Beobachten

3. Be~ob~ach~ten, das [observation]: gathering first impressions of Germany and living there.

You know how people have favorite words? Well, this is mine. I don’t really know why, but saying this word just feels good, like a mouth, tongue, and jaw massage.  So I naturally had to use this word. After living in Germany for almost a month now, I feel like I can justly list some of my initial observations…

❁  I absolutely adore the shoes here. Both men and women wear boots, oxfords, loafers, boat shoes, etc. In the US, I had so much trouble finding just one pair of perfect loafers, but here, I seriously love every single one that I pass. Men in the US should learn a thing or two from Europeans about shoe fashion. Just saying…

❁  Young adults tend to carry around these sporty messenger bags, from Nike, Adidas, or other athletic brands.  Seriously everywhere you go, these bags can be found.

❁  Another common thing found on the streets are colorful headsets. Despite the stereotype that Europeans wear dark clothes, their accessories are so bright and cheery.

Tennis court with carpet. The one at my club
is blue, but you can see the "specks" on the
lines in this picture.

    ❁  The more I play tennis here, the more I appreciate the carpet surface.  The ball does not bounce as high as on hard court, so it makes me really work on my speed and footwork.  Right now my Beinarbeit (footwork) is embarrassingly poor, but I know that once I return to the US, my footwork will be greatly improved. On the carpeted surface, there are also little specks that allow you to slide a little. By the end of my training (in German, athletes don’t practice, they train), my socks and shoes are filled with these little blue specks. And I thought that tennis ball fuzz was annoying!

❁  Freiburg is known for obsessive recycling. There are containers for basically everything: paper, white glass, brown glass, green glass, biodegradable garbage, plastics, metal, and “the rest.” These containers are found everywhere-streets, inside my student apartment kitchen, etc.  I just love how “green” Freiburg is. Solar panels are also not a rarity in Freiburg. The world could learn a lot living in Freiburg.

❁  The popular Birkenstocks, made in Germany, have a different purpose in Germany. They are apparently made as house shoes, despite the thousand of people in the US who are faithful wearers of them outdoors. I will probably buy a pair here, since they are so much cheaper-only 30 Euros!

❁  Bakeries and cafes are the most beloved places to go for lunch, and I couldn’t agree more. Every day, I get either a Schokolatte or Kaffeecreme to drink and a bretzel (large, soft pretzel) or chocolate croissant. Please don’t mind if I gain about twenty pounds upon my return, but the food here is marvelous.

The grocery store a few blocks away
from me. "We love Groceries." Note
the bread and cheese :)

❁  I learned the hard way about going grocery shopping in Germany. You have to pay for small plastic bags, so customers bring their own big cloth bags or baskets when going shopping. Well I didn’t realize this at first, so I tried to stuff as much into my twenty-cent plastic bag as I could and then tucked the rest  into my arms. Needless to say, I looked like a foreigner as I walked home and gritted my teeth as people stared at me struggling to carry everything.

❁  Also, products and food are all “fun-sized.” At first, I was surprised how much cheaper shampoo and body wash were, but then I realized that the bottles were so much smaller than in the US.  There are no bulk products in Germany, or at least in the stores that I have gone to. Germans are expected to go grocery shopping every couple of days. No more stocking up on food for the week and hibernating at home.

❁  I miss taking long, hot showers. The drains here are a lot smaller and I am sure that the ones in my apartment have never been cleaned.  After about two minutes, the drain gets clogged, so I have to stop the shower and let the water drain, grab the plunger and start pumping, and then restart the shower. At least I am learning how to take conserve energy by taking fast showers.

That’s it for now. I have the busiest day so far tomorrow!