(This article first appeared online on 20th September 2023 in Mint Lounge, India and in print on page 14 on 21 September https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/discover/munich-germany-oktoberfest-food-111695162327406.html)
Showing posts with label GERMANY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GERMANY. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Nostalgia—The Berlin Way!
Once a divided city split in two by a mighty wall, Berlin still pays homage to its communist past in myriad ways. Raul Dias takes you to a few iconic places in the German capital that both reference and celebrate this nostalgia equally.
By Raul Dias
Visiting a city like the German capital of Berlin taught me a very important lesson. And that is, that the feelings of nostalgia cannot be compartmentalised into rigid boxes of ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ memories of the past. Even though most of us, including myself, tend to lean towards the former as we reminisce of the good old days. I also learnt that the past cannot be ignored and white washed over!
In the few days spent there, I noticed that some of the most visited attractions in the city are those that reference the city’s divided, pre-1990 past so very well. The Berliners have even coined a very interesting phrase to represent their very own brand of nostalgia. They call it ‘Ostalgie’. Simply put, Ostalgie is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia) and one that popped up almost everywhere I went.
But, having said that, I found it represented the best in the following attractions and sites around Berlin:
East Side Gallery
I cannot possibly kick start this list without one of the most iconic and obvious remnants of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) taking top billing! Yes, I’m talking about the mighty Berlin Wall. Though most of the wall has be razed there are parts of it scattered across the city that still give you a good look and feel. Once such place is the East Side Gallery that lies between the Berlin Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaumbrücke, located right next to the River Spree. Parts of the Berlin Wall are still there and street artists from all over the world have immortalised their work on the wall, which makes it a 1,316-meter-long piece of art. 118 artists from 21 countries painted on the wall in 1990, and since then it’s one of the most famous monuments in Germany.
Checkpoint Charlie
Another must-visit, given the sheer number of selfie-hungry tourists that swing by it is the infamous Checkpoint Charlie. A former border crossing at Friedrichstrasse, it was managed by the Allies during World War II and in 1961, the U.S and the Soviet tanks had a confrontation here. Checkpoint Charlie also served as a place where many tried to escape from East Berlin. Do make sure to check out the wall museum, as you can explore things which were used to escape underneath or over the wall and read stories of the refugees. The museum does serve to keep their memories alive, as it rightly should...
DDR Museum
Another must-visit Ostalgie strong-hold is the DDR Museum. Located right in the center of Berlin across from the Berliner Dom, the museum is perhaps one of the first places to go if you want to learn more about East German history in the city. This interactive museum has exhibitions that are all about the daily life in the former DDR in all its morbid glory! From the Stasi secret police, the Trabant car to the rather stark and austere DDR style housing and plenty more. Here is where you will get to immerse yourself into a different time and experience 40 years of the DDR.
Unterwelten
Speaking of an ‘immersion’, how about doing so literally? Descend into the bowels of the city and get yourself a piece of history in a place that is as different from a museum or a monument as it can possibly be. I’m talking of Berlin’s Unterwelten. Most people would not have been to a bunker or an abandoned U-Bahn tunnel, so now’s your chance. The Berlin Unterwelten offers five daily English tours through subterranean Berlin. You can experience World War II bombing raids through the eyes of citizens, see a former mother and child bunker or walk through the escape tunnels under the Berlin Wall.
Dinner and a movie, perhaps?
The city’s stunning Karl-Marx-Allee boasts two of the DDR’s cult cinemas, the Kino Kosmos and the Kino International—both offering you a different twist on your normal movie night. Kino Kosmos has a mammoth 3,400 seats and was the DDR’s largest cinema. Its architecture and typography will transport you in a different time. Still on the Karl-Marx-Allee, Café Sibylle offers cinemagoers a convenient option for a pre- or post-cinema coffee. The café exhibits authentic DDR flair with original painted murals covering its walls and everyday objects from 1950s East Germany dotted around its rooms.
(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 23rd June2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/weekend/how-berlin-has-kept-its-nostalgia-intact)
By Raul Dias
Visiting a city like the German capital of Berlin taught me a very important lesson. And that is, that the feelings of nostalgia cannot be compartmentalised into rigid boxes of ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ memories of the past. Even though most of us, including myself, tend to lean towards the former as we reminisce of the good old days. I also learnt that the past cannot be ignored and white washed over!
In the few days spent there, I noticed that some of the most visited attractions in the city are those that reference the city’s divided, pre-1990 past so very well. The Berliners have even coined a very interesting phrase to represent their very own brand of nostalgia. They call it ‘Ostalgie’. Simply put, Ostalgie is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia) and one that popped up almost everywhere I went.
