A Book Fiend's Paradise

Our new city is beautiful. On top of that, there are more bookstores and libraries in the area than I ever could have hoped for. In addition to the expected Barnes & Noble or two, there are numerous privately owned bookshops that maintain the wonderful age-old tradition of “buying, selling & trading” new and used books. Heaven!

My addiction to reading and writing began at the tender age of three. It couldn’t be helped; I was mercilessly exposed to that kind of environment from the start. Everyone around me was doing it – my mother, my father, my sister – it was nearly impossible for me not to give in to the temptation and indulge as quickly as possible. As expected, once I got a taste of it, there was no turning back.

They started me off with picture books and nursery rhymes, but it didn’t take too long for me to move on to harder stuff such as fairy tales, legends and children’s literature. As I matured, practically no mainstream genre was left untouched. When reading words wasn’t enough, spicing things up by reading music worked for a while, too. But to this day, nothing can replace the allure of a collection of words on a blank background, be it on delicious paper or a flickering screen. (Okay, see you know I have a problem when I can’t resist calling paper ‘delicious’. NEVER leave me in a stationary store unattended. I may never find my way out.)

We’ve shipped 39 huge boxes of books from Germany to California. There’ll never be enough time to extend my library to the expansive size that I want it to be; despite every book added, it remains a book too few. Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that the library has a life of it’s own. Similar to the musical The Little Shop of Horrors, my library is the plant, and I’m hapless Seymour, feeding my voracious library book after book – yet it’s clear that there will never be enough of them to satisfy it. During a recent visit to the British Library, I realized that I was irrationally jealous of the collection. The British Library, people. At that point, it occurred to me that my addiction is likely incurable.

Oh well.

During my last few months living in Germany, I’d been obsessively trolling bookstores in my city, desperate to fill unknown holes in my collection by discovering one more perfect treasured book after another. My enabling husband seemed to view my compulsion with a combination of amusement and exasperation.

On a more specific note, if you’re as addicted to German Literature as I am, hopefully you already know that you can get your fix for free by accessing the Gutenberg Project online. Hundreds of books in the original German or in English translation are available to us all worldwide! Bwah ha ha.

Gotta love those tech-savvy suppliers.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

A Friendly Guide to the High-Five

Apparently, I'm "glowing". I figure that's okay as long as I'm not sparkling. Strangers have constantly been coming up to me commenting on how happy and serene I look. Thankfully, no one has asked me if I'm expecting or else I'm sure that peaceful look would have disappeared quickly. To be honest, I feel more pumped up than anything else. All of this pent-up energy is making me want to go to the gym to let off some steam. Almost.

Although I know that there are so many things that I will miss, most of all my family and dear friends, I must admit that I feel like giving perfect strangers stinging high-fives and making random fist pumps in the air a couple of times a day, so I suppose that is a clear indication that I'm feeling pretty good.

Okay, so while Americans are completely familiar with the awesomeness that is known as the High Five, and are generally taught to deliver and receive it at around nine months, in my experience, Germans have mixed reactions to it. It's kind of like the gehasst, verdammt, vergöttet (hated, doomed, adored) thing. They hate it, love it, fear it or are extremely confused by it.

If you're an American in a casual situation and something amazing just happened, watch yourself and see if you don't throw a hand up in the air, ready to slap a high five. If you're with other Americans, it'll be less than a second before there's a response to your call. Over the years in Germany, I've had to hone that ingrained reaction to give High-Fives and gauge my audience first. The few times when I've tried the exchange with Germans, aside from confusion, usually one of three awkward responses occurred.

1. The Cringe. No, the High-Five is not a form of abuse. It's like a firework – a quick burst of celebration, when you have so much uncontained joy it must be channeled through your body and out of the palm of your hand. Kind of like a superhero focusing his or her superpowers on one thing. You don't fear the High-Five. You embrace it and respond accordingly.

2. Passive Acceptance. This response always ticks me off. There is nothing passive about giving or receiving a High-Five. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That means when you see someone's ready to slap one on you, you prepare to slap one back simultaneously - don't just stand there with a tense palm and fearful expression as if you're holding a catcher's mitt and expect a baseball to suddenly land in it. Come on, folks.

3. Retaliation. This one makes me laugh inside each time. Apparently, the fight or flight instinct kicks in, and the person looks panicked and ready to defend himself or herself. By the time they realize what's happening and recover mid-swing, they've missed the pro-offered hand by a mile. The joyful moment is replaced by embarrassment, nervous laughter and avoiding eye contact. Priceless.

