Truly German – Episode 03 – 4th September 2009

September 4, 2009 By 4 Comments

Truly German is a new podcast that talks about the news in Germany.  Sometimes this will by national news, maybe political, but we will also be covering some local topics.

We want to have some fun at the same time, so part of the podcast is our Länderquiz – in which my contestant has to guess in which Bundesland three different news stories took place in.

This week the topics are:

  1. New and discontinued traffic signs
  2. Twitter and election results
  3. Oberursel barrel organ festival

The quiz covers the following stories:

  1. Sehler-Quetschefest (plum festival)
  2. Störtebecker-Festspielen
  3. Bahnhof des Jahres (Station of the year)

Listen to the episode and tell us what you think about the stories covered:


(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file

Filed Under: Truly German Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

GPRS

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

GPRS is the abbreviation for General Packet Radio Service – the abbreviation is used in its English form in German, but with the letters pronounced the German way.

GPRS is a method of transferring data over a GSM mobile phone network.  Previously, data users had to use a so-called dial-up line to access their e-mails or the internet.  This was similar to using a modem on a land line and was incredibly slow and expensive, as the it was in effect a normal phone call.  GPRS allows the data to be transferred through the network as data, meaning that it is often billed by the kilobyte and no longer by the minute.

GPRS also forms the basis for services such as MMS – multimedia messages that are often used for sending photos from one phone to another.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

Filed Under: German Words Explained, Podcasts Tagged With: , , ,

PAngV

August 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

PAngV is the abbreviation for Preisangabenverordnung. This is a law in Germany that came into effect in 1985.

It governs factors of consumer life, such as ensuring that the prices in supermarkets and restaurants include tax (MwSt), unlike in some other parts of Europe.  For web-based shops, this can mean stating whether or not a price includes tax, because the shop may not necessarily be targeted at consumers.  Business prices often to not include MwSt.

Another example of this law would be the finance rates at the bank or on a credit card, which have to be displayed in a particular way.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

This podcast is intended to be a guide for foreign visitors to Germany, and does not constitute legally binding advice.

Filed Under: German Words Explained, Podcasts Tagged With: , ,

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