30 Nov 2014

Die 150 deutschprachigen Filme, und viele noch dazu...

In den 80er Jahren könnte man schon einige deutschsprachigen Filme in Kinos in Finnland gucken. Na ja, die älteren Leute erinnerrn sich einige Zeiten dieserart noch davor...

Und später mal die ersten Berlinale sowie Filmfest München in den 80er und 90er Jahren bringen mir immer noch schöne Erinnerungen...Wäre auch interessant mal im Internationalen Leipziger Festival des Dokumentar- und Animationsfilmes zu besuchen. Denke ich...und werde hoffentlich das auch mal verwirklichen...DOK-DOK-DOK.



DVDs zuhause:
Hier die 25 interessantesten oder schönsten deutschsprachigen Filme 
allerzeiten (in beliebiger Reihenfolge):

1. Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Lola (BRD)
2. Fassbinder: Die Ehe von Maria Braun (BRD)
3. Fassbinder: Lili Marleen (BRD)
4. Fassbinder: Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss (BRD)
5. Doris Dörrie: Kirschbluten (BRD)
6. Leander Haussmann: Sonnenallee (BRD)
7. Hans-Christian Schmid: Lichter (BRD)
8. Bosko Biati: Zugvögel (BRD)
9.Wim Wenders: Bagdad Café (BRD)
10.Wenders: Bis am Ende der Welt (BRD)
11.Florian Henkel von Donnersmack: Das Leben der anderen (BRD)
12.Sönke Wortmann: Das Wunder von Bern (BRD)
13.Wolfgang Becker: Goodbye Lenin (BRD)
14.Heiner Carow: Die Legende von Paul und Paula (DDR)
15.Kondrad Wolf: Solo Sunny (DDR)
16.Frank Beyer: Spur der Steine (DDR)
17.Frank Beyer: Karbid und Sauerampfer (DDR)
18.Rolf Lyssy: Die Schweizermacher (CH)
19.Mikael Haneke: Klavierspieler (AT)
20.Fritz Lang: Metropolis (BRD)
21.Lang: Spione(BRD)
22.Lang: M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (BRD)
23.Robert Wiene: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (BRD)
24.Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau: Nosferatu (BRD)
25:Murnau: Faust (BRD)



Joulutoreilla, ja pikkujoulujakin...

Nyt on se aika, pikkujouluja ja joulumarkkinoita...


Huomenna on siis Goethe-Instituutin ja Saksan suurlähetystön yhteinen "Miniaturweihnachten" -ilta. Mukavaa kun olen nyt paikalla Helsingissä ja pääsee taas 3 vuoden jälkeen mukaan meininkiin. Niin ja 11 joulukuuta Sveitsin Ystävät Suomessa kutsuvat sinut perinteiseen tapaan jouglögille toimistolleen.




Mitä tulee saksankielisten maitten joulumarkkinoihin olen parin-kolmenkymmenen vuoden aikana lähes kaikki ne "tärkeimmät" kiertänyt. Joko sattumalta tai tarkoituksella. Tarkoituksella jo noin parikymmentä vuotta sitten ne kuuluisimmat: Weihnachtsmarkt Dresden ja Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt ...



...ja sattumalta silloin myös monia muita, kuten Köln, München, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Wien ja niin edelleen. Niin Kielissä en kyllä joulumarkkinoilla ole ollut. Muistelen että niitäkin jotkut ovat kehuneet.   

Täältä löytyy Sveitsin joulumarkkinat ja täältä Itävallan joulumarkkinat (Christkindlmarkt). Täältä voi etsiä myös muita eri maiden joulumarkkinoita.



Berliinissä uudempaa polvea edustaa ja viime vuosina puheita ovat herättäneet Charlottenburgin joulumarkkinat. Ja ainakin vielä viime vuonna siellä oli myös Suomi-koju. Niin, ja Gendarmenmarktilta ja Nikolaiviertelistä löytyy myös tunnelmaa. Joskus aikoinaan kehuttiin myös Spandaun joulumarkkinoita. Ja Hesarissa nostettiin esille keskustan ulkopuolelta Rixdorffin joulumarkkinat Neuköllnissä sekä Grünewaldin metsästyslinnan markkinat.

