Music: Beethoven remix
Rachel: Hello, Rachel here with another "Travel bite" episode, where we bring you the untold stories and behind-the-scenes fun from season one of Don't Drink the Milk. The Beethoven remix, aka Beathoven... That will forever take me back to the episode of Don't Drink the Milk where we discussed the hot topic of homeopathy.
Rachel: I do have a guest with me in the studio, Shabnam Surita, who you might recognize from our homeopathy episode. So, thank you for dropping by again, Shabnam.
Shabnam: Thank you, Rachel, for having me.
Music out
Rachel: And you ended up being kind of a secret expert on the topic of homeopathy, right?
Shabnam: I mean, I've been there, done that, taken all the "Globuli." So, I guess I am.
Rachel: I'm going to get you a T-shirt with that on it. Well, our journey for that episode ended up in the US and in India, where it's a huge topic right now. But the story began in eastern Germany. That's where the founder of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, was from. But I don't want to get into all that again. If you haven't heard the episode, then definitely check it out. It's a fascinating look at why this controversial treatment came to be in the first place and how it managed to take hold in countries with really different cultures and traditions and health care systems. But for this episode, I didn't actually have to travel very far. I've been living in Germany for seven years. How long have you been here, Shabnam?
Shabnam: Ooh, seven years.
Rachel: Ah!
Shabnam: Jinx!
Rachel: High five! Shabnam and I are very used to digging into all things German. I used to present DW's YouTube show "Meet the Germans." And when I made the jump over to podcasting, Shabnam took over as host of the show. So, how's it going and what topics have you been looking into recently?
Shabnam: It's been a lot of fun, you know, like I also try to bring in certain topics, which I felt I had something to say about how it is in Germany. For example, cycling. I don't know how to ride a bike. And in Germany, I tried learning riding a bike. And also things like taboos, because we don't really talk a lot about German taboos. We talk a lot about taboos in other places of the world.
Rachel: So what did you come up with?
Shabnam: Abortion.
Rachel: Oh, yes.
Shabnam: With this abortion topic, what we try to do is bring in the latest developments, for example, what's up with the law?
Rachel: It's still illegal here, right, technically?
Shabnam: It's technically not fully decriminalized, let's put it that way. Abortion is not just about the person who wants it, it's also about centers and professionals who offer these services. So, these are quite contentious topics and contentious themes, which a lot of people in Germany either don't talk about or don't really know about. And also fun topics with new angles, for example, alcohol in Germany. Miss Stewart, did you know that beer is not the most sold beverage in Germany anymore? Can you guess what replaced it?
Rachel: Water?
Shabnam: Tea.
Rachel: Tea. They love their tea. We're going to come back to that later.
Shabnam: Yeah. So you see – yeah, things like this, things which tell a different side of Germany.
Rachel: What would you say is the most German thing about you now?
Shabnam: Oh, I'm obsessed with "Ruhezeit."
Rachel: Ah, could you just explain that?
Shabnam: "Ruhezeit" or "Ruhetage" are days or specific times of the day when you are legally not allowed to be noisy. And it depends on which German state or which German location you are in. In some places it goes on from 10pm to 6 or 7am the next day. And generally public holidays or even Sundays are considered to be "Ruhetage" or quiet days. So you can't be noisy.
Rachel: You can't even recycle your bottles, right?
Shabnam: You can't recycle your bottles. You can't have, you can't vacuum your place if your vacuum cleaner is a very loud one. You can't use a blender.
Rachel: What?
Shabnam: Yes.
Rachel: No smoothies on Sundays.
Shabnam: Yeah. No smoothies.
Smoothie sound
Rachel: Well, one thing that really intrigued me when I moved to Germany is the whole topic of health and medicine. Is there anything that stuck out for you that seemed kind of unusual or quirky when it comes to health care here?
