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If yes, what were your impressions?
Did you go to a Christmas market? Did you try roasted almonds and Gluehwein (wine served hot)?
Although I live in Germany at the moment, I always fly back home to Australia for Christmas -- where it's summer at that time of the year. Because of this, I get to experience two very contrasting but equally pleasant Christmas atmospheres. And that's a privilege.
Before I fly off in mid-December, the Christmas markets in German cities have already been up and running for a good two weeks. They are bustling with activity and filled with people browsing through the stalls for Christmas presents. These stalls sell all sorts of things, from jewellery to toys, to original handicrafts and artwork. There are also stalls serving hot food -- typically German sausages, French fries and fried fish, but also international cuisine like fresh, steaming Asian stir-fries. And of course there are many places where you can get roasted almonds (with all sorts of flavours) and the ever-popular mulled wine.
There are also stage shows with music and Christmas carols to entertain the crowds, as well as various rides and carousels for the little ones. All this activity works to create a cosy and warm atmosphere that's very... well... Christmassy.
As I strolled through Bonn's Christmas market two days before my flight to Australia, I saw a brass band on stage playing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland". A crowd of people was watching the show, huddling for warmth and cheerfully clinking their glasses of mulled wine and beer as their mouths expelled little clouds of mist into the frosty December air. It was hard to believe that a few days later I'd be enjoying a very different Christmas atmosphere -- under the sunny Australian skies.
Click here to read an article about Germany's white-Christmas weather forecast
On Saturday night I went to cocktail bar in Cologne's most lively nightlife district. After sitting there for around an hour, a middle-aged couple walked in with a cute, small dog on a leash. The dog positioned itself on the floor under the small round table and went to sleep. Neither it nor its owners seemed bothered by the fact that they were in a bar at 1am on a Saturday night, filled with young people getting drunk and loud dance music thudding out of the speakers.
This type of scene is not unusual in Germany. I often see dogs sitting inside restaurants next to their owners' chairs... or even ON the chairs. They also regularly ride buses and trains, and there are no rules to stop them from doing it.
As much as I like dogs, I really don’t want them putting their hair on a restaurant chair that I might be sitting on next. And I don’t understand why they need to accompany their owners to places like that in the first place.
And, seriously, who takes their dog to a crowded bar on a Saturday night? I would have never imagined that someone would do something like that… But now I know better.
Lots of Germans seem to think that their country is the Land of Politeness. Alas, this is certainly not true, as there is plenty of rudeness to be found here. Take buses, for example.
But before I go any further, here's a little common sense quiz.
If you have a standard double bus seat at your disposal (as pictured above), where is it logical to sit?
A) Next to the window, thereby leaving the aisle seat free for someone else to take.
B) Next to the aisle, thereby obstructing the passage to the empty window seat and making people feel guilty for wanting to sit next to you.
In an amazing display if stubbornness and lack of manners, a great number of Germans -- whom I like to call the Dreaded Seat Hoggers -- choose option B. This behaviour can be seen in men, women, young and old alike. By occupying the aisle seat, they make a clear "Sit next to me only if you really must" statement, which, sadly, seems to be effective, considering how many times I've seen empty window seats on crowded buses.
Of course, there are some brave individuals out there who dare to disturb the Seat Hogger's peace by asking to sit next to them. But how do you think the typical German Seat Hogger reacts in such a situation? By moving over perhaps? NEIN! They typically just nod grudgingly to indicate that the adjacent seat is indeed free to take, and continue to sit in an obstructive position while the brave individual steps over their legs.
In the worst case scenario, the Seat Hogger puts their jacket/handbag/shopping on the free window seat next to them, thereby strongly discouraging any potential invasion of their hogged space.
Apart from the Seat Hogger, another notorious creature often found on German buses is the Aisle Hogger. These selfish human beings seem to think that it's perfectly acceptable to continue standing close to the bus doors even if a large number of people is trying to squeeze onto the same bus. They simply won't move further down the aisle to make room for the new passengers. Ever.
Why are so many people so rude? I mean, I learnt my moving-down-the-aisle manners way back on the school bus. It really ain't so hard.
Last Friday night I finally mustered up the courage to try something I'd been hesitant to do for about a year: visit a German sauna. My boyfriend and one of our male friends had been nagging me to come along with them for ages, but I didn't have the guts to do it. And why, you ask?
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Recently, new information from the 25th annual Data Report from the Social Science Research Centre revealed that Germans are more pessimistic about the future than other Europeans. Allegedly, their main worries are in relation to things like earnings, pensions and education.
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The restaurant's name is a play on words. 'Unsichtbar' means 'invisible' in German, but the syllable 'bar' is emphasised to indicate the fact that it's an eatery.
For my birthday, my boyfriend took me on a surprise dinner date to Unsicht-Bar -- the relatively famous restaurant where you eat in complete darkness. Yes, complete darkness. What makes it even cooler is that all the waiters who work there are blind, so it's a fantastic employment opportunity for blind people, as well as an environment where they are superior to normal people.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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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Comment by Eva W.
on The joys of public nudity
Life in Germany
Germans tend to go one way or the other -- they are either super-uptight, or super-liberal. (Mind you, there are also those who are liberal in some ways, but still manage to be uptight at the same time.)