::rebeccafmiller

I've moved!

2010-10-06T02:22:00.003+02:00

Hey Folks - I've moved cities and websites. I'm going to grad school at Ohio University's Scripps College of Communication and am working on an M.A. in Visual Communication with a concentration in photojournalism. I've got work from my first quarter posted at rebeccafmiller.blogspot.com
so stop by and have a look!

Sorry peeps...

2010-07-19T00:11:00.002+02:00

...been working on other things. But here you are [Pearl and Hedi]! The talented costumier and sock monster créateur extraordinaire, Avery Jennings, who I photographed in June on my latest visit to Leipzig. Just as the cottonwoods were spreading their light dusting of allergies across the land. His monsters will be coming to an Etsy near you in the coming months.

The Buchstabenmuseum

2010-03-01T21:56:00.002+01:00

I've got a new piece up at TheLocal.de about a museum that devotes itself to the preservation and documentation of signs and letters. It's a small endeavor right now, but the two owners hope to expand into a larger space and have some great ideas for rotating exhibitions about typography in the world. I can't wait to see how the place develops!

Stamplove Scratch'n'Sniff

2010-03-01T14:57:00.007+01:00

These came out in January, but I just got around to picking some up. They're a bit more expensive than normal stamps, but most of my letters are headed overseas anyway. They smell like fruit and a portion of the proceeds go to social welfare causes. What a lovely way to dress up an envelope!! (...which is from Bindewerk)

Berlin//Contemporary

2010-02-10T10:40:00.000+01:00

About Berlin//Contemporary

2010-02-10T10:11:00.002+01:00

The photos in this series are the result of the past couple years I've spent in Berlin. Some have appeared on the blog roll before and others are ones I've had squirreled away. I have a lot more in the form of undeveloped film. I hope they evoke the feel of the city - kind of dirty and complicated by its past and present history, but trying to reinvent itself by creating galleries and milking its reputation as a creative design city. Berlin is more than 'Poor but Sexy,' as Mayor Klaus Wowereit put it. In a way we're all trying to make sense of it, and of our selves.

Berlin//Contemporary

2010-02-09T08:39:00.000+01:00

Berlin//Contemporary

2010-01-26T10:51:00.000+01:00

Berlin//Contemporary

2010-01-21T10:37:00.000+01:00

Berlin//Contemporary

2010-01-20T09:49:00.002+01:00

November 9, 2009 :: Germany celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Berlin wall's fall

Berlin//Contemporary

2010-01-19T11:24:00.002+01:00

Berlin

2010-01-18T10:40:00.002+01:00

from the series Berlin//Contemporary

Sweets in Zurich

2009-11-30T21:30:00.014+01:00

Undoubtedly my favorite part about Zurich, besides seeing friends, are Luxemburgerli! They're light, buoyant little gems made at the Sprüngli Confiserie that come in all colors and flavors. Because of the macaroon they have to "be enjoyed as soon as possible," before they become stale...but that's never a problem!

From a Swiss window

2009-11-30T20:54:00.005+01:00

Morissen, Switzerland, a village in the Valsertal in Graubünden, 2064 meters

Private in Public

2009-10-03T16:38:00.001+02:00

(on the Spree)

Jee-haw!

2009-09-28T13:45:00.012+02:00

Germans love cowboys. They love Indians even more. Through the prolific writings of Germany's most famous Western author, Karl May, perceptions of untamed cowboys befriending noble savages have become legend among the country's baby boomers. May wrote during the 19th century and his two most famous characters, Winnetou and Old Shatterhand, have become icons of German cinema history. The films created based on the books have even inspired a Western-themed musical, Der Schuh des Manitu (Manitou's Shoe).

Earlier this month I went out to the Old Texas Town to photograph a group of Western fans who have built a replica frontier town in Berlin's Spandau district. The site includes a saloon, a jail, and a copy of the Alamo church. The photos are in today's Houston Chronicle and accompany a story by reporter Moises Mendoza about this very obsession.

Mushroom photos in Jordbruksaktuellet

2009-09-18T00:16:00.002+02:00

Last November, while on our excursion to Belgium for the Vampire Dugout story, Swedish journalist Marcus Hansson stopped us off for a feature about Germany's largest organic gourmet mushroom producer, Pilzgargen Gmbh, in Helvesiek. I shot the photos for the story and they've been published in an agriculture magazine that is directed toward Swedish farmers, Jordbruksaktuellet.

