German (Language, Literature, and Culture) and Germany
Berlin
Wisconsin’s German-(American) Highlights
German and Germany |
General Information
- New York Times Germany Travel Guide – related articles
- Young Germany – a “career, education and lifestyle guide”
- Willkommen in Deutschland – the government agency for migration, asylum, and integration explains Germany
- Facts about Germany in English or Tatsachen über Deutschland in German
- Survival Bible for Germany – in English from Der Spiegel
- Toytown Germany – the English-language community website for Germany
- Deutschlandkarten – maps by Die Zeit illustrating factoids about Germany
- Deutschlandliste – What does Europe think about Germany?
- Driver’s License – further infomation from the American Chamber of Commerce about obtaining a Führerschein
Travel
- Generation Fly – student discounted flights on Lufthansa
- Deutsche Bahn – find a train schedule and purchase tickets. Also available as an iPhone app.
- Call-a-bike – rent bicyles in 60 cities in Germany for short periods. Also available as an iPhone app.
- City Maps 2 Go – iPhone app for offline maps to spare you data charges
- Museum Apps – a list of iOS and Android apps
Language
- Set your keyboard to toggle between German and English
- Uni-Leipzig Wort des Tages – provides the most commonly appearing words in the media
- Mark Twain: “The Awful German Language,” A Tramp Abroad (1880)
- Internet Handbook of German Grammar – have a question?
- Goethe Institut Chicago – the nearest cultural center with language testing
Literature
- Zeno.org – die größte deutschsprachige Volltextbibliothek
- Germanistik.net – Links of conferences and research sources
- Erlanger Liste – Links von der Universität Erlangen
- German Studies Web – Links from Dartmouth College
- Perlentaucher – gives an overview of articles
- Litrix.de – Das Informationsportal zur weltweiten Vermittlung deutscher Gegenwartsliteratur
- Lirez – Literaturwissenschaftliche Rezensionen
- Literaturkritik – Rezensionsforum
- Bibliographie der deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft –
History
- Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online (LeMO) – great source on German history since the Wilhelmian period by the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin
- Preußen-Chronik – a history of Prussia from 1618 to 1947
- dokumentArchiv – online versions of seminal documents in German history since the 19th century
- Judaica-Sammlung der J.W. Goethe Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt/Main – allows you to search for scanned and downloadable versions of numerous texts related to Jewry in Germany
Study/Research/Intern in Germany and Funding Opportunities
- Funding
- Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) – German Academic Exchange Service
- Fulbright U.S. Student Programs – funding for short- and long-term study and research as well as for teaching English
- Congress Bundestag Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX) – two months of German language school; four months of classes in your career field at a university, technical school, or professional school; and a five-month internship in your career field.
- Internships
- (Summer) Internships and Independent Work Abroad with Cultural Vistas
- German-American Internship Program through the Steuben-Schurz-Gesellschaft
Professional and Scholarly Organizations
German Media in the Internet
Newspapers
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – most widely available daily newspaper
- Süddeutsche Zeitung – daily newspaper from Munich
- Der Spiegel – leading German weekly magazine
- Die Zeit – leading German weekly newspaper
- Handelsblatt – leading German financial daily
Television
- OnlineTVRecorder.com – record numerous German television and cable channels
- ARD Mediathek
- ZDF Mediathek
- BR Mediathek
- MDR Mediathek
- NDR Mediathek
- SWR Mediathek
- WDR Mediathek
- wwiTV.com – nearly 50 websites and streaming channels from Germany.
- Deutsche Welle
- n-tv – the CNN of Germany: website
- Tagesschau – news program of the state network ARD: webpage
Berlin
|
General Information
- Berlin.de – official website for the city
- BerlinOnline – news and information from the city
- Economist – city guide in English
- New York Times – city guide and guide to 36 hours in Berlin
- Berlin Lexikon – the A-Z of historical and present day facts
- Staatsbibliothek – for only € 0,50 you can see where Wim Wender’s Himmer über Berlin was filmed. It’s right down the street from Potsdamer Platz! And if you need to use the Internet, the day pass give you access to the computer lab on the second floor.
- Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) – getting around town by bus, U- or S-Bahn is easy with this route planner .
(Annual) Events in Berlin
- Kultur Kurier – lists art and culture events in Berlin and throughout Germany
- Silvester in Berlin – New Year’s celebration
- Sechs Tage Rennen – bicycle race in the Velodrom
- Berlinale – annual film festival in February
- 1. Mai Feier/Demo – annual celebration/riot in Kreuzberg, during which asocials have burned something, now usually cars, since 1987. We experienced this iteration in 2003. More photos here.
- Christopher Street Days – annual gay/lesbian pride festival in June
- Deutsch-Amerikanisches Volksfest – annual event, analogous perhaps to US-American attempts at an Oktoberfest, with carnival rides, country music, and real Indians (at least while we visited).
- Weihnachtsmärkte – located throughout the city
Newspapers and Magazines in Berlin
- Der Tagesspiegel – paper founded in the western occupation zone in 1945
- Berliner Zeitung – paper from the eastern side of the city
- die tageszeitung (taz) – left-leaning daily
- Zitty – bi-weekly publication with cultural tips from the publisher of Der Tagesspiegel
- Tip – bi-weekly publication like Zitty but from the publisher of the Berliner Zeitung
- Zweite Hand – classified ads for apartments all sorts of used goodies
- Ex-Berliner – monthly English language publication for visitors and the ex-pat community
Sights in Berlin and Vicinity
- YouTube videos of divided Berlin
- Berlin Wall – exhibit at Bernauerstr. It’s free, renonovated, and better than the Checkpoint Charlie museum on Friedrichstr.
