If you've ever visited East Germany during the Cold War, you probably saw a lot of grey, cheaply-built apartment buildings that might have made you feel depressed. This sort of building is what Germans referred to as Plattenbau - a structure made up of prefabricated concrete slabs. Basically, an inexpensive structure with little originality. In this context, Platte means| GermanyinUSA
A masculine noun coined by students in the 19th century from the word air (“Luft”) and by adding the Latin ending -kus. Originally used to describe an airhead, i.e., a carefree man with his head in the clouds. In English one might equate it with someone who is featherbrained or a dreamer. Don’t you know someone who doesn’t quite seem| GermanyinUSA
The “staircase joke” or “staircase wit” possibly gets its name from the witty retort or clever comeback that comes to mind when you are on your way out, walking down the stairs following a situation, i.e. after it’s too late. We’ve all experienced a situation where a snappy response fails us in the heat of the moment, but only pops up| GermanyinUSA
Many of us seem to believe that food is a solution to our problems. We have all seen the romantic comedies with someone heartbroken sitting on the sofa drowning their sorrows in ice cream, chocolate or other unhealthy foods. The sugar might ease the current pain temporarily, but the so-called Kummerspeck will most likely stay with us a bit longer.| GermanyinUSA
Do you know the feeling of laziness that just keeps you from reaching your goals? The lack of motivation, will power or the force inside us that makes us stay passive when action seems risky or uncomfortable? Germans would call this their Innerer Schweinehund, their “inner pig dog”. Originally used to describe the dog that hunts boars and later used by| GermanyinUSA
Katzenjammer literally means “cat yowling or wailing” and is certainly not a pleasant sound. If you’ve ever heard a cat yowling during mating season, you may know what we mean. Many would say it sounds more like discordant music. The word’s origin is somewhat ambiguous. However, many believe it was used during the second half of the 18th century among university| GermanyinUSA
Mutterschutz is the German term for maternity protection or maternity leave. Mutterschutz in Germany is based on the Mutterschutzgesetz (Act on the Protection of Working Mothers) which provides for paid leave four weeks before and eight weeks after the birth of a new child. If you are expecting multiples or have a premature birth, the time period extends to 12| GermanyinUSA
If you’re looking for a travel destination with jaw-dropping views, add The Bastei to your bucket list. This rock formation stands 636 feet above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, southeast of Dresden. What makes this majestic rock formation even more spectacular is a wooden bridge that connects several of these rocks together. Visitors have been walking across the| GermanyinUSA
A Bratkartoffelverhältnis, which literally means| GermanyinUSA
We'd like to congratulate Mr. Vladimir Stosic on winning the YTI Essay Competition 2021! The essay contest was held by the Young Transatlantic Initiative, a non-profit organization that is committed to fostering stronger cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America. Mr. Stosic chose the topic| GermanyinUSA