The Honor System

There are some days where living abroad can just beat you down and you succumb to the frustrations of living somewhere with a totally different system and having trouble communicating. 

But then there are other days when something happens and you are so thankful for the differences.  

We bought some DVDs Saturday and then left the bag at another store.  We tried to go back, but the store already had closed for the weekend. 

In most cases and places, you'd just write off ever getting back your DVDs. But we decided to take the chance that someone had found it and turned it in to the store. 

I'd prepared and rehearsed in my head what to say in German and tried to figure out how to prove that they were our DVDs without the receipt. And after all of that, it was about a 30 second exchange of "I left a bag with 3 DVDs here Saturday, do you have it?" and "Is this it?" "Great, have a nice day."

There are a million blog posts out there about how parts of Germany still work on the honor system (subway tickets, etc), so I won't rehash the details. But I will say how nice it is that somet days the system works in your favor and sometimes things are easy!

Sauna Ettiquette

When I opened up the internet last week, the Yahoo!Deutschland homepage immediately caught my eye with it's front page article "Sauna Ettiquette: How Naked is Too Naked?"

While I'm a little bit too old to giggle simply at the sight of the word "naked," I did laugh at realizing that the uncertainty over what to do in the sauna isn't just a question for tourists and expats.   

My first visit to a German sauna was a bit of the opposite experience...I'd been so forewarned by other Americans that the German saunas are textilfrei (i.e., no bathing suits allowed) that I didn't bother to take one with me at all when I visited the Therme Erding in Munich.  After I travelled quite a ways on public transportation to get there, there was no way I was going back to get a bathing suit after I finding out that there was a textilfrei part and another part that allowed bathing suits!  

I have to say, it was an empowering experience. Of course, I went alone and didn't know anyone there, so it was a bit easier when everyone is a stranger! But I also realized that no one has a perfect body and probably most people are either (1) not caring what you or they look like, or (2) so worried about how they look that they don't even notice you. 

But, given my general confusion about what are the rules of the sauna, it's pretty amusing to see a German story about the same questions. I guess I'd just assumed that everyone here knows the rules and we tourists or new arrivals were the only ones confused!

So, out of curiosity, what are the rules of sauna ettiquette according to this article? 

• Proper Preparation 

Whether it's just a quick shower outside the sauna or avoiding garlic/onions for a few days prior, take steps to ensure you don't smell bad. And don't wear perfume.

• Proper Attire

Funny when you don't wear anything, but be sure to bring a small towel (for the pre-sauna shower), a large towel (to sit on in the sauna), and flip flops. (And they mention that using the towel to reserve a chair in the relaxation room is frowned upon)

• Good Courtesy

Just like in an elevator or waiting room, you should politely greet everyone upon entrance. And avoid being a space-invader by asking "is this space free?" before sitting next to someone. 

• No Chattering or Staring

While most saunas allow some talking (some are strictly for silent relaxing), it does seem like good common sense to refrain from too much talking, especially gossipping, talking about work (not relaxing) or talking about how hot that guy/girl over there is. And of course, while you don't have to stare at the floor, don't let your gaze linger on anyone. Very few like to be stared at while they're naked!

• Sweat in Style

I'm a little surprised that this has to be said, but I do hear complaints so it must be true. Don't do anything that others might find disgusting. Meaning, a public sauna isn't the place for shaving, clipping toenails, sweat-scraping, or other personal grooming. 

• Your boss in the sauna

My personal favorite on the list, since I avoided the sauna in my gym due to the fact that so many male co-workers worked out there. But, what do you do if you run into your boss or coworker in the sauna? Just greet him/her politely and try to find a place where you're both looking in the same direction. And above all, maintain the #1 rule: What happens in the sauna, stays in the sauna. Not that anything significant can happen in the sauna when sticking to prescribed ettiquette....but wise advice not to go back to work and talk about your colleague's cellulite or the size of anything. 

 

Many of these rules came from the site of the German ettiquette authority, Knigge.de. If you're curious about a particular social situation, or just feel like browsing and looking for interesting items, it's a good resource. 

German Beds

Travellers always find little surprises wherever they go. The most common one in German hotels - after "what do you mean there's no air conditioning?!?!!" - is the bedding.

Perhaps it's in response to complaints, but I'm impressed that a recent Jetsetter popup sale on a Berlin hotel added this to their "What to Know" section.

