Schlager Music

When most of us think of Germany's musical contributions, we think Bach, Beethovern, Brahms, or Wagner. Or Nena, The Scorpions, Tokio Hotel, new wave, techno, or oompah bands.

But when you spend enough time in Germany (especially Southern Germany), you find out about Schlagermusik.

The closest translation of "Schlager" is "hit." It was very popular in the 60's and 70's across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and has had a huge revival in the last 10 years. So hard to describe, but at its best, Schlager is kitschy, cheesy, often ballad-style, usually upbeat, and a lot of fun. Throw in some bad hair, glittery costumes, choreography, props and the usual pop production tricks, and there you have it. There's a beat to clap along with and catchy lyrics for the audience to sing...and there's a big niche in the Schlager for songs inspired by Spanish, Mexican, and Carribean rhythms (or lyrics that refer to their beaches). I'm guess it has something to do with the German love for great sun & sand vacations, but who knows?  They don't stray too far from home though - the music videos and Sunday morning TV programs often have Alpine backgrounds and dirndl-type attire in the performances.

Schlager started in the 60s with a sound similar to popular American folk music (reminds me of The Lawrence Welk Show type performances, The Carpenters, Petula Clark, and so on), then moved on to some full-on 70s craziness, and a little more pop rock in the 80s. Today, well...think of the music of Neil Diamond and persona of Tom Jones (his music works too)...they're cheesy, a bit dated, and so much fun.

There are endless CDs and DVDs sold on late night TV, television specials, Schlager Star Parade tours throughout Germany, and the annual Schlager Nacht auf Schalke at the Veltins Arena. And the annual Eurovision Song Contest is heavy on the Schlager style! But where you'll hear endless schlager is at Oktoberfest, any après ski hut, and in surprisingly many bars in Mallorca and other similar spots full of German tourists. It's everywhere...but no one really wants to admit how much they enjoy it.

(On a side note, the Danish have taken on the Schlager baton, and are adding a great cheesy tecnopop spin to it.)

Herr J and I are having a great time investigating this aspect of German culture. Good research requires us to go to concerts, musicals, skiing, beer festivals, and such.  The closer it's tied to Oktoberfest or the Alps, the more there's some accordion and folk influence (including the electronic and techno versions!). We're working on a little guide of songs you need to know for Oktoberfest and Skiing. But for now, here are some of the most popular Schlager hits. Even if you don't understand a single word, they're very catchy and fun.

Ein Stern (der deinen Namen trägt):
I'll start you off easy, with one that's a good, solid pop song (check out the studio version here - more modern, but it's some guy's star picture slideshow). You'll also get the full effect from the crowd (they do not help combat the stereotype of rhythmless white people) and the dancers. This one is a live version, performed at a summer concert in Maastrict last year.

It's a sweet love song, with lyrics about giving your loved one a star in their name, and very catchy.

Classic Schlager - Ich war noch niemals in New York:
A classic hit by one of the schlager masters, Udo Jürgens. Translated as "I've never been to New York," it's about unfulfilled dreams. A husband goes out to buy cigarettes after dinner and starts thinking about all the things he's never done and realizes he could just hop on a plane now and see them. But in the end he buys his cigarettes and goes back home.
You can find the lyrics here, and in English. I heard this one at every beer festival and fair! (The lady who sings New York, New York has a pretty great voice!)

Schlager with dance steps - Fliegerlied (So ein schöner Tag):
I admit without shame I love this song. And last year I finally got the words and motions. Don't worry, we'll cover the steps when we get you ready for Oktoberfest and après ski...
There are better recordings of the song, but I like how this video captures the alpine setting and has people in animal costumes.

70s Schlager - Dschinghis Khan:
Yes, like Ghengis Khan, but in German words starting with the "J" sound are spelled with "Dsch". So, "Jungle" sounds almost the same as the German word "Dschungel."

This one is more funny than good, and was Germany's entry into Eurovision 1979. The 1979 part of it shows! These guys were not a one-hit wonder, they were quite popular...the intro to their song Moskau reminds me a lot of the Knight Rider theme. Anyway, Herr J and I saw this video on an infomercial and couldn't stop laughing.

70s Schlager - Anita
Not suprisingly, this is about a girl named Anita he falls in love with in Mexico. Costa Cordalis came to Germany from Greece as a teenager and became a big Schlager star...and is still performing his hits today in the tours.

