Deutsche Züge sind super

Deutsch - German

Frau: Entschuldigung, ist der Sitzplatz noch frei?

Joe: Ja, ist er.

Frau: Danke.

….

Joe: Entschuldigung…

Frau: Ja?

Joe: Fahren Sie auch bis München?

Frau: Ja.

Joe: Kennen Sie München gut?

Frau: Ich würde sagen, ja. Ich wohne dort.

Joe: Oh, sehr gut. Haben Sie vielleicht Tipps für mich? Ich weiß nicht, welche Sehenswürdigkeiten man in München unbedingt besichtigen muss…

Frau: Hmm….Ich finde, Sie müssen unbedingt auf den Marienplatz und in den Englischen Garten.

Joe: Okay. Und gibt es tolle Schlösser und Burgen in München?

Frau: Ja, ich würde das Schloss Nymphenburg und die Amalienburg

besichtigen. Das sind sehr schöne Schlösser.

Joe: Hmm, einen Moment. Ich möchte die Namen aufschreiben....

Nymphenburg und Amalienburg…Okay, gut.

Frau: Möchten Sie auch in ein Museum gehen?

Joe: Hmm, ich glaube nicht. Bei diesem Wetter würde ich gerne viel

draußen machen…

Frau: Dann gehen Sie auf den Marienplatz! Dort können Sie ein tolles Glockenspiel sehen! Und den Olympiapark müssen Sie auch

besichtigen.

Joe: Oh, das ist ja ganz schön viel! Marienpark und Olympiaplatz….

Frau: Haha, nein….MarienPLATZ und OlympiaPARK….

Joe: Haha, ach so! Na hoffentlich finde ich alles!

Englisch - English

Woman: Excuse me, is this seat still free?

Joe: Yes, it is.

Woman: Thanks.

….

Joe: Excuse me…

Woman: Yes?

Joe: Are you also travelling to Munich?

Woman: Yes.

Joe: Do you know Munich well?

Woman: I would say so. I live there.

Joe: Oh, very good. Might you have some tips for me? I don't know, which sights in Munich I absolutely have to see...

Woman: Hmm….I think you absolutely must see the Marienplatz and the English Garden.

Joe: Okay. And are there neat castles (palaces) and castles (forts) in

Munich?

Woman: Yeah, I would see the Nymphenburg castle and the Amelienburg. Those are really beautiful castles.

Joe Hmm, wait a moment. I'd like to write the names down... Nymphenburg and Amalienburg...Ok, good.

Frau: Would you also like to go in a museum?

Joe: Hmm, ich glaube nicht. Bei diesem Wetter würde ich gerne viel

draußen machen…

Joe: Hmm, I don't believe so. With this weather, I'd rather do more outside...

Woman: Then go to the Marienplatz! There you can see some nice chimes! And you also have to see the Olympiapark.

Joe: Oh, that is already a lot! Marienpark and Olympiaplatz...

Woman: Haha, no... MarienPLATZ and OlympiaPARK...

Joe Haha, I see! Well, I will hopefully find it all!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. Moment! Moment mal! Einen Moment bitte! = One sec!

2. Glockenspiel = literally "bell play" = carillon, chimes, glockenspiel (in music)

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is the conditional mood:

Bei diesem Wetter würde ich gerne viel draußen machen.

"In this kind of weather I'd like to do a lot outside."

In German, the conditional mood (confusingly called Konjunktiv) can be formed using würde:

ich würde

du würdest

er würde

wir würden

ihr würdet

sie würden

Use with an infinitive verb, just like the future:

Ich werde ins Schwimmbad gehen. (I will go to the swimming-pool) -> Ich würde ins Schwimmbad gehen. (I would go to the swimming-pool.)

Er wird dir nicht antworten. (He will not reply to you.) -> Er würde dir nicht antworten. (He would not reply to you.)

Note that in German, the conditional mood may be used on both sides of a conditional statement if you think that the condition is unlikely to be met:

Ich würde mitkommen, wenn du das Treffen verschieben würdest. - I would come along, if you moved the meeting.

