i love the german culture. not only do they know how to relax, they know how to celebrate too!
now, although i've been a seubersdorfian for a little over 2 weeks now, i haven't gotten to do any exploring because everything closes as i'm getting home from work. so, i put on my walking shoes (thanks kara...the asic 2100 series is truly magical) and headed out to see the sites of my great town. the first thing that i love about seubersdorf is the cobblestone sidewalks. they are not only charming but make it easy for someone with no car, like myself, to get around. i pretty much circled the town and went into all the shops that were open in just a little over an hour. that can give you insight into the grandeur of seubersdorf. the first store i went into was a really cute gift store. it had tons of stuff crowding the doorway, so i just carefully stepped over all the stuff. i didn't understand why the sales girls were looking at me so funny until i later realized that germans put stuff in the doorway of their shops when they are closed so that people won't come in. it was a hot day (well in the 80's) so the door was open to keep it cool while they restocked. oops...but ignorance is bliss so i walked around, bought a few cards for people and went on my way. i went into a few other stores and realized that german stores don't always make a lot of sense. there was one store that was things that plug in. everything from fans to washing machines, to travel sized hair dryers were sold here. i noticed that around 2, all the stores started closing. when i was in italy, i expected this. i also expected the stores to be closed on sundays and even one another day in the week. however, germans definitely know how to relax too. their work days aren't nearly as long as the average americans, and everything is closed half of saturday and all of sunday! they even usually close on some random day during the week. because they are not a consumer-driven nation, they are able to relax without being called lazy. this was a huge surprise to me given that they are considered some of the most rule-loving and abiding citizens. (i will post more about their funny laws later)
last night, i got to experience a german fest. a couple of friends and i went to regensberg for their annual festival (all towns have their own fest, like oktoberfest, but not nearly as big or touristy). we all wore the traditional german clothes, lederhosen and dirndls and fit right in. this towns fest put the texas state fair to SHAME. there were rides, bands, food, and lots and lots of german beer in portions 3 times what you'd be given in the states. the food was amazing! contrary to the "food" you can get from carnival venders in the states, this was quality, german cuisine! if you ate at the tables in the tents, you are served by a waitress. pretty high class festival if you ask me. in the big tents where the food and and music are, the tables are pushed together to where the benches all touch. everyone (all dressed in their traditional german clothes of course) stands on the tables and dances. it is crazy and awesome! i quickly found that every twenty minutes or so, the band plays a traditional german drinking song and EVERYBODY sings along and waves their beer in the air. i will definitely frequent more fests.
i think we americans could learn a lot from the germans.... a true festivus for the rest of us.
(the pictures show: the beginnings of my exploration of seubersdorf (for the entire memoir, please see my facebook album), my house, me and nickayla in our dirndls and the inside of a festival tent
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