“Coffee to go” July 16, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in German culture, Random musings.4 comments
There’s a very disturbing article about how European cafés are disappearing as Europeans are adapting to American trends in this week’s edition of the Expatica Germany newsletter. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Expatica is Europe’s leading lifestyle portal for internationals living abroad and they break the site down into the various countries with lots of country-specific tips about living abroad, numerous resources, information on expat life, etc.
“Coffee to go” the cry as Europe adapts to American trends reports that “the times when people would spend hours reading newspapers or indulge in deep conservation in Berlin while sipping endless coffees is somewhat seldom nowadays, partly due to faster-paced life trends, and soaring cafe rents.” It then goes on to discuss how Starbucks and coffee bars are replacing older, more relaxed coffee houses in many European capitals.
I find this trend sad, because I enjoyed many hours drinking coffee (ah, the simple pleasure of a Milchkaffee…) and enjoying homemade Kuchen or a nice brunch at cafés like Café Sacher in Vienna, Café Tomaselli in Salzburg, and my favorite café in Bonn – Bonngout. I’m sure cafés won’t totally disappear, but I find it very sad that Europeans are giving in to the American fast-paced life. That was one of the things I enjoyed most about living in Europe – things were more relaxed and slow-paced.
Why women need catalogs June 24, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, German culture, Random musings.add a comment
When it comes to humor, nothing beats a good German ad. One of my (non-translator) friends sent me this video yesterday, and I thought you all might enjoy it. I have several language-related videos that I enjoy which I will post on off-days. I hope you enjoy this one from Otto Versand. I’ve delivered my 6,100-word marketing survey and am off to the dog park…
The joy of a mid-day off June 19, 2008
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in German culture, Random musings.add a comment
One of the joys of freelancing is the ability to take time off whenever you want. After practically burning myself out translating a really term-dense medical assessment, which I delivered last night, I decided to take the early afternoon off to run errands and treat myself. I have a couple jobs on my desk, but they are all pretty manageable. I had to pick up my Father’s Day gift, a print of Cleveland my dad picked out on my laptop (I love the Internet!), so I made a list of all the things I needed to get done and spent a few hours driving around town and into downtown Cleveland. I got a little side-tracked (ok, lost) and drove through an extremely dodgy part of town (East Cleveland, which is the foreclosure capital of the world) on my way downtown. The Plain Dealer wrote an article on the situation in East Cleveland this week – little did I know I would be driving through that exact part of town just two days later. It was interesting seeing all the once-beautiful homes in a terrible state of disrepair. Some of the homes must have been breathtaking in their day.
I hit the local German import store, Hansa Import Haus, to stock up on Jacobs Krönung coffee and ended up buying some Lindt and Ritter chocolates, cheese, jam, good German bread, and several kinds of beer (since it’s summer I’ve decided to try Warsteiner’s new line of Radlers – beer mixed with lemon, orange and/or cola flavoring). I look forward to trying them on my balcony. Having lived in Salzburg, I am a big fan of the Radler and the Almdudler (which tastes a bit like ginger ale). Afterward, I treated myself to a nice café au lait, Perrier, Niçoise salad, and a strawberry crepe at a little French bistro and creperie, Le Petit Triangle Café (formerly known as Le Oui Oui Café) down the street from Hansa Haus.
I ran a couple other errands and stopped at the local library to pick up a book I ordered through Search Ohio and to browse their DVD collection. Now I am home, refreshed and ready to devote myself a marketing survey. But it definitely feels like a Friday…
Musings from an overworked translator 