"[We] like to, move it!" Remember the dancing lemur song from the film Madagascar? :)
So, Daniel and I joined two different gyms the other day and it turned out to be a very differnent expereince than one we would have had in the states. Since I think it might be interesting for you all to hear some of the differences between the two cultures we are going to make a few posts about Germany vs. USA.
Basically, the gym story starts with a cute little picture of Daniel at a local festival with one of those enormous hammers swinging away at a large lever to see how many times he could ring the bell at the top in 1 minute. The point was that for every time you rang the bell you recieved a free days memebership to one of the local "fitness studios" (as they are referred to here). Well, Daniel swung so hard that the weight flew up to ring the bell and blew the whole darn thing to pieces! The owners stood stunned and the crowd started shouting, "free three months! free one year!" etc, etc.
Eventually they fixed it and he was able to ding the bell 33 times to recieve 33 free days to "move it, move it!"
In the meantime I discovered how much it regularly costs to attend a FS here, which happens to be about three times as much as I paid at Fitness 19 back home. Luckily, Bea found me a local cupon for another Fs and I decided to try 4 weeks for this better rate.
First off, Daniels gym is a dude's gym. It seems smaller than the one I am attending (PF), the front desk is a huge display of gargantuain muscle building protein powders, and the owners freak me out a little because they are huge weight lifting guys and one of them looks like a creepy italian guy - the kind that stares. Dont get me wrong though, PF is not anything like our MEGA gyms back home like Bali's or Lifetime. It is actually quite modest, but inclusive of what people want. When I walked in I felt it was a little lighter, airy, cleaner, and what I call fluffier - actually I mean accomodating. They have two extra workout rooms for classes of all kinds (pilates! yoga! spinning!), a beautiful locker room, sauna, tanning booth, cardio machines, areas for stretching, a heavy weights area, and what i call "chick weights". I mean the weight MACHINES. :) Daniel's gym has only the scary dude weights. And scary dudes.
Difference #1:
Ok, so one of the things I noticed was that when I tried to sign up, the guy barely took any information from me. Ok, really he took my name, address and phone number but it seemed like he had such a casual attitude that it wouldnt matter if I didnt give him anything. What followed was even stranger to me. I opened my wallet to pay the membership fee and he looked confused! I thought, hmmm, why do you look like Im being strange? He said, "um, do you want to pay now (?)....or pay later? " As if later (WHEN IS THAT!!!??) was the norm! I am so accustomed to paying on the spot, ha, actually, in the US dont we all have "pay later" payment plans? Ok, so I think I just told you I dont usually do that. Anyway, I paid him up front. I thought, hmmm? So I am allowed to come for four weeks and pay at the end? (Only my assumption of what "later" meant).
Difference #2:
I have noticed that the gym I go to is so quiet, regardless of how many people are there. In the US people seem to associate a good work out crashing weights, huffing and puffing, and high energy spastic bouncing/racing around the gym from event to event. In Germany, if you crash a weight machine, it vibrates the whole place. Sound stiff? No, its actually quite peaceful. I have crashed plents of weights (only the chicky kind) but I am learning.
Difference #3:
I usually go to the gym and do 25-30 minutes cardio, broken up on three different machines, and then 30 minutes of weights. This is when I dont take a fitness class. At home I often feel like the modest cardiopath when I see many people go and do 30 min-1 hour cardio marathons. (I, too, was once an extreme cardiopath. IT. IS. EXHAUSTING. I could not do that long term. Not enough days with enough energy or time.) However, in Germany I have noticed that people dont do anything of the sort. I am, actually, the cardiopath! I am the one who seems to be doing the marathon workout. Instead, I have observed that they will do a mild-moderate intensity cardio workout for 10-15 minutes and then do a few sets of weights and an ab workout for another 10-20 minutes. I wonder if this is because they are out biking during the day, or walking or doing a little more phsyical activity than we regularly do at home? Perhaps, as I feel I've also observed, it actually has more to do with their practice of balance than extremism? Would it more maintainable and therefore more productive with a gentler lifestyle such as this? I think it would be for many people. I dont find anything here is really as extreme as it can get in the US. We do everything super big...which isnt always appreciable. (Also guilty of this.)
Difference #4:
Everyone here finishes their time exercising by showering, and quite often, using the sauna. The feeling I get is that they expect their studio to provide a very clean, well equipped place to clean up afterwards. No exceptions. The whole "work out" experience is a more gentle one and a regular, enjoyable event for them. It doesnt have that feeling of, "oh, I will squeeze in a marathon workout for 30 min in between X & Y events, change my clothes and go on my day." (Again, guilty.) I think people go a little slower, and they realize that things take time. So, they take their time. There are no buzzing people here racing in and out of the gym like busy bees who barely have time for their life, their health, or themselves. (oops.) It's actually quite nice to see that the expectation here is that life takes time, and its worth it. Hmmmm. Interesting.
P.S. I hope not to offend anyone back home with my views of American lifestyle. My statements are based less on anyone elses habits than they are upon my reflections of my own experiences and behaviors I've learned growing up in our big, wide, "can-do all" America.
I think its wonderful that birth at home is normal and most often done naturally. I think more women should be supported in experiencing a loving, nurturing, non-fearful, pregnancy and childbirth. How come the US has all the crazy doctors pushing for inductions/augmentations, scheduled c-sections, heavy pain meds, tests for everything, and every other little invasive intervention thats not generally necessary? Not to mention the fear they instill in women regarding the whole process. I wish that in our culture when you said childbirth people didnt immediately think, "painful", but rather, "women are strong." This seems to me the feeling in Holland. 
So, since we don't actually have a MINI yet, our alternative was to take the bus/train system into town. However, one of the bikes we were going to use to get to the bus stop (a mile+ away) suddenly has a flat tire. So, I was very frustrated but my engineer husband engineered another option for us. I was very reluctant but it was quite a laugh once I gave in and we started on our trip. Check it out. 
I know, it was rediculous. My knees were in my face and every person we passed and said, "hallo" to only looked at us with wide eyes like we were clowns. Well, we kind of were!
I absolutely heart these pens in Europe. I think you can find them in the US but they are rarely used. The first time I learned about them was from Frederike a few years back. The best part is that the ink cartriges are really easily replacable, so you can keep it forever!
