Posted on by Peter Rettig

European Travels 13 - Rotterdam memories and Jeff Bezos

Koningshaven Bridge, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsLately, our Rotterdam memories were rekindled by news about Jeff Bezos' new Super Yacht.

Several international newspapers, including the New York Times and The Guardian as well as Boat International reported on it.

The Dutch shipyard where the Yacht is being built is located just a few miles upriver on the Nieuwe Maas/Noord. The builder reportedly asked Rotterdam officials to be allowed to temporarily dismantle the historic Koningshaven Bridge.

It's the only bridge before the open sea that does not open completely and does not have enough clearance for larger sailing vessels with their masts up. (Setting the masts AFTER passing the bridge was certainly discussed, but apparently not found practical by the shipyard.)

Here is the excerpt from the Times:

“The city of Rotterdam’s decision to remove part of the bridge was reported on Wednesday by a regional Dutch public broadcaster, Rijnmond. Boat International, which publishes articles about the superyacht industry, reported that the 417-foot sailboat is set to become the largest sailing yacht in the world when it is finished later this year, surpassing the Sea Cloud, a 360-foot sailboat built in 1931 and owned by the Yacht Portfolio, an investment company based in Malta.”

The reported displeasure by the public and some activists about the - even temporary - dismantling of a landmark for the benefit of a rich man's pleasures, may continue to keep this story alive for a while.

Another Dutch Family Reunion

Lift Bridge on Canal near AmsterdamThe news clip about the Koningshaven Bridge brought back memories of our Dutch Family Reunion in Rotterdam a couple of years ago and canal boating in the Netherlands (when we passed under similar lift bridges, see picture left).

The city is wonderful to explore on foot, and you can get around easily by tram. While Amsterdam is overrun by tourists in the summer, Rotterdam is off the beaten path for many, and well worth a visit.

Rotterdam is located in the province of South Holland, at the mouth of the "Nieuwe Maas" Channel which connects to the Rijn-Maas-Scheldedelta at the North Sea. (in English: Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta)

As the name Rotterdam suggests, the town goes back to the construction of a dam along the Rotte river (built in 1270), one of the delta rivers then. Rotterdam was granted city rights in 1340.

In discussions at the family reunion with Ulrike's older Dutch cousins, we heard accounts of the German bombings of May 14, 1940.

The center of Rotterdam was almost completely flattened. The destruction caused by the bomb raid lead to the capitulation of the Netherlands the following day. (In some historic accounts, communication errors in the German air force may have prevented the transmission of the raid's stop order.)

Different from many German cities that were destroyed during the war and were rebuilt quickly – often with poor city planning and cookie-cutter buildings – Rotterdam took its time.

This gave architects and planners opportunities to design avant-garde structures and expand the harbor for the 21st century. That kind of city rebuilding is still happening today.

Here are just a few sites that are worth seeing and exploring:

Rotterdam Central Railway StationRotterdam Centraal Station

When you arrive at Rotterdam's railway station – Rotterdam Centraal - you're immediately struck by the design of the large entrance hall. Subway, buses and and trams are right there for you. (Download the RET Barcode app and you can buy tickets online for the entire system.)

Erasmus & Koningshaven Bridges, RotterdamErasmus Brug and Hotel New York

Walking from Rotterdam Centrum across the Erasmus Brug (a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge, completed in 1996), you'll see the Koningshaven Bridge to your left. (in background in picture left)
Then turning right after the bascule bridge to get to the Hotel New York, you'll pass the new Cruise Ship Terminal.

Hotel New York was the former headquarters of the Holland America line. From where the cruise ships now dock, the Ocean liners of the Holland-America line used to leave for the New World. (Ulrike and her family left from there on their emigration voyage to Canada.)

There's a pleasant Garden Cafe in front of the Hotel now. We enjoyed a "vers fruit sorbet" (fresh fruit sorbet) during a sunny afternoon while watching the river traffic.

In late afternoon, we would sit in a beer garden right below the Erasmus bridge and enjoy watching the many barges go up and down the Maas river.

Rotterdam Cube Houses Cube Houses & Market Hall

You'll certainly want to visit the Cube Houses. Designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom, they are based on the concept of "Living as Urban Roof": high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level, since its main purpose is to optimize the space inside. The homes are literally cubes, tilted over by 45 degrees.

You can visit one of the cubes – the other units are occupied - and decide whether living in one of the 38 cubes would be for you! (The original group of 18 cube houses was built in 1977 in Helmond in the southern part of the Netherlands.)

Rotterdam Market HallThe new Market Hall (opened in 2014) is just across the square from the Cube Houses and features another innovative design: It is the country's largest indoor market and includes a multipurpose retail and residential development.

Besides the large Market Hall, the complex houses 228 apartments, over 40,000 sq ft of retail space, 8 restaurants and a 4-story underground parking garage with a capacity of 1200+ cars.

Food lovers will find all kind of international and Dutch food specialties in the large hall, which will overwhelm you by its sheer size and the colored murals!

Kunsthal Rotterdam - Art Museum

Joana_Vasconcelos_Exhibit_Kunsthal_RotterdamAnother discovery was the Kunsthal Rotterdam. Built by the architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA in 1992, and located in Rotterdam's Museumpark, the Kunsthal itself is stunning in its use of space.

During our visits, we saw two amazing exhibits: “I'm your mirror” by Joana Vasconcelos and “Street Dreams: How HipHop took over Fashion”.

Joana's installations surprised you by the materials she used and assembled. Can you tell what was used for the one on the picture above?

The Street Dreams exhibit traced the fashion trends in the HipHop community from the late 1970s to now, and how they impacted on the culture of mainstream fashion.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Art lovers will enjoy the works of many Dutch painters from the 14th to the 16th centuries. There are paintings by Rembrandt and Bruegel, van Eyck and Hieronymos Bosch. But beyond that, you'll also find works of Monet and Gaugin, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso.

Rotterdam Maritime Museum exhibitMaritime Museum

For ship and boat lovers, the Maritime Museum is a must. There are ships and barges for you to visit in the water right at the museum.

The Netherlands has a special relationship with the sea – about a third of the country lies below sea level. And as a premier trading nation for many centuries, the Netherlands had developed a special expertise in ship building.

The museum takes you through the country's maritime past and explains in many - also interactive - exhibits how to tackle the new challenges of maritime construction with climate change and rising sea levels.

Rotterdam Port

SS Rotterdam HotelOne of the special memories from our family reunion was the harbor tour. This included sailing by the SS Rotterdam, one of the older Ocean liners which is now permanently moored. It has been repurposed as a hotel and you can access it also via water taxis as shown in the picture. (You can book rooms there directly or via most of the popular travel sites.)

However the real highlight was the tour of the Europort Rotterdam which is not part of a typical harbor cruise. It was organized by one of the family members who had special contacts. We had our passports and identities verified, then transferred to a bus and were driven through what is now the largest port in Europe.

Munich Maersk in Europort RotterdamConstruction of this deep-water port started in 2008, Phase 1 opened in 2014, Phase 2 will only be completed in 2035.

We stopped at one of the docks and saw how one of the largest container ships of the world, the Munich Maersk, was being unloaded.

Driver-less container carts at Europort, RotterdamOf the about 23,000 containers only a few thousand were to be unloaded. They were placed on electric, driver-less carts and driven to a storage location.

Others were loaded and driven back to the ship. There were many of these driver-less carts picking up and delivering containers.

Several cranes were operating along the 400m (1200ft+) ship loading and unloading.

Nearby we saw containers being placed directly unto a canal barge.

It was all an amazing spectacle – nearly ghost-like: This is what harbor logistics looks like in the 21st century: loading and unloading 24 hours, 7 days a week with very few hands-on workers needed.

Indeed Rotterdam would probably not have become the largest European port without the Maas River and its connection to the Rhine. With the Main-Danube canal, barges can travel to and from the Black Sea and the European canal system allows access to/from the Mediterranean Sea via the Rhone river.

Maas River Storm Surge Barrier

Maas Storm Surge Barrier Closing in 2019During our Europort visit on a Saturday we learned that the Maas storm surge barrier (“Maeslantkering”) would have its annual maintenance operation that same afternoon.

The river traffic was interrupted for several hours for the closing. Our group joined the many onlookers to watch how the gigantic gates (see picture) slowly closed.

After its completion in 1997, the Maas storm surge barrier was first tested during the November 8, 2007 storm and prevented, together with two other surge barriers the flooding of the entire Dutch coast.

See a description of this engineering marvel, one of the largest moving structures on earth, in this Wiki entry. You can also find further details for a visit at the Keringhuis website.

Walking Around

Last but not least, we also enjoyed just walking around, e.g. in the Delfshaven district, one of the few areas which were spared during the WWII bombing. You can have a beer at the brewery De Pelgrim or visit the Pilgrim Father's Church.

Or just walk through Rotterdam Centrum and study the many different building with their unusual angles and facades.

You can always find a park bench, or an outdoor cafe or bistro where you can sip your favorite beverage and people watch.

And if you liked Rotterdam, you may even want to learn more about the Netherlands and the Dutch Language.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

5 Language Tips Before Traveling Abroad

Travel and ContinentsIf traveling abroad is on your horizon, these 5 language tips will make you more confident when you get there. Travel is slowly coming back. Now is the time to start getting ready.

