After a few days on the North Frisian island of Sylt (see also European Travels 6 – From Lüneburg to Sylt), it was time to move on and head north to Denmark and its largest island, Sjælland, or Zealand.
(We were going to fly home from Copenhagen. Our travel planning would have been greatly facilitated by a new service we just learned about: Airwander. We'll be sure to use them on our next trip with multi-day layovers or multiple flight legs!)
Readers of a previous post may recall that we had begun to learn Danish a few months earlier with Duolingo and Pimsleur Language Programs. We were, however, under no illusion that we could speak Danish fluently.
A Little Recent Danish History
Travels often inspire curiosity about a country's history. Also for us. From the historic town of Westerland on Sylt, we took the car train shuttle back to Niebüll on the German mainland.
(We also continued to really appreciate our pocket WIFI, mywebspot,which allowed us to make our ferry, B&B and hotel reservations from our car.)
From the German mainland, we made our way north to cross the German-Danish border. As with most other inner European borders, there are no longer any check points. Road signs with different coloring will let you know, in case you missed the large border sign, that you are now in Denmark.
Still, we were surprised that there were no border controls, as Denmark had reinforced its borders with Germany a few years ago to stop the inflow of illegal goods and immigrants.
Denmark applied to join the “European Economic Community” (EEC), the predecessor of the EU, in 1961, shortly after the UK had done so. But, the veto of then President Charles de Gaulle in 1963 against the UK's membership affected Denmark as well.
With the UK being Denmark's main customer for its agricultural products, Denmark did not want to join without the UK. After more negotiations and with a new French President, both the UK and Denmark (as well as Ireland) finally joined the EEC in 1973.
Danes are somewhat “reluctant” Europeans. Denmark still uses the krone (crown) as its currency and has not accepted the euro.
Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands are probably the three countries most affected by Brexit as they have been heavily dependent on trade with the UK. However, as we learned during our trip to Denmark, there are currently no plans for Denmark to follow the UK's example.
Ferry from Fynshav to Bøjden
We slowly made our way on excellent roads through the Danish countryside toward the town of Fynshav at the Lillebaelt-Arhus Bugt.
As we didn't have any Danish kroner, we were looking for an ATM. This gave us our first opportunity to practice our Danish by asking for directions to a bank.
Ulrike was therefore quite pleased, when a woman in Augustenborg, whom she asked for directions to a bank ATM, answered in Danish. Not surprisingly though, she also experienced the “beginner's conundrum”: When the answer came back in rapid-fire Danish, she was lost.
But she persisted. And when the woman switched to English, Ulrike just asked her to continue in Danish and to slow down. We indeed found the bank with an ATM and now had Danish kroner.
Even though many Danes speak English, they'll love you for trying to use Danish at the start of any conversation. So before you go, learn greetings and some basic phrases. Here's a short list: (To learn how to pronounce them, try Memrise.)
Basic Danish Phrases
• Goddag/Hej - Good day/Hi • Godmorgen - Good morning • Vær så venlig - Please • Tak - Thanks • Ja/Nej - Yes/No • Undskyld mig - Excuse me (to get attention) • Jeg forstår ikke. - I don't understand. • Jeg taler ikke godt dansk. - I don't speak Danish well. • Taler du engelsk? - Do you speak English? • Farvel - Goodbye
The 45-minute ferry crossing from the town of Fynshav to Fyn (Funen), the second largest Danish island, was uneventful. We enjoyed hearing Danish spoken all around us and tried some “Danish pastry”, which in Denmark is called "wienerbrød" (Vienna bread). Was it a Viennese pastry chef who brought pastries to Denmark?
In Bøjden (on Fyn) we found the B&B we had reserved: a Danish farmhouse which had been converted by a Dutch woman into a cozy Bed and Breakfast residence. She recommended that we forgo a visit to Odensee, the island's largest city. Instead, she suggested that we visit the town of Faaborg, the Valdemars Slot on the island of Tåsinge in the south, and the town of Nyborg to the north.
Faaborg
Faaborg (or Fåborg), just a 15-minute drive from Bøjden is a picturesque little town of about 7,000 people.(see Bell tower) It has an interesting history.The town celebrated its 775th anniversary in 2004 and thereby the year in which King Valdemar II gave Faaborg (and a good portion of the south of Fyn) as a wedding gift to his daughter-in-law, Eleanor of Portugal.
One of the finest buildings in town, “Plougs Gaard” was built in 1790 by Jesper Ploug, who reportedly made his fortune in shipping during the American War of Independence.
Once an important harbor for trading with Sweden and Norway and later with England and Germany, services and tourism are now the town's dominant industries.
While commercial and fishing traffic in the harbor have decreased, we were told that over 15,000 pleasure boats, vintage ships and yachts of all sizes visit the port each year. There is also regular ferry service to the adjacent islands of Søby, Avernakø, Bjørnø and Lyø.
During this second week of September, there were few tourists who, like us, wandered through the narrow streets and admired the historic mansions and town houses.
We had an excellent dinner in Det Hvide Pakhus, right at the harbor and pleasure boat marina. The cheerful waitress explained that after schools start in early September tourist traffic drops off significantly. We were surprised, however, how quickly the large restaurant filled up during the early evening hours. It's obviously popular with locals.
Valdemars Slot
The next day, we drove to Valdemars Slot(Valdemar's) on the nearby island of Tåsinge. We arrived during a rain storm. After buying our tickets in the gift shop located outside the castle, we walked up the stairs to the main doors. (see picture)
We left our raincoats and umbrella in the entrance hall and not seeing any other visitors, personnel or guards, we went ahead and followed the visit schedule outlined in the little guide book we had received. While the outside architecture is not as impressive as some of the other Danish castles, the castle's interior provides a unique experience.
As the guide book notes: “Valdemar's Castle is a special kind of museum. The visitor will find no impeding ropes surrounding valuable objects of art and old furniture, and small things are not placed in exhibition cases. We want everything to be seen in its proper place and so – we believe – the special air and atmosphere of the house will manifest itself to the visitor. Some rooms are decorated in such a way that in spite of the years passed one might feel that the owner has just left....”
Indeed, in the various rooms recent photos of the current owners were on display. It reinforced our feeling that the owners were still living in the castle from time to time.
The guide also explains: “The castle is private property, and sole owner today is Alexander Fleming, 12th generation of the Juel dynasty, son of Caroline Fleming, born Caroline Juel-Nrockdorff, who descends in direct line from naval hero Niels Juel. Valdemar's Castle has been open to the public since 1974. It is still used as a private home by the owner and family.”
If you have never heard of Niels Juel, you are not alone. Neither had we. But the history is quite interesting:
History of the Castle
The original castle was built in the years 1639 to 1644 by the Danish King Christian IV for his son, Count Valdemar Christian (thus the name!) However, Valdemar never lived in the castle. Seeking adventure abroad, he died on the battlefield in Poland in 1656.
During the war with Sweden (1657-60), the castle was occupied and badly damaged. When Admiral Niels Juel defeated the Swedish in the famous sea battle in the Bay of Køge, he also captured a large number of Swedish ships. This entitled him to one-tenth of the value of the ships – an amount the Danish King was unable to pay to his Admiral.
Instead, the Danish King handed over the crown lands of Tåsinge, including the castle, to Niels Juel. The Admiral not only substantially renovated the castle, but added gatehouses, the coach and stable wings and a graceful tea pavilion at the end of an artificial pond. The aerial photo shows it all.
Castle Tour
We enjoyed a leisurely walk through the many open rooms, The King's Room with many portraits of the Danish kings, the Empress Room, named after the beautiful portrait of Empress Eugenie of France, the bedrooms, guestrooms, and others. It was also interesting to see the photos of current family members and royal visitors. What was especially notable was the lack of any guards (though there were cameras).
While we were walking through the various rooms, over old wood floors and antique carpets, we suddenly noticed that other visitors were wearing blue protective covers over their shoes. We realized we had missed the sign and the bin with the covers in our eagerness to start the tour. But nobody had stopped or admonished us, so we quickly corrected our oversight.
We visited Valdemars Slot on a rainy weekday and saw few other visitors. But on better days, the castle also seems to attract families who can rent bikes, Segways, kayaks, or go to the nearby beach.
As we toured the castle and learned about the Danish monarchy, we also became aware of a Danish curiosity: Beginning in the 16th century, after Christian II was deposed in 1523, all Danish kings were named either Frederick or Christian – until 1972, when for the first time a woman, Margrethe II, daughter of King Frederick IX, became Queen.
Nyborg
Our next stop was Nyborg, which is located on the east side of Fyn. Noborg, today a town of about 16,000 inhabitants, housed the “Danehoffet”, the country's legislative and judicial assembly from 1183 to 1413.
