Comments on: Britain, the German version ….

By: Jacob Christensen

Jacob Christensen — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 20:35:47 +0000

-> #22: As a matter of fact, McDonald’s in Denmark used the cyclist Bo Hamburger in an advertisement campaign during a Tour de France some years ago. That was before Mr. Hamburger was put in connection with – well, never mind. (And of cause McDonald’s doesn’t use any funny ingredients in its food. So, no further Hamburgers for the Danish McDonald’s.)

To round off the thread (?), a musical observation: If you ever visit Germany, try to catch a show with Volksmusik on one of the German channels.

That is scarier than any bagpipe-orchestra you can possibly imagine.

By: david tiley

david tiley — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 12:13:21 +0000

Since Lederhosen are indestructible, there must be a mountain of the things somewhere in Germany. They are probably passed down inside families for five or six centuries, stopping only when a particularly strapping eldest son has unusually large testicles.

By: triticale

triticale — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 01:15:40 +0000

Somewhere I’ve come across the observation that “Hamburgers are Germans who believe themselves to be English”.

And Cheeseburgers are Germans who believe themselves to be French…

By: Squander Two

Squander Two — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 22:55:42 +0000

>> I have visited Germany many times, but have never seen anybody wearing Lederhosen

> For that, you could try Austria.

Or Bavaria. I have never visited my favourite bit of Germany—Lindau, Fischen, Oberamergau—without seeing men in lederhosen and women in those traditional dresses with frilled aprons. They often gather together in this garb and march into the forest, playing tubas and accordians. No, really.

Lots of the men have handlebar taches, too.

To be fair, other Germans think the Swabes are a bit weird. For some reason, the British stereotype of the nation is based entirely on this weird little enclave of people who do very strange things. It’s a bit like basing one’s image of the UK on Shetland.

By: tony

tony — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 20:20:30 +0000

But Ireland is a gigantic theme park that bears no resemblance to their country as it actually is!

By: etat

etat — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 14:39:46 +0000

and vice versa, natch!

By: Belle Waring

Belle Waring — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 14:03:51 +0000

I’m just glad people don’t have ridiculous misconceptions about america.

By: ingrid

ingrid — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 14:01:58 +0000

Isn’t it the case that most Europeans have archaic views about what’s typical in other European countries? And that tourism plays a big role in this? Take the wooden shoes and the windmills that would characterise the Netherlands – yes, there are plenty of windmills, but almost all of them are protected historical monuments and play no role in the production of anything (except tourist services); and I have never seen anybody on wooden shoes here (admittedly, I don’t live in the countryside).
I think people just like to think about the differences between European countries in terms of differences that are easy to visualise, and less in terms of much less tangible characteristics. And we probably also like to overemphasize how distinct the European countries are – perhaps to help us construct our own national identity.

By: Ajax

Ajax — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 13:59:39 +0000

Well, apart from times of war, recent English newspapers have been available for purchase in Hamburg for a couple of hundred years, and the city grew rich in the 19th century through its trading links to the English-speaking world. I doubt any other German city would be so enthusiastic about a British Day.

By: Tim Worstall

Tim Worstall — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 10:58:41 +0000

Quote of the Day…

So Chris Bertram is visiting Germany and he gets dragged along to British Day in Hamburg. Much jollity had by all but a slightly weird feeling given the bits and bobs of what the Germans actually extract as marks and…

By: Aidan Kehoe

Aidan Kehoe — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 10:22:53 +0000

Novakant, I can imagine it annoyed the Bavarians immensely back when Prussia was routinely pars-pro-totoed for Germany. I’m not sure there’s much of an alternative, today; Mecklenburg-Vorpommern? Too Ossi and too economically desolate. Baden-Würtemmberg? Not distinct enough. Berlin? Too edgy.

By: novakant

novakant — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 09:26:05 +0000

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if Bavaria wasn’t pars pro totoed for Germany all the time.

By: sam

sam — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 06:54:38 +0000

I spent some time in the English and Welsh countryside recently and found that it was in fact as absurdly and imporbably picturesque as any German fantasy of it could be. My theory was that all the people actually lived in mcmansions and visited strip malls that were conveniently located just on the other side of whichever hill was closest. The whole sceneray, I thought, was a big set to draw in tourists. I joke, but we tend to forget just how strange our homes are when viewed out of context…

By: Jacob T. Levy

Jacob T. Levy — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 05:43:24 +0000

No one’s yet remarked upon the boomerang-throwing kangaroos with giant knives who go hopping down the streets of Syndey playing digeridoos, or the starving obese American cowboy mugger who owns a pickup truck full of guns.

This stuff is often due in part to native dealers in kitsch volkish appropriations of some genuine tradition, though non-Aboriginal Australians don’t so much have a volkish tradition of boomerang-throwing.

By: Matt McIrvin

Matt McIrvin — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 03:44:09 +0000

I saw a guy wearing Lederhosen in Munich. He was playing a tuba for the tourists at the Hofbrauhaus.

Granted, he might have been a hallucination.