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Ludwig

I taught at this (somewhat) unique school (complete with shops below) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria:

It is a great location, though it suffers from the dreaded F�hn.

Has anyone else ever taught English at a visually attractive school?

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Ludwig · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 11:26 pm Post subject:

'ls650', I take it then that you have never read 'Biedermann und die Brandstifter' by Max von Frisch?

Anyway, it is a warm alpine wind that is the the putative cause of many a headache.

stillnosheep · Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 2068 Location: eslcafe

You fool ls650, you fool.

Will they never learn?

Ok.

1) The F�hn or Foehn is the wind that blows down from the alps into Oesterreich (Austria), Bayern (Bavaria) and Baden-Wuertenberg (Baden-Wuertenberg).

2) The "school" appears to be no such thing (check out the shop windows beneath the blinds).

3) Nothing is somewhat unique, it would be like being relatively unique. Things either are, or are not, unique; but i have a horrible suspicion that Ludwig knows this already.

4) Personally I always preferred Bad Reichenhal myself.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

johnslat · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 12:27 am Post subject:

Dear Is650,
Bet you're waiting for the movie, same as me.
Regards,
John

laodeng · Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 481

To answer the question posed in the headline, certainly not in China, where I find the mishmash of architectural styles (e.g., Mies van der Rohe with a Grecian pediment) both visually offensive and depressing.

Ludwig

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Good picture, Ludwig.
I thought Max Frisch (not "von"!) wrote "Biedermann und die Brandstifter", but he wasn't thinking of Foehn".

gugelhupf · Joined: 24 Jan 2004 Posts: 575 Location: Jabotabek

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

I can't believe that more of you have not read 'Biederman und die Brandstifter'!! I read it at the beach last summer while tanning. Fascinating stuff. I hear the sequel 'Biederman und die Brandstifter, Part II' is coming out this year. Hope I can snag a copy!

Ludwig · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 4:22 pm Post subject:

'Roger', I stand corrected. Of course, it is Max Frisch, not Max von Frisch. In my defence I would state that it is some two decades since I read it. I was not, of course, suggesting that a theme - central or otherwise - of 'die Biedermann' (read, 'Jedermann') 'und die Brandstifter' was - or is - the dreaded F�hn. Rather, I was merely noting that, in my experience, it is the first time, say, for example, British 'A' level students of German have encountered this particular lexical item.

There is also many a syntactic structure that is encountered for the first time by many in this text. One striking example is the (ultra-polite) third person subject with second person polite form (Sie) finite verb form evinced in "Herr Biedermann brauchen keine Angst zu haben" (1/10).

The best performance I have ever witnessed of 'die Biedermann' was, believe it or not, at Roedean.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

johnslat · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 10:05 pm Post subject:

Dear Is650,

stillnosheep · Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 2068 Location: eslcafe