Monday, July 11, 2016

Blogs -- auf Deutsch!

Mit besten Dank, FluentU!
There’s a whole load of blogs out there. In fact, nowadays it’s probably quite hard to find someone who doesn’t have their own blog. With everyone writing about their hobbies and interests, blogs cover pretty much every subject there is. So no complaining that you can’t find one to suit your tastes!
Another bonus to this wealth of subject matter is that if you need to study a certain theme or topic for a German class you’re taking, you can easily find a German blog to quickly to dip into and take note of the necessary vocab.
Most blogs have sections for readers’ comments below each article. Wanna stretch your writing muscles? Get commenting! For practice in giving an opinion in German, which is often what’s asked of you in writing exams, the comments section is the place to be.

10 Attention-grabbing Blogs in German That’ll Keep You Reading 

1. Mit Vergnügen (My Pleasure)

blogs in german
Mit Vergnügen is a blog all about the latest goings-on in Berlin. If there’s a cool gallery opening or underground party coming up, the guys at Mit Vergnügen will know about it. Every day, they post about one fun thing happening—and this is actually where the name comes from: Mit Vergnügen is the German way of saying, “My pleasure” after being invited somewhere. The posts aren’t too long, so they’re great for a quick read every now and then. As the writers are all young, this blog will also give you a great insight into informal German and slang.

2. We Travel the World

blogs in german
We Travel The World is a fantastic German-language travel blog. The website is split up into country and area sections. Pick the one that interests you most, and discover local food and culture! You’ll also find helpful posts about planning a trip—budget, what to pack, checklists, etc. One fantastic aspect of this blog is that despite its international scope, it also has posts about Germany—so you can travel the country without even leaving your sofa! If you are planning on jetting off on vacation, you can brush up on that all-important travel vocab before setting out.

3. Fashion Insider

blogs in german
Here’s one for all you fashionistas out there. Fashion Insider is a fantastic fashion blog full of loads of ideas on what latest trends should be in your closet. If you ever find yourself in Germany after reading this blog, you’ll know all the right vocab to help you get your shop on. It’s a great blog to pick up on everyday words. There’s also a section on home wear, which should help to widen your vocabulary even more.

4. ScienceBlogs

blogs in german
If you want to practice a bit of advanced German, head on over to ScienceBlogs. The name is a little deceptive—even though the bulk of the articles are about the science world, there’s also quite a few political and cultural blog posts to delve into. The writing is slightly more formal than the rest of the blogs on this list, but there’s nothing too tricky in there—just think of it as great practice!

5. Karrierebibel (Career Bible)

blogs in german
Karrierebibel is a blog all about the professional world. Whether you want tips on how to ace an interview or how to organize yourself more efficiently, this blog will load you up with all the useful tips and tricks for the workplace you can imagine. So why read this in German? Well, besides the reasons we’ve already covered, it will help you to better your business German. Like ScienceBlogs, it’s also written a little more formally and is great for getting to grips with some professional German.

6. Für Sie (For You)

blogs in german
Für Sie is a blog by the German magazine of the same name. It’s packed full of yummy recipes and definitely a blog that all foodies should add to their bookmarks. One interesting learning feature of all the recipes is that they are written in the imperative—the tense that is used for commands and instructions.
Like so:
Öl in einer Pfanne erhitzen. (Heat the oil in a pan.)

7. Schokohimmel (Chocolate Heaven)

blogs in german
Here’s another food blog, but this time it’s one for all of you with a sweet tooth! This blog is aimed at bakers and has a wide selection of traditional German, Austrian and Swiss cakes, biscuits and pastries. As with Für Sie, this one will boost your knowledge of the imperative. When Schokohimmel‘s blogger, Judith Weitzel, goes on her travels around Germany, she often writes about them. So along with tasty treats, this blog is jam-packed with a native’s view of her own country!

8. Deutschwortschatz (German Lexicon)

blogs in german
Deutschwortschatz is a blog all about words. Some of the quirky posts include poetry, origins of words and lists of words that belong to a theme (just like this one of unusual illness names). Obviously, this blog is a great place to go to build up your German vocabulary. And if you learn the history and origins of words, you never know, it just might help them to stick in your mind.

9. Literatur Blog (Literature Blog)

blogs in german
Another blog that focuses on words, Literatur Blogprefers those words to be working together to make up a good book. This blog is a collection of book reviews and short biographies of featured authors. Have you run out of ideas for choosing your next German book? Well, look no further—there’s a lot of solid recommendations to be found on Literatur Blog.

10. Testspiel (Tryout)

blogs in german
I couldn’t very well write a list of blogs and not mention a single music blog, could I? Music blogs are, after all, ubiquitous in every country’s blogosphere. Testspiel is one of the most popular in German-speaking countries. You’ll find a ton of music reviews on the website, helping you to keep up-to-date with who’s hot in the German charts. Even if you’re not a massive music fan, it’s still worth checking out this blog—they also post TV and film reviews as well as articles on current art and design trends.
From how to bake Bavarian sweet treats, to learning the dos-and-don’ts of the German workplace, there’s almost nothing a blog can’t help you out with. And they’ll help you with your German along the way.
Who knows? You might even feel compelled to start your very own German-language blog!

Kleine große Stimme: Great Little Voice

Trailer -- an orphan seeks his father using an English song he learned from his mother before she died.  He assumes the song was taught to her by his father, an American soldier, who left without knowing he had a son.  
The boy's strategy is to audition for the Boy's Choir in Vienna, since it regularly tours in the USA.
Era:  1955     Filmed in 2015.




How - and when - does one become a Wiener Chor Knabe?
And what is life like for these Choristers?


1. Episode: Mein Weg nach Deutschland

In der ersten Episode lernen wir eine Türkin, namens Nevin lernen, die jetzt in Deutschland wohnt.  Sie muss viel über das Leben in Deutschland lernen.  Hier lernt sie über öffentliche Verkehrsmittel: sie fährt mit dem Bus zum Arbeitsamt.

Nevin, a Turkish woman, is featured in this first episode.  She now lives in Germany, and must learn a lot about life in Germany.  In this episode, she learns to use public transportation:  she takes the bus to the Employment Office.




Do you feel Nevin has learned German fairly well by now?
Does she have reason to be intimidated by living among Germans?
Does Nevin seem to enjoy being in Germany?  (How does she pass the time on her bus ride?)
Must Nevin rely on others for help? 

Check out the other episodes which follow. 
Do you have a favorite?