But, having said that, I found it represented the best in the following attractions and sites around Berlin:
East Side Gallery
I cannot possibly kick start this list without one of the most iconic and obvious remnants of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) taking top billing! Yes, I’m talking about the mighty Berlin Wall. Though most of the wall has be razed there are parts of it scattered across the city that still give you a good look and feel. Once such place is the East Side Gallery that lies between the Berlin Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaumbrücke, located right next to the River Spree. Parts of the Berlin Wall are still there and street artists from all over the world have immortalised their work on the wall, which makes it a 1,316-meter-long piece of art. 118 artists from 21 countries painted on the wall in 1990, and since then it’s one of the most famous monuments in Germany.
Checkpoint Charlie
Another must-visit, given the sheer number of selfie-hungry tourists that swing by it is the infamous Checkpoint Charlie. A former border crossing at Friedrichstrasse, it was managed by the Allies during World War II and in 1961, the U.S and the Soviet tanks had a confrontation here. Checkpoint Charlie also served as a place where many tried to escape from East Berlin. Do make sure to check out the wall museum, as you can explore things which were used to escape underneath or over the wall and read stories of the refugees. The museum does serve to keep their memories alive, as it rightly should...
DDR Museum
Another must-visit Ostalgie strong-hold is the DDR Museum. Located right in the center of Berlin across from the Berliner Dom, the museum is perhaps one of the first places to go if you want to learn more about East German history in the city. This interactive museum has exhibitions that are all about the daily life in the former DDR in all its morbid glory! From the Stasi secret police, the Trabant car to the rather stark and austere DDR style housing and plenty more. Here is where you will get to immerse yourself into a different time and experience 40 years of the DDR.
Unterwelten
Speaking of an ‘immersion’, how about doing so literally? Descend into the bowels of the city and get yourself a piece of history in a place that is as different from a museum or a monument as it can possibly be. I’m talking of Berlin’s Unterwelten. Most people would not have been to a bunker or an abandoned U-Bahn tunnel, so now’s your chance. The Berlin Unterwelten offers five daily English tours through subterranean Berlin. You can experience World War II bombing raids through the eyes of citizens, see a former mother and child bunker or walk through the escape tunnels under the Berlin Wall.
Dinner and a movie, perhaps?
The city’s stunning Karl-Marx-Allee boasts two of the DDR’s cult cinemas, the Kino Kosmos and the Kino International—both offering you a different twist on your normal movie night. Kino Kosmos has a mammoth 3,400 seats and was the DDR’s largest cinema. Its architecture and typography will transport you in a different time. Still on the Karl-Marx-Allee, Café Sibylle offers cinemagoers a convenient option for a pre- or post-cinema coffee. The café exhibits authentic DDR flair with original painted murals covering its walls and everyday objects from 1950s East Germany dotted around its rooms.
(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 23rd June2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/weekend/how-berlin-has-kept-its-nostalgia-intact)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Christmas with a Difference
Christmas isn’t always about genial Santas, mistletoes and mugs of mulled wine. Raul Dias introduces you to a few alternative and decidedly wacky Christmas traditions around the world.
By Raul Dias
In a little under two days’ time, most of the world will celebrate Christmas Day as we know it. Replete with all the Advent accoutrements pat in place. Read: carol singing, steaming mugs of mulled wine, nativity pageants and portly, white-bearded Santas frolicking about the place. But before we get carried away with all the above mentioned—and dare-we-say, cliched—merriment montages, it is pertinent to note that that’s not necessarily how the season’s festivities are represented everywhere. Remember we said ‘most’ and not ‘all over’ the world!
Here are a few such interesting, out-of-the-box and downright bizarre ways in which the world celebrates the birthday of Lord Jesus:
The ‘anti-Santa’
This scary Austrian version of Santa, aka. Krampus really knows how to show those kids who’ve been bad, his…well, bad side! The ghoulish, hooved and horned creature that stems from Alpine folklore is believed to be the evil accomplice of St Nicholas and is said to wander the streets in search of badly-behaved children. During the month of December, you can expect to see terrifying masked figures out and about scaring kids and adults alike with ghastly pranks. The Krampus myth is so popular in Austria that there is even an annual Krampus parade in the capital Vienna.
In a finger lickin’ mood, anyone?
