Hellenstone

So let*s continue out virtual tour around Germany. Now I want to tell some facts about the area I live and it's inhabitants. PART 3 - LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: SWABIA Have you heard of the Swabians? Most people think the Germans are the ones with Dirndls, Lederhosen and the Oktoberfest. No. These are the Bavarians. But forget about the Bavarians: I want to talk about Swabia. What? The Swabians? So here we go: 5 Things You Need To Know About The Swabians 1. There are 8 million Swabians living in Germany. Most of them in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the South, some even in Bavaria. We call the area we’re living in “Ländle” (dialect form for small land). The capital of the “Ländle” is Stuttgart. 2. We speak Swabian, a German dialect mostly not understood by other Germans. Example? Jam in standard German is “Marmelade”, in Swabian we call it “Gsälz”. And we love that no one understands us. We even have an advertising campaign with the slogan “Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch” which means: “We can do anything. Except (speak) Standard German.” 3. We can do anything. We invented the car, the newspaper, bras. Albert Einstein was Swabian, we have Mercedes, Porsche and we have the Swabian “Kehrwoche”, a house cleaning tradition which ruins every Saturday. But our houses and sidewalks are really pretty clean. 4. They say the Swabians are the ‘German Scots’. Well, we’re not stingy but one of our leading life mottos is “schaffe, schaffe, Häusle baue” which means: “work, work, build a house”. So yes, we are the thrifty and hardworking Germans. 5. But we also know how to party. Twice a year there’s a big funfair at Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart and the one in autumn is the second largest beer festival in the world after the Oktoberfest in Munich. And I haven’t even started talking about the tasty food, the “Spätzle”, the “Maultaschen” or the “Butterbrezeln”… One last thing you have to know about the Swabians: “Net bruddelt ischt gnug globt” which means: Not complaining it’s the biggest compliment you’ll ever likely to get.

@Marsden 1st MRB: You are right sir! Due to the facts that they put 56 herbs in there and that it takes one year until bottling it must be something healthy in there ;-). And you can keep it longer in your bar fridge than an apple in the world...

@Fielding 1st MRB: But now back to your 2 others questions: 1) Oldest brewery: "Weihenstephan" near Munich is the oldest still working brewery in the world: Almost a thousand years ago the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan was the monastery brewery of the Benedictine monks. Then, the Royal Bavarian State Brewery, it is now operating as a state directed enterprise under the control of the Bavarian Government. As the oldest still existing brewery in the world it stands upon the Weihenstephan hill, surrounded by the comparatively very young Weihenstephan science center of the Technical University of Munich. 2) Most sold beer in Germany atm is "Beck's": Brauerei Beck & Co. located in the northern German city of Bremen. In 2001. As far as I know there is or was an US version of Becks available, but I don't know anything about its availability or existence.

@Fielding 1st MRB and @Marsden 1st MRB: That really is one of the trickiest questions you can ask a German... Because in the and it like asking "whats the best car"... I'm a huge fan of wheat beer. So my first advice would be one of my favorite wheat beers, because you don't get this kind of beer anywhere else in the same taste: 1. Erdinger Weißbier Even the alcoholfree version tastes great and it's a superb isotonic drink after sport: And as a second advice I would say "always try to drink local" So of course our local brewery: 2. Nattheimer

So we will continue straight away with... PART 2 - 10 INTERESTING FACTS 1. Germany bakes 300 varieties of bread: Bread is a vital part of our cuisine and it’s virtually impossible to walk a few hundred meters without finding a tempting bakery. These baeries bake a staggering 300 kinds of breads (not including regional variations) and almost 1.200 kinds of bread rolls and baked goods. 2. Germany boasts almost 1.000 varieties of sausages: The most popular sausage-based dish in Germany is Currywurst, sausages smothered in spicy curry. An estimated 800 million Currywursts are consumed in Germany every year. 3. Germany is credited with several important inventions: Several things inextricably linked with our daily lives were invented in Germany, including of course the automobile, the x-ray machine, the pocket watch, clarinet, gummy bears, the diesel engine, paraffin, automated calculator, aspirin, fluorescent lamp, telephone, Fanta, LCD screen and the pregnancy test. Also, the globally reputed Adidas and Puma are German brands too. 4. Germans drink more mineral water than beer: 5. The number of breweries in Germany is huge: In total, there are approximately 1.300 breweries in Germany producing over 5,000 brands of beer. The highest density of breweries in the world is found near the city of Bamberg, in the Franconia region of Bavaria with four breweries and only 1,352 citizens. 6. Germany has an unbelievable number of castles: The German landscape is dotted with over 20,000 castles. Many of these date back centuries and the vast majority are open to the public. Some of the castles house restaurants, hotels, cafes, museums, while a few are even up for sale. 7. Almost everything is closed on Sundays: Except church and gas stations. But don’t expect to get shopping done on "Ruhetag", or “quiet day.” In fact, even loud noises like drilling on Sundays are also illegal. 8. Germany has worlds highest church tower: The Ulm Minster in Ulm is today the world's tallest church, at 161.5 meters. People can take the church's 768 steps to 141 meters above the ground. 9. Worlds third hightest number of Nobel laureates: Overall 108 Germans have been awarded the Nobel prize in their field, including Albert Einstein, who was born in Ulm. 10: You can hear a lot of local languages: There are around thirty-five dialects of the German language.

