Fun Fact Friday: Germans and Public Alcohol Consumption

It's totally cool to drink in public in Germany.  And though I have mentioned it before, I haven't ever had any real opportunity to grab photo-evidence until the Fasching Parade.  

So here you go friends.  Exhibit A.  This woman and her young counterparts (perhaps one or both was related to her?) were to be seen across the street from us drinking beer and wine during the parade.  But that's not really what cracked us up...

...it was the fact that she kept the bottles in her coat pockets!  

In the US (besides the fact from public alcohol consumption being illegal in most States) I would totally think this woman was an alcoholic.  But in Germany, you just laugh and think "someone's having a good time celebrating the coming of Spring!" 

And she definitely wasn't the only one having fun celebrating that day... there were tons of other parade spectators drinking AND there were tons of parade participants marching down the street waving with one hand and holding a beer or a glass of wine in the other!  

The concept is strange to someone who didn't grow up with that, but it's something I totally love.  Alcohol consumption in Europe isn't as taboo as in the States.  

J and I shared a bottle of Champagne while watching a laser light fountain show in Barcelona, and we also bought beer from slightly shady "vendors" on the beach.  We've shared wine with friends on the trains.  We drank tap beer and ate fresh pretzels while watching the Frulingfest Parade in our village.  You can even get a beer at the local indoor pools to sip while watching your kids splash around.  Seriously, if there's food offered, there's usually alcohol.  And they don't really think anything of it! 

The only time in our travels that we saw someone get in trouble for public alcohol consumption was in Milan when a group of friends tried to drink wine on top of the Cathedral.  So apparently there ARE limits to this "alcohol is cool" rule.  

Half of me is used to seeing it but half of me still does a double take and laughs whenever I see something like Exhibit A. Those Germans sure know how to have fun!  

Fun Fact Friday: When it's Hot and Hippie Hand Drying

Happy Friday!  Fun fact #1:  There is no air conditioning in Germany.  Okay, that's a half truth.  There's not usually central air.  And most of the time your windows are built such that you can't put the good old window air conditioner units in it.  They sell standing ac units but they surely cost a fortune more than this cheap frugal couple wants to pay. Because the fact of the matter with this fun fact is that it's only truly hot in Germany for about six weeks of the year.  And as they're very energy efficient volk they probably just don't see the point of running an expensive ac unit to stay cool.  

Summer is finally here in Germany.  And instead of staying cool with air conditioning we stay cool by closing most of our rolladins around 11am and keeping them closed till almost 9pm!  Which stinks cause you don't get the sun... but if you want the sun you can frequent many of the lovely neighborhood pools in the area.  The Germans love pool time.  

Fun Fact #2:  In some German restaurants you'll find actual towels to dry your hands with and an adorable wicker laundry basket to put them in when you're done!  No paper towels OR hand dryer for these super cool Go-Green hippie Germans!  I love it!

And yes, for the sake of the blog I was just recently taking pictures in a public restroom.  You're welcome.  

(I'll never be accused of a lack of dedication... or weirdness!)

Fun Fact Friday: German Intermediate Schools

I mentioned that Melanie (my new German friend) humored me by answering tons of questions about Germany.  I had the fun privilege of eavesdropping on a conversation between her and Andrea about their sons schools (their oldest boys are both about ten).  Oh, and I wasn't really eavesdropping since I was sitting right next to them on the train ;o)

First, it was neat to hear Melanie and Andrea share some of the exact same parenting experiences.  I'd never thought of it before... but the fact that they're from different countries doesn't really change the Momma-worries or the pre-pubescent issues, apparently.  It was fun to watch them both laugh and bond over the joys and trails of ten-year-old boys!

And then it was even more cool to have Melanie explain to us one of the Momma-worries she's having lately.  Her son has "chosen his school" for next year.  Andrea and I gave her blank stares on that one.  She went on to tell us that in Germany, there are three different schools for the next four or five years.  And based on your grades up to this point, you get to decide which school you go to next.  They are basically an easy, medium-difficult, and hard school. 

At the easy school you are on the path to go to a trade school next.  At the medium school you can either go to a trade school or go to university... but it takes more work for you to get to university.  At the hard school, you are pretty much guaranteed a higher education.  (My understanding is that it's free to go to college in Germany, but I could be misunderstanding)

Andrea and I were baffled!  We asked her if the kids pick on each other or shun each other based on the classification... then it was her turn to be baffled.  She was like "no it's no problem!"  In fact, some of her sons best friends are going to go to the medium school next year and they were begging him to come with them but he basically said "nope.  I'll see you guys at soccer practice but I'm going to go to the hard school".  Her fear is that he just doesn't understand how much work it's going to require.  But she's so proud of him for making the decision.