Forget the Japanese language version of the “Merry Christmas!” greeting. For nearly five decades the refrain on Christmas Eve in Japan has been “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” (Kentucky for Christmas!). Yes, eating Colonel Sanders’ fried poultry pieces have become a sort of ritual for a true-blue Japanese Christmas Eve. Back in 1974, the American fast-food restaurant giant released a festive marketing campaign in Japan that spawned this rather strange national tradition that still thrives to this day. Families from all over the country head to their local KFC for a special Christmas Eve meal with table reservations being made weeks in advance.
Get, set…skate
There’s a very unique tradition that takes place in Caracas, Venezuela from the 16th to the 24th of December every year, where the city’s streets are closed off for heavy traffic before 8am so that people can go skating. And come Christmas Eve, the streets are closed off the whole day. Local residents then roller skate to church to attend the early morning mass called misa de aguinaldo, shooting off fireworks and shouting out “Jesus is born!” as they skate way.
In a mighty pickle!
Forget those shiny buntings and kiss those cute turtle doves goodbye. In Germany, the must-have Christmas tree ornament has got to be a big green dill pickle. Confused? Well, in this Teutonic nation—where many believe the Christmas tree originated—it is customary to hide a pickle shaped ornament somewhere within the branches of the tree and give a gift to whichever child in the household finds it. According to a legend, two young boys were held captive inside a pickle barrel when the jolly St Nicholas rescued them, bringing them back (and a new tradition) to life.
Barbie and thongs
Do pardon the above sub-header, but this unique Christmas tradition maintained by our antipodean friends from down under in Australia has got nothing whatsoever to do with dolls or underwear! With Australia enjoying sunny Christmas days—what with December being peak summer time—the festivities here are kicked off with family-style barbecues that are affectionately called ‘barbies’ where people come dressed ultra-casually in shorts and sporting ‘thongs’ or flip flops on their feet. Very often, after a typically Aussie Christmas barbie, the action shifts to the local beach for a swim in the waters or simply to lounge about on the sand.
Duck off!
We’ve probably saved the wackiest (and cutest!) of all Christmas traditions for the last, all the way from Sweden. The story goes back to the 1960s when televisions which were relatively new in Sweden aired only two channels. Now, one of these played Disney cartoons at Christmas, and in particular a 1958 Christmas special called “Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul” or “Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas”. Very soon the tradition of watching this particular special took root. So much so that till this day, every Christmas, families around Sweden gather in front of the television set at 3pm sharp, all to watch the antics of a duck named Donald. Interestingly, everything on Christmas Day is planned around the television special that enjoys a viewership of more than 40 per cent of Sweden’s population.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 23rd December 2018 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/christmas-2018-wacky-christmas-traditions-you-may-not-know-about/1420469)
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 23rd December 2018 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/christmas-2018-wacky-christmas-traditions-you-may-not-know-about/1420469)
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Sausagefest
By Raul Dias
Flavours
of the World at Oktoberfest
Over the last couple of years, one sees an interesting food trend emerging out of the mighty tents at Oktoberfest. One that embraces world cuisine with all its might, making the following dishes bona fide Oktoberfest staples and not just exotic flavours of the season:
Over the last couple of years, one sees an interesting food trend emerging out of the mighty tents at Oktoberfest. One that embraces world cuisine with all its might, making the following dishes bona fide Oktoberfest staples and not just exotic flavours of the season:
* Doner Kebab-What the world knows and loves as shawarma, the Germans call doner kebab. This new, Middle
East-originated, Oktoberfest favourite contains rotisserie-style grilled strips
of meat called gyros ensconced in a
warm pita bread along with lettuce, onions and tomatoes, all slathered in a
garlic-y mayonnaise-like sauce called thum.
* Paella-What’s not to love about this fragrant,
saffron-perfumed rice preparation studded with bits of seafood, chicken and
vegetables like peas and sweet bell peppers? And concurring with this
estimation of the Spanish dish are the hordes of people that line the many
stalls at Oktoberfest waiting for a bite of the festival’s favourite comfort
food.
* Burritos-Though not traditionally Mexican, this
Tex-Mex dish—which is the sum of its tomato rice, salsa, refried beans,
guacamole, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and roast meat parts, all wrapped in a
flour tortilla—is perfect for soaking up all that post-revellery alcohol!
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the September 2018 issue of Jetwings International in-flight magazine of Jet Airways http://www.jetairways.com/EN/IN/jetexperience/magazines.aspx)
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Gardens of the Bard
For many, the
concept of a literary garden evokes William Shakespeare and a sweet-perfumed floral
arrangement of rosemary, violets, lilies and roses that find fond mention in
the Bard’s works. No great surprise then, Shakespeare Gardens can be found all
over the world with some landscaped in the style popular during his lifetime,
while some, a riot of flowers, herbs and other botanicals. We take you to a
few…
By Raul Dias
“I
know a bank where the wild thyme blows
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.”