July: old pieces, new pieces

2009-08-24T21:33:00.004+02:00

July: my grandmother's wake

2009-08-24T21:09:00.007+02:00

Retrospect

2009-08-24T20:49:00.007+02:00

Vampire Dugout in Archaeology

2009-06-21T18:28:00.005+02:00

In November 2008 I went with writer Andrew Curry to Flanders, Belgium to document the site of an underground World War I tunnel. Buried under a potato field for 90 years, the shelter, called Vampire Dugout, was intended to house British soldiers during battle, but was abandoned shortly before completion in 1918 because of changing conditions on the Western front. It was covered and left to fill up with water and mud, which preserved its interior so well that even candle smoke was visible on the beams supporting the ceiling.

The weekend we visited was the last chance to view the dugout before it was allowed to fill up again. However, if you pick up a copy of the July/August issue of Archaeology magazine, put out by the Archaeological Institute of America, you can read Andrew's article (abstract here) and check out the photos I took to see it for yourself!

Gothic Wave

2009-06-02T19:46:00.005+02:00

This past weekend I spent some time in Leipzig photographing the Wave Gothic Festival, which annually attracts 30,000 Goth-clad visitors from around the globe. The Local, a website for German news in English, published the article I wrote and a photo essay.

"Offbeat Berlin"

2009-05-19T12:00:00.007+02:00

Back in April, writer/editor Jessica Dorrance and I took a field trip off Berlin's beaten path to find out what else there is to do in the Hauptstadt. An urban farm for kids, a set of city mascots, a decaying GDR-era amusement park and seven more. Her list of unsung sights can be found here!

New Photos at Expatica.com

2009-05-05T11:22:00.004+02:00

Head over to the Expatica Germany site to see photos of mine taken for an article on the Dada Post, a fresh new gallery located in an old fish smokehouse north of Berlin. Curated by artists Howard McCalabb and Lou Andrea Savoir, the gallery just finished up its inaugural show called Youth Cult, which featured work by experienced young artists from around the world.

Expatica is web-based news source aimed at foreign nationals living around Europe. In the coming months I'll be contributing more to the site and will keep you posted as new features appear!

Flumserberg, Switzerland

2009-04-04T23:38:00.000+02:00

At the end of January I went to visit a friend in Switzerland with two other friends, where we went skiing and hiking in the Alps. The country is of course known for its charm, called "urchig" in Swiss German, as well as its cheese, fondue, yodelling, chocolate, and banking.

U-Bahn Catacombs

2009-03-19T22:29:00.008+01:00

Before Erin left, we rode the rails and took photos of Underground stations. Some for their color, others for their ornamentation. Train stations in Berlin range from stark monotones to arched iron homages to the age of industrialization. With the first lines opening in 1902, the train system underwent several waves of construction, taking place before 1913, between 1923-1930 and, after a rebuilding period, from 1953 on. Today the underground system is 151.7 km in length. The earlier lines (U1-4) have a smaller gague than later lines (U5-9), necessitating two different train dimensions, Kleinprofil and Großprofil.

Currently, an additional line is being constructed between Alexander Platz, Pariser Platz and the Hauptbahnhof (central station), with a stop at the Bundestag (parliament). This "U55/U5 project is technologically challenging, passing beneath the city's main architectural treasure house of buildings and through sandy soils with a very high water table." Meanwhile, last summer, the Deutscher Oper held performances of "The Magic Flute" in U-Bundestag and completion on the rest of the stub is projected for 2020.

An image of the 1902 "Stammstrecke" between the Warschauer Bridge and Zoo:

Image courtesy of VernebeltPinguin under an Attribution/ShareAlike Creative Commons license.

Sophie Calle

2009-02-03T13:55:00.004+01:00

At an installation of Sophie Calle's pieces Où et Quand? Berck and Où et Quand? Lourdes at Arendt & Partner on Checkpoint Charlie. In them, she toys with the idea of handing over your fate to someone else, in this case a psychic, who directs her future by consulting cards. As a result of Calle's expeditions, she creates detailed logs of travel arrangements, impressions, souvenirs in an attempt at juxtaposing, "documentation and invention, fact and fiction, reality and show."

