Scenes Season 2 | Chapter 2: Zwischen Büchern und Ballons

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Hallo and herzlich willkommen zu Scenes from Coffee Break German Cafe. We are back with another episode, and today we are going to be finding out another scene in the cafe, basically. We'll experience this and we'll go through all of the interesting languages. contained in the episode. But first Thomas In unserem letzten Kapitel, in unserer letzten Episode hat Felix endlich mit seinen Eltern gesprochen. Yeah. So he had been worried about speaking to his parents about his.

change in career, his uh stopping university and so on. But he's already been quite active in sending out his C V to various companies. Yes, he he's made the move forward or he's moving forward and he's having things lined up. And I hope that we find out actually what happens to Felix. before we finish the season. But both Felix and uh Anna and the narrator were witness to something else in the cafe.

Flem chaming going on to use one of those Anglicismen or don't know what's it the other way, like a German cizen? Germanism, I guess. Germanism. Um yeah, there was a really loud couple, but like as always, Erna With some cake and some small talk, uh managed to resolve the solve the situation. And they went home hand in hand.

Okay, let us now listen to our second chapter, and once again we'll hear it a slightly slower speed first, and then we'll talk about everything before listening to it at a normal speed. Los Gates.

Erna beugt sich über die Theke und lauscht unserem Buchclub. Mitglied werden wollte sie nicht, weil sie Bücher lieber in ihrem eigenen Tempo ließen. Aber gerade wird unsere Diskussion so richtig spannend. Es geht um Max Frischs Stiller. Doch die Damen haben sich zu einer hitzigen Auseinandersetzung über Stillers Taten verleiten lassen. Ich sitze amüsiert am Tisch und höre zu. Erna schaut zu mir und kichert, und plötzlich wird auch Charlotte und den anderen bewusst, wie laut sie waren.

Sie brechen in Gacken das Gelächter aus und übertönen damit die Großfamilie in der anderen Ecke des Cafees. bei der es gerade drunter und drüber geht.

Es sieht nach einem runden Geburtstag aus, denn die Familie alleine, darunter Oma, Opa, Eltern, Tante und Onkel, Zwei Jugendliche, drei Schulkinder und ein Säugling besetzt zwei größere Tische. Ein dritter ist voller Taschen und Geschenken. Ich meine zudem, gesehen zu haben, dass Erna den Kuchen, den ich heute früh auf Bestellung gebacken habe, mit einer großen 80 dekoriert hat. Die Schulkinder rennen jetzt um den Tisch herum und schnappen sich gegenseitig die Ballons weg.

die vorhin noch um die Tische geschwebt sind. Die Mutter kommt zur Theke und verzieht entschuldigend ihr Gesicht, als eines der Kinder laut kreischt. Sie bestellt drei Cappuccinos, einen Filtercaffee und einen laktosefreien Mokka. Ich stehe auf, um Erna zu helfen. Schließlich verpasse ich solange eh nicht viel.

Henriette hat das Thema von vorhin doch nicht ganz lassen können. Und redet nun erneut vehement auf Charlotte ein.

Okay, wunderbar. Oh, that's something they actually completely forgot about. The book club that the narrator was planning to join. So we meet them again. And we meet the all the characters, all the older ladies from the book club again. That's nice. You ready for the first sentence? Absolutely. So beugt sich beugend über. Is she leaning over? She's bending over. Ganz genau, yeah. So she's leaning over the take, the counter, and lausch.

Is it kinda like listening to? Yeah, geno. It's like zuhören, yeah. Yeah. Um but uh a nicer one and sometimes it also is used in a context where it's more secretly Or like subjective with something lauschen oh er belauscht das gespräch, he's like listening into a conversation without them noticing. Which isn't the case here, I think, but like it's always used in that context. Mitglied werden wollte sie nicht. weil sie Bücher lieber in ihrem eigenen Tempo ließen.

