SINGAPORE – The Germans have a word, wanderlust, which means pain for distant places.
Singaporeans hungry for travel and longing for Germany Maybe soon you won’t hop on a plane anymore – but can definitely follow these tips to experience the land of Beethoven, Heidegger and the Brothers Grimm from Singapore.
Beer, bread, bratwurst
“It sells like sliced bread” is a German phrase used to describe objects that fly off the shelves. It is also a sign that Germans love their bread.
In Singapore you can get classic sourdough bread and rye bread (rye bread) Nick Vina Artisan Bakery, who has been working in the Icon Village in Tanjong Pagar since 2011.
Singaporean founder Nick Chua was trained in Hanover before bringing the craft skills and an 82-year-old mother dough that is still grown in the bakery back to Singapore.
Authentic bread can also be ordered from Haubis, whose offers are offered by various grocers and can also be ordered online at RedMart and Amazon.
For restaurant food go to Paulaner Brewery Singapore, The company serves Bavarian cuisine and has been in Singapore for more than two decades. The three-story microbrewery and restaurant in Millenia Walk are known for their sausages, pork knuckles, pretzels, and most importantly, their beer.
Rye bread (rye bread) from Nick Vina Artisan Bakery. PHOTO: NICK VINA ARTISAN BAKERY
Pork knuckle in the Paulaner brewery in Singapore. PHOTO: PAULANER BRAUHAUS SINGAPORE
The most popular classic beers are Helles (lager), Weissbier (wheat beer) and Dunkel (dark beer). Seasonal varieties are also available.
Germany’s king of vegetables is white asparagus in the season from April to June.
Paulaner Brewery Singapore and restaurants like Leopold Gastrobar (offers Austrian, German and Swiss cuisine) currently have special white asparagus menus.
Asparagus and salmon from the Paulaner brewery in Singapore. PHOTO: PAULANER BRAUHAUS SINGAPORE
You can find more German dishes here The local on Neil Road, which is Australian but has a German chef who sometimes conjures up food from his homeland.
Satisfy your desire for desserts with a typical Black Forest cake in the Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Cafe on Scotts Road.
House cooks who are looking for German products beyond Haribo gummy bears and Ritter Sport chocolate should set off Huber’s butcher shop on Dempsey Road and the German marketplace on Bukit Timah Road.
They carry a range of specialties such as cold cuts and quark (“quark”), a soft cheese.
Learn the language
German is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union. Why not pick it up by signing up for language courses at the? Goethe Institute?
The Neil Road center also has a multidisciplinary art project space, as well as a selection of physical books and study materials.
Goethe Institute Singapore. PHOTO: A. SCHIEKOFER
These are supplemented by the resources of the digital library platform Onleihe with more than 35,000 books, audio books, newspapers, magazines and films.
Podcasts are another great way to learn more about German culture. Interview series Have you said it all? has several English episodes and you can also read the German international broadcaster’s podcast recommendations German wave and travel platform Cultural trip.
Netflix and chill
Curl up in front of the TV or laptop and watch classics like the tragic comedy Good Bye, Lenin! (2003), the long-running police drama Tatort (since 1970) and the war film Das Boot (1981).
Dark with Louis Hofmann. PHOTO: JULIA TERJUNG / NETFLIX
Don’t miss these other recent series that have been critically acclaimed – Time travel thriller Dark (2017-2020 with Louis Hofmann), who weaves a jumble of intrigues around four families in a fictional German city; and Babylon Berlin (since 2017), a crime drama in the Weimar Republic full of corruption and decadence.
Hip German music
Marlene Dietrich, Nena and Rammstein will ring a bell among people of a certain age group.
A more up-to-date playlist can be found in a monthly “Popcast” in which the latest rock, pop, hip-hop and electro music acts from Germany are in the spotlight.
For example, last month’s episode featured a number of musicians, including Berlin-based, Peru-born producer Sofia Kourtesis.
The Peruvian singer Sofia Kourtesis from Berlin. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER BOUCHARD
The series of the Goethe-Institut and Rundfunk, magazine of Bayerischer Rundfunk, is on Apple, Spotify and the center’s website.
You can also find some German versions of English songs on Spotify.
Culture from afar
Lovers of Beethoven, Bach and Brahms can look forward to classical music concerts in Singapore. The upcoming online concert of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra A gift to the universe has, for example, a complete Bach program that will be streamed live on May 21st. It will be visible until June 4th at 8 p.m.
A gift to the universe. PHOTO: SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Berlin Philharmonic has a digital concert hall with online programs. Berlin’s Volksbuhne Theater is also there Streaming of some productions online.
Act like a German
• Be on time – in other words, five minutes early.
• Step out into nature and follow your wanderlust. Hiking is the country’s most popular outdoor activity.
• Mix an apple spritzer – a popular soft drink in Germany – by adding apple juice to carbonated mineral water.
• Sneak these nifty words into your conversation at the dining table – schadenfreude, foreign shame and aberration of taste
(a mistake in good taste).
Insider tips: Tania Joslin is restoring the German lifestyle in Singapore
German expatriate Tania Kaiser Joslin has lived in Singapore for 12 years and is proud to call her home. But there are still some things she misses about her homeland, like the food and the smell of Christmas.
“I’m not homesick, but I miss certain dishes like a good Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad or apple wine,” says Joslin, 51, who comes from the southwest German city of Frankfurt.
“I usually take friends over for dinner and rush to Huber’s butcher’s shop and the German marketplace to cook German specialties.”
Ms. Joslin is the founder of the public relations agency Grimaud Communications and is married to a British citizen who works in the financial sector. Their 10 year old daughter was born in Singapore.
The family has a playlist of German songs that they listen to at home. “I’m not sure whether our neighbors like it as much as we do,” says Ms. Joslin, who is a fan of the singers Herbert Gronemeyer, Xavier Naidoo and Udo Lindenberg.
The German marketplace is a “treasure trove” of specialties such as German butter, yogurt, quark, Haribo products and gray shrimp from the North Sea.
“The white asparagus season has started in Germany and can be ordered on the German marketplace. Before Christmas time, it flies out in Christmas cookies, chocolates and everything that is necessary to celebrate a traditional German Christmas in the tropics and sell things right away. “
Ms. Tania Joslin gets her bread from the Nick Vina Artisan Bakery. PHOTOS: Courtesy of TANIA KASIER JOSLIN, NICK VINA ARTISAN BAKERY
She gets her bread from Nick Vina Artisan Bakery.
“He (Nick Chua) nails totally German bread. German rye bread, whole grain, sourdough – all the German things he makes are absolutely authentic.
“Otherwise there are many other artisanal bakeries all over the island that make great sourdough bread Starter Lab, Yeast side or Micro bakery. “
To recreate the warm, woody smells of fir trees and chimneys – scents that she associates with the Christmas memories of her childhood – she lights Christmas candles. Her favorite brands are Cire Trudon, which can be found at Escentials in Paragon Mall. and to be quiet, available from Tangs.
She is also looking forward to annual highlights such as the Oktoberfest celebrations in the Swiss Club and the German Film Festival. Does she consider herself “typically German”? Such stereotypes might not really apply today, she says.
“There are a lot of stereotypes – that Germans have no sense of humor and that we are always on time.
“But these have changed. The Germans have a sense of humor and the Germans can also be late. Just like the Singaporeans.”
• The Goethe-Institut Singapore contributed to this article.
• For more stories on exploring Singapore, visit str.sg/sg-go-where
