Kultur 1

"How German is American" was a VERY fun article for me to read. I am from Milwaukee, WI and Milwaukee is incredibly German. So many things that the article mentioned are a major part of my life. I've grown up going to German Fest and various Oktoberfests. Beer and brats are my life. At the last Oktoberfest I went to, I competed in a bratwurst eating competition. We had to eat a brat that was hanging from a string without using our hands. I did not win... Our baseball team is named the "Brewers." At the old stadium our mascot, Bernie Brewer, would slide down a big yellow slide and land in a mug of beer. When I moved to Michigan I almost cried the first time I had a hard time finding a decent bratwurst or cheddarwurst at Kroggers. At church festivals I learned how to polka and sing songs like "In heaven there is no beer" and "Who the hell is Alice." Some of the best restaurants in Milwaukee are German (Karl Rasche's, Maders, Usingers). The Wienermobile was a common sight growing up. The article mentioned that the German's in Milwaukee had a family oriented tavern culture. I spent almost every Sunday in the local tavern seated between my father and my grandfather. People from Milwaukee have a much different accent than the typical midwestern accent and I think it's because we are so German. Milwaukee really is one of the most German cities in America. And I'm not sure I truly realized it until I read this article. I'm going to go ahead and blame this article for the intense homesickness I feel right now.

Here is a picture of the mug that Bernie Brewer used to land in.