All Things German In California
“Advent, Advent,
ein Lichtlein brennt.
Erst eins, dann zwei,
dann drei, dann vier,
dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür!”
… and tomorrow it’s finally here, the long awaited date, Christmas Eve!
We wish all our readers and patrons a peaceful and relaxing holiday. Enjoy this special time with your loved ones and dear friends.
Thank you for being part of our CaliforniaGermans Family!
Images: Pixabay.com
Our last book tip for Christmas 2018 makes us indulge in famous German literature. It’s a book that is not only a must for all Tucholsky fans but also for everyone, who loves Berlin and its history.
“Hereafter. We Were Sitting on a Cloud, Dangling Our Legs.” is a collection of humorous short stories by Tucholsky that for the first time appear as a collection in a book as well as being published in English.
Kurt Tucholsky is known for his political and satirical stories in the Weimar era, but the famed author also had a whimsical, spiritual side, and we experience it in this book, Hereafter. We Were Sitting on a Cloud, Dangling Our Legs.
Hereafter was originally a loose series of humorous short stories. Tucholsky wrote them between 1925 and 1928, while he was on assignment in Paris for his paper, Die Weltbühne (The World Stage). This is the first time these stories are collected in a book — adorned with pictures of little angels from Berlin’s cemeteries —, and also the first time they are translated into English. [Read more…] about Xmas Gift Book Tip #5 – Kurt Tucholsky’s Whimsical Stories About the Afterlife
100 Years Ago the First World War Ended in 1918. What if…?What if the world had emerged out of devastating World War I with peace negotiations that had helped restore world order, create balance among world powers, and had called for cooperation among nations?
Hitler, Stalin, and WW II might never have happened!
On the basis of real history, Magnus Dellwig is creating a fictional world in his novel “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson” and imagines a different outcome in the fateful peace negotiations among the world powers at that time. Follow the account of foreign minister Gustav Stresemann and witness through his eyes how (a different) history unfolds…
Magnus Dellwig’s historical fiction novel is packed with the suspense of diplomatic and political drama. As of now, “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson” is only available in German. Get a taste of the book with the following German synopsis. [Read more…] about Xmas Gift Book Tip #3 – Historical Fiction Novel “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson”
Life of a German Teen during WW II. From Enduring Hardship to becoming a U.S. war bride – The Memoir “Otti Remembers”
What was it like for a teen to live in Germany during World War II?
Our first Christmas Book Gift Tip tells you all about it. The memoir “Otti Remember” lets you relive those turbulent times as Otti Baulig Ney remembers and allows you to be part of her life’s story.
“Otti Remembers: German WWII Teen Immigrates to America,” offers a rare, first-hand account of those turbulent times. Otti Baulig Ney, 89, from Sutter Creek, Calif., reveals how she endured bombing raids, tuberculosis (TB) and extreme deprivation as a teen during the war years. [Read more…] about X-mas Gift Book Tip #1 – The Memoir “Otti Remembers”
It’s hard to believe but we are slowly approaching the end of the year!
First, however, we have all our wonderful traditional German and, of course, American festivities coming up next.
While Christmas season for sure starts with Thanksgiving for the Americans, for us Germans Saint Martin’s Day (Sankt Martinstag) with its festive lantern parades on November 11 rings in the holiday season.
At least that’s how I remember it… Often times the first snowfall covered the city streets in Munich already I recall, when I was walking with my friends in the crunchy snow, our self-made lantern in hands, excitedly singing traditional lantern songs. The air would materialize in front of our mouths so cold it was already, but we knew that a nice hot chocolate would await us at the end of the parade, often together with some delicious cookies and a yummy ‘Weckmann’ as well. Mmmmhhh!
The following Saint Martin’s Lantern Parades are all happening in Northern California this weekend on Saturday, November 10th . Let us know if you hear of any other ones and we can keep adding them to the list.
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Saturday, November 10th:
Bay Area’s Kinderstube has its annual Laternenfest
WHEN: Saturday, November 10 from 4pm-7pm
WHERE: 842 Key Route Boulevard in Albany
Bring your own lantern or buy one. Get your ticket to enjoy German fare from Glühwein, Weckmänner, Pretzels, Spätzle, Bratwurst and more.
Get your TICKETS here
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Saturday, November 10th:
German School in Novato
WHEN: Saturday, November 10th at 5:30 pm
WHERE: Pioneer Park in Novato
German School in Santa Rosa
WHEN: Saturday, November 10th at 5:30 pm
WHERE: School Campus in Santa Rosa
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Saturday, November 10th:
GISSV San Francisco – Lantern Parade & Festival
WHEN: Saturday, November 10th from 2pm-6pm
WHERE: 4 Funston Ave in the Presidio
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Christkindlmarket – Annual Christmas Market At The Phoenix Club in Anaheim
November 25th, 11 am-4pm in the Pavillion
Free Admission & Open to the Public
Enjoy German fare in a Christmas atmosphere setting with music, art & crafts and Christmas gift market featuring jewelry, European gifts and much more
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WEIHNACHTSGOTTESDIENST – Christmas Service
St.Luke’s Lutheran Church in La Mesa
Weihnachtsgottesdienst – German Christmas Carol Service
WHEN: Sunday, December 16th at 3pm , Sonntag, 16. Dezember 2018, 15:00 Uhr
WHERE: St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 5150 Wilson Street, La Mesa
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Image: Pixabay.com
Tomorrow, November 6th is the General Election? Are you going to vote?