Aber gerade wird unsere Diskussion so richtig spannend. Okay, I think it's a good thing. I'm a little bit like Erna because I need to read in my own uh my own rhythm as well because I I it's finding the time to read, uh I think is the weekly commitment to go to a book club and have read the book by that point is yeah, it's also not possible for me at the moment. So, Mitglied werden wollte sie nicht. So midglied is a member. Mm-hmm. So to become a member

Wanted she not. She didn't want to become a member. Exactly. It's a interesting construction here because we have the subject really lead on C. And uh we have the object there first to Mitglied, and it's just because we want to emphasize on that. So Mitglied werden as like the phrasal constructions or like the noun verb construction, and then we have the actual verb wollte and then the subject C.

And then the nicht at the very end the whole sentence. Okay. And why is that? Because she reads or she'll she prefers to read. In your eighteen tempo. She wants she prefers reading books at her own pace. Perfect. Um kind of right now, um our discussion is becoming like really exciting. Yeah, perfect, you know. And werden here again is our main word like to become. Es geht um Max Frisch Stiller, doch die Damen haben sich zu einer hitzigen Auseinandersetzung über Stillers Taten verleiden lassen.

Well, this is complex. Is Gate O Max Frisch Stiller so it's all about um Max Frisch's Stiller book? Doch die Damen haben sich zu einer hitzigen Auseinandersetzung über Stillers Taten for Lighten Lassen. I was going to stop halfway along that sentence, but I realised I just needed to keep going because we kind of needed to know exactly what it was all about. Um so but the ladies Uh blah blah blah for Light and Lasson. Yeah, you know. They have like allude themselves.

Perfekt, yeah, segood. To be kind of I guess pulled into, drawn into, yes. Yeah. Am I right in thinking that Ausseinander Zetzen Müt etwas? Is like when you deal with something. Ja, sehr gut, genauso. Ich setze mich mit den um Geschichten von Br Gebrüder Glimmer. I'm dealing, I'm looking into them. I'm looking into it. And I think that's kinda also the meaning here. It's not like they have an argument per se. It's more like they're having an intense discussion.

Because you've all looked into the topic and they're now discussing the topic. Okay, so they've let themselves be drawn into a heated discussion über Stöhrer's Taten, about Stöhrer's actions? Actions, yeah. Okay. I think I've got a little bit to go before I can join this boot club, to be honest. Yeah, maybe m Max Frisch is m dunno, C one, C two? So I uh sit amused at the table and listen in that's an easier sentence.

Erna schaut zu mir und kichert. Und plötzlich wird auch Charlotte und den anderen bewusst, wie laut sie waren. Oh, that's similar to last time a little bit. So Erna schaut zu mir. They overhear me and Kichert thus giggle. Yeah. Yeah. So she giggles. And plötzlich wird auch Charlotte and the other bewusst um Zu bewusst werden? Like t to kind of become aware? Yeah, perfect. Genau. So and uh then uh and suddenly Charlotte and the others

uh realize I suppose, become aware. Yeah, it becomes aware to them so they realize. Yeah. How loud they were, wie loud sie waren. Or maybe in more natural English how loud they had been. Yeah, perfect, you know. And then again V subordinate clause here as always, so the varen is at the very end.

Sie brechen in gackerndes Gelächter aus und übertönen damit die Großfamilie in der anderen Ecke des Cafés. Bei der es gerade drunter und drüber geht. Okay. Gackern this? Gagan is the escalation of Kichern. Okay. Um so the it's no longer giggling is is like Cackling laughter. Or like crackling laughter. Like yeah, you know. Exactly. I think it comes from like gaken is normally the sound that like chickens make. So like that's where it comes from. Right.

So sie brechen and gacken des Gelechter, so they burst into cackling laughter. Aus. Genau. Und überturnen damit um something about sound there. and they go over. Yeah, is it like drown a herd? Yeah, so they overpower, they over sound and they drown out. Referring back to the Gacundiscalesta and with it they drown out the Grosfamilia in the undercaffes, the big family. Uh, in the other corner of the cafe. Perfekt, sehr gut. Bei der Eskerade drunter und drüber geht. Ähm, like by whim? Mhm.

