Back around 20 years ago, I was in a 'huddle' with several Americans who made criticisms about German tendencies to go off into dangerous situations, while on vacations. This came up after a couple of German tourists got into trouble in Yemen.
My wife (Germann in nature) has voiced this comment on various times as well. In her mind, Germans tend to believe that it's the 'other' folks (like Americans or Brits) who get into serious consequences.
I sat this AM....reading through a German news story from the Gaza Strip. A German couple (they leave out the age)....were off on vacation (I assume to Israel), and ventured with a rental car into the Palestinian area of the Gaz Strip. There, the car was attack by Palestinian young men with stones.
The car? Windows broke....tires looked flat. The two were chased a bit.
I guess they got support/help from some Israeli soldiers and required some medical attention (probably more the shock of being attacked than anything else).
I had a co-worker once who agreed to go with a German couple out to the western part of the US. He was kinda the guide/driver in this episode. On their top ten things to see? Well....they wanted to see Death Valley.
Before the trip....he tried to persuade them to abandon this idea. No....they were really hyped up to see it.
So he's at some hotel on the route, and he wants them to leave by 7 AM....to get the bulk of the trip done before mid-afternoon. No was the response....they felt leaving around 10 AM would work out. The heat shock (mid August) as they stopped a time or two....became an issue. They survived, but this was a worthless experience in the end.
Germans who got to Cape Town, South Africa....then get on some township tour? Same way.....they seem to want this element of danger. Same way with Germans who rent a car in Namibia and try to drive on their own in rural regions.
There has to be some element in the culture where rational thinking just disappears and acceptance of thrills takes over.
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