In the 17th century, Nyborg was one of only three fortified towns in Denmark (together with Frederica and Copenhagen).
Nyborg Castleis considered one of the most important heritage monuments from Denmark's Middle Ages.We toured the museum museum of the castle and found ourselves carried back in time.
A lively market in the middle of town with Danish folk musicians on Saturday morning started a medieval weekend with archers and jousting. (see picture)
We also visited the Nyborg's Historical Museum, which encloses the Borgmestergåarden (Mayor's Yard) with its distinctive red painted half-timbered buildings.
Walking on the uneven floors of this well-preserved merchant house, we felt we were back in the 17th century. In one of the workshops we watched a blacksmith at his trade.
The Storebaelt Bridge
Suspension bridges have always fascinated me. So, I was excited when a few days later, we crossed from Fyn to the island of Zealand (Sjaelland) on the Storebaelt Bridge (the Great Belt Bridge).
With a main span of 1,624 meters (5,328 feet), it's the world's third-longest suspension bridge. Only the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan with 1,991 meters and the Xihoumen Bridge in China with 1,650 meters are longer.
The total distance between the two islands and length of the bridge is about 18 km or 11 miles, and we were driving across on a beautiful blue-sky September day.
The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde
Once across the Great Belt Bridge, we were on the island of Zealand, the largest Danish Island. It didn't take us much more than an hour to reach Roskilde.
During a Hurtigruten cruise along the Norwegian coastline a few years ago, we had learned much about the Vikings. While one often associates Norwegians (and Swedes) with the Vikings, the Danes were certainly a key member of the Viking's Scandinavian homeland.
We visited the wonderful Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, just when one of the Viking longboats returned from an outing. (see picture) The museum owns five “Skuldelev” which were built in the museum'sworkshop with copies of Viking age tools and corresponding materials and techniques.
The reconstructions are based on hull shapes of ships that have been found but the museum also cautions that they are not “definitive truths”. They represent “suggestions on how the ships may have looked 1,000 years ago.” We only regret that we didn't have the opportunity to join one of those Viking ship's outings.
Now a business and educational center with a population of about 50,000 people, Roskilde then was the hub of the Viking land and sea routes 1,000 years ago. And, from the 11th to the 15th century it was the country's capital.
In the late afternoon sun, we lingered at a café on the grand square of Roskilde and soaked up the atmosphere of this historic town.
There were more sights to explore on Zealand before heading to Copenhagen, but we'll report about them in a future post.
Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
In 2015 we first started this post about Silvester Traditions in German speaking countries.German is spoken in many parts of the world.
German is the only official language in Austria, Germany, and Lichtenstein.It is the "majority" language, and shares official status with the other languages, in 17 cantons of Switzerland.
It is the co-official language in Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as in another four (4) Swiss cantons and the Italian Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, where it is also the majority language.
In France, the German spoken in the Alsace and Moselle regions is deemed a "regional language," and German speakers (who are often bilingual) also live in the border areas of Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary.
There are about 95 million who speak German as their first language. With the pockets of German-speaking communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, U.S., South America, and even parts of Africa, it is estimated that about 10 million people speak German as a second language.
In the U.S., communities of Amish (see Discovering Pennsylvania Dutch with “Speaking Amish”), Mennonites and Hutterites speak German dialects. The Pennsylvania Dutch celebrate New Year with a traditional meal of pork and sauerkraut.
Germany
New Year's Eve in German-speaking countries is also called "Silvester," as December 31 is St. Silvester (or Sylvester) Day. The fourth-century Catholic pope and saint became associated with New Year's Eve.
This was after the reform of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, when the last day of the year became December 31, the day of his death in AD 335.
Not only the German-speaking countries, but also Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Israel all use a variant of Silvester's name as the preferred name for New Year's Eve.
St. Silvester, Germanic Gods, and other Superstitions
Watch out for fish bones - St. Silvester had a frightening reputation: It was said that non-believers would suffocate in his presence. As he died on December 31st, superstitious Germans are very careful when eating fish on the last day of the year.
No laundry - The superstition not to wash and hang up any laundry for drying around New Year's Eve, traces back to the German god Wotan. This custom is said to keep Wotan happy who, together with his buddies, supposedly roams through the gardens on the night of Silvester.
No work - At the end of each year, the gods let the wheel rest to which the sun is attached. Mankind should therefore follow suit and let all work rest on the last day of the year.
Northern Germany
In Germany's northern state Schleswig-Holstein, quite a few old traditions survive, for example:
"Rummelpottlaufen," quite similar to Halloween in the U.S., sees costumed children with a self-made music instrument (a can covered with pigskin or thin leather, pierced by a willow-stick, which when turned and rubbed makes hollow and scary sounds), going from door to door on New Year's Eve, singing old tunes and being rewarded with candies and sweets.
Berlin is the site of Germany's biggest New Year's Eve party, which takes place around the Brandenburg Gate; "Berliner" (jam-filled doughnuts) are a particular favorite in Berlin, as in many other German-speaking countries during Silvester.
Southern Germany
In the southern parts of Germany, originating from Austria and Switzerland, a cheese Fondue or Raclette is often also a typical New Year's dinner.
At midnight a "Feuerzangenbowle," a punch made with red wine, orange peels, cinnamon, cloves, and poured over a burning sugar cone supplements or even replaces the German "Sekt" (sparkling wine).
Austria
In Austria, Vienna clearly holds the top spot for New Year's Eve celebrations. Before midnight, small marzipan or chocolate "fortune gifts" (figures of chimney sweeps, little fortune piggies, four-leaf clover, etc.) are exchanged.
As in many other German-speaking regions, "Bleigießen" (lead pouring) - the melting of small pieces of lead, dropped into cold water - results in a popular, fun game: the various forms of the the hardened lead pieces let the participants speculate what a person may experience in the coming year.
Impressive fireworks are part of the Viennese tradition as is a glass of champagne. After the midnight countdown, the Danube waltz plays on all radio and TV stations.
Switzerland
In Switzerland there are many different and often quite curious traditions. We can only highlight a couple here:
"Altjahresu" - Schwarzenburg (Canton Bern)
In this small town near Bern, about 40 participants dress up as various characters for the "Altjahresu" (old-year-donkey) performances: the donkey guide, the musicians, the priest, the devil, the barrel carrier, the newlyweds, the mailman, etc.
They go from bistro to bistro with their donkey, the musicians play, the newlyweds dance, the mailman distributes the old year's newspaper, the barrel carrier collects white wine in his wine barrels, etc.
At the end of the day, around 9:30 PM, the priest then reads his "sermon" at the town center to the great amusement of all spectators.
"Harder-Potschete" - Switzerland's longest Silvester in Interlaken
The Silvester celebrations end in Interlaken only on January 2. Until 1956 the "Potschen," scary- looking figures with masks - representing dead people - were roaming the streets, screaming at spectators and pulling them along.
That often got out of hand. So, in the late fifties, a new custom was added to tone down the rowdiness. It combined the legend of a delinquent monk marooned on the "Harder," Interlaken's town hill, with that of the masked characters. The scary masks are still there but the celebrations are not as wild as before. See last year's masks in the picture.
I'm not aware of any particular Silvester traditions in Lichtenstein and Luxembourg that differ from those in the other German-speaking countries and regions. (If you do, please let us know!)
Family Traditions
As countries and regions have developed particular traditions and celebrations, so have many families. We are now continuing a tradition with our extended family here in the U.S. that started with my father's family in Berlin, Germany:
The after-midnight snack is "Heringssalat," a Scandinavian/Northern Germany specialty that has many recipe variations. It is served with "wieners" or "frankfurters." The herring, potato, apple, and pickle combination makes a welcome change after the sweet treats of the Christmas season. And strangely enough, it even goes well with a glass of champagne!
(Updated 5-10-2021) Our recent trip through three European countries allowed us to practice three of our languages – German, Dutch and Danish - and reflect on Freedom trade-offs, e.g. on US vs European Traffic and Gun laws. It also made me aware again how different these European countries deal with the US credos of “life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness” on the one hand, and with safety, as it relates to gun control and highway speeds, on the other. (And no, that is not us in the picture receiving a speeding ticket: we never saw any traffic police traveling over 1,000 miles through Germany, Netherlands and Denmark!)
Gamesforlanguage's blog themes include language learning, travel, history and culture. My observations are personal and anecdotal, and I make no claim to having discovered any absolute truths.
Our AirBerlin flight from Boston took us directly to Dusseldorf, Germany. There, we rented a car and drove north, crossing into the Dutch province of Drenthe to attend a weekend family reunion there.