29 Nov 2014

Grüezi! Schweizer Bär in Helsinki (Photo)


From the year 1981 on: Those German beers and hundreds of "Bierdeckels"


I have been collecting "Bierdeckels" from the year 1981 on. German "Bierdeckels" I have all in all one box, And beermats from other countries another box. I use them every day, and not only under beer glasses...Read the history of the "Bierdeckels" under the link above or in German wiki, it is very interesting!


Here is my first ever "Bierdeckel" from the German city called "Hof". The date is 29th of April 1981. At that time Hof was was still a boarder city between West and East Germany. Not any more, as you may also know...

By the way...Have you ever tasted Swiss "Appenzellerbier" ? Very tasteful, good quality, nice bottle labels and beautiful beverage coasters (Bierdeckels) in my opinion. Or what do you think?


In Austria they have the "Puntigamer Bier"...



  ...and in Germany "Köstritzer" . The Köstritzer,  "Schwarzbier" coming originally from the eastern part of the Germany is very tasteful German lager darkbeer. Try it next time, when in Germany. I think it is not so well known as it should be...


At home of the beer, in Germany they have very many good beer marks and of different sizes and forms of beer glasses. One of them is "Kölsch" coming from Cologne and served in a small glass.





Well, I will continue these stories about beer another day. During more than 30 years I have collected many "Bierdeckels", visited many destinations in the the German speaking countries and tasted tens or hundreds of beers...In other words, many stories coming on one day...

But now "Prost" in German or "Kippis" in Finnish. Taste a Beer with "Spreewäder Gurken" (Pickled cucumber from Spreewald area, Brandenburg Germany). Pickled cucumber taste the best in a eastern way! The cucumber of this kind may come from Germany, Finland, eastern part of Europe, Russia...



26 Nov 2014

Gruss! Deutscher Bär in Helsinki (Photo)


My 1500 records, and those 20 best ones in German - Freelancing...




Guess what, I have more or less 1 500 records at home of which more than 500 are records in German (CVs/LPs/cassettes)!

Well, among records there are lots of LPs from the ancient times too - how nostalgic! The LPs have the nicest covers...no doubt! The CDs you can store best at home, if you do not have such much room. But how to store everything as my husband has even more records than I have? We may have to buy a new apartment near our actual one for all our new records...

My 20 all-time favourites, the most interesting ones (in adventitious order):

1.Die Aeronauten (CH):  Zu gut für diese Welt
2.Anajo (DE): Wer kennt hier eigentlich wen?
3.Apparatschik (DE)
4.Attwenger (AT): Pflug
5.Linard Bardill (CH): Tamangur
6.Nina Hagen (DE): Was denn? Hits 74-95
7.Sophie Hunger (CH): 1983
8.Die Krupps II (DE): The Final Option
9.Udo Lindenberg (DE): Das Beste...Mit und ohne Hut
10.Mani Matter (CH): I han es Zündhölzli azündt
11.Reinhard Mey (DE): Die 20 grossen Erfolge
12.Puhdys (DE/DDR): Das Beste aus 20 Jahren.
13.Rammstein (DE): Sehnsucht
14.Silly (DE/DDR): Hurensöhne
15.Stiller Has (CH): Landjäger
16.Andreas Vollenweider (CH): Kryptos
17.Wacholder (DE): Grosse Zeiten
18.Das Beste aus der DDR: Teil 3/Kult
19.Festival des politischen Liedes: Das 70er
20.Oktoberklub (DDR): Das Beste



23 Nov 2014

Finnischer Weihnachtsmarkt in Berlin, und auf nach Lappland,,,


Um Flammlachs zu essen...wohin denn??? Der Weg geht ins Finnlandzentrum in Kreuzberg Berlin, da wo die Passionskirche auch liegt. Wenn es da der Weihnachtsmarkt gibt.



Da könnt ihr ausser Lachs auch den Schnaps "Salmiakki Koskenkorva" probieren. Oder Glögi trinken, wie Glühwein in Deutschland. Auch gibt es da was Leckeres dazu, das ist "Korvapuusti" . Dieser Art von Zimtschnecke kann man nicht in Detuschland kaufen, sagen meine deutsche Freunde...

