People do things differently. We all know that. Logically, it stands to reason that people in disparate cultures have wildly varying habits and customs.
After all, that’s part of the reason we choose to travel in the first place. Yes, there are the obvious relaxation benefits, the steady pull of that amazing scenery or the quest to attain boasting rights about that famous attraction that we’ve now seen first-hand.
But surely another part of travelling is our intense curiosity about other people’s lives. We want to expose ourselves to that “different culture”. We can’t wait to marvel at the way that people in foreign countries have such quaint and funny ways (all while being extra glad for the “proper” comforts waiting for us at home).
At the same time, you could argue that all our enthusiasm and keenness in hunting for the “authentic” is limited to those nice, clean cultural attractions and museums, where the dangerously unfamiliar stuff is kept at a safe distance and we don’t have to come into close contact with it.
This attitude, while understandable, doesn’t necessarily prepare us for the time when we encounter a genuine cultural difference. These moments are often so swamped in embarrassment or irritation that they are hastily blocked from our memory or else they become a story to tell our friends. - "Those ignorant and inhospitable foreigners who don’t even provide the most basic of comforts!"
As detailed in my previous post, I was ill last month, but thankfully I recovered just in time to accompany my boyfriend on a trip to Germany in the past week. It was mainly to attend a wedding and we’d booked it a fair while ago, so it was nice not to be forced to cancel it due to my being unwell.
As we live in Austria, it didn’t seem like that big of a step to visit Germany. Geographically, linguistically and culturally, the countries are arguably very close. But perhaps going with such expectations made the cultural differences that we encountered all the more pronounced?
I’d like to tell a few stories in the posts to come, but the first of them here is about a topic very dear to my heart: the tea culture (or lack thereof) of Germany!
I’m a big tea drinker. Love the stuff. And happily, Austria is a country with a lot of appreciation for many types of tea. Oh and before any of you make comments about stereotypical British people, I’d just like to point out that I’m actually something of an outcast in my country of origin, since I can’t stand the black-tea-with-milk combination that’s the drink of choice over there. I don’t even like black tea all that much. (Such blasphemy!)
Anyway, going by what I witnessed on the trip, people in Germany don’t drink much tea at all. It’s all about the coffee. I suppose it’s quicker to drink, tidier (since you don’t have to mess about with a teabag), and the extra caffeine boosts one’s speed and efficiency. Makes sense…
I had my first brush with this “other culture” quite early on. Our hotel room provided the standard tea & coffee-making equipment, with excellent gourmet teabags (it was a nice hotel you know) that just had the slight problems of being FAR TOO BIG to fit in the espresso-size cups that were provided. Seriously, how are you supposed to make a cup of tea when there’s no room for water once the teabag is in the cup?
But all was not lost. Being an experienced traveller and tea-lover, I had even brought my own teapot. Yes really. I can leave my slippers and favourite comfy sweater at home, but the teapot is a must. Looks like I’m going to have to add “cup” to my essentials list too. It’s frustrating having to refill for every mouthful. Perhaps I should have drunk straight from the pot, but sadly I’m too posh for that.
So that was my genuine “authentic” cultural experience. Travelling is a time to step out of your safe, familiar bubble and experience new ways of doing things. It might be something small, or it might mean doing without one of the things that makes your life worth living. On the bright side, missing something about home makes for a really happy homecoming.
Any interesting travel stories to tell? Any hotel rooms that were seriously lacking in something that you would have thought to be an essential?
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