Some verbs however do not use “würde” - we shall cover those when they come up.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Germany boasts some of the fastest trains in the world, the ICE trains (pronounced ay-see-ee, no one says „ice“)

Germany also invented the Transrapid, the magnet-based super-fast train that has now been built in China.

The German train company is contracted to build fast train networks all over the world. They may also build the fast American train network that Obama is envisioning.

In Germany, many of the rail network was created under Hitler, along with the Autobahnen. For him, starting these huge infrastructure projects was an easy way to drastically reduce unemployment – he just had to hand out enough shovels. So building the infrastructure and reducing unemployment are the two things that very old Germans may fondly recall about this monster.

Wo ist das richtige Gleis?

Deutsch - German

Joe: Hmm, Entschuldigung…?

Reisende: Ja…?

Joe: Können Sie mir helfen?

Reisende: Natürlich, gern…

Joe: Also, ich weiß nicht, ob ich hier richtig bin…

Reisende: Wohin möchten Sie denn?

Joe: Ich fahre nach München. Ist dies hier das richtige Gleis?

Reisende: Ja. Der Zug auf diesem Gleis fährt nach München. Das sehen Sie auf der Anzeigetafel da oben.

Joe: Aaah. Danke schön.

Reisende: Aber….

Joe: Ja, bitte…?

Reisende: Es kann auch sein, dass mehrere Züge dasselbe Ziel haben. Ich glaube, der Zug auf jenem Gleis dort fährt auch nach München. Was steht denn auf der Fahrkarte?

Joe: Hmm, ich weiß nicht…Mal sehen….Also hier steht, dass der Zug von Gleis 14 abfährt.

Reisende: Äh, das kann aber nicht sein. Dieser Bahnhof hat nur 10 Gleise!

Joe: Oh! Wie geht denn das!?!

Reisende: Ach, sehen Sie. Da steht, Ankunft ist in München auf Gleis 14! Aber Abfahrt hier in Berlin ist von Gleis 4. Das ist dieses hier. Sie sind also richtig.

Joe: Oh, da bin ich ja froh. Vielen Dank!

Reisende: Kein Problem. Gute Reise.

Joe: Danke, gleichfalls!

Englisch - English

Joe: Hmm, excuse me...?

Traveller: Yes...?

Joe: Could you help me?

Traveller: Of course, my pleasure...

Joe: So, I don't know, whether I'm at the right place...

Traveller: Where would you like to go?

Joe: I'm going to Munich. Is this the right track here?

Traveller: Yes. The train on this track goes to Munich. You can see that on the time table board up there.

Joe: Ahhh. Thank you very much.

Traveller: But...

Joe: Yes, please...?

Traveller: It's also possible that several trains have the same destination. I believe, the train on this train over there is also going to Munich. What's on your ticket?

Joe: Hmm, I don't know... let's see... so here it says that the train leaves on track 14.

Traveller: Oh, but that can't be. This station only has 10 tracks!

Joe: Oh! How does that work!?!

Traveller: Oh, look. There it states that the arrival is in Munich on track 14! But the departure here in Berlin is on track 4. That is this one here. So, you're right.

Joe: Oh, then I'm indeed happy. Thank you very much!

Traveller: No problem. Have a good trip.

Joe: Thanks, you too!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. ich weiß nicht, ob ich hier richtig bin = I don't know if I'm in the right place. "hier richtig sein" = "to be in the right place".

2. abfahren = to depart, leave. Same root as 'die Abfahrt'

(departure).

3. Wie geht denn das? = literally 'How goes that?' = "How is that possible?". "es geht" always has a second meaning of "it is possible" or "it is functioning". For example, you might say "Der Aufzug geht heute nicht" (the elevator is broken today).

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is demonstrative pronouns:

Der Zug auf diesem Gleis fährt nach München. "The train on this track is going to Munich.

