Living in Germany: Falling in love with learning German, autumn colours and back to the DDR

Falling in love with learning German 

As many of you will be aware, learning a foreign language can be a love/hate experience. Sometimes it’s rewarding and you feel like a super-human for managing to communicate in another language. But often it’s frustrating when you can’t seem to get your point across in the way you’d like. When moving abroad to a country where you have to get to grips with (at least the basics) of another language, you can find yourself stuck in a rut. Or bogged down by bureaucratic vocabulary. We wrote recently about how to get back into the groove of learning German - whether it’s taking up a hobby in your German town or city, playing games, socialising or checking out a German film or TV show. Trying out some of these things is sure to spark your interest in learning new words or picking up grammar tips away from a classroom. What’s helped you fall in love with learning German? Let us know by emailing [email protected].

Coming up on our Germany in Focus podcast, The Local team will be sharing some of the things that have helped us improve our language skills while living in Germany. In the latest episode of our podcast we discuss Covid rules and how the German government is preparing for a winter wave, the minimum wage increase, energy changes  and some cool German festivals. You can listen HERE. 

Tweet of the week

Hambury and Barlen? This map from a Reddit user is a version of Germany with English-equivalent names. 

https://twitter.com/EmpTigerstar/status/1575550794618716160?s=20&t=r--SrR-A4YC-kEW0ZkH0uA

Where is this?

Blue skies and the beginnings of autumn oranges and yellows could be seen clearly on Thursday at the Kammberg, a scenic viewpoint in the Thuringian Forest near Gräfenroda. After a cold start to autumn in Germany, there have been a few stunning days this week across the country. Let’s hope we can enjoy some calm weather in the coming days to get out and explore. 

Did you know?

For those interested in German history, there’s a way to travel back in time to the German Democratic Republic (GDR). A museum in Saxony has recreated a traditional East German Plattenbau apartment. From typical GDR furniture and crockery to small details like butter and beer in original packaging, it truly is 1983 in the DDR Museum Pirna, south east of Dresden. The museum’s specially built apartment opened in September and it is hoped that it will attract more visitors to the area. The items come from the collection of Roland Schmidt, who is the former head of the Auerbach housing cooperative. He said they were “German cultural assets” and he hopes the exhibition will help show young people how East Germans lived back then. Keep a look out for toys of the era and popular plush figures like Pittiplatsch, Schnatterinchen and Moppi on display in the children's room.