80s Schlager - 1000 un 1 Nacht:
This one's about a girl and a guy who are friends. For a thousand nights, he's loved her but "nothing happened". The lyrics of the chorus say that they "Touched a thousand times; A thousand times nothing happened. But on the 1001st night... Boom!"
 

Rock Schlager - Wahnsinn (Hölle, Hölle, Hölle):
This one is a big hit in Oktoberfest and après ski. Entitled "Madness (hell, hell, hell)," it's basically a song about a girl who drives him crazy and makes his life hell, but he still wants her. What really appeals to the crowd (beyond the usual pop rock beat and melody tricks), is that there are many parts of the song where the crowd is supposed to yell something at the end of a verse, e.g., after "And my pride is long in the garbage" the crowd yells "Garbage, hazardous waste!" (Müll, Sondermüll!)

Die Hände zum Himmel:
Basically it says "Hands up to heaven" and is about rejoicing, celebrating life, and knowing that tonight you are not alone. This video in particular is a great example of the full television special production and a song with some leanings toward folk music. This one may be one of the Fasching parties that have been on TV the past week. But you'll definitely hear this one at Oktoberfest, and it's also one of the FC Bayern fan songs, and the Austrians seem to be big fans too. I don't know what words to use to begin finding out what this thing is, but we saw this guy at the World Cup Alpine Ski.

And then there's the man who has it all....the hair, the suit, the name, and the fantastic light shows....Hansi Hintersee!

Some are even performed on a stadium-rock scale.  Here are the East German group Puhdys singing "Hey, wir wollen die Eisbär sehen" (Hey, we want to see the Polar Bears).  It's the anthem for the Berlin Polar Bears, a professional ice hockey team.

Really, it's a genre unique to this area, but there are a few foreign performers who could be included.  For comparison (and your listening pleasure)....Sweet Caroline and Sex Bomb....both songs we often hear here too. The crowd went wild at Oktoberfest when the band played Sweet Caroline. I wouldn't say Neil Diamond's music generally is similar, but this song is close, when played with some energy. Tom Jones, however....he's all Schlager!

I'm sure it's purely coincidence that The Carpenters performed at the White House for visiting West German chancellor Willy Brandt, but you could switch the words to German and it would have fit perfectly into any 1970s schlager show!

The Power Pils Round

Now that we've eased into the Pils with some Beck's and Bavarian Pils, we dive into Germany's big players in the Pils market.

We call this the Power Pils round, as it contains German's top 2 producers and

From the March Madness comparison, Warsteiner and Krombacher are UConn and Syracuse

Warsteiner is enjoyed in over 60 countries and is Germany's largest beer exporter. Far more, however, is drunk in Germany - it's considered one of the top Pilsners. It's not as old as some of the Bavarian breweries, but it's been around long enough (250 years) to be considered a real German player. Interestingly, Warsteiner is an investor in König Lüdwig. Beer is almost a strategic industry in Germany, and the decline in beer consumption has been major news for a few years. According to its annual report, Warsteiner was able to slightly increase its domestic sales last year despite a 2.4% overall decline in the German beer market. Not bad! Among their new marketing efforts is using the Klitschko brothers (both are World Heavyweight Champions and Wladimir is Hayden Pannettiere's boyfriend) to promote their alcohol-free beer to athletes and health-conscious beer lovers. For many tourists, this was their first German beer - I'll let Herr J tell his story later, but I remember this was the beer served in our hostel in Marbella on my first trip abroad!

With all the different measurements (by brand, by brewery, by brewery holding company, etc), it's not easy to say which are the largest breweries in Germany. Warsteiner, Krombacher, and Radeberger are easily in the top 10. The Radeberger Group is often named the largest German brewery group due to its ownership of so many German breweries. It's likely a very close race between Radeberger's and InBev's production in Germany.

Radeberger was founded in 1872 in Radeberg (near Dresden) and claims to be "the first brewery in Germany to brew beer in the traditional Pilsner manner." It also was designated by the Royal Court of Saxony as their beer provider. So perhaps Radeberge was the original German pilsner...it's definitely one of the most popular. You can see exactly how popular their pilsner is from the fact that the Binding Group renamed its entire holding company The Radeberger Group after it purchased Radeberger.