No, these 5 language tips won't make you fluent or have you really SPEAK the foreign language. But just learning to UNDERSTAND and SAY some essential words and phrases will make your trip much more enjoyable.

Anticipating a new travel adventure can be very sweet. It's a lot of fun to figure out where to go, where to stay, and what to see. Plus, it's smart to learn a few expressions so that you can pronounce them well and use them easily.

The benefits of doing so are huge: not only will you feel more confident, you'll also find it much easier to make contact with people there locally.

5 Language Tips Before Traveling Abroad to Build Your Confidence

Colorful numbers1. Make a list of words and phrases

• Think about past travels and try to remember what kinds of words and phrases you had come across and wished you had learned.
• Make a list. It should certainly include greetings, polite phrases, and basic numbers.
• Put these on Flash Cards that you can glance at from time to time.
• If you're are already using a language program or app look for travel-related lessons.

2. Practice pronouncing them

Search online

You can google for help with pronunciation. For example, type in: "how to pronounce X in French" (using either the English or the French word or phrase you're looking for). Google has a surprising number of "translate audio" examples online.

Consult language learning sites

You can also go to various basic language learning sites, but they may teach vocabulary in specific sequences. Just think of Duolingo, Memrise, etc.
You might try, however, our free Partner Site LingoHut. Its lessons are organized by topic and you can access any lesson, any time.
Or, start out with our free sister site, Lingo-Late with its 12 European languages. Our lessons list essential words and phrases. These you can practice in any sequence, including recording yourself and playing back. You'll also find language tips there.

Practice Speech Cartoon3. Set up an easy practice routine



Set small goals

Set yourself goals you can easily meet, and learn your list of expressions in baby steps. No need to rush, you can give yourself all the time in the world.



Practice regularly

If you can find a way to practice 10-15 minutes every day, regularly, you'll make good progress. One way is to add your practice to something you do every day, like having your morning coffee.

4. Engage with the language

Hearing and seeing the language will help you internalize the sounds. You'll also acquire some new vocabulary without even trying.

Watch movies

Watch foreign TV series or movies with subtitles. They should be fun and interesting, something you genuinely enjoy. During the Covid time-out last year we discovered the MHz channel, which we subscribe to via Amazon Prime. It has movies and TV series in a number of languages with English subtitles. We enjoyed the entire Italian Commissario Montalbano series, as well as German, French and Spanish series and movies.

Listen to songs

Listen to songs as you're preparing a meal, or going on a walk. Songs are a great way to learn sounds and words of a language, especially if you sing along. (We suggest songs for German, French, Italian and Spanish on our site. They also include some language tips.)

Read easy texts

It's easy to find posts, texts, etc. online in a language you're focusing on. If you don't know a word or phrase, just google it for the translation, or consult an online dictionary such as Word Reference.
For paper reading, there are plenty of dual language texts available for total beginners.
 

Play language games

Play some language games. See links to a few of ours below.
Plus, a site with games in many languages is Digital Dialects.
We've also enjoyed the game-oriented app Mindsnacks.
Another interesting app that includes games is Mondly. It has a VR (virtual reality) program, and an AR (augmented reality) version.

Clock5. Learn about typical cultural norms

Read up a little on social behavior in the country or region you're visiting. Cultural norms are often reflected in a country's language. For example:
• Are there formal and familiar forms of address and when do you use these?
• What are the local attitudes to time (Are you expected to be punctual or not)?
• How would you politely strike up a conversation with a stranger?
• What are some typical interjections and which are okay to use?
• How do people regard personal space when you talk with them?
• What are the customs for tipping?
• Also: Are there right or wrong hand gestures?

How to Overcome Your Foreign Language Anxiety

It's very common to feel anxious about speaking another language, especially if you've only learned the basics. But there are ways to overcome this anxiety. These are some tips I like to use:

1. Keep your flash cards with you.

Do this before your travels and also when you're there. Know you can consult them any time.

2. Practice in front of a mirror.

You'll get used to seeing yourself speak in the language. Doing this often enough may well dispel any awkwardness you feel when jumping into a foreign language.

3. Record yourself and play back.

You'll get used to hearing your own voice speaking the words and phrases you're learning. Many people find it strange listening to their own voice, even when speaking in their native language. But doing it often enough will make it feel less weird.
(For twelve European Languages you'll find greetings, polite phrases, and more on our sister site Lingo-Late. There you can practice them with Quizlet flashcards and record yourself as well.)

Why make the Effort?

The reasons for making an effort to learn some language basics for traveling are both personal and practical.

You won't feel like an idiot.

When you arrive in a country where you don't speak the language, you won't feel like an fool. When people greet you, you'll know how to greet them back. You'll have a few polite phrases at your fingertips, including "excuse me", "yes", "no", and "I'm sorry".

You show respect.

Your language efforts are a sign of respect for the country and its language. Often this can open all kinds of wonderful opportunities you would otherwise not experience. You may find that people are eager to share tips on what to do or see locally. In any case, a few expressions will help you start a conversation, even if you then have to switch to English.
 

You'll benefit your brain.

A benefit you may not have thought about is that learning and speaking another language clearly benefits your brain. As Sanjay Gupta MD says in his book "Keep Sharp. Build a Better Brain at Any Age " (2021): "The complexity of a new skill is critical. You need to use your mind in a manner that gets you out of your comfort zone and demands more long-term memory."
Using a foreign language locally in a country where it is spoken is definitely a complex skill and surely will take you out of your comfort zone. Plus, the new experiences that your contacts with locals make possible, will help to "rewire" your brain and make it more resilient.

Additional Readings

5 Reasons for Learning a Language before you Travel 
How to Relearn a Dormant Language

Four Fun Language Games to Play Before You Travel

Spanish: Practice Numbers, Question Words, Common Adverbs, Everyday Phrases with 4 Fun Spanish Language Games
German: Practice Question words, Basic Phrases, Numbers, Buying a Train Ticket with 4 Fun German Language Games
French: Practice Everyday Phrases, The Verb "être", Numbers, Practice French Sounds with 4 Fun French Language Games
Italian: Practice Basic Phrases, Question Words, Numbers, Making a Phone Call with 4 Fun Italian Language Games

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 here!

Posted on by Peter Rettig

European Travels: Canal Boating on the Canal Latéral à la Loire

Docked @ Canal Latéral à la LoireI recently remembered our canal boating trip on the Canal Latéral à la Loire of a few years ago. A friend had just come back from a trip in the Bourgogne in early August and had shared with us the good and the bad. (His experience prompted me to write about Chartering a Canal Boat in Europe on our sister site Lingo-late.)

Chartering a boat on the Canal Latéral à la Loire was our second canal boating experience in France. We had previously cruised the Canal de Nivernais from Corbigny to Joigny. (see Locaboat map below)

This time we were going from Decize to Briare on the Loire, or as we quickly found out, actually on the Canal Latéral à la Loire. On that stretch, the Canal Latéral à la Loire counts 23 locks (écluses) on a length of 132 km (or 82 miles). Our trip took one week.

Choosing a Canal Boat and Route

Locaboat map Decize to BriareAs always, organizing a canal cruise takes a bit of planning.

I like one-way or round-trip cruises, so you get new impressions and vistas every day. As we only had one week, though, we also needed to be aware of the distance and number of locks and bridges that had to open.

I first contacted Locaboat (we'd had a good experience with them before) for a one-way cruise from Dompiere to Briare, or vice versa.

However, for our time period (early September), they did not have a boat with three separate cabins. But we were lucky. For a one-way trip from Decize to Briare the first week of September, we found the perfect 3-cabin boat with Crown Cruise Lines (now part of Le Boat).

Our chart showed us that the “Tirant d'air” (T.A.), or bridge clearance was 3.50m (11.5 ft) and the “Tirant d'eau”(T.E.) or maximum draft was 1.80m (5.9 ft), both no problem for our boat.

Crusader 54The Crusader-type boat is popular because of its 3 cabin/3 head layout (see picture) and worked really well for us. It had an upper deck and could also accommodate the five bicycles for the five of us.

And, always an issue on one-way trips, the charter company would (for a fee) drive our car to Briare, so we had it available when we arrived.

We knew that the Loire was only navigable for a short stretch from Nantes to Angers. The river however feeds the adjacent Canal Latéral à la Loire which was constructed between 1827 and 1838. It links the Canal de Briare - which connects to the Seine and Paris - to the Canal du Centre.

Indeed, the French waterway network is quite extensive: From the Mediterranean Sea you can reach Le Havre or Dunkirk on the French Atlantic Coast. And, continuing via several canal options to the Rhine, you can even get to the Netherlands and Germany's Baltic coast.

Getting to the Boat

Crew on Canal Boat in MarinaWe set off from Fribourg, Switzerland, where Ulrike and I were visiting my sister Ingrid. She had been a regular crew member on many of our sailing trips along the US Coast and the Caribbean, and would join us this time as well.

Our friends Candy and Bill had flown in from Boston a few days earlier. We picked them up at their hotel in Geneva on our way into France on Saturday morning.

By 4 PM we were in Decize. We completed the charter formalities, checked out the Crusader 54, and happily settled into our new home for a week.

