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.

Here's to Hamburg!

There are so many things that I have never done while living in Germany. Visiting a city up North is one of them. Now, don’t get me wrong – just because I’m a southern girl doesn’t mean that I don’t have love for Norddeutschland! It’s just that whenever my husband and I have had the time and the means to get out of dodge, we’d basically flee the country. Just sayin.

This week, the quite famous Hamburger Fischmarkt (The Fish Market of Hamburg) has travelled to my city. If you’re not familiar with it, let me give you a quick run-down. It’s pretty much like a food carnival. You know how the carnies call out to you and do basically whatever it takes to get your attention so that they can sell their wares or provoke you to come to their booth? It’s like that, only with food.

They travel throughout the country in large semi trucks full of food. Obviously, this is a country with a big appetite. There’s the fruit man, who will sell you a basket of exotic fresh fruits in a cute wicker basket for 10 Euros. There’s the cheese guy, who sells you an assortment of cheeses in a bucket. The noodle dude, who, guess what, sells you a gigantic bag of smaller bags of Italian noodles – all name brands, of course, for something crazy like 12 euros. Another guy is the eel man – no joke – a big, red-faced fishmonger who, for some strange reason, totally turns off the public. It might be due to the fact that he literally grunts at people. Weird.

But there’s something so inexplicable, so totally German about the entire experience. These guys actually wear microphones and do everything they can to draw crowds – including insulting each other. I’m not saying that’s totally German, but their sense of humor is, as well as the passive curiosity of the crowds. And the love of big deals. And, of course, sausage.

To make a long story short, it was a fun experience. We’re going to take two dear friends of mine there to theFischmarkt this evening. Also, Mr. CountryEuroCityMouse and I have decided to book a four-day, three-night trip to Hamburg!

Finally, I can see for myself what all the big fuss surrounding St. Pauli is about (other than St. Pauli’s Girl, of course). We’re so excited!

By the way, for those of you in the know, I’m open to tips and secret must-see places.

Have a great week.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Lamentations of a Coffee Fiend (Thanks, Starbucks Germany)

For the most part, spring had finally decided to grace us with its presence, but this year, it hasn’t been much of a fair-weather friend, pun intended. However, today is a beautiful sunny day, which gave me the perfect opportunity to go for a coffee run.

I wasn’t always a fan of coffee. When I was in the south of Spain, I went to a language school and for the entire month, whenever we had a break, our group would go to the bar downstairs and I’d order a café de leche and a small ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Very nutritional, I know. Some believe that it only takes a month to form a habit. In this case, I think it’s true.

These days, I actually don’t fare well drinking filtered coffee, but espresso-based drinks are wonderful. Since our city has a few Starbucks in the area, for the past few months I obsessively visited them in pursuit of their stupid gold card. (I know. It’s sad.) After 30 purchases of who knows what kind of fancy, frothy sugary expensive drinks, my thighs now hate me. And surprise, surprise – I’m kinda over it.

It makes me think that I should have lofiter goals in life.

It also makes me think that someone, anyone who loves me should have intervened. Given me a word of advice. A passerby on the street should have come to me and said, “No one in the world needs a 20-ounce caffeinated beverage.” More specifically, the German baristas should have placed a gentle hand on mine and asked, “Are you sure you want a triple shot venti caramel macchiato with soy milk today? Because, we could also just send you to the hospital for a shot of adrenaline since you obviously need it.”

But no, instead, over the course of five months, I made a ritual of ordering some crazy concoction that perfectly masked the true flavor of the beans. Go figure.

Now, as I finish my latte, I have some words for a few passersby. You never know who’s in need of an intervention.

1. To the man smoking a cigarette while holding the work shirts you just picked up from dry cleaning – You idiot.

2. To the man kicking the umbrella case from one side of the street to the other while calling it horrible names – That’a right, buddy; you show that inanimate object who’s boss.

3. To the women, both young and old, who walk around with paper shopping bags at the crook of your arm as if they’re Louis Vuttion purses – There is no elegance in a brown paper bag. Just hold it normally and go home.

4. To the Babushkas who were at the coffee shop when I stopped by this morning and were still there when I walked by this afternoon (for the third day in a row) – Congratulations. You are now the new face of Starbucks.

5. To myself, because I obviously need a reminder: Do I really need to go anywhere thirty times within a five-month period? This is beyond an addiction at this point. It’s just a shame.

Here’s hoping that you have more discipline in life than I do. Have a great week.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Write Away

Yes, dear readers - it's exactly what it feels like. I've been neglecting you. It's not because I don't want to interact with you on a weekly basis anymore, I certainly do, but I must admit that over the past few weeks or so, I've been quite distracted.

Call it a small Seitensprung of sorts, yet I do intend to remain true to you. It's just that in the past weeks, I felt inspired to write a book from start to finish. It's not my first book, and it won't be my last, (I tend to dance in the non-fiction realm), but it is my first complete work of fiction. And I wrote it in five weeks from start to finish (circa 140 pages). Yeah, I'm proud of that. I wanted to see if I could do it, and well; now I know I can. Next task: Rinse and Repeat.

As mentioned, there will be modifications to this blog, but I have a feeling that they won't be made until a few months from now or so. While I love sharing experiences about my life in Germany, it seems as though the main dynamic playing throughout my entries is about the fun, frustrating and never dull cultural clashes between American and German mentalities. Obviously, similarities come into play as well. Eventually, I'll be meandering in that direction…

Until then, thanks for your patience and support! Keep working on your own Bucket List and have a great week.

 xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

Blog Changes Coming Soon

My initial goal for this blog has been to maintain it for one year. I can't believe that I'm less than two months away from achieving it! So many things have happened within that short period of time, and I'm pleased to say the changes have been for the better.

There will also be a few changes to the blog within the next few weeks as well. If you check out my posts fairly regularly and notice the thematic changes, I hope that you'll like them; if you didn't even know this blog existed until you read this post, then just forget that I said anything at all.

It's just small reflection of how we deal with the ebb and flow of life's changes. Who knows where it will lead?

Have a great week.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.

What is This?

Dear readers, as you know I love to talk about life in Germany from an unabashedly American perspective. If there's one thing that fascinates, amuses and confounds me, it's Germany's relationship to bread. I will, without a doubt, devote an entire chapter to the foodstuff in my upcoming book.

That having been said, please take a look at this picture. What could it possibly be?

At first glance, you might be tempted to say, "Oh, silly - that's a tool kit" or better yet, It's a small safety deposit box."

Then I would have to laugh and kindly inform you that it is, in fact, a bread box. And at the very humbling price of a mere 70 Euros. What a steal!

Yet another example of Germany's hard-core love affair with bread.

Have a great week.

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.

Bring Spring

Spring is finally showing some welcomed signs that it's just around the corner. The days are getting longer and birds are chirping everywhere.

The sure sign that winter is about to make an exit, however, is always when you start noticing more places setting up their outdoor cafes. You can sit, enjoy a coffee or tea in the afternoon sunshine as you and a friend watch passersby. It's still not time for any Biergarten to be open, but the countdown has officially begun!

One thing's for sure - I'll bet these little fellas are looking forward to warmer weather as well. They were slipping and sliding all over the pond.

Have a great week.

xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse

©2012-2013 CountryEuroCityMouse™. All rights reserved.