However, the Jever brand is also part The Radeberger Group. Similar to Beck's they use green glass (not as protective as the brown used by most) and 0.33mL bottles. The Jever brewery was founded in the mid-1800s and remained a relatively small brewery. It was hard hit by both wars - in the first war losing its leader on the front and by shortages of hops and barley; after the second, fuel shortages limited them to selling only for self-pickup and the head going from farm to farm trying to buy or barter for barley. But the brewery was able to stay in operation and grow into a modern brewery well-known for its pilsner and exportbiers. The formal name "Friesisches Brauhaus zu Jever" alludes to its location in the city of Jever and its pride in the region Friesland. Friesland is on the North Sea coast, including parts of both Germany and the Netherlands that were settled since the first century. It's also known for its natural beauty, fresh air, and beaches - something you'll see reflected when you open the Jever site to find beaches and seagull sounds! Interestingly, Jever has aligned itself with Harley-Davidson, sponsoring HarleyDay in Hamburg and offering custom Jever Harleys and dune buggies. I'm pretty amused that their alcohol-free version is called "Jever Fun."

And then we have Krombacher, which was founded in 1803 in Krombach (between Frankfurt and Würzburg). They initially brewed only traditional lagers, but began making a pils in 1890 that quickly became popular in the Sauerland and southern Ruhr areas. Part of their high quality is supposed to come from their water source, as many breweries claim. Krombacher has always been on the forefront of marketing - making a major push to win over former East Germans after Reunification, and sponsoring several Bundesliga and handball teams. In 2002, they had an interesting campaing with the WWF, whereby Krombacher would save 1 square meter of rainforest in the Central African Republic for every case sold. Sales jumped 8% that year and other German companies followed suit using charitable campaigns as marketing tools.  After a lawsuit (and successful appeal stating that Krombacher was not misleading consumers), they've changed and relaunched the campaign again. I guess you'd have to be a pretty big beer drinker to make a noticeable impact, but it is an appealing concept to drink beer for the environment! Their Facebook page claims that they have invested over €3 million in conservation efforts.  

 

For this tasting, we had my parents as special guests. During their visit, we took advantage of having an extra pair of votes, as well as giving my dad a chance to taste some new beers. He prefers a Pils, so this was a fun one for him.

We wanted something that wouldn't overpower the beers, so made my favorite paella with chicken, asparagus, and manchego cheese. Really, it's closer to a Spanish risotto, but it's really tasty and easy to make. And Herr J made his famous feta-stuffed red peppers. A good match for the pils!

First up was the Warsteiner-Krombacher matchup. Looking at the beers, the Warsteinger was lighter in color and more carbonated than the Krombacher. It was almost "spritzy," if that's a word. Despite it having a slightly flatter feel, the Krombacher had more taste than the Warsteiner and we chose it as the winner.  We had expected the Warsteiner to prevail, but that's exactly why we've been doing blind tastings.

Next up were Jever and Radeberger. Both were good, standard Pilsners. The Jever, however, had a slight odd aftertaste. Not bad exactly, but enough that the Radeberger clearly won. We will try the Jever again, in case we just had a couple bad bottles.  

We end the night with Krombacher vs Radeberger. Again, we find ourselves changing our minds....thought we normally choose the less hoppy beer, we chose Krombacher over Radeberger because Radeberger tastes a little flat and tasteless when compared to the Krombacher. Though the Krombacher was slightly more hoppy, it was still a smooth and non-bitter, very drinkable beer.

Photoblog - Sylt

Sylt is the northernmost island in Germany, lying effectively at the same latitude as the mainland's border with Denmark (and about 10km off the west coast).  It is Germany's largest island in the North Sea at 38km north-to-south -- but generally only a few kilometers wide.  Here's Sylt on Google Maps.  Hamburg is a few hours south, London sits across the North Sea to the southwest, and the Baltic Sea lies across Denmark to the east (Germany call this the East Sea).

Again with Google maps you can see the distinctive shape of Sylt.  Westerland the is largest town (9,000 of the 21,000 total inhabitants), with Kampen being the very upper-class village a little to the north -- although nowhere can Sylt be called frugal in any sense.  In fact, they have prohibited any new construction to preserve nature... if you want to build, you have to tear down an existing structure and build on the same site.  I think that's a good move.  It would probably get overdeveloped otherwise, and it's a beautiful place.  More info on Sylt from Wikipedia here.

