|
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
| December 1999 Newsletter | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
| My Experience in Germany | |||||||||||||||||
 Ever since I visited the TV tower in Hamburg last year, something was yearning inside of me to return. I did - this year, and I achieved something I never knew was possible in me. For those of you who have never heard of or been to the tower, I can tell you that, at 130 metres, this impressive structure offers all a view to remember. After being whisked up to the top in a couple of seconds, the reward is there for all to see - and what a sight it is! All of Hamburg is there at your feet. For a better view one can make use of the many telescopes available for a small charge. But I was not there for the view this time! I was there to face my fears! Standing on a platform 130 metres above the clouds, I was waiting to bungee jump for the first time in my life! There was no point to prove, no death wish - just an urge to fly! When my turn came, I was asked (twice) where I come from. I thought to myself - I must be the first and last Maltese to try this stunt! My ice-cold state of mentality quickly changed to unease when I looked down. There was no time to turn back. This is it! 3-2-1- take off. The pull of the rubber chord comes as a relief. The dangling and the endless turning around finally ceases. I am safe - and alive! Strangely enough I think about an encore, but not in Hamburg. No, somewhere higher up! (Michael Pisani) The Munich Oktoberfest - known by the locals as the "Wiesn" - is the biggest public festival in the world and this year was held for the 166th time. I went to this festival this year and I can say that it was a fantastic experience and that I will look forward to go there each year if I can! Each year, the Oktoberfest is attended by around 6 million visitors, who drink around 5 million litres of beer and consume over 200,000 pairs of pork sausages - mostly in the "beer tents" put up by the traditional Munich breweries. At the foot of the Bavarian statue, the huge Oktoberfest grounds also provide carousels, roller coasters and all the spectacular fun of the fair for the enjoyment and excitement of visitors of all ages. A program of events, including the Grand entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries, the Costume and Riflemen's procession, and a concert of all the brass bands accompanies the festivities. The Costume and Riflemen's Procession gives an impressive insight into the fascinating diversity of customs rooted in the heart of Bavaria, in Franconia, Swabia, the states of Germany and in neighbouring European countries. A varied succession of regional costume groups, "troops" in historical uniforms, marching bands, riflemen, thoroughbred horses, oxen, cows, goats, the decorated drays of the Munich breweries, floats displaying typical local traditions and historic carriages all pass by in a 7-kilometre-long procession through the streets of the city centre. Ribbed trees, harvest garlands, craftsmen's tools from bygone days, harvest produce, dancers decorated with flowers, stars and crowns, trumpeters on horse back, and a host of other performers transform this traditional Munich procession into a brilliant highlight on the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest. About 7000 performers are involved. The beer tents at the Oktoberfest grounds are always full, everyone drinking and eating with a great atmosphere with the brass bands performing well-known tunes. Anyway, if you have never visited this great event that is held every year, next year be sure that you'll go to Munich for the Oktoberfest, the fun is guaranteed! (Pierre Mifsud) Reminiscing my childhood days I remember clearly my mother trying to keep me quiet and away from any mischief by narrating a story taking place in a huge castle standing amongst mountains. The picture of the castle was and still is in my mother's bedroom. As a young child I used to roam in my imagination and I vividly pictured the inside of the castle. Luckily my imagination became reality during my last summer holiday in Germany. One of my targets was to reach this castle and discover the beauty surrounding it. This I succeeded to do after all! My trip to Neuschwanstein was strangely different as I felt that I already knew the place. This castle is situated in the South of Germany in the Bavarian region, close to the mountains. On reaching Füssen I realised that I was really close, so I eagerly started looking all around and searching for a castle. Surprisingly enough instead of one castle I saw two of them, one of which I recognised - Neuschwanstein. At that moment I felt as if I were a child again and in no time I wanted to reach it. Following advice given by some people from that locality I took the remote path through the so called Canyon. Although it was a quite tough and long way up hill it was certainly the best way as all along this path there was a gushing waterfall and some 150 meters high up there was a bridge which I was meant to reach. Once I reached my destination the beautiful scenarios around made me forget my tiredness. There were two beautiful lakes of Alpsee and Foggensee separated by valleys. My next task was to get the tickets to enter into this Cinderella castle which task was to my dismay a difficult one. Hundreds of tourists from all over the