You've just moved house, re-registered, said your goodbyes and hugged your parents and are now ready to make Aachen your new home. But, oh dear, sometimes you don't understand the locals? Don't worry, so here's a little help.
Och härm means something like "Oh dear, what a pity, oh dear, oh man" and expresses pity and/or sympathy. You will certainly find au banan! and au huur! particularly funny, which, depending on the situation, can show astonishment, displeasure or respect and describe a person as a weirdo: "You're an au banan to me!". Au huur is a bit more vulgar than au banan, but both terms are still used extensively in the Aachen dialect, the Öcher Platt.
What is an Öcher?
jotily, © iStock.com / jotily
The Öcher (pronounced Öscher) is an Aachen boy or girl "who has his heart set on Oche", as they say so beautifully in Öcher Platt. The Öcher in itself is close to home, complains everywhere about the bad weather, but can't do without it. Alemannia Aachen and carnival are the Öcher's favorite pastimes. When dealing with other people, he is extremely warm and, above all, curious. Öcher's heart is big and open to new things. You can often meet the Öcher in Aachen's old town, because this is where he feels most at home. He loves the manageability and centrality of Aachen: the Öcher simply loves it here!
What is a Klenkes?
City of Aachen / Andreas Herrmann
Raising the little finger of the right hand is a traditional Aachen greeting. The border region around Aachen has been known for its cloth industry since the Middle Ages. As a result, many needle factories settled in the region. Workers in the factories who were responsible for sorting out - or notching out - defective needles on the belts used the little finger of their right hand for this purpose: the Klenkes. This led to deformities and growth defects in the factory workers, most of whom were children, as a result of which the feature quickly became the identifying mark of the people of Aachen. The Klenkes is immortalized in the monument by Aachen sculptor Hubert Löneke on the Holzgraben (near the Elisenbrunnen fountain).
What is the Bahkauv?
City of Aachen / Andreas Herrmann
The what? Exactly, the Bahkauv. The iron mythical creature that paints question marks in the eyes of tourists at the Büchel! According to legend, a "Bachkalb" was up to mischief in the old spa and bathing town of Aachen, attacking drunken night owls by jumping on their backs and stealing money from their pockets. The original fountain was erected in 1904, when the mythical creature still had water gushing out of its mouth. During the Second World War, the Bahkauv was melted down like so many other monuments, only to reappear on the Büchel in 1967, but as a much more modern and abstract version. Today, water gushes out of the tail of the hybrid creature of feline predator and lizard as it stares grimly at tourists and revelers.
How does the weather pillar work?
City of Aachen / David J. Engel
Attentive newcomers to Aachen may have already noticed the strange steel structure on the administration building at the main railway station. At night, the weather pillar, which is unique in Germany, begins to glow and knowledgeable locals get their things ready for the next day: it has been Aachen's reliable weather forecast since 1958. Its shaft indicates rising, falling or constant temperatures through the movement of the light, while the colors of the sphere change depending on the weather. Blue light, which predicts clear weather or small clouds, is popular. Golden yellow, cloudy without precipitation, also provokes a smile from the Öcher, while white light means rain or snow. If you want to know exactly:
The shaft:
- Rising light: the temperature rises
- Falling light: the temperature drops
- Constant light: the temperature remains the same
The sphere:
- Blue light: clear to cloudy and dry
- Yellow light: overcast to cloudy, without precipitation
- White light: precipitation, rain or snow
- Permanent light: stable weather
- Flashing light: unstable weather