When learning Germanic and Romance languages, English speakers are fortunate to find many “friends” or true cognates. These make memorization certainly a much easier task.
On the other hand, there are also “false friends,” or words or expressions that look (and maybe sound) alike, but mean something else.
When the meanings are quite different, they can put you on a wrong track entirely. However, this very fact - once you realize your mistake - will also help you recall them better later on.
The “false friends” that sound alike in German as in English (even if spelled somewhat differently) pose a particular problem during conversations. You don't have much time to figure out their meaning from the context. When you read a text, on the other hand, you can look up the meaning at your leisure.
If you're traveling to Germany or meeting up with German-speaking friends or business partners, a quick look through the list beforehand may prevent some misunderstandings. There are quite a number of inexpensive “false friends” books on Amazon, just in case you'd like to discover more.
Here are twenty common German words and their English counterparts:
Identical Spelling – Different meaning
You'll notice that some words are pronounced exactly, or nearly, the same in English and in German - gift, mist, handy, spot, chef, rock - while others are spelled the same, but are pronounced differently - taste, rat, bad, etc.
das Gift (poison) - gift (das Geschenk) Die Polizei fand Gift im Wandschrank. (The police found poison in the wall cupboard.)
der Mist (dung, junk) - mist (der Nebel) Räum doch gefälligst deinen Mist auf. (If you don't mind, clean up your junk.)
das Handy (cell phone) - handy (adj, praktisch) Hast du mein Handy gesehen? (Have you seen my cell phone?)
der Spot (TV ad, spotlight) - spot (der Fleck, der Ort) Hast du den neuen Spot von Apple gesehen? (Did you see the new Apple TV ad?)
der Chef (boss) - chef (der Küchenchef) Heute war unser Chef gar nicht im Büro. (Today our boss wasn't in the office.)
der Rock (skirt) - rock (der Fels) Meine Tochter hat sich einen neuen Rock gekauft. (My daughter bought a new skirt for herself.)
die Taste (key [piano/computer]) - taste (der Geschmack) Du musst diese Taste drücken. (You have to hit this key.)
der Rat (advice, council) - rat (die Ratte) Ich brauche deinen Rat. (I need your advice.)
die Wand (wall) - wand (der Zauberstab) Stell doch den Stuhl gegen die Wand.) (Go ahead and put the chair against the wall.)
das Bad (bath) - bad (schlecht) ein Zimmer mit Bad (a room with bath)
der Stock (stick, floor level) - stock (der Vorrat) Ich wohne im vierten Stock. (I live on the fourth level.)
herb (dry, tart) - herb (das Kraut) Das ist ein richtig herber Wein! (That's a really dry wine!)
Modified Spelling – Changed Meaning
Even with different spelling, but similar sound, some German words can put you on the wrong track. The first one (“eventuell”) has definitely tripped up plenty of English and German speakers alike and caused confusion and misunderstandings.
And if you are trying to practice your best German by asking: “Das Menü, bitte,” you may just wonder why the waiter suddenly brings you the daily special and not the menu!
eventuell (maybe) - eventually (endlich) Ja gut, das werden wir eventuell machen. (Fine, maybe we'll do that.)
das Menü (daily special) - menu (die Speisekarte, das Menü [computer]) Zweimal das Menü, bitte. (Two daily specials, please.)
aktuell (current, topical) - actual (wirklich) aktuelle Nachrichten (current news)
groß (big, tall) – gross (ekelhaft, grob) Die Frau dort drüben ist sehr groß! (The woman over there is very tall)
brav (well-behaved) - brave (tapfer) Die Kinder waren heute sehr brav. (The children were very well-behaved today.)
das Lokal (pub, bistro) - local (einheimisch) Warst du schon mal in dem Lokal dort drüben? (Have you been to that pub over there?)
das Gymnasium (high school) - gym (die Turnhalle) Mein Sohn geht ins Gymnasium. (My son attends high school.) die Rente (pension) - rent (die Miete) Mein Vater geht in Rente. (My dad's retiring.)
When you're taking part in a conversation, language seems to race by at high speed. German, especially, poses a challenge because of its word order. You're often waiting for the verb at the end of a sentence to make sense of what was just said.
(With German double-digit numbers, you also have to wait, and listen for the second digit before you know what the number is.)
In a stream of words, familiar-sounding ones always provide momentary relief. However, when a word has a vastly different meaning from what you think, then what follows may not make much sense at all.
English and German have plenty more false friends (also called “false cognates”) than the ones listed above. With time you'll get to know many of them.
A good strategy is to always pay attention to the context. You may identify a word as a false friend, if it just doesn't seem to fit the context at all. And don't hesitate to ask for the meaning of a word, when it doesn't make sense to you!
True Cognates
German and English also share a large number of “true cognates” - words that are similar in form and meaning and have the same root.
When you google “English German cognates,” you'll find lists with hundreds of items. Even when there's been a sound shift, cognates are easy to recognize, such as: • “das “Brot” (bread) • “der Kuss” (kiss) • “das Netz” (net) • “das Papier” (paper) • “der Stuhl” (stool, chair) • “das Haus” (house),
Plus most of the numbers, and many more. Paying attention to both true and false cognates can provide you with an easy tool for memorizing German vocabulary.
You Want to Practice Your German?
Our games and travel-story based courses are also a great way to practice your German.
With our German 1 and 2 courses you'll learn and practice German for FREE - with stories of a young man traveling through Germany and - its sequel - solving a "Blüten"-mystery in Berlin. "The Story" and easy games will let you forget that you are actually learning German!
And you can also listen to both Stories by clicking on German 1 or German 2 on our Podcast page
Traveling to a German-speaking country? And you don't speak much German?
It's always good to have a few basic words and expressions on hand. In most German travel guides you'll find the translations for greetings, please, thank you, where is the bathroom, etc.
Learning a few of these makes interactions friendly. They can also help you out in a pinch. Knowing the basic German numbers can be especially helpful.
We found out how useful it was to know numbers in the local language when we traveled to China and Japan. We had little opportunity to use many of the Chinese and Japanese words and phrases we had learned. However, knowing the numbers proved very useful for bargaining and buying at the markets. (This was also the case in Italy - as we describe in this post about Italian Numbers.)
