Keeping your house - and street - clean in Germany

I learnt when I moved to Stuttgart about the (rather strange) tradition of "Kehrwoche". There is perhaps no literal translation of the term but it means "cleaning week". A Swabian tradition that puts each household responsible for the cleanliness in the apartment for that particular week. And that means sweeping the stairways or wiping the window panes or shoveling the snow off the entrance, the household takes care of it all during that week.

I come from a country where labour is so abundant that for a few rupees all of this would be taken care of by someone else. Cleaning your house too is a job that is done only if the household help does not arrive. Given this, it felt rather strange initially to be put in charge of cleaning. But it took one week of doing the job to see that it wasn't so bad after all. In fact, it was easy to see that it would increase social responsibility and boost overall levels of cleanliness, as well as a collective sense of responsibility.

I reluctantly changed my mind in just a few weeks after our first Kehrwoche. I realised that hardly anyone actually does it in our apartment block, let alone meticulously. I have been keeping a watch on the state of the building just to find no change in it for days on end. My own motivation to clean has, not surprisingly, gone down rapidly since the first kehrwoche. What a pity that in a country known for its strict, upright way of life, the tradition of kehrwoche has turned into mere lipservice!

In the last few days I had reason to justify a further deteriorated opinion of the so called attitude to cleanliness. The family who lived in the house below ours shifted out last week. On their last day here, they put together all the trash that they did not need in a heap on the pavement outside our building and just left! For a whole two days after that, several people came and picked up stuff that they wanted from this heap - toys, baby gear, electronic equipment, utensils. This happened round the clock - even at 4 am (wonder if it was so that no one would notice them doing that). They also did not do it nicely - they ripped apart bags and threw away what they didn't need right there on the street. I just wish I had clicked a picture of the dirty mess that was the result.

How disappointing that both those who left the trash and those who dug through it did not care about the consequences of their actions. Of course, no one will come to clean that street and over time the trash will dissipate due to the rain or wind. Thankfully it was not my turn at kehrwoche, for if it had been, I would have surely been extremely disturbed about it.

Vogtsbauernhof Museum in the Black Forest

Sometimes you hear about places and build your own expectations. And when you visit those places you are either delighted or disappointed depending on which way the place turns out vis-a-vis your imagination.

Last Saturday marked my first visit to the "Black Forest" guided by one of our friends here. I had a rosy, romantic idea of the "Schwarzwald". I always imagined lazy, laid back villages with music, food and chivalry; nature at its best and traditions at their richest. I was elated by what I saw. The picture fit with that in my imagination seamlessly.

Our destination this time was the Black Forest Museum or the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof. We traveled to Freundenstadt, and then rode the Schwarzwaldbahn up to Wolfach. The connectivity from Wolfach turned out a bit problematic. The bus stop was supposedly in the town and when we went there we realised that it had shifted to the station, bringing us back to precisely where we had alighted earlier. In the bargain we missed a bus and could get the next one only an hour later. No labour lost though. We reached by mid-day. There wasn't a very large crowd at the ticket counter and we got in swiftly.

The museum is an open air place, with exhibits housed in life size erects. Whether the labourer's cottage or the worksheds or the mills, you get to see everything as it was earlier. There are plenty of demos though their timings are a bit awry. We could not catch the ones on the mill or the black forest cooking because we reached too late in the day. We had two kids with us but they enjoyed too thanks to farm animals and a few play things that caught their interest. It was a little bit difficult to move around with a stroller since we had to leave it outside the houses and then come back to retrieve it since the exits were almost always at the back. Overall it made for a fine day outside with lots of learning.

The icing on the cake, literally, was the black forest torte that we ordered at the restaurant. It was mouth-wateringly delicious, lusciously filled with cherries, soft cream that melted in the mouth, laced with just enough rum. I think that taste is going to linger in my mouth for a long time to come.

Blown away in the sand!

I find the whole concept of the 'spielplatz' or play area here in Germany somewhat unsatisfying. That being the gist of it, let me list down what I like and what I don't.

What I like:
- Each area has at least one spielplatz. It is the responsibility of the local Rathaus or the civic office to ensure that. And they take that job very seriously.
- Each spielplatz caters to children of all ages. From activities for babies and toddlers to basketball courts for  teenagers, there is something in it for everyone.
- Equipment is well designed, safety standards are very high.
- Each spielplatz is unique. You won't find one like another. Very innovative, thoughtful games. E.g. An excavator replica to sit and try out, crocodile spring to jump on, basket swings, maze of pipes.

Now you may wonder where the unsatisfying part comes in! Then let me tell you my issues with these:

- My biggest problem is that all spielplatz have sand on the flooring. This seems mandatory. Children carry their sand toys e.g. pails, shovels, moulds and play in the sand. What's wrong with that you may ask. Nothing. It's a great way to improve co-ordination, motor skills, etc.etc. But my observation is that a child is ONLY playing with the sand for about 80 percent of the time that s/he spends in the ground. I find that very troublesome.
- Let me also mention that the sand never gets cleaned. (How can it?) Which means it's not the most hygienic or ideal surrounding for a child. Especially when it rains, the sand can remain wet for more than a day after.
- Play things are just not adequate. There is mostly just one slide, one swing and one other out of a see-saw or a merry-go-round or a small house. I can't imagine that sustaining a toddler's attention for more than a few minutes at a time, which basically gets us back into the sand each time.
- The baby/toddler area is mostly not properly fenced. Which means you cannot afford to let the child off sight for even a minute.

Now I like to take my daughter out to the ground so that she can get some physical activity, let off some steam, get some organized exercise. With most children around her just sitting around and digging, I find it impossible to continuously prod her alone to swing or slide.