On the German Autobahn, it always takes me a few minutes to get used to the speed of the traffic. But then I go with the flow. Once we had cleared the congested metropolitan area around Dusseldorf and no longer faced any speed restrictions, 160 km/h (100 mph) became a comfortable cruising speed.
I actually find that driving fast on good roads in Germany is less tiring than driving with cruise control at 65 or 70 mph in the US. In Germany, I constantly scan my rear view mirror for faster cars and estimate the distance to other, slower cars when in the passing lane.The freedom of driving fast is one of the joys of German Autobahn driving.
You may remember that Volkswagen used the German term “Fahrvergnügen” (Pleasure of driving) as a US marketing slogan a few years ago.
While there are many stretches on the German Autobahn that have no speed limits (about 70% of the German Autobahn grid), there are also specific speed limits in metropolitan areas or on country roads.
The Netherlands and Denmark
Both countries use the same maximum speed limit of 130 km/h (82 mph) on motorways and 50 km/h (31 mph) in built up areas.
On the busy Dutch motorways many drivers appeared to exceed the 130 km/h, while on the less traveled Danish highways few cars went faster than the speed limit.
As we discovered later in Copenhagen, Danish people generally seem to obey traffic laws: pedestrians don't jaywalk, bikes stop at red lights, cars follow speed limits. (On the new and amazing suspension bridge from Fyn to Sealand in Denmark, everybody kept to the posted speed limit.)
One method used in Denmark made a lot of sense to us. At the entrance of towns, a flashing sign showed us our speed. This was very effective because it prompted us to immediately slow down.
In all three countries there are warning signs about radar surveillance and indeed you can get “blitzed” by a radar operated camera, if you go too fast. You will receive your ticket later in the mail.
But what was remarkable: On over 1000 miles of car travel in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark over a three-week period, we did not see ONE police car, not even one waiting behind bushes or trees as so often happen in the US.
Speed vs. Safety
There seems to be no question that higher speeds can lead to more serious accidents. However, the road fatality rates of the US and the three countries though which we traveled, do not seem to confirm the simple correlation.
Comparing accident and death rates between countries is not easy, given the mix of rural vs. interstate highways, different ways of compiling statistics, etc.
What is notable, is how close the three European countries are in their road fatality statistics compared to the United States, which are substantially higher in all three categories above.
Update: The Road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants had increased by 2019 for three countries, except for Germany, where they fell: United States: 12.67 Netherlands: 3.98 Denmark: 3.7 Germany: 3.78
Interstate speed limits in the US were generally lowered to 55mph in the early seventies during the oil embargo. Since then, posted freeway speeds have again been raised in some states, to 65, 70, 80, and in Texas, with the highest posted speed in the US, even to 85 mph.
The lowered speed limits reduced road fatalities, but other factors apparently must be important as well, as the differences to the three countries above demonstrate.
While the three European countries – especially Germany - have higher traffic speeds than the US, the statistics indicate that driving in the US is quite a bit more dangerous.
Guns - Laws and Statistics
Germany has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe, as this Local.de article explains. Without analyzing the details of the differences to these countries, the Netherlands and Denmark are not far behind.
Over the last 10 years, the rate of gun deaths per 100,000 people have further declined in these three European countries. You can find the facts and statistics for each country on Gunpolicy.org.
The relevant statistics on guns can be compared to the road fatalities above and also present a sobering picture for the US:
Country
Rate of All Gun Deaths per 100,000 people in 2004
Rate of All Gun Deaths per 100,000 people in 2014
United States
10.10
10.54
The Netherlands
0.70
0.48
Denmark (2002/2012)
1.79
0.90
Germany
1.39
1.01
Per 100,000 people, there are essentially as many gun deaths as road fatalities in the US.
Update: By 2018 the rate of gun deaths (per 100,000 inhabitants) had changed in the four countries as follows: United States: 12.15 (+15.2% over 2014) Netherlands: .44 ( - 8.3%) Denmark: 1.11 (+23.3%) Germany: 1.01 (unchanged)
Happiness
It is quite impossible to grasp the mood of a country during a short visit.
In the Netherlands, we were able to discuss with our extended family, which includes Dutch, German Austrian, Canadian, and US citizens, many of their countries' problems and issues.
Not surprisingly, Donald Trump's presidency was a frequent topic, as were Europe's immigration challenges, Brexit, educational policies, etc.
As we were leaving Europe, the formation of a Dutch government coalition was still underway; Germany was going to go to the polls shortly, and, we read about increased security measures for a Jewish synagogue in Copenhagen. While Norway tops the global happiness rankings for 2017, Denmark is quite close as #2, and the Netherlands not far behind as #6. On the other hand, Germany with #16, is listed behind the United States (#14).
The report notes that “all of the top four countries [Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Switzerland] rank highly on all the main factors to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and good governance.”
One may argue with the criteria used for the “Happiness Rankings”, but Denmark impressed us as a country that really seemed to work well.
Update: Not surprisingly, the World Happiness Report of 2021 focused on the effects of Covid-19. With slight changes of the 2020 scoring methodology (compared to 2017-2019) Denmark still ranks in the first 5 "happiest" countries:
1. Finland 2. Iceland 3. Denmark 4. Switzerland 5. Netherlands Many in the US obviously believe that the 2nd Amendment - “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” - is an essential ingredient for freedom and happiness.
European countries do not have such paragraphs in their constitutions, so gun ownership is not discussed much.
On the other hand, the speed limits in many US states, which especially Germans would argue against, are accepted as necessary for improving traffic safety – which, nevertheless, is substantially below the figures for the three countries where we traveled.
I do not know – but have not found any reference in the Report – whether the “happiness rankings” mentioned above, consider gun control or speed limits.What seems clear, however, is that both involve trade-offs.
The gun death statistics comparison between the US and the three European countries seems to point to one logical conclusion: More gun ownership/less gun control – higher gun death rates.
On the other hand, speed limits alone don't seem to lower traffic fatalities substantially, as the rates for the US and the same three countries show. It also suggests, however, that statistics alone can't always explain cause and effect relationships.
I had started this post after returning from our trip to Denmark, just before the October 1, 2017 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas and then put it aside.
The United States is one of only three countries, along with Mexico and Guatemala, that begin with the opposite assumption: that people have an inherent right to own guns.
The main reason American regulation of gun ownership is so weak may be the fact that the trade-offs are simply given a different weight in the United States than they are anywhere else.
After Britain had a mass shooting in 1987, the country instituted strict gun control laws. So did Australia after a 1996 shooting. But the United States has repeatedly faced the same calculus and determined that relatively unregulated gun ownership is worth the cost to society.
That choice, more than any statistic or regulation, is what most sets the United States apart.
“In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate,” Dan Hodges, a British journalist, wrote in a post on Twitter two years ago, referring to the 2012 attack that killed 20 young students at an elementary school in Connecticut. “Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.”
Countries develop different trade-offs and their relative weights for many aspects of life. They not only affect gun laws and speed limits, control of alcohol and recreational drug sales, but also citizen's registrations and identity cards, availability of public transportation, access to/funding of higher education, healthcare, and many others.
A country's culture is not static, but is constantly evolving. And so are freedom and safety trade-offs.
Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
Visiting the South of France? Then try to include Aix-en-Provence and make your own travel memories there - maybe in the Cours Mirabeau.
As you play our travel-story based language courses, you'll follow a young traveler through several main cities in each country. And – if you visit these cities yourself – you'll discover that the travel-stories' street names, places, restaurants, hotels, etc. all exist. We visited many of them and took pictures.
Our French traveler Daniel flew into Paris, which was the topic of our first French Travel Memory post. After Paris, Daniel's next stop is in Aix-en-Provence, a picturesque city located in the south of France, about 20 miles north of Marseille. In Aix-en-Provence, Daniel looks up a French friend he had met earlier during his studies in Boston.
In our travel-story course, you learn daily conversational language. The vocabulary listed here is a combination of some words taught in the course as well as other useful terms. Often referred to as a city of art and history, Aix sports beautiful gardens, picturesque fountains, historic buildings, and the remains of Roman baths.
You can find specific events for your travel dates on the Tourist Office website, and more information in books and travel guides. We'll just mention a few quick facts and list some basic terms in French that will help you in your travels.
A FEW QUICK FACTS ABOUT AIX-EN-PROVENCE
Aix-en-Provence is a city-commune (or, incorporated municipality) located in the region of Provence, in the department of Les Bouches-du-Rhone. In 2014, it counted a population of 142,149.
The region of Provence gets its name from the Romans. By the end of the second century BC, the region of Provence was part of the first Roman "province" beyond the Alps. Aix-en-Provence had its beginnings in 122 BC as a Roman town. During the breakdown of the Roman Empire and beyond, the town survived numerous battles, periods of occupation, and repeated plundering.