Shabnam: You go into the doctors and you expect the doctor to tell you to take certain medicines, to do certain things. But here, most doctors would tell you: "Go home, sleep, drink tea." And I'm like: "But I'm sick." And they would be like: "Yeah, we know. Go home, sleep. Give your body the time it deserves, the rest it deserves and let it do its own thing." That's something I never heard a lot of doctors say.
Rachel: Okay, so like waiting it out a little bit more often? Instead of going straight to the hard drugs.
Shabnam: Exactly. Just not having so much expectation from your body, you know, and overloading it with medicines and things, but just let it recover by itself. If it works, yeah, if not, then we'll see.
Rachel: Okay. What about something I find really weird. When you go to the doctor's here, you walk into the waiting room and you're kind of expected to greet everybody.
Shabnam: Oh yes.
Rachel: A couple of other places where Germans weirdly say hello to each other: One is in elevators.
Shabnam: Also sauna.
Rachel: Also the sauna!
Shabnam: That's the weirdest place you could say hello to.
Rachel: Yes! You won't say hello to someone in the street but then there's a room with naked strangers in it and you are also naked. You walk in, it's really hot, you're probably a bit stressed and the first thing you do is greet all of the nude people around you.
Shabnam: Sweaty, nude people.
Rachel: Very odd.
Shabnam: Very odd.
Music sting
Rachel: Anyway, Germany is actually thought to be the first country in the world that introduced a social insurance system. That was back in 1883 under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. But anyway, I don't want to bore everyone with too much health insurance chat. Instead, I want to look at a slightly more colorful aspect of health in Germany: Old wives' tales or home remedies. Most of us can probably remember some kind of homemade healing trick that got passed down from our grandmother or something. I think my Scottish grannie used to give my mum whiskey when she was a kid, when she had stomach ache. It doesn't seem like a great idea. Yeah, what are some home remedies that you remember growing up?
Shabnam: Of course, India, so many home remedies.
Rachel: They love home remedies.
Shabnam: Yes. So, growing up, I was very, very naughty. You could see me hanging on trees and everything that you could climb. And once I stepped on this huge caterpillar.
Rachel: Oh. How huge is a huge caterpillar?
Shabnam: Let's say the size of your palm.
Rachel: Impressive.
Shabnam: I stepped on it and naturally what happened is that all its spikes got under my feet. Every time, whenever somebody gets this kind of sting, like a bee sting, the next remedy is to put lime – like calcium hydroxide – and turmeric on your feet and brush it with hair. I specifically remember my mum, who had very long hair back then, bowing down and brushing her ponytail under my feet because that takes out the stingy things from the feet. No tweezers, nothing.
Rachel: Wow. Did it work?
Shabnam: Yes, it did.
Rachel: Okay, that's also quite a complicated one.
Shabnam: Yes, but it was so random and so apt and so accurate. I've actually used this multiple times.
Rachel: Wow. If I remember correctly, you're going to be Dr. Surita soon, right?
Shabnam: I hope so. If I pass.
Rachel: Because you're going to have a PhD.
Shabnam: Yes, I hope so.
Rachel: Okay, cool. Well, in preparation for that, you get to play doctor today. But this time around, it's home remedy doctor – from Germany specifically. So, I've got a few props and ingredients with me and I'm going to come to you with an ailment. And I want you to tell me what you would use, what you would prescribe for me as a home remedy to cure whatever it is I've got.
Shabnam: Interesting.
Rachel: Okay, so something you actually think Germans might use.
Shabnam: This is really exciting.
Rachel: I've been shopping.
Shabnam: Oh my god. Even this?!
Rachel: Okay, if you could just describe what you've got there on your little table of medical items.
Shabnam: So, I have a few apparently non-medical-looking items. I have "Speisequark," which I have no idea how to translate to English.
Rachel: Yeah, it's actually really difficult. I don't know if it even exists elsewhere, but it's closest to sort of curds. Something in between cottage cheese and yogurt.
Shabnam: Hmm. Okay. That. And then we have "Salzstangen," which are basically salt sticks.
Rachel: Pretzel sticks.
