Spekulatius

December 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment

SpekulatiusSpekulatius is a type of spiced biscuit that is eaten at Christmas in Germany.  As well as the normal form of the biscuit, there are variations made with almonds or with extra butter.  The form of the biscuits tells the story of St. Nicholas.

Because of the price of the spices involved, these biscuits were expensive to make until the 1950s, so they are considered to be somewhat exotic.  These days, however, they are readily available in most supermarkets.

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

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

Weihnachtsservice im Supermarkt

December 16, 2008 By 2 Comments

Jedes Jahr an den Weihnachtstagen gibt es in England in manchen Supermärkten an den Kassen,  u.a. in Sandwich (Kent) einen besonderen Service. Das “Tütenpacken”.

Mitglieder von Vereinen des Ortes stehen an den Kassen bereit und packen den Einkauf in die (bisher) kostenlosen Tragetaschen. Oftmals sind es in Sandwich die Pfadfinder. Es ist schon nett wenn man viel eingekauft hat und nicht so viel Stress beim einpacken hat. Besonders für ältere Menschen ist dies eine Erleichterung.  Schade, dass es das nur zu Weihnachten gibt.

Und die Pfadfinder freuen sich über eine kleine Spende. Einige Bilder von einem dieser Packtage gibt es hier.

In Deutschland würde so etwas nicht funktionieren, da die Tragetaschen meist nicht kostenlos sind.

Filed Under: All Things British, Weihnachten Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Bad Homburg Christmas Market

December 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The ice rink in Bad Homburg

The ice rink in Bad Homburg

This week the Monday Podcast visited the Christmas Market in Bad Homburg, well at least part of it.

The market has been split into two parts this year, with the main market being at the castle, whilst there is a smaller set of stalls in front of the Kurhaus.  At the smaller market, however, there is also an ice rink and this was our main destination.

I’m not sure why the market has been split in this way.  It is a shame for the parents of children who want to go on the ice, as they only have a limited selection of stalls that they can visit.  It would have been much nicer to have had everyone on one site.

To find out more, listen to the podcast:

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

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast´

Filed Under: Christmas, Monday Podcasts, Podcasts Tagged With: , , , ,

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