Numbers also came in handy when shopping in small stores or paying the bill in restaurants.
Most numbers you'll see are in digital form. You'll rarely need to spell them. But you do need to understand them when they're spoken. And to learn them, it helps to see them written out.
German Numbers 1-19
German numbers from 1 to 12 resemble the English. They have a similar sound, even though the spelling may be different. For most English speakers, they are not difficult to learn and remember. "eins" (one) “zwei” (two) “drei” (three) “vier” (four) "fünf" (five) "sechs" (six) "sieben" (seven) "acht" (eight) "neun" (nine) "zehn" (ten) “elf” (eleven) “zwölf” (twelve)
German numbers from 13 to 19 use the same model as in English. They combine (and in some cases also shorten) the lower numbers with the suffix “zehn” (teen). So you have:
In this Quick German Numbers Game to the right, you can practice these easy German numbers from 1-20:
Counting by Tens: 20, 30, 40, etc.
The German numbers between 20 and 90 that end in a zero follow the same pattern as in English: by adding the suffix “-zig” (in English “-ty”) to a form of the numbers 2 to 9. (Note the slight irregularities below for 20, 20, 60, and 70.)
Note: • 20 ("zwanzig"), which uses only the first two letters of "zwei" • 30 (“drei-ßig”) which uses the suffix “-ßig” (spoken “-ssig”) • 60 (sechzig) drops the "s" of "sechs" • 70 ("siebzig") cuts the "en" of "sieben".
Note also a regional variation with these numbers: • In northern Germany and standard German, the ending of these numbers has a “ch” sound: as in “zwanzich.” • More to the south, including in Bavaria and Austria, you'll hear the ending “zik,” as in “zwanzik."
German Numbers 21-99
The numbers beyond 21 that don't end in a zero - although regular and straightforward - can be confusing to English speakers as they deviate from the English model. The German for “twenty-one” is “einundzwanzig” (literally, oneandtwenty).
This turned-around structure in German is consistent: • "einundzwanzig" (twenty-one) • "zweiunddreißig" (thirty-two) • "dreiundvierzig" (forty-three) • "vierundfünfzig" (fifty-four) • "fünfundsechzig" (sixty-five) • "sechsundsiebzig" (seventy-six) • "siebendundachtzig" (eighty-seven) • "achtundneunzig" (ninety-eight)
It takes some getting used to that “fünfundvierzig” means “forty-five” and that “vierundfünfzig” is “fifty-four.”
Not to forget that we think of numbers mostly as digits. So, when you hear “fünfundvierzig” you have to think 45, and when you hear “vierundfünfzig” you need to think 54.
Mastering numbers well enough so that you can easily pay at a market, understand an address, or take down a telephone number can indeed be a challenge.
Telephone Numbers
In German, telephone numbers are normally given as a series of two-digit numbers (and if need be, with a three-digit number at the end). This can be especially annoying when a German tells you a telephone number that you want to write down.
For the number 32 57 42 86 91, you'll hear zweiunddreißig-siebenundfünfzig-zweiundvierzig-sechsundachtzig-einundneunzig.
To avoid confusion you are better off asking for each digit separately. This translates as: “Kannst du - (or formal) Können Sie - bitte die Ziffern einzeln sagen?”
German Numbers from 100-10,000
The numbers from 101 to 1999 are closer to the English model, except that in English the numbers are not written as one word.
For example, 101 is “(ein)hundertundeins” (one hundred one), or 333 is “dreihundertunddreiunddreißig” (three hundred thirty-three), with the inversion noted above.
German Historical Dates
Historical dates, of course, are rarely written out. But there are conventions on how to say them.
In German as in English, you use “hundreds” (not thousands) to say a specific year between 1101 and 1999.
So, 1386 is “dreizehnhundertsechsundachtzig” (all written as one word), and except for the inversion of the last part, similar to the English “thirteen hundred eighty-six."
However, for 1066 (when the Normans invaded England), you use the word “tausend” (thousand) as in “tausendsechsundsechzig.”
You do the same for the current century. 2021 is “zweitausendeinundzwanzig.”
You you may also hear, similar to English, “zehnsechsundsechzig” (1066), or “zwanzigeinundzwanzig (2021).”
In this Quick German Game on the left, you can practice some of the German numbers between 21 and 100, and beyond.
Millions, Billions, Trillions, etc.
A point of frequent confusion for English speakers may be the high numbers that are often quoted in news reports about global finances. We noticed, for example, some errors in the recent reporting on the negotiations between Greece and the European Union regarding Greece's financial obligations.
German and English agree on 1,000,000 - “eine Million” (one million). But, for the English “one billion,” Germans say “eine Milliarde,” and for the English “one trillion,” Germans say “eine Billion.” You can see the problem:
In the northern regions of Germany, as well as on national media (radio, television) you'll recognize most numbers as they are spoken. Even so, you may sometimes hear 2 (“zwei”) also pronounced as “zwo” or “zwee,” or with other slight variations.
However in certain parts of Germany, such as Cologne, Bavaria, the Black Forest region, as well as in Austria and in Switzerland, regional dialects may make certain numbers unrecognizable for the foreigner.
So knowing and practicing the German numbers should be high on your list when you are planning a trip to a German speaking country.
Pronunciation Practice
Practicing the German numbers also gives you an opportunity to work on your pronunciation. As in any language, getting the mouth mechanics right is also important in German.
• “Zwei” has a soft "v" sound instead of the English "w". • "Drei” has a German "r" sound. • “Vier” has German "r" at the end of the word. • "Elf" and "zwölf" have you practice "l" the German way. • "Fünf" has you practice German "ü". • "Zwölf" lets you practice German "ö".
During the day, whether you are commuting to work, noting how many email messages are in your inbox, reading the newspaper, doing exercises, etc., you'll always see or count numbers. Pronounce them silently, or out loud if you can, in German. And you'll be surprised how fast you'll know them!
You want to Learn German Fast?
Not everyone will agree with Benny Lewis', the Irish Polyglot's statement "Why German is easy!". But, if you are serious about learning German - and even before you buy or subscribe to any expensive courses (except GamesforLanguage.com's German 1 and German 2 courses obviously, which are FREE!) you may want to learn more about Benny's approach.
