Sunday Bloody Sunday

Sundays are nice. You normally have a day off and there seem to be no limits on what to do with your free time. Unless you happen to live in Germany where rules apply.

Your small shop around the corner will be closed. No barber, no bank, no baker, no butcher will serve you. It’s an annoying inconvenience if you happen to run out of milk or some friends show up unexpectedly. OK, let’s give small shop owners a break. But supermarkets are closed too. Whole shopping malls won’t open and high street is deserted. If you couldn’t do your groceries on Saturday or after work you’re in trouble.

So why this limitation? Germany’s “Ladenschlußgesetz” (shop closing law) is the simple answer. It tells you exactly when shops are allowed to open and when not. For Sundays the rules are almost straight forward. Basically everything has to be closed on the day of Lord – except confectioneries. You see, German law makers are human after all and know that you cannot survive a Sunday without a decent piece of cake. Many bakeries tend to have pastries and cakes. So they can open but won’t be allowed to sell bread.

When you’re craving for a cake please keep in mind that confectioneries can only open from 10 am to 5 pm for up to three hours. In a weak moment German lawmakers failed to pin this down more narrowly. If you need some flowers with the cake 10 am to noon is the time to get them.

There is however a loophole. Most gas stations are open virtually 24/7 and developed into considerable convenience stores and Germans appear to appreciate this. Also shops located in train stations or airports open on Sundays. Prices will however be considerably higher than in normal shops and your range of choice will also be limited.

I can handle doing my groceries during the week (although supermarkets are packed with grumpy Germans buying stuff after work and on Saturdays). It’s just that cities appear to be ghost towns on Sundays. There is literally no one on the street. You don’t feel like exploring another city as a tourist when it seems to be abandoned. Apart from a few restaurants everything else is simply closed. Public live in city centres virtually seizes This can really fell depressing. Besides, cities are not just about buildings. It’s their inhabitants and the life and atmosphere they create.

Having said all that, I discovered that mountains, forests and lakes do no close on Sundays and offer a wide range of activities for a lovely Sunday. Just don’t count too much on public transport then.

Colleagues and Cakes

In order to survive in an office environment you must play by its rules. Some are obvious others aren’t. To master German office politics you should know the cake rule.

Yes, cakes are key. In Germany there is the cake rule and you better know about it. There is one fundamental difference between Germany and the rest of the world when it comes to birthdays in the office. There is some sort of global understanding that your colleagues organise a cake and show up at your place. The Germans have a different approach. In Germany you are expected to bake a cake for your birthday and share it with all your colleagues. If you’re lucky you might get a birthday card in return. Please send an email to the whole team; otherwise they won’t remember that it’s your big day. E-mail is the medium of choice. This ensures you reach all those you never talk to during the year.

There are other occasions when you should bring a cake. You start your career with a cake. Joining the team you welcome everybody with a cake. This “Einstand” is highly recommendable. It is a rare chance to have a bit of small talk with your team mates. You also should bring along a cake when you get married, while a divorce is still for free. Child birth also calls for a cake. It goes without saying that when leaving the team they expect some cake that helps them coping with loss and sorrow.

Note that the prime reason they visit your office is the cake (or was it the occasion you celebrate?). Many of your treasured colleagues won’t be bothered to eat it in your presence. Some might while others will be just “too busy” and take a bit junk of your cake and eat it at their desks. Don’t take this personal! The idea was to distribute cake and no merry gathering just because you have a reason to celebrate and went through all the trouble to cater food for thirty people. 

By the way: don’t be tempted to bring deep-frozen stuff. This is frowned upon and you can be sure that they’ll spot it. Bake your own one or better two or three. If your county’s cuisine is regarded as exotic please don’t be troubled to show them all its riches. Some will not appreciate this sort of treat and show it rather openly. Be aware that colleagues appear to not have eaten for days and happily eat two or three pieces. If it’s not enough for all the gluttons won’t have the blame. Stingy you!

However, look at the bright side: Germans love to separate their private from professional life. So your cake might be the perfect bait to lure them into small talk and to a conversation on a different level. Besides, apart from all these oddities birthdays in the office can still be really nice.

Media Credibility in Crisis?

This is serious! German media is going mental about it. It concerns the Eurocup game between Germany and the Netherlands. So, what is causing all this noise? The team’s performace? Nope. The two great goals by Gomez? Guess again. The Pitch? Political Issues? Neighbourhood rivalry? The referee? All this doesn’t matter. 

What does matter is this scene: http://tiny.cc/d8yzfw. Germany’s team manager Jogi Löw is mocking one of these lads that cater spare footballs for the players if they kick it off the pitch. The ball boy held the ball and Jogi pushed it out of his grasp. Good for “Bundesjogi” that nobody perceived this little innocent prank as bullying. This was fine. 

