New Book

I got a nice surprise in the post yesterday. It was a book. It came from Holger in the town of Weyhe which is to the south of Bremen. Bremen is a city-state in the north of Germany and I used to live there, as regular readers will know!

In the last couple of summers I have gone there for a ‘north-German’ holiday and posted photos and stories about these visits on my blog. I hope to make it there again next August. I really like the town and the area. Very flat with half the population on bikes. On my last visit I noted the large number of ‘seniors’ travelling around on electric bicycles.

Holger is a member of a writing club. He has sent me books before containing  his stories. It’s good to read and improve your German. Holger sometimes slips in some sentences in Plattdeutsch. In English this means Low German. In many areas of north Germany this is the language of daily communication. It is also the source of English!

Can I hear gasps of surprise at this statement? Yes, it is. Just find a book about the origins of English or look on the internet. You will also find it referred to as part of the West German family of languages. You will find it as the source of languages in The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Have fun researching the origins of the English language.

Holger is one of 23 writers who contributed to the book. The topic is murder and food recipes. An interesting combination. Holger’s story is the first in the book with the title: Tante Ingeborgs gute Bremer Aalsuppe. I translate this as: Aunt Ingeborg’s good Bremen eel soup. I wonder what it tastes like? 

 He also sent lots of information about tourism and things to see and do in the area. Good to know when I next visit. Now what are you going to eat for supper – a bowl of eel soup?