Drun and drüber? Ja. Uh uh underboff. So drunter darunter und darüber. But it's a more colloquial form. So just trunter and drüber and just means it's chaos. It's all over those place. It's above, it's over and under, it's everywhere. It's a roller coaster. A roller coaster of emotions, I don't know. Um okay, I'm curious, very curious, but we're going to find out what is going on in the other corner of the cafe after the break.

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First two orders with code APRIN20. Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com/slash terms for more. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive.

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But that was drowning out something else that was happening in the opposite end of the cafe with a family. So the gross family. Again a nice compound noun here, just like big end family, just a really big family with lots of family members. And we saw drunter and drüber a good expression, especially when you have a big family. Right, let's see what's going on then.

Denn die Familie alleine, darunter Oma, Opa, Eltern, Tante und Onkel, zwei Jugendliche, drei Schulkinder und ein Säugling, besetzt zwei größere Tische. Right. Mm-hmm. And so is Uh einem runden Geburtstag. So it looks like a a big birthday, like a milestone birthday. Yeah, you know, you use runden Geburtstag if it's like you're turning twenty, thirty, forty, so like a round

I don't know what do you call it a round number in English? Um a round number I think, but we wouldn't call it a round birthday. I think it would be s a big birthday or a milestone birthday, although Okay. A big birthday to me what works best. Denn die Familie alleine Besit zwei größere Tische, because The family alone, um Bizetz like occupies, takes up two grösere tische, two large tables. Mm-hmm, two larger tables. Two larger tables. Yeah. and uh the family includes Darunter

Oma, Opa, so grandma, grandpa, Elton parents, Tanta and Uncle, Ant and Uncle, Two Jugendlich, Two Teenagers. Yeah, good. Dry Schulkinder, three school children. And ein Säugling. Ein Säugling, yeah. That's a new word. But I'm guessing it's a baby. Yeah, perfect, genau. But do you know like where it comes from? I'm not sure. Um help me. I think it's uh or like it it's an older word, not people many people would use it now, but it comes from Saugen.

Which would we to suck which referred to like breastfeeding. Oh, so it's like a suckling. Of course. So suckling I guess we would probably be more likely to use A suckling uh referring to an animal. But Zugling is natural in Germany? And I also would say it's referred to really small babies. So it's normally the first couple of weeks or months where you would call them a soyling. Okay. Ein dritter ist voller Taschen und Geschenken.

Okay, so ein dritter is that like a third table? Genau, and that table is just not mentioned. Mm-hmm. Is folle Taschen und Geschenken. Um so is full of uh bags and and gifts. But what's going on here grammatically? Is foller? Well spotted. Foller is followed by the genitive. So it's full of.

And that's why you use the genitive. So and it's the genitive plural here. So we say Taschen und Geschenken. Right. So we don't really need a preposition with follower. No, because we have the genitive which takes care of the off bit in English. Yep. Yep. That's I that kind of what I thought, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure. It is hard to spot because you would always

see um a plural noun afterwards because you say like full of lots of things. So it's always the plural which is harder in the genitive to spot because you just had the E N and then you don't have the S that you get for the singular. Ich meine zudem gesehen zu haben, dass Erna den Kuchen, den ich heute früh auf Bestellung gebacken habe, mit einer großen Dekodiert hat. Okay, ich meine, ist like, I think zudem gesehen zu haben. So I think I.

I think I saw what's Tsude? It's kinda like additionally also. Oh right, in addition kind of thing. So I also think I saw Das Ernaden Kuchen Uh mit einer Großen Achtzich decorat had, um that Erna uh has decorated the cake with a big eighty. Genau. Denn ich heute früh auf Bestellung gebacken habe, ähm, that I uh Baked this morning. Of Bestellung on order? Like that I was that I had an order to make, like it was on the list of things I had to do.