Disclosure: The link above to Benny Lewis's site is to a partner's program with revenue sharing, if you decide to buy or subscribe.
New Year's resolutions (and Fireworks!) seem to be universal in many countries and many of us use the beginning of a new year - whenever that may be - as a moment to both look backwards and forwards.
As the biggest New Year's Eve party in the U.S. is arguably held at Times Square in New York City, other countries also know how to party in their capitals or major cities.
Around the London Eye (the giant Ferris Wheel), huge fireworks light up the sky and the New Year's Day Parade with dancers, acrobats, and musicians is the place to be.
The Arab world does not celebrate the New Year, the notable exception being Dubai where this year another spectacle will likely eclipse last year's event at which nearly 500,000 firework rockets lit the sky during just 6 minutes.
This year the entire façade of the Burj Kalifa, at 2480 feet the highest building in the world(right), is to be covered with LED screens, which will be part of the fireworks, laser, and video show.
China celebrates its New Year according to its moon calendar, in 2015 on February 19, when the year of the sheep begins with the traditional Chinese fireworks and the country comes to a standstill for nearly a week. However, January 1 is also a holiday in China and in the larger cities the young celebrate the day by eating out and going to parties.
In countries where the four languages of our gamified Courses and Quick Games are spoken, the end-of-year traditions vary quite a bit, even by region in each country. The summary below can only list a fraction of the events and traditions and we invite our readers to comment and add others they know about.
German Speaking Countries
German is the country's only official language in Austria, Germany, and Lichtenstein. It is the "majority" language, and shares official status with the other languages, in Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Germany
New Year's Eve in German speaking countries is also called "Silvester," as December 31 is St. Silvester (or Sylvester) Day. This fourth-century Catholic pope and saint became associated with New Year's Eve, after the reform of the Gregorian calendar in 1582 when the last day of the year became December 31.
(Apart from the German-speaking countries, 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.)
In Germany's northern state Schleswig-Holstein, quite a few old traditions survive: "Rummelpottlaufen," quite similar to Halloween in the U.S., sees costumed children with a self-made music instrument (a can, covered with pig skin 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.
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 hardened lead pieces let the participants speculate what a person may experience in the coming year.
This YouTube video of an ARTE.TV video (see also our post on how to connect to ARTE.TV) explains to a French audience (in German) how "Bleigießen" is done.
Impressive fireworks are part of the Vienna tradition as is a glass of champagne, and after the midnight countdown, the Danube waltz plays on all radio and tv stations.
I'm not familiar with any particular Silvester traditions in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, or Luxembourg that differ from those in the other German-speaking countries and regions.
French Speaking Countries
French is the second-most widespread language worldwide after English, as only these two languages are spoken on all five continents. French is an official language in 29 countries, most of which form la francophonie (in French), the community of French-speaking countries.
While particular end-of-year traditions may exist in most of these countries, we'll just focus here on France.
France
In France, huge municipal firework displays are not the customary way to usher in the New Year these days. French people tend to take things more quietly and celebrate with friends at home or in a restaurant.
These New Year's Eve celebrations - le réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre - traditionally are a feast that includes plenty of champagne and foie gras or oysters, symbols of prosperity and good fortune. [You say "la" Saint-Sylvestre because it's short for "la fête de Saint-Sylvestre."] At midnight, everyone kisses under the mistletoe and offers their good wishes for the new year.
In Paris, the city of lights, New Year's Eve becomes a visual feast: from many vantage points in the city you can see the iconic, illuminated Eiffel Tower.
You'll find the biggest New Year's party on the Avenue de Champs Elysées, where hundreds of thousands of people gather to celebrate and wish each other "Bonne année" (Good year).
This year, Paris is adding a first-time spectacle before the final countdown: a 15-minute video show projected on the Arc de Triomphe, highlighting the Parisian "art of living." At the stroke of midnight, the skies will fill with illuminations.
On New Year's Day, it's the tradition to have a large family dinner and to give presents to the children as a way to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
Italy
Italy, where San Silvestro died on December 31, 335, obviously has a special relation to the Saint and uses the term "Notte di San Silvestro" (as well as "Vigilia di Capodanno") as names for New Year's Eve.
There are some particular Italian Notte di San Silvestro traditions that you may not know about: The most curious one must be to wear red underwear during the last day of the year.
It is supposed to bring you luck, health and love. Importantly, it should have been given to you as a present, for example for Christmas, and worn for the first time on New Year's Eve. This centuries-old custom, originally just observed by women, is now also being adopted by men! Anything for luck, health and love!
The San Silvestro dinner, eaten with family and friends, varies quite a bit from region to region, but it often includes fish and seafood.
At midnight when the bells ring, a traditional lentil stew is often eaten, one spoonful per bell, served together with "zampone" (pig's trotter, stuffed with spicy ground-up pork, usually dried and cured) or "cotechino" (a rind-and-pork-meat sausage). The round lentils, representing coins, are supposed to bring wealth and good fortune.
At midnight, fireworks are also displayed across much of the country and the first day of the year, "Capodanno," is an official holiday in Italy as in most other parts of the world.
Italian is also an official language in Switzerland (Tessin & Graubünden), San Marino, and Vatican City, and a second language in Malta, Slovenia, and Croatia, but we know little about particular end-of-year traditions in these regions or countries.
Spanish Speaking Countries
Spanish is a national language in 20 sovereign states and one dependent entity, totaling around 442 million people. For a Wikipedia list of countries where Spanish is an official language, click here. We'll focus here on Spain and Mexico.
Spain
New Year celebration in Spain starts with a family dinner, which often take place in a restaurant that also offers live music. Towards midnight many Spaniards go into the streets and to public squares to meet with friends and clink glasses to ring in the new year. New Year's celebrations are lively with fireworks and all kinds of noisemakers. In the town hall, sparkling wine and grapes for good luck are distributed.
In Madrid, people flock to Puerta de Sol for the city's big communal street party. But no matter where they live, Spanish people share the custom of the twelve luck-bringing grapes: at each of the twelve strikes of the midnight clock at the Puerta del Sol clock, you eat one grape and make a wish. (There are even special 12-grape holders as shown in the left picture.)
