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Why is it that Germans are not known for their great dress sense? Maybe it's because they don't have a great dress sense. Simple, huh?
This, of course, is a generalisation, because in every country you will find people who wear awful clothes. However, there are certain questionable clothing trends that seem far more prevelant in Germany than in other western countries I've been to.
Take the concept of "double denim" for example. Now isn't that something that was cool in the 80s? Would ANY fashion magazine (or even an ordinary clothes shop) promote a single combination of denim pants and jacket these days? No! And yet, you will see thousands of Germans walking around wearing just that -- even though this is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
What's also amazing about this phenomenon is that here in Germany itself shops and magazines do NOT promote this way of dressing. You can find lots of normal, trendy, up-to-date clothing in the local stores. This implies that there's some weird 80s-time-warp mentality that plagues the population for some unknown reason.
Before you get really scared, the good news is that the "double denim" people are still a minority -- though a slightly bigger minority than you might expect. The majority is at least remotely in sync with current mainstream fashion (well, except for the tendency to wear office-style outfits on weekends and at birthday parties, and except for the daggy sandals-and-socks combo, but I won't get into all that right now...  ).
(The stunning image above is courtesy of my friend Cheryl Northey. She takes great delight in photographically documenting atrocious fashion crimes.) 
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Maybe I'm writing this post a bit late, but it's still relevant because the merry month of May hasn't ended yet.
In Germany, May means spring. It also means putting up a "Maibaum" or "May tree", especially if you're a young man.
What is a May tree, you ask?
Without explaining the ENTIRE tradition -- as it has a few different varieties across the different regions -- I will just focus on explaining the one I observed in our part of Germany, i.e. the city of Bonn.
On the 1st of May I noticed that all these small cut-down trees decorated with ribbons had suddenly popped up in front of random houses overnight. What on earth was that?
Apparently, on the last night of April, young men have the chance to show their feelings towards the girls they like. They cut down a smallish tree (usually a birch) and decorate it with colourful crepe-paper ribbons and a heart made of wood or cardboard with the name of the crush written on it. Then they prop the tree up against the house of the desired lady and... ta-da!... the girl should get the message.
A month later, the young bachelor is supposed to take down the tree he put up. At this point, if he's lucky, his crush will invite him out on a date... or give him a case of beer (hey, this IS Germany). Traditionally, he can also receive a cake from the crush's mother and a case of beer (damn, this tree really pays off!) from the father. And I suspect that after all this he'll be high on either love or booze... or both. Either way, it's not a bad deal.
Oh, and this tradition is not ONLY for secret crushes. Apparently, guys can dedicate the tree to their girlfriends -- just to show their feelings in that romantic, environmentally-unfriendly way. Also, during leap years, the situation is reversed and girls can give May trees to guys.
I haven't been living in Germany for very long, and I haven't personally received or given a May tree. Then again, I think giving one would be way better... because I could at least expect one case of beer in return. Shared on
Today I wanted to attend a fun-sounding exhibition in Bonn, which was supposed to feature over 300 live reptiles (including freaky things like anacondas) and other scary creatures, such as scorpions and two-headed turtles.
Just before leaving I realised that I had no cash on me, so I walked all the way to town (exercise is always healthy after all) to withdraw some money. It was a grey and wet day, and as I was walking the rain intensified.
When I finally got to town, the ATM decided to make my life difficult. I technically had enough cash on my account to withdraw, but after allowing me to enter my pin and asking how much I wanted, it kept giving me the message that "due to a technical problem, this request cannot be processed. Please see one of our staff". Of course there is no staff present on Sundays, so I tried all the other ATMs in that branch, only to get the same weird message from all of them.
Anyway, with no money for the bus or for the entry fee, I quickly realised that there was nothing for me to do but go back home. It was raining cats and dogs -- not what you'd call a typical "spring shower", but rather a torrential downpour. I waited around for a bit, but it didn't ease, so I decided to just walk back home anyway. The tiny umbrella that I had with me was not really sufficient for such crazy precipitation.
Now, here is where the honesty part comes in. I COULD have just taken the bus home without a ticket to avoid getting wet. The risk of getting caught on a bus without a ticket in Germany is very low. BUT my nagging honest self somehow preferred to walk for 25 minutes in heavy rain instead of "robbing" the bus company of €1.50. I always get an incredible pang of guilt when I don't buy a ticket. This guilt is clearly more unpleasant to me than squelching, wet shoes.
As a result of my honesty, I got home feeling like a little rain cloud myself. Due to the small diameter of my umbrella, I'd had to make compromises such as "either my handbag gets soaked, or my left arm gets soaked". Naturally, it was my left arm that was dripping wet.
Anyway, there was a lot to hang out to dry. And I asked myself if all this was really worth not taking one unpaid bus ride. Am I crazy or am I just good? Or have I spent too long in rule-abiding German society to be capable of doing anything even slightly rebellious? Shared on
Last Saturday (March 1, 2008), a huge low pressure storm system called Emma brought gale-force winds to Germany and Central Europe, causing widespread damage and killing several people. Most notably, it wreaked havoc on the nation's roads and railways, with fallen trees leading to numerous accidents.
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I took a little trip to Düsseldorf this week -- a relatively large German city on the Rhine river. I went there with the intention of exploring the "Japanese area", since Düsseldorf has the third-largest Japanese community in Europe after London and Paris. Many Japanese companies and banks have their branches there.
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In Germany, there is this one reality show that I really like to watch. I can't remember what it's called, but its main aim is to find a nice date for some single girl (a different one in each episode).
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A Sydney bus stop
I am back home in Sydney at the moment, enjoying the glorious summer weather. I go to the beach with my friends a lot, and each time I'm happily floating in the blue waters of the Pacific, I actively appreciate what an incredibly pleasant sensation it is compared to walking around on a frosty, grey day.
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After spending five months in Germany, I am heading back to summery Sydney this weekend to enjoy Christmas with my family and to go on yet another fun-filled holiday to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.
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Warning: if you think eating baby animals is evil, you will be appalled by this story.
I went to an unusual dinner party on Friday night. It was supposed to be a birthday treat for a girl we are friends with. The thing that made this dinner unusual was that it had a special theme: a medieval feast.
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Life in Germany