Auch der Weihnachtsmann besucht den Weihnachtsmarkt. Kommt direkt aus Rovaniemi, das finnische Lappland. Ganz hoch im Norden, da wo das Polarkreis ist. Da hat er seine Zuhause.

Food and bars in Berlin: To the East and to the South

Have a taste of these:

My way goes to east:
"Salzkartoffeln mit Kräuterquark und Leinöl"  (Potatoes with Herdquark and with Limenoil). It comes from the region of Spreewald, 100 km south-east from Berlin. There the Slavic tribe of Sorbs of 50 000 thousand live.


My way goes to south:
I like anyway...Bayrischer Meerrettich (Alpensahne-horseradish) and Bayerischer süsser Senf (sweet mustard). Horseradish is also very good in Russia and Japan, I mean "хрен" and "wasabi".


And at the Christmas time there are "Weihnachtsmärkte" (Christmas Markets) everywhere. There you can drink evry kind of "Glühwein" and Bowles as in the historic Nikolaiviertel (Nikolaiquarter) in the east side of Berlin.Try for example Feuerzangenbowle". The popularity of the drink was boosted by the 1944 film comedy of the same name.


"Käsekuchen" and "Käsesahne", the classic German cheesecakes you can find everywhere. One cheesecake per day keeps you fit...or...




History of Berlin in every way



 
The Museum of German History (Deutsches Historisches Museum) as well as the Museum of the City of Berlin (Stadtmuseum Berlin) are ones of my very favourite museums in Berlin. No doubt.

If you visit Berlin until June next year visit the exibition "West-Berlin: An island in search of mainland". Very interesting. There you can study the history of West-Berlin when the East- and West-Berlin still existed.


For me it was a very refreshing experience, as in the 80's when I got from DAAD (German Acadmic Exchanges) a scholarship to study in Munich I studied very eagerly the West German History. In the 90's I worked for CIMO in Finnish Cultural Intitute in Berlin. Then I studied very eagerly after the "Wende" (after East and West Germany were united) the History of East German. And now it was for me a kind of back to roots, and bakc to the west.



In the Museum I found also info and the flags of some Berlin football teams: Hertha Berlin-Union Berlin-Tennis Borussia Berlin (TeBe)-Turkiyemspor Berlin-Tasmania...And later in the evening, of course, to look at football. This time a match of Berlin Regional Ligue. At the Mommsen-Stadion the match of Tennis Borussia Berlin - Herta06 Berlin. TeBe won 4-0. Very good atmosphere! And the stadium restaurant full of historical mementos too.



21 Nov 2014

Food and bars in Berlin: Every kind of Ethnic food...

The place, kind of must you should visit is Konnopke's Imbiss. The Curry Wurst Mekka of Berlin. There are others too, but I think the Konnopke is the best. And nowadays you can find also the Currywurst Museum in Berlin!


The Konnopke you can find in Eberswalder Platz in Prenzlauer Berg. They have been there from the year 1930 on. There you will get at the moment the best "Curry Wurst" (Curry Saugage) in Berlin. No doubt. Here some more info about when and by whom the Currywurst was invented. Nice history!

And try also "Kartoffelsalat mit Essig und Öl". It is better than the potato salad with mayonese. I think so anyway.


Nowadays the Prenzlauer Berg is the place where you can find many kind of ethnic restaurants, and small design shops. 20 years ago it was like "Friedricshain" is today. Small bars of every kind and for every hour. Well, those changes...it is also so that the Oranienburger Strasse was a very interesting place 20 years ago. Now or already 10 years ago it had changed  very much, mostly coctail bars and kind of "high-society bars". May interest some of us, and some of us not.


Talking about another "ethnic kind of food" in Germany. If you come to Germany at the end of November and in December, you should go eating "Gänsenkeule mit Grun- und/oder Blaukohl/Rotkohl" (Goose with Green and/or Red Cabbage). Lecker - very good!


Today I will visit Kreutzberg. But only shortly. And here at the end for you also a secret tip about Neukölln. The "Richardplatz" is a place to go there, they say.