Whether you're staying in a hotel or trying to buy bedding, Americans are in for a shock that it's extremely difficult to find large duvets. Usually they're closer to our twin size, so that you'll need 2 duvets for a normal sized bed. Many couples who come here are shocked that they have to sleep under separate covers.  There is a logic behind it, that men and women often have different sleeping preferences and having two different duvets (and sometimes 2 different mattresses joined together!) allows each to have their own preferred comfort and temperature.  It's supposed to prevent many matrimonial arguments, though many German women's magazines now debate whether the traditional is extremely practical or terribly unromantic.

What do you think? Strange? Great idea?

Personally, I like to able to totally wrap up in the winter and those little ones just don't do the job.

German Vending Machines

One of the more positive stereotypes out there about Germany relates to efficiency and automation.  Germany is known for engineering machines and gadgets to solve problems you didn't know you had.

You can see some of this in the wide variety of vending machines here (called an "Automat" here). While some of these now can be found worldwide, Germany (and Japan, too, of course) has been automating sales and billpaying for decades - long before it was popular to sell anything other than coffee out of a vending machine!

Perhaps this is also a partial answer to the early and Sunday closing hours? You will be surprised what you can find in a vending machine here!

First Aid Automats:

First we have the First Aid Vending Machines, which you'll find around Munich in several subway stations. We don't quite understand the Obama-looking cartoon doc, but it is useful to be able to buy headache medicine, tissues, or bandaids while out and about.

First Aid vending machine in Isartor station

Here, a closeup of the contents...water, juice, cough supressant, gum, first aid products, etc. We're not really sure what the red "Alkohol Test" is - if it's rubbing alcohol wipes or a breathalyzer. 

You can actually find the Swiss-made Alkomat in the toilet areas of some bars.  It is a breathalyzer type vending machine. Though, I have to wonder how often this more challenges drunk people to see how high they can blow rather than people checking to see whether or not they can drive...

   s

Speaking of drinking and vending machines, the First Aid Automat (same brand and logo) in the Karlsplatz station has an interesting selection. To me, this looks more like a hangover cure machine rather than a first aid one. It's all water, tomato juice, tissues, breath mints, and gum. Not really going to cure much other than bad breath, dehydration, or hangovers, but still it's there.  

   

McDonalds EasyOrder automats:    

Even McDonald's is getting on the automat bandwagon, with its new EasyOrder kiosks. McDonald's can get quite busy at peak hours. This new system lets you place the order AND PAY at the kiosk, then pick up in the Easyorder line. Quite smart!

FotoStation:  

The photo booths aren't exactly unique, but the quality and number of them here are impressing. There are photobooths (usually at least 2) in every subway station. And they're preset to give you the accurate size for a variety of different bureaucratic needs. And in Germany, you're going to have bureaucratic needs.... They will also reject your application for having the wrong size photo, having too big of a smile, and other issues of non-conformity. As usual, there is a logic behind these frustration - Germany adopted biometric technologies long before anyone else, so the pictures must be in the correct size and proportions.

  

Art/Design Automat: 

This vending machine in the Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) is unique. It sells limited edition, one-of-a-kind, or hand-made art and design products. Stationery, porcelain, shirts, earrings, and other trinkets. It seems that artists can rent a slot to sell goods through the UnikatAutomat, with the Automat taking a commission on the sold goods.

You can see some of the products available on their online shop.

Right now there is only one of these, but they are planning to expand. I have not idea if this will really work or not, but it's an interesting idea.

Überweisungsautomat: 

The one below is rather interesting and more uniquely German - the Überweisungsautomat (the "bank transfer automat"). Basically it is an ATM for paying bills and making transfers. In Germany, there really aren't checks.  Companies will have them, but private individuals rarely do. Virtually all bills, then, must be paid by bank transfer.  You can set up a recurring transfer, fill out an authorization and mail it in, transfer online, or use one of these machines.

What's unique, however, is that it will automatically scan the form. You'll see the small box on the right above the keyboard, marked "Transfer Form." Every bill comes with a preprinted form that contains the recipient's bank info, your invoice number and amount, and your customer number. It's an orange and red form that looks just like the version on the screen below. You enter your bank account number, sign it, and stick it in the "Transfer Form" scanner. It scans it in and pays the bill for you. If you are transfering funds for other reasons, or you lost your form, you can also use the keyboard to type in the data yourself.

