Our Senior Content Creator, John, is moonlighting at a new website: And Good Is. If you have enjoyed his work here, then you might like it over there, too. If you hate his work, then you might at least be reassured to see that the Americans are given equal time.
One of the great things about living in America is the possibility to immerse into our own version of Germany, without having to travel to the real one. The following are some impressions of the Wurstfest 2009 in New Braunfels, a Texas town that takes pride in its rich German heritage.
Even the cloudy skies and pouring down rain on this cool November Sunday couldn’t put a damper on the spirits of the attendees determined to grab a Wurstkabob, wear a silly hat, and find a partner for some Texas two-stepping to the oom paa band’s blaring polka music in the Wursthalle.
You know it’s going to be a good fest, when even the parking attendants are in the spirit.
The food selection was a bit unique, but still featured the traditional German dishes of Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, potato salad, Wurst-N-Taschen, and Wursttacos along side the special fair foods like fried pickles.
Unfortunately, the sausage cheese balls were sold out already.
But the Trichter Kuchen was still selling like hot cakes.
For 5 drink tickets, domestic malty beverages were available, and for a one ticket upgrade you could enjoy a Paulaner Hefeweizen in a commerative plastic souvenir cup.
The plastic mug was not the only authentic German souvenir availabe.
The highlite of course, as in all American Gervarian fests, was the chicken dance.
Fun was had by all.
Nothing for UnGood is extremely pleased to announce that the book is now available in bookstores in and around Germany.
We also sincerely apologize for the website’s neglect in recent time, which was caused in part by the author getting a day job, buying his first house and marrying his first wife.
Also, he has finally saved enough money to travel back to Germany for the first time in over two years coming up this spring, for further research into transatlantic cultural peculiarities. Hopefully something funny will happen then.
Germans are great people in general, but their main problem is that they are bad listeners. Their awe-inspiring intrinsic motivation is counteracted only by their lack of ability to listen to what you have to say. Germans don’t just know everything, they know everything better.
This aspect may show itself in a situation where you kindly mention to a German presenter privately after the meeting that in America, we call Umsatz revenue, and not turnover, because turnover in business terms means Fluktuation to us. Despite your decades of experience using your own language, the German will matter of factly tell you that you are wrong.
The most obvious place this defect shows up though, is in the incorrect sounds Germans make to imitate animals. Here is a sample list:
| German Imitation | Actual Sound |
|---|---|
| kee ker ee kee | cocka doodle doo |
| kwock | ribbit |
| vow vow | woof woof |
| vihihihi | neh |
which is why you should buy every German you know Nothing For UnGood the book, which will be hitting book stores in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in November, as the optimal stocking-stuffer this Christmas. Since you will forget by then, you can go ahead and pre-order at Amazon.de or your favorite online retailer now.
The book contains the best articles from the site cleaned up and professionally translated into German, some stuff about John’s personal experiences in Germany, and more answers to questions about our translatlantic misconceptions as a service project for world harmony.