This lesson's dialog featured two interesting words, „dieser“ (this) and „jener“ (that). They are demonstrative pronouns, that's the official term for them. „demonstrative“ because they are used when „demonstrating“, in the sense of „showing“, „indicating“. When you point at something, you will usually use a demonstrative pronoun. You will say something like „THIS car“ or „THAT car over there“. Even when you're not actually pointing, you will sometimes use demonstrative pronouns.

In German, the demonstrative pronouns are „dieser“ for things that are close to you, and „jener“ for things that are further away. These words get the same endings as adjectives – don't concern yourself too much with them right now, we are covering adjective endings in-depth in the intermediate series.

Anyway, this is how we wind up with forms like „auf diesem Gleis“ (on this track), or simply „dies“ for neuter. „dieser“ and „jener“ are actually less often used in German than they are in English. In German, they are increasingly being replaced with the simple article. If we say „auf dem Gleis“, emphasizing the „dem“ more than we would in a regular sentence, then that means just the same as „auf diesem Gleis“. The equivalent of „auf jenem Gleis“ (on that track) is „auf dem Gleis dort“ - adding a „dort“ after the noun fulfills the same purpose as the word „that“ in English.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Things to watch out for when taking the train:
• Train stations can be huge – allow enough time to walk through the train station, find the track and walk to the part where your train stops!
• Sometimes there are two trains departing from the same track at around the same time, one from the one side and one from the other. Also, sometimes one train is later split into two, with different routes or different final destinations. Best look at the display on the track. Your ticket should also say something like 'Track 12, A-D“ - this means only the part of the train that stops in track sections A to D will go to your destination. If you get on the train in section G of the track, you will likely wind up somewhere else.
• If you have a ticket, you most likely bought a seat reservation at the same time.

The seat reservation consists of a car number and a seat number. If you don't want to walk through the entire train in search of your seat, you should find out where your car is going to stop before the train even arrives. Look out for a colourful poster on the track which shows you approximately where each car will stop, based on the track sections. Inside the train, there are electronic displays above each row of seats that: 
• Beware that it is possible to have a ticket without a reserved seat. This means that you are not entitled to a seat and there may not be enough seats available on the train. On busy days, more than a few people will be left standing. You can still sit down in any unoccupied seat though – you just have to vacate it if someone arrives who reserved that seat. If you're lucky, your seat will be unreserved. You can tell from the electronic display above each row of seats. This display shows you from which stop to which stop the seat has been reserved, or if there is no reservation.

Eine Fahrkarte kaufen

Deutsch - German

Bahn: Hallo, wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?

Joe: Hallo, ich möchte gerne eine Fahrkarte kaufen.

Bahn: Okay. Wohin möchten Sie fahren?

Joe: Ich möchte nach München fahren.

Bahn: Gut. Und wann möchten Sie nach München?

Joe: Montag früh.

Bahn: Okay, ich gucke mal im Computer… Also, Sie können einen Zug um halb 9 nehmen. Sie müssen nicht umsteigen und sind dann um 15 Uhr15 in München am Hauptbahnhof.

Joe: Hmm und wie viel kostet die Fahrkarte?

Bahn: 89 Euro.

Joe: Oh. Das ist viel Geld.

Bahn: Hmm, sie können auch den Zug um Viertel vor 10 oder um 10 Uhr

nehmen. Dann kostet die Fahrkarte nur 79 Euro.

Joe Hmm, nein. Dann nehme ich den Zug um 9 Uhr 30.

Bahn Äh. Sie meinen 8 Uhr 30. Um halb zehn fährt kein Zug nach München.

Joe: Oh, ja natürlich.

Bahn: Möchten Sie auch die Rückfahrt buchen?

Joe: Nein, danke. Jetzt noch nicht.

Bahn: Okay, dann reserviere ich jetzt einen Sitzplatz für den Zug

Berlin-München am Montag um 8

Joe: Gut.

Bahn Das macht dann 89 Euro, bitte.

Joe: Bitte sehr.

Bahn: Danke. Gute Reise!

Joe: Danke.

