Page 5 - GC-May-June-2026

German Leckerbissen Topics

the local train that stops at every Some ticket machines allow you
By Daniel Schwarz Deutsche Bahn (DB) – station. There is an array of tick- to change the language to Eng-
ne of the closest words to Germany’s rail systems et choices such as: short trips lish, usually a flag at bottom
tidbit in German is Lecker- are efficient, timely,
Obissen. Literally Leckerbis- comfortable, affordable, (Kurzstrecke); single one-way corner. At some Bahnhof (train
stations) there may be a valida-
ticket (Einselfahrt) limited time
sen means tasty morsels or bits. The and work on the honor travel, Day ticket (Tageskarte); tor machine (Entwerten) next to
following may include some tidbits system for boarding. De- Week ticket (Wochenkarte); the ticket dispensing machine or
of German culture, foods/drinks, pending on your destina- Group Day ticket (Gruppentag- on the station platform. For
traditions, folklore, myths, history, tion and schedule you eskarte) for three or more, up to more rail information and sched-
language, geography and current can choose one of four five people. All tickets need to ules use the DB web site
events. types of train service. be validated before boarding the www.bahn.de, or the DB Navi-
QR Code on Postage Stamp – They are: Inter City Ex- train. If this is not done, the tick- gator which is a free app to
What a unique way to give a lot press (ICE), which con- et may be invalid and known as book tickets and get up-to-date
of information from a small nects to major European schwarzfahren (dark traveler), information of delays/canceled
piece of paper, a postage stamp. rent has stayed the same since its cities; Regional Express (RE) and you could be fined if discov- trains, etc. As an added tip –
This was done by the country of founding, at one Rhenish gulden that connects regional destina- ered by an inspector. Check the some airlines will coordinate the
Luxembourg in 2024, to com- per year, which is equivalent to tions with larger cities; Regional ticket if it included a validation flight ticket and include a train
memorate and advertise “Fonda- 0.88 euros (88 cents)! Yes, less Bahn (RB) connects smaller cit- date, or the words “Bitte en- ticket to your destination.
tion EME”, an organization that than one euro per year! This ies and town; and finally, the twerten” (please validate).
promotes music and the arts in incredibly low rent was made S-Bahn (Suburban Train), that is
Luxembourg. Lëtzebuerg as possible for the Fuggerei, which
shown on the stamp is the native has been supported by an excep-
word for the country – The tionally well managed charitable
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. trust established in 1520 by Ja-
From the web site of EME cob Fugger for this social pur-
“Ensemble Musique Ensemble” pose.
they state the following: “To en- The Fuggerei is a small walled
able people to live better togeth- city within Augsburg that pres-
er through the universal ently consists of 67 multiple 2-
language of music. Since 2009, storied building housing units in
we have been working to bring rows containing 147 apartments,
well-being, promote inclusion plus other spaces. Each apart-
and preserve the dignity of peo- ment has its own private street
ple who are vulnerable or in dif- entrance and includes a kitchen,
ficulty, by celebrating their a parlor, a bedroom and a tiny
diversity. Thanks to the commit- spare room, all about 700 square
ment of talented musicians, the feet total. The requirements for
support of the Philharmonie and eligibility have remained the
our generous donors, as well as same since inception: one must
our many partnerships with host have lived in Augsburg at least
organizations, we organize near- two years, be of the Catholic
ly 800 events every year. These faith and have become indigent
events reach a wide audience, without debt. In addition, the
including children with disabili- renter must make three daily
ties, elderly people, refugees, prayers - the Lord’s Prayer, Hail
prisoners, autistic teenagers and Mary, and the Nicene Creed.
single parents. In short, the Fon- Finally, one must work a part-
dation aims to move these peo- time job in the community. This
ple, encourage them to express totally walled in community re-
themselves and take control of sembles a medieval town, and
their own destiny”. includes the church of St. Marks,
The QR Code shown on the public squares, and several entry
postage stamp can be used to gates that lock at 10pm every
access the organization’s web night.
site. Just point your cell phone Tours can be taken in the Fug-
camera at the QR Code and gerei, and a plaque can be seen
touch the small yellow rectangle commemorating Franz Mozart,
that appears. Now you can ex- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s
plore the EME website for in- great-grandfather who lived
formation about the Fondation there between 1681 and 1694.
EME, and the events that they Benelux – This is a portmanteau for
sponsor. several northern European coun-
Fuggerei – Hands down, the Fug- tries that had formed a customs
gerei is one of the best kept se- union many years ago to unify
crets of social public housing tariff policies of imports from
bargains in the world. It is also outside the union. They are Bel-
the oldest public housing com- gium (BE), the Netherlands
plex still in use in the world. It (NE), and Luxembourg (LUX).
was founded in 1516 by the They established the Benelux
wealthy Fugger family for the Union in 1948 that served as a
benefit of needy citizens of model for broader European
Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. Economic cooperation, includ-
The amazing bargain is that the ing the European Union.

May - June 2026 • THE GERMAN CITIZEN • 5