War on Terror - The Game

2009-02-03T13:38:00.003+01:00

What have I been up to? Why, Terrorism for one!

"WAR ON TERROR, THE BOARDGAME: It's got suicide bombers, political kidnaps and intercontinental war. It's got filthy propaganda, rampant paranoia and secret treaties and the Axis of Evil is a spinner in the middle of the board." In short, it's everything you need to start a world war in the comfort of your living room.

Never before has curbing your values elicited such a thrill!

June Bar

2009-01-14T22:54:00.000+01:00

Wing

2008-11-21T19:48:00.000+01:00

Pom

2008-11-21T19:36:00.002+01:00

Going through some old photo files, I've found a few things from a couple years ago...just something for a rainy day.

Election Night

2008-11-06T23:37:00.003+01:00

The movie theater Babylon Mitte hosted an election party, sponsored by the Democrats Abroad, which lasted until sunrise, or at least until the race was called at 6am. Inside there was CNN and German-style American food. And outside were the likes of this guy...

Mushrooms in Brandenburg

2008-10-30T14:52:00.005+01:00

Last weekend I went mushroom hunting in Bernau, northwest of Berlin. My fellow hunters and I found a kilo of mushrooms, which we promptly cooked up and ate alongside a feast of fall food. The Grüner Knollenblätterpilz (Amanita phalloides, above), also known as the death cap, is one of the most deadly toadstool mushrooms. It can kill a person, but does so slowly, affecting the liver and intestinal system with a host of unsavory-sounding side effects along the way.

The field blewit (Clitocybe saeva)

News

2008-10-26T23:26:00.007+01:00

A portrait I shot this summer accompanies an interview of Berlin-based journalist Andrew Curry on Smithsonian.com. The interview is a response to an article he wrote that appears in this month's Smithsonian Magazine, about a Turkish archaeological site that is speculated, by a German archaeologist, to predate Stonehenge as the world's first temple. Check out the article here.

Festival of Lights

2008-10-16T17:11:00.002+02:00

Berlin's Festival of Lights opened on Tuesday evening and will run until the 26th of October.

Erin

2008-10-06T17:21:00.003+02:00

Berlin friend, out for coffee at Bonanza

News

2008-10-03T16:29:00.004+02:00

The Fernsehturm (TV Tower) shot that I took back in June has made its way to the journal Science's Career Magazine website to accompany the story of a postdoc scientist in Berlin.

Along the Mauerweg

2008-09-19T17:52:00.002+02:00

A BMX practice area along the Berliner Mauerweg (Berlin Wall Trail).

China...

2008-09-15T23:02:00.002+02:00

it's everywhere...even in Brandenburg!

The Himmels Pagode

and their heavenly website (auf Deutsch).

Stripes

2008-09-01T13:36:00.000+02:00

Kulturpark

2008-09-01T12:58:00.002+02:00

Also located in Treptow, in the Plänterwald to be exact, is a park that opened in 1969 for the amusement of East Germans, the Kulturpark, or now known as the Spreepark. After reunification it was shut down, holding sporadic events until 2001, its las season. Trespassing is not allowed (and parents, the owners are not liable if your kids get arrested). But there is a DVD out about those who remember it and those who still inhabit it...evidently one or two of the former employees.

Soviet memorial field trip

2008-09-01T12:42:00.004+02:00

This football field-sized memorial ensemble was built to honor fallen Soviet soldiers who died while fighting to take Berlin from the Nazis in 1945. The 12 meter-high statue depicts a Soviet fighter carrying a girl to safety and standing over a broken swastika. Reportedly based on the true story of a soldier who found a girl wandering around Potsdamer Platz and took her to safety. The site is located in Berlin's Treptower Park.

Last days of summer

2008-09-01T12:37:00.004+02:00

spiced pickels from the Spreewald

Electoral College

2008-08-28T20:22:00.002+02:00

Worth a look: The Electoral College blog, featuring Jon Winet, David Levi-Strauss and more...

TnD

2008-08-24T04:49:00.001+02:00

Effervescent

2008-08-21T06:07:00.001+02:00

Wine Dot Hens

2008-08-10T19:38:00.004+02:00

Farmer Dave, Menagerie Man

Obamania

2008-07-26T17:01:00.008+02:00

Barack Obama spoke in Berlin on Thursday night and I had just enough time to catch the speech before jetting back to Amerika.