At strike 12 all grapes must be gone or else you risk getting bad luck. The strikes of the town hall clock are 3 seconds apart, so the official countdown starts 36 seconds before the hour. Throughout the country, everyone can watch the countdown on television.
[It is said that the custom of the 12 grapes goes back to 1909. In that year the grape harvest was overly plentiful that someone had the idea to use up the excess grapes in this way.]
From midnight on, it's time for toasts, hugs, and well-wishing, but not before each person has tossed a golden ring into his or her glass, for good luck.
And similar to the Italians, Spaniards also believe that wearing red underwear on the last day of the old and the first day of the new year brings the wearer luck, health and love.
Mexico
In Mexico, a family dinner, either at home or at a special restaurant is at the center of new year's celebrations. Tradition has it that the meal should start with a bowl of lentils, a symbolic promise of wealth and prosperity. The preferred drink is often tequila.
Shortly before midnight grapes are handed out for the traditional luck-bringing ritual. As in Spain, you should eat a grape and make a wish at each of the twelve strikes of the clock at midnight. The grape tradition seems to have migrated to most other Spanish-speaking countries as well.
Also, in Mexico there is a slight "refinement" from Spain's tradition: Mexicans have to choose what is more important to them: Wearing red underwear lets the owner be lucky in love, wearing yellow underwear makes the owner wealthy in the New Year.
Family Traditions
And as countries and regions have developed particular traditions and celebrations, so have many families: In my father's family in Berlin, Germany, the after-midnight snack was "Heringssalat," a Scandinavian/Northern Germany specialty that has many recipe variations.
The herring, potato, apple, and pickle combination makes a welcome change after the sweet treats of the Christmas season and we are now continuing this tradition with our extended family here in the U.S.
Marco Reus, a 25-year-old German soccer player, discovered that speaking German was not enough, as his luck ran out during a routine police stop.
He could not produce a driver's license. What must have astonished the officer the most was not that Reus could not not produce a valid license: But that he never had one!
Daily Rate Multiples
This story might not have made the German newspapers, (e.g. Frankfurter Allgemeine and Der Spiegel) if not for the really surprising fine: $660,000.
I discovered something I did not know and what probably had not existed when I lived in Germany: Fines for offenses such as Reus committed, are calculated on a “daily rate”, based on his net monthly income and how often the offenses occurred.
Although Reus reportedly had been driving for 7 years without a permit, the DA only listed 6 driving events between 2011 and 2014 as offenses. And Reus apparently even found a somewhat lenient judge who “only” applied a multiple of 90 “daily rates”. His monthly net income of $220,000, divided by thirty days then resulted in the total fine amount.
Driving offenses
Driving without a valid driving license is a criminal offense in Germany and can result in a fine or imprisonment for up to one year. The car of the person can also be confiscated. According to the above cited article, there were 111,000 cases of driving without a valid license in German in 2013.
Germany has a point system for driving infractions and Reus had been caught several times in radar traps. However, in Germany, these traps are often silent and you are not stopped, so he just paid the fines per mail.
And because he never accumulated more than 4 points, the system never tried to enter them on his non-existing driving license record. You can also own a car, without having a driving license.
The Good News
In spite of the horrendous fine, Reus can look at the positive side: He did not lose his Aston Martin and will be able to drive it again after he passes his driving test.
Furthermore, by limiting the daily rate multiple to 90, his fine will not be entered as a criminal record. And, maybe he will now also be able to continue to drive legally for his sponsor, General Motor/Opel as seen on this May 2014 tweet above.
So, travelers remember: Learning German and speaking it in Germany is great. But make also sure you have a valid drivers license with you, when you are driving there!
You Want to Learn Speaking German Fast?
Our games and travel-story based courses are also a great way to practice your German. If travel to Germany is in your near future, you may also enjoy our post: 4 Fun German Language Games Before You Travel.
And don't forget: You can practice German online for FREE with our 36-Scene German 1 Story: "Michael in Deutschland" and our 72-Scene German 2 Mystery Story Sequel: "Blüten in Berlin?". (And - if you already know that "Blüten" means blossom in German - you'll learn that Blüten has still another meaning...). Just loginHERE.
Not everyone will agree with Benny Lewis', the Irish Polyglot, that learning languages is easy. But, if you are serious about learning German, you may want to hear more about Benny's approach by clicking on his explanation of "Why German is easy!" Just using a couple of his language hacks consistently will accelerate your progress!
We recently discovered a very effective app for learning German: MosaLingua. There currently are iOS and Android apps, with a MosaLingua Desktop App for PC, Mac and Linux just out. You can also try out the "Lite" version for FREE! We like the apps a lot and are currently using them ourselves. Read Ulrike's Review HERE.
Disclosure: Some of the links above is to a partner's program with revenue sharing, if you decide to buy or subscribe.
As readers of previous blog posts e.g., 7 iPad apps we Like for Watching German and French Movies know, we like the www.arte.TV site. I recently watched the 2011 documentary "Hotel Haiti," which played for a few days on the arte channel.
This 2011 German TV movie (which includes footage taken during 2003 and never shown before) tells the story of the Hotel Oloffson, a Hotel in Port-au-Prince and, with it, also Haiti's history over the last 110 years. While the movie narration can be played in French or German (change setting top left), there are also quite a number of English dialogs.
The movie brought back memories of my stay in Haiti and also reminded me that with the fifth anniversary of the earthquake approaching, much still needs to be done. (sorry, the link to the ARTE movie does not work any longer!
Before the Earthquake
I stayed in the Oloffson in 1974 when visiting the island for a second time. (picture of Hotel garden by Daniel Morel)
We could easily communicate in French with our Haitian friends but did not make much progress with Haitian Creole, the other official national language of Haiti.
During the seventies, after “Baby Doc” had “inherited” the dictatorship from his father “Papa Doc,” Haiti experienced a short period of economic recovery with over 150 US firms operating on the island.
At that time and together with some American and Haitian friends, I had briefly considered starting a construction business there.
It was during a work session with our Haitian friends in a small office building in Port-au-Prince that we experienced a brief tremor: While we foreigners thought that a big passing truck caused the building to shake, the Haitians new better and ran out to the street.