From 879 until 1486, Provence was a semi-independent state ruled by the Counts of Provence. During that time, Aix-en-Provence became its capital and an artistic and intellectual center. In 1487, Aix-en-Provence passed to the crown of France, together with the rest of Provence.
1. Useful terms for Travelers
• le Midi - the Midi, South of France (colloquial) • les jardins - the gardens • les fontaines - the fountains • les ruines romaines - the Roman ruins • la commune - the town, municipality • la capitale - the capital • ville d'art et d'histoire - city of art and history
RUE MAZARINE
Daniel's friend Pierre lives in the Mazarin district on rue Mazarine, a street that runs parallel to the popular and lively Cours Mirabeau (more below). The "quartier Mazarin" was developed in the 17th century by the then ruling archbishop Michel Mazarin.
Located in the south of Aix-en-Provence, this elegant neighborhood is known for its numerous "hôtels particuliers" (grand townhouses), built for the nobility, army officers, politicians, and the newly wealthy merchant class.
FRENCH TRAVEL MEMORIES WITH PAUL CÉZANNE
The painter Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was born and grew up in Aix-en-Provence. His father, co-founder of Banque Cézanne et Cabassol, was a successful banker. For several years the young Cézanne studied law and worked in his father's bank.
At the same time, however, he was also enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Aix and envisioned a career in the arts. At age 21, Cézanne left for Paris and for the life of a struggling artist. Read more about Cézanne's struggles and artistic development.
Throughout his life, Cézanne came back to Aix frequently and finally settled there again during his later years. Café Clément, where Cézanne often went to meet friends, was at 44 Cours Mirabeau.
The bank Cézanne's father founded, Banque Cézanne et Cabassol, was on 24, rue des Cordeliers. It is now the location of a property management company.
In Aix-en-Provence, you can visit Cézanne's atelier: 9 avenue Paul Cézanne. It's about a 30-minute walk to the north of the town. That's where he worked every day from 1902 until his death in 1906.
2. Useful terms for Travelers
• l'atelier - the atelier, artist's workshop • le peintre - the painter • le tableau - the painting, picture • la peinture – the paint, painting • la banque – the bank • le banquier - the banker • travailler - to work
LE COURS MIRABEAU
The Cours Mirabeau is a wide boulevard built in 1649 along the southern ramparts of the city. To the south of this lively street lies the quartier Mazarin (see above). The Cours Mirabeau is lined with restaurants, cafés, stores, bookshops, movie theaters, and beautiful fountains. (see picture)
The popular café "Les Deux Garçons" - frequented by the writer and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, the philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as Paul Cézanne - is at number 53 Cours Mirabeau. It was built in 1660 and is the oldest café in Aix-en-Provence.
3. Useful terms for Travelers
• le cours - the long avenue • l'écrivain - the writer, author • le cinéaste - the filmmaker • le philosophe - the philosopher • le dramaturge - the playwright
CATHÉDRALE SAINT SAUVEUR
The cathedral in Aix-en-Provence was first built in the 12th century on the site of a pre-Roman pagan temple and later Roman temple of Apollo. In the following centuries, the cathedral underwent several more phases of construction.
Now a national monument of France, the building is an interesting combination of Roman, Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, and Neo-gothic architectural styles.
Noteworthy are the Gothic portals, the Bell Tower (started in 1323), the Romanesque Cloister, as well as the interior of the church.
OTHER PLACES TO VISIT
Besides strolling through the streets of old Aix-en-Provence with its stunning architecture, its markets and shops, the Hotel de Caumont centre d'art is worth a visit (located in a "hôtel particulier").
Also of interest are short tours into the surrounding countryside. First on the list may be the neighboring Montagne Sainte-Victoire, a frequent subject of Cézanne's paintings.
And, if you are visiting during the summer months, don't miss a tour to Provence's lavender fields.
SOME ADVICE
As you're making your travel memories, you'll notice that Aix-en-Provence has an atmosphere that is reminiscent of Paris.
In the summer you may enjoy "Musique dans la rue" or one of the many "Festivals" and art exhibitions; or join the fashionable Aixois sipping an expresso or an apéritif on one of the terraces of the Cours Mirabeau cafés.
The old town center of Aix-en-Provence is now a pedestrian zone with large parking lots around the perimeter. So, if you travel by car – use one of those lots and don't even try to drive into the town center!
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her travel memories on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
A recent post about German expressions that you may hear in Germany during the summer months includes the word “Affenhitze.” (Literally, it's “monkey heat,” or very hot, you get the picture.)
Talking about the weather is always a good conversation topic, especially when traveling. For many travelers from the U.S. to Europe (or vice versa), being able to correlate the Fahrenheit scale to the European Celsius is a mystery.
There are conversion charts, thermometers often show both scales as on this picture, and your smartphone will have an app for conversions of areas, weights, temperatures, etc. (And yes, there is the simple approximation: deduct 30 from ºF, divide by 2 to get ºC, or double ºC and add 30 to get ºF.)
But after reading this post, "approximate" won't do for you any longer and you can also impress your friends, by NOT using a mobile gadget. You'll now be able the make all conversions quite easily in your head by just remembering a few key numbers. And, feel free to forward the post to anyone who could use it! But first a little history.
Fahrenheit
The Fahrenheit scale was proposed in 1724 by the Danzi/Gdansk born, Amsterdam-based physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit. Today Fahrenheit is used as the official temperature scale only in the United States, a few Island states in the Pacific, the Bahamas, Belize, and the Cayman Islands.
The scale is defined by two fixed points: • 32 ºF as the temperature when water freezes, and • 212 ºF as the temperature when water boils at sea level and a defined atmospheric pressure.
Just remember: On the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 32 ºF.
Celsius
The Celsius scale, which the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius proposed in 1742, was actually the reverse of the scale we are using today: • 0 ºC as the boiling point and 100 as the freezing point of water, and • 100 ºC as the boiling point of water.
Read about the Celsius history, and how the reversal to 0 ºC as the freezing point and 100 ºC as the boiling point of water came about, in this Wiki entry. Just remember: On the Celsius scale, water freezes at 0 ºC.
But enough of physics.
The Fahrenheit/Celsius Correlation
We now know: Water freezes at 32 ºF and 0 ºC. Water boils at 212 ºF and 100 ºC.
The difference between freezing and boiling is therefore 180 ºF and 100 ºC on either scale. Dividing both differences by 20 (180:20=9; 100:20=5) gives you the first easy relationship to remember: Each 5 ºC correlates to 9 ºF
If 0 ºC = 32 ºF, then 5 ºC = 9 ºF + 32 ºF = 41 ºF You got the idea?
What would then 20 ºC be in Fahrenheit? Easy! Remembering that 4 x 5 ºC = 20 ºC, you apply the same logic to the Fahrenheit conversion: 4 x 9º + 32º = 68 ºF This leads you to the second correlation you may want to remember: 68 ºF correlates to 20 ºC Once you remember this one, it's not difficult either to calculate and even remember the next one 50 ºF correlates to 10 ºC
How do I know? Well, remembering that 5 ºC correlates to 9 ºF, you can either add 2 x 9º = 18º to 32º, or deduct 18º from 68º, both result in 50 ºF.
In the last few weeks European temperatures have often exceeded 30 ºC, and the 90s ºF are not unusual for many parts of the U.S. these days.
What are the ºC/ºF equivalents of higher temperatures? Easy! Just add 2 x 9º = 18º to the 68 ºF (= 20 ºC) that you remembered from above and you'll get: 30 ºC correlates to 86 ºF.
Add another 5 ºC or 9 ºF and you get: 35 ºC correlates to 95 ºF.
The Fahrenheit – Celsius Table
Here is the table for the easy 5 ºC increments, and you can obviously interpolate among those. But as long as you remember the key relationships (5 ºC ~ 9 ºF, 0 ºC ~ 32 ºF and 20 ºC ~ 68 ºF) , you can always figure it out again easily.
It's summer now, but you may also want to know in the winter how cold -10 ºC is in Fahrenheit? No problem, right?
Here is a good one to remember as well: -40 ºC correlates to -40 ºF
By now, I'm sure you are able to figure out why this is correct.
The Fahrenheit – Celsius Formula
For the more mathematically inclined readers, here are the two conversion formulas which the mobile apps are using: ºC = [(ºF – 32 ) / 9] x 5 and ºF = ºC x 9 / 5 + 32
Some Final Thoughts
For those readers who use European cook books that include ºC temperature recommendations, it's worthwhile to know that 200 ºC is 328 ºF and 250 ºC is 418 ºF.