The outrageous thing was that this was shown during the live coverage of the game as if it had been live. But this happened during the warm up period and was recorded. The German media is at one: this is fraud, a true scandal that damages the credibility of media coverage as a whole. Headlines and commentators set their priorities and discussed this and left minor issues such as climate change, Euro crisis and human rights aside.

I think this is going too far. They did not show a fake goal or suggesting a substitute to come in that wouldn’t. It even happened on the same day! This scene was broadcasted just half an hour later to brighten up an otherwise dull interruption of the match. Am I just naïve? They also didn’t show a streaker when Croatia met Ireland. This is something we all need to see. This is the core of sports coverage and should be the ultimate label of credibility. German media even used the term censorship in this context.

This reasoning does not make a lot of sense to me. It can only be explained with the unshakable German notion that there is only one truth. One sole truth with no grey area surrounding it. Nothing can be kind of true. Black is black and white is white. It’s like when you arrive on 7:03 when you said you’d be there at 7 - you’re just late. 

Things have to work properly and there is only one proper way. No need to mention that this would have never happened in Germany. Why do something because its fun if it is not true? I guess this is why many Germans earned their fame as pedantic, little flexible and humourless people. I have sympathy for the idea that media has a lot of responsibility and must live up to it. But live coverage of streakers and ball boys is not necessarily at its core. Do we really have to discuss everything seriously? Always? As a matter of principle? I don’t think so.

The Loud Ladies and the Grumpy Guy

This incident happened on a train in Germany. I was on the ICE when a group of four women entered it. They were in a really good mood (a rare sight in Germany) and chatting and laughing along. This was not received well in the train.

They took their seats and kept on talking, having fun and were giggling and laughing all the way. It took less than five minutes until these Loud Ladies were challenged. A man sitting next to the four women downright scolded them in a loud and stern voice. He told them to be quiet because this is the Ruhezone. The Ruhezone is a designated quiet zone in the train for all those who prefer to travel in silence. Angrily he asked how on earth they could not have read the sign in the entrance. The Grumpy Guy went even further suggesting that the Loud Ladies should learn how to read.

I also was no longer able to continue reading my book. It wasn’t because of the noise but rather because of this situation. I simply couldn’t understand what was going on. How could the Grumpy Guy be so rude? Or wasn’t he? Were the Loud Ladies the rude ones?

There are three things I can’t get my head around. Can human laughter be out of place at all? Was it the women’s obligation to read the Ruhezone sign and act in a “proper way”? Had the Grumpy Guy any right in telling the Loud Ladies off so crudely?

So do we have to “endure” the good mood of others? A train after all is a public place and you cannot expect people to behave just the way you’d like. You sit close to others and overhear lousy jokes and stories you’d prefer not to hear. If you can’t stay the heat stay out of the kitchen they say. So if you can’t stand other people avoid public transport I’d say. 

Maybe the Loud Ladies were just inconsiderate and rude. They behaved like stereotypical teenagers not caring about anything else than their peers. The women were definitely noisy while all others in this part of the train were silent or talking in a low voice. Surely they should have noticed that. But on the other hand they’d just been on the train for a few minutes. They were not shouting and singing for hours. 

Was it the women’s fault to not check first if they are allowed to have fun? The logic that you have to be quiet in a quiet zone is impeccable. But can’t you even talk? Laugh? Can you book your right to read in peace on a train by reserving a seat in the quiet zone? Many people just sit wherever there is a vacant seat. 

I also happened to be in the Ruhezone without intention. My reservation was for waggon number two not for a seat in the quiet zone. I only noticed that after the Grumpy Guy reminded us all of it. There may be a German sense of duty he was referring to. You have to know all the possible rules and just not having read a sign is not to be tolerated. This is a bit harsh I guess.

I really thought the man to be very rude. But was he totally wrong? He did not only defend his values but seemed to feel responsible for the order in the train. He served as a quasi official protector of all the others who he thought would “suffer” from the Ladies’ good mood. 

I didn’t mind that he asked the women to calm down but felt his aggressive tone and insulting remark were out of place. I also felt sorry for the Ladies. Why can’t they just have good time? And I started worrying about the others on the train. Did they also suffer the impertinence of our jolly company?

The atmosphere stayed tense. The women kept on chatting and every few minutes they hushed the loudest of the group, which for them seemed to be the best joke ever. I didn’t mind their noise at all. I was too busy thinking about this whole situation. 

So, how did the story end? After half an hour the Grumpy Guy couldn’t stand it any longer and went to another waggon. After he left I felt somehow less tense and continued reading.