How do you keep a German occupied?

t-fal · October 2005

i went to decibel last night actually, i started getting a sake jones after making that post. i've never had a bad experience there, and the staff has never demanded more tip. however thats not a totally unheard of practice at any restaurant. back in my waitressing days i used to chase those big spending eurotrash scenesters down in the boston streets after they left little or no tip on a 3 digit bill. "oh its a cultural zeeng-we don't doo zees in europe, maybe zay should pay you more?" my ass.

anonymous · October 2005

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge & have Pizza at Patsy's, ice cream on the pier

t-fal · October 2005

i sent a friend of mine from spain to coney island when he visited, he had a fantastic time and he couldn't even find the freakshow, which is my personal fave, next to the guy that lets you shoot him with a paintball gun of course. i HIGHLY rec. the freakshow. all my guy friends really seem to like it, all my girl friends seem to hate it. but it could have something to do with the sweet young thing who swallows 2 foot swords.

pitu · October 2005

Carnivore wrote: [quote=apollonia666]Have any of you been to Decibel lately? I was curious about it after reading what was posted here so I looked it up on CitySearch, and the people who have reviewed it there are less than impressed:
http://newyork.citysearch.com/review/11351374

I haven't been in a few months, but I've never had a bad experience there.

Me too (love it, haven't been there for a year)
Try all weird japanese bar food, especially the perfect quivering cube of tofu with bonita dancing on top - it's sublime.
And then there's a hideous mayonaise covered pizza with squid jerky on it . . . yuck, but I love sake . . .

Why would you go to McSorley's when you could go to The Gate and stumble home afterwards? They are selling Abita beer from NOLA -- $17,500 raised for hurricane relief so far!

Go To Bonnie's for a burger while you're over there -- so american! it looks like a quilted tin diner with the ballgame on, but the food is good.

roux42 · October 2005

Subject: I do love Brooklyn.... But!

Why would you go to McSorley's when you could go to The Gate and stumble home afterwards?

Because McSorley's is an institution that I think every beer-drinking tourist should check out once.

Yes the Gate and Bonnie's are great places! But! McSorley's is what it is! An American Beer Hall!

Where do the German's live?

flute · October 2005

pitu wrote: [quote=Anonymous]1. Form alliance with Brighton Beach and then invade Greenpoint.
2. Invade Brighton Beach.
3. Form alliance with Bensonhurst and invade Staten Island.
4. Pull out of Staten Island, but occupy Bensonhurst.
5. Retreat to Bushwick.

BEST Guest post ever?

Without a doubt.

cupcake · October 2005

Thanks guys. German of the Month lives in East Midtown on 58th Street. Yuk.

I would love to take him to Coney Island, which I adore, especially the freak show, but first I would have to teach him how to use the subway. I think he has it in him. I gotta get him out of Midtown. The current exhibit at the Met, the supernatural photography, sounds good too. And free Friday nights at the MoMa!

Maybe a Brooklyn oddessy: over the bridge, pizza at Grimaldi's, a walk around the promenade, blah blah blah. But I'd like him to get a sense of real life here. Problem is, he's kinda conservative, from Southern Germany, not cosmopolitan Berlin.

anonymous · October 2005

EmilyM wrote: Deutschtreffen is essentially the spinoff of the German Meetup. Meetup started charging annoying fees this year, alienating a lot of users. The Deutschtreffen site was started by the former leader of the German Meetup as a way to continue to meet while bypassing the Meetup system. The current German Meetup group, as far as I know, consists of the people who weren't in on this plan.

No, I am still the founder and volunteer organizer of the largest German-speaking social club in this country, the NYC German Language Meetup Group, http://german.meetup.com/4. We have 1,200+ members and sponsor many activities but, more important, use our clout to negotiate freebies and deep discounts to lots of German cultural events. Last week, we negotiated FREE admission to the $50 Off-Broadway show, "Einstein's Gift" and to the opening of the GDR-Film Festival at MOMA. This week, we negotiated 50% off similarly-priced tickets to the in-German production of Gotthold Lessing's "Emilia Golatti" at the BAM Harvey Theater, the same production that has been playing at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin to rave reviews since February, 2002.

Because there are actually 5 large German-speaking social clubs in Manhattan, I founded http://deutschtreffen.de to act as an umbrella site, reinforcing our ability to exert collective influence. 4 of the 5 groups marched under the deutschtreffen.de banner during the Steuben Parade. There are photos at http://germanmeetup.photosite.com.

If Meetup ever goes belly up (I'd give it 50/50 odds), deutschtreffen.de will substitute nicely. For now, though, it is designed as a central bulletin board for all the German-speaking groups in NYC. Please take a look and tell us what you think.

Warmest regards,

Pat Finegan

emily · October 2005

Huh. I must have been confused by getting emails from Amy Sander, who I see is the assistant Organizer. Well, I'm glad you managed to keep going with Meetup's changes. All my other groups tanked almost immediately.

See you on the 20th, if I can convince my friend JE to come. Does that restaurant have food now? Last time we were jonesing for German food so much that we jumped ship and went to Loreley partway through.

anonymous · October 2005

EmilyM wrote: Does that restaurant have food now? Last time we were jonesing for German food so much that we jumped ship and went to Loreley partway through.

Yes. Inexpensive and tasty. See you there.

cupcake · November 2005

Today is my beloved German of the Month's last day in the office and last night in town. Sure, they're sending me a new German tomorrow, but the new one could be crap, you know what I mean? I am practically in tears thinking about how I will miss the little guy! I would cry, but to show any kind of emotion/weekness would be the greatest insult and just make everyone in the office uncomfortable.

I think maybe this program was not such a good idea. "Let's give Cupcake a friend. Now let's take him away! Just kidding, here's a new friend. No! We're taking this one away too. Okay, here's your new friend." And so on, for eleven months.

smokin joe · November 2005

suggestions above are all good, but every german visitor should check out an important part of his or her heritage at the holocaust museum in battery park city:

http://www.mjhnyc.org

seriously.

carnivore · November 2005

Smokin' Joe wrote: suggestions above are all good, but every german visitor should check out an important part of his or her heritage at the holocaust museum in battery park city:

http://www.mjhnyc.org

seriously.

They do have a pretty amazing holocaust memorial in Berlin (I was just there in May and can speak from personal experience). But I guess the museum is a much less abstract way of dealing with the material.

How do you keep a German occupied?

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