Shabnam: Pretzel sticks. And we have a tea bag. We have an onion and we have a bottle of cola.
Rachel: All the normal medical items.
Shabnam: Definitely.
Sound of door opening with bell
Rachel: Okay, so I'm trotting into your doctor's office and I say: "Dr. Shabnam, I have got joint pain and perhaps an infection."
Shabnam: Hmm. Specifically joint. Maybe rub some "Speisequark" on your joint.
Sound for correct answer
Rachel: Yes!
Shabnam: What?!
Rachel: But it's a bit more complicated. You put the quark onto wherever the joint pain is, and then you have to do this thing called "wickeln." I think in English we say compress, so it's a quark compress.
Shabnam: Quark compress.
Rachel: Technically you need like three layers of it, but basically you're wrapping some kind of bit of material around the joint with quark in it.
Shabnam: I'm sure if I look through the depths of the internet, I will find a specific guidance of how thick every layer of quark should be?
Rachel: Many. I found one yesterday that even told you all the different layers need to be a slightly different material. So, it gets quite complicated, but that's the basics.
Sound of door opening with bell
Rachel: Okay. Dr. Shabnam, I have an ear infection.
Shabnam: I know this one... Onion juice?
Sound for correct answer
Rachel: Yes, that's basically it. So, a lot of Germans, including my now husband – I've seen this actually in action – will chop up an onion, chop it up into tiny pieces, and then wrap it into a tiny little cotton bag, maybe tie it with a bit of thread at the top. So it's called a "Zwiebelsäckchen," which literally means little onion bag. And then you would sleep, for example, on your side with the onion bag rested on your ear. And apparently that will draw the infection out.
Shabnam: So, we have something called onion seeds in India, which they're also known as nigella seeds. And whenever you have a cold or, you know, like an ear infection, my mum would also make a small bag with those little black onion seeds, heat it up a bit and then put it on the ear.
Rachel: There we go!
Sound of door opening with bell
Rachel: Okay. Dr. Shabnam, I've got diarrhea.
Shabnam: *Laughs* Drink some cola?
Sound for correct answer
Rachel: Yes.
Shabnam: Oh my God. I am nailing this.
Rachel: But it also goes in combination with one other item.
Shabnam: "Salzstangen?"
Rachel: Yes.
Shabnam: Oh my God.
Rachel: Very classic. Either you'd have the pretzel sticks or something called "Zwieback," which is like a super plain, hard, double-baked bread product. Apparently that's okay – I was looking into it – the cola thing is apparently a big myth and actually not a good idea at all.
Shabnam: Okay, good to know. Next time I'll watch out.
Sound of door opening with bell
Rachel: Dr. Shabnam, I have multiple issues.
Shabnam: Oh yeah, tea. Oh yeah, this one's easy.
Sound for correct answer
Rachel: Exactly. So, a lot of times...
Shabnam: And also the most recommended remedy in Germany, in my opinion. Everybody just tells you: "Drink some tea."
Rachel: And there are sometimes specific types of tea that are recommended for certain things. So, this one actually is a specific one for chest infections.
Shabnam: Ah.
Music sting
Rachel: Okay, now everybody knows what to ask for in the doctor's office if they come to Germany. But we want to give them a few more travel tips. So, we've got these questions that we're going to ask about all of the episodes that we revisit from season one. So, question for you, Shabnam: The best meal you've had in Germany or new food that you've tried here?
Shabnam: I would definitely say "Bienenstich" because you know, we have a lot of "Kaffee und Kuchen," coffee and cake culture in Germany. And I was pleasantly surprised when I came here as well to see that, oh my God, they have a lot of cake.
Rachel: What does "Bienenstich" mean?
Shabnam: Sting by a bee. Sting of a bee.
Rachel: What a thing to name your cake.
Shabnam: So, it starts with a layer of biscuit and then comes sponge cake with a little bit of vanilla cream frosting. And then on top is this caramelized layer of shaved almonds. And the whole idea is that you have to eat a little bit of everything with each bite.
