As noted on expatbloggersingermany.com, there are just three weeks left until WEBMU 2011 in Cologne is officially underway. (Unofficially, it gets started with a side trip to Aachen one day earlier.)
Our knowledgeable hosts have designed a stimulating agenda, made accommodation recommendations and even summarized the local Kölner ÖPNV* system for you — all on our discussion board over at http://www.expatbloggersingermany.com/meetup/. Sign up there today, if you haven’t already, to get the full scoop. Any expatriate in Germany blogging in English is most welcome!
*I love how some concepts, like “mass transit” are expressed in English sometimes with just a few syllables, but have huge German counterparts, like Öffentlicher Personennahverkehr. But they retain that reputation for efficiency, deservedly or not, for compacting those ten syllables down to just four in everyday usage. Similar examples:
| English | German (full) | German (shortened) |
|---|---|---|
| Trainee | Auszubildende(r) | Azubi |
| Public broadcasting fee collection agency | Gebühreneinzugszentrale | GEZ |
| Technical Inspection Association | Technischer Überwachungs-Verein | TÜV |
| Terms & Conditions | Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen | AGB |