We were able to purchase all we needed for next day's breakfast and had a delicious dinner at Brasserie Maxime's terrace near the river.

On previous canal trips, we typically had breakfast and often lunch on the boat. For dinner, we usually found a local restaurant near the canal or river. And as it turned out, this was going to be the case this time as well.

CANAL BOATING WEEK

The first night, we stayed in the Marina, and the next day we were eager to get going.

Sunday

We left the Marina in the morning after breakfast.

In Fleury-sur-Loire, lock #18, the lock-keeper had flowers galore all around the lock. We tied up and then walked up to the village with its Romanesque church (late 11th century) and low old houses. In fact, we were delighted to discover that this middle part of the Loire Valley has many village churches that have survived through the centuries, some even from Romanesque times. Because there was an open door policy for visitors, we were able to look at quite a few of them.

Lunch on sun deck @ UxeloupAt noon, we enjoyed lunch on the upper sun deck under a beautiful blue sky near Uxeloup, lock #19.

It didn't take us long to learn that lunch hour is sacred for French lock-keepers. Even our chart advised: “Soyez aimables de laisser aux éclusiers le temps de dejeuner entre 12h30 et 13h30; ils sont à leur poste 10h à 13h par jour, selons les saisons.” (Be nice and allow lock-keepers time for lunch between 12:30 and 13:30. They are on duty for 10-13 hours, depending on the seasons,)

Around 4 PM, we arrived in Plaigny and tied up in the marina. We took our bikes, rode the 3 miles into Nevers and did some sightseeing. The Cathedral St Cyr-et-St Julitte, bombed during WW2, now has beautiful, contemporary stained-glass windows by Gottfried Honegger.

Monday

on the Pont Canal du GuétinAfter breakfast in the Café du Canal, we were on the way again. In the afternoon, we crossed the Allier River via the Pont Canal du Guétin, an “aqueduct” or canal bridge. Rather than staying in the little village with its auberge and restaurant near the bridge, we pushed on.

We were certain that we would again find a little restaurant for dinner near the canal. However, this time we struck out. By 19:30, lock closing time, we were still in the middle of nowhere. A few phone calls later, however, the owner of “La Bonne Franquette” came to pick us up in his car, and we had an excellent dinner in the restaurant's pretty courtyard.

Tuesday

In lock unloading bikesIn Marseilles-les-Aubigny after Lock #25, Ulrike, Ingrid and Candy decided to ride along the Canal on their bikes and do some shopping. Bill and I stayed on the barge and continued on.

When they joined us again at Lock #30, in Herry, they had a few fun stories to tell. Their shopping in French had gone great, they had visited a couple of Romanesque churches, and discovered a fine little art exhibition. We all had an excellent dinner at the restaurant L'Atalante near the canal.

Wednesday

The next morning, we left Herry around 9:30 AM and the women again decided to explore the area on their bikes. They bought some charcuterie and baguettes in one of the villages and joined us for lunch in Ménétréol-sous-Sancerre, where we decided to stay overnight.

View of sancerre from Gitton vinyardIn the afternoon, we visited the Gitton vinyard. Pascal Gitton spoke excellent English, as well as German, Spanish, Bulgarian, etc. He was a real character, had many stories, and showed us the old and new barrels, his bottling plant, etc. We tested four wines, 3 Côtes de Duras and 1 Sancerre, and bought several bottles.

From the Gitton vinyyard we had a great view of Sancerre (see picture above)

At night, we had another wonderful dinner, at Le Floroine right at the Canal. Here we tried “crottin” (goat cheese) in all its stages.

Thursday

Talking to lock keeperWe continued to Bannay, Lock #34, where I had my usual chat with the lock-keeper (see picture.)

Then, in Belleville-sur-Loire, a small farming village, we had lunch while waiting for the lock to open. Across from us, directly at the Loire, we saw the big nuclear Power plant, (reminding us that France derives 70% of its electricity from nuclear power today.)

We stayed the night in Beaulieu-sur-Loire, where we took a tour through l'Église St. Etienne. The church building reflects the evolution of architecture over the centuries: Built in the 11th century, it has a Romanesque nave, a Gothic transept and choir, and a Baroque altarpiece, where later some Neo-Gothic elements were added.

Friday

After breakfast, we biked over to the Château Courcelles Le Roi, now an inn, surrounded by parklands and ponds. Not surprising that it has become a picturesque place for weddings. We then continued on the Canal to Châtillon-sur-Loire, which also got us closer to the Loire River again. There, we strolled around the little town, visited a bookshop, had lunch.

Entering the Pont de BriareAfterwards, it was on to our last stretch on the Canal to Briare. There were no more locks and we looked forward to crossing the famous Pont de Briare, another aqueduct, or canal bridge, this time indeed crossing the Loire.

Arriving late afternoon in the Marina, we cleaned the boat, walked around town and concluded our very successful canal trip with a dinner at Auberge du Pont Canal.

A wonderful Trip

With good company and friends, we had also been very lucky with the weather: Sunny skies all week with pleasant temperatures at night, no trouble with the boat, and passing through wonderful little villages and landscapes.

The bike rides along the canal through little villages kept the women busy and entertained, while the men enjoyed piloting the boat, talking with the lock-keepers, and enjoying a beverage or two on the sun deck.

We found our car easily and a few hours later we were all back in Switzerland.

And if you are interested in canal boating in the Netherlands - fewer locks, more bridges - check out this post: European Travels 3: Dutch Language and Canal Boating. And for those who might even consider buying a river barge for a life-time adventure on the European waterways, Eurocanals is the website to consult.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Italian Travel Memories 3 - Marco in Venice

Gondolas in Venice, ItalyDo you have Italian travel memories or are you dreaming about visiting Venice? Exploring this romantic and historic city will leave you with lots of wonderful memories.

Our first Italian Travel Memories post covered Pisa, where Marco, the young traveler in our Italian 1 travel-story course, visits his aunt and uncle. He then takes the train to Florence, and Venice is his third stop in Italy.

In this installment - Marco in Venice, we'll follow Marco's explorations of Venice. For those of you who are doing or have done our "Italian 1 course: Marco in Italia", these additional details will complement those in the course.

Our series of Travel posts tell you about our own travel as well as more about each of the cities of GamesforLanguage's travel-story based courses. We typically use the cities' names of the streets, hotels, squares, restaurants, etc. and we've been to many of them ourselves.

In our free travel-story courses you learn everyday conversational language. Here, we've listed a few additional basic words and phrases in Italian that will help you in your travels.

Brief Facts about Venice

The city of Venice is located in the northeast of Italy. It is the capital of the Veneto, one of Italy's 20 regions (regioni). Venice is also a Metropolitan City (città metropolitana), which includes the city of Venice and 43 other municipalities (comuni).

Venice's origins are traditionally said to date back to the dedication of its first church, San Giacomo in 421 A.D. The name Venice may be derived from the ancient Veneti people who lived in the region many centuries earlier.

Early on, the area of Venice was a Roman/Byzantine outpost. From the 9th to the 12th century, Venice developed into a city state (the other three being Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi).

With its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic, Venice became an international trade and finance center with considerable naval power.

From the late 7th century until the end of the 18th century, Venice was ruled by a Doge, who was elected for life by the city's aristocracy. The word "doge" is the Venetian dialect version of the Latin "dux" (leader) and related to the English word "duke".

After the Napoleonic wars and the Congress of Vienna (1815), Venice was annexed by the Austrian Empire. Italy was unified in 1861. In 1866, Venice became part of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1946 Italy's monarchy was abolished by a constitutional referendum.

Because of its rich cultural heritage and unusual urban layout, Venice has become one of Europe's most popular tourist destination. The city stands on an archipelago of 118 small islands that are connected by 400 foot bridges and 170 boat canals.

The lagoon and the historic part of the city are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Marco's Arrival in Venice

Vaporetto on Venice LagoonMarco's train trip from Florence to Venice takes him two hours or so. He arrives at Venezia Santa Lucia, Venice's main train station.

From there, he takes the Vaporetto - water bus - on the Grand Canal to his hotel Antica Locanda al Gambero, located on Calle dei Fabbri, just a few minutes from the Rialto Bridge. (Going to the hotel on foot would have taken him about 20 minutes.)

The historic city of Venice is divided into 6 administrative districts called "sestieri". They are: Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco, and Castello.

The hotel Al Gambero is situated in the small, historic quarter (sistiere) of San Marco, where many of the city's landmarks are. He checks in, gets a key, and finds out how he can connect to the hotel's Wi-Fi.

Useful Italian Vocabulary

• il vaporetto - the water taxi
• il sestiere - district, quarter, neighborhood
• prenotare - to make a reservation
• l'albergo - the hotel
• una camera - a room
• il passaporto - the passporto
• la chiave - the key

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco, Venice, ItalyNext day after breakfast, Marco walks over to the Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark's Square). It is usually just called "la Piazza". That is because all other squares in Venice are called "campi" (fields), with the exception of Piazzale Roma. A "piazzale" is a large, open square, and Piazzale Roma serves as the main bus station for Venice and major entrance to the city.

Piazza San Marco (Photo by Francesco La Corte on Unsplash) is named after Venice's patron saint, San Marco, who received that honor in the middle of the 9th century. It was an assertion of the city's independence, and soon after, the building of the basilica began.