I've written these two conversion sets in each of my European cookbooks. Of course, as with anything, you have to practice a bit. And, if you are learning a foreign language, why not practice the conversion numbers in your new language?
To brush up on the numbers, just click on the French, German, Italian and Spanish number posts and games! As the Germans would say: You could “zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen” - which converts easily to “kill 2 birds with one stone”...
And please, forward this post to anyone for whom the Fahrenheit/Celsius relationship has always been a mystery!
Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
Although the world’s two billion English speakers span an estimated 57 countries, in our “global” society, the importance of being able to speak a second (or third or fourth) foreign language is more valuable than ever before.
With plenty of opportunities to start learning right away, it’s time to decide which language you want to start learning. There are a lot of factors that can influence this decision.
Some languages are easier to learn than others, some are more widely used, and you may have a vested interest in one language over another based on where you live, your background or any other personal preferences.
If you’re on the fence about which language to learn, here are a few ways to help you decide.
Are You Looking for a New Hobby?
Becoming adept in a foreign language offers numerous personal benefits including enhanced memory and cognitive function, more confidence in your capabilities and intellect, or even just “bragging rights” to impress friends and family.
If your motivation for learning another language stems from the desire to acquire a new skill or explore a new hobby, consider studying French or Spanish. Both of these languages are widely spoken throughout the world, with French spoken in 32 countries and Spanish in 21.
Given the appropriate time investment—five days per week—you could gain conversational proficiency in six months.
Are You Heading Back to School?
Not only does learning a language make you a better student, various scholarships are available to bilingual speakers, especially for graduate program expenses.
If you want to learn another language for educational purposes, consider studying German, which is esteemed in academia.
Also, keep your degree program and major in mind when you select a language. If your degree would benefit from learning one language or another, consider that as well.
You may want to talk to your academic advisor and see what he or she recommends. Having languages skills on your resume can help you land your dream job.
Are You Preparing for a Trip Abroad?
Knowing how to speak the native tongue when traveling allows you to have a more authentic and memorable experience. It also makes you a more self-assured traveler, being able to communicate with locals, read traffic signs, and order from a restaurant menu without mispronouncing the entree.
You'll have a much more fulfilling trip and be able to experience more than you would if there was a language barrier or lack of understanding of the local language.
If your motivation for learning another language stems from wanderlust, study whichever language correlates with the region you’re visiting.
Are You Investing in Career Goals?
Knowing a foreign language can make you a sought-after—perhaps even indispensable—asset on the job market because companies recognize the advantage of global business relations in our modern economy.
Bilingual employees can network with international clients, remain abreast of overseas corporate trends, or even compete for higher-paid positions abroad.
If your motivation for learning another language stems from professional development, consider studying Mandarin Chinese, which is spoken by 1.3 billion people, more than any other language.
Are You Connecting a Foreign Language to Your Roots?
Learning a foreign language promotes awareness of other cultures, how ethnic heritage shapes family dynamics and rituals, cultural perceptions and beliefs, or even your own life and ancestry.
If your motivation for learning foreign languages stems from an appreciation for where your family originates from, consider studying whichever language reflects that ancestry.
Caucasians often find German or French beneficial, while Hispanics gravitate toward Spanish or Portuguese. Asians might choose Malay or Chinese, while those of Middle Eastern descent likely connect with Arabic.
This is a great way to learn about the history and native language of your spouse’s family as well. You can learn the language together and then plan a trip to visit their family’s home country.
Once you gain proficiency in one language and, therefore, understand how the learning process works, learning more languages over time becomes less intimidating, challenging and time consuming. Decide which language you want to learn, start studying and see where it takes you—who knows, you could end up moving abroad or landing your dream job.
Bio: Maile Proctor is a professional blogger and content editor. She writes articles on lifestyle and family, health and fitness, education, how-to and more. Maile earned her Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism from Chapman University. When she’s not writing, she enjoys hiking in San Diego, California.
Disclosure: Gamesforlanguage has no business relationship with Maile Proctor other than publishing Maile's article.
The Spanish Travel Memoriesadd to the information that our Spain traveler David picks up in our GamesforLanguage travel-story courses.
In the courses, we use street names, neighborhoods, hotels, and restaurants - many of which we've explored ourselves - in each of the Spanish cities. In Spanish Travel Memories 1, we tell you more about Barcelona. After visiting his aunt and uncle there and exploring the city, David heads south to Granada.
If you're going to visit Spain, you wouldn't want to miss Granada. It's a fascinating city with a multicultural history, and certainly a place for travel memories. We're also listing a few basic words and phrases in Spanish that will help you to communicate locally. The word lists are a combination of words and phrases taught in the course and other useful travel terms.
Just as we did with our post about Barcelona, we'll follow David's discoveries in Granada. For those of you who have done or are doing our Spanish 1 course: David en España, this may be of special interest.
Quick Facts about Granada
The city of Granada is the capital of the province of Granada, one of the eight provinces in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The city proper has a population of over 236,000. Granada has a great location. It lies close to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and is only about an hour by car from the Mediterranean coast. The name "Granada" may come from either the Spanish word for "pomegranate" (granada) or from the Arabic word said to mean "hill of strangers".
In its early history, the region of what is now Granada was the site of an Iberian settlement, Elibyrge, (5th century b.c.), and of the Roman town Illiberis (150 b.c.). During the reign of the Visigoths (500 a.d.), a small community of Jews who had also settled there, named the area Garnata al-yahut.
In 711, a Moorish Caliphate invaded and conquered Granada. After internal conflicts among Arab clans, the Ziries clan created an independent kingdom, which lasted from (1013-1238).
This was followed by the powerful Nazrid dynasty (1238-1492). It was during the reign of the Nazrid kingdom, that the Alhambra fortress and the Generalife palace were built. Granada was the last Muslim kingdom to be conquered by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
Basic Words and Phrases - the mountain range - la sierra - snow-covered, snowy - nevado/a (adj.) - the coast - la costa - the pomegranate - la granada - the settlement - el asentamiento - the dynasty - la dinastía- Catholic Monarchs - Reyes Católicos
Train to Granada
The distance between Barcelona (located in the northeast of Spain) and Granada (in the south) is 425 miles. Rather than fly to Granada, David chooses the less expensive option. He takes the train, which in his case is the Arco train with a route along the eastern coast.
Side Note: Obviously, train schedules and routes change over time. The Arco train to cities in Andalusia, operated by RENFE (Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles), has been replaced by their AVE trains with somewhat different routes.
The map above shows the driving options, which also mirror the train routes quite closely. The train route via Madrid may be faster.
Once he arrives in Granada, David asks for directions to “la calle Reyes Católicos,” the street where his friend Daniel lives, in the center of town. From the train station it's about a three-mile walk. (There's also an easy bus connection.)
Basic Words and Phrases - the train station - la estación de tren - the distance - la distancia - he train schedule - el horario de trenes - the train ticket - el billete de tren - the (train) track - la vía - to wait - esperar - a seat by the window - un asiento en la ventana - Is this seat available? - ¿Está este asiento todavía libre?
Washington Irving and the Alhambra
The Alhambra ("the red" in Arabic) is a spectacular palace and fortress built between 1238 and 1358 during the Moorish Nazrid dynasty. It stands on a plateau overlooking the city of Granada. You can read up more on its history HERE.
We were surprised to learn that the American writer Washington Irving (1783-1859) had actually lodged in a room in the Alhambra palace for three months in 1829. During that time he began his "Tales of the Alhambra," a colorful mixture of local history and legend. There's a plaque in the room where he stayed.
On the way down through the gardens, you can see a statue of Irving, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of his death. Downtown, there's also a street named after him.
Basic Words and Phrases - the palace - el palacio - a palatial complex - un complejo palaciego - the writer (m/f) - el escritor, la escritora - the tale, story - el cuento - the plaque - la placa - the garden - el jardín - the statue - la estatua
Side note: The city of Alhambra in California is reportedly named after the "Tales of the Alhambra." In 1874, the daughter of Benjamin Wilson, a wealthy developer, was reading the book and encouraged him to use the name for his new suburban development in Los Angeles County.
University of Granada
Founded in 1531 by emperor Charles V, the University of Granada is one of the oldest in Spain and continues a long educational tradition that goes back to the time of the Moorish epoch. With over 50,000 students in Granada alone (and seven campuses, five in Granada, and two in Spanish territories in Northern Africa), the University of Granada is the one of the largest in Spain.
The university is also highly popular with students of Erasmus, a program adopted by the European Commission in 1987, to encourage and support student exchanges throughout the European Union.
Side Note: The Erasmus Program was named after the Dutch philosopher and scholar, Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536). At the same time, ERASMUS also stands for: European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students.