Seriously, I could go on forever about the types of awkward High-Five Exchanges and comment on the timing, the accuracy of the hit, the fact that if you mess up delivery, you should not have a "do over" (try again) immediately afterwards. Once, I saw a group of grown men miss each other's gigantic hands and try three times in a row. Gents, that ship has sailed. Go home and practice, and then try again some other time. (Then again, it was in a beer garden, so there may have been other factors hindering their performance.)

Come to think of it, delivering the perfect High-Five is actually a work of art. No wonder those who haven't grown up with it seem to have such difficulties. Maybe back in the States I'll offer an Americanization course and include a lesson on it – Pass/Fail.

Have a great week. xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Why I Go to the Gym (or, Why Buns of Steel Are More Important Than You Think)

Why is it that when you decide to do something slightly off from your normal routine, it comes back to bite you in your more prominently displayed than usual rear end almost instantaneously?

Today, I decided to go ahead and get dressed in my workout clothes before heading to the gym. That way, I reasoned with myself, I wouldn’t have any reason to back out of going. Sounded like a good plan in my mind. Of course, I use public transportation here in Germany, so I needed to ride four stops before exiting the tram literally at my gym’s door. Not taking the time to switch clothes or look for the perfect outfit, I just rummaged through my pre-packed workout bag and threw on the outfit I found inside.

Of course, it included a sports top and long-legged, very fitted running pants. Pretty much yoga pants with lycra. I thought that with a short loose shirt on top, it would be presentable enough to sit in a seat for 10 minutes. While I am quite happy with my body and aim to maintain, shape and tone it, I am not the kind of person who goes around in public wearing skin-tight clothes. So, of course I was feeling a tad bit self-conscious.

The first three stops to my destination were uneventful. As I stood up to approach the door shortly before the last stop, an older woman asked an older man to help her down the steps leading from the high tram to the ground while holding a push-cart. She said that she had fallen yesterday and she was scared to try it alone again. He looked at her with a slightly incredulous expression and replied that he wasn’t capable of doing so. (He really wasn’t; they both appeared to be over 80.) Naturally, there was else no one around, so I didn’t hesitate to help.

Imagine my delight when she asks me to leave the tram BACKWARDS so that I can bend down and hold her cart steady while she toddles down the steps excruciatingly slowly. So, yeah, I gave the downtown area of my city a lycra-clad booty salute helping the elderly today. Gotta love those random moments of gratuitous embarrassment.

And moments like that, my friends, are exactly why I go to the gym.

Happy Hump Day and have a great week.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Obama in Berlin

It's nice that President Obama decided to pay Germany a visit with his family and deliver a speech at the Brandenburger Tor. He'd been holding a grudge about not having been able to speak there preceding the 2008 Presidential Election - a five year long grudge. Finally, at long last, he showed up and everyone had big grins and I suppose all was forgiven.

The speech itself was alright - there weren't any stellar catch phrases like "Ich bin ein Berliner" or "…Tear down this wall" - although he, the German chancellor and the mayor of Berlin ALL made those important moments in German/American history a theme in their speeches. Other than that, he primarily said what he's been saying since reelection. That was especially impressive to me because I often can’t remember what I did five minutes after having done it. (Seriously. Yesterday I went to the bank to have my statements delivered to me only via online banking. One minute later, I went to the ATM and tried to print out my bank statement. Two minutes later, I went back to the same teller and asked what was wrong. Gently, she smiled and reminded me of my previous transaction with her. I wish I could say it was the first time something like that has happened, but sadly – no.)

I suppose the highlight was when he decided to take off his jacket due to the excessive heat.

Wait - no, it's not what you think. It was a highlight because of what he said, not what he did. In Merkel's welcoming speech, she said that she greeted the president as a friend of Germany and stressed that was he truly among friends on both a personal and political level. In response to that, he said something to the effect of, "Since we're among friends, there's no need for me to be so formal. If I may, I'll just remove my jacket." Then he proceeded to speak for 40 minutes in the sweltering heat.

Smart man. It's literally 97 degrees here in the sun as I write; I shudder to think that he could have passed out. I'm sure when he and Merkel left the stage, he whispered, "So… Angie. Since we're friends and all, think you could find a nice, cold AC for me somewhere?"

Just sayin'.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Five Ways to be Hella Happy in Hamburg

It's been three whole weeks since I've last posted, but I'm sure you can understand that while I enjoy writing about life, I most especially love concentrating on living it. This week, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about my experience in the city of Hamburg. I absolutely LOVED it there. The city is nice, the people are friendly and open; the food was great, and the shopping was a dream for me but a nightmare for my budget. These are the five things that I’m going to share with you today. Oh, and the Reeperbahn.

