Did you buy carrots today?

May 15, 2008 By 2 Comments

A while ago I was invited to a group on Facebook called “On May 15, 2008, everybody needs to go out and panic buy carrots” – a group with over 200,000 members!

I wondered how many people would actually go out and do this and kept a keen eye on the BBC News website today.

I’m sad to say that the idea doesn’t seem to have spread to my part of Germany. I went to my local supermarket this afternoon, but there were still plenty of carrots in stock and I didn’t see anyone buying any either.

The idea shows the power of so-called social networking sites: there are surely not many groups online with that many members.  But although Germany does have such sites, they do not yet seem to command the power over the people that they do in English-language countries.

Filed Under: Food & Drink, Shops Tagged With: ,

Christi Himmelfahrt

May 14, 2008 By 2 Comments

Christi Himmelfahrt is known in English as Ascension Day. It is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Monday.

The name comes from the New Testament, where it is described how Jesus ascended to heaven having shown himself to his aspostles 40 days after the resurrection.

The day is a bank holiday in all of Germany as has been since 1936, although it was not celebrated in the GDR between 1967 and 1989.

The day is also known as Vatertag – Father’s Day and many clubs and organisations hold their annual parties, open days or outings on this day.

In 2008 Christi Himmelfahrt fell on the same day as Maifeiertag!

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 a transcript

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

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

I.G.I.C.

May 12, 2008 By 4 Comments

Die kanarischen Inseln unterliegen nicht dem EU Mehrwertsteuersystem, aber auch nicht der spanischen MwSt (IVA) . Hier gibt es das sogenannte I.G.I.C.

I.G.I.C. bedeutet Impuesto General Indirecto Canario , dies ist quasi die Mehrwertsteuer auf den Kanaren. Die Höhe dieser Steuer variiert, sie kann zwischen 0% und 35% liegen. Die übliche Höhe in Restaurants beträgt in der Regel jedoch 5%. Die Abkürzung I.G.I.C. findet man meist unten am Rand der Speisekarte. Diesen Prozentsatz muss man dann zum Preis des Gerichts dazurechnen, auch zu den Getränken.

Geschäftsleute werden wahrscheinlich weniger Schwierigkeiten damit haben, da sie es gewohnt sind ohne Mehrwertsteuer zu denken,

Aber Privatpersonen müssen dann erst einmal umdenken, bzw. daran denken, dass sie diese 5% dazu rechnen müssen. Diese können nämlich am Ende auf der Rechnung evtl. nur ein paar Cent ausmachen oder zu einem kleinen Schock werden!

Man kann natürlich nichts dagegen tun, nur beim Auswählen des Gerichts mitbedenken, dass ca. 5% dazukommen, z.B. aus 12,95€ werden dann 13,60€.

Wichtig ist, dies als Steuer anzusehen und hat nichts mit dem Service des Restaurants zu tun.

Filed Under: Essen und Trinken, Lanzarote Tagged With: , , ,

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