Germany Blog

Stories, tips, and reflections about life, travel, and culture in Germany.

  • New Alternatives To Traditional German Garden Allotments

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    It’s been a beautiful summer in Germany, and I have certainly enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables of the season. The farmer’s markets are full, as are the pantries of those lucky enough to have small garden plots.

    Getting a small garden plot in Germany can be a bit of an adventure for those who don’t live in the countryside. Urban dwellers can try and join a Kleingartenverein, the Small Garden Associations which provide land for gardens. However, these well-established systems have long waiting lists and holdings are often kept by members for decades.

    This doesn’t mean that German city dwellers have stopped looking for fresh greens and organic gardening options. Quite the contrary! Into this hungry market has stepped Meine Ernte (site in German), a company offering rental gardens for those who want to try their hand at having a garden.

    Meine Ernte, which means “My Harvest,” isn’t a traditional garden co-op. Instead, they cater specifically to would-be organic farmers without a lot of time or even gardening experience.

    The company has set up cooperative agreements with organic farmers near some of Germany’s largest cities, including Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Bonn, and Dortmund. The farmers provide swathes of land, which are planted by professional gardeners at the beginning of the season. A small bit of land is left for customized plantings, but the rest has a mix of 20 popular edible plants.

    Renters have their choice of section size. Small gardens are for 1 – 2 people, standard gardens cater to 3 – 4, and large gardens cater to large families and groups. Prices range from €149 to €433 per season, with renewable subscriptions and the option to change as your needs change. Meine Ernte estimates that even small sections produce at least €600 of produce per season.

    Each of the locations has a professional gardener on site to offer consultations and aid. Renters should plan to spend 1 – 2 hours a week tending to their garden allotment, which does make it rather easy to have a summer hobby garden.

    Meine Ernte plans to expand to new cities in 2011 — so plan ahead for your garden share. Those Meine Ernte doesn’t have waiting lists like the Kleingartenverein, there is still just a limited amount of space available for those who want to try their hand at gardening in Germany.

    —Marcus

  • Who Watches The Kids In Germany?

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    Childcare in Germany is a big deal. I’m usually not involved, because I don’t have kiddies of my own at the moment, but now that school is out I am hearing quite a bit about this from my friends.

    In Germany, a good daycare spot, known as Kitaplatz, is a prized item. The government subsidizes the cost of daycare for children over three, but this is coordinated through our child services and visitors won’t have the Gutschein. This is the document that tells how much childcare subsidy you have and how much from your own pocket must be paid (it’s a sliding scale based on income).

    However, even with the right papers, most formal places have different holiday hours, and they don’t always accommodate older children or teens. This means to find someone to mind the children for a few days, or even a few hours, can be a stressful project. This is true if you are resident of Germany, but it is doubly true if you are just visiting. Who can you turn to for a bit of babysitting?

    Locals often have a Tagesmutter, or child minder. These are loosely licensed caregivers who may have completed a course or two in First Aid or child care. A good Tagesmutter is fiercely prized, but if you have local friends they might share with you while you are on holiday.

    You can also ask around for babysitters, which is the same word in English and German. If you don’t have a local friend’s recommendation, most towns have Babysitter-Agenturen in the phonebook. Your hotel may also have a recommended provider if you ask at the front desk, who will come to the hotel to watch your children or grandchildren.

    However you find them, babysitting and Tagesmutter services are not always so cheap! Plan to pay at least 10 euros an hour, with more due in big cities, for infants, for multiple children, for last minute jobs, and for overnight work.

    My friends point out that tipping is not required, but if you want to use the babysitter or Tagesmutter again it is a good idea to slip them a few extra euros to ensure they are not “busy” when you call. This way, when you come out to meet me while you are in Germany, you will be sure to have someone to watch your kids! ;-)

    —Marcus

  • A New Way To End A German Romance

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    A German romance is a beautiful thing. My countrymen (and women!) are wonderful people, and you could just meet your soul mate here. Whether you use one of the German dating sites I told you about in February or meet someone in your travels, it is relatively easy to start a new dating life here.

    How about ending a relationship? Well, this might be challenging… I remember some of my own dating adventures and wince, but I’ll spare you all of those stories!

    At times, breaking up is hard to do, that’s a given. Add in the complexities of a multi-national or multi-cultural relationship and it can be even more challenging. So what’s a German dater to do?

    Well, we Germans are nothing if not innovative! We like solving difficult problems, and a man in Berlin has created a special service to help people get out of their dating relationship more easily. I didn’t believe it when I first heard about it, thinking it might be one of my country’s famous April Fool’s Day jokes, but it seems that this is a very real service!

