wes fowler

Monica, <BR>I gather you'll be staying at the Schonach-Hof in Hohenfurch. I also gather you'll be coming from the north. Hohenfurch is the first town south of Landsberg that is actually on the Romantic Highway (Rte17). All of the others north of Hohenfurch are off Rte 17 a couple of kms or so. As I recall, at the intersection for Hohenfurch, there is no traffic light. There is a large, chalet-like hotel on the northeast corner of the intersection. Turn left off Rte 17 and proceed through the little village. There's a stream to your right that parallels the road. After about 800 meters you'll take a dogleg to the right and cross over the stream. The inn, set back off the road is directly ahead. Depending upon your arrival time you may find the front door by the parking area locked. Walk around to the left side of the building where there's an entrance to the restaurant; that'll be open. Brush up on your German, no one in the place speaks English!

Monica

Thanks Wes for the directions. Yes, we will stay at the Schonach-Hof. Price is very good at 92DM/night. I'll learn a little German, but this time I'm putting the translations onto my husband for a change! Bought him CD's to brush up on his German (he's been out of town so couldn't help me with the letter). We're looking forward to our stay there away from big cities and towns.

harzer

Machine translation is by and large a total disaster. Alta Vista's 'Babelfish' site is no exception. To test any translation program, all you have to do is put in some simple but idiomatic expressions like:' keep your eyes peeled' or 'keep your wits about you' and show the result to a native speaker of the target language. They will fall about laughing. Rely on us Fodorites and never on Alta Vista etc.

harzer

Bob Brown! What is this stuff about Bavarian German? This is standard written German (Hochdeutsch) in the message, but slightly garbled in the transcription. There should be a period after 'Landsberg/Augsburg'. The first occurrence of 'nach' in the final para means 'after', the second one, preceded by a dative (DEN braunEN SchilderN ... ), means 'following'.

Al

My, my! Imagine--24 posts on this! <BR>Reminds me of Mark Twain's essay on "The Awful German Language." What a hoot!

harzer

Sorry, but I must add yet another post on this topic. I am somewhat surprised at everyone agreeing that the German here is 'fierce'. Have you ever tackled a German newspaper other than 'Bildzeitung', which is written for six-year-olds? Or tried the hugely popular weekly news magazine 'Der Spiegel' which IS 'fierce' yet read by German speakers as easily as you read 'Time' or the 'Washington Post'. I am very tempted to say, 'not the awful German language, but the dumb Yanks reading it'. I repeat what I said above. This is not Bavarian German but normal 'Schriftdeutsch'. If you want a sample of written Bavarian I am quite happy to provide one, but you won't understand a word of it. The B in B17 by the way, Bob, stands for 'Bundesstrasse' a category of major road with two-way traffic, as distinct from 'Autobahn' or minor roads called 'Landstrasse'. On the maps the Bundesstrasse is a single or double digit number written in a square yellow box. 'Landstrassen' have three or four digits in a yellow box. Have a great new year everybody.

miriam

Harzer, <BR>thank you for your last post. I wanted to say exactly the same, but wasn`t able to post anything. By the way-do you love cheese or is "harzer" your real name? <BR> <BR>Regards <BR>Miriam

Bob Brown

The B comment I made was in error. <BR>I had looked at my Aral Strassen-Atlas and saw the 17 and guessed at the B. <BR>I asked a German friend of mine what it all meant, and he explained that the B stands for Bundesstrasse: a major road going through several states, but not an Autobahn. He also said that the B routes are usually framed in a yellow box with the number and that the ! The actual road signs are also yellow. Autobahn routes are usually (virtually always) marked in blue. <BR> <BR>I might add that he supplied the information quite cheerfully and without the denegrating, insulting comments penned above by our self-appointed language policeman. <BR> <BR>We may be dumb yanks, but we collectively got the letter figured out without any help from awesome, omnipotent experts whose facility with languages surpasses all understanding. <BR>

dan woodlief

I think you misunderstood the meaning of "fierce." Everything is relevant, you know. It all depends on the level of understanding/experience of the individual. Plus, I don't think you would disagree that German is not a very easy language for non-Germans, just as English and Chinese are difficult to learn. I have always found French, for example, to be a much easier language to learn to read. Believe me, there is "fierce" English too (even for educated, native English speakers).

harzer

Hi Miriam! Thank you for your support. No, harzer is not my real name, but 'Harzer Kaese' suitably expresses my effect on the senses of certain other people, when I have been exposed (to nonsense) for too long. Why did these people produce another 15 or so posts after you had provided a perfectly adequate translation? <BR>And so much fuss over a simple little message! 'Fierce' ?????? I thought I made the point that there is indeed fierce and fiercer German, but this is not it. Yes, French is easier to read, not least because modern English, particularly written English, derives more directly from it than it does from <BR>the Germanic languages.