GERMAN PEOPLE…. SOME OBSERVATIONS

STYLE, FRIENDLINESS AND MUSIC TASTES The Style Police would have a ball here! Such strange combinations in attire for men and women. Men with tight denims, business shirts tucked inside and a tie! And the Angela Merkel look rules. So many women wearing business style jackets, too big, too padded and too long to be less than 30 years old. And worn with anything below….skirts, denims, trousers…. And the colour combinations! And the shoes! Lots of hefty walking sandals. Girls with coloured tights under shorts. The window displays in some clothes shops brought a smile or two. Would have liked to have taken photos of the awful clothes on offer but afraid that the shop owners would object. Nothing yet seen has enticed me inside a clothes shop….unbelievable I know. I see very few well dressed people, many butch looking women and lots of not so butch men! Porky men with long grey ponytails, sandals, socks and white legs seem the norm. So with apologies to all style conscious Germans….I didn’t see you! I admire the German respect for the environment and how they stick to the rules. Young, plump guy stubbed out his cigarette, picked it up and dropped it in litterbin. That was one of many examples of this attitude. They rigorously adhere to the recycling policy which seems complicated to a newbie. Bins for everything. But it works, as can be witnessed by the litter free streets. Even in Berlin this is observed although the incredible amount of graffiti (even on new buildings) seems incongruent to the overall cleanliness. And artistic work is to be seen in the most inaccessible places. These graffiti “artists” must have risked life and limb. I did admire the audacity of one (the same ‘handwriting’style) who scrawls “STOP CHEMTRAILS NOW” on many walls next to the parliament building! Good on you whoever you are! Are the Germans friendly? Hard to tell as they are often expressionless like puppets unable to crack into a smile. Some are quite fierce looking…and that´s just the women! But… oh so polite with the language..”Bitte, bitte, bitte is heard several times in even a short exchange. The supermarket checkout staff wish, "A pleasant evening" with all the sincerity of "Have a nice day"! They were mostly helpful when asked for directions. I was also helped with my suitcase. And even crowds of young guys behaved in a non threatening way. But one observation is…I have never seen so many young folk, girls too, drinking beer whilst walking along the road…or riding bikes! Still as long as they remember to put the empties in the correct recycling container! Did I get talking much to them? Well a drunk guy said “Prost.” to me when I was sitting outside enjoying a beer but didn´t engage in further conversation…perhaps just as well. I sat next to a guy outside a veggie café and I started the conversation. He was friendly enough….at least he didn´t run off immediately (!). He recommended an open ´park´ party on Saturday. Was this an invitation? I think he was just being hospitable. While on a guided tour (German/English) I did get chatting to a German woman of about 37 who was on her own and we went for a coffee before going on to do separate things. At last a short opportunity to practise the language apart from asking for directions and ordering beer! And while on a six hour train trip I tried to converse with a couple of around my age. They were polite but obviously not interested enough to ask me any questions before going back to their laptop and joking between themselves. (Note to all couples….. please show a little consideration to solo travellers who may just appreciate a short chat to feel less alone). I found the Germans don´t readily make eye contact even when passing by in a park. Unlike in Spain where fellow walkers, or even when entering a shop or restaurant, always say “Buenas Dias”. Is it me? Do I give off some “Do not smile or attempt to speak to me” vibes? I seem to be invisible here so I’ve just done a small experiment. I walked along the road with a ready smile and all I got was people turning their heads away…”Sorry I don´t see you trying to be friendly so that gives me a good excuse for ignoring that you exist!!!!! Yes I am a bit pissed off with the German unfriendliness. There have bee a few examples of unsolicited kindness….a woman, seeing I was struggling with luggage, stopped a taxi for me; a tourist information lady gave me an unwanted bus ticket; a woman asked if she could help me when I was examining a map. I can't help but compare this with how Glaswegians treat strangers…as people have told me. Someone on their own,obviously a foreigner, is normally treated like a potential friend!!! And now I must ask myself the question..why am I bothering to study German when they don´t seem to want to communicate?! Are people reluctant to engage in chitchat with a single female traveller….especially a foreign one who’s attempting to speak the local language? I am willing to place a bet that single female travellers are treated friendlier in other countries. I felt invisible even when I made attempts to smile or talk. The question is…do males travelling on their own experience the same? And now to a comment on their music tastes…. I observed several shops selling old vinyl records! Why such an interest? Then I listened to the radio…ahhhh they seem musically stuck in a 70´s time warp. I wondered if I had mysteriously been whooshed back in a time machine. Even the posters promoting concerts proudly announce names of people whom I confess I had long forgotten about. Amy McDonald? Billy Idol? They are alive and well here. Beam me up…as I type this, the radio is playing some goddamn awful electronic geeky muck (ah it´s Tears for Fears with “Shout”!!) which makes me want to scream before switching it OFF.