For a narrative of the eventful history of la Piazza, see this Wiki Link.

Piazza San Marco is a beautiful square, beloved by visitors and locals alike. At one end stands the stunning Basilica San Marco. Around the other sides of the grand square you'll find many shops, restaurants, and cafés. As you sit and sip your aperitif, it's always fun to watch what's going on: street musicians playing, kids chasing the pigeons, people hurrying about. It's a great place to linger and meet others.

Useful Italian Vocabulary

• il giorno dopo - the next day
• camminare - to walk
• la piazza - the square
• il piazzale - the (large, open) square
• il campo - the field (in certain cities: square)
• l'autostazione - the bus station

The Doge's Palace

Marco has a wonderful time strolling through the Palazzo Ducale, which is also located in the sestiere San Marco. Dating back to the 14th century, the Palazzo Ducale is considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, with layers of building elements added over the centuries.

Read up on its history HERE.

The inside rooms and corridors of the Palazzo Ducale are lavishly decorated and filled with collections of paintings and with statues.

Marco is especially interested in the wall and ceiling paintings of Jacopo Tintoretto (1518/19–1594) a master of the Venetian School.

Campo Santa Margherita

In the evening, Marco gets together with Claudia, a student he had met, and some of her friends. They have dinner at the storied Caffè Florian on Piazza San Marco. Then they walk to Campo Santa Margherita, which is located in the sestiere of Dorsoduro.

Originally an industrial area, Dorsoduro is now an artsy, bohemian neighborhood with museums, galleries, palazzos, churches, bars, restaurants, and of course, "gelaterias" (ice-cream parlors). Since the 18th century, Dorsoduro has attracted painters, sculptors, writers, collectors, etc. It's a great place to spend an evening and is frequented by local students and art lovers alike.

Useful Italian Vocabulary

• il pittore - the painter
• lo scrittore - the writer
• un palazzo - a large building
• una chiesa - a church
• una gelateria - an ice-cream parlor
• lo studente - the student (m)
• la studentessa - the student (f)

Saint Mark's Campanile

On Marco's last day in Venice, Claudia suggests they go up Saint Mark's Bell Tower, il Campanile di San Marco. At 98.6 meters high (323 ft), the bell tower offers a gorgeous view of Venice and the Venetian Lagoon.

Have you been to Venice? We'd love to hear some of your suggestions and travel memories!

Marco's Next Stop

From Venice, Michael flies to Rome, the last stop on his Italy trip. That's our last Italian travel memories post. From the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, he finds his way by train and tram to the historic Trastevere neighborhood, where his aunt Grazia lives. As a welcoming meal, she makes "saltimbocca". After dinner, they take a little walk (una passeggiatina) to the Colosseum. The next day, they visit the famous Piazza Navona and afterwards go to a wine bar on Campo de' Fiori.

Posted on by Peter Rettig

European Travels 12 – Bordeaux and Arcachon

Cité du Vin Museum(Updated May 29, 2022)

With international travels taking off again, a visit to Bordeaux and Arcachon (France) could be also on your itinerary this year.

In September 2019, as we flew from Amsterdam to Bordeaux, Ulrike and I had no idea yet how different our life would be in a few months. I am writing this post just about a year after our trip.

Checking the websites of the places which we visited during our week-long stay in Bordeaux and travels through the Périgord region, I realize that many activities are out of reach at the moment: exploring Bordeaux by tram and bus, visiting museums, a wine tasting class in the Cité du Vin (see picture above), a river cruise with Bruno, visiting castles and the Lascaux caves, wine tasting in vineyards, etc, etc.

Fortunately, the memories and pictures from that trip will last us for a while. And maybe this post will motivate some readers to explore Bordeaux and its surroundings once the Covid-19 period has passed!

A Very Brief History of Bordeaux

As we usually do in a new city, we visited the local history museum, here the Musée d'Aquitaine. This gave us a quick and comprehensive overview of both Bordeaux's ancient and recent history.

We learned that Bordeaux's importance as a major port increased after the marriage in 1152 of Eleanor of Aquitaine with Henry Plantagenet (who is better known as Henry II and was King of England from 1152-1189).

The “English era” gave Bordeaux protection, and the wine trade and tax-free status with England made the city flourish right into the middle of the 15th century.
Aerial view of the Port of the Moon in 1899
Annexed by France in 1453, Bordeaux eventually entered into another golden era in the 18th century, when it became France's busiest port, supplying much of Europe with coffee, sugar, cotton, etc from overseas. (Image by Hugo d'Alesi, 1899, Archives de Bordeaux métropole.)

After World War II, two long-serving mayors were responsible for Bordeaux's development: Jacques Chaban-Delmas from 1947-1995 and Alain Juppé from 1995-2019, both with various interruptions, as they also served as Prime Ministers under Jacques Chirac and Georges Pompidou respectively.

Today the Bordeaux metropolitan area has a population of about 780,000 with about 250,000 living in the city. As such, it is France's sixth largest city, the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the center of a major wine-growing and wine-producing region.

Exploring Bordeaux by Tram

Bordeaux wireless tramNeither Ulrike nor I had ever been in Bordeaux or that part of France before. We especially looked forward to exploring the surrounding wine country as well.

Our rental apartment was near the Place Gambetta, right in the center of town. This allowed us to explore “la vieille ville” and other quarters on foot, and by using several tram lines that were nearby.

Eager to use the public transport system, trams and buses, we made the mistake of purchasing a seven-day transport card online. Why a mistake? Because each time we used a tram, we had to use our smartphone and internet connection to validate. (A better choice is to purchase a 7-day card in one of the public transport offices.)

And as the tram was our favorite mode of transport, we noticed one thing right away: there were no overhead wires in the city. We were intrigued. (See picture above of tram in front of the Bordeaux Opera.) I noticed that there was a center rail set in the pavement, but people normally walked over it, so obviously it could not be electrified.

A Google search and our visit to the Historical Museum solved the mystery: Mayor Chaban-Delmas had the last of the 38 tramlines, with their over 120 miles of tracks, removed in 1958. But plans for a subway failed because of the sandy soil and related costs.

The “Bordelaises and Bordelais” (women and men of Bordeaux) had to wait until 2003, Bordeaux wireless tram trackswhen the first of the now 3 lines (about 40 miles) of a modern tramway were opened. Mayor Alain Juppé had insisted that no overhead wires should spoil the view of the buildings in the city.

Thus a ground-level power supply operates in the city, called APS (Alimenation Par Sol). The center rail is not continuous, but connected with what look like ceramic isolators. (You can see the center rail with the light brown isolator in the picture.)

In the city, electric power is supplied to the tram by the center rail with only the portion under the tram electrically live. Reportedly, the system had problems at the start, but seemed to work well while we were there. (We wonder, however, how it would work during snow and ice conditions.)

Once the tram leaves the inner city, the overhead lines appear again and each tram raises its collector arm (pantograph) to connect.

Cité du Vin

One of the must-see sites when you visit Bordeaux is Cité du Vin, the Bordeaux Wine Museum. You can get there either by tram or by water shuttle on the Garonne river.

At the museum, you will learn more about the world's wine cultures than you'll likely remember. The permanent exhibition explains how “humans cultivate vines all over the world in a wide variety of natural conditions. Winegrowers have adapted, invented and modeled their landscapes and shaped them through their traditions.”
Cité du Vin wine shopWe also decided to take a wine tasting class in French. The teacher was entertaining and familiarized an international audience with the basics of French wine terminology.

And while it certainly takes more than a one-hour class to become a real wine connoisseur, we became fully aware of how many vivid adjectives the French language has for describing wines.

For example: The level of “acidité” (acidity) can be described by words like “mou, vif, nerveux” (soft, lively, nervous); the level of “tanin” (tannin) with “souple, charpenté, âpre” (flexible, framed, harsh); the level of “onctuosité” (smoothness) with “creux, gras, lourd” (hollow, fat, heavy).

And most importantly, we learned: When you “name” (i.e. pin down with words) your own impression of the wine that you're sampling, you'll better remember a similar taste next time. (But it requires that you equip yourself with the relevant vocabulary to describe your impressions! Here is a link to such a wine glossary in English.)

The shop at Cité du Vin has a large selection of wines from the region (see picture above), and from the top of the spectacular building (where more wine tasting occurs), you have a spectacular view of Bordeaux and the Garonne river.

We recently came across an interesting article about The History of Wine. The article describes many of the historic facts that you'll learn about in the Cité du Vin's informative and interactive exhibitions.

Bordeaux's Museums

Besides the Musée d’Aquitaine and la Cité du Vin, we also enjoyed the MECA,Bassin de Lumières exhibition poster musée des arts décoratifs et du design, and the Musée Mer Marine (Maritime Museum).

Indeed, when we visited the Maritime Museum, we were also intrigued by the nearby submarine bunkers. An unattractive remnant of World War II, which had housed the Italian submarine fleet at the time, its thick concrete walls and roof have made demolition cost-prohibitive.

At the time of our visit, parts of this base were just being converted into the Bassins de Lumières. While not yet open to the public then, the above link and picture give you an impression of a spectacular exhibit, which appears well worth visiting.

