Oddities in Deutschland 02/15/2011

I want to take one blog and talk about the differences between German existence and American existence.  It’s a pretty profound set of differences.

1. The way people handle snot.  In Germany it is actually considered offensive to sniffle. (You were right all along, Mom.)  One of the hottest selling items here is the little packets of tissue that fit in a pocket or purse.  Also, there is no “polite” leaving the room, or blowing your nose quietly.  Germans take pride in their nose blowing and it can be heard like trumpets in the marketplace on cold days.
2. The learning of social eating.  Food is a time for communion (and not the Catholic type.)  People here eat delicious food that is meant to keep you warm.  the secret to food here is that you have to eat while conversing around a table, in a café, or in a pub.  People in Quedlinburg and much of Germany DO NOT eat on the go.  Food is a social thing and is meant to be consumed as such. 
3. Consumption of alcohol…moderation is key.  Going out with your friends doesn’t have to mean who gets shit faced drunk the fastest.  People here go to the bar (for the most part) to have one or two drinks with some good friends and just chill.  Alcohol is fairly inexpensive here in comparison to the states, and it is readily available and still, I have yet to see anyone out of their mind drunk.
4. On the same bent, Afternoon relaxation.  In the afternoon, it is not unheard of to get with a one or two friends and go to a backeri or a café and sit over a cappuccino and a piece of cake for an hour.  Once again, people don”t rush here.  Food and good company are enjoyed.  this is a particular favorite of mine, and a great way to practice my Deutsch.
5. Conservation of resources.  It is perpetually cold here…and that is completely alright.  German households typically do not have the heat on in a number of unoccupied rooms.  The living room is not the center of the home, though it is used for TV viewing and movies and also for video games and such.  it is usually kept with the door shut and heat off bedrooms are this way as well.  the reason for this is that utilities are insanely expensive here.  Also, Europe is a very small place considering the number of people residing here.  Resources need to be maintained and conserved.  This carries over to water and food consumption as well.
6. Recycling!!!!  EVERY house, school, and restaurant in Germany recycles.  There are always three bins: Paper, Waste (food, tissues…) and Plastic.  Some places have glass and aluminum/metals as well.  In the alley ways there are three dumpsters per residence.  It isn’t something they picked up as a way of conserving, it is required and ingrained.
7. Storage of meat and eggs.  It is not at all out of the ordinary to see a glass case of different sausages and salamis just sitting with no cooler.  same goes for cheese.  Several varieties of meat are preferred room temperature here.  Another thing I found odd, hard boiled eggs are found, already cooked in the store.  Fun factoid: They are usually coloured like we do for Easter.  Another interesting Tid-Bit…they aren’t refrigerated.  They don’t need to be.  Frau Merchant made a pretty valid point when I mentioned that it kind of weirded me out; I like to eat them when they are warm out of the water.  I got up the nerve to eat one the other day and they are just as good so I am over my weird thing.
8. OMG Bread!!!  There are backeri’s on every frigging street.  They are amazing! I don’t know that I will ever be able to enjoy American bread again. When you go into a backeri to buy bread, you indicate how much you want and they cut it off a large loaf.  There are countless varieties and I have yet to get one I did not like.  I often stop by the one I like on the marketplace and buy three rolls (brotchen) every morning.  They are an amazing snack…especially if you have any of the amazing cheese and butter they have here. \
9. CAKE!!  Cake is different here.  American cake is very sweet, really spongy, and always…ALWAYS…has too much frosting.  The cake here isn’t as sweet (so you can enjoy it over cappuccino with friends, without making yourself sick from all the sugar. The best part, in my opinion, is that you can actually taste the different flavors in each cake because the pervading taste of SWEET doesn’t over power flavor.  They have so many varieties of cake and many use whole fruit.  It’s delicious.
10. Dogs.  Yes, Dogs.  They are everywhere and they are REALLY well behaved.  I love seeing all the little (a few larger breeds) dogs.  They are all meticulously groomed and I have never seen any let alone this many who were so well behaved.  Dogs are allowed pretty much anywhere their owner is so long as they are well behaved.  Our friend brought her sweet sheppard to dinner with us last night at a gourmet pizza place and then to a pub.  The one downfall, sometimes the owners aren’t as great as the dogs so there are often badly places piles of crap on sidewalks. 
11. Ice and water.  Nothing liquid is served cold here.  Every once in awhile, the server will notice by our divine lack of Deutsch and the horrible accent when we do sprechen that we are American and will then give us a single piece of ice.  It is actually cute.  It makes me laugh.  Along with the ice thing, be sure you ask for stilich wassar here, because if you just order water or mineral water, you will end up with varying strengths os carbonated water.  SURPRISE!

These are just a few of the things I have noticed, and I will be sure to keep this up as I think of more.  For now that is enough.  Tomorrow we head to Berlin for the Art Conference and the Berlin Film Festival.  I may have more interesting things to say there!