Category Archives: language

Nazi Bedtime Stories

The next estate dissolution in which we took part involved the sale of a rather large piece of land in the middle of Munich. A rich textile-industry dynasty family had a villa there with a spacious guest house, and basement … Continue reading

Posted in culture, Germany, history, language, literature | 2 Comments

Weekend Mountain Blogging: Maria Tax – Wolfsklamm

A half-day hike above Stans to the Maria Tax Chapel. Taxen  is an old regional word for Tannen, or fir tree. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary made an appearance here in 1616,  leaving behind her handprint on a … Continue reading

Posted in Austria, culture, language, Mountains, nature, travel | Comments Off on Weekend Mountain Blogging: Maria Tax – Wolfsklamm

Teriolis ≠ Tirol

Continuing in the looking-up-one-thing-and-finding-the-tip-of-the-iceberg vein, I recently began looking into an assumption I had made a while back — that the name Tirol was derived from the Roman fortress Teriolis (from which the village of Zirl takes its name). It … Continue reading

Posted in archaeology, assimilation, Austria, Germany, history, Italy, language | 3 Comments

Licus

A beautiful late-summer Saturday afternoon walking along the Lech River, south of Landsberg. The river was full of swans, dozens of them, and as we walked  an enormous flock of honking wild geese came in over the trees and landed … Continue reading

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Another Way To Say “One Way Only”

Continuing with our observation of badly-named vehicles… I swear, is anyone giving serious thought to these names?

Posted in Frivolity, language, Life Abroad, travel | Comments Off on Another Way To Say “One Way Only”

And While We’re In The 15th Century…

…it’s only a short jump ahead to the time of Emperor Ferdinand II and Philippine Welser, both of whom figure in the local story of the Roßsprung (“horse jump”). Paschberg has a post up about the story and the now-urban … Continue reading

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