La Garonne and Le Miroir d'Eau

Miroir d'eau in front of Place de la BourseFor many cities a waterway adds to their special appeal and Bordeaux is no exception (see also Lisbon, Portugal).

Pictures in the Musée d'Aquitaine showed us that before World War II and even into the 1960s, the Garonne river's waterfront had been a busy port, with ocean-going ships docking right up to the Pont de Pierre.

Today commercial harbor terminals and pontoons, especially for container ships, have moved downstream. But major cruise ships can still dock downtown, close to the Place de la Bourse and the Miroir d'Eau.

There is now a wonderful promenade that stretches from beyond the Miroir d'eau with mistPont de Pierre to the row of converted warehouses downstream. These hangars house various expositions and events as well as brand-name discount shops.

The Miroir d'Eau, in front of the Place de la Bourse is reportedly the world's largest reflecting pool with 37,100 sqft. It is indeed quite spectacular, both as a mirror and also when the rising mist begins to hide the people walking around.

I would be amiss if I didn't comment on the color of the Garonne river.Dordogne joins Garonne river I had already noticed the brown color of both the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers from the plane as it made its approach to the Bordeaux airport.

Bruno, our Garonne river cruise guide, made it his first point of business to explain why the Garonne is NOT “dirty”: the color is the end-result of a natural phenomenon.

The sediment that the Garonne carries downstream meets the oceanic tides that come up the estuary. With salty water being heavier than fresh water, the undercurrent brings the sediment to the surface and coagulates in the form of microscopic flakes, producing the brown color. Nevertheless the Garonne is ranked as one of Europe's cleanest rivers!

Arcachon and the Dune du Pilat

Oysters lunch @ ArcachonAt the end of our one-week stay in Bordeaux we rented a car to explore the surrounding wine country. (More about that in another post.)

We had heard from friends that a visit to Arachon was also a must: both for its famous oysters as well as for the “Dune of Pilat”. Arcachon is only a 40 mile drive from Bordeaux and a favorite weekend spot for many locals.

For centuries the name of Arcachon has been related to “great oysters”, and keeping the Arcachon Bay unpolluted is of key concern for many area residents.

(Over the last 50 years there have been a number of natural and man-caused disasters affecting the oysters in the bay.) The area's oyster industry grows oysters for the French restaurant market as well as seed oysters for oyster growers all over Europe.

The delightful little Hôtel du Parc, where we stayed, was in walking distance to the Plage Pereire. After renting bicycles directly at the hotel, we were soon using the bike paths up and down along the beach.

We even made it all the way to downtown Arcachon and its harbor. The downtown area is not very attractive, as it is overbuilt with hotels and condominiums.

However, the promenade along Arcachon Bay with its beach, promenade, restaurants and large marina is lovely. It was still bustling during the weekend even at the end of September. Sitting in one of the many restaurants, "people watching" can be a great pastime!

We sampled the famous “huitres” (oysters) at several restaurants. Our favorite was the Restaurant du Soleil, right at the beach, with a fabulous view of the sun set each evening.

Climbing up the Dune du Pilat was an amazing experience. Located just southClimbing the Dune du Pilat of the entrance to the Bay of Arcachon, the dune rises to over 300 feet above sea level and is about 1.7 miles long.

The name “Pilat” (or “Pyla”, to the locals) originates from the Gascon word “philar”, which means heap or mound.

On the last September weekend there was a stream of visitors climbing up and down the dunes, some picnicking on top, others just watching the para gliders making their turns and  – because of the upwinds –  often landing above from where they started.

The dune has been observed to move backwards at the rate of about 15 feet per year, encroaching on the pine forest and swallowing up houses built at its base. This explains why the visitor center and large parking lot have been placed far in the back.

After our stay in Arcachon we still had a few days left to explore the “Médoc region” to the left of the Gironde estuary, but we'll report on that in our next post.

 

Bio: Peter Rettig is the co-founder of Gamesforlanguage.com. He's a lifelong language learner, growing up in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. You can follow him on FacebookTwitter and Instagram, and leave any comments with contact.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Why Knowing Another Language is Cool at any Age

Cool ski jump We're well into January and I've already had a few days of cool skiing behind me.  (And no, that's not me, but a photo by Jörg Angeli on Unsplash.)

It's high time though to put together some goals for this year's language learning. But is learning a language even worth the effort?

Here we are at the doorstep of a new decade. New technology - such as instant translators - will make learning a foreign language unnecessary, if not obsolete. So why bother?

We're getting used to wanting things fast (by ordering from Amazon, believing in instant personal transformations, etc). But learning a language takes time. Certainly more than 10 days (as promised by Pimsleur) or 3 months (as promised by Benny Lewis).

Life is getting more automated (think of self-driving cars, robots for the house, etc). Why go to the trouble of memorizing and practicing words, figuring out weird grammar, or struggling to decode a stream of "gibberish"?

Yesterday, I reread Kirsten Winkler's 2015 piece on LinkedIn: The Grim Future of Language Learning. There she concludes: "It might sound like sci-fi, but at the current rate, we’re going to have working technologies in our ears and in front of our eyes that will make language learning pretty much irrelevant for most people". Argument closed!?

For a couple of hours, I felt a little depressed. But then I looked at my own life and went happily back to my language learning routine.

TECHNOLOGY AND SELF-LEARNING

screenshot of iPhone with language appsFor sure, advances in technology have revolutionized and disrupted the classical model of language learning - which in my time was a chapter textbook with short reading passages, grammar explanations, and exercises.

Many of us remember some of that from our college language classroom. (I taught college German for some years using the classic textbook plus-pattern-drill approach. But funny enough, it just wasn't the way I myself learned languages best.)

Now we have everything we need for successful self-learning. We can use language apps, join language groups on social media, access online language sites, learn with YouTube videos, watch foreign language movies with (English or other) subtitles, play other-language audio books, listen to online radio stations from other countries, participate in language exchanges, and so on.

Some of us also have the opportunity to travel and try out our language skills on location.

So what's holding us back? Is it the assumption that we can thrive in a global world just with English? Is it laziness, or the feeling that we have no time? Is it the idea that we've missed the language learning boat, because we're now "too old" - at 30, 45, 60, or at 70?

WHY MAKE THE EFFORT?

Once you're out of school, language learning is no longer a "subject". It becomes part of what makes life interesting and adventurous. Passing exams is no longer part of it. Your goal is to have a conversation with someone who speaks the language. Or to watch a film, read a book, listen to an audio book - all in another language. When you can do that, it's huge.

No doubt, it does get somewhat harder to learn other languages as an adult. Not so much because you have lost all abilities that you had when you learned your first language. It's more because work, family, and social commitments now fill your days. Your priorities have changed.  

And there are some other reasons too. For example, from the time we are young, we gradually lose the ability to hear certain sounds. Young children can absorb other languages easily because their brain can identify a broad range of sounds. (See Beyond "Learning a Language Like a Child".) But as children grow into adults, the sounds of their native language become dominant and their ability to hear some sounds of other languages diminishes.

Still, studies have shown that listening to other languages can give us back the ability to hear a broader range of sounds again. Have a look at Gabriel Wyner's article in Scientific American: How to Teach Old Ears New Tricks.

Another complaint we have as adults: we don't like memorization. But language is not just a list of words, it's also context, grammar patterns, tone of voice, etc. By experiencing language as communication, you work your brain on a much more complex level.

Besides giving our brain a boost, learning another language gets us out of the monolingual way of seeing the world. It opens up other cultures to us, teaches us empathy, and helps us become citizens of the world.

Having a device for instant translation can definitely help in certain situations. Especially, if you use it to communicate specific information. But having "technologies in our ears and in front of our eyes" all the time when talking with people, can't be pretty or pleasant.

And, when you have no understanding at all of the local language in the place you're visiting or even living in, you'll remain shut out. Locals are not going to speak English with each other just for your benefit.

So, why is learning a language worth the effort? Because it gives you the tools to live a richer and more interesting life. At any age.

4 TIPS TO MAKE LANGUAGE LEARNING PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE

1. Add language learning to your identity

For many of us, what we do in our free time becomes part of our identity, in addition to the work we do. I see myself as a teacher, but also as a skier, tennis player, and yes, a language learner.

These are things I love to do and to talk about with others. They are often my priority. When I ski, play tennis, practice or use another language, it gives me the chance to stretch my abilities. It feels good. I get a sense of accomplishment.

2. Find your inspiration

Language learning woman while joggingWithout question, learning a language takes time and determination. You have to recall words and phrases often until they become automatic. Only with practice can you improve your pronunciation.

How do you inspire yourself to keep going even when you get discouraged? For some, the advice of a language hacker or a polyglot - such as Benny Lewis or Steve Kaufman - will do the trick. For others, doing something fun with the language - such as playing a game or listening to a story, will keep them engaged.

Do whatever gets you excited about the language - from listening to songs or audio books, to planning a trip to the country or region you always wanted to visit.

3. Check your mindset

Having the right attitude helps a lot. Learning a language cannot be an instant achievement, but rather stretches out into a series of small, enjoyable successes. If you accept that, you're well on your way. But there's more.

Making mistakes is simply part of learning and nothing to worry about. Learning a language is a process of learning, forgetting, and relearning, like any new skill.

When you make your language learning a fun habit (rather than a chore) it is easier to keep going.

