Category Archives: Language
Nirvana
In the child custody case of an American family that I am litigating before the Kaiserslautern Family Court, the opposing lawyer in her brief lists all the places that the family have lived at since they married: It took me … Continue reading
Wannsee
Zur deutschen Fassung. Once again, I am on the train from the capital of culture to the capital of politics, from Chemnitz to Berlin. As I make this journey rather frequently, and because the Deutschlandticket limits me to local and … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago – the episodes you missed in 2022
Writing two blogs, one in German and one in English, is a lot of work. Not quite twice the work as writing one blog, because I can use the same photos twice. But it’s more work than some might think. … Continue reading
Learning German with Hamlet
I am always impressed when someone manages to learn German. It’s not the easiest of languages – though not the hardest, either – and every 50 kilometers or so, it is pronounced in a completely different way. Even I, as … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, Belgium became the most Complicated Country in Europe – July 1921: Language Border between Wallonia and Flanders
Zur deutschen Fassung. The inability to form a new government quickly after an election is usually associated with failed states such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or the USA. However, the record for the longest time needed to form a government … Continue reading
Post-Pandemic Plans
Zur deutschen Fassung. As a friend of alliterations, once the pandemic is over, I will go on pilgrimage to Petra, hitchhike to the Himalayas, walk to Waziristan, go to Giza, travel to Tirana and take the train to Tehran as … Continue reading
Lost in Translation
I am not one to argue that you should only visit countries of which you speak the language. If I was, I wouldn’t have made it to 65 countries or so myself. But speaking the language does increase the experience. … Continue reading
For my Chinese readers
Writing a blog for an international audience is very complicated. People in California are never awake when I write in Europe. People in Australia and Argentina are reading it upside down. And in China, when you want to access my … Continue reading
In the Foreign Legion
Diesen spannenden Insider-Bericht gibt es auch auf Deutsch. A few years ago, the desire for education reared its nosy head again, remembered the high school from which I had graduated decades before, and was in deep and mournful regret that … Continue reading
A Chinese in Vienna
During some meeting of some committee of some sub-organization at the United Nations in Vienna, I got to know a young lady from China. Qian was doing an internship as a simultaneous interpreter for Mandarin and English. Simultaneous interpreters are … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 