The Oloffson, by then, already had a stormy history behind it: Built at the end of the 19th century as the residence for the Sam family (which provided two Haitian presidents), it then served as an army hospital during the US occupation between 1915 and 1935.
It became a hotel in 1935 when Gustav Oloffson, a Swedish sea captain, leased it from the Sam family and, as the movie narrates, the hotel then passed on through several hands.
Many rooms are named for famous guests, including Graham Greene, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Buffet, Lillian Hellman, et al.. This Hotel Oloffson Wikipedia entry and the Bloomberg Businessweek article Graham Greene Would Still Adore This Hotel give further details.
After the Earthquake
When the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, the Oloffson guests were quite lucky.
The wood structure withstood the tremors much better than most other concrete and masonry buildings. This Economist article, "Haiti's hallowed hotel" (March 2011) gives another summary.
Hillary and Bill Clinton also visited the Oloffson. Interestingly, their special relationship to Haiti is traced back to their honeymoon in Haiti in 1975 in this Washington Post article of January 16, 2010.
The arte.TV movie also recalls some wild stories that are circulating in the streets of Port-au-Prince about Hillary's and Bill's “debt” to Haiti. The Clinton Foundation reports that it has raised already over $34 million for Haiti (but Clinton's policies while President and his current efforts also have critics in the black community.)
We'll soon be nearing the 5th anniversary of the January earthquake and much still remains to be done. The natural disaster has spurred many international help efforts, including one that a former colleague of mine is involved in: Creating Sustainable Healthcare for Haiti.
The non-profit organization has several projects on the drawing board, the most imminent one is opening a healthcare clinic at the Fondation Montesinos in Titanyen, an orphanage of 80 Children. (Donations are welcome and can be made directly on the site.)
The Future
According to reports from our friends who have been there, progress can be observed but is very slow.
Nearly five years after more than 100,000 people lost their lives and over 2 million became homeless, so much remains to be done. Water, sanitation, and electricity distribution remain challenges.
While many have moved back into some kind of home, more than 100,000 still live in temporary structures and tents. (picture left by AFP/Getty Images: Boys at a camp in Petionville, Haiti)
As I watched the arte TV movie about the Hotel Oloffson and Haiti, I was also reminded how easily we forget events and disaster when they don't appear regularly in the news. And especially during this Holiday season and with the fifth anniversary of the earthquake approaching, it's a good time to think about what we can do to help.
Since then I have tried out a few more iPad apps and also purchased and installed Google Chromcast. Here are some more “discoveries”:
German Apps
The German channel 1: das Erste or ARD
“Das Erste” (also: www.daserste.de) gives several choices with a selection bar at the bottom: “Tipps” (tips for viewing choices), “Live” (which sometimes you can't stream for “legal reasons'!), and “Program,” which lets you see the currently playing program.
With the arrow “<” icon you can scan previous programs. Those with a “Play” arrow you can often stream and play. (However, sometimes my iPad does not stream movies which work fine on the laptop and with www.daserste.deorwww.ard.de).
Recently, I have found that rather than the app, using Safari on the iPad and with www.mediathek.daserste.de or www.ardmediathek.de/tv works better. Just select the movies or programs that interest you.
Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg (rbb)
“rbb mediathek” is the ipad and Android app of the Berlin-Brandenburg radio station, which can also be accessed via http://mediathek.rbb-online.de/tv. This app actually works quite well and you can see the latest TV-news, documentaries, movies, newest clips, and live streams just by scrolling down the home page.
You can even go back and find a program you may have missed with “Sendung verpasst” (broadcast missed) by selecting one in the alphabetical directory “A bis Z.” Under “F” you'll find “Film im rbb” and the rbb movies from the last seven(7) days that you can stream. Because this app work so well, it has become one of my favorites.
YouTV.de
A reader of the previous post suggested also YouTV.de to watch German TV channels. We are currently trying out the free version and like it. You can have TV programs recorded and watch them later.
There are also fee options that expand the number of programs you can record and the number of days they remain available.
French Apps
The France TV Pro app I had discussed previously stopped working for me after I upgraded my iPad to iOS 8.1.1, so I deleted it. I am currently trying “France 24.” The ads are quite entertaining in French, but the “News Bulletin” as well as the “Business” news are in English, so not helpful for French learners. (Corrrection: top left, "Accueil", you can change the language to "Français"). France 24 is a news channel and you can listen to news clips in French of events happening around the globe. I also installed the “Télé-Loisirs” app but it plays only short previews. It requires access to a “box” of various French companies (freebox, TV d'Orange, SFR neufbox, Bbox and DARTY BOX) and can't be accessed in the US.
Arte+7 Mediathek (Arte.tv) still works best for me for French language movies. (For example, if you chose the movie, currently playing: "Plus que 6 jours” which will be available for 3 more days, you'll hear “High” German (as well as Swiss German) and see French subtitles, a multilingual experience for French/German learners...)
Do readers have any other suggestions for French apps?
Italian and Spanish Sites
I haven't found any worthwhile individual apps that let you stream Italian and French movies.
Italian
The many Rai apps you can find in the iTunes Store let you download some old shows as podcasts. But I have found that the Rai website, www.rai.tv while confusing, is a better bet. “Rai Replay” will allow you to replay broadcasts of the last seven days for the listed channels. It takes some searching to find a movie or episode that you can play in the US, even if you focus only on the blue coded broadcasts, (“I programmi già disponibili in modalità Replay sono contrassegnati dal colore azzurro”) as quite a few can't be played in the US or your country.
Spanish
Finding Latin American channels in the US is typically not a problem. Many or most of the Cable companies have them as part of their basic package. If you are looking for TV stations in Spain you can chose among five: RTVE,antena3, quattro, telecinco, and Canal+ (which is a subscriber service). Those that I tried for a movie video all require the Flash Player (which will exclude the use of an iPad),
I also recently came across Bethany's post: Fun way to Reinforce Learning, in which she lists the following sites, and which she recommends especially for dubbed movies in the two languages:
Postscript: Sipeliculas also requires the Flashplayer, and while you get 5 free days with italia-film when you enter your credit card, watch out: They use Geeker.com for their membership management and you are automatically renewed, if you don't cancel in time! Both seem to have a good selection of movies.
