”.

Everything is super

Germans love to exclaim “super!” every time they find something interesting and nice. Perhaps for its frequent use and its similar meaning to the English “super”, non-native learners might use it interchangeably. In this case, at least remember to pronounce it correctly! Another word you might hear is “prima”.

The Overuse of Na

German’s Na is of a very tricky one. This word has no real meaning and Germans use it to make exclamations stronger. Therefore, you might often hear sentences such as: Na gut, or Na also, Na und? almost everywhere.

Too many ALSO

German speakers use this term as an interjection, whether they are starting a sentence or just taking some time to reflect. We can consider the German “also” the equivalent of the English “so”. However, be careful with these two words. If Germans might understand you, English native speakers might feel a bit confused. Why would you start a sentence with “too”?

Und or and? Aber or but?

When it comes to pairing white socks, it is very easy to mix everything up. As well, confusing coordinated conjunctions between English and German can be easy. Especially after an intense German session, replacing a “but” with an “aber” might happen quickly and you will end up with sentences like: I am very happy for you UND your sister ABER you should be careful.

Similar verbs

Like the English language, German presents numerous irregular verbs, as well. These verbs change their stem vowel in both past tense (Präteritum) and perfect tense (Perfekt). Let’s compare the verb “begin” and the verb “beginnen” for instance. As the verb “begin” would conjugate begin-began-begun, as well the verb “beginnen” would be: beginnt- began- hat begonnen. Language switching can be tricky.

And you, do you know any Denglish?

Denglish, which stands for Deutsch and English, is the term used by linguists to describe incorrect English spoken by German speakers as well as the use of English sentences by German speakers.  “Das macht Sinn” for instance, is a calque from the English “this makes sense” as well as “whatsappieren” and “to whatsapp”.

Photo: NDE CC0 creative commons

Brandenburger Tor is the real heart of Berlin, that’s why you cannot skip it

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If you are planning a trip to Berlin, Brandenburger Tor is a must. You cannot skip it for many different reasons. In this article, we will try to explain why

Brandenburger Tor is the core of the German capital. In fact, it represents the symbol of the reunified Germany, after all the political, economic and social problems Germany faced after the Second World War. In 1961, Brandenburger Tor was located inside the famous “no man’s land”, that is the patch of land which has been conceived to split East Berlin and West Berlin.

Brandenburger Tor was inagurated in 1791 and symbolizes the victory of Peace over War. For the structure, the Acropolis of Athens had been taken into consideration as an inspiration. And this is exactly why, a Bronze Quadriga has been placed right on the top of the monument, as it represents the Greek goddess Eirene (designed by Johann Gottfried Shadow), used as a symbol of the Prussian victories. The position of the statue was changed by GDR in the opposite direction, and since then it has been no longer moved. 

The monument is characterized by a neoclassical architecture and it is 26 meters high. You can enter it through 5 different gates. In the past, the main entrance was reserved to the royal family, and of course “very normal people” could use only the 4 ones left. The two lateral structures, built in 1868 by the architect Johann Heinrich Strack, were used as checkpoints; now, you can find two sculptures, representing Mars and Minerva.

The Brandenburg Gate has gone through different historical events, from the triumphant March of Napoleon to the visit of Kennedy, and not to mention the Nazis parades and Hitler’s speeches, until the Fall of the Wall in 1989.

Photo: Debora Fieni and Raman Kaur

Berlino Schule

Cooking like an Italian chef, classes in Berlin held by the Gambero Rosso chefs, Alex Maiorano and Domenico Cecere

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How to cook like real Italian chefs: that is what you are going to learn with our workshop. The course is divided into four meetings of two hours and a half each (dinner included) and it is run by two Italian Gambero Rosso chefs

The course, held by Alex Maiorano and Domenico Cecere (they both work as chefs for Roma Food), is going to start on 10th February 2020 and take place every Monday until 2nd March (total meetings: 4). At the end of each class, the participants will eat what they have been cooking. The “Cooking like an Italian chef” workshop is going to take place at La Lupa (Spreewaldplatz 6 10999 Berlin-Kreuzberg), in one of the most modern and innovative areas of Berlin. The course has been organized by the brand True Italian (the network dedicated to real Italian diners in Berlin) and La Lupa restaurant. 

Cooking like an Italian chef

How to make pasta “fresca”. How to cut and cook properly vegetables. How to use rice as a starter or even as a dessert. These are just few of the things you will learn during the 4-appointment workshop. You will experiment, with different spice blends and ingredients, how to create new flavour combinations. You will also take only one ingredient and use it in different ways to prepare different dishes. That is a great chance to challange yourself in a very funny way. Meat and fish won’t be used, at all. So the course is aimed at vegetarians, too. 

Program of the course

You will learn only recipes you will be able to prepare also at home, supported by some tricks you couldn’t have imagined, before. At the end of each class, you will eat with the rest of the class.

10/02: Basics (how to make a soffritto, tomatoes and other vegetables preserves, how to avoid wasting food). Dinner with different types of pasta and sauces

17/02: How to make Lasagna and Cannelloni. Dinner with Lasagna & Cannelloni (pasta al forno)

24/02: How to “polpette” and other second courses with vegetables and meat

02/03: Desserts. Dinner with pasta and a lot of desserts (baked cakes)

The teachers

Alex Maiorano started peeling potatoes as a child with his grandmother at her family restaurant in Italy. Since then, he has never stopped. At the age of 19, he got the his diploma at the Gambero Rosso cooking school. He has been working as a chef in Germany, England and Australia. He strongly believes that ingredients, love and patience are the three only things which make dishes unforgettable. He is the main chef of LA Lupa & Roma Food.

Domenico Cecere, originally from Solofra (Avellino), chef of La Lupa, boats many years of experience in the gastronomy business in Italy and Germany.

The location 

A cozy new True Italian (let’s say Roman) restaurant in the middle of Kreuzberg, run by Gianluca De Rosa.

Info and price 

190 € for the whole course, 4 dinners included. Materials and ingredients are also included.
 
If you are not sure to enroll, you can come to the first lesson for 40€ and then decide if to apply for the whole course or not.
 
The course has limited spots, only 15. You can reserve it by sending an email at: info@berlinoschule.com

It is possible to register for only some classes prior agreement with the administration.

Cooking like a Chef

Every Monday, 20:00-22:30 starting from 10th February 2020

Number of classes: 4

Price: 190 € (ingredients, tools and dinner included)

Registration: info@berlinoschule.com

Maximum number of participants: 15

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