Indeed, the shape of the island is so distinctive that it helps define a culture around it.  You'll see a lot of cars with this bumper sticker (below) on it, indicating a fan of Sylt and probably a frequent visitor (or, if lucky, owner of a flat there).  Most cars with this sticker will be BMWs, Mercedes, or Audis... and the higher-end models at that.  You're announcing that you're a bit of a snob with this on your car, but at least a snob with good taste.

And the "culture" around Sylt?  There was a famous pop song from the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) in the 1980's that immortalizes Westerland, the main town.  The NDW includes artiscs like Nena (Luftballons) and Falco (Rock Me Amadeus), by the way.  Here is the song and video.  It's actually a really catch tune.

You can fly to Sylt (small airport there) but it's better and more fun to "drive".  I drove north from Hamburg a couple of hours to the boarding point for the auto-carriers on the Deutsche Bahn.  You actually drive up onto the auto-carrier on the train, and it takes the route across the water to the island!

Fortunately, my car was on the top level of the carrier, so I was able to get this photo as the train just reached the first part of Sylt.  This is typical for the southern portion -- fields of wheat or cows, totally flat of course.

 

What Sylt is most famous for is the dunes and beaches, that reminded me a lot of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  It's waaaay up north, and never truly gets hot.  Also, there is a constant strong breeze, so there are rather more sturdy grasses than many trees.

       What you see on the beach is also a trademark of Sylt:  the strandkorb.  Literally, the sand basket.  These things are quite heavy and stay put, but just light enough so that you can rotate them to face the sun and block the constant wind from your back.  It really works to keep you warm.  However, there are numbers on them... because each section of beach has a firm that is allowed to rent a certain number of strandkorbs.  You have to reserve one for each day that you want to use it -- but you better do this ahead of time.   They go fast.     

 

Here you can clearly see the numbers on each strandkorb.  The blue and white stripes on the inside are traditional, and there are two baskets underneath the seat to store bags, books, clothes, etc.  This is about the maximum density of strandkorbs that are allowed, and you see that they are ALL taken.  What I did not post, but is common, is that many people love to hang around and swim in the nude.  That's Germany - claim your square meters on the beach and get naked!

As you might expect, there are some nice walking/hiking trails on Sylt.  Germans are really outdoorsy and like to get fresh air and exercise.  You can walk paths around much of the island, which gets especially nice as you get farther from the crowded beaches.  Some parts are farmland, others a bit wooded, and some parts marshy.  This was one of my favorites.

  When you're done with the beach and trails, the best thing to do is get some seafood at Gosch.  Mr. Gosch started out selling seafood from a cart, got more and more carts, expanded into a restaurant, and now sells seafood across all Germany.  The two cool locations on Sylt (his home base, and is often at the restaurants) are in the towns Wenningstedt and List. (He even has stands in the Munich airport and main train station - both are always crowded and known for quality). 

Gosch restaurant in ListGosch restaurant in Wenningstedt

Raclette - Cheesy Swiss Goodness

Herr J has been finding all kinds of goodies on Amazon.de lately, including some great surprises for me.

So I was very excited to open a box and find a two-person raclette grill.

Raclette probably originated in Switzerland, but is very popular in France and Southern Germany as well. The methods and ingredients vary, but it basically is melted cheese served with meat and/or vegetables. A little like cheese fondue, but instead of dipping things in cheese, you are covering them in cheese.

In Germany, many families traditionally eat raclette on Christmas Eve, though you'll find it eaten throughout the winter, and as part of the après ski in Switzerland.  It's an easy meal, but it brings everyone together around the table. Raclette typically is a long-meal, during which friends and family eat slowly, drink white wine, and talk for hours.

The main two methods are a Raclette Oven or a Raclette Grill:
The Raclette Oven consists of a stand to hold a half wheel of cheese under a heating element (the top bar). The heat melts the top layer of the cheese and guests scrape the melted cheese onto their plates.

These are pretty cool looking, but the disadvantages are that:
- they're pricey (usually starting at over €200) 
- you need to use half wheels of cheese, so it's best for larger groups
- no grill or griddle for grilling the meats or veggies

However, they make a very impressive presentation and perfectly melted cheese. 