world queued to buy tickets. After about 90 minutes I succeeded to get the tickets and get in. Standing close to the castle I could appreciate better its majesty. Neuschwanstein was built during the reign of King Ludwig of Bavaria in the 19th century. He was an eccentric king who lived in a fantasy world of his own. Inside the castle I got carried away trying to observe all the different things around and appreciating the richness and detail in the work of art of the sculpture, wall paintings and furniture. From the windows in the east wing of the castle, just beneath one could see the other castle Hohenschwangau where King Ludwig lived in his childhood days. Although King Ludwig spent a fortune to complete this majestic castle he only had the benefit to live in it for three months, as soon after he died. The general opinion of the German people about the King at that time was not so positive as he had spent all the money of the Bavarian people to construct his castles. However, this castle turned out to be a heritage. The king's plan was far much better than investing money in wars which was something so common in those days. Soon after the death of the King the castle was open to the public. Definitely with such an international tourist attraction the Bavarian region has gained it's worth. Back in Malta still enjoy looking at the picture of the castle as I now truly know the place which fascinated my childhood imagination. (Elaine Pace Moore) 
My first encounter with Germans and the German language goes back thirteen years when, as a choir boy, I used to sing hymns during a mass in German, held at St. Barbara's church, Valletta. Since then, I have always deeply desired to visit Germany on day. The chance to do so came this Summer when I had the opportunity to participate in a youth exchange program between Maltese and Germans. Refreshing, enriching and breathtaking. These three words capture the essence of what this youth exchange was to me. During this exchange my Maltese friends and I stayed at
Rathenow, a city in the Brandenburg region. Thanks to the program that was diligently prepared by the German youths, each day of this stay in Germany was clock full with energizing sports activities, exciting entertainment and visits to picturesque towns and villages. Amongst the places of interest that we visited were
Goslar, Potsdam, Thale, the Harz mountains, Berlin and Kampehl. I found the activities very interesting because most of them were new to me. The activities included:
gokarting, sailing, German bowling, self-defence, canoeing and playing tennis on clay courts. As the days passed the level of interaction between the Germans and us Maltese intensified. The type of interaction varied from the cracking of jokes to intellectual discussions on various topics. For me this youth exchange was fantastic because it included a bit of everything. And it is precisely the diversity within this package labeled "youth exchange" that has enriched me socially, and culturally. From my previous experience as a tourist in holidays organised by a travel agency, I have found that everything is already time-tabled, that the participants are more on the receiving end, and that there is very little space for direct interaction with the people of the host country. The exchange in Germany was completely different from other holidays. This time the Germans and the Maltese group were all within the same bracket. This fact put us all on the same level and was conducive to the build-up of a strong emotional bond, and to an atmosphere in which cultural exchange between the two groups could occur spontaneously. For me and the rest of the Maltese group this youth exchange was uplifting because the entire program was set up in a way that gave us ample space to be active participants rather than just passive observers. This active participation in the youth program reached a climax during our preparation for the Maltese night. All of us worked together as one team: some of us cooked traditional Maltese food, others set up an exhibition on Malta, whilst the rest rehearsed folk songs and the Maltese traditional dance. The whole activity was really fabulous because we had space to improvise and to be creative. The Maltese night was an occasion where each one of us found the outlet to use his/her own talents. After all that hard work it was a real satisfaction to see the Germans enjoying every bit of it. Very often we hear that when one is abroad, one is an ambassador for his/her country. Although this may be a cliché, it is very true. In fact, unknowingly, I did best to give the best impression I could of Malta and its people. On various occasions I used to find myself answering questions put by the German youths who were very eager to know about Maltese culture. This made me feel more Maltese in Germany than when I was in Malta. The reason may be in the fact that when two cultures are juxtaposed, the beauty and identity of each becomes more visible. The visit of the Maltese group to Germany was only part of the exchange. The Germans came over to Malta two weeks later. Once again the company of the German youths proved to be fulfilling and satisfying. When they were in Malta I really used to admire their sense of self-discipline and punctuality. It's a pity that sometimes I failed to communicate well with some of the youths due to the language barrier. It is