Google Chromcast
I succumbed to the urge to buy another gadget: Google Chromcast. After setting up the Chromcast via an iPad app, I was disappointed that I could only “cast” those programs to the TV, for which the iPad app was Chromcast enabled. For example with “SnagFilms” you can cast all kind of movies, but I haven't found a foreign one yet worth watching. (and you'd have to live with the annoying ad breaks while watching!)
However, using your laptop with your Chrome Browser and after installing the “Google Cast” extension, you can cast any movie or program you can find and play on your lap top. I did so yesterday with several German rbb (see above) and French arte.TV movies. (Unfortunately, you'll also encounter quite a few movies on Arte where you'll get a message like: “Cette vidéo n'est pas disponible dans votre pays” or “Dieses Video ist in ihrem Land nicht verfügbar” (This video is not available in your country), obviously depending on the country from which you are trying to access the site.)
(One way to get around this problem is to pay for a Secure line VPN. I subscribe to a Avast Secure Line VPN and can get all my German stations and movies by selecting Frankfurt as my city.)
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.
Once you have mastered more than the basics of any language, listening to radio or watching movies is a great way to expand your vocabulary, and - maybe as important – keeping you interested in learning.
(Not to overlook: READING is for many learners the earlier, easier step for building vocabulary. It will be the topic of another post.)
Increasingly, we are finding the use of iPad apps to be quite convenient. (All the apps mentioned below are also available on the Play Store for Android devices, and, I assume, with very similar or even identical features.)
Yes, you can connect to many sites on your PC and watch your movies there or connect your laptop to your television, especially if you have newer models with HDMI ports.
We've only recently started to use our iPad/HDMI connector and hooked up our iPad to our large flat screen TV. The experience of watching a movie on a large screen with a much better sound is certainly worth it. But whether you're watching a clip or movie on the iPad or on a bigger screen, here are our current app choices:
German iPad Apps
tagesschau – (also: www.tagesschau.de), a free app, the German “tagesschau” is a 15-minute news magazine, which airs daily at 8 PM German time. It also has a 10:15 PM edition called “tagesthemen” as well as a “nachtmagazin,” which airs just past midnight.
Note that the shows' titles these days are NOT capitalized, as they should be according to German spelling rules. Maybe this is a nod to being trendy and “cool.”
I remember the “Tagesschau” (which could be translated as “Daily View”) from the early days of German television, when the ARD was the only public channel. (”ARD” stands for “Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland” - definitely a mouthful. Anybody interested in the legal structure of this “public-law” institution can consult this wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARD_(broadcaster)#Name.)
As I am wrting this, I can see on the “tagesschau” that the “Rosetta-Mission” landing of a mini-laboratory on a comet has been successful; “Live stream,” “Aktuelle Videos,” and “Tagesschau in 100 Sekunden,” and “Das Wetter” complete the Homepage.
For those interested in German Fußball (soccer), a disappointment: Some legal issues apparently does not allow the “tagesschau” to show any clips of German soccer. Nevertheless, by clicking on the many links, you can find a variety of clips and videos on many national and international topics.
ZDF – (also: www.zdf.de ) a free app of the 2nd German channel (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen), which is a German “public-law” institution as well. There is also a news magazine “Heute” which airs in Germany at 7 PM German time.
The extensive Menu on the left side takes some time to get used to. For example, under “Rubriken,” and “Film,” you can find “Der Fernsehfilm der Woche” (TV movie of the week), “Ganze Filme im ZDF” (Entire films in ZDF); or under “Krimis” (crime movies), you'll find many popular German series, such as “Kommissarin Heller,” “Der Krimminalist,” etc. If you want to listen to Bavarian dialect, “Die Rosenheim Cops” is a fun show to watch.
DW– (also: www.dw.de ) Deutsche Welle,a free app, is another great resource. You can actually modify several settings on the menu icon, top right: Refresh the content; choose among 6 languages: Arabic, English, German, Persian, Russian, and Spanish; and select the channel to be displayed on the main screen: Germany, Europe, Arabia, America, Latinoamérica.
In addition to a number of video clips, there are also many articles to read about the topics of the day. And, if you have trouble reading an article in German, you can get the English version just by switching the language.
TV–Spielfilm – (also www.tvspielfilm.de) a free app, lets you choose on the Menu button, top left: “Highlights des Tages” (highlights of the day), “TV-Program,” “Tagestipps,” and “Social Ranking.” We found “Mediathek” to be the most useful, with “Spielfilme, Serien, Reportagen, Unterhaltung, and Kinder” (videos for kids).
While the “Play arrow” in the middle of the video lets us play many of these, there are some that either give you the message “Der Vorgang konnte nicht abgeschlossen werden” (the event couldn't be completed).
Or after seeing “Möchten Sie die Seite in Safari öffnen? (Would you like to open the page in Safari?) and pressing “Ja,” we get the message in Safari: “Inhalte technisch nicht verfügbar” (content not available technically) - all of which have caused us some frustration.
French iPad Apps
ARTE.tv - (also: www.arte.tv )is a free app and actually a Franco-German TV network that promotes programming in the areas of culture and the arts and a perfect transition to the French apps.
Clicking on the top left menu, you'll open a number of program choices as well as a “setting” wheel at the bottom that lets choose you the language (German or French) plus a number of other settings, including reminders for certain live shows, email alerts, synchronizing with iCloud, etc.
Back to the Homepage, you see the “Accueil” (welcome) and you can scroll down to see the ARTE +7 choices: “Les plus vues,” “Les plus recentes,” and those soon to be deleted “Dernière chance.” Selecting "Programmes" you'll see the program of the day. Those marked in red +7 can then be either watched, either in a short clip or later, with a note (e.g."Plus que 6 jours") indicating how long it will be available.
Back to the Menu, you'll see a number of other options, all of which will certainly lead you to topics and videos that interest you.
France TV Pro is a free iPad app that lets you watch live TV on many of the French TV channels. It also uses advertisements but has the unusual feature that lets you earn ad viewing points.