So Raiders, let's give this ago and we'll start with... PART 1 - BASIC FACTS Flag = Black - Red - Gold Coat of Arms = the Eagle ("Bundesadler") Capital = Berlin Time zone = UTC+1 (CET) / UTC+2 (CEST) Area = ~357.000 km2 Highest point: the "Zugspitze" at 2.963 meters Population = ~83.000.000 Density = 232/km2 Government style = Federal parliamentary republic Legislature: Upper house = "Bundesrat" / Lower house = "Bundestag" Constituent states = 16 (called "Bundesländer") Constitution = "Grundgesetz (basic law) Head of state: Hightest = The President is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers ("Bundespräsident") The second-highest = the President of the "Bundestag" ("Bundestagspräsident") Third-highest =the Chancellor is the head of government ("Bundeskanzler") Healthcare = world's oldest universal health care system, dating from Bismarck's social legislation of the 1880s Sports = Football is the most popular sport in Germany, the German Football Association ("Deutscher Fußball-Bund") is the largest single-sport organization worldwide Army = the "Bundeswehr" (strength of ~184.000 active soldiers and 81.000 civilians) So these are the key figures and facts about the country I live in. Next we will take a look at 10 funny or strange facts about Germany... Please let me know what you think and if its worth to continue this thread!?!?

I will start posting first fun and facts here tomorrow evening (just to tired now...).

Hello Raiders, I start a new topic here based on a freaking and perhaps a bit wierd idea. Cause we have many different countries servbing in this unit I thought about starting a thread (or hopefully many more) in which we can share news, secrets and all kind of interesting astuff about a specific country. In my case: GERMANY I'll give you some examples: # Have some of you ever been to Germany and want to share your impressions and stories # Is any one interesetd in visiting germany and needs advice, tips and info? # Are there any questions some of you would like to ask about Germany? # A place to share news from the specific country. # Are there interetsing stories to tell about thwe part of the country you live in? I hope you get the idea...? What di you guys think? Would this make sense or would be interesing for you? Let me know your thoughts . Greetings from Southern Germany Pfc. Markus Asal

Yes, it should be cross play as far as I know...

I have to post this right nowafter hearing on my local Rock Radio station I listen to when in Homeoffice: I love both, band and song (live they are f***ing amazing) and this live version in Rio is a timeless classic...

@Fielding: Did I mention already I need a new PC ??? Yes I saw and read about the new BF games, but atm they are just technically out of range for my PC... Yeah, perhaps we could start some ZAT together? kJust have to reinstall it on Steam. That would be cool. L4D2 is already installed... Beside DoD:S with these internet guys I met some weeks ago I just play PlanescapeTorment Enhanced Edition atm, which is awesome. I just love the freaking setting and deeply recommend it.

Hi comrades, In this topic I would like to show you some of the games I play beside DoD:S if I can spare the time. All games are played just for fun from my side so me competitive e level on any way. Cause my computer is freaking old you won't find any brand new games on the list. Cause I search for some fun hours to spent with you I'm just listing multiplayer games: 1: Day of Defeat I love the original cause that's where it all started for me.... 2: Star Wars Battlefront 2 Classic I'm a big SW fan... 3: Rocket League Great MP title, easy to learn, hard to master 4: Diablo 2 A timeless classic ARPG 5: Zombie Army Trilogy What a bloody mess killing Nazi zombies... 6: Star Wars Empire at War Rebuyed on Steam a few weeks ago 7: Left 4 Dead 2 Killing zombies in a team feels so good 8: Unity of Command 1+2 Clever little RTSes from a unknown developer 9: Day of Defeat Love the setting but I suck playing 10: Kards Love CCGs and the WW2 setting... I'm just afraid it will cost me a lot of money... There Re some games on the list I own for quite some time but never found the time to play them... Perhaps this will change now? CU online Pfc. Markus Asal

Im into RL as well. Although just for fun, not in any competitive level. Any of you guys still playing?