4. Do something in your new language every day

Make a list of "small things" that you could do in the course of your day. Listen to a song, do a few flashcards, watch a YouTube, read a page, write a few lines, list a few words, scan news headlines, check an Instagram account, make a grocery list, copy out a few sentences, read out loud, record yourself and play back, listen to an audio book or podcast, play a game. The list could go on and on.

Make some of the items part of your daily schedule. For example: sing a song in the shower; do a few flashcards with your morning coffee; write a few lines in a journal; take a break and play a language game; read a couple of pages on the bus home or at night before sleeping; watch a film.

So, go for it, take some risks, become adventurous, try things out. And remember these eight words: "Some is good. More is better. Everything counts."

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

European Travels 11 - Lisbon, Portugal


Lisbon PortugalIt was first the sound of Portuguese that I loved, a language we often hear spoken in the Boston area and in a small New Hampshire village where we vacation. The intriguing part: Portuguese looks very similar to Spanish but sounds so different.

So, before a March visit with family in French Switzerland, we discussed the idea of going to Lisbon for a week from there. We had just started our site, Lingo-Late.  Why not seize the opportunity to test its basic premise: Learning about 20-30 essential phrases before traveling to a new country is not difficult - even if you do it late, just before your trip - and adds to the fun and pleasure of the visit. 

Unless you're a dedicated Polyglot, you probably cannot become fluent in every language you try to learn. But, you can definitely master basic greetings, polite phrases, learn some easy "where is..." questions and a few directional words and phrases. 
That's what we did for Portugal and you can do as well with Learn Portuguese For Travel!

A BRAZILIAN IN PORTUGAL

Our nonstop flight from Geneva to Lisbon took about 2 1/2 hours. From the Lisbon Portela Airport, we took an Uber into town. (Uber is available throughout the city.) Our driver Eduardo was from Brazil and clearly eager to practice his English. We, in turn, took the opportunity to ask him about the differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese.

Was the language a problem for him? Oh, he said, no problem with the language: Brazil versus Portugal is similar to US versus UK. The big difference is that Brazilians speak with open vowels, in contrast to speakers from Portugal, who “eat their vowels”.

And, he added, you have to be careful about a dozen words or so, since they have different (sometimes offensive) meanings, depending on the country you're in. 
He also said that speakers of Portuguese can understand Spanish quite easily. But, Spanish speakers usually have trouble understanding Portuguese. 

MY LANGUAGE BOOKLET

As always, I had a little notebook along. In it were written down all the phrases I had practiced on Lingo-Late. The key for me is to practice saying words and phrases often and with a kind of spaced-recall practice. (For example, I recall/test myself the next day, then four days later, then after a week, etc.)

I like having the option to record my voice (easily done on Lingo-Late), and then to play back and compare. For a new language like Portuguese, it feels a little awkward at first, but with time I get used to my own voice trying out unfamiliar sounds.

Once the sounds of the essential phrases are solidly in my head, I find it easy to pick up new words and phrases that I hear or see during my travels.

SEVEN HIGHLIGHTS

Lisbon is a beautiful, cosmopolitan city with a wealth of things to do. Here are seven places and activities we especially enjoyed.

1. Exploring Bairro Alto Lisbon, Portugal

Our rental apartment was in a building on Travessa da Espera, in Lisbon's Bairro Alto (Upper District). It's a trendy neighborhood where many restaurants and bars line the narrow streets. Most evenings, we found a restaurant nearby.
 
At a couple of them, we definitely needed our basic Portuguese phrases, as the owners barely spoke any English. Our best and most fun experience was at the small restaurant A Nossa Casa, which features an amazing array of "petiscos" (the Portugese version of "tapas").

2. Praça do ComércioPraça do Comércio, Lisbon

On our first day, once we had lunch and studied the city map, we headed to the historic Praça do Comércio, a generously laidout U-shaped square.

There, at the Story Center, we learned about the different periods in Lisbon's history, from the early sea explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries, the devastating earthquake of 1755, to Salazar's dictatorial rule (1932 to 1968), and the 50 years since then. 

3. Miradouro das Portas do Sol

Later that first day, walking back to Bairro Alto, weOverlook of Lisbon were talked into a 90 minute e-TukTuk tour that turned out to be perfect. Lisbon is built on seven hills. The narrow streets go up and down and up again. In her quiet electric cart, our guide Maria drove us through several different neighborhoods.

In her fluent French - the preferred tour language of our little group - she told us stories about Lisbon's history and its people. 
Because of its hilly cityscape, Lisbon has a number of Viewpoints (Miradouros) scattered throughout. Maria took us to the Miradouro das Portas do Sol (Doors of the Sun).

The soft late-afternoon sun gave us a stunning first view of the city and the Tagus River (Rio Tejo). Over the next days, we were always on the lookout for other such viewpoints.

4. Day Visit to Belém

Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Belém, PortugalOnce we had figured out the city's transit system, we took a bus to Belém (the Portuguese word for Bethlehem). The bus was crowded mostly with locals and the ride took about 30 minutes.

Our reward was a wide, open promenade that stretches along the Tagus River. On it stands the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, a stone monument celebrating the achievements of the Portuguese Explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries. It is a 52 meter high ship's prow and has on it more than 30 statues of historical figures of the time.

The one best known is that of Henry the Navigator, (1394-1460), a prince who financed many of the explorations, but who is also known for founding the European slave trade. The excellent Marine Museum in Belém tells the story of Portugal, the seafarer nation.

5. Train Trip to Sintra

To get to Sintra, famous for its 19th century Pena Palace, Sintra, PortugalRomanticist architecture, we took a suburban train from Rossio Station. Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is only 27 km (16.5 miles) from Lisbon but the trip took about 45 minutes, since it's a commuter route with many stops. 

Exploring Sintra (on foot and by local bus) took us into the world of somewhat eccentric architecture. We were glad we could ask in Portuguese where the bus stop was for the bus to the palace - and understood the directions.
 
The Palace of Sintra is in the lavish Mujédar style of architecture (Moorish revival); the old center of town, a little higher up, consists of narrow streets, stairways, and quaint mansions; still higher up, you have the ruins of the Castle of the Moors; and finally, on top there's the colorful Disney-style Pena Palace. 

Best of all, the large terrace at Pena Palace opens up an incredible view of the countryside. 

6. A Walk through the Maurario and Alfama Districts

Santa Just Lift, LisbonWe took a day to do some casual sightseeing on foot. We walked to the top platform of the Santa Justa Lift from a hill (we didn’t take the lift because of long lines). 

From there, we slowly made our way through the hip Maurario district, with its street and tile art, and into the historic Alfama district, going past the city walls and ending up at the Castelo de São Jorge. 

7. Ferry to Cacilhas

On our last day, Christo Rei Statue, near Lisbon, Portugalwe took the ferry across the river Tejo to Cacilhas on the other side. Then we caught the local bus to Cristo Rei - a monumental statue inspired by the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro.

An elevator takes you up to a 80 meter high platform, from where you have a panoramic view of the entire Tagus Estuary, the 25th April suspension Bridge, and the seven hills of Lisbon. 

Afterwards, we took the bus halfway back to the town of Olho de Boi, rode the Boca do Vento (Mouth of the Wind) elevator from cliff-top down to the river's edge, and walked the 15-minute path along the river back to the Ferry Terminal.

Because we had learned and practiced greetings in Portuguese, asking for directions, and ordering in a restaurant, we tried these out whenever we could. For sure, we weren't even close to being fluent.

But, people appreciated our willingness to use Portuguese, rather than immediately throwing English at them. Because of our persistent attempts at using the local language, we had many a conversation that otherwise would not have happened. It clearly added to the enjoyment of our stay in Lisbon.

Posted on by Ulrike & Peter Rettig

Which useful phrases should every traveler know?

young couple with vacation choicesPlanning a trip abroad is a lot of fun. Deciding where to go, whether to stay in one place or travel around, etc. can already fill you with the pleasure of anticipation.

Now, if it's a country where you don't speak the language, you typically have four choices:

1. Don't bother learning anything new – just rely on your native language, or whatever you already know.
2. Learn and practice a few useful words and phrases, a few minutes a day.
3. Spend time and effort to relearning the language, if you studied it in school.
4. Invest time and effort to learn the language from scratch.

Obviously, your decision depends on other factors as well, including:
• How much time will you spend in the foreign country, or countries?
• How likely is it that your native language will be understood there?
• How much time and/or money can you invest?

For many English speakers who travel abroad, the obvious choice is: Don't learn anything new. That is because English has become more and more a “lingua franca” for travelers. (Pamela Druckerman's recent article in the New York Times points up some pitfalls for monolingual English speakers.)

But think about it. Even if English is your native language and the only one you speak fluently, learning just a few words and phrases of the local language can make your stay in a place so much more interesting and enjoyable. It can become the starting point for more tips and insights, or simply the beginning of a conversation with a local resident - even if it continues in English.

The Case for Useful Words and Phrases

From every country we visited and whose language we don't speak, we have a couple of anecdotes that remind us how useful it was to know at least greetings, polite phrases and some numbers in the language locally spoken.

