I, Claudia: Tuesdays in Bavaria

Join Claudia as she uncovers the surprising secrets of a typical Tuesday in Bavaria! From closed beer gardens to military-precision supermarket shopping, this episode reveals the quirky, orderly, and utterly fascinating side of German life you never knew existed.

Discover:
- Why Bavarian Tuesdays are anything but ordinary
- The unexpected challenges of working from home, German-style
- The mystery of opening hours in the villages
- How supermarket shopping becomes an extreme sport

Whether you're a culture enthusiast, a travel buff, or just curious about life in one of Europe's most iconic regions, this humorous episode is your ticket to experiencing Bavaria like a local.

Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more insider looks at German culture!

#BavarianLife #GermanCulture #TravelTuesday #WorkFromHomeBavaria #BeerGardenSecrets #GermanEfficiency #EuropeTravel #CultureShock #ExpatLife #overhereoverthere #podcasts

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Chapters

• 0:00 Music intro
• 0:19 Intro - Dan Harris
• 0:51 Tuesdays are nothing ordinary in Bavaria
• 2:52 The Unique Rhythm of Bavarian Life
• 3:03 Eerily quiet
• 6:13 Precision shopping
• 6:27 Outro and music

Transcript

Dan Harris 
You're in the right place. Hello, I'm Dan Harris. 

Hi, and I'm Claudia Kustler. 

Dan Harris
You're over here, over there. Welcome to Over Here, Over There, a global conversation about how we see others and others see us. I'm Dan Harris. I'm going to hand this over to my podcast colleague, Claudia Koestler, senior editor at the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Germany, who will tell us in a moment what's on her mind this week. But first, as a reminder, you can follow us on social media and contact us via our website at overhereoverthere.org. We'd love to hear from you. And please don't forget to subscribe and tell everyone about the podcast. And now without further ado, over to Claudia. 

Claudia Koestler
Thank you, Dan. And hey there, dear listeners, welcome. Thanks for tuning in today. I've got something special in store for you.

Picture this, a Tuesday in Bavaria. Sounds ordinary, right? But here's the twist, there is nothing ordinary about it. As I take you on a journey through that weekday in my home state, I want you to think about your own Tuesdays. How do they stack up? I'm genuinely curious, so drop us a comment, hit that like button, and don't forget to subscribe because trust me, by the end of this episode, you'll never look at Tuesdays the same way again. You see, here in the heart of Bavaria, the land of Lederhosen, Weisbier, and traditions as deep as the Alps at all, even a seemingly mundane Tuesday has a rhythm and a pulse of its own. Just as it might be where you live, Tuesday is that pivotal moment in the week. The last weekend a fading memory and the next one feels like it's a million miles away.

But here's where it gets interesting and probably a bit different. In Bavaria, this day is the day when life snaps into sharp focus when the orderly and the disciplined take center stage. It's like the entire region collectively decided that now is the time to get serious. Think about it. Monday's over. You've had your warm-up and now, bam, Tuesday hits.

The calendar fills up faster than a beer stein at Oktoberfest. Meetings, workshops, and appointments. Everyone's scrambling to lock in your time to make sure you're operating at full throttle. It's the day when Germany's famed work ethic kicks into high gear, even in the cozy state of Bavaria, and there is no room for slacking. You're expected to be in peak form, fresh off the weekend but already in the groove of the week.

But that's not all what makes a Bavarian Tuesday tick. By mid-morning, the streets of most Bavarian villages transform into something out of a movie. Eerily quiet. As if everyone has vanished on some mission. And in a way they probably have. They're all off working. Either in their offices or from home. But let me clear something up. This home office work isn't your typical pajama-clad bed-head Zoom call situation here. No, no, no, not here in Bavaria. No, here the work-from-home dress code is as serious as it gets. While you won't catch anyone clacking away on their laptop in full Tracht, Lederhosen or Dirndl creaking as they shift in their seats, can bet business attire is still very much the norm. But not everyone's on the same mission. Something I discovered by pure chance not long ago.

I needed to hash out details on a new project with one of my photographers. He happened to be nearby and since I was, you guessed it, in my home office, we thought we'd seize the moment. Why not turn a work meeting into an impromptu beer garden visit, right? After all, nothing says productive like a cold drink in hand in a Bavarian beer garden. Hey, I mean, this date is practically designed for this with its abundance of beer gardens, pubs, and restaurants. So we set out the nearest one. Hmm, closed. Okay, no big deal. We thought, okay, so on to the next. Also closed. By the third try, it was clear every single place was shut tight. On a Tuesday, out came the smartphones, and after a quick search, we realized they were unthinkable. Absolutely every restaurant, pub and coffee shop in the area had decided Tuesday was their day off. 

Now in Bavaria and across Germany, opening hours can be a bit of a mystery, unique to each establishment. But I hadn't quite grasped this pattern in my village before. And there we were standing in the middle of a Bavarian Tuesday, wondering what all these restaurant owners were up to while their doors were closed. Maybe, just maybe,

It's the one day they dedicate to making sure their beer garden outshines the competition. Picture this furniture perfectly aligned as if by military command, hedges trimmed to topiary perfection, and any stray leaf that dares to fall onto a swept path is promptly dealt with. When I shared this discovery of Tuesday's shutdown with friends, they were all wondering about their own villages and it turned out

The pattern was entirely different, but it was just a different day that they had closures, but all on the same branch. So it seems my little corner of Bavaria has its own quirks. One thing, however, is for sure. It keeps you on your toes, especially on a tightly scheduled Tuesday. So you might wonder what happened to me and my photographer in the end. Well, we ended up reaching the pinnacle of Bavarian Tuesday life early that day, the pilgrimage to the supermarket. Here the true spirit of Bavaria shines. Shopping carts are organized with military precision, lists are followed like a conductor leading a symphony, and woah to anyone who dares to enter the five items of your line with six items. Shopping is serious business here. Anything less than total efficiency might just send the universe spiraling into chaos. But hey,

At least the supermarket was open on that Tuesday. So we got our coffee there and we finally had our meeting in the car park. The day I went to bed knowing I'd survived another Tuesday. One filled with work, order, and yes, some unexpected hurdles. And how comforting to know that the next day will surely bring the same sense of purpose, the same dedication to orderliness. But perhaps just maybe a few more surprises along the way.

Dan Harris
Thanks, Claudia, and thanks to you out there for listening. If you have feedback on today’s or previous episodes, please let us know on social media and on our website, overhereoverthere.org, where you can also find our Patreon page. Please don’t forget to subscribe and tell good people like yourselves about the podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening to ‘Over Here, Over There’.