Virtually all bills here are paid by transfer - efficiently and without having to mail anything - and most bank accounts include some number of free transfers per month.  

What's fascinating to me is how long these have been around. There are some bill-pay kiosks in the US now, but these machines have been around at least a couple of decades. Herr J remembers them (looking exactly the same) from his study abroad here circa 1993!

   

CigarettenAutomat:  

And we couldn't discuss German vending machines without mentioning the beloved and controversial cigarette vending machines.  These have been around for a long, long time. They used to be controversial because anyone could buy cigarettes and tourists always found it a bit odd to have cigarette machines on the street corners.  They're controversial today because they're a bit complicated to use and don't always work, causing smokers much annoyance.

I assume they take cash (but I'm not sure), but they do take EC cards (the standard debit card here).

However, you additionally need to scan your German drivers license or ID card to verify your age. I'm guessing that does make it a bit difficult for any foreigners who don't have the required documents. We also noticed how high the slot is for the debit card - it's close to 6 feet off the ground. I guess that's a clever low-tech way of discouraging children from buying - the old "if you're tall enough to put your money on the bar" test.

MediaMarkt toGO: 

 And finally we have MediaMarkt toGO. MediaMarket basically is the German version of BestBuy. I know vending machines selling iPods are not exactly new, but this is unusual for Germany. And has quite a variety as you can see in the smaller pictures below - it sells everything from video game DVDs to hair dryers to Garmin navigation.

(Also, it's always good to know where you can buy things like batteries, chargers, adapters, and SD cards on holidays and Sundays!)

Not surprisingly, this is in the subway station to the Hauptbahnhof, being a good stop for forgotten gadgets, chargers, headphones or whatever else you need for your trip.

Children's Chocolate?

We love the Kinder products The Happy Hippos probably are my favorite on the basis of taste - let's just call it an adorable hippo-shaped Ferrero Rocher (same company, same hazelnut chocolatey goodness). But on the basis of overall fun, you just can't beat the Kinder Überraschungs-Ei ("Surprise Eggs").  

For those of you not familiar with Kinder Suprise Eggs, they're pretty wonderful for all ages. Kinder chocolate is full of milk and vitamins, so it's supposed to be better for children than regular chocolate. The eggs actually are a layer of chocolate and an inside layer of a milky something. In my opinion, it's also good for kids because they come in small packages and actually don't contain that much chocolate and sugar, compared to most candy bars.  

But what's special about the Kinder Eggs is their plastic "yolk," a capsule containing a toy. I find their design team is quite brilliant in how they pack it into such a small space. And really there isn't much chocolate to it - it's the toy that's fun. You can see from my Advent Calendar what amazing things they can stuff inside the space of an egg.

For Easter and Christmas, they have giant Kinder Eggs, and often will have other promotions with themes of the toys. Then, of course, you have to buy a lot of eggs to collect all the toys in a series!! There have been Looney Tunes collections, and others.  

Last year Kinder had an rather odd marketing campaign for its new series of Kinder Eggs. Outside of Germany, they called it "Dog Stories;" in Germany "Großstadt Hunde" ("Big City Dogs"). We first saw this on a billboard at a train station.

When you see this picture, with the caption "Stop! There's nothing to see here!," what's your first thought? Yeah....that there's German Shepherd pimp and his underage chihuahua prostitute friend.

It turns out it's a bit more innocent than it seems at first glance to someone who's seen a lot of American TV, but still a bit odd and open to interpretation for a product aimed at kids.

Thanks to the Egg-Wiki (yes, Kinder Eggs are so beloved they have their own Wiki!!!), we know that Rex Bell is the coolest dog in town, with all the ladies at his feet and Chi-Chi is the sweet "Shopping Princess" who wants Rex to notice her. Of course, Don Dogge the policeman wants to protect sweet innocent Chi-Chi, and I suspect there're more to that story... With all these interwoven stories and potential for cross-over into TV media, it's really a shame there aren't Kinder Eggs in the US. They'd definitely have a cartoon series of their own!

The were even in stores in a ski resort in Finland...with a snapshot of all the Big City Dogs.