Mirador de San Cristóbal
The San Cristobal Viewpoint is in the picturesque Albaicín neighborhood of Granada. From the viewpoint you have a stunning panoramic view of the city, including a side view of the Alhambra and the snow-peaked mountains behind. El Albaicín has maintained the narrow winding streets and the architecture of its Moorish past. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, together with the Alhambra.
David's next Stop (and future Spanish Travel Memories 3)
From Granada, David takes the train to Seville for more travel memories. There he checks into a hotel his friends had recommended to him. He explores the Toro del Oro and the Almohad Tower, called La Giralda. Together with Ana and some of her friends he spends an evening in Triana, the neighborhood known for flamenco dancers and singers.
Register or log in again and continue with the Spanish 1 course.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments below or with contact.
Like German and French, Italian has full official status on the federal level in Switzerland: all laws and official documents have to be written in these three languages.
Romansh has "partial" official status, i.e. it is used on the federal level when needed for communication with Romansh speakers.
However, each Swiss canton and, generally, even each community can choose which language to use for its own official communication.
Italian is the only official language of the Canton of Ticino and one of the three official languages of the Canton of Graubünden.
Romansh is recognized as an official language only in the Canton of Graubünden, (the largest Swiss canton, but with less than 200,000 inhabitants, also the canton with the lowest population density).
According to an article about Swiss languages published in July 2016 by swissinfo.ch, German (both High German and Swiss German) is spoken by about 63% of the population, French by about 23%, Italian by about 8%. Romansh is spoken by less than 1% of the total population.
The Third Swiss Language: Where Italian is Spoken
Swiss Italian is spoken in the Canton of Ticino and in the southern part of the Canton Graubünden (see map of Ticino, left and map of Graubünden below).
The territory of present-day Ticino was annexed from Italian cities in the 15th century. With the creation of the Swiss Confederation in 1803, the lands were named Ticino, after the largest river in the area. To read up on the history of Ticino: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticino
The official name of Ticino is Repubblica e Cantone Ticino (Republic and Canton of Ticino). Because of historical ties, the people of Ticino have a strong cultural affinity to their Italian neighbors.
Ticino is the only canton where Italian is the sole official language. Over 87% of the people speak Italian as their native language, around 666,000 according to Ethnologue. (About 10% speak German, and about 5% speak French.)
In the Canton of Graubünden about 15% of the population speaks Italian (just under 30,000).
Please note: The numbers and percentages I'm quoting show some variation in the French, German, English, and Italian articles I consulted about Swiss languages.
Swiss Italian - Svizzero Italiano
Over the centuries, the Swiss Italian language has been influenced by the local Ticinese dialects and the other national languages, French and German. There are Helveticisms (words typical for Switzerland), differences in idiomatic usage and syntax, and loan words (not known in Standard Italian).
Loan words that come from French or German:
• To book, reserve (a room or table) Italian: prenotare. Swiss Italian: riservare. French: réserver.
In addition to Swiss Italien, a part of the population of Ticino speaks Ticinese, which is a group of dialect varieties of the Lombard language. For many Italian speakers, Ticinese is difficult to understand.
Ticinese has now been named an endangered language. (According to Ethnologue, there are 303,000 speakers of Ticinese in Switzerland.)
The Lombard language is also spoken in the Northern Italian regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, and Trentino.
The Fourth Swiss Language: Where Romansh /Rumantsch is Spoken
The Romansch language is spoken primarily in the southeast of Switzerland, in the Canton of Graubünden,where it has official status alongside German and Italian. (Besides the two spellings above, there are a number of other ways to spell the language.) Romansh is a descendant of Vulgar (or spoken) Latin.
In 2012, it counted just over 36 thousand people who called it their main language. At 0.9% of Swiss citizens makes it the least spoken of the four official Swiss languages.
The spoken Romansh language is generally divided into 5 dialect groups, which together form a continuum. Still, there are recognizable differences even from village to village. The most widely spoken dialect is Sursilvan, which is used by more than half of the speakers of Romansh. In addition to the 5 major dialects, there are a number of other recognized dialects.
Although they are closely related, the Romansh dialects are not always mutually comprehensible. For that reason, when speakers of different varieties talk with each other, they tend to use Swiss German rather than their own dialect. Apparently for Romansh speakers, identity is tied largely to the local dialect region.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, grammar and spelling guidelines were developed for the regional written dialects. Now, each of the 5 Romansh dialect varieties has its own standardized written language. Romansh is taught in some of the local schools.
In 2000 a bilingual high-school diploma was introduced in Graubünden. Since then, if they wished, students have been able to follow studies and graduate in Romansh/German or in Italian/German.
Pan-Regional Rumansch Grischun
There were attempts to create a unified written Romansh language in 1867, and again in 1958, but these did not gather much support during the early days. A main criticism was that such a created language would be artificial and destroy the Romansh cultural heritage.
Nevertheless, attempts to introduce the standardized Rumansch Grischun in local schools have continued. Finally, in 2015, a hesitant compromise was reached: This unified version of the language is not to be introduced before grade 7. As expected, both supporters and opponents are unhappy.
How do the Swiss Manage?
In researching this topic, it became clear to me that accommodating these four languages and various dialects remains a challenge for Swiss communities and their government.
Resentments between language groups continue to exist. And still Switzerland, a small country of only 8.5 million inhabitants, is somehow managing.
One key may be the autonomy that the individual cantons and communities have in choosing their official language(s), and how and where the languages are taught, etc.
Maybe direct and frequent voting gives the citizens a sense of control? Maybe becoming bilingual by the time they get to school let children become more tolerant towards other languages?
Whatever the reasons, it seems to work. And it reminds me that South Tyrol may have emulated the language success of its neighbor, as we wrote in a previous post: South Tyrol – A Multicultural Success Story.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She's a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments right below!
In our previous post, we focused on the bilingualism of many Fribourgers. The German spoken in Fribourg is clearly of the Swiss German variety, with a few French expressions mixed in at times. (Indeed, as we explain in our post Swiss German Dialects: A Real Challenge for German Learners, there are quite a few variations of "Swiss German".) And while Swiss German is the generic label for the dialect, there are plenty of regional differences that a foreigner would only detect after a while. When you're traveling in countries where you speak the language, you may notice that both formal and informal greetings often vary from region to region.
For example, when we were traveling in Northern Germany a couple years ago (see our post: From Utrecht to Hamburg: Dialects and Travel Tips in Northern German), we first couldn't make out the informal greeting we heard everywhere: “Moin.” We first thought it was an abbreviation of “Morgen,” as in “Guten Morgen” (Good morning), but it was clearly used all day.
Digging a little further, we found that while “morgen” may be one etymological explanation for “Moin,” another one could be the Dutch, Frisian, and Low German word “moi,” meaning “beautiful” or “good.”
This week we are exploring a few Swiss German expressions we encountered while skiing in the "Berner Oberland". (Above picture of "Saaner's Loch)
“Grüezi” and a Swiss German Ear-Worm
To get a little taste of the Swiss German language listen to this YouTube Video of “Ja grüezi wohl Frau Stirnimaa”, a popular song by a Swiss group, The Minstrels, from the late 60s. It was the #1 song in Switzerland in 1969 for 10 weeks, made it to #3 in Germany, and sold over 1.5 million copies in 27 countries.
Mario Feurer, who wrote the song, grew up in Zurich. Even if you know some German, you'll have a hard time understanding the simple refrain. But if you listen to it a few times, you'll start distinguishing verbs, their grammatical modifications. You'll also pick up a few Swiss German idiosyncrasies.
The Lyrics, Standard German, and English Translation
Ja grüezi wohl Frau Stirnimaa (Ja grüß sie wohl, Frau Stirnimaa) (Hello there, Ms Stirnimaa)
Sagget sie, wie labbet sie, wie sind sie de so dra? (Sagen Sie, wie leben Sie, wie sind Sie denn so dran?) (Tell me, how's life, how's it going?)
Grüezi wohl Frau Stirnimaa Sagget sie, wie labbet sie, wie gaht's denn ihre Ma? (Sagen Sie, wie leben Sie, wie geht es ihrem Mann?) (Tell me, how's life, how's your husband doing?)
Quick note: There is no standard written form of Swiss German. Letters and letter combinations mostly just express the way words sound.
And while you'll notice how the verb forms and endings are different from Standard German and hear how the “n” and “m” endings are dropped, we won't try to explain much more. Just listen to the melody of the Swiss German language.
Swiss German in the Berner Oberland
This week the public schools in the canton of Bern have vacation, and besides a little French, we hear mostly Swiss German in the villages and on the mountain between Zweisimmen and Gstaad.
