EUROPE!!!!

 After so many years of wars, especially the First and Second World wars, we managed to reach the summit with the European Union (EU). It wasn't an easy way, but when we thought he had sorted all the difficulties out, the Brexit came and the figure of Angela Merkel turned up to get over it successfully (Listening exercise for you to do: Angela Merkel ,6 Minute English, BBC Learning English) . Now this elderly German lady, who came from the cold (East Germany), is about to retire from politics.

Here some articles for you to read and video to watch:

• 

  Federal Chancellor awarded Charles V European Prize “Europe is only as strong as it is united” (Bundesregierung)

• Angela Merkel, 14th Carlos V European Award (Fundación Yuste)
  

• Germany's Angela Merkel receives Spain's Carlos V European Award (DW News)
  

 

What will Germans miss about Angela Merkel? - BBC News

 

Europe is losing its moral compass – how will it find its way without Merkel? (The Guardian)

 

Apart from Angela Merkel, how much do you know about Germany??

 

 

Lucy teaches us how to introduce ourselves (English with Lucy)

 

 

 

And when talking about the European Union this version by Miguel Ríos of one of Beethoven's Ode to Joy comes to my mind: Song of Joy ( in Spanish )  and here's a version with the lyrics for you to sing along...

 

Some activities for you to do: 

• News Review:   Earthshot Prize: Prince's new awards   (BBC Learning English)
  

• Listening exercise for you to do: Do you normally tip?  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

• Space-International Law : The future of companies & The people vs Big business  (BBC Learning English)

 

LINGOHACK  >>> 

Episode 211013 / 13 October 2021    >>>  Dying seabirds mystery   -    Language related to 'death'.   

Need-to-know language: mass death, emaciated, toxin, starvation & make it.

 

 

BERLIN. a sad story with a happy ending (we do hope)

What an amazing city Berlin is! So full of history, of miserable and elated stories (look up EXTREME ADJECTIVES in English), of nice-looking gardens and palaces, of museums, of sad memories... but an example of how man can destruct something so beautiful and reconstruct it from its ashes.

 

 

A city where the past (How to use the PAST PERFECT, English in a Minute, BBC Learning English) meets the present!! 

 

  

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche is just an example.

However, let's begin with some information about Germany and how it was formed.

Some other interesting videos to watch:

• The animated history of Germany: Part One & Two 

• German Unification | 3 Minute History

• Ten Minute History -  German Unification and Empire  (Short documentary)

• How did Prussia Unify Germany? German Unification  - explained in 10 minutes

 

 

 

| and further information about Germany:

• Geography Now! Germany 

• Top 10 Facts About Germany    

 

 

 

 

However, our main issue was the city of Berlin as an example of what happened to Germany in the recent past. Here some other related videos to watch:

• The City of Berlin  

• The History of Berlin | Euromaxx  

• Berlin 1900 in colour!!!!  and part two   and then Berlin in July, 1945  

• Cities At War - Berlin: The Doomed City (WW2 Documentary)

• Warlords: Hitler vs Stalin (WW2 Leaders Documentary) | Timeline

• The Reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace | Euromaxx

• German reunification - a short history | DW Documentary

 

History Channel - Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

 

 

 

German reunification 25 years on: how different are east and west really (The Guardian)

 

 

Berlin Now & Then - Reichstag, Olympic Stadium ... 

 

National Anthem: Germany - Deutschlandlied [NEW VERSION] and another version!!  

 

 

 

Even US President JF Kennedy said this once... (but is it edible? Ich bin ein Berliner! or: How edible was JFK?)

 

 

 

And now from the touristic point of view:

• Berlin   

• Potsdam And Berlin - Germany Best City - Travel & Discover

• Berlin: Constantly changing city | Discover Germany

 

 

Two nearby German cities you can also visit: Dresden and Leipzig   

Can you speak any Geman? (Kennst du Deutsch?) It is not an easy language, so my piece of advice is that you should first have a good basis learning English, then French and a bit of Latin. You can look up some sites I have come across and that I have compiled here in this blog in:  Ich bin in Köln geboren!!

After all this about Germany and the city Berlin, here are some exercises on English to do:

• Learn a phrase about meeting someone unexpectedly: It's a small world (The English We Speak)

• What is the difference between these two verbs: STEAL vs ROB? (English in a Minute)

Visiting Berlin with Rick Steves   >>>   BERLIN   

"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"

Mr Bean does - 'Blind Date' | Comic Relief  

The fall of the Berlin Wall

Not long ago, actually 25 years ago, there were two Germanies and there was a wall between them.

Some articles to read about the issue:

• Berlin Wall

• As Germany marks fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev warns of new cold war  

• The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall  

Are there any examples in the world?

Are people still building this kind of walls nowadays?

And now listen to this song by Pink Floyd:  Another Brick in the Wall