If you are an expat, who enjoys dual citizenship, it is your privilege, but also your duty to go out and vote tomorrow! After all, you chose to be a citizen of the United States, as well as your home country, and part of being a good citizen is going to vote in elections.
“But, it’s not the election for the president…!?”, you might say. Yes, that’s true, but the midterms are just as important an election and your vote counts!
In fact, this year’s midterm elections see the largest number of Californians (19 million!) registered to vote in California’s history, according to ABC7news. Especially this year, California’s voice is important.
So, what’s at stake? The control of the Congress and statehouses across the country. And, 36 states will hold elections for governor as well – including California!
On top of voting for our new governor in these midterms, we Californians will have a deciding voice in regards to 7 (!) congressional seats that are up for election. [Read more…] about Go Vote! – The Midterms. A Big Deal for California.
It’s officially on! The Oktoberfest has started in Munich this past weekend.
Have you watched or perhaps even been part of the traditional opening ceremony? It’s always a fun event, starting with the Grand Entry Parade with the Oktoberfest landlords and their festive horse carriages loaded with beer barrels to the entertaining procession of the various costume groups, historic riflemen, flag throwers and many other performers … all on their way to the famous Oktoberfest grounds at the Theresienwiese.
Oktoberfest has come a long way since the day when Bavaria celebrated the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig in October of 1810. Today, you can consider it almost a worldwide event in the sense that you can find and celebrate at some Oktoberfest near you almost anywhere you are on the globe. In the U.S. alone, there are plenty of them you can attend with the largest one in Cincinnati according to Wikipedia. The list is explosively expanding every year.
Many of the ‘Oktoberfests‘ in California listed in our last year’s post are still happening this year with many new ones popping out all over. In fact, the media is full of suggestions of where to go (Bay Area Events & SoCal Events ), so we didn’t dedicate a separate post to all the listings this year.
However, we’d like to highlight very traditional ones, which have been known to be in California for a long time.
One of them is the Oktoberfest at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, which has put on an Oktoberfest for more than 55 years! This year they started out their festivities right at the same time as the original Oktoberfest in Munich, on September 21st.
You can celebrate Oktoberfest at the Phoenix Club every weekend until October 28th, and starting on October 7th – you can enjoy a delicious German Sunday brunch just before you dive into the rest of the fun. End your Oktoberfest outing with a hearty meal and a large ‘Mass’ at their beer garden. Check out their website for more information.
Oans, zwoa, g’suffa! Prost!
Images: Pixabay.com
Art enthusiasts in L.A. listen up! Are you in for an off-beat art experience? We have 3 fun and eclectic recommendations for you this month.
From unique German/Austrian Chamber music to German Cartomancy, you can find something to satisfy your unconventional taste for art this April.
1 – If you love chamber music and enjoy not only traditional, classic scores but also have an ear for modern, contemporary music. You might want to check out:
Three’s Company: Music for unique Combinations of Three. Part of the Pittance Chamber Music 2017/18 season at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music this concert presents works not only by German composers Schubert and Brahms but will also feature work of Austrian composer Gernot Wolfgang, who resides in Los Angeles and works as an orchestrator in the film and TV music industry.
Gernot Wolfgang is currently also associate director of “HEAR NOW – A Festival of New Music by Contemporary Los Angeles Composers”. Described as a composer with a “winning sonic arsenal” (Daniel Rosenberg, Gramophone) you will be hearing his work Road Signs, which will be on his next CD.
WHAT: Pittance Chamber Music Concert Three’s Company
WHEN: Saturday, April 14 at 7:30pm at Pasadena Conservatory of Music.
All works on the program will be performed by members of the LA Opera Orchestra and Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artists.
2 – Our next suggestion is for a spiritually invoked art exhibition: A mystical German fortune-telling card system re-imagined by artist Shay Bredimus at the Long Beach Art Museum:
“The Seni Horoscopes were a 17th-century German fortune-telling card system. [Read more…] about German Chamber Music or German Tarot Cards. What’s Your Pick?
How about some German Cabaret? If you are living in or near San Diego you are in luck, because San Diego’s German Theater Group just announced its new show for April. Running only for two days you want to plan on getting your tickets early!
So ist das Leben! (That’s Life) promises an evening of laughter with humorous and thought-provoking skits, poems and musical numbers from classic German artists including Heinz Erhardt, Kurt Tucholsky, Erich Kaestner, Marlene Dietrich, Comedian Harmonists, to Otto, Loriot, Ruediger Hoffmann, Anke Engelke, Annett Louisan, Roger Cicero and more.
The show will be performed in German but an English summary of each skit will be provided in the playbill.
Dates: April 21, 2018, at 7:30 pm and April 22, 2018, at 2:00 pm
Price: General Admission $12, Students (with ID) $9
Place: German American Societies, 1017 S. Molison Ave., El Cajon, CA 92020
The German Theater Group San Diego was founded in October 2016 by Astrid Ronke and is part of the German Amercian Societies in San Diego. The group consists of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers, whose mission is to bring quality German Theater to San Diego and neighboring areas.
On Saturday, March 18, 2017, “Ein Abend mit Loriot” premiered to a packed house at the OB Playhouse in San Diego.
Find out more about the German Theater Group San Diego here.
Images ©German Theater Group San Diego
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