The City

The cultural history of Hamburg is as rich as many of the residents themselves. We took the time to visit the absolutely beautiful city hall and take a guided tour. It was worthwhile, and based on these pictures I snapped with my phone, I think you can see what I mean.

We encountered many friendly people, who were cordial,open and conversational; greeting strangers and passersby was a completely normal and natural occurrence (The whole “Moin” – “Moin, moin” greeting is so cute). In many parts of the southwest region of Germany, it’s almost considered a weakness to even acknowledge the presence of another person. It was so refreshing to see (once again) that this is not typically the norm in the country, but unfortunately more of a regional thing.

The Food

Anyone who had something to say about Hamburg (and of course, that was everyone) recommended two things: Taking an hour-long cruise along the harbor – which was very interesting and informative – and eat some of their delicious seafood. People were raving about the seafood and how fresh it is and so tasty…  Sorry, I ate enough seafood there at various price ranges and while it was good, well most of it, in my case, it was nothing worth writing home about. Meaning home to my fellow Floridians, of course.

Our understanding of “fresh” seafood is that we actually see the one fishing it out for us, cleaning it, plopping it into hot water and serving it up about a half hour later. Hamburg was excited about having had the seafood shipped to them earlier that morning. Okay.

A word of advice – the picture below may look like a shrimp roll (I love the shrimp and lobster rolls in New York), but unfortunately, it was just nasty. I ended up throwing those icky seaworms away along the pier. The meals I had later were well prepared and tasty (and not just seafood!).

The Shopping

My budget was very unhappy with me by the time we ended our trip, but my husband and I were hella-happy.

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist. This is a new beverage line released in Germany and it makes me laugh every time. I noticed it for the first time in Hamburg.)

If you have the cash, they have the goods. If you don’t have the cash, then you can look at the goods and have a good time with that. We certainly did. Some things were almost impossible to pass up, and my husband wasn’t immune to the great shopping opportunities either, bwah ha ha.

The fashion palate there is a bit more expansive than what I have typically associated with Germany over the years – meaning that it can generally be described as “European” as opposed to specifically “German”. I suppose that could be considered a backhanded compliment, but facts are facts.

Beyond shopping, the architectural structures throughout the city are AMAZING. The city is a successful combination of historical and modern, hip and traditional.

The Reeperbahn

I don’t have much to say about this area, except that the street is certainly an eye-opener. To be as euphemistic as possible, I can assure you that there was not one Disney or Nickelodeon product in the area; nevertheless, every single store boasted of selling a vast selection of toys.

Having been to Amsterdam twice, it wasn’t as shocking for me as some areas we stumbled upon there the first time; also, we were in St. Pauli during the week and avoided the weekend crowd. There was also a very strong police presence, and we did discover a really cool Turkish restaurant in the area.

Visiting the Beatles' monument (Beatles Platz) is a must for any music lover. The Reeperbahn, located in St. Pauli, is where the Beatles first performed and gained their fame throughout Europe. Initialy, there were actually FIVE Beatles, but one guy fell in love with a German and stayed there. Hmmm. Familiar story somehow.

By the way – most Germans don’t know about the beer St. Pauli Girl, which is one of the most popular beer exports from Germany. The irony of it all is that the brewery has nothing to do with Hamburg, the Reeperbahn or any “girl” – the smaller brewery is within the Beck’s huge brewery in BREMEN!

Have a great week.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

A Proposal for a New German National Anthem

Like any self-respecting country, Germany has its own national anthem. Because I studied classical music with an outside field in German, I actually had to learn all twenty gazillion verses. Hurray.

But, in all honesty, after living in the country for over a decade (gasp!), I believe that there should be an unofficial national anthem. And it should be Ludacris' "Move… Get Out the Way".

Seriously, no matter where I've been, this is either what the person in front of me is saying or I'm thinking. While I can't exactly call myself a Harlem Globe Trotter (for myriad obvious reasons), I have been blessed to travel to many places. Germany takes the cake when it comes to people getting in your way with a subconscious determination to stay there.

Example 1: On a narrow sidewalk, there is only room for two people to walk parallel. What do you do? Walk on one side while the person in the opposite direction continues on the other side? Well, if that's your answer, then you must not be German. The resounding answer for any real German - or Germanized person, mind you - is to walk in the middle.

Example 2: You sense someone walking behind you with a sense of urgency. What do you do? Shift slightly to the side so that he or she may pass? Well, if that's your answer, then you must not be German. Instead, you will slow down to show him or her that you aren't the type of person who will be rushed. Gotta show 'em who's boss, you know.