—A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.”
—A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare’s
Flowers at the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
The Golden Gate Park is a mammoth, urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds with everything from a well-appointed Japanese Tea Garden to hosting the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. But neatly tucked away at the intersection of the garden’s Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Middle Drive East is a fecund spot with a sundial at its dead centre. Simply called Shakespeare’s Flowers, this Shakespeare Garden was planted in 1928 under the patronage of Alice Eastwood, the then director of botany for the Academy of Sciences. With over 200 flowers and plants lining this modest-sized garden, visitors can find visual, floral references to the Bard’s staggering body of work. Here, bronze plagues are engraved with notable quotations from his historic comedies, tragedies, and sonnets that accompany the floral arrangements.
Entry: Free
The Golden Gate Park is a mammoth, urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds with everything from a well-appointed Japanese Tea Garden to hosting the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. But neatly tucked away at the intersection of the garden’s Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Middle Drive East is a fecund spot with a sundial at its dead centre. Simply called Shakespeare’s Flowers, this Shakespeare Garden was planted in 1928 under the patronage of Alice Eastwood, the then director of botany for the Academy of Sciences. With over 200 flowers and plants lining this modest-sized garden, visitors can find visual, floral references to the Bard’s staggering body of work. Here, bronze plagues are engraved with notable quotations from his historic comedies, tragedies, and sonnets that accompany the floral arrangements.
Entry: Free
The
Shakespeare Park
at Herzogspark, Regensburg
Germany’s south-eastern city of Regensburg in Bavaria is famous for its location, as it is situated at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. But its greatest calling card to a die-hard Shakespeare fan is the Herzogpark—a tiny, municipal park with an even smaller botanical garden dedicated to William Shakespeare. The Shakespeare Park is designed as an alpine garden meets Renaissance garden, replete with bell flowers, carnations, primroses, and rhododendrons, besides of course, a rose garden. Set in the Renaissance style of geometric parterres edged by boxwood hedges, the Shakespeare Park is a peaceful nook where you can almost always find someone sitting on one its low, stone benches, engrossed in a book.
Entry: Free
Germany’s south-eastern city of Regensburg in Bavaria is famous for its location, as it is situated at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. But its greatest calling card to a die-hard Shakespeare fan is the Herzogpark—a tiny, municipal park with an even smaller botanical garden dedicated to William Shakespeare. The Shakespeare Park is designed as an alpine garden meets Renaissance garden, replete with bell flowers, carnations, primroses, and rhododendrons, besides of course, a rose garden. Set in the Renaissance style of geometric parterres edged by boxwood hedges, the Shakespeare Park is a peaceful nook where you can almost always find someone sitting on one its low, stone benches, engrossed in a book.
Entry: Free
Shakespeare
Garden at Johannesburg Botanical Garden, Johannesburg
Gritty and chaotic Jo’berg—as the locals call their city of Johannesburg—is probably the last place on earth you’d expect to find a Shakespeare Garden. But this 81-hectare large green lung, situated in the otherwise bleak suburb of Emmarentia harbours a beautiful little secret at its very center. Established as a rose garden in 1964, the Shakespeare Garden has over 10,000 roses in bloom almost every day, besides a fine collection of herbs like rosemary and thyme as mentioned in the Bard’s plays. Being in Africa, the garden that overlooks the Emmarentia Dam, has an abundance of local bird life, such as ibises and weavers, and one can even feed the ducks and geese at Bird Island. And during concert season expect to be enthralled by a Shakespearean performance or two.
Entry: Free
Gritty and chaotic Jo’berg—as the locals call their city of Johannesburg—is probably the last place on earth you’d expect to find a Shakespeare Garden. But this 81-hectare large green lung, situated in the otherwise bleak suburb of Emmarentia harbours a beautiful little secret at its very center. Established as a rose garden in 1964, the Shakespeare Garden has over 10,000 roses in bloom almost every day, besides a fine collection of herbs like rosemary and thyme as mentioned in the Bard’s plays. Being in Africa, the garden that overlooks the Emmarentia Dam, has an abundance of local bird life, such as ibises and weavers, and one can even feed the ducks and geese at Bird Island. And during concert season expect to be enthralled by a Shakespearean performance or two.
