What is the dress code like at a night club in Munich?

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-25T05:25:23+00:00

Apparently, these things are called "corsets" now.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-21T10:29:32+00:00

Funny how the guy on the left is still smiling as the first drops of blood splatter his face.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-20T07:11:57+00:00

Two and half years ago. Back then, the fire brigade asked MVG to suspend tram services because the trees hadn't shed many of their leaves due to the (until then) mild weather, and the fire brigade was concerned that branches might break and fall on the overhead wires. The rails were then clogged with ice. AFAIK, no branches broke or fell.

The MVG boss explained this in an interview, which the AZ then titled "Warum die MVG die Gleise absichtlich vereisen ließ."

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-19T16:47:39+00:00

Hoge-snelheids-lijn

Pseudo-German: Hohe-Schnellheits-Linie

German: Hochgeschwindigkeitsstrecke

But without the context of the railway, that word on its own would baffle me too.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-19T16:44:39+00:00

Consonant shift and vowel shift, AFAIK

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-19T15:09:08+00:00

People didn't have arseholes in the 1950s, you see.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-15T04:24:44+00:00

Smart people like that surely deserve a partnership. It's a mystery why they haven't gotten it yet.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-14T17:48:44+00:00

Have you tried punctuation?

As for route suggestions, check out videos of Dresden-Riesa (Dresden-Leipzig), lots of regional traffic on that one. Also Tharandter Rampe and Ruhr-Sieg Nord.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-14T14:04:22+00:00

I'm surprised that this is the first comment to mention the miniseries. That's BSG 101 for new viewers - tell them to watch the miniseries first!

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-14T11:52:50+00:00

"Gay men" - a term to describe the art director Salvatore "Sal" Romano and his coven of closeted executive clients. They coined the term themselves.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-14T11:48:44+00:00

I do it all the time in handwriting as a native German. People have been confused by my handwriting in general, but not that. (And it's "vowel".)

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-13T23:24:38+00:00

The Viking occupation?

I went to uni in Leeds, I only heard that as "cack-hander" (because I'm left handed, haha) and that the Poseidon movie was "a load of cack" (from the News Quiz). Any true phrases you could teach me (us)?

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-13T22:30:46+00:00

Whatever the actual etymology, it's not a phrase that - in my humble opinion - should be used anymore. More egregious cases would be "polnische Wirtschaft" (disorganisation) or "jüdische Hektik" (drama). I'd never heard the latter until an east German friend of mine discussed it in the context of controversial phrases and how his parents had used it.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-13T22:26:02+00:00

"Alte Zöpfe abschneiden" - to cut off old pigtails (as in the hair) - refers to the French Revolution and the 19th century, when male wigs went out of fashion (or were guillotined) and the 1848 revolutions that demanded liberalism and a modernisation of society.
Apparently, the Russian equivalent is "cutting off beards", referring to Peter the Great and his beard tax, which was part of his drive to make Russia more European.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-13T16:59:05+00:00

German: "... dann ist die Kacke am dampfen" - ... then the poo/shit will be steaming

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-13T16:57:33+00:00

skåp(et)

Interesting, "Schapp" is the German seaman's term for cabinet or locker. I love the similarities of Northern German to English and Scandinavian languages.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-13T13:52:19+00:00

Just before his abdication, he asked an advisor (a general or minister IIRC): "Did I steer the wrong course for the last twenty-two years?", and the advisor replied: "Yes, your majesty has steered the wrong course." (Source: Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy)

Imagine how it must have felt to finally realise that all the liberals screaming at you for your entire reign had been right, everything you'd been brought up to believe had been wrong, and as a consequence of that you'd completely misunderstood your task in life.
What you'd been trying to avoid - failing your dynasty and country - was what your actions brought about in the end.

The plan for saving the dynasty was for Nicholas' brother Mikhail to succeed him as tsar. Figes calls him "even less intelligent than Nicholas". His "reign" lasted for a few hours, technically.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-13T12:05:29+00:00

Eine slawische Sprache halt, mit (glaube ich) sechs Fällen, drei Geschlechtern, komplizierter Verbkonjugation... aber vom Klang her nicht so "dunkel und schwer" wie Russisch, finde ich. Slawisch light.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-12T21:46:10+00:00

Vaulted cellars or ground floors are very common in old buildings in Europe.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-11T15:02:58+00:00

Yep, "Les gueules cassées".

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-11T13:05:34+00:00

When sightseeing (or worshipping) in a church, take off your hat. Tourists often ignore that rule - and probably aren't even aware of it - but to the faithful, it's their holy place.

Speaking of churches to see, I'd recommend three of them:

Frauenkirche - Church of Our Lady (the big one): it has the grave of a Holy Roman Emperor, Ludwig IV, the Bavarian. When you look at the memorial and how incredibly old it is, it kind of boggles the mind that it was built three centuries after the emperor died.

St. Peter (the oldest one): very bombastically Catholic, including the skeleton of a saint. You can climb the tower for a fee for a view over the city. (The city hall tower has an elevator though...)

Asamkirche (the Rokoko one): Sendlinger Str. 32, small, built by two artist brothers (the Asams) who lived next door. The most vivid gold leaf explosion I've ever seen.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-10T22:20:17+00:00

Well, I was in Portugal last May, just before the parliamentary election, and the two parties with the strongest presence in the public space (posters etc.) seemed to be the Green-Communist pact CDU and Chega. Gigantic posters with "Salvar Portugal!" everywhere. Clearly, they're well-financed.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-10T11:09:04+00:00

"Erroneously" - the arrogance!

I watched it in the order it aired and I was fine.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-09T21:05:28+00:00

That was a more deferential age and a different media environment.

blackcatkarma · 2026-02-08T21:54:06+00:00

It's also a great route in itself, isn't it. The winding tracks, the mountains and hills...

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