One thing I thought was cool about all this is that Melanie, as a mom of three boys, doesn't see any problem with recognizing that her oldest son is very smart and finds school easy... so he will go on to university no problem.  But her middle son struggles with school and he will not go to university... or if he does it will be a little later in life, perhaps after he's mastered a trade or something.  I like the mentality that it's totally fine that everyone has different skills.  We don't all have to be at the same level, or even go to the same school!

What do you guys think of this?  Very different from our "no child left behind" mentality, huh? 

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Germany 

1.  As previously mentioned, the Germans are serious about recycling.  Hagen says they even "recycle" cemetery plots!  Your family "rents" the plot for a certain number of years (usually 15) and if they don't want to pay for more, your remains are dug up and respectfully disposed of so that they can make room for the next "tenant"!

2.  If you do not sort your trash and recycling properly you are considered a litterbug and will get the "red sticker of shame" ;o) which stinks cause it means you have to resort everything!

3.  There are a bunch of snakes in Germany, but only two are poisonous.  Though, I don't know how dangerous you can consider them, as they each have to bite you over seven times in a row to cause any serious problems.  Mostly it'll just sting.  Still, I'm staying clear of all snakes, as is always my practice :o)

4.  On December 6th, St. Nicholas Day, the children put their shoes outside the door and St. Nicholas comes and fills them with treats and small gifts if they've been good.  If not, uh oh ;o)  The saying goes "Remember, remember the 6th of December" and is sometimes used by desperate parents to keep their kids in line throughout the year.  (c.f. Santa Claus is watching to see if you're naughty or nice, etc.) 

5.  Angela Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany (like the President).  She is the first woman to hold this office!

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Germany

1.  Germany is about the size of Montana and has about 82 million inhabitants.  I googled the population of Montana and it's just under 1 million ;o)  So he joked that we Americans complain about how crowded everything feels in Germany, but he said it's really our fault because we "spoiled their evil plans for expansion"!

2.  Germany has the largest population in the European Union and it has the third largest number of immigrants worldwide!  Everyone loves Germany, apparently! ;o)

3.  The typical American tip (of 15-20%) is considered showing off here.  The servers wage is included in the price of the meal, so rounding up to the nearest euro is appropriate for good service.

4.  They have a saying here that "politics is politics and beer is beer" meaning they are completely comfortable arguing with each other over what we would consider touchy subjects (like politics) but that they are fine with agreeing to disagree and then sharing a beer (or two or three) with  no hard feelings.

5.  There is no fluoride in the tap water on the economy.  While this is distressing to some Americans, I'm anti-drinking stuff that has questionable health benefits and potential health risks.  So I'm happy :o)  Especially since tap water is our drink of choice!

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Germany

Here are some cool tidbits from my travel guide about the actual area near where we're going to be living.  I'm so close to being done with the guide... and then my goal is for us to learn a few important German words and phrases before we get there!

1.  Rhineland-Palatinate is the state that Kaiserslautern is in.  The Rhine River is it's most notable feature.  You can see beautiful medieval castles, Roman ruins, world-famous wineries, and amazing cathedrals along it's banks.

2.  The state capital, Mainz, is about an hour away from us.  I really want to see the Gutenberg Museum :o)  Can you say Day Trip #1?

3.  This website is sweet.  It lists all the radio stations that the AFN (American Forces Networks) runs in Germany.  It seems like it has a ton of valuable info (that I'm sure will make more sense once I'm over there!) and even has a separate section for Kaiserslautern!

4.  Trier is the home of some of Germany's best preserved Roman ruins and architecture... including original thermal baths and still-intact roads!  It's about an hour and a half away.  Day Trip #2.

5.  The third largest (and busiest) European airport is in the city of Frankfurt (about an hour and 20 away).  It sees about 53 million passengers a year!  If you want some fun trivia info, London's Heathrow and Paris' Charles de Gaulle are the first and second busiest airports. 

6.  Also about an hour and a half away is Hanau, the birthplace of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.  There is a whole fairy tale route dedicated to them that actually looks really interesting.  I just ordered the book to start familiarizing myself with the 200 fairy tales I'll be reading to my girls over the years :o) 

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Germany

1.  Everyone thinks of beer when they think of Germany, but they've been producing fantastic wines since the middle ages and have over 250,000 acres of vineyards, mostly on the Rhine and Moselle riverbanks.  I'm going to be living near the Rhine.  I like wine.  So this makes me very happy :o)

2.  Germany has 101 nature parks and 14 national parks.  I'm hoping to check out a few.  Among the other thousand and one things I want to do while we're there!

3. Germans are very big on being environmentally conscious.  Apparently they were the ones who first started using the term "going green"!  They recycle religiously, ride bikes everywhere, and shop with reusable canvas bags or large baskets. 