Example 3: There's nothing more painful than a group of oblivious people who are determined to walk in a pack. A normal group would simply stagger their positions, allowing others to pass by them. The packs of people refuse to budge, despite being three or more people walking on the sidewalk side by side. It doesn't seem to matter: Young or old, males or females, too many of them love walking in packs. Some of them even link their arms to form a chain. What the heck, people? Is this some kind of protest that everyone else just doesn't know about?

No wonder everyone is body checking you left and right.

Here’s to a great week with wide-open spaces.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

German Soccer Player & Baauer's Harlem Shake

I know that this is the weekend, but I couldn’t resist sharing.

The quality is horrible (I’ll have to make more effort in the future), but you’ll see the soccer player Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke) celebrating his team’s derby win against Dortmund. It looked like he was rocking out… so I couldn’t resist playing the clip with a sample of Baauer’s Harlem Shake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm6F-kuZwzo

Enjoy!!

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Ten Irrational Fears of a Foreigner in Germany

1. One day, I'm going to allow myself to be convinced that I'd look super hot in Lederhosen.

2. My favorite meal will be Bier, Bretzel and Wurst - although I've never tasted beer, you already know about my issues with bread and I actually could go a lifetime without eating sausage.

3. In perfectly normal conversations in English, I will unintentionally interject with "Ach, so!" or "Nee!" or "Naja…" (Oh, wait. I already do this.)

4. In casual, non-academic conversations, I will tell people from other countries about their own culture, traditions and perceived political shortcomings, all because I am convinced that I'm teaching them something about themselves; I'll expect them to be impressed by my vast text-book knowledge and my I-spent-two-months-backpacking-and-hitchhiking-through-your-country-so-I-know-it-better-than-you-do superiority. By doing this, ironically, I will be adopting a rather well-intended but horribly insulting practice of sadly more than a handful of Germans I've encountered.

5. Whenever someone mentions the names Thomas Gottschalk, Dieter Bohlen or Harpe Kerkeling, not only will I know who these people are, I will be able to instantaneously summon an image of these people from my visual memory. (I already can. As well as Boris Becker and all – eerily, ALL of his children.)

6. I will spend time planning for the vacation after my next vacation. (Seriously, people. What the hell.)

7. Eventually, I will accept with complete understanding why some of my favorite restaurants have to close between the hours of 2:30 and 5:30 P.M. I will also understand why a local pharmacy has to be closed on Wednesdays. Is this the day when the pharmacist protests illness (Mittwochs Krankheiten verboten)?

8. Jack Wolfskin and The North Face outerwear are going to be dearer to me than anything off the runway. Regardless of weather conditions, they will be my fashion and lifestyle statement in one. Just thinking about JW will make me feel like a badass and want to slap on a gigantic backpack. I will look forward to their catalogues almost as much as the one from IKEA. (*Shudder*)

9. If a dear friend of mine who hails from a country where having two weeks paid vacation –and the financial means to actually go on vacation – tells me that he or she is going to Paris for 4 days and 3 nights, my initial reaction will be to scoff and say that's not nearly enough time to "get to know the city". Because, well, just go back to Irrational Fear #4.

10. Not only will I look forward to watching Tagesschau (the nightly news) every evening, I will think of it every day at 7:57P.M. When the bell chimes at 8:00P.M. I will react quite similar to Pavolv’s Dog; instead of salivating, however, I will actually hum along with the melody as it is playing.

With each passing day, dear readers, I will be one step closer to succumbing to the inevitable process of Germanization. It will be like the Borg and Captain JL Picard: “Resistance is futile.” I won't go down without a fight; however, my psyche has already been forever altered. But if I end up looking like Seven of Nine in my Lederhosen, I guess I could eventually get over it.

Happy Weekend (Just one more day!) everybody.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

If You Need Assistance on Valentine's Day...

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Germany Goes Gangnam Style for Karnival

Once again, it isn't Wednesday, but I thought that it would be fun to write on Valentine's Day. I can't really say why other than the fact it's good to remember that even if you may not be with someONE you love, there's always an easy way to find someTHING to love.


For instance, I love the fact that during events leading up to Fat Tuesday (Fasching, Karnival, whatever you want to call it… I prefer to call it the Never-Ending Nightmare on Elm Street), German Schlager performers actually incorporated the viral explosion Gangnam Style in one of their sets. This short video clip has satified my fantasies of what the love-child of Unintentional Humor (seriously, you know they think they're super cool) and the Grotesque would look like.