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – the day pass will get you in all the museums!
- Alte Nationalgalerie – see Menzel, Friedrich and other masters on Museuminsel
- Neue Nationalgalerie – see the modern masters south of Potsdamerplatz and nearly across the street from the Staatsbibliothek.
- Pergamon – home of the Pergamon Alter on Museuminsel
- Hamburger Bahnhof – contemporary art north of the Lehrter Bahnhof
- Nickolaiviertel – a Disneyesque GDR attempt to reconstruct the old city
- Hackesche Höfe – labyrinth of courtyard tenements (now shops) in Mitte
- Topographie des Terrors – exhibit on the site of the Gestapo headquarters
- Sachsenhausen – a chilling concentration camp just north of Berlin in Oranienburg
- Haus der Wannseekonferenz – where the conference occured in January of 1942
- Gärten der Welt – off the beaten path and way out east in Marzahn, but worth a visit for the Chinese and Japanese gardens
- If you’re looking to have a swim in the outdoors try the Freibad Müggelsee or Strandbad Wannsee
- Olympia Stadion – site of the 1936 Olympics
- Einsteinturm – observatory outside Potsdam designed by Erich Mendelsohn
Lodging in Berlin
- Propeller Island City Lodge – unique hotel on the west end of the Ku’damm with themed rooms
- Michelberger Hotel – unique hostel near the East Side Gallery
- Hüttenpalast – in the southwest part of Kreuzberg you can sleep indoors in rooms, huts or campers
Food and Drink in Berlin
There are places to enjoy food and drink on almost any corner of the city. Each Bezirk/Kiez has its own charm and ambiance. Some major areas are Simon-Dach-Str. in Friedrichshain, Akazienstr. in Schöneberg, Pariserstr. in Charlottenburg, Oranienburgerstr. in Mitte, Kastanienalle in Prenzlauer Berg, and Bergmannstr. in Kreuzberg.
- Berliner Speisekarte – a guide from BerlinOnline and tip for restaurants, bars, clubs, cafés und bistros
- Best of Berlin (in German) – lists compiled by the Berliner Morgenpost, among them the best Biergärten
- Robben Gatter – my favorite bar/restaurant in the city near our apartment in Schöneberg
- Ständige Vertretung – nice Rhenish atmosphere and food (Flammenkuchen) near the Berliner Ensemble
- Die dicke Wirtin – well known, although not neccessarily popular, old Kneipe near Savigny Platz
- Schleusenkrug – nice biergarten located at locks on the Landwehrkanal behind the Zoo.
- Loretta am Wannsee – great Biergarten across the street from the lake and only about 500 meters from the site where Heinrich von Kleist committed suicide with Henriette Vogel in 1811
- Café Bilderbuch – nice place to read a book in Schöneberg
- Tomasa – great tapas and breakfast platters
- Cafe Hardenberg – across from the TU Mensa
- Best of the Wurst – documentary about Currywurst
- Currywurst Country – site with information on Currywurst and Imbisse
Shopping in Berlin
- Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) – essential everything you need since 1907
- Galaries Lafayette – in Mitte near the corner of Friedrichstr. and Unter den Linden
- Rogacki – next best place for meat, poultry, and fish plus deli on Wilmersdorferstr. in Charlottenburg
Berlin Radio Stations in the Internet
Wisconsin German-(American) Highlights |
- Hessen-Wisconsin Partnership organization in Wisconsin and Hessen
- Exchange programs to Hessen for high school pupils and university students
- Madison Freiburg Sister-City organization in Madison and Freiburg
- German School of Madison – German lessons for native and non-native children
- Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies in Madison – in 1983 the Max Kade Foundation established numerous institutes in the US to preserve the history of German-American relations
- A copy of Weimar’s famous Statue of Goethe and Schiller from 1857 that was dedicated on 14 June 1908 in Milwaukee’s Washington Park. A postcard from 1914 of the Milwaukee version. Other replicas can be found in Syracuse’s Schiller Park (1915), Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens (1907), and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (1901).
- Digital book on the history of “Der Rathskeller” and “Der Stiftskeller” in the Memorial Union of the UW-Madison
- New Glarus – our Swiss town that puts on annual Wilhelm Tell and Heidi festivals
- Bavaria Sausage Kitchen – you can get Weißwurst and Schwarzwaldschinken right here!
- Clasen’s European Bakery – German breads like Bauernbrot, Münsterländer, in Middleton
- German Fest – the largest German festival occurs every year n Milwaukee
- Oktoberfest in La Crosse – allegedly the largest German festival in the USA
- Capital Brewery – with Bierstube and -garten in Middleton
- New Glarus Brewing Company – creator of Spotted Cow
- Essen Haus – beloved Bavarian themed restaurant and pub in Madison
- Mader’s – German restaurant in Milwaukee provides a taste of “old” Europe
- Karl Ratzsch’s – another German restaurant in Milwaukee
Farther afield:
- Christkindlmarket – annual Christmas market in Chicago