  

German Easter Candy and Eggs

After months of chocolate and candy displays, the long-awaited day is here!

How do you celebrate Easter in Germany?

It varies, by family, by region, and of course by religious beliefs. The schools are on a 2 week break, so much of the country goes on vacation.  Italy and the New York/Florida combo are the most popular destinations, as are ski trips in years where Easter is earlier.  Easter here is second only to Christmas as a holiday - it's a pretty big deal.  In the Munich area, for those who don't go on holiday, a traditional fish lunch on Good Friday is common, as is church on Sunday, followed by a family dinner.  The church bells have been ringing frequently for the past 24 hours.  Or, these days many of the younger people who didn't travel for holiday or to see family will go out to the English Garden and enjoy sun, friends, and nature when the weather is nice.  And somehow, it's always nice on Easter.

But across Germany, the common traditions are similar to the US. Easter trees are big, as are displays of flowers and new life. Rabbits and eggs come in every form, spring cleaning is a popular "sport," and on Easter morning many families hide chocolate eggs and treats for the kids to find.  There are some older, more localized traditions such as the Easter bonfire and Saturday Easter Market, but we're talking city life in this blog today. And more importantly, we're talking sweets!

I had the chance to pop into a CVS in the US and check out the candy assortment. How do German and US Easter baskets differ?

American Easter Basket:      

Contents:
Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Bunny
Peeps
SweetTart Chicks, Ducks & Bunnies
Cadbury Creme Eggs and Caramel Eggs
Whopper's Robin Eggs
Cadbury Mini Eggs
Reese's Eggs
Milk Chocolate Bunny
Jelly beans (not shown)

German Easter Basket(s):

Contents:
Chocolate eggs, with a variety of fillings (marzipan, liquers, hazelnut, nougat, crispy butterfinger type things, etc)
Marzipan Loaf
Ferrero Eggs
Lindt's famous Gold Hase chocolate rabbits
Lindt chocolates in a variety of shapes...frogs, turtles, lambs, chicks, carrots
Chocolate-covered almonds
A real eggshell filled with nougat
Spring chocolate bars from Lindt
fondant fried eggs
Egg tree ornaments with chocolate eggs inside 

Lindt varies their chocolates by season. We see in Christmas chocolates featuring spices and a more warm mix. In Spring, they feature fruits, yogurt, and ice-cream type fillings - generally much lighter and fruiter than the heavy spiced chocolates of winter. These giant  Lindt truffles have a creamy stracciatella filling, similar to the bars that have a creamy filling. The bars are not true ice cream, but are recommended to be served cold and are like a cool bit of cream and fruit wrapped in tasty Lindt chocolate. Lindt has whole sections devoted to Easter and Spring chocolates, with lots of pastel and fruits. The Easter choclates will disappear now, but the Spring varieties will go on through the summer.

Lindt's Spring assortment

  Lindt Easter bars(btw, I adore the Lindt chocolate lambs in the first basket, as they have one black sheep in the flock.)

What's the difference between German and American Easter candy?

The main differences I see is are:

1) American Easter candies are more based on pure sugar, whereas the Germans focus on chocolate (especially high quality chocolate), cute animal packaging, and lighter tasting (not lighter in caloric terms!) flavors such as fruit.

2) The American candies are mainly Easter shaped version of the same candy, but the German ones often vary the ingredients for Easter, as well as using different fillings and chocolate blends than they do year round.

In Germany, chocolate is the most popular Easter sweet by far, then bunnies and eggs the most popular shape of sweets. The sheer volume of chocolate rabbits in Germany is something we'll tackle separately in the next post....

Eggs:

Easter eggs come in all varieties....sets to dye your eggs (with natural dyes, of course) are widely available, as are real eggs from an assortment of fowl - Ostrich, goose, chicken, quail. They come dyed, raw, already hollowed out, etc.

colored quail eggs

Most stores will have a wide assortment of chocolate eggs....with various nut fillings, nougat, fruits, and liqueurs. However, marzipan eggs are an Easter specialty. Niederegger, the famous Lübeck based marzipan maker, offers all types of different marzipan eggs, as well as some nougat ones. They're good, but marzipan is a bit too sweet to eat in large quantities! Most of the marzipan eggs will be in different fruit flavors and dipped in chocolate. Dark chocolate dipped marzpian is a pretty tasty combon, but again...in small doses!