So like on Wunsch would be more like on request and like Aufbestellung would be like an official order of something. So that you do something aufbestellung auf Wunsch. Okay. Die Schulkinder rennen jetzt um den Tisch herum und schnappen sich gegenseitig die Ballons weg, die vorhin noch um die Tische geschwebt sind. It really is quite a contrast between the discussion of Russia.

Die Schulkinder rennen jetzt um den Tisch herum. So the schoolchildren are now running around the table und schnappen sich gegenseitig. uh di balloons fig um are they like snatching the balloons Like away from each other? Yeah, perfect. So Schnappen would also do what a crocodile does. Mm-hmm. Like that's why it's called Schnappy. That's clean. But it also means like to quickly, quickly grab something. Uh-huh. And then we have the weck here at the end. You say like so that indicates that they're

Grabbing it away from each other. So trying to steal it from each other. Okay. And the balloons are the subject of a relative clause here? Yes, and actually the only reason why it's not directly behind the balloons is sometimes if you have a separable verb and the prefix at the very end, you tend to put it at the end of your clause before you start the relative clause.

Instead of having dangling at the very end of the sentence and do you know what the end? So you could also say sich gegenseitig die Ballons, die vorhin noch um die Tische geschwebt sind, weg. But it looks a bit lost there at the very end, so that's why you tended to include it in the first part and then start the relative clause after that prefix. I get it. Okay. So the ballons the for him not um die Tische geschwebt. Zint. Um so the balloons uh which

Previously or earlier. Yeah, genau. Um geschwebt? Was geschweb uh was um to. float or to hover. Ah right. So which previously had been hovering uh around the table.

Or floating around the table. Genau. Okay. Die Mutter kommt zur Theke und verzieht entschuldigend ihr Gesicht, als eines der Kinder lautkreischt. I'm wondering if we see the word überton again at some point. Um Right. So Fetsian uh I don't know that word. Um can have different meanings, but here it's kinda like she's um she's twisting her or con what's the English word twist your face to contort your face that's the

um the word I'm looking for. Because is pull. Yeah. So she's kind of pulling an odd face sort of thing. Exactly. Right. So Dimuta comes or take her the mother comes to the counter and Fetzid and Schuldigant e Gesich. Yeah, so that makes sense. So she kind of Like distorts or contorts her face in an apologetic apologizing way. Apologetically. Als einester Kinder laut kreis. As one of the children screams loudly.

She bestelled three cappuccinos, a filter caffeine and a lactose free mocha. So she orders three cappuccinos, a filter coffee and a lactose free mocha. Ich stehe auf, um Erna zu helfen. Schließlich verpasse ich solange eh nicht viel. Hmm, um so ich sta off, I get up, um Anna to help, to help Erna. Uh schließlich verpasse ich so lange eh nicht viel. Um So verpassen is to miss. Mm-hmm. So the Schliesslich is something that we saw in the first season of scenes. Um remind me about it.

So it can mean like finally, but it can also mean after all, which is more the translation in in this context. So after all, um oh like is it after all I'm not really missing much anyway? You know, perfect BNG refers back to the book club and the discussion because nothing they're still stuck there. Mm-hmm. And you're right for passing can have the meaning of like missing a bus. Yeah. But also like missing something in a discussion. Yeah.

Henriette hat das Thema von vorhin doch nicht ganz lassen können und redet nun erneut vehement auf Charlotte ein. Oh dear. Oh Henriette. I think I'd rather be at the party. be honest. Um so Henrietta had this thema von vorhin doch nicht ganz lassen können. She hasn't been able to like let go of the topic from earlier. Okay now and it's uh it's a really nice use of of lassen here because you can't you're not able to let

Go of something, so you would also use it like, Oh, ich kann das Schokoladeessen nicht sein lassen. So I can't just stop eating I can't stop myself from eating chocolate. So that expression etwas nicht sein lassen können. Okay. Und redet nun erneut vehement auf Charlotte ein, so dass es Einreden auf

Um so Hayden is to talk. Mm-hmm. Is it like is she talking at she's talking about? Exactly. That's like a really good picture. Just imagine somebody sitting and the it's like a monologue. She's just like putting the words at her.

