German men dropped off at an experimental "kindergarten for men" by their wives say they were happy to avoid the tortuous boredom of shopping by spending Saturdays playing with mates instead.
Dozens of men left by their partners at the Nox Bar in the port city of Hamburg said they loved the "Men's creche," where for 10 euros (US$12) they got a hot meal, two bottles of beer, a name tag and free games.
"It's the first place that I've found where guys from different walks of life can come and enjoy themselves socially," said Ben Uaubascher, in his mid 30s, who had a choice of comics to read and games including a mini-race track to amuse him.
To keep the big boys entertained, there were also copies of Penthouse magazine in the bar in the northern city. Another "Maennergarten" or Men's Garden, as they have been called in Germany, has set up in a pub in the western city of Cologne.
"The food is really good and so is the whole concept," Uaubascher said. "People like new ideas and they like to experience new, interesting things. So it's interesting, it's new and it works really well and it's good quality."
For women who want to be able to shop without grumbling partners in tow, the "Men's Garden" has the advantage that they know where their men are and can limit how much they'll spend.
"I wanted to shop in peace," said Jeanette Brendel after dropping her husband off, paying the 10-euro fee, collecting a "receipt" for him, and kissing her middle-aged husband goodbye for the afternoon.
"Men are often in a crabby mood because they don't feel like going to the same shop five times to look at shoes. I like the idea. I just dropped him off and now I can go shopping where I want and as long as I want and I have my peace," she said.
Avoids arguments
Although the men's creche has so far been limited to Saturdays, the busiest shopping day in Germany, the venture could be expanded if demand for the experience grows.
Alexander Stein, the manager of Nox Bar and the man behind the idea, said the concept has caught on and women were happy to entrust their partners to him on Saturday afternoons.
"Men and women just don't shop together too well," he said, watching as men were handed name badges and welcomed to the sectioned-off "play" area by the bar's special hostesses.
"There are always arguments about shopping so this is an offer for women to drop off their men," he added.
"We take care of the rest. We serve a hot lunch, a few drinks and supply them with games. And when the women are done shopping they can come and pick them up again."
So that grown men won't squander all their time with fun and games, Stein has also introduced a workshop to teach the lads carpentry. On one Saturday in mid-October, men attending the creche were having lessons on how to use a power saw and other power tools.
Some attendees had such a good time playing the games and eating the free popcorn that they hoped to find an excuse to come back every week.
"If she comes back with 20 bags from the shops then I think I'd threaten her by saying I'm going to stay in the creche forever," said Stephan Saltuari.
Women aren't welcome, which doesn't bother Hennig Goosen, a South African.
"It's the atmosphere that's so great here," he said. "It's the whole set-up: coming in a pub initially and then moving to a lounge-type of thing where you sit back, relax. You can read a little nonsense book, you can get some training with tools or you can chat with friends and meet new people."
A few weeks ago I found myself at a Family Mart talking with the morning shift worker there, who has become my coffee guy. Both of us were in a funk over the “unseasonable” warm weather, a state of mind known as “solastalgia” — distress produced by environmental change. In fact, the weather was not that out of the ordinary in boiling Central Taiwan, and likely cooler than the temperatures we will experience in the near-future. According to the Taiwan Adaptation Platform, between 1957 and 2006, summer lengthened by 27.8 days, while winter shrunk by 29.7 days. Winter is not
A sultry sea mist blankets New Taipei City as I pedal from Tamsui District (淡水) up the coast. This might not be ideal beach weather but it’s fine weather for riding –– the cloud cover sheltering arms and legs from the scourge of the subtropical sun. The dedicated bikeway that connects downtown Taipei with the west coast of New Taipei City ends just past Fisherman’s Wharf (漁人碼頭) so I’m not the only cyclist jostling for space among the SUVs and scooters on National Highway No. 2. Many Lycra-clad enthusiasts are racing north on stealthy Giants and Meridas, rounding “the crown coast”
March 25 to March 31 A 56-year-old Wu Li Yu-ke (吳李玉哥) was straightening out her artist son’s piles of drawings when she inadvertently flipped one over, revealing the blank backside of the paper. Absent-mindedly, she picked up a pencil and recalled how she used to sketch embroidery designs for her clothing business. Without clients and budget or labor constraints to worry about, Wu Li drew freely whatever image came to her mind. With much more free time now that her son had found a job, she found herself missing her home village in China, where she
In recent years, Slovakia has been seen as a highly democratic and Western-oriented Central European country. This image was reinforced by the election of the country’s first female president in 2019, efforts to provide extensive assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of relations with Taiwan, all of which strengthened Slovakia’s position within the European Union. However, the latest developments in the country suggest that the situation is changing rapidly. As such, the presidential elections to be held on March 23 will be an indicator of whether Slovakia remains in the Western sphere of influence or moves eastward, notably towards Russia and