Englisch - English

Bahn: Hello, how can I help you?

Joe: Hello, I'd like to buy a ticket.

Bahn: Okay. Where would you like to go?

Joe: I would like to go to Munich.

Bahn: Good. And when do you want to [go to] Munich?

Joe: Early on Monday.

Bahn: Okay, I shall look in the computer... Well, you can take a train at half past 8. You don't have to change trains and you will be at Munich main train station at 3.15pm.

Joe: Hmm, and how much does the ticket cost?

Bahn: 89 Euros.

Joe: Oh. That is a lot of money.

Bahn: Hmm, you could also take the train at quarter to 10 or at 10. Then the ticket is only 79 Euros.

Joe: Hmm, no. I'll take the train at 9.30.

Bahn: Ehm. You mean 8.30. There is no train to Munich at half past 9.

Joe: Oh, yes of course.

Bahn: Would you like to book the trip back as well?

Joe: No, thanks. Not yet.

Bahn: Okay, then I shall now reserve a seat on the train Berlin-Munich on Monday at 8.30am.

Joe: Good.

Bahn: That's 89 Euros please.

Joe: There you go.

Bahn: Thanks. Have a good trip!

Joe: Thanks.

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. noch nicht = „still not“ = not yet.
2. „Bitte sehr“ is the same as „Bitte“ or „Bitte schön“, just a polite thing to say when handing something over.
3. „Gute Reise“ = „Good trip“ = Have a good trip! 
4. Remember that „am“ is a combination of „an“ and „dem“, so it means „at the“. It is not possible to say „an dem“ unless you mean „at this“... if you mean „at the“, these two words always mesh together to form „am“.

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is telling the time in German.

Sie meinen 8 Uhr 30. Um halb zehn fährt kein Zug nach München.

"You mean 8.30am. There is no train to Munich at half past nine.

In German, there are different ways to give the time. The most common one is to name the nearest quarter of the hour.

Um ____ => for the full hour

Viertel nach ____ => for a quarter past a certain hour

Halb ____ => for half an hour before (halb 8 = half past 7!)

Viertel vor ____ => A quarter of an hour before the full hour

You can also indicate any amount of minutes before or after the full hour by using „vor“ (before, to) and „nach“ (after).

Zehn nach Sechs. => Ten past six.

Zwanzig vor Vier. => Twenty to four.

Or you can give the time „digitally“ by just reading the numbers – e.g. „Zwölf Uhr Vierunddreißig“

(12:34). When using this approach, almost all Germans will use a 24 hour schema, instead of 12. So 5 o’clock in the evening is usually called „17 Uhr“ (17 o'clock!).

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Travelling in Germany Here is an overview of the transportation that is available to you if you want to travel within Germany and the neighbouring countries. Car – obviously you can rent a car and drive around, once you've familiarised yourself with the German traffic rules and the look of the road signs, which is rather different from the ones in the states. However, keep in mind that gas is at least twice and sometimes three times as expensive as in the states, so this may not be the cheapest nor the most convenient way to see Germany. Bus – Busses are good for getting around in cities, but Germany does not rely much on long-distance busses, because trains are so much faster and more comfortable. Still, there are a couple long-distance bus lines available that you may try. They will take you to from and to major German cities and some international ones. Train – Next to cars, trains are foremost in people's minds when thinking long-distance travel. Germany boasts fast trains that can take you from any big city to any other at speeds of up to 190 miles per hour. They even go internationally – you may be able to catch a direct train to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, continental Denmark, Warsaw, Prague, Vienna, Milan or Basel. There is also a comprehensive network of slower, regional trains, which in conjunction with the fast trains reach almost every town in Germany. Plane – Flying from one part of Germany to another is a very new concept and only made possible by the rush of cheap airlines. Now however, even hopping to Venice, Barcelona or London for a weekend is affordable to many. You just have to wait for a good offer.

Bezahlen fürs Spielen in Deutschland

German - Deutsch

Joe: Du hast ja viele Tennisschläger hier, Anke!

