Today's final comedy word: Erklärungsnot (n.): This is nothing to do with a running nose but the state of having to quickly explain yourself.Erklärungsnot (lit. Emergency explanation) refers to the exact moment you are caught with your hand in the till and forced to think on your feet. Unless you’re a good liar, the results of Erklärungsnot are usually unbelievable and silly, like the old favourite: "My dog ate myhomework" Only use this excuse if: ...

Just to add a different dimension to this blog, German has its fair share of comical sounding words so from time to time I'll share my favourite ones with you. Today’s German comedy word: Knoblauch = garlic30.08.2015. The day of embarkation. It is also our wedding anniversary. It was grey, overcast with that threat of a down pour. Can I just clarify that that last statement has nothing to do with it being our anniversary. I was just providing an update ...

Roisin and I always try to take a break around about our anniversary which is then followed by my birthday a few days later. In May 2015, Roisin was indulging in one of her favourite pastimes – stalking MSC ships on a website called Sea Scanner. This is a site that tracks the route of cruise ships with the added facility to hack in to a ship's deckcam! Sea scanner is also a travel agent and advertise cruises from many of the mainstream cruise companies....

So far on this trip, the weather had been kind to us ranging from the 'white cloud' scenario to ‘sun lounging’ weather whilst we were in Helsinki.We tend not to let the weather spoil the moment and although I concede that there are more pleasant environmental climates than ‘pissing down’, it would be nice to get off the ship and explore the capital city of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein known as Kiel. The most famous event...