Living in Germany: Summer flights, regional beers and not-so-friendly neighbours

Germany braces for a summer of flight chaos 

As the first German states prepare to break up for the summer holidays, we know that many of you are looking forward to packing your bags and jetting off somewhere nice for a week or two. But after the scenes at major European airports in the last few weeks, some people might be feeling just a little bit of trepidation about their dream summer getaway.

After reports of hour-long queues at security (which one of our readers aptly described as “like Disneyland - but with no elation”), there are fears that flight chaos could get even worse in the summer months. As we reported this week, this is largely due to the fact that airlines and airports sacked thousands of employees during Covid - without anticipating just how much people would want to travel once restrictions were scrapped.

In any case, if you’re flying somewhere this summer, don’t despair: with the help of our readers, we’ve put together some top tips to bear in mind when catching a flight in Germany. 

Tweet of the week

Regional differences in Germany are fascinating, and what better way to understand the different tribes than by mapping their favourite brand of beer? While many of these were predictable, we were slightly surprised to see that the well-heeled folk of Hamburg have a particular fondness for Becks. 

A map of which beers are most popular in which state of Germany pic.twitter.com/F0TjOPKh9E

— James Jackson (@derJamesJackson) June 17, 2022

Where is this? 

This idyllic photo was snapped during the Fronleichnam public holiday at the breathtaking Staffelsee in Upper Bavaria. Each year during the religious festival, people  dress up in their finery to join a procession from St. Michael’s church in Murnau to St. Simpert’s chapel on the island of Wörth. Priests, altar boys, choristers and fishermen traditionally take part in the ceremony, rowing across the lake for blessings and fruit and before returning to the mainland once more. 

Did you know?

A story this week about a man “flipping the bird” at a speed camera and getting fined €5,000 for the rude gesture got us thinking about some of the slightly unusual laws in Germany. One thing that foreigners may accidentally fall afoul of when they move to Bundesrupublik is the strict regulation on neighbourly behaviour that is set out in the Nachbarrechtsgesetz - or Neighbourhood Law.

To make things especially confusing, each state has its own version of these neighbourhood rules. Broadly speaking, though, you can expect to have strict guidelines on how close your bushes and trees should be to your neighbours’ garden, when (and if) you’re allowed to wash your car and what type of noise you’re allowed to make.

We’ve heard that the German small courts spend a lot of time ironing out disputes between neighbours - including one family that apparently took their neighbours to court over the loud croaking of their frogs. (In case you’re wondering, the frogs won.) Have you ever found yourself on the wrong side of the Nachbarrechtsgesetz in Germany? Let us know by emailing news@thelocal.de. 

Rachel and Imogen @ The Local Germany 

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