Anke: Oh ja! Tennis ist mein Lieblingssport! Magst du Tennis?

Joe: Tennis? Nein, ich mag Tennis nicht …

Anke: Oh, wirklich?! Aber Tennis ist doch toll! Ich spiele jede Woche mit Freunden Tennis.

Joe: Hmm, jede Woche. Also ist Tennis dein Hobby …

Anke: Ja, genau. Hast du ein Hobby?

Joe: Ja, ich habe viele Hobbys. Meine Hobbys sind Lesen, Schwimmen und Fahrradfahren. Und ich mag Musik.

Anke: Du hast aber viele Hobbys. Und du machst viel Sport!

Joe: Ja. In meiner Familie mögen wir alle Sport. Meine Brüder spielen Basketball und natürlich Eishockey. Und meine Schwester und meine Eltern tanzen.

Anke: Wow. Ihr mögt Sport wirklich sehr!

Joe: Ja. Und ich reise auch gern.

Anke: Oh, ich auch!

Joe: Du kannst mich ja mal in Washington besuchen!

Anke: Ja gerne!

Joe: Ich werde nächste Woche nach München fahren und dann fahre ich vielleicht noch nach Zürich.

Anke: Oh toll, ich mag München! Und Zürich ist auch eine schöne Stadt! Du musst mir eine Postkarte schreiben!

Joe: Ja, werde ich!

English - Englisch

Joe: You have a lot of tennis racquets here, Anke!

Anke: Oh yes! Tennis is my favorite sport! Do you like tennis?

Joe: Tennis? No, I don't like tennis...

Anke: Oh, really?! But tennis is so great! I play tennis every week with friends.

Joe: Hmm, every week. So tennis is your hobby...

Anke: Yes, exactly. Do you have a hobby?

Joe: Yes, I have many hobbies. My hobbies are reading, swimming and bicycle-riding. And I like music.

Anke: You have a lot of hobbies. And you do a lot of sports!

Joe: Yes. In my family, we all like sports. My brothers play basketball and ice-hockey of course. And my sister and my parents dance.

Anke: Wow.You really like sports!

Joe: Yes. And I also like to travel. [travel gladly]

Anke: Oh, I do, too!

Joe: You can visit me in Washington some time!

Anke: Yes, gladly!

Joe: I am going to go to Munich next week and then I am maybe going to go on to Zurich.

Anke: Oh great, I like Munich! And Zurich is also a nice city! You have to write me a postcard!

Joe: Yes, I will!

Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. Tennisschläger consists of "Tennis" and "Schläger". The -er ending in "Schläger" is for a person who does something, and the base word is "schlagen" (to beat). So "Schläger" means "beater" or also "club", the thing that you use for beating. "Tennisschläger" = "tennis club" 2. Fahrradfahren is a noun created on the basis of "Fahrrad" (bike) and "fahren" (to drive, go). You could also say "Ich fahre gern Fahrrad" - never mind that Germans "drive a bike". 3. "ja" in the phrase "Du kannst mich ja mal in Washington besuchen" is simply an affirmation, like saying "you know you can".

Grammar Points

The focus of this lesson is the irregular German verb "mögen" (to like)

Ihr mögt Sport wirklich sehr!

"Your really like sports a lot!"

„mögen“ (to like) is another irregular German verb. In this lesson’s dialog you have encountered several forms of it, such as „du magst“ and „wir mögen“. „mögen“ is like the modal verbs „können“ or

„müssen“, which you've seen before, in that it has one stem for the singular forms and one stem for plural. „mögen“ uses the stem „mag-“ for all singular forms: ich mag, du magst, er mag (NOT „er magt“, note there's no -t!). For plural it reverts back to „mögen“ as a stem: wir mögen, ihr mögt, sie mögen.

This is an extremely useful verb when talking about what you like and dislike, so learn it well!