The Raclette Grill comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes (and price ranges). The basic form consists of a two level appliance, with the heating element sitting under the grill/griddle and above the individual trays.

The one shown has both a stone and a grill, on which the meats are cooked. Each guest has a tray into which he or she puts a slice of cheese for melting. This makes wonderful bubbly cheese, but you have to be careful not to burn it, since the slices are thinner than the wheel. There's some debate about the correct way to make your raclette - some believe that only the cheese should be melted in the tray and then used to top the meat and veggies; others prefer to add vegetables into the cheese while it's melting (as shown here).

Cheese:
Cheese is the main ingredient in raclette, and you'll want to use one that melts evenly and smoothly. The raclette cheese from Wallis area (Valais canton) in Switzerland is the original raclette cheese, but there are a wide variety of Swiss, French, German, and Dutch raclette cheeses available - even some pepper flavored, smoked, or other varieties. The French cheese that the cheese lady recommended was excellent - in Europe you can usually just ask for a raclette cheese and they'll recommend one based on preference, and even slice it into perfect raclette slices!  Though you could use a good melting cheese such as Gouda, Emmental, Tilsit, Edam, or even Camembert if you live somewhere that raclette cheese isn't available, but it really is best to get raclette cheese. A good rule of thumb is to have 200-300g cheese per person, and it should be cut into half centimeter thick slices. Leave the rind on - it softens up and provides nice texture.

Potatoes:
After the cheese come the veggies and meat. Originally, the meal consisted of cheese, potatoes, and pickles. Today, tradition has expanded to include other items, especially meat.  In Switzerland, they often serve jacket potatoes, and in Germany sliced boiled potatoes. Obviously they need to be cooked beforehand, but you could also brown them up on the grill to get a little more texture.

Meat and Veggies:
Now that we have the cheese and potatoes comes the fun part. You can put anything on the grill - common ingredients are chicken, pork, kebabs, shrimp, sausages, steak, dried meats, peppers, onions, and so on.

Condiments:
Usually there are paprika and fresh ground pepper on the table for seasoning, as well as small or sliced pickles.

Our Raclette Dinner:
The one Herr J got me is a really good Swiss brand, with trays for 2 people. I don't actually have a formal dining table, so it's great to have a small one.

Here's our setup - cheese, shrimp, tomatoes, onions, and small pieces of marinated filet (we skipped the potatoes):
  

Here you'll see the cheese melting below and the shrimp grilling on top.

The process is simple...grill your meats and veggies and put them (or potatoes) on your plate. Then remove the cheese tray from the heat. Using your raclette spatula (plastic or wooden angled scrapers, as in the photo above), slide the molten cheese atop your meat and veggies. You'll end up with a tasty, gooey treat like this:    

In addition to the shrimp, we grilled onions and steak. As much as I'd love to post a picture of the finished product, it was just too delicious - we were too lost in eating it to stop and take a photo!

I'm really not sure why raclette isn't popular in the US.  With the potatoes, it's a lot like European cheese fries or potato skins! What's not to love?

We'll be experimenting in the future with ideas for modern raclette - onions, steak, and bell peppers would make a great cheesesteak; with some spicier peppers we could go the Mexican route; and with some meatballs, we could have Italian raclette. Though cheese is not normally part of Asian cuisines, my favorite Yakitori restaurant (Nanbantei in Far East Plaza in Singapore) has an out-of-this-world beef wrapped cheese skewer. Perhaps we can make some Yakitori-inspired dished with the beef, prosciutto-wrapped baby asparagus, and others. Yum, my mouth is watering just thinking about Nanbantei!

Gummi Smurfs

Strangely, these little guys come in a set of Smurfs and Cherry Cola. Cute and tasty!

(Your German word for the day is "Schlumpf," which is the German name for Smurfs)

Moving on to the Pilsners

So far we've tasted a ton of Helles, Weißbier, Oktoberfest Märzen, Dunkles, and Starkbier. And these do represent what is most often drunk in Southern Bavaria. But it isn't necessarily representative of all of Germany's tastes or of German beers known worldwide. For many Germans, a Pils is the standard beer. If you walk into a bar in Hamburg and ask for a Helles, they'd probably laugh at you.