Several years ago, we visited Japan and China. We learned and practiced the basic numbers, and a few common phrases and greetings: thank you, please, excuse me, good morning, goodbye, etc. For us, knowing the numbers in Japanese and Chinese proved especially useful.

In Hiroshima, we ventured out one evening and found a restaurant Flat lay of Sushi seton the second floor of a building. As we entered, we soon realized that nobody spoke English. Nor did anyone speak any of the other European languages we know. The restaurant was crowded. But because we knew the Japanese word “fifteen”, we understood that we could have a table in about fifteen minutes.

So, we decided to wait. We had read earlier that it's a Japanese custom to overestimate such waiting times. Still, we were pleasantly surprised that after less than 10 minutes our booth was ready.
It was a memorable Japanese dinner. We had dishes we had never tasted before and savored the sake that overflowed our small ceramic cups. We were glad we had waited.
 
In China we visited the Great Wall and afterwards our tour guide led us into one of the government-run shops that lined the road. Being able to negotiate prices in Mandarin, proved not only to be fun but also made us feel that we got some bargains. (That was very likely just wishful thinking.)
 
On a trip driving from Germany to Denmark to catch a ferry, we wanted to get some Danish Krone at a bank ATM. (Denmark, as well as the UK, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania don't use the Euro.)

In one of the small towns we drove through, we stopped and asked a passerby: “Undskyld, hvor er en bank?” and immediately got a fast Danish response, which we didn't understand. It prompted us then to ask: “Taler du engelsk”?

And we realized that when you ask for directions in a foreign language, you should also know a few of the typical directional responses, e.g. left, right, straight ahead, around the corner, etc. We then had a very pleasant conversation with the woman in English and she also showed us the way to a Bank ATM.

In Stockholm, Sweden, we asked for directions in Swedish to one of the museums. We were delighted that the older gentleman continued in Swedish when giving us directions. That was maybe a bit unusual for a Swede, as most of them speak English quite well. But we felt great that our 3 months of studying Swedish beforehand paid off. Not only did we understand his directions, but we found the museum quite easily.

Czech milk cartonLast year we stayed in Prague, the Czech Republic. (See also European Travel 10 – Prague in 2018). As we had rented an apartment for a week, we went to a neighborhood grocery store for some breakfast items.

The young man at the cash register was able to say in English how much we owed. But he did not understand the English words jam/marmalade, butter, cereal, etc. Nor could he explain what the word “polotucné” on the milk carton meant. (We wanted to make sure we weren't buying skim milk. The word in fact means “half fat” or “part skim”, as we later found out.)

We now also look up and practice the foreign words of our typical breakfast items ahead of time, if we travel to a country whose language is new for us . (And we'll add some basic food terms to our Lingo-late Essential Words and Phrases.)

Useful and Essential Words and Phrases

In fact, our experience at our next stop, Budapest, Hungary caused us Home page of Lingo-late.comto start our new site, Lingo-late.com, for those who choose #2 above: Travelers who invest a little time to learn and practice just a few useful or “essential” words and phrases.

What are useful or essential phrases for YOU? We believe that the first +/-10 polite phrases and greetings in a local language could and should be learned by any traveler. They include words and phrases such as:
Yes
• No
• Thanks/Thank you
• Please
• You're welcome
• Excuse me
• Good morning
• Hello/Good Day
• Good evening
• Goodbye
• Do you speak English (for English speakers)
(You'll find the translations for 12 of the European languages on Lingo-late.com)

What else you then want to learn and practice may depend a little bit how you travel and where to. We took part in a tour to Japan and China, but we have never used organized tours for our travels in Europe. So, for European countries we like to be able to ask “Where is...?” questions.

We do this not only to ask for directions. We have found that politely asking “Where is...?” questions can also be the beginning of a conversation with someone who lives locally. And even if our conversation partner's English turns out to be better than our foreign language skills, we often have a nice exchange. Many times we've ended up with tips and local information that has enriched our stay.

Plus – based on our experience in Denmark – we also like to learn and practice a few of the directional phrases: left, right, straight ahead, around the corner, at the light, etc.

Food and drink items vary quite a bit from country to country. Menus in the big cities often include English or are even multilingual. However, in the countryside, the local language prevails and you may well want to know the foreign names for chicken, fish, snails, clams, beef, tongue, lamb, mutton, tripe, sweetbread - that is, any food or drink items that you may want to order or or want to avoid ordering.

Useful Words and Phrases for Special Circumstances

Obviously, if you just learn a handful of words and phrases, you won't be able to have a conversation in the foreign language. But even you can understand and speak the language, you may come across special circumstances that require you to learn new terms.n

Unicaja bank branch Seville, SpainThis occurred to us in Seville a couple of years ago. On the way to our apartment after a late dinner, we used a bank's ATM to get cash. However, there was a problem, and the ATM did not dispense the cash to us. The next day though, we saw that our account had been charged Euro 500. 

When we tried to explain this in Spanish to a bank official, we realized that we needed to brush up on some banking vocabulary. Nobody in the bank's branch office spoke much English. So it was clearly better to use our Spanish. The branch manager even declared proudly: “No hablo ingles”. You can read more in 5 Tips for Dealing with ATM Troubles Abroad (and at Home).

The Benefit of Useful/Essential Phrases

In a foreign country, using polite phrases and customary greetings in the local language is always a good idea. This is even more so when you leave the big cities and venture out into the countryside or to places that are off the beaten track.

Our best memories from our car trip from Seville to Madrid are visits in towns like Carmona, Almagro, Aranjuez and conversations with locals there. Often these conversations start when we ask for a restaurant, or how to get toFriendly conversation a museum or a church. Yes, in some cases we could use our smart phone (if we have Wifi or phone reception), but then we could not practice our foreign words and phrases and have a conversation either – even in English.

Traveling is not just about seeing new sites or monuments. What you'll remember more are the interactions with the people you meet, the conversations you have. Just knowing a few words and phrases in the local language can get you a smile, and sometimes a conversation and valuable local insider tips.

And yes, English may well be the "Lingua Franca" of the World. But you'll never go wrong by learning just a few "essentials" for your next travels.

Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Before You Travel: 9 Tips to Boost your Language Skills

Mao of Bordeaux region, FranceIn the fall, we'll be spending two weeks in Bordeaux, France. So, before we get there, I'm super eager to take my French up a notch or two.

If I'm an Advanced learner (C1-C2), as I am with French and Dutch, or an Intermediate (B1-B2), as I am with Italian and Spanish, there are many resources to choose from: online programs, books, audio books, Ted talks, TV series, news stories, etc.

If I'm a Beginner (A1-A2) in the language, as I am with Swedish or Portuguese, I look for apps or online programs with words and phrases. Later on I'll start reading simple texts and listen to (slow) audios.

Free options like Duolingo and Lingohut can give you a good start. Others, such as Babbel, Mosalingua, Pimsleur, LingQ, Busuu, etc. also ask you to spend some of your money. (And - if you want to learn/practice polite phrases and greetings just before your next trip to Europe - take a look at Lingo-late.com. More about that below!)

The most important thing to keep me going is to choose interesting materials. I try to do something every day.

Below are 9 Practice Techniques that work for me. They are in no particular order, and I don't do each one every day. I practice a language when I can and feel like it.

1. Listen and Repeat (without seeing the text)woman listing on earphones

• Focus on the sound of words without visual interference.
• Imitate how words run together in phrases and sentences.
• Practice sentence intonation.
• Notice how the different intonation of sentences can change their meaning.
• Learn to listen for patterns in the language.

Pimsleur Language Programs are a good method for this. We practiced with 90 lessons of Pimsleur Italian before spending 5 months in Rome.  I ended up with a pretty good pronunciation and some basic phrases I could use. (But I still had to learn to read Italian and my vocabulary was very limited.)

Later, I used the 'listen and repeat' program, Ripeti con me for Italian. For Spanish, it was the fun app. SuperCoco.


smiling-man-with-laptop-and-headphones-at-home 2. Listen and Read

• Correlate the sound and spelling of words and phrases.
• Become aware of typical letter combinations.
• Notice "silent" letters that are written but not pronounced.
• Look for grammar patterns in the language.

Knowing how written words sound is very helpful for asking directions, for ordering from a menu in a local restaurant, etc.

We had our Pimsleur Italian experience before DuoLingo came out in June 2012. The wish to correlate text and sound digitally for learning a language was the impetus behind GamesforLanguage, which we launched in September 2011. Our courses and games helped me catch up on my Italian reading skills, expanded my vocabulary and kept me in pronunciation practice. They also gave me a good start for Spanish.

DuoLingo Stories are a fun way to read and listen. They started to come out in 2017, and are now available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. You go through the story sentence by sentence. When you click on a word, the English translation comes up.

Olly Richards of IwillteachYouALanguage has a series of Readers with audio in various languages and for different levels. I've been using Spanish and Italian Stories for Intermediate Learners, and now also Swedish for Beginners. Typically, I listen to a story once while following the text. I write down a few key words that I don't know and look them up if I need to. Then I "listen only" to the story several more times.

3. Interactive Play (flashcards and games) Gamesforlanguage French shootout game

• Mix it up and add some fun by learning interactively.
• Use flashcards to learn vocabulary and test yourself.
• Build basic language skills for listening, speaking, reading, writing.
• Focus on practicing your pronunciation.

