Das ist mir Wurst = (lit) It's like a sausage to me
Es geht um die Wurst = (lit) It's all about the sausage
We have reached the end of our time in Germany now. In less than two weeks we fly to the USA (Jo's brother, Richard, is getting married there), then to Canada (Jo's cousins are there), New Zealand to see some friends, and finally back to Sydney.
How does it feel at the end of our Wochenende in Germany? It's both happy and sad. We're glad to be on our way home, but sad to leave our new friends and some of the cool things you can find in Germany.
What will we miss? In no particular order:
1) German bread rolls.
2) German beer.
3) Being able to say "The day after tomorrow" in one word (übermorgen).
4) Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market)
5) Making progress with learning German
6) Herbst (Autumn for the leaves and colours)
7) Meeting with other christians at Leipzig English Church
8) The morning after a snowfall
9) Fantastic heating
10) The easy and efficient transport system
11) Living within walking distance of the city centre
12) German hospitality
13) Watching people skate on a frozen pond
14) Apple Cake
15) Walking past the Eis Cafes and knowing that you can get all sorts of ice cream desserts
16) The cobble stone streets
17) The German style windows - they open by tilting inwards and also like a door (like a 2-in-1)
What won't we miss? Also in no particular order:
1) Having to stand uncomfortably close to the person in front of us in a queue to avoid someone pushing in.
2) Sprechen Sie bitte langsam, mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut.
3) The length of the German winter.
4) That the verb always at the end is.
5) The lack of non-smoking areas in restaurants.
6) Most milk products having the "long life" taste.
7) Being around people who smoke walking anywhere in Leipzig.
8) Having to see a paediatrician for a mere routine checkup eg. Owen's weight and height.
9) Having to wait 2 and a half hours for the paediatrician for Owen's routine checkup.
10) Our bar-fridge sized fridge.
11) Having to shop every day or second day because we have a bar-fridge sized fridge.
12) Entschuldigung, ich verstehe das nicht..
13) Sharing the trams and shops with dogs (really...dogs are allowed in shops and on public transport)
14) Separating out the organic rubbish - opening the organic rubbish bin lid...oh how all the flies fly out at once....!
15) Carrying a dictionary around with us everywhere
16) The general lack of customer service
17) People smoking everywhere
18) Eating so much potato
In packing everything up, we've learnt more about the German way of doing things. One in particular sticks out. When you rent an apartment in Sydney, you usually have to give 2 or 3 weeks notice. Not in Germany - it's 3 MONTHS notice! And you can't do sensible things like give notice 3 months before the end of your lease period... you have to give notice AFTER your lease period has ended. Thus a 1 year lease actually is a 1 year and 3 month lease. To make matters worse, you can't cancel in the middle of a month. Instead, you have to cancel at the beginning of the month. If you're a few days too late, you end up paying for a month extra.
This 3 month thing isn't restricted to renting an apartment. It also applies to contracts for internet, transport, etc.
This post is a bit lacking in photos, but we don't have much time right now. Totally unrelated to the theme of this post, but who cares? Owen having a shampoo.Those sausage sayings?
Das ist mir Wurst = It's all the same to me. Reason: If you slice up a sausage, every bit is the same as the next.
Es geht um die Wurst = It's now or never. Reason: In the past, competitions would often have a sausage as the prize. If you reach the final and are in it to win it, then it's all about the sausage!