Cultural Insight

German hobbies In their free time, Germans watch a lot of TV – 3 hours a day on average. This is still lower than the American average of roughly 4 hours a day, but steadily rising. The single most popular hobby apart from watching TV or surfing the internet is probably soccer. The majority of Germans are or have been in a soccer club at some point in their life. The entire scene of hobby clubs is more developed than in America because schools don’t typically offer many clubs of their own – so youths and adults alike join public clubs instead. Every city has a large range of sports clubs, from ball games to martial arts and dancing. There are also gaming clubs; particularly popular are Skat and Doppelkopf (German card games), chess and German board games. Then, there are clubs dedicated to keep alive some part of culture, such as the shooting clubs, Karneval clubs, dialect clubs and foreign folklore clubs. Finally, there are breeding clubs (rabbits, pigeons…), collector clubs and much more.

Gespräch über Fußball

German

Anke: Ach, Fußball ist ein toller Sport!
Joe: Ja, Fußball gucken macht immer Spaß!
Anke: Ja. Das stimmt.
Joe: Aber es gibt auch Menschen, die nicht gern Fußball gucken …
Anke: Ja, aber das kann ich nicht verstehen.
Thomas: Ich auch nicht.
Joe: Thomas, du weißt aber wirklich viel über Fußball.
Thomas: Ja. Wisst ihr, dass Lothar Matthäus mit 25 WM-Spielen den Weltrekord hält?!
Joe: Lothar…wer?
Anke: Haha, Thomas, du weißt Dinge!! So etwas wissen wir natürlich nicht!
Thomas: Haha …Ja, so etwas vergesse ich nicht, aber Telefonnummern und Geburtstage vergesse ich immer!
Joe: Haha…
Thomas: So, jetzt muss ich aber los…
Anke: Okay. Wir sehen uns ja morgen auf der Arbeit.
Thomas: Nein, morgen bin ich nicht da. Du weißt doch, ich habe Urlaub!
Anke: Ach stimmt, das weiß ich ….
Thomas: Nächste Woche bin ich aber wieder da.
Anke: Ja, gut…
Thomas: Tschüss Joe, vielleicht sehen wir uns ja auch noch mal wieder...
Joe: Ja, vielleicht. Gute Heimfahrt!
Thomas: Danke. Tschüss!
Anke: Tschüss!
…
Joe: Thomas ist echt nett.
Anke: Ja.
Joe: Und er weiß wirklich viel über Fußball!
Anke: Das stimmt!
Joe: Er ist also ein Fußball-Lexikon!
Anke: Haha, genau.

English

Anke: Ah, soccer is a great sport!
Joe: Yes, watching soccer is always fun!
Anke: Yes. That's right.
Joe: But there are also people who don't like to watch soccer...
Anke: Yes, but I can't understand that.
Thomas: Me neither.
Joe: Thomas, you do really know a lot about soccer.
Thomas: Yes. Do you know, that Lothar Matthäus holds the record by having played in 25 world championship games?!
Joe: Lothar... who?
Anke: Haha, Thomas, you know stuff!! Of course we don't know that kind of thing!
Thomas: Haha... yes, I don't forget this kind of thing, but I always forget phone numbers and birthdays!
Joe: Haha...
Thomas: Well, I have to get going now...
Anke: Okay. We shall see each other tomorrow at work.
Thomas: No, tomorrow I won't be there. You know that it's my holidays!
Anke: Ah right, I know that...
Thomas: I shall be there again next week.
Anke: Yes, good...
Thomas: Bye Joe, maybe we'll also see each other again...
Joe: Yes, maybe. Have a good drive home!
Thomas: Thanks. Bye!
Anke: Bye!
...
Joe: Thomas is really nice.
Anke: Yes.
Joe: And he really knows a lot about soccer!
Anke: That's right!
Joe: So he is a soccer lexicon!
Anke: Haha, exactly.

Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. "So, jetzt muss ich aber los" = Well, now I have to get going. In races, "Los!" means "Go!", but it's
not a verb.
2. Geburtstag consists of "Geburt" (birth) and "Tag" (day), so it mirrors the English "birthday".
3. verstehen is a really useful verb also when you're having communication problems. You could say
"Ich verstehe nicht" or "Ich verstehe Sie nicht. Könnten Sie das wiederholen?" (I don't understand you.
Could you repeat that?)

