German traditions

The kids clap their hands as Thomas Diekhaus is abruptly interrupted while reading "Max and Moritz," a famous 19th century poem about the antics of two naughty boys. Their caps pulled down low on their heads, two real life boys dressed as Max and Moritz have snuck up onto the stage. 800 years of common history Humorit Wilhelm Busch published his Max und Moritz poem in 1865 Latvia's German connection is hundreds of years old. In 1201, Bishop Albert from Bremen founded the city of Riga, now the capital, where the Daugava River flows into the Baltic Sea. As a member of the Hanseatic League, many German traders came to Riga and the city flourished. It also became an important center of trade with Russia. Post-communist business boom All of the management personnel have to speak German, said Knauf manager Peter Rumer, since the Riga branch has daily contact with co-workers in Germany. Shakespeare vs. Goethe The Goethe Institute is Germany's world-wide cultural … [Read more...] about Goethe Institute Picks Up Long German Tradition in Latvia

If you drive north out of Adelaide in South Australia, there's a point where the names of towns and streets start to have German names and the architecture changes from British colonial to 19th-century German. Every village's main street has a German style bakery and signs touting "wurst" or "wein." When the grass-covered rolling hills give way to vineyards, you've arrived in Barossa Valley. The pioneers who opened this area up in the 1840s were German-speaking Lutherans fleeing from religious persecution in their Prussian homeland. A British entrepreneur, George Fife Angas, and his South Australia Company were looking for settlers to develop the new colony and the hard-working Prussian farmers fit the bill. Some 150 years ago, those families and their culture laid the foundation for Australia's prospering wine industry. Aussie wines with 'get-up-and-go' It is early autumn in the Barossa Valley, and that means harvest time. There's frantic activity, as grape growers try … [Read more...] about Wineries in Southern Australia bank on German tradition