Rachel: Okay, very good. And I've got one actually from the eastern part of Germany, because that's where we were for this episode. Have you ever had "Senfeier"?
Shabnam: No.
Rachel: It's really good. It's literally mustard eggs. It looks kind of disgusting, so don't be put off by that. It's basically hard-boiled eggs drenched in this kind of mustardy sauce, usually with some boiled potatoes next to it. So it's very beige, but it's really good. Simple, but good and also vegetarian.
Shabnam: Amazing.
Rachel: Okay, what is a place that you haven't actually managed to go to yet?
Shabnam: "Schwarzwald." I really want to go.
Rachel: Ah, the Black Forest.
Shabnam: Yeah, the Black Forest. I really want to go for the cake once again and also the cuckoo clocks.
Rachel: Yes, of course. The massive wooden cuckoo clocks. Some houses that are actually decorated like a cukoo clock.
Shabnam: Right.
Rachel: Yeah, that's pretty cool. Question number three. What is a hidden treasure or a surprise find in Germany?
Shabnam: When I came here, there's a certain kind of vegetable or let's say a certain kind of spinach that I never imagined I would find in Germany of all places. You will be surprised to find that these things travel more than you think they do.
Rachel: Okay, that's really random.
Shabnam: So random.
Rachel. I like it. I reckon I would go for I'd go back to the saunas, because I was not expecting to like the sauna culture here, having never been to a new sauna before, and I am a convert.
Shabnam: I have not yet been to a sauna actually, in Germany.
Rachel: I'll promise to have a "Bienenstich" cake soon and you need to go to the sauna.
Shabnam: You have my word.
Rachel: Okay, next up we have a travel tip or a packing tip. I want to try something. I'm going to say "One, two, three" and then we both say our answer, just in case it's the same one. Okay, one, two, three.
Both: Carry cash.
*Laughter*
Shabnam: Oh my God. That's literally the first thing that comes to my mind.
Rachel: So, in case anyone missed that, we both said that you have to carry cash in Germany. I don't know if that's ever going to change. So, for the foreseeable future, don't rely on credit cards. Okay. And then the final question we have, we basically want to give people some little language tips. To make sure that they can at least get through their first day in Germany if they haven't been here before. So, how do you say hello?
Shabnam: "Hallo."
Rachel: That is the most simple! Just change one vowel. You can get some nice regional variations.
Shabnam: I like "hallöchen."
Rachel: "Hallöchen" is very cute.
Shabnam: That's my favorite.
Rachel: It's like little hello. Very sweet. I like "moin" from the north, which actually can be used at any time of day. Some people say "moin moin." How do you say thank you?
Shabnam: "Danke schön."
Rachel: Very nice.
Shabnam: Or just keep it simple and sweet: "Danke."
Rachel: How would you say where's the toilet?
Shabnam: "Wo ist die Toilette?"
Rachel: And the very last one is, how do you say goodbye?
Shabnam: "Auf Wiedersehen."
Rachel: That's very formal.
Shabnam: It's very formal. I said it and I regretted it. "Tschüss."
Rachel: I actually like when they even shorten the "Tschüss" to "Tschöö."
Shabnam: And I also like, "ciao," "tschüssi."
Rachel: "Tschüssi," that's very cute.
Shabnam: So cute.
Rachel: Okay, but "tschüss" is a really good one to go with. So, thank you so much for joining me again today, Shabnam, for this travel bite. And "tschüss."
Shabnam: "Danke."
Music – Beethoven remix
Rachel: One more thing, if you haven't filled in our survey yet, please head to dw.com/don'tdrinkthemilk to let us know what you think of our show. It just takes a few minutes and it will be a huge help for us as we work hard on bringing you season two of Don't Drink the Milk.
JINGLE
Listen to all episodes of Don't Drink the Milk on your favorite podcast platform or over on YouTube.
Catch more from Shabnam Surita in her series "Meet the Germans" on YouTubeand Instagram.