I apologize for the poor quality, but the main thing is to share the spirit of the performance.

http://youtu.be/3gQvxiNebxk

This is my Valentine's Day present to you. Enjoy.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

I Hope this Isn't the Leading Brand of Gum...

I went to the grocery store to pick up some coke and saw this at the cashier's counter. At this point, my silly nature has been established, so you can already guess that when I saw this, I burst out laughing. There was a punk couple in front of me, and the girl turned to look at what I laughed at... She leaned in and started laughing as well. All I could say was, "Beinahe, oder?" (Pretty close, right?) She laughed and said, "Absolut." In any case, as always, pictures are worth a thousand words.

Smile - you've survived Hump Day (the middle of the week)! Have a great week.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Genius Overload

My husband and I went to an Apple store in Germany recently, and it was one of the most grotesque and surreal experiences of my life. While I do enjoy using their popular products, I'm not exactly fond of the company's marketing and promotional methods (and that's me speaking demurely). After our experience yesterday, though, it's also clear that sometimes it's a bit, well, stalkerish.

You know how when you walk into most Apple stores in the US, you know you've entered an expensive adult version of what a McDonald's play area used to be like in the early 90s? Happy Meals and Playtime! What could be better?

First of all, when we walked into this store, I felt like we had just walked into Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I don't mean the one with Johnny Depp, where you know deep down, the dude is just having a good time pulling your chain; I'm talking about the original with Gene Wilder, who lovingly let his freakish Umpa-Lumpas have free reign all over the place. Their scary green hair and those horrible spray tans continue to make occasional cameo appearances in my nightmares to this day.

Anyway, the first Umpa-Lumpa, I mean, genius, greeted us at the door. "Wilkommen!" We casually looked at him and politely greeted him in return as we attempted to make our way toward the Macs. But wait! Apparently, you have to make it past the bouncer, first. He scuttled beside us and leaned forward a little too closely.

"Sind Sie zum ersten mal hier?" (Is this your first time here?)

"Uh, nein."

"Kennen Sie unsere Produkte?" (Are you familiar with our products?)

"Ja…"

"Gut! Gut!" He couldn't hide his pleased expression. We were in.

"Suchen Sie etwas bestimmtes?" (Are you looking for something in particular?)

I couldn't help but sigh in irritation and I barely restrained myself from telling him with a straight face that I was looking for a Panda bear.

"Nein. Wir wollen nur schauen." (No, we’re just browsing.)

"Oh, ok… Danke und viel Spass!" (Oh, ok. Thanks, and have fun!)

Under normal circumstances, this would read like a typical exchange of information. Perhaps he needs to collect data, or he just wants to steer you in the right direction. Here, the guy was empty-handed, and the store literally had more "geniuses" than customers. It was unnerving, like he was reluctant to let us go and was beseeching more human interaction.

After we had broken free of him, my husband started looking at the Macbooks. Within five seconds, a pimply face with a wide-eyed stare popped up before us, just like a teenaged Umpa-Lumpa with a shock of blonde hair.

"Hi! Brauchen Sie Hilfe?" (Need any help?)

My husband and I automatically replied, "Nein, Danke." He didn't leave.

"Haben Sie unsere Produkte schon?" (Do you already have some of our products?)

This was getting irritating. I was beginning to see why more Germans make their purchases through Apple resellers.

This was also quite different from my experiences elsewhere. Usually, we customers are hungrily prowling for someone to help us out, and as soon as we find one, we join the circle around said prey, ready to pounce as soon as the next customer leaves. I think to be a "genius" there, you must notate on your resume that you can run quickly and disappear at will.

Not the case in this store. As soon as one left, another genius came in his wake. We literally had four of them approach us within a 2-minute period. You would think that we would have been appreciative, and perhaps we would have been, if they hadn't made us feel like we were in a plastic cage in the center of a shark tank. Each and every one of them had large eyes with dilated pupils, and they were seriously twitching, vying for our attention. I'm not insinuating that they were on anything, but I had the strange feeling that they were suffering from huge withdrawal. So few customers; too many geniuses!

What happens to the geniuses when they aren't needed anymore? I hope for the sake of us all, Apple at least gives them some sort of rehabilitation to help them get re-acclimated to a life as – (hmmm, what does Apple call its customers? Let’s try an analogy: Apple is to geniuses as customers are to _________. Now you know another reason why I “love” the company’s PR so much.) Three of them, who looked at us woefully as we walked out of the store and onto the snowy street, seriously looked like they'd been brainwashed.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.