Sticky post
“Haushaltsschule” or Home Economics in 1900’s Germany
In the so-called “Haushaltsschulen”, young, middle-class women were taught household skills, such as cooking, baking, sewing, handicrafts, gardening and cleaning to prepare them to be good housewives and wives. In connection with the women’s movement, around 1900, the first textbooks for home economics were also developed. Initially, however, household training was not viewed as a profession, but rather as a preparation for marriage. But … Continue reading “Haushaltsschule” or Home Economics in 1900’s Germany
“Osterbrunnen”, the decorated Easter Fountains in Franconia
Decorating an “Osterbrunnen” is a German tradition of sprucing up public fountains with garlands and painted eggs for Easter. It began in the early 20th century in the Upper Franconia (Fränkische Schweiz) but also has spread to other regions. The decoration is usually kept from Good Friday until two weeks after Easter The tradition of decorating an Easter fountain is still relatively young. A little … Continue reading “Osterbrunnen”, the decorated Easter Fountains in Franconia
A Potato Soup I remember eating in Vienna
There are many versions of Potato soups, I like the one I ate in Vienna, it had “Steinpilze”, a mushroom that grows in the Forests of Europe. I wanted to recreate this soup once at home. A similar mushroom I could find were the brown Baby Bella mushrooms. Continue reading A Potato Soup I remember eating in Vienna
A German Farmers Almanac or Bauernkalender
In a Bauernkalender weather rules, farmer’s rules, farmer’s wisdom, annual rules, daily rules, wisdom rules, animal rules, plant rules, harvesting rules, lost days, name days includes a farmer’s calendar! Experience and knowledge are handed down in the old peasant rules that are part of our cultural history! Generations of farmers and gardeners have gathered an immense amount of knowledge through expert observation of nature, which … Continue reading A German Farmers Almanac or Bauernkalender
Sticky post
A Hofbräuhaus opened in 1908, but not in Munich
August L. Janssen, the future “Wirt” and proprietor of the Hofbräuhaus in New York City was born in Emden, Germany. At age 20 and after attending the University of Göttingen in the year of 1887, young Janssen, as so many other Germans at that time, took a ship to NY city in the hope to immigrate to America After Janssen arrived in the US he … Continue reading A Hofbräuhaus opened in 1908, but not in Munich
Sticky post
A Kindergarten in the Forest
The idea of the first Forest Kindergarten or Daycare in the woods comes from Scandinavia. In the mid-1950’s, a Danish woman name Ella Flatau founded the first outdoor Kindergarten. From there it spread quickly in the 1990s. There are now around 2,000 “Waldkindergarten” of this sort in Germany. These are mostly state-approved daycares, and only trained educators work here. The groups have names such as Forest Spirits, Tree Frogs or Ladybugs. Continue reading A Kindergarten in the Forest
Can Garlic Knots be found anywhere in Italy?
One must ask, are Garlic Knots truly Italian? I sure have never seen them on the menu when vacationing in Rome or another European country. The word is, these tasty dough knots were invented at a Pizzeria in Queens in 1973. It was their way to reuse scraps from leftover pizza dough. Garlic knots is a type of Garlic bread that was primarily found in … Continue reading Can Garlic Knots be found anywhere in Italy?
King Ludwig’s magnificent Royal Sleigh
King Ludwig II, the Bavarian king who also built the Neuschwanstein castle, was an enthusiast about sophisticated technology. A unique collection of Royal sleighs, the most important of its kind, is in the Marstall museum at the Nymphenburg castle in Munich. There you can see several Gala Carriages of the Bavarian King and the Wittelsbacher family. Ludwig was born in 1845 at the Nymphenburg castle … Continue reading King Ludwig’s magnificent Royal Sleigh
English
German
Japanese
Spanish
French
Italian
Chinese (Simplified)
Arabic