Even for us German speakers, some of the Swiss German we come across is a little hard to understand. Briefly: In general, the dialects spoken in Switzerland (collectively called Swiss German) belong to the Alemannic variety of German.
Greetings: “Grüezi” vs. “Grüess eech”
Grüezi is arguably the most well-known Swiss German greeting. It's an abbreviation of “Gott grüez i” or literally in German: “Gott grüß euch”. (May God greet you.)
A variation of “Grüezi” is “Grüezi mitenand,” with “mitenand” (“miteinander” - together) making it clear that the greeting is for more than one person. This greeting is used mainly in the Zurich area and in the east of Switzerland.
In the western part, around Bern, it's more common to hear “Grüss eech,” which also means literally: Gott grüß euch. Indeed, here in the Berner Oberland, we've been hearing “Grüss eech” or “Grüess eech mitenand,” all over the place: when entering a restaurant, going into a shop, when sharing a gondola or chair lift with others. People even greet you as you're walking in the village.
In a restaurant: the verb “sein” - “sii” and “gsi” (or “gsy”)
Today, we ate on the terrace of a mountain restaurant. After greeting us “Grüess eech mitenand,” our waitress asked: “Was derfs sii?” - Was darf es sein? (Lit: What may it be? Meaning: What can I get you?)
When we finished our meal and she started to clear the table, she asked: “S isch guat gsi?” - Ist es gut gewesen? (Lit: Was it good? Meaning: How was the meal?)
Swiss German uses a shorter and older form of the verb “sein.” Instead of “sein,” it's “sii”, and instead of “gewesen,” it's “gsi.”
Meal time: “Ä Guätä!”
It was a beautiful, sunny day and the terrace was crowded. So, as is typical for many European countries, we shared our table with other restaurant guests.
We ordered “Röschti” (Rösti), which are fried potatoes prepared in a typical way in Switzerland. A meal of Röschti comes in all kinds of combinations: with a fried egg, with ham, with vegetables, etc.
Note also: The letter combination “st” (appearing anywhere in a word) is pronounced “sch.” The German word “ist” becomes “isch” (the -t is dropped)
We were served first, and when our meal arrived, our table neighbors wished us “Ä Guätä!” This is literally, “(Have) a good one!” and best translates to “Enjoy your meal!” The equivalent in Standard German would be: Guten Appetit! literally: Good appetite!
When we finished and were ready to leave, while our table neighbors received their meals, we wished them “Ä Guätä!”
Other useful words and phrases we heard
• Sali. We often heard teenagers saying “Sali” or “Sali mitenand.” - Hallo, alle. - Hi everybody. “Sali” is less formal than the greeting “Grüezi.” It comes from the French “salut” (hi/hey).
• Merci. The French “Merci” (thank you) has been appropriated by Swiss German as well, and you hear it alone or also as “Merci vilmals” - Vielen Dank (Thanks a lot).
• Uf widaluege. The German “Auf Wiedersehen” (Goodbye) has the Swiss German equivalent of “Uf widaluege,” and means the same, “luege” - sehen (to look).
• Ich lüt dir a. Probably a leftover from the old telephone technology of bells, if you want to say “I'll call you,” you'd say “Ich lüt dir a.” This literally means: Ich leute dich an, or Ich leute bei dir an (I'll ring you.)
If you're just learning German and are trying to understand Swiss German, don't despair. Even native Germans have a tough time understanding rapidly spoken Swiss German, even more so speaking it. But as with any language or dialect you want to learn, there are many ways to do it.
Here are three iPhone apps that will help you: Grüezi Switzerland (free), Schweizerdeutsch Lernen (in app purchases), and uTalk Classic Learn Swiss German (in app purchases). We have not tried any of these yet, so let us know what you think below.
Bio: Ulrike & Peter Rettig are co-founders of Gamesforlanguage.com. They are lifelong language learners, growing up in several European countries before moving to Canada and the United States. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The French Travel Memories expand on our GamesforLanguage travel-story based courses, which use the cities' real street names, places, restaurants, hotels, etc. We visited many of them ourselves and tell you a little more about each French city.
In future blog posts, we'll provide additional details for each of the cities our young travelers visit in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. (You'll find our first German post by clicking on: German Travel Memories 1 – Michael in Frankfurt)
Daniel's first stop is in Paris, France's cosmopolitan capital, and where his travel memories begin.
We'll follow Daniel's discoveries in Paris. For those of you who have done or are doing our French 1 course: Daniel en France, this post provides some local color. Others may discover some new things about Paris and perhaps get inspired to dig deeper.
In our travel-story course, you learn daily conversational language. The vocabulary listed here is a combination of some words taught in the course as well as other useful terms.
Visiting Paris? To many of you, Paris doesn't need much of an introduction. Besides, there are plenty of sites that can fill in any gaps. We'll just mention a few quick facts and list some basic terms in French that will help you in your travels.
A FEW QUICK FACTS ABOUT PARIS
Paris was founded in the 3rd century BC by a Celtic people called the Parisii, who gave the city its name.
They settled on Île de la Cité (see photo), an island in the middle of the Seine river and located on an important north-south trade axis.(The well-known Cathédrale Notre-Dame, seen on the photo was later located there.)
In 52 BC, the Romans set up camp on the Île de la Cité and (temporarily) renamed the city Lutetia.
By the end of the 12th century, Paris had become the largest city in the western world, and the political and economic capital of France.
By the 17th century, Paris was an important center of finance, commerce, science, fashion, and the arts in Europe. It continues to play that role today.
It was interesting to read why Paris is called “The City of Light” (La Ville Lumière). For one, Paris played an important role during the Age of Enlightenment, a philosophical movement that championed the concepts of reason, liberty, and the scientific method, seeking to illuminate man’s intellect. For another, Paris and London were two of the early cities to adopt gas street lighting.
Since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam(e) (pronounced: [panam]) in French slang.
The city of Paris (also called the Commune or Department of Paris) now has a population of over 2.2 million people. The urban area of Paris is estimated to have a population of 10.5 million.
Île-de-France, also called “région parisienne” is one of the 18 regions of France. It includes Paris as well as 7 other administrative departments. The Île-de-France region has a population of over 12 million inhabitants.
1. Practical words and phrases
la capitale - the capital la ville - the city, town la lumière – the light Île de la Cité – an island in the Seine, within the city of Paris la commune - the town, municipality l'arrondissement – city district le fleuve – the river (flows into the sea) la rivière - the river (flows into a lake or another river) l'aire urbaine (f) - the urban area la banlieue – the suburbs (autonomous administrative entities outside of the city of Paris) Île-de-France – one of the 18 regions of France
PARIS CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT
Daniel is a young student who learned some French at home and later studied it in school. However, this will be his first visit to France. On his flight to Paris, Michael chats in French with the flight attendant and with the woman who's on the seat next to him.
He arrives at the Charles de Gaulle Airport, which is Europe's 2nd busiest airport in Europe, after London. As Daniel goes through Passport Control, he continues to speak French. Responding to the standard questions, he has to explain why he is traveling to France and how long he will stay.
2. Practical Words and Phrases
le vol - the flight l'hôtesse de l'air/le steward - the flight attendant f/m l'aéroport (m) - the airport le contrôle des passeports - the Passport Control Êtes-vous ici pour affaires? - Are you here on business? “affaires” has multiple meaning: affairs, matters, business Combien de temps? - How long? un bon séjour - a good stay
PARIS NEIGHBORHOODS
Paris is divided into 20 “arrondissements,” or administrative districts, arranged in the form of a clockwise spiral (snail shell) starting from the middle of the city, the first being on the Right bank (north bank) of the Seine, the 20th being on the outer edge. (Plan by ThePromenaderhttp://www.paris-promenades.com with numbers in map.)
Most of the districts have their particular brand of Parisian identity and atmosphere. A brief description of each arrondissement can be found HERE. You can click on the number of a particular district to see the streets, metro stops, monuments, etc.
RUE LA FAYETTE
Daniel's aunt and uncle live in the 9th arrondissement, on Rue La Fayette (which also continues through the 10th district). Rue La Fayette is two miles long and an important axis on Paris' Right Bank.
The 9th district is a lively and diverse residential area, with many boutiques, restaurants, and bars. Historically, the fashionable, the moneyed, and the artistic mingled there.
In the 9th you'll find the Paris Opera and the neighborhood of Pigalle, home of the cabaret Moulin Rouge. The painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec had his studio there, and Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh lived near Place Pigalle.
You'll also find the famous department stores Printemps and Galeries Lafayette in the 9th.
The Galeries Lafayette are a chain of upscale department stores. The famous flagship store on 40 Boulevard Haussmann had its early beginnings in 1893 with a small fashion shop located at the corner of rue La Fayette and rue de la Chaussée-d’Antin. The shop founders were two cousins from Alsace, Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn.