Okay. So it's quite a picture in the cafe today, and I think Erna um is certainly being tested on our uh patience with all of the things that are going on. Um again, we've seen some interesting uh vocabulary in this. Um we've seen uh Einreden auf Jemun. Yeah. Earlier, you also had Gakan, which I think is a great one. Yeah. And then we had the Runder Geburtstag, the so the the round birthday. Um what else ausbrechen in Gelechter?

Yeah. Oh, and drunter und drüber. That's definitely my favorite phrase. And the one that I would use uh most often in my own house. Right, let's listen again to the whole chapter text and uh listen out for those expressions that we've just mentioned. Erna beugt sich über die Theke und lauscht unserem Buchclub. Mitglied werden wollte sie nicht, weil sie Bücher lieber in ihrem eigenen Tempo liest. Aber gerade wird unsere Diskussion so richtig spannend.

Es geht um Max Frisch Stiller. Doch die Darben haben sich zu einer hitzigen Auseinandersetzung über Stillers Taten verleiten lassen. Ich sitze amüsiert am Tisch und höre zu. Erna schaut zu mir und kichert, und plötzlich wird auch Charlotte und den anderen bewusst, wie laut sie waren. Sie brechen den Gacken das Gelächter aus und übertönen damit die Großfamilie in der anderen Ecke des Cafés, bei der es gerade drunter und drüber geht. Es sieht nach einem runden Geburtstag aus.

Denn die Familie alleine, darunter Oma, Opa, Eltern, Tante und Onkel, zwei Jugendliche, drei Schulkinder und ein Säugling, besetzt zwei größere Tische. Ein dritter ist voller Taschen und Geschenken. Ich meine zudem gesehen zu haben, dass Erna den Kuchen, den ich heute früh auf Bestellung gebacken habe, mit einer großen Achtsicht dekoriert hat. Die Schulkinder rennen jetzt um den Tisch herum und schnappen sich gegenseitig die Ballons weg, die vorhin noch um die Tische geschwebt sind.

Die Mutter kommt zur Theke und verzieht entschuldigend ihr Gesicht, als eines der Kinder laut kreischt. Sie bestellt drei Cappuccinos, einen Filtercaffee und einen laktosefreien Mokka. Ich stehe auf, um Erna zu helfen. Schließlich verpassi solange eh nicht viel. Henriette hat das Thema von vorhin doch nicht ganz lassen können und redet nun erneut vehement auf Charlotte ein.

Okay, so this episode of Scenes from the Coffee Break German Cafe is just part of the whole scenes experience. We have a full course on the Coffee Break Academy, where you can access bonus materials. in the form of lesson notes, vocabulary list, exercises, and our spotlight videos, which de delve into the the topics in greater detail, providing more explanations and examples for you. You can find out all about that at coffeacademy dot com.

And I know I've mentioned it before, but don't forget that we also share more German tips and tricks to help you build your language skills. in our free newsletter that comes out every week on Friday. To access this, just go to coffeebreak languages dot com slash German and sign up there. Okay, das reicht für heute. Thank you, Thomas, once again. Ja, wieder mal ein spannendes Kapitel. Absolutely. We'll be back soon with the next chapter for now. Vielen Dank und bis zum nächsten Mal. Bis dann.

Thank you. You have been listening to our Coffee Break Languages production for the Radiolinguinet. Copyright 2026 Radiolingua Limited. Recording Copyright 2026 Radiolingua Limited. All rights reserved. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out? Well, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive,

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