Updated 5.August: the above umbrella photo was featured on the CPB/PRX-supported blog BallotVox today, along with several other photos from Obama's Berlin appearance.

Wiegenfest

2008-07-21T14:20:00.001+02:00

Bday cocktails on Torstraße with Ronny, Caroline and Hedi

Prost!

No worries

2008-07-21T14:09:00.004+02:00

Caroline and I went to Sanssouci in Potsdam on Thursday of last week.

Besides this one palace, there is an entire landscaped park complex of Prussian villas.

Musicians

2008-07-21T14:02:00.004+02:00

Two-thirds of the Cowboy Killers

emma, dorothy, emma

Two weeks

2008-07-21T13:21:00.005+02:00

Hedi and I went to the Badeschiff in Kreuzberg...it's a swimming pool in the Spree.

Ode to PLB!

Spring

2008-07-06T00:38:00.002+02:00

Fanmeile

2008-07-01T20:06:00.004+02:00

The German national football team made an appearance on the 'Fan Mile', known in the non-football frenzy season as Straße des 17.Juni, in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Monday afternoon to thank its fans for their support. The event came after a poorly-played Euro 2008 finale against Spain on Sunday that put Germany in second place, but its fans remained positive. Students in Berlin were even given an early release to go see the players.

Baltic weekend

2008-07-01T19:48:00.001+02:00

EM Semifinal

2008-06-27T10:53:00.008+02:00

Germany won the Euro 2008 Semifinal on Wednesday night, putting them in the finale for a shot at their fourth title as European champions. They will play Spain, who won against Russian 3-0, on Sunday evening. In Berlin, 500,000 fans from around Germany packed into the 'Fan Mile' between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column.

Fernsehturm

2008-06-22T01:14:00.003+02:00

Türkiye

2008-06-21T00:39:00.009+02:00

Turkey just beat Croatia in a shoot-out in the European Football Championship quarterfinals, meaning that on Wednesday, Germany (who won against Portugal last evening) and Turkey will be matched in the semifinal.

The Kaiser

2008-06-20T09:25:00.002+02:00

Street philosopher, parrot-pusher...heck, he'll even let you honk his horn.

Sporting

2008-06-16T13:41:00.005+02:00

Celebrating summer with frisbee, capoeira and petanque.

Mostly I was distracted by this / this all weekend...

Abandoned Shoes

2008-06-13T21:41:00.005+02:00

This is the second complete pair of shoes I've photographed in Berlin. One sees many a bedraggled flip-flop or sequin-studded heel, but seldom do I cross such gems. These were left on Bernauer Straße, across from Mauerpark:

The first pair was discovered in early June of 2006, across from the Helmut Newton Fotomuseum.

Unerwünschtes Eis

2008-06-12T17:30:00.004+02:00

Waves, text and trauma

2008-06-12T16:51:00.010+02:00

{ click }

Dresden

2008-06-09T13:08:00.004+02:00

Signs supporting Dresden's Unesco cultural landscape, a floodplain along the Elbe which has been used for centuries for cultural events and is the site of museums, villas and gardens. In an ongoing dispute over the lack of means for crossing the Elbe from the Neustadt into the Altstadt, both a bridge and a tunnel have been discussed. Supporters of the Unesco landscape tend to be in the tunnel camp, as it attempts to prevent the alteration of the physical landscape, whereas the inhabitants who would gain direct access to the Neustadt through the (already in progress) bridge project are in the bridge camp. However, the bridge footings and the construction process threaten the integrity of the landscape and Unesco has said it will annul the site's status this summer if the bridge project continues, although several new designs have been suggested that would integrate the structure 'more harmoniously' into the landscape.

...and people say Berlin is a Baustelle...

Market squares around the town are being redone to provide more underground parking.

COS Dresden

2008-06-08T23:30:00.006+02:00

The Club of Skaters (COS) holds its Pro/Am skate competition in four towns, one of them Dresden, and skaters from all over Germany come to compete for cash prizes and recognition. The Pro/Am contest is one of three series held during the summer as part of the 'COS Cup'/Deutsche Skateboardmeisterschaft.

dear readers,

2008-06-06T01:05:00.004+02:00

...please pardon the radio silence...{ rebecca f. miller } will be in dresden for the weekend and hopes to return to berlin with bountiful fodder for your viewing pleasure!