After accumulating enough points, you can watch programs ad-free for some time. With each viewing you accumulate 500 points and when you reach 20,000 points (40 views!) you, supposedly, can upgrade to the "Pro" version and now watch for free. (We are not there yet, so I don't know whether this works!)
The Homepage opens up many options: You can watch soaps, news, sports, etc. right there, or click on the Menu button, top left, which gives you many more choices, which include TV VOD, KIDs, Music, Movies, as well as Live Channels, Youtube and more VOD choices.
Clicking on "Movies" you'll find 11 more categories, including, "Top", "New", "Comedy", "Drama", etc. One caution: You may not be able to watch all movies listed due to some access restrictions in the country you are watching.
For example, clicking on "Freelancers" resulted in: "This video is not available in your country". Also, you'll see some English movies dubbed in French. Because we mostly watch French movies, I have not explored many of these possibilities. (Of note: there is an on-screen Volume control button, on the bottom left.)
20 minutes – (also: www.20minutes.fr) I have enjoyed this app for some time now. (There is another, very similar Swiss app: 20 Minuten (also: www.20min.ch), which is the electronic version of the free “20 Minuten” newspaper that you find everywhere in Switzerland in German, French and Italian language.)
Different from the free German apps, this one uses advertisements, (which you can delete right away by clicking on the x on top).
The Homepage gives you a choice of six(6) categories: “Videos, Live, En images, Sport, Actualité, Entertainment, Météo/Horoscope, PDF/Jeux, and Guide TV.”
While the other sections also make good reading – and you're sure to find something that interests you – I have used mostly the Videos. At the bottom of that section you'll find 12 subheadings with videoclips, starting with “General” and “Le Rewind” and ending with “Entertainment” and “Actus 20minutes.”
I enjoy “Le Rewind” a lot. The young man who presents and comments on sometimes funny, sometimes bizarre events is hilarious. He also speaks rapid French, so may have to practice a bit before you get all his jokes, but you'll certainly have fun with many of the video clips. Regrettably, I just learned that “le Rewind” will only run until the end of the year.
All the apps mentioned below are also available on the Play Store for Android devices, and, I assume, with very similar or even identical features. And, please let us know YOUR favorite apps to watch French and German movies and videos.
These past days we've been reminded that the fall of the Berlin Wall (the picture shows the Wall with the infamous "Todesstreifen" ["death strip"]) occurred 25 years ago, with the official celebration on November 9, 2014.
For many Germans the Berlin Wall also involves personal memories either directly or through relatives or friends.
When the Wall was built in 1961, it further divided a city which, since 1945, had been living with the division into four sectors: US, UK, French, and Soviet.
The “brain” drain through the open border in Berlin caused the East German government (obviously with Russian concurrence and some say, encouragement) to opt for a wall: Too many East Germans (estimated at about 3.5 million) were voting with their feet and sought refuge and freedom in the west sectors before being flown out to West-German.
“Ich bin ein Berliner”
The building of the Wall was also seen by many observers at the time as a test of the new American President, John F. Kennedy. Historians seem to be divided over whether and how much the President and the intelligence community knew about the plans for a wall, or if there was even a tacit American acquiescence for its construction.
President Kennedy visited Berlin in 1963 and his speech - with its now famous words “Ich bin ein Berliner” - was credited for giving West Berliners a very needed moral boost. I remember this speech very well as a teenager, and while we may have chuckled a bit (see also our blog post Quick German: “Ich bin ein Berliner”), we certainly understood the significance of the speech.
Memories of Frightened Teenager
West-Berliners were not allowed to visit East Berlin initially. These restrictions were later eased for holidays and other "hardship" circumstances. (And East Germans could only travel to West-Berlin and West-Germany with special authorizations and under tight control in later years).
On the other hand, West Germans could usually visit East Germany and East Berlin after obtaining a visa. A trip to Berlin had become a tradition for many senior classes in West-German High Schools and so, in 1965, I found myself on a bus to East Berlin going through the Wall at Check Point Charlie.
While I do not recall being checked as we entered East Berlin, I certainly remember being stopped on the way out. We all had to get out of the bus and present our passports to an East German border guard.
He looked at my passport, then asked me to step into an adjacent room. A grim-looking officer waved the passport in front of my face and said that it was not valid. By that time (and while our teacher and my class mates looked on helplessly through a windowed door) all I could think of saying was “But this is a new passport, I just got it before the trip.” The officer looked me up and down, looked at the picture again and then, reluctantly satisfied and after what seemed like an eternity, finally said: “Then you'd better sign it.”
I still remember now that my legs were shaking when I joined my class again. What seemed like an insignificant and easily corrected oversight was a serious issue in 1965 in East-Berlin (and, with heightened security concerns, maybe it is now again everywhere).
Many attempts to escape from East-Berlin were made, through tunnels, through sewers, in cars, by swimming, etc. Over 100 people were killed during such attempts, when the East German Police received shoot-to-kill orders shortly after the Wall was built.
And while I, as a West-German, should have had nothing to fear, the climate of intimidation, cold-war press reports, etc. had affected me as well and frightened me.
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
After President Reagan had made another famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, it took a little more than 2 years for the Eastern Block to disintegrate. Historians and politicians may still debate whether President Reagan's or Bush's policies were more responsible for the fall of the Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the countries it controlled or whether such policies just accelerated an inevitable system failure.
Hungary and Czechoslovakia had already started to allow East Germans to leave through their countries in mid1989; protests in East Germany culminated in a demonstration of over half a million people on the Alexanderplatz in Berlin on November 4, 1989.
And then events further accelerated. By November 9, the new East-German government saw the handwriting on the wall (no pun intended) and amidst confusion of directives and orders to the border guards by government officials the borders opened up.
(This 1961 picture actually shows the iconic photo of Conrad Schumann, an East German soldier of the People's Army escaping, just as the Wall was being built. As described in this 2009 Wordpress post, his story had a tragic ending.)
The official dismantling of the much-hated Wall only began in mid 1990. On October 3, 1990 the East German state was dissolved and joined the West German state in becoming the reunited Germany.
Today, Berlin is again the capital of Germany and, with a population of about 3.5 million, its largest city. It has also regained its status as, arguably, one of the world's top cities for science, culture, media, and politics.