Well, Berlin sleeps never...And the breakfast time, until 3.00 pm of even until later...Have a nice day,




20 Nov 2014

Saksankieliset maat vetävät yhä uudelleen puoleensa, monia meistä

Berliini on kaupunki, joka muuttuu koko ajan ja täällä riittää aina koettavaa. Kuten varmaan kaikki Berliinin ystävät tämän vahvistavatkin.

Berliinissä taidan olla käynyt 30 kertaa, tai ainakin yli 20. Ensimmäisen kerran taisi olla 1984 tai siinä paikkeilla. Yksi niistä 6 Interrail-retkistäni. Interrailejä siihen aikaan tehtiin ahkeraan...Hyvää yleissivistystä kertyi ainakin näiltä matkoilta. Niin, ja sitten vuodesta 1989 alkaen olen Berliinissä vieraillut kait joka vuosi, ja joinakin vuosina useammankin kerran. Näin vierailin siis myös pari kertaa jaetussa Berliinissä. Onneksi, noin niinkuin historiatietoutta ajatellen.

 Oleko muuten kiinnittänyt huomiota siihen, että joidenkin rautatieasemien ravintolat ovat todella makeita? Entisaikojen flavouria ja siten nostalgia-nostalgia fiiliksiä herätteleviä...Olikohan sen nyt Munchenissä, ainakin ennen. Ja myös Lausannessa, Sveitsissä. Muutamia mainitakseni. Niissä on kiva myös nostalgia-ruokia ja -juomia maistella, siis jotain perinteistä. Samalla kun tarkkailee ravintolan ja aseman elämää.

Eilen pistähdin pikaisesti myös Suomen Saksan -Instituutissa. Inistituuttihan juhli noin viikko sitten 20-vuosisynttäreitään. Eilen siellä vietettiin yhden harjoittelijoista läksiäisiä. Hienoa että insituutti on tarjonnut jo 20-vuoden ajan monelle suomalaiselle ja saksalaiselle opiskelijalle tai vastavalmistuneelle unohtumattoman harjoittelu-paikan. Ja myös näin saanut paljon tuoreita ideoita omaan tekemiseensä. Itselleni aika "CIMO-agenttina" Berliinissä, 20 vuotta sitten, oli käänteentekevä. Tässä instituutin sivuille äskettäin kirjoittamani blogini luettavaksenne, jos vaikka kiinnostaa selailla: "Saksan kanssa on kuljettu pitka matka"

Instituutti oli muuten ensimmäiset kymmenisen vuotta toisalla Berliinissä, nythän se sijaitsee Friedrichstrassen rautatieasemaa vastapäätä. Käväisinkin eilen katsastamassa Alt-Moabitissa, miltä entiset instituutin maisemat Alte-Meierein tuntumassa näyttävät.
Ja tältähän siellä näytti...

Niin, hienoa että pienellä Suomella on niinkin monta tiede- ja/tai kulttuuri-Instituuttia maailmalla. Ja kuinka monta sitten Saksalla kulttuuri-instituutteja maailmalla onkaan... En uskalla edes laskea eli lähes kaikkialla. Ja onneksi myös Suomeen on yksi Goethe-Institut ehtinyt...

Suomesta löytyy myös useita aktiivisia, tähän aihepiiriin liittyviä seuroja. Kuten Sveitsin Ystävät Suomessa , Helsingin suomalais-saksalainen yhdistys tai Suomi-Itavaltayhdistys. Ja niistä ainakin Sveitsin Ystävillä Suomessa on myös Facebook-sivusto. Tämän lisäksi tietysti Saksan suurlähetystö Suomessa on aina menossa aktiivisesti mukana.



19 Nov 2014

I may have been there 20 years too early: Berlin Friedrichshain...



Yesterday I begun to study the most interesting districts in Berlin. They say it is Friedrichshain which is now kind of IN.

Guess what, the queue of bars began now almost from my ancient doorstep...???!!! 20 years ago I lived near the commuter train station "Ostkreuz", and it was more or less like dead district then. Which was okay for me, as from "Ostkreuz" you could very convinient reach many directions in Berlin. And for me it was also important that I could easily study the east part of Berlin. Which I have done during the almost 1,5 years of my stay in Berlin...