Photo Op

2008-06-01T11:04:00.006+02:00

World Press Photo 2008 is in Berlin after opening in Amsterdam in April with the announcement of the winners. You can view the exhibit at Willy-Brandt-Haus in Kreuzberg until June 22. It's one of photojournalism's top honors for working professionals and is a highly recommendable display of news images from the last year.

Wilhelmstraße 140/Stresemannstrße 28

10963 Kreuzberg

U-Hallesches Tor, Möckernbrücke

Open Tuesday-Sunday 12-18

Admission free, ID required

Grilling II

2008-05-27T15:58:00.005+02:00

Inszenierung

2008-05-23T20:11:00.003+02:00

Russian Market

2008-05-22T16:03:00.001+02:00

{ more Estonia...the Russian Market in Tallinn }

Paldiski

2008-05-21T15:24:00.005+02:00

Paldiski is on the western peninsula of Estonia and was, during the country's Soviet years, used as a submarine training base, housing two nuclear reactors and providing employment to its 16,000 residents. After Estonia gained independence in 1991, the base continued to be occupied by Russian forces and was at last turned over to the Estonian government in 1995. Run-down prefab Soviet apartment houses provide a daunting facade to a town of currently 4,000 residents, many of them ethnic Russians, and rumors abound among non-residents and tourist guides about the dangers of going there at night.

Intro to Urlaub

2008-05-20T23:45:00.002+02:00

Pirita Beach

Ülane, our fabulously coordinated HC hostess

Eliza Hiiop, potter

"Multikulti" Berlin

2008-05-20T19:39:00.006+02:00

Karneval der Kulturen, May 9-12

Even photogs have to eat...

Eesti Kunstimuuseum

2008-05-18T17:10:00.003+02:00

{ busts at KUMU }

Estonia...a tease

2008-05-17T02:00:00.007+02:00

In Paldiski

the cats grow in trees

in threes.

Oh so poso

Lenin

{ more to follow ... }

Grillen

2008-05-12T01:00:00.005+02:00

Fußball

2008-05-09T20:02:00.001+02:00

May Day into Night

2008-05-07T15:42:00.001+02:00

Part III

May Day II

2008-05-07T15:35:00.002+02:00

Part II

May Day I

2008-05-07T15:30:00.002+02:00

Part I

Zug der Erinnerung

2008-05-05T16:52:00.003+02:00

The Zug der Erinnerung has aroused the attention of Germany's public in the past months because of Berlin's boycott of the traveling exhibition, and because of fees imposed by the national rail company, Deutsche Bahn, on the exhibit's organizers for use of the rails. The 'Train of Commemoration' or Memory Train is literally a vintage train containing a series of placards recalling the lives of Jewish, Sinti and Roma children who were deported to Auschwitz during the Second World War. It is a private initiative, independent of the Deutsche Bahn. The committee states on its website that, "they want to inspire others to take a stand against racial hatred, right-wing extremism and nationalist megalomania." A lot of meaning to bear for one arbitrary train dragged out of whatever yard it's been sitting in since it was last used. The exhibit ends on May 8 in Auschwitz.

Jäger

2008-05-04T19:42:00.004+02:00

Remnants of en route pre-gaming left on the M12

Adverts

2008-05-03T23:31:00.000+02:00

This one's older, but I couldn't pass it up...

Leisure

2008-04-29T17:09:00.001+02:00

Bowling am Alex

One Jewish Cemetery

2008-04-26T12:29:00.009+02:00

The Lapidarium houses headstones from cemeteries around Berlin that were separated from their plots as a result of vandalism during the war. Like the other stones in the Schönhauser cemetery, these date from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

If you forgot your yarmulke at home, the cemetery provides them to visitors for a donation.

Located on Schönhauser Allee, this Jewish cemetery was used between 1827 and 1880. The 22,000 graves sit on a 12-acre plot of land. As with most of Berlin, the site did not escape the fray of war and was ransacked and plundered, leaving many of the markers broken or toppled. Hundreds are still lying on the ground, making the scene a kind of museum in itself, bearing witness to an historical event whose aftermath permeates the motions of everyday life here.

Graffiti

2008-04-25T18:04:00.004+02:00

Anti-Turkish graffiti in Mitte.

