Ask Ecthy anything - about Germany!

[Lancer]

I got pneumonia protecting West Germany when I froze in winter while on manouvers. My right lung still hurts on cold nights when the fog sets in and the grip of chill pervades the house and finds me in sleep to wake me shaking with pain and cold sweat. For this wracking discomfort I gave service to free people and ask nothing, but it sure would be nice if you answer the questions about Germans and Filipinas.


Actually it never hurts anymore. in fact while I did get pneumonia, it wasn't really all that bad. Still, all knowing Ecthy, it would be nice if you answered.

[Pekka]

Ecthy, would you recommend me a German girl? In general I mean. I wouldn't recommend a Finnish girl to foreigners, so the question is not obviously yes. List the good characteristics for German girls. I know there's pretty girls in Germany, I've been there few times.

Actually there was this pretty girl I saw when we were going clubbing in Berlin, it was some weird area, we had to take the metro for like some time to arrive there... there was this club called ... I think it was WWF? Something like that. Well anyway, as we were sitting outside, drinking moderately to get into a bit of a nice buzz and just before we entered the club, these girls came to us. This blonde girl asked if she could have some of my drink. I said sure, and she took my can and went back to their girl group. So I followed her otu of curiosity and being the horny man I am.

So she was kind of ... reserved for a while and then I understood why, she didn't know if I would be taken back that they were doing E and wanted something to drink so it goes down. Naturally I didn't mind. So we talked for a bit and she asked if I was coming to this club and I said no, unfortunately I'm going to the club right next to theirs. It wasn't such a big thing except we had bought tickets for the club earlier and they were quite expensive and we wanted to go there so I tried to convince them to come to our club but they also had tickets etc.

Anyway, so I know German girls are pretty and that I get along with them, at least the ones who do E and go clubbing. If that helps with your analysis that is.

[Lancer]

E?

[Pekka]

ecstasy.

[Zoid]

Also known as MDMA or 3,4-Metylendioximetamfetamin.

[Lancer]

Ahh, ugg, thx.

[Wycoff]

dp

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by Ecthy
Spaten sucks, I had it in Spain. Also, you should try Augustiner some time - it comes as white, pils, as well as "Edelstoff" (fine stuff) whatever this means. Considered the best beer on the world - by its fans. I like it too

I was a bit iffy about putting Spaten on the list, as I know that it's not as highly regarded as the others I named. I decided to include it because I had some Spaten Oktoberfest last weekend and enjoyed it.

As for Bavarian dominance, it is nonexistant in Germany in the fields you mentioned. Maybe they're jzst more prolific at export, but apart from the obvious Augustiner a German wouldn't prefer a Pils from Bavaria to his own regional one. East Germany had some sh!t beer because there were many breweries that worked without a lot of expertise as well as bad quality ingredients. Among those that remain, Radeberger is probably the most spread. Several more brands from the south of East Germany (Hasseröder, Freiberger). Something we do well is black beer, such as Köstritzer or Neuzeller (the Schwarzer Abt style). This one is definitely the most special from East Germany that you can find outside of its own region. It does however not play to the rules ingredients-wise.

I've had Augustiner. I went to the Augstinerhaus in Munich. It's tough to find in the States, but it is available. I would have put it on the list, but it slipped my mind when I was writing the list. I didn't try Augustiner Pils, though, so I can't say how good it is. I had Augstiner Helles (I wanted Helles since I was in Munich. As you probably know, Munich, jealous of the rise of Pilsner in the mid 19th century, created Helles to compete with it.

I know that Pilsner is popular in other parts of Germany (like I mentioned, Jever is great, as is Dinkel Acker). I strongly recommend trying Weltenburger Pils, though. It's Bavarian, but IMO it's better than any other Pils except for the two that I've mentioned.

I tried Radeberger and Freiberger in Dresden, and I enjoyed them. I wouldn't put them on the same level as Jever, Dinkel, and Weltenburger, though ). I'd compare them more to Veltins and Henninger. I never saw Hasseröder. If I would have seen it, then I would have tried it (It was my mission while in Germany to try as many different beers as I could find.)

Have you ever tried Leipziger Gose? It's a weird, old fashioned beer that violates the Rheinheitsgebot that has just recently come available in the states. How about Alt and Kölsch (the rival ales from Düsseldorf and Cologne respectively)?

Why isn't Bock beer more popular in Germany? It's my favorite, but I couldn't find it outside of Bavaria.

2. In natural landmarks I've always enjoyed hanging out in the "Elbe Sandstone Mountains", of which the German part is also referred to as "Saxon Switzerland", a rolling and foresty region southeast of Dresden. Lovely place, and they have this nice castle Königstein.