So to look at what is happening in Friedrichshain now, take a walk from "Ostkreutz" along the "Boxhagener Strasse" to the "Boxhagener Platz". And from there to the commuter train station "Warschauer Strasse". Near Warschauer Strasse you can find a very interesting Cultural centre "Astra" with Raw-Tempel.


There are many other interesting cultural centres in Berlin too, like for example Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg or Ufafabrik in Tempelhof.

But do you know what other more or less personally very interesting thing I found near the "Warschauer Strasse". There was a street called "Tamara Danz". You Germans and couple of others may know who Tamara Danz is. She was a member of a famous East German rockband Silly.


I had a possibility to see the band during the year 1995 in "Tränenpalast". Tränenpalast was the former border crossing between West- and East-Berlin.


The other important East German rockband is "Puhdys". Listen to this classic "Alt wie ein Baum". Later you will hear more about some other West German- and East German bands...I have some other favourites too...By the way, 15 years ago I had a course about popular music in German speaking countries at the University of Helsinki.

18 Nov 2014

Food and bars in Berlin: Very tempting no doubt...

Today I ate one of my all time German favourite food, Königsberger Klopse . 
Let me guess, for you it may seem at the first sight...not so delicious. But I like it very much. The best "Königsberger Klopse" you get at the Airport in Frankfurt. No doubt. But can you believe this?


The "Klopse" you will eat with nice Bavarian wheat beer of course, the "Hefe Weissbier". This or many more original German food you get for example in the restaurant "Berliner Republik" on the other side of the river of the commuter trains station of "Friedrichstrasse".



But I remember the times, 20 years ago, when you could visit in the station of "Friedrichstrasse" the original DDR-kind of restaurant. And order "Königsberger Klopse". This may be the first time as I ate the "Klopse". But those days of nostalgic train stations in Berlin are over, or almost over...

If you are still thirsty after the visit in "Berliner Republik", you may visit the bar beside "Berliner Republik" called "Ständige Vertretung". The clipping form the newspaper Express on the wall states that 3 beer of "Kölsch" in a day keeps you fit. As kept a German man who reached the 100 years...("Fit mit täglich 3 Kölsch")


And do not forget "Schwarzer Café"! Tradition - Nostalgy - Feeling well... 
Everytime when in Berlin...




"Freelancing" in music: Rock from the Era of Middle Ages, and a little bit of Punk too

Did you know that Berlin was voted as the most interesting city of the world through internet? If you think of Happenigs...So here one of the Hipster-guides to Berlin. But the best way to explore Berlin is to just "to take off", and to step into different neighbourhoods...Just jump in and on...The thousand bars and foothpaths of Berlin...



Well, the Cultural Institute of Finland in Berlin had celebrations on Friday. I talked during the festivities with a little punker from Finland. How refreshing...and interesting. We talked about Punk in Finland.

Have you noticed that Punk is a little bit kind of IN in Europe now? Because of financial situations in many countries. It is so at least in Finland. And I noticed that here in Gemany they have published a punk magazine. Never seen earlier in the 90s or later anyhow, really. If you come to Finland in sommer, visit the most famous punk festival Puntala-Rock in Lempäälä, near Tampere. Of course - do so, if interested. As a collector of almost every kind of music, I bought for myself a CV Berlin Punk Rock 1977-1989.


If interested in Finnish Punk, listen to "Pää Kii" ("Shut Your Mouth"). The first record of "Pää Kii" was the record of the year 2012 in Finland!

Well, CDs and films, as well as books you can buy very easily in Kulturkaufhaus Dussmann near the commuter train station "Friedrichstrasse". Even if I myself did not found any Mittelalterrock CDs which I was looking for. Is "Mittelalterrock", the Rock from the Era of Middle Ages known to you?

Here in Germany there are plenty of groups like that. Even if they aren't kind of Mainstream. Some twenty years ago I saw some them in live, like Corvus Corax (have patience during the intro, nice piece of music coming on). Corvus Corax I heard for the first time in Britzer Garten (Britzer Park) in Berlin at Midsummer evening 1995. Very emotional then...Magical feelings...Well, in the era of the 90's there were some 10 of "Mittelaltergroups" in Germany, and now many more...Like Feuerschwanz for example. And the magazine for Middle Ages Fan is "Zillo". If you speak German...



