When we hear about Carnival, the world famous and the most grand Rio Carnival from Brazil flashes to us, yet Carnival is celebrated in many countries during different period of time and Germany is no exception. Cologne, Mainz and Düsseldorf are most famous and hold the biggest parades for the Carnival. Cologne’s Carnival fest is highly regarded all over Europe with millions thronging to the city from all over the Europe to not only have a glimpse of the most renowned Cologne Cathedral but also to indulge in madness of ridicule and let loose themselves.
The tradition of Karneval or Fasching or Fastnacht or Mardi Gras dates back to medieval Germany which developed downright blasphemy with people dressing up as animals and performing crazy acts like Mass of Asses. After 1820, Karneval was used as an event to make fun of French people, whom they hated and held grudges. Till today, the Karneval satire is kept alive with displaying caricatures of the most hated people during the Karneval parades.
The Council of Eleven, “Elferrat”, tradition dating back to 1823, wearing fool’s caps as their official headgear meet at 11:11 on November 11 to announce the start of Fifth Season of the year i.e., the Karneval session and plan the events for the Karneval every year. The main festivities of Karneval starts around Thursday before Ash Wednesday and ends with Ash Wednesday, “Asher Mittwoch”. So this year, the main Karneval period of Cologne and Düsseldorf starts on Carnival Thursday called Altweiber (Old Woman Day) in Düsseldorf or Wieverfastelovend (The Women’s Day) in Cologne. The tradition of women cutting men’s ties and shoe laces is still followed in Cologne and Düsseldorf. Parades are organized by different Carnival clubs from Friday and the highlight is the Rose Monday parade. On this day people dressed in costumes gather on the streets in chilly winter weather crying Alaaf Alaaf! in Cologne and Helau! Helau! in Düsseldorf and let loose themselves as the most flamboyant parades pass thru.
Well, parades are just fun during the day, yet the celebrations continue all thru the night with almost every pub organizing special Carnival parties. Just time to wither out the chilly weather.
Well, I am definitely excited with the Carnival this year, I know it will be icy-weather out there, yet I just want to have bash on these days to get rid of the wintry gloom.
Many of us have been living in Germany for quite a while, yet we always fail to get enough information about the mandatory insurances in Germany besides Health Insurance or we just do not know or just we ignore them. If you have not got these mandatory insurances then I just say you definitely are living on the edge in Germany.
I shall list here some mandatory and optional but very effective insurances which I feel everyone should have them to be more secure and at peace in Germany. I shall also not delve delve with compulsory Health Insurance as we all have in all cases thou it is private or public depending upon our income levels and our priorities.
This one is the most mandatory insurance for everyone so that the insured person shall be protected from the costs of involuntary damages to the public or private properties.
There can be many chances that one may involuntarily damage other’s personal things, for eg., you have visited a friend and you tend to be very helpful to your friend, try to help your friend by adjusting his disoriented carpet by pulling it not realizing that the television table lying on it, where on it there is newly-bought 54.6 inches LED television costing more than 1500 euro, which just was brought down onto the ground because of your sheer pull applied by your own hands on the carpet. Well, you will be left with a black face and your friend with red. If you have a PrivatHaftpflichtversicherung then you can still have a smile, whereby with proper proof of the damage you caused to the private property of your friend, you can claim the total cost of your friend’s television.
I wish everyone should be doing better all the time and never be in situations whereby you may be some sort of disability due to unforeseen health hazards in one’s life. “Touch Wood”. Yet we can never expect what may come.
Disability Insurance is mandatory everyone who is working, which shall be benefit the insured incase of an accident and prolonged illness. This insurance is supplement to the accident insurance yet will be quite helpful during prolonged illness. During Prolonged Illness your Health Insurance shall pay almost full-salary for not more than 6 weeks and much reduced salary (50-60%of Net Income) for not more than 6 months. Yet if you have a Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung, you shall get all the time of your prolonged illness or accident much more than to have a better life.
Alte Leipziger assures you a payment of 2000 euro every month during your prolonged illness and accident recover period if you pay 101 euro every month when you are earning and having a better health. Though it may sound a little expensive paying 101 euro every month, but it definitely will be a boon during the bane period of our lives.
Usually for those who are working, your employer shall provide you with Accident Insurance. If not then it is mandatory to have a accident insurance in Germany where there is much risk due to Autobahn traffics, unlimited speeds, weather and accidents due to many other unexpected means. An accident insurance shall provide you with complete coverage of your treatment which usually health insurances do not. Therefore you definitely need to have an accident insurance for everyone in your family. I hope no one should be in such ominous situations, yet intelligence lies in having an accident insurance in very costly health services nation.
By the way if your employer does not provide any, you can ask for one. If they cannot, then it is better to get one in any case.