In the next couple of decades, Bader and Kahn added adjacent buildings, with the goal to transform the whole complex into something of a luxury bazaar.
The architect Ferdinand Chanut “called upon great artists from the École de Nancy to decorate this magnificent building in the style of Paris Art Nouveau. ... The dome, rising to a height of 43 metres, soon became the iconic symbol of Galeries Lafayette. Master glass-maker Jacques Gruber was responsible for designing the Neo-byzantine style stained glass windows.”
The store was inaugurated in 1912. You can read more HERE.
SAINT-GERMAIN-DES-PRÉS
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an administrative quarter in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. This quarter has a large number of bookstores and publishing houses and several famous cafés including Les Deux Magots (where Daniel has “un verre” with his aunt when he returns to Paris.)
As you can see on the image, the number of the arrondissement is shown on all signs of streets and squares.
In the middle of the Twentieth century, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter was the center of the Paris Existentialist movement (associated especially with the writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir).
The church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is one of the oldest churches in Paris. Originally a Benedictine Abbey, it was founded in the 6th century AD.
Historically, Saint-Germain-des-Prés square was an important marketplace thanks to its annual fair. The Foire Saint-Germain, which dates back to 1176, attracted merchants from all over Europe throughout the centuries. It lasted generally three to five weeks around Easter. Today, there's a covered market on the square.
3. Practical Words and Phrases
la place – the square le marché – the market la librairie – the bookstore l'éditeur – the publisher la maison d'édition – the publishing house la foire – the fair, trade fair un verre - the glass prendre l'apéritif – to have an aperitif (pre-dinner drink)
RUE DE GRENELLE
Daniel returns to Paris at the end of his trip and stays for a few days with his aunt Juliette, who lives on Rue de Grennelle, in the 6th arrondissement.
On his way to Rue de Grenelle, Daniel passes Hôtel Lutetia, located at 45 Boulevard Raspail (see picture). It was built in 1910 in the Art Nouveau style and was named after the early Roman town Lutetia.
The interiors of the hotel are in the somewhat later Art Deco style. During Nazi occupation of France, the hotel played an important role as a shelter for refugees.
Over the years, the hotel was visited by guests such as Picasso, Charles de Gaulle, James Joyce (who wrote part of his novel Ulysses here), Peggy Guggenheim, and Josefine Baker.
Rue de Grenelle is a funky street lined with stunning 17th and 18th century mansions, charming bars and restaurants, and interesting shops. Somewhat off the tourist route, rue de Grenelle is a great place for a stroll.
Nearby, on Boulevard de Grenelle, you'll find one of Paris' best street markets (Wednesdays and Sundays). The Eiffel Tower is just a short walk away, and will certainly appear in any visitor's travel memories - whether you survey the city from above or admire it from the Trocadero as on the picture below.
LE TROCADÉRO and LA TOUR EIFFEL
After dinner, Daniel and his aunt Juliette take an evening stroll to the Trocadéro, a 20-minute walk away, and located in the 16th arrondissement. A hill and esplanade with a magnificent view over theSeine to the Eiffel Tower, it's the site of Palais Chaillot, built for the 1937 Paris Expo. (For more info click HERE.)
Sloping down towards the Eiffel Tower are the Gardens of the Trocadéro, also built for the 1937 Paris Expo. The gardens are a beautiful open space with a large water basin called the Fountain of Warsaw, and lined with numerous statues and smaller fountains.
The Eiffel Tower (7th arr., on the Champ de Mars) was erected for the 1889 World's Fair on the centennial of the French Revolution.
The tower was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower (and also created, among other monuments, the metal structure of the Statue of Liberty). The Eiffel Tower continues to be the tallest structure in Paris at 324 meters (1,063 ft.). To get to the top, a visitor can take one of the 5 elevators, or walk up 1665 steps.
Every evening since 1985, the Eiffel Tower is lit up, and sparkles for five minutes at the beginning of each hour.
QUARTIER LATIN and DEUX MAGOTS
After visiting the Eiffel Tower, Daniel and his aunt Juliette walk over to the Latin Quarter (6th & 7th arr.) known for the Sorbonne and other educational institutions and lively student atmosphere.
Called “Latin” quarter because Latin was the language of learning in the Middle Ages, its winding streets are the home of quirky second-hand bookshops, and hip cafés and bars.
At the café Les Deux Magots, Daniel and his aunt enjoy a glass of wine to finish the evening. Located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, the café was a popular meeting place for intellectuals, writers, and artists.
Besides Beauvoir and Sartre, its patrons have included Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Albert Camus, Bertolt Brecht, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Julia Child, and others.
Since 1933, the Deux Magots literary prize has been awarded every year to a new French novel that is a little off-beat and non-conventional. The writer who received the prize in 2016 was Pierre Adrian for his novel La Piste Pasolini (published by Les Équateurs).
TRAVEL MEMORIES WITH A BOAT TOUR ON THE SEINE
Near the end of his visit, Daniel and his aunt take a river cruise on the Seine. It's his chance to see many of Paris' monuments one last time.
A boat tour on the Seine during a sunny day with the “Bateaux Parisiens,” “Bateaux Mouches,” or “Vedettes de Pont Neuf” is indeed a great way to enjoy many of the Paris sights and add to your travel memories. You'll glide under quite a few of the 37 bridges and learn about the Paris history.
(Click on the image of our Facebook page for our French Quick Game: Paris Quiz!) A boat tour on the Seine also passes by the new buildings of the National Library.
France's national library dates back to the 14th century. First located at the Louvre Palace, the collection of book grew dramatically over the centuries and was moved again and again into more spacious housing.
The latest expansion, which included new construction, was initiated by President François Mitterrand. The 4 angular towers of the Mitterrand Library - which suggest four open books - were built on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 13th district and opened in 1996.
A dinner cruise at night may not be the gourmet highlight of a Paris visit, but lets you experience why Paris is “la Ville Lumière.”
Daniel's travels in France take him also to Aix-en-Provence and Avignon. You'll read about these two cities in a future blog post.
Bio: Ulrike Rettig is the co-founder of GamesforLanguage.com. She is a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada. You can follow her travel memories on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact or below.
After a few days on the North Frisian island of Sylt (see also European Travels 6 – From Lüneburg to Sylt), it was time to move on and head north to Denmark and its largest island, Sjælland, or Zealand. 
in case you missed the large border sign, that you are now in Denmark. 
We slowly made our way on excellent roads through the Danish countryside toward the town of Fynshav at the Lillebaelt-Arhus Bugt. 
Faaborg (or Fåborg), just a 15-minute drive from Bøjden is a picturesque little town of about 7,000 people.(see Bell tower) It has an interesting history.The town celebrated its 775th anniversary in 2004 and thereby the year in which King Valdemar II gave Faaborg (and a good portion of the south of Fyn) as a wedding gift to his daughter-in-law, Eleanor of Portugal. 
While commercial and fishing traffic in the harbor have decreased, we were told that over 15,000 pleasure boats, vintage ships and yachts of all sizes visit the port each year. There is also regular ferry service to the adjacent islands of Søby, Avernakø, Bjørnø and Lyø. 
The next day, we drove to Valdemars Slot (Valdemar's) on the nearby island of Tåsinge. We arrived during a rain storm. After buying our tickets in the gift shop located outside the castle, we walked up the stairs to the main doors. (see picture) 
We visited Valdemars Slot on a rainy weekday and saw few other visitors. But on better days, the castle also seems to attract families who can rent bikes, Segways, kayaks, or go to the nearby beach. 
Our next stop was Nyborg, which is located on the east side of Fyn. Noborg, today a town of about 16,000 inhabitants, housed the “Danehoffet”, the country's legislative and judicial assembly from 1183 to 1413. 
We toured the museum museum of the castle and found ourselves carried back in time. 
Suspension bridges have always fascinated me. So, I was excited when a few days later, we crossed from Fyn to the island of Zealand (Sjaelland) on the Storebaelt Bridge (the Great Belt Bridge). 
Once across the Great Belt Bridge, we were on the island of Zealand, the largest Danish Island. It didn't take us much more than an hour to reach Roskilde. 
The reconstructions are based on hull shapes of ships that have been found but the museum also cautions that they are not “definitive truths”. They represent “suggestions on how the ships may have looked 1,000 years ago.” We only regret that we didn't have the opportunity to join one of those Viking ship's outings. 
After visiting the Eiffel Tower, Daniel and his aunt Juliette walk over to the Latin Quarter (6th & 7th arr.) known for the Sorbonne and other educational institutions and lively student atmosphere.