So, it snowed yesterday, and by yesterday I mean it started snowing at about 4 p.m. Sunday and didn't stop until very early Tuesday. Now, you midwesterners will not really recognize this as an official snowstorm. It was just kind of an annoyance. However, the snow made for many a frozen window as I headed to the library and ran some errands this morning. It was gorgeous really. Everything covered in a heavy coat of fluffy snow, lots of snow falling from the trees, etc. A veritable winter wonderland.
Here's the Crazy German part. While I was running my errands I saw several people, a minimum of four, scraping their windows. That was all good, because almost all of us have had a morning when we had to scrape our windows before we left for work. And I know that you are all thinking, "It's no big deal, turn on the defrost and it practically melts away." YEAH. That's what I thought. However, evidently running your engine for a few minutes without the express purpose of moving forward is a terrible environmental travesty.
I've ridden with Germans in their cars before, and if they know the stoplight is going to be a long one, they turn the engine off. Furthermore, when in Ireland in October I noticed that Colm and Claire's Audi (German Made) has an auto off function when put in park-- which, of course, everyone does at every stoplight-- which means that the car stops and restarts at every stop light and, thus, saving fuel and emissions.
All of this explained, it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me when I saw everyone feverishly scraping their windows this morning without the aid of the defroster. I don't know. Having lived through a Wisconsin winter or two or 25, I'm not sure I would ever attempt cleaning my windshield after a snow like yesterday without the aid of my defroster. I'd be more willing to keep my house at 60 for the next few days to offset carbon emissions than to have to fight through that kind of ice just to head down the road. These people were sweating, but they saved that little bit of carbon. I guess I should applaud them, but sometimes you gotta wonder.
2009-02-17
Crazy German File #7
OK, this is probably the best one I've really come across.
I was sitting and working in Starbucks this morning. I know some of you are laughing, but they have comfy chairs and it's a nice place to get some work done. I'll worry about "The Man" when I get back to the US, besides is Kenny G such a bad man?. Anyway, it gets a little crowded at this one, because it is in the Fernsehturm and tourist central.
So this morning a woman comes in with her two or three year old kid and they are enjoying a cup of coffee and hot chocolate while they wait for a train. I know this because I eavesdropped on her cell phone conversation. They are having a great time, giggling, drinking, etc. It was quite cute to see.
Right before they leave the woman decides she needs to go to the bathroom before getting on the train. This is a wise move since the toilets on trains leave something to be desired, and you have to pay to use the bathroom in the train station. The woman stands up and tells her daughter she has to use the restroom and then says, "Pass auf, ja?" Meaning: watch our stuff while I'm gone.
A) Would you ever leave your three year old daughter unattended next to a stranger in a tourist area? I didn't think so.
B) Watch our stuff? She was in a high chair. What was she supposed to do? Pull out her Uzi when I tried to steal her mom's purse? The little girl didn't even have the language abilities to scream for help, let alone the strength to defend herself or her mother's purse.
To make matters worse, the little girl, part of her nature, decided to try to make friends with me while her mother was gone. Frankly, I was afraid she would go ballistic if she came back and found me speaking to her daughter, so I decided that might not be a good idea. I just smiled back.
They truly are crazy, these Germans. Yep, they leave their children unattended and ask them to watch their things. I was cracking up. I'm sure there will be more to come, so stay tuned for the next edition of the Crazy German File.
I was sitting and working in Starbucks this morning. I know some of you are laughing, but they have comfy chairs and it's a nice place to get some work done. I'll worry about "The Man" when I get back to the US, besides is Kenny G such a bad man?. Anyway, it gets a little crowded at this one, because it is in the Fernsehturm and tourist central.
So this morning a woman comes in with her two or three year old kid and they are enjoying a cup of coffee and hot chocolate while they wait for a train. I know this because I eavesdropped on her cell phone conversation. They are having a great time, giggling, drinking, etc. It was quite cute to see.
Right before they leave the woman decides she needs to go to the bathroom before getting on the train. This is a wise move since the toilets on trains leave something to be desired, and you have to pay to use the bathroom in the train station. The woman stands up and tells her daughter she has to use the restroom and then says, "Pass auf, ja?" Meaning: watch our stuff while I'm gone.
A) Would you ever leave your three year old daughter unattended next to a stranger in a tourist area? I didn't think so.
B) Watch our stuff? She was in a high chair. What was she supposed to do? Pull out her Uzi when I tried to steal her mom's purse? The little girl didn't even have the language abilities to scream for help, let alone the strength to defend herself or her mother's purse.
