And don’t forget Wieners, commonly misspelled in English as Weiner.
I’ve met pushy, opinionated, rude, “in my day” types, and people who decide they know what’s best for me. Am I the only person left, who has no problem telling people to mind their own business and shut their mouth?
Sure it’s rude. So what? When I want a coffee and a donut (or many donuts) it’s mo one else’s business. I don’t want their life story, their opinions about my eating habits, none of it.
:eek:
I did not know that. Somehow I’ve heard that quote a thousand times, but I didn’t know that.
Someone once told me that Berlin residents do not call the jelly doughnut a “Berliner”, although it is known by that name elsewhere in Germany.
Embarrassed to say I don’t remember (I am half-German) it, does anyone else?
Thanks
Q
In Germany (at least where I lived), they have a pastry with that name. It IS probably the sweetest thing in the bakery.
See dropzone’s post no. 11. Germans did not and do not think of Kennedy as having declared that he was a jelly doughnut.
Correct. You order Pfannkuchen in Berlin, not a “Berliner”.
Also, never order a “Wiener” in Wien (Vienna), nor a “Frankfurter” in Frankfurt…on the other hand, the people in Hamburg have no problem with ordering a hamburger.
Did you know in Berlin there is a tradition at New Year’s Eve that people bring out a huge plate of Pfannkuchen and everyone grabs one to eat? One is filled with mustard instead of pudding, and I believe tradition is that that person supposedly has a bad year ahead of them.
To the OP: I have met hundreds of Germans like the one you described. Usually, I would meet them in bars and they would hear my American accent (that I was able to get rid of over the years) and decide I needed to hear their opinion on everything from health, politics and world woes. It was also usually someone with a 38 word English vocabulary who wanted to practice their English. Due to copious amounts of alcohol, they would not leave me alone no matter how much I tried to be interested in a book or whatever. My suggestion: Next time just smile and get the hell away.
Ah. Shoulda read the thread. Thanks!
You laugh, but there’s a restaurant in Birmingham, AL that serves exactly this. With a half pound of powdered sugar on top.
Fun thing about Danishes and Wieners: in Denmark, the flaky pastry with jam is called “Vienna bread” (wienerbrød).
And you can add any number of wines and cheeses to the list of foods named after places in Europe. Gouda, Emmentaler, Champagne, etc.
Is it called a Birminghammer?
Thanks, Dmark, I noticed your address and see that you sure do know your pastry names.
If I may, I’d like to take the thread in another direction. Not completely away
from the OP, but related to those Germans who want to talk your ears off about what’s going on with our ecomomy here in the US, about Bush, etc. and kinda make one feel as if one is somehow representative or even somehow responsible for the problems going on here.
In my case, I try to be as diplomatic as I can, listen to what is being said (I speak German) and then make some kind of comment which is akin to acknowledging theirs and then usually end my conversation with something like, “But then that’s not exclusively limited to the United States, is it?”
If I get a blank look, I take it a step further and mention their own troubles with the Deustche Bank and the CEO who last year got off with a minor slap on the wrist, but I usually don’t have to go that far.
Mixed emotions. On the one hand, I can appreciate them being conversant with what’s going on “across the pond” (because it does affect them as well), but on the other, it rankles a bit when all I wanna do is drink a damn BIER. 
Great thread, and as I said very well-written, Ducktail.
Q
Unsurprising… Here in the US, when you’re in Philadelphia, you don’t order a “Philly steak”, and when you’re in Chicago, you don’t order a “Chicago pizza”, and so on. The geographical identifier is only necessary away from the place of origin.
Actually, I think the gentleman was just commending you on your healthy meal… ‘Baked goods’ are very much seen as traditional over here, and especially in the older demographics, traditional = good and wholesome, even though it’s generally either too fat or too sweet. What he likely meant when he was talking about the ‘kids these days’ and all the sweets they were eating was pre-packaged, store bought goods – Mars bars and all that new-fangled stuff.
If he truly had been wichsen, I don’t think the OP would have engaged in any form of conversation. 
Did he start by eating a Polish and then move west?
Here a corn dog is an “American dog” and piss-poor, watered-down, ass-flavored coffee is called “American coffee.”
I think you should be spending your parents’ money on sensible footwear for the snow instead of empty calories.
Here is the Wikipedia-link .
However, if that is the sweatest thing in your bakery, you’re going to the wrong bakery. What about a Nussschnecke (Nut roll), Hahnenkamm, Apfeltasche, … mmmm. Now I’m hungry.
I assume you’re currently in Stuttgart? The first snowfall of the season often seems to stump public transport. Several years ago, during Christmas season, it snowed in the evening and for some inexplicable reason, the whole traffic inside the city of Munich simply crashed - all cars decided to join a big traffic jam that also caught the buses and trams. We waited for more than half an hour before they made announcments that traffic was off.
That’s your basic mistake. Whenever you go outside in the winter, esp. if you’re close to the mountains, you have to dress for a waiting time of 20 min. at the bus stop - thick anorack and warm boots, even if the rest of the day you sit in a heated office (many people have normal shoes at work they then change into).
This is very surprising to me. Most Germans, as already been said, don’t know the urban legend, and were moved by the speech too far to consider making fun of JFK. It’s also no grammatical mistake at all, but completly correct.
It should also be noted that a Berliner - a non-holed jelly doughnut- is called different names in different parts of Germany: outside Berlin, in north Germany, Berliner, but called properly a Krapfen in Baden-Württemberg! And in Berlin itself, its called “Pfannkuchen” - which means pancake in the rest of the country.
Please note that Krapfen are a seasonal food properly, only made and eaten during the Fasching/Karneval season. Some bakeries make and sell them year round, but traditional bakeries only do this between St. Martin (11.11) and Ash Wednesday.
So fill up while you have the time!
Have you tried a different method of coffee? Many people who don’t like the bitterness drink the Italian style, either Espresso or Cappuchino (Espresso lenghtened with milk), because the pressure quickly forces the grounds through, less bitter stuff comes along.
You could also try (if you don’t need the coffeeine) drinking cereal coffee (Getreidekaffee, available for children) or malt coffee (Malzkaffee, available for people with stomach problems).
Or drink some hot cocoa/chocolate, if you want to warm up.
Also, coffee is stronger in Germany than the US watery thing. (Old joke: what does American coffee and sex in a canoe have in common? Both are fucking close to water).
I don’t know how you look or whether you’re male or female, but it’s simply not customary in southern Germany to chat up strangers nilly-willy. People are (stereotypically) dour and hard to get to talk.
The Rhineregion natives are easier to talk to and get to know.
But we do have a weight problem in Germany. Kids are getting more obese than 30 years ago. Every third kid is overweight, every fifth kid is obese. And kids getting overweight is a serious problem, both because health problems develop faster for them than for a 30 year old adult who gets a beer gut; and because bad habits developed so early are harder to get rid off.
And many Germans think that being better than Americans is standard, not something to be proud off; it’s consdered a problem if we approach American situations.
Snerk. That’s of course the wrong thing to say if you don’t want a lecture…
It’s just a hobby of some people (and yes, we Germans consider them obnoxious, too) to lecture people on important issues they should change in their lives.