I’ve posted about these before, but I think they bear repeating. These are stumble stones, or Stolpersteine, that commemorate victims of the Nazi regime. They are placed at the last known address of the victims, and act as a decentralized reminder. Though I suspect many in the current administration will claim that they’re part of some elaborate hoax. They are not just Jewish victims, but other victims of the regime.
They are not without controversy, obviously. The city of Munich has banned them on public property following criticism from the President of the Jewish Community there, who considers it disrespectful for the names of murdered Jews to be on the ground where people can walk over them.
Culture shocks of the Day:
My hosts serve dinner at about 8 in the evening. This has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that by the time we sit down for dinner, I’m so hungry I’m willing to eat most anything. It also allows for a later lunch, which is typical for me.
Also, they are enthusiastic consumers of vinegar — French for “sour wine.” It goes into most every dish, even dishes I would never consider pairing with acid. I’ve never been a fan of adding household cleaners to my meals. I suppose after eight weeks, though, I’ll grow to either enjoy it or really hate it.
Memoirs of an Earthling 
How are things going over there? Any new discoveries?
Culture Shock of the Day.
Bamberg, Germany. An American’s perspective
Germans love their bakeries, and Bamberg is no exception. If you walk in any random direction, you’ll run into a bakery within a few minutes.
I told my host that I couldn’t throw a cat and miss a bakery. (I didn’t know how to say “swing a cat” in the moment.) She thought that was hilarious. New audience.
Of course, using a literal translation of an idiom meant to express excess is not the best way to communicate. With a little bit of research, I found plenty of German phrases that serve the same purpose.
Es gibt hier Bäckereien wie Sand am Meer. (There are bakeries here like sand by the sea.)
Man stolpert hier über Bäckereien. (One stumbles over bakeries here.)
An jeder Ecke ist eine Bäckerei. (There’s a bakery on every corner — this is almost true!)
I’m not complaining about the surplus of Bäkerei. Who doesn’t like the smell of bread? And your local Safeway or Market of Choice has nothing on the varieties of bread found in a typical German bakery.