German of the day: Unwahrscheinlich

That means unlikely. As in “a recovery of German industry to the level before the war in Ukraine is unlikely.”

Go Green, go… lean.

Germany set to permanently pay for reliance on Russian gas—as power chief says ‘significant structural demand destruction’ means it will never fully recover from energy crisis.

German industry got rich, thanks partly to its close energy trading relationship with political and economic rival Russia. The past few years have shown just how misguided that relationship was, as Russia invaded Ukraine and cut off Germany’s cheap, vital gas supply.

Now, one of Germany’s leading renewable-power bosses has suggested it’s a mistake the country could rue forever, as the fallout from the energy crisis is set to permanently damage its industry.

But why would you leave Helsinki in the first place?

To come to Berlin, I mean.

Finns are the happiest people on Earth, I’m told. Germans, well, aren’t. And Berliners erst recht nicht (certainly not).

Traveling from Berlin to Helsinki — without using a plane. Flying is a major CO2 emitter when traveling. But how feasible are alternative modes of transportation?

German of the day: “Planetary Health Menüs”

That means, well, I’m not really sure what that means.

I think it means Planet Earth has to go on a diet. Is that how they’re saving it now?

‘People mustn’t feel meat is being taken away’: German hospitals serve planetary health diet.

That’s right. People mustn’t think meat is being taken away just because we’ve taken away the meat. Our meals still meat the minimum daily requirements of… what? Of what we require our patients not to eat.

German of the day: Die Schnauze voll haben

Having the snout full means to be fed up with it, to be sick to death of it.

And the German Greens are filling up everybody’s snouts these days.

Germans Fed Up With Greens as Founding Member Resigns – The aggressive policies of the German Greens have alienated not only many voters in Germany but also their own supporters, including one of the founders of the party who has accused them of pursuing a warmongering foreign policy…

Annalena Baerbock, the young, inexperienced minister of foreign affairs, has promised to introduce a ‘feminist foreign policy,’ but she seems helpless in the face of the momentous challenges posed by the Russian-Ukraine war. The Greens have converted from a ‘pacifist’ party into the most belligerent party of all.

German of the day: Blitzschnell

That means lightning fast.

Seven seconds? Get outta here.

Germany raise Euro 2024 hopes as Wirtz and Havertz shock France in Lyon – Toni Kroos returned and Florian Wirtz scored the fastest-ever Germany goal as the Euro 2024 hosts defeated France 2-0 in Lyon.

Kroos, coaxed out of international retirement for the upcoming European Championship, wasted no time with a precise pass for Wirtz, who let fly from outside the penalty area to score after seven seconds.

German of the day: Patient*in

Just kidding. That was the German of yesterday. No more “gender star” for you!

It’s Patientin. As in female patient. Maybe it’s even the patient, female or otherwise, who thought up the gender star and all this other nonsense too.

Germany’s Bavaria cracks down on gender-sensitive language – More and more German texts use asterisks, colons and other symbols to make language more inclusive. The conservative government in the southern German state of Bavaria, however, says this trend is driven by ideology.

German of the day: Brandanschlag

That means aerson attack.

The Tree People did it (they’re kind of like the Sand People in Star Wars, only with trees)!

Tesla without electricity is like a… Well, this is what it’s like:

Tesla factory near Berlin evacuated! No power for hours after arson attack. Production at a standstill ++ Bomb searchers move in…

Peaceful protest turns into naked violence! Eco-criminals paralyzed Tesla’s car factory in Grünheide (12,500 employees) with an arson attack on Tuesday morning. The entire factory, the town of Erkner and parts of Berlin are without electricity. Bomb searchers are now moving in. The car factory has been evacuated!

Noblesse oblige

Or Adel verpflichtet in German. You know, the idea that people with a high social class should do things for other people? Like take off their clothes.

German princess strips down for Playboy – Xenia Florence Gabriela Sophie Iris, the Princess of Saxony, is the first aristocrat to pose for Playboy. She is the cover girl for Playboy Germany’s March 2024 issue.

“It’s the first and last time I get naked.”

When in doubt…

Just say no. When not in doubt, sowieso (anyhow).

“Expansion” is a scary word. It sounds too much like growth, increase, prosperity, success. We vote no! Because you can never know, unless it’s no.

Tesla in Germany: Locals vote against factory expansion plan – Residents of Grünheide near Berlin have voted against expansion plans for the large Tesla facility there. But the vote is not binding and local authorities can still decide. Turnout was high, though, indicating interest.

German of the day: Shmues un Vayn

Just kidding. That’s Yiddish.

And that means schmusen und Wein in German. Almost. Schmusen in German means to cuddle. Shmues, however, although taken from schmusen, means schmooze, as in gossip or conversation.

So, German of the day Shmues un Vayn, which is actually Yiddish, means getting together for wine and conversation. I think. Now was that so hard?

You can now hear people speaking Yiddish in bars all over Berlin – A Yiddish conversation group meets biweekly at locations around the city. Other people think they’re speaking Swiss German.