Grammar Points

The focus of this lesson is the irregular verb "wissen" (to know)
Ach stimmt, das weiß ich!
"Ah right, I know that!"

„wissen“ (to know) is an irregular German verb. In this lesson’s dialog you have encountered several
forms of it, such as „du weißt“ and „er weiß“. All singular forms of the verb „wissen“ are based on
„weiß-“ instead of the expected „wiss-“. The plural forms are regular.
Here is the complete conjugation.
ich weiß, du weißt, er weiß, wir wissen, ihr wisst, sie wissen
This verb comes up in the Loreley song, which is really well-known. It starts off „Ich weiß nicht was
soll es bedeuten, dass ich so traurig bin.“ (I don't know what it means that I am so sad). The whole
song is melancholic, because it deals with ships being drowned by the beautiful Loreley. Conversely,
this song is often brought up when people are not sad but happy.

Cultural Insight

German law guarantees 4 weeks of movable holidays, so that translates to 20 days if you have a 5-day work week or 24 days if you have a 6-day work week. Young workers (up to 18 years old) get more, but keep in mind that your choice of work and your amount of weekly work hours are restricted when you're young, to prevent child labor.
Additionally there 9 to 13 non-moveable public holidays. The exact amount depends on the state, because some states recognize different religious holidays than others, depending on the state's prevalent confession (Catholic or Protestant).
For a vacation, about a third of all Germans travel to a vacation spot within Germany, for example the Black Forest, the coast or one of the metropoles. Then, Spain and Italy also attract a lot of visitors, especially the Spanish Balearic island of
Mallorca, which is sometimes jokingly referred to as the 17 th
German Bundesland. Considering that German summers are never too hot and you have to be brave to swim in the cold North Sea, it's no surprise that a lot of Germans travel to sunny beaches for their vacation. That includes all of Southern Europe really – not just Spain and Italy but also Southern France, former Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey. Even spots on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea are popular for this purpose, for example Tunisia or Egypt. If you're not looking for a beach though, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe are also popular destinations, as are metropoles such as Paris, London, Rome, Venice or Vienna and historic sites in Greece.
If you're going to Europe for a vacation, there's no reason you have to do one or the other. Distances are small and flights within Europe are dirt cheap, so why not see both Berlin and Vienna for example?

Normale Freunde in Deutschland

Ordinary friends in Germany

Deutsch - German

Anke: Ach, na endlich! Das ist sicher Thomas.
Joe: Ah, gut!
Anke: Hallo Thomas!
Thomas: Hallo Anke.
Anke: Schön, dass du da bist. Das Spiel fängt gleich an!
Thomas: Oh, bin ich also zu spät?!
Anke: Nein, du bist nicht zu spät. Thomas, das ist Joe. Joe, das ist Thomas.
Thomas: Hallo Joe.
Joe: Hallo Thomas.
Anke: Thomas, willst du etwas trinken?
Thomas: Hmm, ja. Ich nehme ein Bier.
Anke: Okay.
Thomas: Und woher kennen Sie Anke, Joe?
Joe: Ich kenne sie aus dem Flugzeug.
Anke: Ja, Joe ist aus Kanada, aber er wohnt in Washington.
Thomas: Ach so. Das ist ja interessant.
Joe: Und woher kennst du Thomas, Anke?
Anke: Ich kenne ihn von der Arbeit.
Joe: Ach so.
Anke: Ah, das Spiel fängt an!
Joe: Und, was meinen Sie Thomas… wie viele Tore wird es geben?
Thomas: Joe, wollen wir nicht „Du“ sagen?
Joe: Oh, ja, gerne. Also, was meinst du, wie viele Tore wird es wohl geben?
Thomas: Oh, frag mich nicht! Meine Tipps sind nie richtig….
Anke: Haha, das stimmt. Dich kann man so etwas wirklich nicht fragen…
Joe: Und für wen bist du, Thomas?
Thomas: Na für uns natürlich!
Joe: Uns? Ach ja, Deutschland spielt ja….
Anke: Mensch Joe, du vergisst aber viel!
Joe: Oh ja, das stimmt!!

