Rosenrot by Rammstein

Artist: Rammstein

Album: Rosenrot

Genre: Industrial Metal, Metal

Release: 2009

Tracks: 

1. Benzin 
2. Mann gegen Mann 
3. Rosenrot 
4. Spring 
5. Wo bist du 
6. Stirb nicht vor mir (feat. Sharleen Spiteri) 
7. Zerstören 
8. Hilf mir 
9. Te quiero Puta! 
10. Feuer und Wasser 
11. Ein Lied 

In the dead of night, I used to lie awake and cut myself to the beat of Rammstein songs in full volume.  Mr. Santos, our next-door-neighbor, furiously rang our doorbell at 1 AM one day to complain about that racket coming from my stereo.  The knob of my door could only turn so much as I valued my privacy.  It took them a good few minutes to find the spare key to my room and when they finally got in, they found me lying in a pool of my own blood.

That's how intense Rammstein is with all the screams and heavy guitar strummings topped with clashing hi-hats and cymbals.  Rammstein is not for the faint of heart.  But I would recommend this album to those interested in learning German.  Till Lindemann's lyrics are, aside from pretty angry, pretty straightforward as well.  He annunciates each word in a slow and clear manner, perfect for the untrained ears of aspiring Germanophones.

I would recommend tracks 4 and 5, Wo bist du and Stirb nicht vor mir respectively.  These are my favorite tracks and are not too metal.  They have the easiest, yet most intense lyrics to boot:

Ich suche dich unter jedem Stein.
Wo bist du?
Ich schlafe mit einem Messer ein.
Wo bist du?

Alle Häuser sind verschneit,
Und in den Fenstern Kerzenlicht.
Dort liegen sie zu zweit.
Und ich,
Ich warte nur auf dich

See? German metal songs can even teach you about the dativ Kasus and trennbare Verben.  So start learning Deutsch with Rammstein today!

Disclaimer: Of course, the part about me cutting myself and lying in a pool of my own blood was all made up.

Insel Rügen

I received this winter view postcard from Nordbaer, one of the more active members in the Postcrossing Forum.  Got this through the Water RR Group 195.

Insel Rügen (Rügen Island) is Germany's biggest and most beautiful island located in the Baltic Sea.  The island offers something to tickle every fancy.  It doesn't matter if you're looking for a classic beach vacation or a more flexible getaway, Rügen has something for you!

60 km of sandy beach, white shorelines, sophisticated sea bathers, old fishing villages, romantic manors or phantasmagoric countrysides--Rügen Island offers a once-in-a-lifetime variety of attractions.

Yet another try at translation.  This description sounds better in German, I swear.  Haha.  It just seemed a like a good idea to translate a German description into English since I'm no good at ripping off English descriptions anyway. 

Yet another beautiful card intentionally ruined by the Philippine post office

Read more about Rügen here:
http://www.ruegeninsel.de (German)
http://www.ruegen-mv.de/ruegen_erleben/the_island_ruegen (English)

Avocado-Birnen-Carpaccio

My first recipe card was from Michael from Germany.

Here's the recipe to make avocado-peach carpaccio.  Too lazy to translate to English.  No one cares anyway.  Haha.

Scanner got fuzzy again

The card came with these stamps:

Crocus, Sweet William, and the lighthouse in Warnemünde

Wuppertal, Germany

I received this postcard from Susanne.  In Wuppertal, where she is from, there is a special mode of transportation called the Schwebebahn (or floating train in English) as seen below.

Built in 1901 and having its first recorded fatal accident only in 1999, the Schwebebahn is the oldest and safest monorail system in the world.  It has survived both World Wars, various accidents, and turbulent events.

Looks extreme, but not as extreme as the German Autobahns with no blanket speed limit

The card came with this stamp:

St. Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006