Have fun and translate the following into English. Solutions at the bottom. Good luck!
Sollen wir heute Abend Essen ausgehen?
Ich kenne da ein tolles kleines Gasthaus.
Hoffentlich ist es noch da.
Ich war das letzte Mal vor 2 Jahren dort.
Da gab es einen wunderbaren Schweinsbraten.
Es ist lange her, dass wir ausgegangen sind.
Ich habe Gregor letzten Mittwoch gesehen.
Es war der Geburtstag seiner Frau.
Er hat ihr ein wunderbares Geschenk gemacht.
"Malen nach Zahlen".
Gregors Frau ist eine Künstlerin.
Stillleben sind ihr bestes.
Ihr Haus hat viele Stillleben an den Wänden.
Sie sind alle gleich.
Schalen mit Obst und Blumensträuße.
Gregors Frau hat an der VHS malen gelernt.
Shall we go out for dinner this evening? I know a great little guest house. Hopefully, it's still there. I last went there 2 years ago. They used to do a wonderful Schweinsbraten. It's been a long time since we've been out. I saw Gregor last Wednesday. It was his wife's birthday. He gave her a wonderful present. Painting by Numbers. Gregor's wife is an artist. Still lifes are her best. Their house has many still lifes on the walls. They are all the same. Bowls of fruit and bunches of flowers. Gregor's wife learned to paint at the VHS.
Advent in Vienna
Advent is a wonderful time and the Viennese love it. The city is dotted with small Advent markets, and all, more-or-less, exactly the same. A beautifully decorated tree, hot spicy wine, Christmassy things one can buy, a wonderful Advent feeling, and, of course, Advently seasonal music. And, about ten years ago, I was at just such a market, and this is what happened.
I was having a wonderful time. Everything was great and everything Advently perfect. But, it was the choir that provided the spirit of the evening. And, singing mainly in English, they were very, very good. But, the evening went quicker than expected and soon came the very last song.
The conductor turned to the people, thanked them, and wished them a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. And then, after turning back to the choir, closed his eyes, and started conducting the very last number. And, the choir started singing, and the crowd started humming and singing along. It was all very magic.
And, then came the the very last line of this very last song. And, just like a half dying swan in great pain, the conductor, with still tightly closed eyes, raised his arms in an arch, paused for a second, then flutteringly and dramatically brought them back down again for the expected well practised majestic conclusion. But, the choir didn't stop. They simply carried on singing! The last line had not been the last line at all. The singers had been singing from their song sheets and not even looking at the conductor. And, the conductor, because of his tightly closed eyes, had not even noticed he was being ignored.
But, all's well that ends well. With a very red face, the conductor conducted hard to catch up, and, of course, brought the concert to a triumphant conclusion. And, the applause was fantastic. The audience had had a wonderful evening.
And, that's how it was. An evening of magic with with more than one or two glasses of hot spicy wine, and, of course, some Christmassy songs sung by a very fine choir.
Advent. A wonderful time that the Viennese love – and, I love it as well.
Vocabulary
attention - Aufmerksamkeit
conclusion - Schluss
embarrassing – peinlich
expectantly - erwartungsvoll
goes without saying – selbstverständlich
imitating - nachahmen
spirit – Geist
The Farm at Lane's End - Chapter 14
Key Words
Something has come up. This means one must cancel.
I'm sorry, something has come up, I must cancel our meeting this afternoon.
Time on one's hands. This means that one has time to do something. I had time on my hands, so I went to a museum.
Your Poison? This means your prefered drink. What's your poison? I'll have a beer, please.
Questions
Are Paul and Dave going to the Queens for a drink?
Who bought the first round?
Who sent Dave her best regards?
Did Dave and Paul play a round of darts?
Who did they see in the pub?
Who was Sally with?
Does Lionel Foxely come from a very poor family?
Why is Sally interested in Lionel Foxely?
Why did Sally cancel her singling lesson with Dave?
