Word for the Travel Wise (07/30/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

A close pal of mine just took off to Germany earlier this week and I’m going to guess she’s probably not reading Gadling, but for those of us who didn’t make it this time looking to brush up on our German before heading out and over, this word is for you…

Today’s word is a German word used in Germany:

durchgeknallt – when somebody just lost it, blown

You can find audio and German slang at BBC Languages, who continue to impress on the online scene. They probably have one of the BEST FREE German language guides on the net. Make no mistake in passing this one up! When it boils down to it there are several good sites to learn the Deutsch lingo. Deutsch Lernen and German for Travellers are two other good picks. First Step World offers study abroad courses in Munich and Berlin.

Past German words: vorglühen(s), krieger, bolzen

The Happiest Country on Earth is…

by Adrienne Wilson on

For those of you unfamiliar with the reality TV series Survivor or have better things to do with your time than watch average folk battle it our for prizes and such by competing in gladiator type competitions, you may not be familiar Vanuatu. Perhaps, you’re fortunate enough to know about the group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean without the help of television and if you are you may also like to know that Vanuatu has ranked tops as the world’s happiest country. According to this Yahoo News piece, a study measuring people’s wellbeing and their impact on the environment has ranked Vanuatu at the top with Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, and Panama trailing close behind to complete the world’s top 5 happiest places to reside. Not really surprising if you ask me. Islands always come off as cheerful places to me and having been to Costa Rica myself, I could certainly see myself living there. As far as Vanuatu is concerned – I’d love to go there as much as I’d love to go to Somalia. Happiness is what you make it.

The Happy Planet Index is complied by the British New Economics Foundation (NEF) and also combines life satisfaction, life expectancy and environmental footprint to rank countries. Hopefully the results won’t drive herds of shutter-bug tourists to happy little Vanuatu or away from Zimbabwe, an African country my friend finds as one of the best, but ranks 178 on the list. The U.S. comes in at 150, Canada (111), France (129), Germany (81), Japan (95) and Russia (172).

What do you think? Agree or disagree? What do you consider the happiest place on Earth?

Red Corner: Berlin Happenings in English

by Neil Woodburn on

It seems that every capital in Eastern Europe these days has its own English language newspaper or magazine.

Berlin is no exception. I just ran across the newest of such publications the other day, EXBERLINER. While its online portion is rather anemic, the website does list all the topics covered in the print edition available throughout the city.

The cover story for the July/August issue, Berlin Revisited: 62 ways to experience Berlin off the tourist path, sounds like a good start for exactly the type of magazine I want to get my hands on while traveling. The magazine also has regular features covering film, stage, music and seemingly most everything else happening in this bustling metropolis.

Berlin is big city; having a publication of what’s happening in English makes it all the more manageable. So, hats off to the publishers. Now, if they can only beef up their online site…

Brits Drink Germans Dry

by Erik Olsen on

God bless them. Even though the Brits lost and are no longer part of the World Cup competition, countrymen all over Germany are showing that they’ve got the mettle to drink the country dry. Of course, the Germans knew what was coming. They tried to plan for the heavy-drinking Brits. But alas, in the end, the quaffing was just too much, and the 70,000 or so English fans who came to Deutschland drank some 1.2 million pints of beer, an average of 17 pints each hooligan…er person. A German beerkeeper said he had never “seen so many drink so much in such little time.” Let us raise a glass on this fine Fourth of July weekend for our brethren overthe pond. Here here, and God save the Queen.

Friday Funny: What’s With the Germans?

by Erik Olsen on

As a friend of mine pointed out in a recent email, yes, the Germans may be a soccer powerhouse, but when it comes to taste, well, they are probably not going to finish up high in a World Cup of Culture anytime soon. What evidence do I muster to make such an argument?

Well, I urge you to watch, if just for a brief moment (because you wil not likely be able to stomach more), what horrors the Germans hath wrought by so avidly supporting one of our very own. Yes, we are complicit in the creation of the Hasselhoff phenom, but in the end, it is the Germans who have allowed him to flourish.