“Blüten” in German means “blossoms,” but in colloquial language the word also means “funny money.” Our German 2 course uses a story that appeared in the Berlin newspaper in 2013, as shown in this excerpt on the left.
Using a story makes learning German more fun. Note the admonition that “Blüten müssen umgehend der Polizei gemeldet werden.” (Funny money has to be reported to the police right away.)
Language Magazine October 2014
The write-up in Language Magazine's” online October edition (see screenshot below, right) describes how this narrative is used in Gamesforlanguage.com's German 2 course to teach and practice real and useful German phrases and sentences.
The first three Levels (36 lessons/Scenes) of our German 2 course are online and ready to be played. Those who completed the German 1course will recall why Michael Mueller is visiting Berlin again. More lessons are being added as they are being completed.
Changed Lesson Format for Learning German
Anyone with basic knowledge of German can jump in at German 2 (finishing German 1 is not a prerequisite).German 2 builds your mastery of idiomatic language, helps you understand and use those hard-to-pin-down filler words (ja, schon, noch, doch, denn, eigentlich, mal etc.), and has you practicing "conversational past" and "simple past" verb forms.
Returning players will notice a change in our lesson format: Each of the six levels of German 2 now have 12 lessons or Scenes, for a total of 72.
Each Scene has two parts; and various games have now been combined in “Memory,” “Listen & Write,“ and “Deal No Deal” games to make learning and practicing even more fun and effective.
You Want to Learn German Fast?
Our games and travel-story based courses are also a great way to practice your German. If travel to Germany is in your near future, you may also enjoy our post: 4 Fun German Language Games Before You Travel.
Not everyone will agree when Benny Lewis', the Irish Polyglot, exclaims: "Why German is easy!". But, if you are serious about learning German - and even before you buy or subscribe to any expensive courses (except GamesforLanguage.com, which is FREE!) you may want to read Benny's e-book!
Disclosure: Some links above are to a partner's program with revenue sharing, if you decide to buy or subscribe.
(Updated 8-9-2017) Ken Burns' documentary “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History: Get Action (1858-1901)” brought back childhood and school memories. As the narration turned to Franklin Roosevelt's stay in Germany, I immediately recognized the spa where he had stayed with his parents four times during 1891-1896.
His father had sought the water cure there for his heart condition and Franklin even went to the town's public school for 6 weeks. While not identified in the documentary, the spa was located in Bad Nauheim. (Photo of Sprudelhof, Bad Nauheim, by Hiltrud Hölzinger.)
A Well-Known Spa and Famous Visitors
For 12 years I passed the “Sprudelhof” - as the square around the fountain in Bad Nauheim was called (see picture) - every day on my way to and from school. Now the complex of buildings surrounding the fountain is also recognized as one of the largest examples of Art Nouveau in Germany.
The mineral waters, which were believed to benefit various heart ailments, made Bad Nauheim a well-known spa between the second part of the 19th and the first part of the 20th century.
Three empresses stayed there: Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) of Austria and Hungary, in 1898, Czarina Alexandra Feodorowna of Russia, in 1910, and Auguste Viktoria - Empress of Germany and Queen of Prussia, in 1912.
As a child, I was greatly impressed by the story that a special railway station was built for the Czarina, so she could step from her private railway car directly into her carriage. And the German newspapers began to call Bad Nauheim the “Drei-Kaiserinnen-Bad” (three-empresses-spa).
Other royalty and famous people also sought the mineral water's curative power: Otto von Bismarck, Mark Twain (see also our Heidelberg & Mark Twain post), Richard Strauß, Albert Einstein, Edvard Munch, William Randolph Hearst, Anwar Al Sadat, Zarah Leander, and many others.
George S. Patton and Elvis Presley
George Patton only stayed for a short time in Bad Nauheim, the headquarters of the Fifteenth Army, to which General Eisenhower assigned him in October 1945. (General Patton died in December 1945 in a car crash on his way from Bad Nauheim to Mannheim.)
I still remember the stir that Elvis Presley's stay in Bad Nauheim created. He served his military service at the US garrison in Friedberg, a neighboring town, between 1958-1960, but was allowed to live off base.
He initially stayed in the Park Hotel in Bad Nauheim, but after complaints from other guests, he moved to the house on Goethestrasse 14. (On a visit to Bad Nauheim several years ago, we noticed that his memory was still being kept alive with a small shrine and fresh flowers.)
“Bad” Changes...
The German word “Bad” can both mean “bath” and “spa.” Towns that have “Bad” as a prefix, such as Bad Nauheim, Bad Vilbel, Bad Homburg, etc. are spa towns, which is an official designation for towns where cures for certain ailments are offered. Using this prefix in Germany requires governmental authorization.
Until Germany's Universal Health System clamped down on the free/paid-for stays in the “Sanatoriums” of German spas in the 1980s, towns like Bad Nauheim benefited greatly from Europe's popular spa culture.
Today there are still over 150 towns in Germany with the “Bad” prefix. The suffix “-bad/-baden” can also appear in town names such as “Wiesbaden” or “Marienbad” or make up the whole name as in “Baden-Baden,” arguably Germany's most famous spa town.
But while the heydays of German spa visits may be in the past, German spa towns (“Kurorte” or “places for a cure”) still attract affluent and famous personalities that do not have to rely on their health insurance.
The second chapter of his book gives a fascinating glimpse at how Roosevelt's German experience may have influenced his views and political decisions later on.
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.
You Want to Practice Your German?
Our games and travel-story based courses are also a great way to practice your German. With our German 1 and 2 courses you'll learn and practice German for FREE - with stories of a young man traveling through Germany and - its sequel - solving a "Blüten"-mystery in Berlin. "The Story" and easy games will let you forget that you are actually learning German!
When learning Germanic and Romance languages, English speakers are fortunate to find many “friends” or true cognates. These make memorization certainly a much easier task. 
(Updated February 3, 2017)
(picture of Hotel garden by Daniel Morel) 
Hillary and Bill Clinton also visited the Oloffson. Interestingly, their special relationship to Haiti is traced back to their honeymoon in Haiti in 1975 in this 
(Updated 8-9-2017)