precisely this reality which has served as a spring board for me to start learning German. I hope that in the near future I will be able to send the e-mails to my German friends in their own language. When a sculptor decides to create a statue he can already visualize the figure in the block of marble. With every blow of his scalpel he removes the excess material from around the figure. With every strike of the sculptor's scalpel the figure liberates itself a bit further. As it slowly emerges from the block of marble it gradually gains identity. Just as the sculptor transforms his block of marble, so did this experience bring about a change in my way of thinking. This experience has liberated me in that it has exposed me to new horizons beyond the shores of my country. This exposure has in turn put more colour to my knowledge, and has also increased my appreciation to the culture that surrounds me in my everyday life. (Hadrian Sciberras)
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Wie wird das Wetter ? Eine wichtige Frage in Deutschland |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Wohl in jedem Land innerhalb der gemäßigten Klimazonen gibt es Sprichwörter, Bauernregeln und weise Redensarten, die über das zu erwartende Wetter etwas aussagen - oder aussagen sollen. Oft sind diese Aussprüche aufgrund uralter Erfahrungen entstanden und relativ stimmig. Sie schließen Naturbeobachtungen ein, die auf ein aufmerksames Leben in Wäldern und Feldern deuten, etwas, das im beschäftigten Europa heute eher seltener vorkommt. Ich habe einige dieser Regeln für Sie gesammelt, und wenn Sie genauer hinschauen, sprechen sie nicht nur von dem zu erwartenden Wetter sondern weisen häufig auf althergebrachte Bräuche und Lebensformen hin. Eines haben sie gemeinsam: sie stammen alle aus Agrargebieten im deutschsprachigen Raum und aus Zeiten, in denen die Bevölkerung auf gute Ernte angewiesen war - lange vor der Erfindung des Tiefkühlschrankes. • Januar weiß - der Sommer heiß, Januar warm - dass Gott erbarm'! • Mariä Lichtmess (2. Februar) hell und klar, zeigt viel Schnee noch an fürwahr. • Friert's am Märtyrertag (10. März), gibt's vierzig Nächte Frost danach. • Märzenschnee tut den Saaten weh. • April, April, der macht was er will. • Mai kühl und nass, füllt dem Bauern Scheuer und Fass. • Mairegen auf die Saaten - dann regnet's Dukaten. • Wenn es am Siebenschläfer (27. Juni) regnet, sind sieben Wochen mit Regen gesegnet. • Regnet's am Magdalenentag (22. Juli), folgt gewiss mehr Regen nach. • Mariä Himmelfahrt (15. August) klar und Sonnenschein, bringt viel Obst und guten Wein. • Je trockener der Herbst, je kälter der Winter. • Dezember kalt mit Schnee - gibt Korn auf jeder Höh', Dezember lau und lind - der ganze Winter ein Kind. Diese Sprüche decken den gesamten Jahreszyklus. Sorge um Feldfrüchte und Wein spielen die größte Rolle und waren mit Kälte und Frost ausschlaggebende Faktoren für ein Überleben in Zeiten, da Kriege häufig die Ländereien verwüsteten und Transportmöglichkeiten für verderbliche Güter praktisch fehlten. Zum Abschluss eine ganz einfache Regel und leicht zu behalten: Abendrot - gut Wetter Bot', Morgenrot - schlecht Wetter droht. Und vielleicht kann Ihnen ein Meteorologe auch erklären, warum das so sein soll! (Ingrid B. Kidder)
Blau ist mit Abstand die Lieblingsfarbe der Deutschen. Im Rahmen einer Studie eines großen Verlages entschieden sich von 10076 Befragten 24,8 Prozent für diese Farbe. Rot landete auf dem zweiten Platz (14,3 Prozent), Grün auf dem dritten (13,4). Ganz unten auf der Beliebtheitsskala rangieren Rosa (2,8) und Grau (2,6). Die Studie brachte auch zutage, daß Blau-Fans japanische Autos, Grün-Fans den Audi und Schwarz-Liebhaber BMW favorisieren. Blau- und Gelb-Typen haben am liebsten eine Katze als Haustier, Grüne einen Hund. Rot-Fans sind außerdem besonders starke Kaffeetrinker. |
|||||||||||||||||
|
© 2006 German-Maltese Circle. All rights reserved. Terms of Use - Disclaimer
|
|||||||||||||||||
General Secretary, Mr Victor Sammut represented the German-Maltese Circle in the Malta Trade & Tourism promotion which was organised in Bremen between the 22nd and 25th November by the Management im Handel e.V., Musik im Management e.V. and the Hochschule Bremen. The programme of events included Information Stands by various Maltese trade and tourism organisations, including a stand mounted by the German-Maltese Circle, promotion symposia, an exhibition of sculptures by Joe Xuereb and of paintings by Alfred Chircop, a Get-Together with the participation of the Val Valente Jazz Quartett and a concert by the Lübeck Symphony Orchestra and the Hochschule Bremen Choir, both directed by Mro Joseph Sammut. The Orchestra and Choir executed works by Joe Vella, Joseph Sammut, Charles Camilleri and Carmelo Pace. This Concert which was very well attended was hosted by Bürgermeister Dr. Henning Scherf and by Malta's Vice-Premier, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, in the Rathaus. Concurrent with this event, Malta's Ambassador in Germany, Mr William Spiteri hosted the bi-annual meeting of all Consuls of Malta operating in Germany. Mr Sammut had the opportunity of renewing contacts with these Consuls and plans were discussed with a view of promoting more cultural events. The Circle's Secretary was also engaged in talks with the Hochschule Bremen who are expected to launch a scheme of student exchange to Malta.