darrylfeldman.com

Well I must say I have been wanting to write this post for a while. Ever since I started visiting Germany (last 8 years or so) I have been dismayed at the state of things here when it comes to queues. Being British it comes naturally, we are used to standing sheeplike in long queues in London for most things, one is patient when queuing and I usually manage to put myself into Zen-like self-induced trance as I ponder on things and wait to be served knowing there is a system and I will get there soon. In the UK people are usually polite and respect that there is an order to the queue often chatting amongst themselves or even allowing people to go first in cases with the elderly or children at hand. In Germany the opposite seems true. Firstly there is no queue just a bundle and scrum to get be the first to get served…people push, shove and blatantly step in front of you! If you do not concentrate and push in you find yourself in a position where you get nowhere, this is hard work for a brit. I have asked my wife about this phenomena and she says it’s normal behaviour for Germany but having lived in the UK herself for a while also gets annoyed by it. To be fair Germans behave better in public spaces than the brits (no fighting or mindless vandalism) but maybe should learn to love queuing a bit more!

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