I traveled through Saxon Switzerland, and I also found it beautiful. I only drove through it, though, so I didn't get to see the castle.


Here are some more questions for you:

What is your least favorite German state?

When I was in Nuremberg I noticed that there was a political party supporting an independent Franconia (Franken). What do you think the likelyhood of that happening is, and would you support it?

Also, why isn't there a Schwaben state? When the German states were realigned after WW2, why didn't they create a Schwaben instead of stretching Swabia accross Baden-Würrtemburg and Bavaria? Afterall, they created a state of Hesse despite that never having actually been a unifed Hesse prior to 1945.

[Perfection]

Originally posted by Ming


Hmmmm... begging to be restricted again?

It sure looks like it to me

I do need the occasional disciplining.

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by Lancer
My German step mother mentioned the other day that the trend of German men marrying Filipinas has made some news in Germany recently. What does the German populace in general think of this trend? What is the bias of the reporting? Are there any english language translations that you know of?

Have you personally noticed alot of Filipinas in Germany?

In the Philippines one sees alot of europeans of whom most are Germans. More than all other europeans nationalities combined, why? Is this addressed in the German media?

I haven't heard of any trend of German men marrying more filipinas. If anything it's Thai women that German men take with them on their way back home. German men marrying women from abroad is generally not something looked bad upon. More likely that people be grateful for more women coming to this country, especially the east (where it's not good gawd I love this smiley)

Germans in southeast Asia and Oceania is a known phenomenon. Many of those who live there and are not on vacation are "quitters" who left German society to find some luck as a bar owner or something in Thailand etc.The Philippines normally are not particularly adressed in German media, it's more SE Asia in general and Thailand in particular.

You protected west Germany? I'll have you know half of my family was trained to kill you

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by Wycoff
I've had Augustiner. I went to the Augstinerhaus in Munich. It's tough to find in the States, but it is available. I would have put it on the list, but it slipped my mind when I was writing the list. I didn't try Augustiner Pils, though, so I can't say how good it is. I had Augstiner Helles (I wanted Helles since I was in Munich. As you probably know, Munich, jealous of the rise of Pilsner in the mid 19th century, created Helles to compete with it.

I know that Pilsner is popular in other parts of Germany (like I mentioned, Jever is great, as is Dinkel Acker). I strongly recommend trying Weltenburger Pils, though. It's Bavarian, but IMO it's better than any other Pils except for the two that I've mentioned.

I tried Radeberger and Freiberger in Dresden, and I enjoyed them. I wouldn't put them on the same level as Jever, Dinkel, and Weltenburger, though ). I'd compare them more to Veltins and Henninger. I never saw Hasseröder. If I would have seen it, then I would have tried it (It was my mission while in Germany to try as many different beers as I could find.)

Have you ever tried Leipziger Gose? It's a weird, old fashioned beer that violates the Rheinheitsgebot that has just recently come available in the states. How about Alt and Kölsch (the rival ales from Düsseldorf and Cologne respectively)?

Why isn't Bock beer more popular in Germany? It's my favorite, but I couldn't find it outside of Bavaria.

First of all, it seems you have a very broad general knowledge of beer and a high interest in learning new stuff about it. My personal expertise stems more from the "everyday" point of view so I might miss some detail issues.

I've never tasted Jever (that I can remember) so I can't relate. The comparison is spot on, most east German Pils are less bitter than the north German counterparts, so Jever will be among the most bitter. The Becks taste that some find so special partly is due to its special bitterness. You might just be a bitter man when it comes to Pils.

Re: Gose and Bock. I've never tried Gose though I see it mentioned often in American reports on German beer. It seems you guys analyse our culture more than we do because Gose is hardly known outside of the Leipzig region. Bock is considered more a seasonal specialty than anything else, and this might be due partly do the very special properties of it. The high amount of alcohol is not considered appropriate for standard beer. If we wanted to add more alcohol it would be easy, but we like our ~5% which doesn't mean we don't do stronger. You should also try Andechser Doppelbock, a 7,1% Bock from Bavaria. Belgian beer with its high alcohol isn't very popular in Germany, while some people from abroad (esp. the English) like it for its strength. Bock is sweeter and stronger than Pils or Helles, so it comes in fall season as well as in May, probably during the traditional easter feasting to supply energy. So it is very popular, but not considered an every-day beverage.

Here are some more questions for you:

What is your least favorite German state?

When I was in Nuremberg I noticed that there was a political party supporting an independent Franconia (Franken). What do you think the likelyhood of that happening is, and would you support it?

