Sunday, January 25, 2009

So you don't get wet, of course



Maja would like the world to know that no, despite the evidence above, it is not normal for Germans to use umbrellas while taking showers. Uh-huh.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

But is it normal for Germans to care only about the view off the balcony and what the bathroom looks like?

At least the lid on the toilet is down.

Stuart said...

As a person of German decent, I can honestly state that I have no idea why that is there. None. Unless the entire apartment of comprised of one single bathroom surrounded by balconies, which would be kind of Bauhausian. And awkward.

Angela at Box of Unicorns said...

You're supposed to get wet when you take a shower? Ohh...

Zulee said...

I am sure that the bathroom is one of the most important rooms in a living space, but it can't be the ONLY room...

jackie31337 said...

My best guess is that they put the umbrella in the bathroom to dry when they came home, so that it wouldn't drip on the floor in other parts of the house. If German bathrooms are anything like Finnish ones, there's a drain in the floor for the shower, so it's not a problem to have wet drippy things in there. As to why they wouldn't remove it before taking the picture, that is beyond me.

Anonymous said...

Germans are rather down-to-earth-people. Once you're inside the apartment, it doesn't matter how the exterior looks like - what you get is a room with a view or without. Thus all those pictures taken from the balcony.
As for the bathroom, that's the only part of a rental apartment you've got to take as is: You bring your own kitchen (or get a new one), take along your own furniture, but you're stuck with the bath. So in German listings, it may seem as if the only part that matters is the bathroom.
Doesn't work for me, though...

Anonymous said...

What's interesting to me, other than the fact that the only pictures of the inside are of the bathroom -- the entire bathroom, no less -- is that whereas the umbrella is hung up, presumably to dry, the towel is actually dangling into the tub.

Marytoo said...

But at least the bathroom is clean!

Unknown said...

As soon as I saw this post, I sent it to my friend in Germany to ask her about the umbrella phenomenon... this was her reply:

"In Germany most bathrooms are made completely of tile, floor, walls, and sometimes even ceiling. That means that condensation builds up after you take a shower so while you are getting dressed after a shower, there's the danger of getting wet again from dripping condensations. That's why Germans usually have an umbrella in their bathrooms, to protect themselves from the post-shower condensation."

Makes sense to me! :D Thanks for such a wonderful blog!

Marytoo said...

How can you get dressed if you are holding an umbrella in one hand? How can you pull a shirt over your head if you have an umbrella over your head? Was she serious?

Anonymous said...

"In Germany most bathrooms are made completely of tile, floor, walls, and sometimes even ceiling. That means that condensation builds up after you take a shower so while you are getting dressed after a shower, there's the danger of getting wet again from dripping condensations. That's why Germans usually have an umbrella in their bathrooms, to protect themselves from the post-shower condensation."

Huh? I'm German and have never seen a bath with tile on the ceiling. And besides, although this listing shows so much of the bathroom, there are other rooms in an apartment where you can dress without getting wet. Honestly, I think your friend was just kiddin'.