Entry: Free
The
Vienna Shakespeare Garden at the Kagran School Gardens, Vienna
The newest Shakespeare Garden on our list that opened a little over a decade ago in 2005, The Vienna Shakespeare Garden is one of the best homages to the Bard. One enters this arboreal paradise through the ‘Laburnum Walk’, a floral tunnel created solely out of laburnum plants and is greeted by five distinct beds of flowers. A shady bed, a bed with afternoon sun, a magnificent display bed, a herbal bed and a classic English-style flower bed where each plant features a corresponding quote from a selection of Shakespearean literature. In fact, the garden even has a sign indicating the direction and distance of Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon!
Entry: Free
The newest Shakespeare Garden on our list that opened a little over a decade ago in 2005, The Vienna Shakespeare Garden is one of the best homages to the Bard. One enters this arboreal paradise through the ‘Laburnum Walk’, a floral tunnel created solely out of laburnum plants and is greeted by five distinct beds of flowers. A shady bed, a bed with afternoon sun, a magnificent display bed, a herbal bed and a classic English-style flower bed where each plant features a corresponding quote from a selection of Shakespearean literature. In fact, the garden even has a sign indicating the direction and distance of Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon!
Entry: Free
The
Shakespeare Garden at New Place, Stratford-upon-Avon
The ‘holy grail’ of all things William Shakespeare and a must-visit for the Bard’s legion of worshippers, is Stratford-upon-Avon in England’s West Midlands. And his last home, New Place is Ground Zero. This stately home that was reopened in April 2016 after a lengthy refurbishment, to coincide with the quatercentenary of Shakespeare’s death is also famous for being the place that hosts the most beautiful of all Shakespeare Gardens. Here, the mansion’s three zones are connected to each other by the garden that features rows of plants such as mulberry and rose with commemorative flags representing all of Shakespeare’s plays fluttering above the plants. The Bard’s sonnets and longer plays are represented by a ribbon of white bronze darts set into the stonework of the wall that hems the garden in.
Entry: £17.50 (adult) and £11.50 (child)
The ‘holy grail’ of all things William Shakespeare and a must-visit for the Bard’s legion of worshippers, is Stratford-upon-Avon in England’s West Midlands. And his last home, New Place is Ground Zero. This stately home that was reopened in April 2016 after a lengthy refurbishment, to coincide with the quatercentenary of Shakespeare’s death is also famous for being the place that hosts the most beautiful of all Shakespeare Gardens. Here, the mansion’s three zones are connected to each other by the garden that features rows of plants such as mulberry and rose with commemorative flags representing all of Shakespeare’s plays fluttering above the plants. The Bard’s sonnets and longer plays are represented by a ribbon of white bronze darts set into the stonework of the wall that hems the garden in.
Entry: £17.50 (adult) and £11.50 (child)
America’s Shakespeare Gardens
Cottoning onto the early 20th century craze for the Shakespeare Garden, when everything English was considered ultra-trendy, a host of popular public parks and university gardens across the United States fashioned for themselves their own spots to pay homage to the Bard:
·
The Shakespeare Garden at Pittsburgh’s
Mellon Park is devoted to herbs and medicinal plants.
·
Perfumed with the fragrance of pansies and
musk-roses, the Shakespeare Garden at Manhattan’s Central Park is a
breath-taking place to visit. It is also the place where the mulberry tree is said
to have come from Shakespeare’s property at his final home, New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon.
·
Believed to be America’s first Shakespeare
Garden is the one in Evanston, Illinois.
·
The Shakespeare Garden at Gordon Park in
Cleveland was built in 1916 in honour of the tercentenary of Shakespeare’s
death.
·
Also created in 1916 is the Shakespeare
Garden at Vassar University in Poughkeepsie, New York, by a group of English
literature and botany students.
A Quartet of Shakespeare’s ‘flowery’ Verses
·
Roses:
“I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks…”
—Sonnet 130
“I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks…”
—Sonnet 130
·
Daisies
and Violets:
“When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight.”
—Love’s Labours Lost (5.2.900-4)
“When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight.”
—Love’s Labours Lost (5.2.900-4)
·
Lilies:
“Like the lily,
That once was mistress of the field and flourish’d,
I’ll hang my head and perish.”
—Henry VIII (3.1.168-70)
“Like the lily,
That once was mistress of the field and flourish’d,
I’ll hang my head and perish.”
—Henry VIII (3.1.168-70)
·
Poppy
and Mandrake:
“Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep
Which thou owedst yesterday.”
—Othello (3.3.368-71)
“Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep
Which thou owedst yesterday.”
—Othello (3.3.368-71)
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the January 2018 issue of Jetwings Domestic in-flight magazine of Jet Airways https://www.jetairways.com/EN/DE/JetExperience/magazines.aspx)
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