    Known as the Separation Agency (site in German), this company was founded by Bernd Dressler. Essentially, you hire the company to go to your significant other and explain to them that you don’t want to continue the relationship. Though I wouldn’t think this would be much of a business, apparently the company has been thriving for three years!

    They offer four levels of service: the basic phone break up with a “Let’s still be friends,” a “Please don’t speak to me again” phone call, a break up by letter, and a personal visit from Mr. Dressler himself to announce the end of the relationship.

    The cost for the services ranges from about 30 euros for the basic to over 60 euros for the door stop visit. On personal visits, Mr. Dressler can also collect items left at a soon-to-be ex’s home.

    Mr. Dressler, who carries the nickname “The Terminator” thanks to his work, has reported in various media interviews that the bulk of his clients are younger women, and that business is busiest on Monday’s and after holidays. Thus, my poor fellow men, watch out for a phone call or knock on the door from a stranger after a bad weekend or lousy holiday trip!

    Though I find this service amusing — especially now that I am married and out of the game (at least for the time being ;-) — I can see where it would be useful to some.

    However, I wish all of you the best in love and hope you never have to experience “The Terminator” or his services yourself! ;-)

    —Marcus

  • Tour Munich By Classic Car

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    Germany offers many unique driving experiences for visitors, from the Porsche test track to the opportunity to cruise the Autobahn. As a lover of German cars, then, how could I not share this latest driving adventure opportunity with you?

    Of course, to be technically accurate, you won’t be doing any driving. No, no — not with these cars! These are classic BMW Cabriolets which are being temporarily pressed into service as tour vehicles for those wishing to have a special trip around Munich

    You will definitely notice them as they tool around the city, driven by professional drivers, thank you! After all, these are BMW 326 and 335 Cabriolets that date back to the 1930’s, with a 502 Cabriolet from the 1950’s and a 3200 CS Cabriolet also available as options. Their unique and highly polished shape stands out against more modern cars.

    As a guest, you can ride in the back of these open air classic to see Munich between now and October 2010. That’s it. After that, these classic cars will be retired back to their home in the BMW Museum.

    Tours of the city actually start and end at the BMW Museum, stopping by a number of BMW attractions in the city as well as cruising the ring road and other local sites before returning. The registration for the tours is through the information desk at the museum (+49-1802-118822) and you are advised to register well in advance.

    The tours are 90 euros per person, and the experience lasts about three hours. Though this may seem expensive for a chauffeured tour, remember that the euro (alas!) is at four year lows, so this special BMW experience is more affordable to overseas guests than locals (again, alas!).

    Germany is going to be beautiful this summer after all the moisture this winter, and southern Germany is truly lovely. Why fight the average tourist in the street to see Munich, when you can tour in style?

    —Marcus

  • Local German Honey Growers Now Have Online Market

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    We Germans have a serious sweet tooth. From our morning muesli to our afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen, we like things to be well sweetened, and our favorite sweetener is honey.

    However, demand and supply for honey in Germany is a little interesting. Although there are more than 85,000 beekeepers in Germany, most supermarket honey is imported. This is because the majority of German beekeepers are hobbyists or small family operations not much interested in a big marketing push.

    To get the fine local honey we really want, in the past we had to hunt it down at farmers’ markets. Now, a new company has worked to unite local beekeepers and make our delicious domestic honey available online.

    Heimathonig (in German) provides an online marketplace for honey and beekeepers. It does all the marketing and coordinates the placement of online orders. However, it keeps some farmers market elements by letting you order online and pick up directly from the beekeeper if you are in the area.

    For me, the best thing about this site is that I now have access to honey grown in different parts of Germany that would never appear at my local market. There are also honey varieties that are quite rare, like acacia, white fir, blueberry, organic cherry blossom, and seasonal forest flowers.

    The prices are very reasonable, too — the typical jar of all natural, locally grown honey is less than 10 euros. A sampler of mini jars in different flavors is just under 8 euros, and the Heimathonig blog announces when new varieties are available.

    Heimathonig is also searchable. You can look for beekeepers by zip code, or by the type of honey you would like. This can help you search out the rare varieties, like Black Forest honey, and also control what is in your honey if you like a specific taste.

    Even just exploring the site will make your mouth hunger for a taste of something sweet!

    I’m off to get my own little honey pot, and happy to say good bye to imported supermarket stuff in favor of local — and delicious — German honey.

    —Marcus