Unfortunately I can't add any real solution to you problem... Sorry for that. But I just want to give you a personal advice: save your personal data you want keep a soon as possible if you haven't done it before. I had the same exact issue with my business machine and after 3 months one morning it broke down with a bluescreen and was beyond repair. And my IT department try to fix it three time and they can't find a solution before it broke down...

I had a motoscooter for many years but I'm not sure if this will count as a motorcycle in your point of view ;-): It looks wierd but it was so relaxing and chilled to ride. I sold it when my first kid was on its way and now I really miss it... I never got into faster bikes with more than 125cc, don't know why. And no with 2 kids, wife house I don't have money and time buying a new one...

So, lets stay in the North: Another song I really like. Although the costumes are a bit over the top but the sound is good: And in comparison the same lead singer with an interesting genre switch:

I heard this song in my car today and decided to post it in here although I'm sure all you guys will know it. And I know the song is not metal but I cou nt it in cause it's performed by a metal band and especially this live version is a masterpiece for me: DISTURBED - The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel cover live): And a an addition another great song from David with real deep message: DISTURBED - The Light

That sounds fun, so here we go: 1) First car I ever owned was a Ford Fiesta Calypso with electric foldable roof (that was so cool in summer). 1994, 1,3l petrol, 60hp Black metallic paint with BBS rims and turquoise seats, self build Bosch sound system 2) Nowadays family car is a Opel Astra Sport station wagon 2017, 1,5l turbo petrol, 150hp Black metallic paint, 17" rims, LED matrix lights, sport seats, electric rear door, navigation and 2 child seats :-) 3) Daddys mowadays car is a Dacia Sandero Stepway 2016, 1,5l Turbo Diesel, 90hp Blue metallic paint, navigation This is one of the cheapest little cars you can get in Germany, now I have 135.000kms and I've never been to a workshop except for service 4) Dream car... today I only can see this from family perspective, so I choose... Volvo V90 R-Design station wagon 2020, T6 AWD, 2,0l petrol, 320hp

So keep going the European Tour: Next Stop: SWEDEN 1) Sabaton: I really like some of their songs with military historic lyrics and deep sound, but I have to admit I don't like all of their songs. My favorit: 2) Northern girl power: THUNDERMOTHER: I really love them and own all albums:

Here's another I really like at the moment. It's a German metal band called U.D.O. together with the Musiccorps of the Bundeswehr (German Army). I know it's a different sound, but I like it . Other than Metallica's S&M all tracks are composed, written and arranged with the Musiccorps, so not just replayed old band tracks. Really like this song, could be the 1st MRB hymn I think:

I have to join in because Rock and Metral is my energy: 1) Best band of all times (without a doubt): AC/DC 2) Every fighters hymn: MANOWAR 3) German metal founding mother among rock singers: DORO PESCH / WARLOCK

https://8values.github.io/results.html?e=75.6&d=71.7&g=55.6&s=62.7 I couldn't get the graph pic embedded with my mobile...

Due to financial situation (we definitely have to upgrade or renew our kitchen) I'm thinking about going a 2 step way. 1) Buy a new basic PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 with included GPU Ryzen RX Vega 11. Its much more powerful than my Intel HD4600. Also I decided to choose 16GB RAM, an 500MB SSD + 2TB SD in a bigger ATX case. 2) Upgrade it with a GPU card if needed later. I hope that will bring me the benefit of more and more stable FPS in DoDS for example and some other games I already own. Nad it keeps me away from spending more money on nwer games I do not have really time to play because of family and real life. Also when I'm online playing in the night or on weekend I spend most of the time playing DoDS with the 1st MRB ;-)

I've never been really good with any weapon so good so start learning from ground up is perfect for me. Wish I could so a rifle MOS but I can't take it due to the time zone...