To make matters worse, the little girl, part of her nature, decided to try to make friends with me while her mother was gone. Frankly, I was afraid she would go ballistic if she came back and found me speaking to her daughter, so I decided that might not be a good idea. I just smiled back.
They truly are crazy, these Germans. Yep, they leave their children unattended and ask them to watch their things. I was cracking up. I'm sure there will be more to come, so stay tuned for the next edition of the Crazy German File.
Crazy German File #6
This was originally posted to Facebook on Jan. 13.
Yep, it's that time again! I was away for a couple weeks at Christmas, so there was nothing that could happen. However, this morning there was yet another one.
As you may know, I have to heat my room with coal. All in all it's not a bad gig. I get some exercise hauling the coal up 5 flights of stairs; I feel all rustic and stuff lighting the fire in the morning; and I don't have to deal with the "I'm feeling a little bit chilly. I wonder if the heat is...Oh! There! It just kicked on."
So, this morning, I'm getting the fire started. Same procedure as every other morning. Open the bedroom door to allow a draft, open the flue, open the ashpan door, open the main fire door. It's all running smoothly and I start my fire. Same old, same old. Then along comes the crazy German. She comes up to my door sniffing and says, "Is it not pulling a draft?"
To which I reply, "Yeah, it's doing the same thing it does every morning."
"Did you open the window?"
"No, I never do."
"Well you should open the window for a few minutes every morning so that it doesn't slay anyone when it enters the hallway."
SLAY anyone?!?! This is the word she used, for you German speakers (erschlagen). I'm too used to all of her craziness to have asked what she was referring to. Was it the Sauerstoffmangel (lack of oxygen) that I was letting out of my room? Was it the fumes from the fire, which had died before I went to bed--I checked? Or was she referring to my terrible night breath? I prefer to think it was the Sauerstoffmangel.
So, three months in to heating my room myself, I'm now expected to open the window so that no one is slain when I heat in the morning. I had been warned about the German mania for drafts. Now, I know it's true. They need fresh air, but can't stand it when it's drafty. Many conversations begin with, "Fresh air!" and quickly turn to, "No, it's too drafty, you'll catch a cold." I'm faced with the triple threat of Fresh air, and the GOOD and the BAD draft. I can't win, really.
On a side note regarding drafts. I heard in the radio yesterday, "Stay bundled up and keep away from drafts, because Cold season is in full swing!" I didn't know the common cold came from drafts, I was pretty sure it came from snot-nosed children. One day soon I'll discuss the German Scarf.
Yep, it's that time again! I was away for a couple weeks at Christmas, so there was nothing that could happen. However, this morning there was yet another one.
As you may know, I have to heat my room with coal. All in all it's not a bad gig. I get some exercise hauling the coal up 5 flights of stairs; I feel all rustic and stuff lighting the fire in the morning; and I don't have to deal with the "I'm feeling a little bit chilly. I wonder if the heat is...Oh! There! It just kicked on."
So, this morning, I'm getting the fire started. Same procedure as every other morning. Open the bedroom door to allow a draft, open the flue, open the ashpan door, open the main fire door. It's all running smoothly and I start my fire. Same old, same old. Then along comes the crazy German. She comes up to my door sniffing and says, "Is it not pulling a draft?"
To which I reply, "Yeah, it's doing the same thing it does every morning."
"Did you open the window?"
"No, I never do."
"Well you should open the window for a few minutes every morning so that it doesn't slay anyone when it enters the hallway."
SLAY anyone?!?! This is the word she used, for you German speakers (erschlagen). I'm too used to all of her craziness to have asked what she was referring to. Was it the Sauerstoffmangel (lack of oxygen) that I was letting out of my room? Was it the fumes from the fire, which had died before I went to bed--I checked? Or was she referring to my terrible night breath? I prefer to think it was the Sauerstoffmangel.
So, three months in to heating my room myself, I'm now expected to open the window so that no one is slain when I heat in the morning. I had been warned about the German mania for drafts. Now, I know it's true. They need fresh air, but can't stand it when it's drafty. Many conversations begin with, "Fresh air!" and quickly turn to, "No, it's too drafty, you'll catch a cold." I'm faced with the triple threat of Fresh air, and the GOOD and the BAD draft. I can't win, really.
On a side note regarding drafts. I heard in the radio yesterday, "Stay bundled up and keep away from drafts, because Cold season is in full swing!" I didn't know the common cold came from drafts, I was pretty sure it came from snot-nosed children. One day soon I'll discuss the German Scarf.
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