Hospitality

Who wouldn’t want to be a nice & friendly host and who wouldn’t love to host lavish dinners with exotic spread of appetisers, starters, main course, dessert, coffee, mocktails to cocktails and allure warmth to the ambience.

However, with every culture there are etiquettes which can be contrasting. I guess few of them really stand apart, when a guest would compare with the dining etiquettes in Germany.

Upon your visit at the host’s place, don’t be immediately tempted to remove your shoes when you enter their house. It’s always best to ask rather than assume.

As a friendly gesture, I am sure you will carry along with you fresh flowers appropriate for the dinner evening or a good wine or a rich chocolate collection.

I was pleasantly surprised when we got ourselves seated at the dining table immediately after reaching the host’s residence. We actually spent the entire evening sitting at the dining table, enjoying a fabulous dinner spread and loads of chit-chat. What also caught my attention was the crystal shine crockery, crisp tablecloth with cinnamon scented candles adding spice, complemented with the soothing fragrance of flowers. Indeed a memorable evening.

Don’t forget to ask for a second helping directly – and that ‘NO’ is not POLITE YES!

It was evidently confusing to see three types of glasses kept for each plate. I was actually lost, as to pour water in which glass and what to pour in the other two? Well, they helped me understand that glasses were for water, wine, and juice respectively. Interesting piece of information.

At the end of the evening, apart from learning important aspects of their culture with respect to dining habits, I also had a chance to get a few recipes in German and understand a lot about their cooking styles, ingredients and of course the vocabulary.

Gastfreundschaft (hospitality) is an important part of their culture, like any other.

Guten Appetit

Hitixa Vora