There are two spielplatz around our house but I find my motivation to take my kid to either of those totally waning for the aforementioned reasons. There are several other play areas scattered around the city and these days with the superb weather, I've started taking the kiddo to a new place each time. Hopefully that will give us both some different stimulation each time!

I want to make a studied comparison here with the situation in another developed country so as not to sound like I am cribbing without a reason. When we were in France, we went to at least three play areas in two different cities. Play areas were really 'play' areas. The ones we went to were nicely fenced with just one or two gates. There was this very beautiful soft matting all over, not sand, which made it equally safe for the child and so much easier to clean/maintain. There were so many different kinds of play equipment that my child refused to leave even after an hour (mind you, without sand). Mothers could hang around on the benches lining the sides and keep an eye. They didn't have to be constantly on their toes wondering where the child might run away to next.

With more Europe trips coming up, I find myself just as enthusiastic as the kiddo to visit play areas in different cities/countries. My checklist is ready for comparison.

The ruins at Calw, and a Saturday ruined

The monastery ruins at Calw/Hirsau near Weil Der Stadt have five-star reviews at travel sites. Read those and your expectations can really soar. Like in the case of all our trips, even the day ones, I had spent hours going over various sites and finding information. All in vain it felt as soon as we got there.

I think this was the first place in Germany that I was truly disappointed with. One look and I felt like returning right away. The monastery ruins are very old, and the complex has been built starting the 1st century and added to thereon. You would expect a certain, almost pious feeling at such a place. But what do we find there? A beer festival was expected that evening and preparations were on in full swing right across the Marienkirsche, with half the area cordoned off for it. Weird!

The most majestic part of the ruins were under restoration. Which meant no access to those either. They were completely covered with cloth and scaffolding. Pity there was no mention of the restoration or the beer festival on the website which I checked just the day before we went there!

Now comes the strangest part. There was a bus-stop right across the ruins. We just missed a bus and there was no bus for the next two hours! The main railway station is 2.5 kms away. Reluctantly we started trekking back. Stopped on the way at the Kloster museum. That one is interesting, some bits in English. But nothing marvelous. Or may be we were already psyched with the place by then. Luckily we found the Hirsau railway station 500 meters away and got a train to Pforzheim in 15 min.

Two month old in Germany

I complete two months of having moved to Germany today. Two months. Phew. Two long months. Two really long months. Not one day I remember has been splendid or stellar. People say moving to a new land is exciting. For me it has been far from rosy. Let me admit that I did not exactly expect a honeymoon. I tried to mentally prepare myself for hard work. Even then, finding my way around, adjusting to a new house and new kitchen with limited supplies, new food and new ways of life, and most of all, being responsible 24x7 for the toddler has taken its toll for sure. Back in India, we had the day care which allowed me time of my own, family to fall back upon in trying times, occasional meetings with friends to look forward to, and work in terms of a consistent retainer position, even if part-time, that I cherished. It all stopped suddenly and entirely when I got here and miss it all like crazy every minute of every day.

In these two months, I have been through tribulations and utter turbulence of the mind. Why am I here? What am I going to do? How do I survive this? Questions that do not have easy answers. Questions, the mere thought of confronting which would send shivers down my spine. And now I am living with them every moment. Conclusion: Not an easy two months. But the positive side is this: I got through them, didn't I?

My "smart"phone played a heavy part in my life in the last few days. Especially social media networking which made me feel so close to friends and family and literally kept me going. Can't imagine life without checking updates last thing at night and first thing in the morning each day. Thank you facebook, whatsapp, gmail for being there!

Another person who really helped me here is the friend of a friend, though I never felt that the link was so long-winded. She welcomed me with open arms and loads of most useful advice. I like to call her my Santa Claus here! I don't want to mention her name here, but if she reads this post, she will know it is her. Thanks RR :)

Anyway, a lot of people I've spoken to in the last few days claim that they have gone through similar trying times in foreign countries. Most of them peg the difficult period at around six months after which comes a seemingly dramatic transition following which one feels truly 'adjusted'. At the moment that number of 6 months sounds overwhelmingly daunting. 6 months. I am just about a third of the way there? What can change so drastically in the next 4 months? Will wait and see. Will write again on 11th November and link back to this post then!

Unique Museums - Part One - Deutsches Museum in Munich

There is at least one and mostly innumerable museums in every city in Germany. There is bound to be a natural history museum, a toy museum, a museum in the local castle. We are restricted by our toddler's minuscule attention span, and almost afraid of visiting museums, but we look up at least one place in every city we visit - one place that we think would be different. We base this decision on reviews, personal preferences (we are both not the art-friendly people, for one) and mostly time and place constraints. Most times, our decisions are well-rewarded.

In this series of posts, I have decided to review unique museums - albeit as I visit more of Germany and other parts of Europe, my opinion might get reinforced or I may be forced to change it. Let's see how it goes!

1) Deutsches Museum in Munich:
We see the history of man and animals and evolution carefully documented everywhere, but getting to see early machines and latest technology under one roof is remarkable! Especially if you are inclined towards engineering or pure sciences, you will really dig this museum. Everything from large and awkward early contraptions to the sophisticated nano technology equipment is displayed in the most unique fashion. There are even helicopters and planes on display. Our toddler too was unexpectedly fascinated and we could spend good amount of time looking around. She was particularly enthralled by a large 18th century water wheel and huge ships. As if that was not enough, the museum features a children's area with large lego blocks, life size musical instruments, and scientific games full of fun and learning.

Now that's what I call a museum!