A Pils is what many people know as beer and it's the closest relative to most mainstream American beers. Calm down, no need to panic, we're not claiming a Miller Light is anything like a Warsteiner...but these are the beers that have the hoppy "beer taste" that most Americans know and love as beer. They come from the Bohemian (mostly Czech) style of beer, which is the same one that influenced Budweiser, Miller, and the other popular beers in the US.

A Pils has a similar alcohol content and wort to Helles and both are pale lagers. The most noticeable difference is in taste - put simply, a pils will have a much stronger taste to its hops than a helles. It sometimes is slightly clearer, too. But the main difference will be the degree of hoppiness.

So, we decided to ease into the Pils round with a pair of Pils from Munich brewers and a pair that will be well-known to beer drinkers around the globe.

Match 1: Paulaner Premium Pils vs Löwenbräu Premium Pils

First off, these are not always easy beers to find in Munich. The just aren't in major demand, but the breweries acknowledge that some customers want more hops in their beer. They seem to be somewhat the red-headed stepchildren of the family, though...Paulaner lists its beers by categories: Weißbier, Helles beers, Seasonal beers, and "other". the "Other" includes only two - the Premium Pils, and the cola-orange drink mix Spezi. But both take brewing very seriously and brew a beer in the Bohemian style, according to Bavarian tradition.

The two beers appeared similarly in the glass, though had quite different tastes. The Löwenbräu was much hoppier, and tasted slightly bitter to us.

Obviously this one is a matter of taste...we've found through this that we prefer balanced beers, or ones leaning into the malty side of taste. So, a Pils would usually not be our first beer choice. However, if you are someone who wants a manly, hoppy beer, then you would vote differently. (And we can recommend some crazily hoppy beers if you need!)

The Paulaner surprised us - it was great. Very light and though it was definitely a Pils, it had a slightly sweet finish. This one clearly is a Pils for the Bavarian market! It's a beer that will go well with spicy foods - it's strong than a helles and will stand up to the spiciness, but it doesn't have such a strong or sweet taste (as would a dunkel or weißbier) that would compete against the taste of your food.

Match 2: Beck's vs Beck's Gold 

Beck's is one of Germany's top breweries, established in Bremen in the 1870's, and now is part of InBev. Beck's Pilsner is widely available, though Beck's Gold is not sold in the US.

We're not exactly sure how the two are positioned, or if Beck's Gold is supposed to be a better or more upscale beer. Neither had a very strong taste - not surprising, since they are similar and appeal to such a large number people. But we found the Beck's Gold to be less bitter and a better balance of hops and very slight sweetness. Both were very drinkable, but we preferred the Gold.

Paulaner Pils vs Beck's Gold:

On to the matchup between Paulaner and Beck's Gold... These were very similar in taste and level of hoppiness. It makes me think that maybe Beck's Gold is meant to be a slightly smoother or lighter version of their regular Pils. We ended up voting for the Paulaner. It was a really enjoyable Pils - hoppy, without being bitter, and it had a more complex mix of flavors.   

I'm not a big Pils drinker, but have surprised Herr J a few times when I chose this beer to drink with dinner. Thanks to this beer tournament and the winter weather, my balcony basically is a large beer fridge...  

Great Design Gifts

A few whimsical touches for the home, with clever design

The 8-armed Octopus Shower Caddy keeps all your shower needs out of the way, in a cute package.

 

via Gizmodiva, available here

The cast iron Wicked Witch of the West doorstop...too clever for words!

available from Neatoshop

For the modern furniture lover, these Oi seating cells - the pieces can be combined on a base to create endless combinations of unique seating. Also, environmentally friendly...they utilize recycled materials and a soy-based CFC-free recyclable foam, as well as ship with the pieces tightly packed into a cube to reduce packing materials.

     via ApartmentTherapy, available from Oi

And the amazing Bird Nest Bed, into which I want to dive with a book!

via w ooh ome, designed by Merav Eitan and Gaston Zahr as part of the Green Garden Exhibition, shown in April 2008 at the opening of O*GE Gallery

For your kitchen are these fun geometric trivets...use them as potholders, alone, or link them together. They come in great colors and kinda remind me of Settler of Catan. Yes, I know, sometimes I'm little weird...I can't help it

via Design*Sponge and available from Velocity