We were amused to find that Milka makes something looking suspiciously similar to Cadbury Creme Eggs, so of course we here at Schnitzelbahn investigated closely.

The Milka Löffel Ei ("Spoon Egg") comes in a 4-pack carton, with two spoons. It's an egg you crack open to eat the creamy sweet filling. Sounds a lot like a Cadbury Creme Egg, with a little ettitquette and fancy packaging.

Upon first examination, they look similar. The Cadbury egg is slightly smaller, vs the Milka egg's life-sized egg size. And the Milka directions show a little indentation where you bang the spoon to crack the egg open into a nice, clean shape to pull off the top.

The real difference is in the taste.  On the chocolate side, I think the Cadbury chocolate is a bit better tasting, but both are good. Cadbury just does milk chocolate really well! Milka does, too. But really here the chocolate is unimportant - it's about the filling.  Or we'd be eating Cadbury Mini-Eggs, a Milka bar, or some Lindt.

The filling is where we see the real difference. Cadbury eggs often get stale a bit quicker - the taste is still the same, but the filling gets a little drier and not so creamy. No matter, it still is vastly different from the Milka egg. Basically, the Cadbury egg is filled with sugar or fondant. It tastes extremely sweet, and you'll love it or hate it.

The Milka egg, on the other hand, is basically filled with buttercream frosting. Yum!! I know they say it's filled with fondant, but it taste like a sweet spoonful when you're scraping the bowl after making buttercream frosting. It's really good, and it's a much less sweet, sugary taste.

It of course doesn't have the cult following that the Creme Eggs have, nor does it inspire scientistific experiments, but it's a really tasty treat and it's much more manageable than making a batch of frosting or buying a can!

So, a Frohe Ostern to all, and hope you're all enjoying your Easter treats and holidays. Let us know if the Easter Bunny brought you anything special this year. He hid some great DVDs (American TV and BBC's Planet Earth blu-ray) around my apartment.

Schlager Music

When most of us think of Germany's musical contributions, we think Bach, Beethovern, Brahms, or Wagner. Or Nena, The Scorpions, Tokio Hotel, new wave, techno, or oompah bands.

But when you spend enough time in Germany (especially Southern Germany), you find out about Schlagermusik.

The closest translation of "Schlager" is "hit." It was very popular in the 60's and 70's across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and has had a huge revival in the last 10 years. So hard to describe, but at its best, Schlager is kitschy, cheesy, often ballad-style, usually upbeat, and a lot of fun. Throw in some bad hair, glittery costumes, choreography, props and the usual pop production tricks, and there you have it. There's a beat to clap along with and catchy lyrics for the audience to sing...and there's a big niche in the Schlager for songs inspired by Spanish, Mexican, and Carribean rhythms (or lyrics that refer to their beaches). I'm guess it has something to do with the German love for great sun & sand vacations, but who knows?  They don't stray too far from home though - the music videos and Sunday morning TV programs often have Alpine backgrounds and dirndl-type attire in the performances.

Schlager started in the 60s with a sound similar to popular American folk music (reminds me of The Lawrence Welk Show type performances, The Carpenters, Petula Clark, and so on), then moved on to some full-on 70s craziness, and a little more pop rock in the 80s. Today, well...think of the music of Neil Diamond and persona of Tom Jones (his music works too)...they're cheesy, a bit dated, and so much fun.

There are endless CDs and DVDs sold on late night TV, television specials, Schlager Star Parade tours throughout Germany, and the annual Schlager Nacht auf Schalke at the Veltins Arena. And the annual Eurovision Song Contest is heavy on the Schlager style! But where you'll hear endless schlager is at Oktoberfest, any après ski hut, and in surprisingly many bars in Mallorca and other similar spots full of German tourists. It's everywhere...but no one really wants to admit how much they enjoy it.

(On a side note, the Danish have taken on the Schlager baton, and are adding a great cheesy tecnopop spin to it.)

Herr J and I are having a great time investigating this aspect of German culture. Good research requires us to go to concerts, musicals, skiing, beer festivals, and such.  The closer it's tied to Oktoberfest or the Alps, the more there's some accordion and folk influence (including the electronic and techno versions!). We're working on a little guide of songs you need to know for Oktoberfest and Skiing. But for now, here are some of the most popular Schlager hits. Even if you don't understand a single word, they're very catchy and fun.