I shall categorize PrivatRentenversicherung as optional, as many of us may not opt to live in Germany forever. For those who desire to retire in Germany can opt for some better Pension insurances whereby you pay additionally some amount towards your pension insurance and once you retire you can reap better amounts every month than the usual social pension pay which may not be sufficient enough to have better retirement life. There are different kinds of Rentenversicherung and I advice you to consult a Financial Consultant who can guide you to a good Pension Insurance to meet your requirements.
Risiko Lebensversicherung (Risk Life Insurance) (Optional):
Risk Life Insurance as the name suggests the insured during the insured period dies, a contractually agreed sum shall be paid to the beneficiary of the insured person. This shall protect the families of the insured person.
Hausratversicherung shall protect the insured from the damages or loss caused to the personal property from theft, fire accidents, climatic hazards etc. The cost of damages or loss of the property shall be paid by your insurance company if you have a House-hold insurance. Usually it is advisable for families with kids to have this insurance.
Rechtsschutzversicherung or Legal Expenses or more informally Lawyer’s Insurance is an optional which shall pay for your legal issues i.e. towards your lawyer’s fees for his/her services for your legal issues. It does help in Job-Crisis to sue your employer. Usually a Rechtsschutzversicherung costs from 12€ – 30€ per month depending upon the contractual agreements.
You can find the best Financial Consultation without any penny to pay from MLP Financial Consultants spread across Germany. You can find English speaking Consultants in every branch of MLP. Please note MLP Services are free of cost. You really don’t have to spend even a cent from your pocket for their best services.
For those living around Essen especially for Indians, you can contact Mr. Pradeep Tharakan, an Indian who selflessly extends services in English.
Pradeep Tharakan
MLP Essen
Telefon: +49 (0) 2 01 / 72 94 80 -54
Telefax: +49 (0) 62 22 / 90 90 56 11
E-Mail: Pradeep.Tharakan@mlp.de
Anschrift:
MLP Finanzdienstleistungen AG
Essen III
Kennedyplatz/Markt1
45127 Essen P.S: I shall appreciate if you leave your comments and suggestions if you have better options and if you think there is more to be added to the list.
Well, might be wondering what’s new in it, thou being a die-hard Indian, I am not going to start admiring about India here. India – A Journey to the Land of Mystery and Wonders is an exotic show currently being overwhelming the cold Germans in chilling winter.
The show is a grandeur display of Indian colors, a treat to the visitors with amazing Indian acrobatic feats like Mallakhamb, yoga contortions, fire-dance, Bollywood dance, alluring and majestic music with aesthetical ambience of a Maharaja’s Palace. Definitely it is an attempt to lead you to journey to India. The well-choreographed performances by the best show-makers in business with also a pre-show culinary treat. It indeed shall provide some respite from the most adverse winters Germany has not faced in the recent past.
India show has already made its premiere in Frankfurt from 17th December and lasted till 24 January 2010. It has already acclaimed great response from the most prominent people from Frankfurt as it did from the everyone who made their presence in the huge tent with majestic Maharaja’s ambience. The show shall continue to make its presence in other major cities of Germany. The details are as follows:
Hamburg: 28.01.2010 – 03.03.2010
Berlin: 05.03.2010 – 11.04.2010
Stuttgart: 01.07.2010 – 01.08.2010
and Austria’s Capital Vienna: 02.11.2010 – 09.11.2010
The tickets start from €29.
The India show, with its modern lights and sounds with the mix of traditional colors, shall definitely appeal to all senses. A definite glimpses of a country trying to combine high-tech with its rich cultural traditions. So don’t give a miss.
First of all, I wish you all a very happy new year. It has been long since I did publish any posts. Well, I was on relatively long vacation for Christmas and New Year, travelling lots of places. I shall detail further in forth-coming posts some interesting things which kept me occupied and away from blogging.
Many things have happened in a span of a month – Copenhagen Climate Summit was a total fiasco; Cameron’s Avatar reset new records by drawing lots of parallels with the current socio-political issues around the globe; Bollywood’s 3 Idiots pressing for reformation in the current education system; Snowstorm Daisy creating a havoc in many parts of Europe including Germany; and last but not least the Haiti Earthquake shaking the whole world.
I shall not delve deeper into these topics, yet appeal everyone to bring some or the other way, a little hope to those who have been deeply affected by Earthquake in Haiti.
I hereby post some interesting snowy pictures from Germany.
I have already jotted some glimpses of the Christmas Markets of Germany in my previous post, yet I was so overwhelmed by the beautiful markets here that I just could not resist myself sharing some more experiences of mine with Christmas markets in Germany. This year, I just could able to make it to only a few of them as I am back in my home country for holidays, well, I should say Christmas is the perfect time for me to have holidays as I can take more holidays than usually allowed 3 weeks of vacation in Germany, and also I have plenty of options to buy gifts as there are Christmas markets everywhere and the atmosphere is so majestic and mystic to just give the damn care the chilly winter. I was tirelessly wandering every possible nook and corner of the Christmas markets of Düsseldorf, Cologne, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Essen and Dortmund. Well, many Christmas markets look the same, yet every market has its own charm and tradition. This year, I just managed a few and my wish-list of Christmas markets to be visited in coming years goes this way….
Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt: or Christ Child Market is one of the oldest in Germany. About 180 Wooden Stall, festooned with red and white cloth which gives the market the name “Little Town with Wood and Cloth”. The stalls present the famous Nuremberg spicy gingerbread, fruit loaves, bakery foods, mulled wine, Nuremberg Sausages, typical Christmas articles like Christmas tree Angels, Cribs, Christmas Tree Decorative Ornaments, perfumed candles, toys and many handicraft goods. Each stall offers a variety and tradition, therefore Nuremberg Christmas market is regarded to be one of the best Christmas Markets in Germany and draws approx 2 million visitors every year.
Frankfurt’sRömberg Weihnachtsmarkt: In terms of number of visitors, Frankfurt Christmas Market draws more than 3 million visitors every year being the highest in Germany. The elaborate and creative stand decorations, the huge Christmas tree, and the number of Christmas Concerts are the main attractions.
Dresden’s Streizelmarkt: It is also one of the oldest Christmas markets of Germany and it references dating back to 1434. Almost 250 stands surrounds the famous “Frauenkirche” attracting more than 2 million visitors every year. It got its name from “Strüzel” or “Stroczel”, a typical cake sold at the market now popularly known as “Stollen” or “Christstollen”. Stollen is a light airy fruit cake which is quite low in sugar now available all over the world, yet the true Dresden Stollen is produced in the city and distinguished by the stamp of the city’s famous king, “August the Strong”. Streizelmarkt is famous for Pflaumentoffel (Plum Devils), Pulsnitzer Pfefferküchen (Pulsnitz Pepper Cake or Ginger Bread) and the woodent decorative ornaments like Candle Pyramids, Schwiboggen (Arch Hanging) Candle holder, Räuchermann (smoking man) Candle holder and Nutcrackers.
Image Courtesy: muenchen.de
Munich’s Christkindlesmarkt and Kripperlmarkt: The Christelkindesmarkt is known for its 30 metres high Christmas tree decorated with 2500 candles and the famous Bratäpfel (Fried Apples), Hönigkuchen (Honey cakes) and the famous Krampuslauf when St. Nick’s trolls march thru the market. Kripperlmarkt or Manger’s market or Crib Market is one of its kind and it is Germany’s largest Crib market where you find everything to create an authentic nativity scene.
Well, it has already been two weeks into Advents and the renowned traditional Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmärkte) of Germany have added glee and colours of the Festival moods everywhere out here. Almost in every city, town, village traditional Christmas markets are opened in the city centres with colourful lights, decorations and small traditional handicraft shops along with the food centres. Almost every market serve Glühwein (Hot Wine with Herbs) to warm yourselves in chilly winter, regional food specialities along with Ginger-Bread (Lebküchen), roasted chestnuts, sweetened almonds and well the famous Sausages. Some highlights of Germany’s famous Christmas markets.
To end with some fun with Christmas Song Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell in punjabi :-)
It has been 25 years but the disaster and its impacts are still going on in Bhopal. Well, we all know what has happened on 3rd December, 1984, when Union Cardbide Pesticide Plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India spewed out poisonous gas Methyl Isocyanata (MIC) exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals. 3,787 people died immediately because of the exposure to MIC and an estimate 8,000 to 10,000 died within 72 hours and more than 25,000 have died since then from gas-related diseases. More than 100,000 people are still suffering from severe, chronic and breathing difficulties, damaged eyesight, reproductive complications, rising cancer rates and range of other ailments that affect nearly every system of their assaulted bodies.
25 years on and still hundreds of tonnes of abandoned toxic chemicals from the Union Carbide plant continue to pollute the ground waters of the region and affecting the thousands of people who depend on it as Union Carbide left the disastrous site un-cleaned. There has been many civil and criminal cases pending in USA and Indian against Union Carbide now owned by Dow Chemical Company, yet no Justice has been met. The people affected are promised compensations, yet the powerful Industrialists of USA and the dirty bureaucrats of India has denied the people their rights. They were the innocent victims of the negligence and irresponsibility of the Union Carbide Manslaughters, the terrorists without arms or bombs who ignored the basic safety norms to cut the costs. They are now the victims of the irresponsible governments and blood-sucker politicians who in the name of victims’ compensations swelling their Swiss Bank Accounts.
Will these people ever get Justice for what they gone through? Will these people ever get compensations for their sufferings? Will these people get treatments for their ailments? Will they ever get a clean and un-polluted environment to live in?
You can find more information on International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) at www.bhopal.net . Let us spread this message and educate ourselves about the tragedy that has happened 25 years back, yet those affected are denied their right to live better lives. Let us raise our voice. Just participate in ICJB and help those are suffering from Bhopal Gas Disaster get their Justice.
