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German Club

Talks will usually be given in German but there will be regular reprises in English, so we hope people of all levels of fluency are encouraged to come along.

Membership of the 3Ls Association is a requirement at a cost of £10 per annum and then you are welcome to join the German Club itself for which the subscription is £10 per annum.

 

President: Daniel O’Sullivan

Email:  dingerone48@gmail.com

Tel:  01360 319630

 

We have been living through strange times – a pandemic, lockdown, self-isolation, shielding, and if you have been lucky enough to get abroad, return to quarantine. For many of us time has weighed heavily on our minds and we have turned to the TV for amusement. BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Prime video have been a godsend but we’re getting to the end of our favourite box sets now and are beginning to itch for something new and a bit more challenging. Well, now is the time to discover German TV, and, at the same time improve your German! What more could be better?

So, what do you need? If you subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime video on your smart TV you’ve already started. Both have subtitled German TV Series available such as Dark, on Netflix, a superb science fiction series set in Germany, and Dogs of Berlin, warning, not for the faint hearted. On Prime video, gritty Krimis such as 4Blocks, and Beat, are available. Both providers also have subtitled German films as well.

Using your computer, you have a much larger access to German TV. Like UK TV, German TV also has a presence on the internet, and they make many of their programmes available for viewing over the internet, similar to the BBC iPlayer and STVPlayer. Many of the programmes are subtitled, which if you are watching a fast paced German Krimi is very useful! Occasionally some German TV stations’ live streams are blocked e.g. Sports such as football and international films, but there is an enormous amount of programming that is available to watch on “catch-up”. So don’t be surprised, when searching, to be confronted with something like Dieses Video ist an Ihren Standort nicht verfügar, in other words you can only view this in Germany (or Austria or Switzerland). This is known as geo-blocking. There is a way round geo-blocking by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) but they can be complicated to set up and because of their nature they can be slow connections. Even so, there are still lots available and plenty of choice without a VPN.

Examples range from crime series like Tatort to cooking series such as Kochem mit Martina und Moritz, (the German TV equivalent of Fanny and Johnny Craddock). Comedy with Jan Bohmermann on Neo Magazin Royale to documentaries, science, films, music, and of course, the inevitable Politics and News programmes. German TV will have something to please every taste.

Here are web addresses of some stations for you to explore: ·

I’m sure you will be able to find something of interest.