Create a "streak" or build "points" to motivate yourself.Many programs now offer interactive, gamified language learning: DuoLingo, Babbel, Memrise, Busuu, Drops, and yes, GamesforLanguage.

I've used all of these at one time or another, with GamesforLanguage, of course, being my staple. Interactive play doesn't replace having a conversation with a native speaker, but it's a fun way to get in some practice time. It's a great way to learn a language bit by bit.



Man reading newspaper 4. Read Silently

• Practice reading fluently, without stopping if you don't know a word.
• Guess the meaning of words from their context.
• Notice verb tense markers, eg. whether the verb is in the present, past, future.
• Be aware of "who is speaking", as some languages drop pronouns.

Once you are able to read on a high Intermediate level in the language you're learning, there's nothing to hold you back. Reading is a powerful way to acquire new vocabulary and absorb grammar structures intuitively. When you start reading things that really interest you (novels, non-fiction books, news articles), the language is yours.

5. Read Aloud

mother reading to young girl• Practice reading aloud fluently, focusing on phrase and sentence intonation.
• Pretend you're a native speaker and add some drama to your reading.
• Record yourself and playback.
• Have a native speaker give you feedback (live, or of your recording).

A couple of years back, our French-speaking nephew visited us with his family while we were spending a month in Barcelona. His daughter was four at the time. She asked me to read her a bedtime story in French. It was cute, because like a teacher, she corrected my pronunciation here and there. (My French tends to have a German accent.)

The next day, I noticed that reading aloud had a clear benefit. It made me more confident in speaking French, which in turn improved my fluency.


Writing in journal 6. Listen and Write (dictation)

• Learn to identify words by their sound only.
• Produce the spelling of the words and phrases you hear.
• Be aware of word endings, agreement, etc. which may be "silent". 

I've always enjoyed practicing a language with dictation. It's very satisfying when you figure out what the sound you hear means and you get the word(s) right.

Producing the written version of words that you hear helps you to remember them better than just reading them.

To practice with dictation, I take an audio that I can easily stop and start again as often as I want. An audio book is perfect for that. I've also used TED and TEDx-talks that are not too long and deal with subjects that interest me.

7. Just Listen (and watch) couple watching TV

Get the meaning of each word or phrase through the context.
• Get used to the language spoken at normal speed.
• Pick up everyday conversational phrases.
• Learn the vocabulary around a particular topic.

While driving we often listen to German or French audio books. One we enjoyed was Guillaume Musso's "Fille de papier".

Recently we've also listened to Yuval Harari's Sapiens in French. And while I may not have understood each and every French word, I certainly got the meaning of every sentence. And I'm sure, my vocabulary was further enriched.


couple in conversation 8. Have a Conversation

• Anxious about having a conversation? Prepare yourself!
• Write down phrases and sentences you think you'll to use, and practice them.
• Look up vocabulary on topics you think may come up.
• Prepare some questions to ask your conversation partner.

All the Listen-and-Repeat or Reading-Aloud practice will help to prepare you for real conversations. Your mouth mechanics will have gotten lots of good practice, so anxiety about pronunciation will be less of an issue.

And don't underestimate the value of talking to yourself in the language you're learning. Have a self-conversation about things you need to do, things you've done, things you notice around you, etc.

9. Write an Email, a Chat Message, keep a JournalWriting in journal

• Try to write fluently, to say what you want to say.
• Then go back and see if you can catch any errors.
• Leave a space for words you're not sure about, then look them up.
• Note words you want to learn in your Vocab Booklet.

It's hard to write spontaneously in a foreign language. Your native language (or another language you're learning) often interferes. Still, if you focus on what you want to say, and not so much on grammar, your writing will make progress. Pretend you're just having a conversation with a (non-critical) friend, and write that way.

I'm not someone who spends hours and hours a day drilling and practicing languages. But I do speak a few languages. I've accumulated these patiently, step by step, always finding fun in learning, and always looking for opportunities to try things out.

I've also found that traveling is a great motivator for learning and practicing a language. Before every trip to a country where I don't speak the language, I spend some time learning useful polite phrases, greetings, numbers, etc.

Greeting people in their local language, thanking them, ordering in a café, asking for directions, these are all ways to show respect for the people whose country or region you are visiting. Just think how you'd feel if the tables were turned.

(In fact, the realization that we can't learn all languages for the European countries we like to travel to, made us start a new site, Lingo-Late.com. Here we've begun to add the 50-100 most useful - “essential”- words and phrases for most European languages. The site is free and you can Listen, Repeat, Record you voice, and Playback any of the phrases.)

Posted on by Peter Rettig

From Budapest to Lingo–Late: Essential Words and Phrases

Prague CastleAs with GamesforLanguage, the idea for Lingo-Late was born straight out of our own experience.

In the fall of 2018 we stayed for a week in Prague, the Czech Republic. As we typically do before any travels, we had prepared ourselves by reading about Czech history. (The book "Czechoslovakia: The State That Failed" by Mary Heimann was an eye opener.) We had also learned some basic Czech words and phrases and Ulrike wrote about our trip in: European Travels 10 – Prague in 2018.

Finding some of the basic Czech greetings, as well as words such as yes, no, please, thank you, etc. - together with audio was in fact not easy. Yes, we obviously could find them on Google Translate and on our phone translation apps. But we really would have liked to have them in one place to listen to the audios, recording ourselves and to practice and review them often. Learning the new sounds of another language takes time and repetition. If it's not convenient to do, it's hard to sustain.

On Duolingo, what we consider “essential” words and phrases for travel are scattered throughout numerous lessons. You have to go through all kinds of other vocabulary to find the ones you want. And many other free sites have essential first words and phrases, but few have audios and none have recording features.

Not surprisingly, we found that people appreciated our attempts to use the local language. For us it was a way to show respect. And, even a few words were helpful in small local shops, although in Prague's restaurants and hotels many speak English.

Our Budapest Eureka

After a wonderful week in Prague, we took a train to Budapest. Buda Castle view across the Danube from PestAs we had only planned to stay there for three days, we didn't  put the same effort into learning essential Hungarian phrases as we had done with Czech.

However, breakfast in our hotel showed us that just a simple “Thank you” in the local language can bring a smile to even a taciturn waiter: As we ordered from the Menu, the waiter was silent and appeared quite tense. When he brought our plates, Ulrike thanked him with a friendly “Köszönöm".

This little word was all it took for him to lighten up. He then told us in broken English that he had been to England, but had not really learned enough English there, that he wanted to continue learning, etc. We gave him some suggestions for language sites and he shared some of his experiences in England. That was a really nice travel moment!

We realized in Budapest that we were in a similar situation as many travelers to Europe who take river cruises or organized trips through several countries: No time (or plan) to really learn another foreign language, but interested in just practicing some essential words and phrases for a next trip.

Lingo-Late.com Beginnings

Lingo-Late.com Home PageWhen we reserved the URL Lingo-Late.com, we wanted to attract a target audience, i.e. adults “later in life”, say 55+. But, we also wanted to suggest that you can learn +/- 50 essential words and phrases "late", i.e. in the last couple of weeks before your trip. Maybe you'll only remember the first 10-20, but this will still be better than knowing none at all.

Based on our own experiences, we thought that the first batch of 11 should include yes, and no, excuse me, please, and thank you, as well as the basic greetings. Lesson two includes the typical “Where is...” questions that many tourists will want to ask. In the third lesson, you learn directional responses i.e. left, right, straight ahead, etc. The lessons after that will include food and restaurant-related words and phrases as well as the basic numbers.

Our lessons have a simple format:
1. 11-15 words and phrases in the foreign language with the English translation below.
2. The foreign language audio that can be replayed as many times as wanted.
3. A recording feature that lets you repeat the foreign word or phrase and compare yourself to the foreign speaker.

We feel that a recording feature even for some very simple words and phrases is essential: Not only will saying them aloud make you remember them better, but hearing and comparing yourself to the foreign speaker will really sharpen your pronunciation.

As of May 2019 we have posted the first 36 words and phrases (3 lessons) for German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Icelandic, and the first lesson (11 words) for Dutch and Danish.

Why Portuguese and Icelandic?Essential Portuguese 1 - The first 11 Phrases

In March, we spent a week in Lisbon, Portugal and had the perfect occasion to try out our Lingo-Late idea firsthand. It worked great. But we have to admit, that knowing other Romance languages such as Spanish, Italian and French also helped. Still, without also learning and practicing the rather-different Portuguese pronunciation of similar Spanish words, we'd have missed quite a bit.

We added Icelandic, as our son and his family will spend a week in Iceland this summer and want to also learn and practice some essential Icelandic words and phrases. And of course, Iceland is also on our own travel list.

Next steps?

Once we have added the first +/- 50 words and phrases for most of the European languages, we plan to add some simple and entertaining games and quizzes as well. Might as well have fun learning.

We also have to do more work on our website, make it easier to find languages and lessons, etc. As we build our audience and users, we'd like to hear from travelers and share their stories of how learning local words and phrases made their visit of a place more enjoyable and interesting. And who knows, maybe we'll expand the vocabulary from their stories and suggestions a little further.

If you have any suggestions or stories to share, please comment below or send us a note at contact@gamesforlanguage.com.

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