4.  Germany has the second largest number of wind farms in one country, after the United States. 

(Fun Facts thanks to Lonely Planet)

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Nicknames

1.  Lillian:  Lily, Lily-Bear, Bear, Silly-Lily, Girl-Baby, Tiny-Hiney, Peanut, Shrimpy-Girl

2.  Samantha:  Sam, Sammy-Wammy, Spitty-Face, Beefcake, Squishy-Tushy, Chunky-Monkey, Hungry-Hippo, Chub-Wub, Sissy, Doll-Baby

3.  Interchangeable:  Love-Buggie-Boo, Love-Buggie, Buggie, Big-Diapey-Butt

Also, I should probably go on the record to say that LJ and SJ have become written shorthand nicknames only.  We once thought we'd call Lily LJ, but it didn't stick. 

But I do like how they look.

Oh, and PS:  I don't love Sam more because I have more nicknames for her.  Nor do I love her less because most of her nicknames seem to be calling her a fatty ;o) 

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Germany

1.  As of 2008, there were 82.7 million people living in Germany along with 68 million bicycles.  They like to bike over there!

2.  The most popular German children's names are Marie and Leon.

3.  Funny names of some past German monarchs:  Karl the Fat, Arnulf the Evil, Friedrich the Handsome, and Heinrich the Holy.

4.  When the USSR blockaded Berlin, the Allies responded with the Berlin airlift, dropping the equivalent of 22 freight trains (with 50 cars each) full of food... every 90 seconds!  Jesse learned about this as part of his Air Force history during BMT.  It was a huge feat! 

5.  Germany is the world's third largest economy (after Japan and the USA) and it is the world's largest exporter! 

6.  Because most schools only go from 8am to 1pm and childcare is very expensive, most German women with young kids either don't work or only work part time. 

7.  Germans lower (rather than raise) their voice when angry. 

8.  The original score of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is kept in the Old National Library in Berlin.


9.  Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm compiled 210 fairy tales that had been passed orally between generations into their book The Complete Fairy Tales.

10.  There are more than 1500 sausage varieties in Germany.  They are usually all served with bread and either sweet or spicy mustard.  Mmmmm!

(Today's fun facts compliments of Germany, by Lonely Planet)

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Us

1.  Jesse:  Is one hard working Red Rope.  The guy has been putting in some mighty hard days.  Example - yesterday when he got home at 6pm I said, "Wow, you're home early!"  One upside to his long hours... he feels bad for me! ;o)  So he changed his mind and said I can stay for his graduation (yay!) even though we'd decided it'd be easier on him for me and the girls to head to Corning earlier.  He knows I wanted to see him graduate... what a guy.  I shall forgive him for falling asleep at 7pm the other night ;o)

2.  Me:  I really really really regret complaining to Jesse that my current ab workout wasn't challenging enough.  He hooked me up.  As in, I can hardly breathe today without wincing.  Ow.  Go-go strong core, bye-bye back pain... *fingers crossed*

3.  Lily:  Is wondering why the heck she didn't walk sooner, cause gosh, it's so fun!  We've recently been meeting up with some friends at the park (more pictures to come) and she's just loving it!  With thinking she can now walk everywhere also comes the budding of that classic toddler do-it-myself-ness... of course!  Goody! ;o) 

4.  Sam:  Is now wearing some 3-6 month clothes.  I know part of it is her big old cloth diaper butt... but it's still a little disconcerting to have clothes out that it *seems* Lily just stopped wearing.  And yes, I know, Lily is definitely a midget... and wore most of those clothes long after their tag said she should be "moving on to bigger things".  So it's not Sam's fault.  She's not growing any faster than normal, no matter *what* I think.  Upside - she can wear her Keesler shirt now!

Today's To-Do:

- Priority one, take both girls to the base to get passport id photos taken at one building and then trek across the base to another building to turn in the applications... preferably without losing our minds... or my mind...

- Priority two, take a run in the newly assembled jogging stroller that has perfectly inflated tires (thanks to My Love)

- Priority three, take a nap after losing my mind finishing priority one and giving up on priority two! :o)

Friday Fun Facts

Fun Facts - Germany:

1.  Public restrooms in Germany are not free.  They are almost always attended by a little old lady (even in the men's room!) who collects the customary "payment" of 50 cents to a Euro.

2.  The Germans love order and efficiency (my kind of folk!)... and rules.  Self-policing is not uncommon.  Apparently you can get quite the tongue lashing from complete strangers when you break a rule/law.

3.  The tallest church in the world is in Germany.  And I want to go and climb all 768 steps to the top... if I can figure out a way to make Jesse carry BOTH babies! ;o)

4.  When driving on the Autobahns (which refers to all the national highways) you must stay in the right lane if you're a slowpoke... obviously!  Otherwise, you might get an angry Mercedes on your tail with their left blinker on.  Translation:  I'm in the left and going fast so MOVE OVER TO THE RIGHT NOW!

5.  Public nudity is common in Germany.  You heard me.  Hmmmm this is going to be interesting! :o)

(These fun facts are brought to you by the book Cass got for us - Those Crazy Germans)