Also, why isn't there a Schwaben state? I know that there were feudal reasons why Swabia never consolidated in the same way that Bavaria did, but, when the states were realigned after WW2, why didn't they create a Schwaben instead of stretching Swabia accross Baden-Würrtemburg and Bavaria? Afterall, they created a state of Hesse despite that never having actually been a unifed Hesse prior to 1945.

The status quo of German federalism is a double-edged status quo. For one, while its "creators" tried to follow historical lines in creating states, they also created some mishapps, partly due to the necessary destruction of the all-powerful state of Prussia that existed before. Northrhine-Westphalia (NRW), Rhine-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt are notorious for their artificiality. On the other hand, through the decades people have gotten used to their new identity. My "favourite" mistaken state is the Saar state because its origins are so geopolitical in nature (France etc.) that the very notion of a historical identity appears ludicrous. Saxony-Anhalt comes in line second. Plus, the Saar state plus the 3 city states represent some tradition of small states that we should get rid of for a bunch of reasons. Culturally, I feel least relating to the people of Lower Saxony and NRW.

As for Franconia, there's a strong regional identity there but this isn't really reflected in any political movements. People there insist on their cultural distinctness from Bavarians but are not political about it, as opposed to some examples of Spanish regional federalist movements (Basque, Catalan, which have their states but demand more autonomy). Most Franconian demands for independence are quite tongue-in-cheeks. These people are actually among my favourites all over Germany, just didn't mention them when you asked for my favourtie state. If they were a state, this'd be it.

As for Swabia, this is a typical example for a hard to change political status quo being in diametric opposition to cultural lines. While Baden people are not considered Swabian (more like Pfalz or Alsace people), Swabians do live in Bavaria. The current state of BaWü was made from 3 states which all followed dynastic traditions rather than cultural ones. Hessen the same, so Hessen and BaWü are more following the same idea than opposing ones, though there's still the fact of Baden-Schwaben mixing in the case of BaWü. There are no Württemberg people BTW, these would be mostly Swabians and... Franconians!

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by Pekka
Ecthy, would you recommend me a German girl? In general I mean. I wouldn't recommend a Finnish girl to foreigners, so the question is not obviously yes. List the good characteristics for German girls. I know there's pretty girls in Germany, I've been there few times.

Actually there was this pretty girl I saw when we were going clubbing in Berlin, it was some weird area, we had to take the metro for like some time to arrive there... there was this club called ... I think it was WWF? Something like that. Well anyway, as we were sitting outside, drinking moderately to get into a bit of a nice buzz and just before we entered the club, these girls came to us. This blonde girl asked if she could have some of my drink. I said sure, and she took my can and went back to their girl group. So I followed her otu of curiosity and being the horny man I am.

So she was kind of ... reserved for a while and then I understood why, she didn't know if I would be taken back that they were doing E and wanted something to drink so it goes down. Naturally I didn't mind. So we talked for a bit and she asked if I was coming to this club and I said no, unfortunately I'm going to the club right next to theirs. It wasn't such a big thing except we had bought tickets for the club earlier and they were quite expensive and we wanted to go there so I tried to convince them to come to our club but they also had tickets etc.

Anyway, so I know German girls are pretty and that I get along with them, at least the ones who do E and go clubbing. If that helps with your analysis that is.

I cannot relate at all to your sub-cultural background. I don't do electronic music clubs with expensive entry nor synthetic drugs such as E. I'm more from the other side of the students' cultural scope - rock music, smoking weed, alternative kind of people (understand this as an ideal type not a description of me). So it'll be hard.

German girls can be really beautiful, but there's an odd negative correlation - the more efforts they make (successfully) to fulfill beauty ideals, the more reserved and distanced they become. It seems to be girls with low self esteem only who are funny and friendly, for some odd reason. The result makes sense however - if you want to breed with the beauty you have to break a wall. Depending on what the sub-cultural background is this might appear a worthy task or not. Since I don't interact a lot with that kind of people, I can hardly relae to the issue.

Maybe you should do more of those drugs. And there we are on the spiral staircase going down. Just what is it with that odd subculture loaded with expectations and beauty angst?

[Zoid]

Why does the left in germany use the word 'genosse/genossin' instead of 'kameraden'?

[Ecthy]

They've always used the former. The latter has a more military undertone. However it was also used for schoolmates for a long time. Notice that the Russian language also has two distinct words and doesn't use the one that resembles "comrade" either.

The real question is: why does the english language use the word "comrade" and not another one?

[Zoid]

You mean like 'colleague'?

However 'comrade' in russian is 'товарищ' Isn't it? What is the other one?

When I was in Riga in 1992 at a conference for young social democrats in the former Soviet Union, they actually used the word 'colleague' instead of comrade. But I guess that can be excused when you've just been released from 70 years of stalinist oppression...