Ein Stern (der deinen Namen trägt):
I'll start you off easy, with one that's a good, solid pop song (check out the studio version here - more modern, but it's some guy's star picture slideshow). You'll also get the full effect from the crowd (they do not help combat the stereotype of rhythmless white people) and the dancers. This one is a live version, performed at a summer concert in Maastrict last year.

It's a sweet love song, with lyrics about giving your loved one a star in their name, and very catchy.

Classic Schlager - Ich war noch niemals in New York:
A classic hit by one of the schlager masters, Udo Jürgens. Translated as "I've never been to New York," it's about unfulfilled dreams. A husband goes out to buy cigarettes after dinner and starts thinking about all the things he's never done and realizes he could just hop on a plane now and see them. But in the end he buys his cigarettes and goes back home.
You can find the lyrics here, and in English. I heard this one at every beer festival and fair! (The lady who sings New York, New York has a pretty great voice!)

Schlager with dance steps - Fliegerlied (So ein schöner Tag):
I admit without shame I love this song. And last year I finally got the words and motions. Don't worry, we'll cover the steps when we get you ready for Oktoberfest and après ski...
There are better recordings of the song, but I like how this video captures the alpine setting and has people in animal costumes.

70s Schlager - Dschinghis Khan:
Yes, like Ghengis Khan, but in German words starting with the "J" sound are spelled with "Dsch". So, "Jungle" sounds almost the same as the German word "Dschungel."

This one is more funny than good, and was Germany's entry into Eurovision 1979. The 1979 part of it shows! These guys were not a one-hit wonder, they were quite popular...the intro to their song Moskau reminds me a lot of the Knight Rider theme. Anyway, Herr J and I saw this video on an infomercial and couldn't stop laughing.

70s Schlager - Anita
Not suprisingly, this is about a girl named Anita he falls in love with in Mexico. Costa Cordalis came to Germany from Greece as a teenager and became a big Schlager star...and is still performing his hits today in the tours.

80s Schlager - 1000 un 1 Nacht:
This one's about a girl and a guy who are friends. For a thousand nights, he's loved her but "nothing happened". The lyrics of the chorus say that they "Touched a thousand times; A thousand times nothing happened. But on the 1001st night... Boom!"
 

Rock Schlager - Wahnsinn (Hölle, Hölle, Hölle):
This one is a big hit in Oktoberfest and après ski. Entitled "Madness (hell, hell, hell)," it's basically a song about a girl who drives him crazy and makes his life hell, but he still wants her. What really appeals to the crowd (beyond the usual pop rock beat and melody tricks), is that there are many parts of the song where the crowd is supposed to yell something at the end of a verse, e.g., after "And my pride is long in the garbage" the crowd yells "Garbage, hazardous waste!" (Müll, Sondermüll!)

Die Hände zum Himmel:
Basically it says "Hands up to heaven" and is about rejoicing, celebrating life, and knowing that tonight you are not alone. This video in particular is a great example of the full television special production and a song with some leanings toward folk music. This one may be one of the Fasching parties that have been on TV the past week. But you'll definitely hear this one at Oktoberfest, and it's also one of the FC Bayern fan songs, and the Austrians seem to be big fans too. I don't know what words to use to begin finding out what this thing is, but we saw this guy at the World Cup Alpine Ski.

And then there's the man who has it all....the hair, the suit, the name, and the fantastic light shows....Hansi Hintersee!

Some are even performed on a stadium-rock scale.  Here are the East German group Puhdys singing "Hey, wir wollen die Eisbär sehen" (Hey, we want to see the Polar Bears).  It's the anthem for the Berlin Polar Bears, a professional ice hockey team.

Really, it's a genre unique to this area, but there are a few foreign performers who could be included.  For comparison (and your listening pleasure)....Sweet Caroline and Sex Bomb....both songs we often hear here too. The crowd went wild at Oktoberfest when the band played Sweet Caroline. I wouldn't say Neil Diamond's music generally is similar, but this song is close, when played with some energy. Tom Jones, however....he's all Schlager!

I'm sure it's purely coincidence that The Carpenters performed at the White House for visiting West German chancellor Willy Brandt, but you could switch the words to German and it would have fit perfectly into any 1970s schlager show!