16 Nov 2014

The Wonderful World of Chocolate

The Celebrations of Finnish Cultural Institute in Germany, Berlin are over. How very nice it was...and so nostalgic...During the celebrations I met also two persons from Switzerland, and the chocolate came into my mind. Of course.

It is world know that the clocolate from Switzerland is very good, indeed. But do you know the chocolate from Finland is also very good. And you can find very good chocolate also in Austria and Germany.

I dare to say, the milk chocolate, "Fazer Blue" is the very best in the world. And has its roots in Switzerland. Not many know that, or anyhow not all know it. So try Fazer Blue!  And other chocolate products of Fazer. My favourites are up to "Fazer Blue" also "DaCapo" and "Fazer Mint". Lecker, lecker - delicious - nam-nam...



Here comes the adventorous story of Fazer, or at least one of the stories how Fazer came to Finland. It was 100 years ago or actually already more than 100 years ago, as a certain man from Switzerland came to Finland. His family name was "Fazer". And he began to produce chocolate. Some say, he got the receipt from a certain Swiss as a gratitude. And so the success story of "Fazer" began. A friend of mine in Switzerland told me that there is still in Switzerland a family called "Fazer", but that it is written in Switzerland "Fatzer".

About chocolate in Austria and Germany. Have you ever tasted Bensdorp Rum-Kokos chocolate? You should, if not yet. It is the best in the world if we speak about so called mixed chocolates.


And here in Germany, of course the lecker-lecker Ritter-Sport. Come to Berlin, to take a part in a Schoko-Werkstatt, in a Ritter-Sport Workshop in "Französiche Strasse"...


I think the Ritter-Sport Minis are very convinient when you are travelling and tripping in Germany. Which I will do in Berlin during next week... And tasting different kinds of Ritter-Sport Minis, of course.


13 Nov 2014

Tomorrow to Berlin

Tomorrow early to Berlin. How I have been waiting for this moment!

For sure nice celebrations in the Finnish Cultural Institute. And during the week I am travelling around Berlin, to look for new, interesting places...You will here then...


...in couple of days more stories...but until then...

Popularculture from East- and West part of Germany to study: 
Music, Films, Items of the Past...
DDR-Museum Berlin
Rock- and Pop -Museum (Udo-Lindenberg-Platz 1, 48599 Gronau)
DDR-Films (in German)
Neufolk from Germany (in German)

Bitte schön! Here you are! Tartu tietoon!

12 Nov 2014

Für mich immer wieder Berlin, und da findest du andere Finnen auch...

Übermorgen sind wir so weit, und ich hoffentlich in Berlin...

Hast du schon mal Finnland-Institut in Deutschland besucht?  Das besteht schon seit 20+Jahren in Berlin gegenüber dem Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse.





Ich arbeitete da vor 20+Jahren für CIMO Finnische Zentrale für Internationale Mobilität...
Im Finnland-Institut gibt es jetzt Feierlichkeiten, und einiges werdet ihr davon über mich in den nächsten Tagen hören. Insgesamt fast 1,5 Jahren. Und was für eine Zeit das war! Aber mehr darüber später...

Finnland findet man hier und da in Deutschland, obwohl Finnland ein kleines Land und wenig Finnen insgesamt in der Welt. Etwa 5 Millionen und einige noch dazu sind wir insgesamt. Zum Glück haben einige Finnen ihren Weg ins Ausland gefunden, wie etwa nach Deutschland...Um etwa Finnland im Ausland bekannt zu machen. Ich habe gerade gelesen, dass in Deutschland etwa
13 00 Finnen leben. Davon etwa 1 000 in Berlin. Und eine der größten deutsch-ausländischen Freundschaftsgesellschaften in Deutschland is die Deutsch-finnische Gesellschaft! Nicht schlecht von dem kleinen Finnland. Oder was denkst du?

Apropos wenn du plötzlich Interesse zeigst, etwa Finnisch in Deutschland zu studieren, kannst du das in 16 Universitäten in Deutschland machen. Insgesamt in der Welt kann man man Finnisch in 30 Ländern und 100 Universitäten studieren. Bis bald - nähdään pian!