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Germans are incredibly direct. A German really will ask you if you've gained weight (Haben Sie zugenommen?), just as someone might ask if you have lost weight at another time (Haben Sie abgenommen?).

Why do they think it's OK to ask such a personal question?

What's disconcerting for people from the States, is that we don't ask this question unless we can tell for certain. For a German on the other hand, this question is simply a matter of fact and by no means a judgement.

Ask any American i…

Germans have a wonderful affinity for pancakes, and their pancakes are more in the French crepe style. There is a restaurant in Ulm that specializes in pancakes, and I can highly recommend it.

If, however, you are nowhere near Ulm, here is a recipe from Germany converted into English units (or whatever it's called here in the States).

2 German Pfannkuchen

1 egg

1 pinch of salt

a scant 2/3 C milk*

2/3 C flour

butter

Combine the egg, salt, and milk. Add the flour a spoonful at a time and w…

An "Elfchen" is similar to a Haiku in that it has a set form, however it is unique in that it has 11 words, the lines having 1-2-3-4-1 words, respectively.

It always has this form (replace each number with a word):

one

one two

one two three

one two three four

one

The first word is the topic and the final word is often a commentary or a summary word. Here’s one I wrote for my student’s Valentine’s Day (Valentinstag!) lesson last night:

Liebe

bewegsam

grosse Gefühle

veraendert das Her…