)
In Germany, space is a valuable resource. Since the cities are highly urbanized and condensed, the Germans have come up with many creative ways to maximize the space they have in the cities. For example, at our parking garage 6 extra cars are squeezed into the garage by placing them on moving platforms. If we need to access our parking spot we have to use the correct buttons to move the cars out of the way that are blocking our spot. We have essentially become used to having to move the giant Mercedes Benz that is always blocking our car before the morning commute.
Food is an obvious difference as well. The Germans love their bratwurst, heavy sauces and potatoes a thousand different ways. It is essentially the dream diet for two college guys but the scale back home will let us know if it was really worth it. At work we get delicious meals with German specialties like Spargel (white asparagus covered in Hollandaise sauce) or Schnitzel (fried pork chops) or Spätzle (German egg noodles in sauce). This food combined with the free ice cream after lunch is a deadly combination!
 |
|
igus® Beach Volleyball Tournament
As we mentioned in our last entry, this weekend was the annual igus® beach volleyball tournament. The setup for the event was fantastic! Four large tents held free food and sweets (think lots of German sausages and lots of ice cream), a children’s area put on a family centred magic show, and the friendly hostesses made sure you always had a full glass of Kölsch.
As amazing as the food alone sounds, our whole day centred on the volleyball tournament. It was finally time for us to prove ourselves as athletes, as contenders; to show that American public school’s P.E. programs are just as good at teaching volleyball as German schools! In the end, our team, Six on The Beach, rocked the tournament. Out of forty teams, we got 4th place! We won five straight games, lost in the semi-finals to the team who won the whole tournament, and lost the 3rd place match in a sudden death tie breaker.
Regardless of the stolen victory, the whole day was a blast! There is a great community feeling between igus® employees so it was fun to just hang out with our co-workers and to make new friends.
Enjoying a beer at the Volleyball Tournament
Deutschland Differences
As you can imagine, there are a lot of differences between life in the states and life in Deutschland. Although it would certainly take more than one blog entry to describe all of them, we thought we’d point out a few specific differences we noticed.
German space-saving parking garage with moving platforms!
In Germany, respect and recognition of recycling is much greater than in the U.S. At all of the supermarkets they have a pfand machine where you can turn in your used bottles of water or cola for a refund (pfand). There are also trashcans which have separate departments for the different materials (plastic, paper, packaging, or glass). Although U.S. companies are making great strides in becoming more environmentally friendly, the typical U.S. citizen doesn’t hold much personal responsibility for their affect on the environment…at least not yet.
Another thing we’ve noticed is that Germans are much worldlier than Americans. Of course this all has to do with their location in Europe, but we’re constantly amazed by the Germans we’ve met who speak three different languages, or the fun vacations they take to different countries. This also seems to produce a great amount of pride in their country which is exhibited more or less everyday. Our nation’s patriotism could really be influenced if we had more friendly rivalries with neighboring countries like Germany has. Maybe one day the Canadian Football League will get good enough to play against the NFL. Or maybe one day Americans will care about hockey…nahhh.
A Pfand machine found in a local grocery store.
Euro 2008 Madness
One of the largest differences that we’ve both experienced (and really anyone who as ever travelled outside of the U.S. will easily note) is the rest of the world’s love for soccer. The UEFA Euro 2008 tournament takes place this month in Austria and Switzerland, and everyone in Germany is going nuts! The tournament is held every four years between European national teams, with qualifying games starting two years prior to the actual tournament; so it’s a pretty big deal.
The Germans obsession for the game, however, is much larger than any die hard NFL or MLB fan in the states. Although the Super Bowl is a big deal if your favorite team is playing, rooting for the national soccer team is like life or death. The other night, after Germany won their first game, we could hear car horns honking and people cheering in the streets until 4 a.m.! Most people back home don't even know when the U.S. plays in the FIFA World Cup, much less the name of their local soccer club. Needless to say, we have both started to like the sport incredibly fast- especially since we are in a betting pool at our work! We will let you know how many Euros we lose.
Tschüss!
Brandon & Nate