Englisch - English

Anke: Ah, now finally! That's surely Thomas.
Joe: Oh, good!
Anke: Hi Thomas!
Thomas: Hi Anke.
Anke: Nice that you're here. The game's about to start!
Thomas: Oh, so I'm too late!
Anke: No, you're not too late. Thomas, this is Joe. Joe, this is Thomas.
Thomas: Hi Joe.
Joe: Hi Thomas.
Anke: Thomas, do you want something to drink?
Thomas: Hmm, yeah. I'll take a beer.
Anke: Okay.
Thomas: And from where do you know Anke, Joe?
Joe: I know her from the airplane.
Anke: Yes, Joe is from Canada, but he lives in Washington.
Thomas: I see. That's interesting indeed.
Joe: And where do you know Thomas, Anke?
Anke: I know him from work.
Joe: I see.
Anke: Ah, the game is starting!
Joe: And, what do you (formal) think Thomas... how many goals will be scored?
Thomas: Joe, don't we want to say "Du"?
Joe: Oh yes, with pleasure. So, what do you think, how many goals will be scored?
Thomas: Oh, don't ask me! My guesses are never right...
Anke: Haha, that's right. One can't really ask you something like that...
Joe: And who are you rooting for, Thomas?
Thomas: Well, for us, of course!
Joe: Us? Oh yeah, Germany's playing indeed...
Anke: Man Joe, you sure do forget a lot!
Joe: Oh yes, that's true!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. Wollen wir nicht 'du' sagen?“ is an easy way you can request the switch to informal German if you're
sick of calling someone 'Sie'. However, keep in mind that the older or more respected person is
supposed to make this offer; you can't walk up to your girlfriend's mother for example and ask if you
may address her informally, that would be out of place.
2. „aber“ can be used for emphasis, for example in „du vergisst aber viel“ (you DO forget a lot)

Grammatik - Grammar

When a personal pronoun is used as the direct object of a sentence, for example in „Ich kenne ihn von
der Arbeit“ (I know him from work), we use the Accusative form of personal pronouns.
We've seen the Accusative forms all over the lessons, now let's have the full overview.
ich – mich
du – dich
er – ihn
es – es (unchanged)
sie – sie (unchanged)
wir – uns
ihr – euch
sie – sie / Sie – Sie (unchanged)
The question word for these is not „wer“ but „when“.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

German TV shows a lot of live soccer games of course, closely followed by car racing... and the other sports are not as often on TV.
In terms of movies, the majority of movies on TV are Hollywood movies and Hollywood series, dubbed into German of course, without subtitles. Due to the lower budget, the TV program is still
showing more German movies than cinemas do. For decent movies there is a typical starting time of 8:15pm. Hardly any program ignores this boundary because it places the movies right after the
evening news and Germans have gotten used to it. Not so great movies or re-runs are placed later in the evening or in the afternoon, even sometimes in the morning.
Most of what is airing in the mornings or afternoons aren't movies though but documentaries, talk shows or game shows. You'd probably recognize the format of most of them – the formats are
imported from the states, even though the moderators and guests are German. There is one show though whose format Germany is exporting into several dozen countries around the globe - „Wetten dass...?!“ (Bet that...?!).
„Wetten dass...?!“ is always looking for ordinary people who can do extra-ordinary things, for example someone who can open bottles using a helicopter, or someone who can play two trumpets at the same time while balancing several beers on each of them. The name of the show is derived from the fact that there are always several celebrities who have to bet on whether the candidates will be
able to succeed. All candidates have proven that they can succeed, the show is not about weeding out impossible suggestions, but rather the proposed tasks are so difficult that they won't succeed every time.