Dear Stammtisch Friends
First of all I would like to thank Gunther and his team at the Mansion House for our fabulous Christmas dinner earlier this month. A hard core of Stammtisch members braved the weather to come along to our last get-together of 2010.
If you’re not going to make it to Germany for the holidays – there are still some German Christmas Markets that you could visit right here in the UK. The Guardian had an insightful article about how the PR activities of the City of Frankfurt led to the development of the German Christmas markets in Birmingham (now apparently even bigger than Nuremberg or Dresden Christmas market), Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds. Click here to be directed to the full article.
If you would like to watch a German film in the North East – the Tyneside Cinema will show again Metropolis on 2 January. If there’s interest in any other German films (current or classic), we can maybe arrange a private viewing for the Stammtisch in 2011.
You might be aware that Germany has been on terror alert. A Christmas market in Osnabrueck made the news earlier this month when 10 people were injured during an explosion … of a 600 litre Gluehwein (mulled wine) tank. Click here for the online news article.
And Bavaria, usually famous for its beer brewing tradition, has apparently also its own whisky distillery. A Stammtisch member drew our attention to the Slyrs Bavarian Malt Whisky Distillery in Schliersee. If anybody is nearby, maybe you can bring a bottle or two along to our next Stammtisch?
The snow and ice that first brought the UK to a standstill, has now also caused ‘Stillstand’ in Germany. Why we’re not coping with the winter conditions and the part the media plays, was examined in an article on the website NachDenkSeiten.
Unfortunately we can’t help moving the now on the roads, but recommend a small life saver when you want to walk outside in the snow and ice. Outdoor stores (I got mine in the LD Mountain Centre in Dean Street/Newcastle) sell crampons/ice grips to stop you literally sliding into the new year.
On that note, I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a great start to 2011 / Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins Jahr 2011.
Very best wishes
Manuela
Stammtisch 
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