"The April doesn't know what it wants" is a very common phrase in Germany... and I know exactly why. Often I find it difficult simply trying to figure out what to wear for the day. Not because I am a fashion diva trying to get just the right look, but because the weather in Germany can go from bright and sunny in one minute to overcast and dark the next, flip to rain, and then back to sun again. Perhaps it's just in Northern Germany that one experiences such indecisive weather, but as it's often said in Hamburg... if you don't like the weather, then just wait fifteen minutes. (sometimes quite true)
But I have to say that I am holding onto the saying:
Bunnies that spring,
Larks that sing,
Will certainly,
the Springtime bring.
Springtime... where are you? April, you look seemingly grey today.
Pillow with free motion quilting technique and Hippity-Hop bunny felt applique.
Just a
short little intro…I thought it might be fun to start a non-sewing
related regular post about what it is like to live on this side of the pond. I've
often been asked if there is a big difference between the U.S. and Germany. I love the way one can
answer this in German... Jein. (combination between Ja/yes and Nein/no)
Other
than the obvious backdrop of old architecture, differences in houses, and
landscape, the differences are not as blaring as one might expect. But they are
there and they are subtle. With Flip Side of the Pond Friday, I simply want to
share an outsider's viewpoint of those small little details that make me
realize that this is not the place that I grew up calling home. I'd love it if
you join in with your own stories.
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I can still vividly remember the very first trip that I ever made to Germany. My
then future husband had made arrangements for various mini-trips, events, and
meeting family and friends during my short stay. I can remember one visit with
his friends, while still being greeted at the door, we were kindly asked to
remove our shoes. Normally I would have been more than happy to oblige them on
their kind request, except for the fact that for this trip I had severely under
packed and even worse underestimated the weather, thinking in terms of the
already spring and summer-like weather I had just left back in sunny North
Carolina. I remember not only having cold feet the entire night, but that I had
to sit on them the whole evening just to keep them warm.
At first, I just chalked the incident up to the fact that perhaps they were
just overly protective about their newly installed wooden floors. But the
longer I've lived here, the more encounters I've had with people asking me to
take my shoes off upon arrival. Sure, if they are super muddy, soaking wet, or
just plain full of dirt it's obvious to me, but this is almost a phenomenon
that I had never experienced before.
At my son's kindergarten, greeting all visitors at the front door, one finds
oversized, giant wool slippers that might appear to have been left behind by some Jack-and-the-Beanstalk character. For the non-native, they look quite odd. But what one
is actually supposed to do with them, is slip them over your existing shoes,
and glide from room to room so as not to track dirt throughout the whole
building. Any German reading this would probably think, ummm, yeah, sounds
logical, so what's the big deal? I suppose it's not really a big deal unless
you've never seen anything like this before. I completely understand the logic
behind this, but nonetheless it is a spectacle which would leave most Americans
not quite knowing what to say.
But since living here, I have learned that while in Rome, do as the Romans do... packing your house shoes/slippers for everywhere you visit is a MUST - friends homes, any children's activities found in a gym, and even church!
As with most comparisons... no wrongs, no rights... just different.
Any stories from your side of the pond?
But I have to say that I am holding onto the saying:
Springtime... where are you? April, you look seemingly grey today. 