"Turks out

Bandits

Muhammad out..."

[Illegible]

Fam

2008-04-21T00:19:00.003+02:00

Wall memorial park, Mitte

Lidoooo

2008-04-18T00:29:00.004+02:00

Brooklyn's MGMT at Lido.

Rudi Dutschke

2008-04-16T20:17:00.004+02:00

During the 60s, Rudi Dutschke was an outspoken member of Germany's left-wing student movement, advocating revolution from within the ranks of the government and calling on students to support radical political and social changes by becoming involved in government themselves. On April 11, 1968 he was shot in the head after dismounting his bicycle; he survived for 12 years.

This past Friday his widow, Gretchen Klotz-Dutschke took part in a demonstration at the site of the shooting. People were invited to lay down their bikes in the street in solidarity for Dutschke and his ideals.

Slacklining

2008-04-16T19:56:00.002+02:00

in Volkspark Friedrichshain

Triptychs

2008-04-12T11:00:00.007+02:00

For extra credit, James Nachtwey's photo essay, The Dalai Lama

The Market

2008-04-10T16:42:00.005+02:00

The ubiquity of these shopping carts makes getting around hairy.

Men and women barge through the crowds with a take-no-prisoners mentality.

Having finished up my English lesson on Friday morning, I spend a good portion of the afternoon buying groceries at the Turkish Market south of Kottbusser Tor.

Berlin Friend

2008-04-05T19:37:00.002+02:00

Fellow adventurer, urban explorer, kitchen comrade, Pearl!

And beau, Ronny.

Lahinch

2008-04-05T01:09:00.005+02:00

My Seattlelite bunkmate at the hostel. Annie, conquerer of the Health Kick, among others.

Lahinch!

Kitestrings

2008-04-05T00:56:00.007+02:00

Sand...almost as good as surf?

I met this group of Kite surfers/enthusiasts while walking on the beach one day.

So fun to watch them get pulled around by the wind.

Kilkenny to Cork

2008-04-04T23:47:00.005+02:00

Blarney Castle

Spring cleaning

Kissing the Blarney Stone: part history/myth, part amusement park ride, part trying not to think about that weird lip funk the guy in front of you had going on.

Mummey stalking Irish schoolgirls

Ballycotton

Booty

2008-03-28T17:33:00.003+01:00

Easter packages! Thank you, family!!

(Yes, oh yes, those are Girl Scout cookies. Jealous?! Even a mom-made basket. Love it!)

Follow the wayward gale

2008-03-26T17:13:00.008+01:00

At the Jameson distillary, Midleton, Cork

St. Patrick's Day

Castle turned hostel, Ballyragget, Kilkenny

After Cork city and an awkward stay in Bantry, I went to Lahinch, Co. Clare. Thanks to a tip from a surfer we met at Ballycotton. At the edge of the wonderously wild Burren and full of surfers and adventurers.

... who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave ...

Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare

(More to come...)

Cork

2008-03-17T11:25:00.007+01:00

Happy St. Paddy's !!!

I'm in Ireland for Easter break. The requisite thing to do in Ireland is drink, so yesterday we visited the old Jameson distillary.

Then we drove to a little town on the coast and walked along the cliffs and beautiful shoreline.

It was called Ballycotton. I will admit that I directed us there because of the name. Wouldn't you?!

Gewitter

2008-03-01T02:30:00.008+01:00

A tropical storm...in Germany? Yes, in fact. The infamous (as I learned tonight) ORKAN strikes this weekend. Cue Swedish death metal. When the polar winds of the northern hemisphere and the warm warm winds of the southern hemisphere collide during the winter months, a tropical storm can form on the seas of the north. Who knew?! Orkan comes in at number 2 on the list of random natural disasters I've encountered in this country. Number 1 being the earthquake Freiburg experienced three years ago.

In any case, Wetter.de is giving Berlin an 11 on the Beaufort Wind Scale, which means winds between 64 and 73 mph (103-119 km/h) and rain rain rain. I'm still a little skeptical that the wind will blow that hard, but all one can do is wait. And although the last time we had one I interpreted it simply as an atmospheric idiosyncrasy of Germany and used it as an excuse to be annoyed by everything, now that I'm prepared and now that I know that something slightly more edgy is behind it, it's got a bit more gravitas.