Meet the Germans
by
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SINGLE and DOUBLE BEDS
In the early 90's when I was younger and better looking and decided life would be much more interesting if I settled in Germany, I didn't have much furniture, (or money) but there was one piece of which I was really fond, a double bed made of Oregan pine. The frame was all wood, in a shade of impala fawn and had lots of springy slats that needed to be screwed into the base. The headboard was a simple curve that rose and fell like a rolling hill, with pillars and a round knob on top, on either side. It was one size larger than a normal double bed; the British have given their beds strange names: regular, queen and king size. Whether the monarchy were involved in defining such dimensions is doubtful, I can’t imagine Queen Victoria saying, in a moment where she had nothing better to do “Albert, give me the tape measure, I think I am going to re-define the sizes of the average British bed”
Mine had cost a small fortune, but has given good service, allowed me to stretch out and experiment sleeping in all possible angles, one of life’s little luxuries when one is single and possesses a big double bed, and has even managed to survive some rounds of serious bonking, allowing me in parallel to impress a few English girlfriends with my good taste.
My duvet covers were looking old and scruffy, so I decided to go shopping in
I started my search along the Zeil the main shopping avenue in the city centre, a shady pedestrian zone lined with trees down the middle and department stores on either side. In the first shop I managed to find the bedding department without too much trouble and snooped around searching for my covers. I found loads of stretch sheets to cover the mattress, in all manner of wild colours, deep purple, pillar-box red, black, a selection that was more adventurous than the tame pastel shades I remember seeing in Marks and Spencer in the
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About the Book
Probably more than any other nation on earth the Germans are a nation judged by stereotypes. Countless times, I have played a game with friends and acquaintances, asking the question: "When you think about the Germans, what spontaneously comes to mind?". The same answers are repeated time and time again. The rest of the world thinks they are efficient, serious, honest, and are a nation famed for curious customs - Lederhosen, Sauerkraut and Ommpah bands. But how much truth really lies behind these stereotypes?
Here I have taken an irreverent view and tried to peel back the layers to reveal a humorous side to modern Germans, after 15 years of living amongst them; a nation with unusual habits that include men and women who go naked together in the sauna, a passion for driving on highways with no speed limits, drinking copious quantities of mineral water and beer (not together!) and holding quaint beliefs that modern medicines should be avoided because they are full of harmful chemicals.
In addition, they have developed the worlds most unusual design in toilets, everyone sleeps in passion-killer beds, the women have great figures but sometimes neglect to shave their armpits and the authorities don’t bother to install barrier controls, they trust their citizens to pay on public transport.
They produce the world's best detective series, but nobody has ever heard of Tatort outside the country and they are a nation with a sharp incisive wit despite a deep-seated British prejudice that their language is blunt and they have no sense of humour.
This truly is a country worth getting to know better.
About the Author
David Cason, born in 1957, was raised in South Africa of British parents. The family emigrated when he was five years old and he spent his childhood initially in
During this time in
He moved back to the
He started to learn German as a challenge and by lucky co-incidence, three years later was offered an international assignment in
His work required extensive travel to the Middle East,
His first book, One Mans Journey, followed, a novel set in the height of the Apartheid era in
Meet the Germans, his second book, naturally evolved out of the many insights into the minutiae of details that make up daily life in the country. Germans invariably approached issues from a completely opposite angle to Anglo-Saxons, even down to small details like how to tip a waiter.