If you want to learn something about the big wide world, all you have to do is go to Saxony and mingle with the people there. Because the Saxons like to travel – and they like to talk: unasked, unabashed, and non-stop. Since we didn’t have a continuous vacation this summer, we took advantage of a concert tour to Leipzig to add a few days of swimming at the legendary Kulkwitzer Lake. There, dedicated cottage owners frolic, sharing their holiday experiences – and their eating habits – with their neighbors on the sunbathing meadow. This is how we learn that there is such affordable lamb meat in Fläming that it is best to only eat lamb meat there – in the morning, at noon, in the evening, and ideally self-prepared instead of in a restaurant. No wonder the gastronomy industry is struggling despite still having a 7% value-added tax and sometimes even remaining completely closed.
A particularly talkative person from Leipzig openly tells the attendees that the best fish can be found at the Schlei, and that he was very disappointed by Flensburg and, however, Laboe – that was a few years ago – he mistook it for a French submarine base occupied by the Germans. Like most East Germans, he supported the West German team during the 1974 World Cup and believed that the training camp „Malente“ was in Spain. Madrid, Madeira, Mallorca (pronounced as written) or Alicante – the good man with his imaginative, typical DDR-associated chain of thoughts wasn’t entirely wrong – he is definitely smarter than Andy Möller with his „Madrid or Milan – as long as it’s Italy“. And he is, as revealed by the second day of his vacation stories. In between refreshing non-vegan meals, the good man rides his bike, and when he is back home by his own pond, he waters his favorite birch tree. Because it is not faring any better than its counterparts in Spain due to climate change. Next week, he plans to go to Greece – the firefighters there will surely be happy to have such a brave Saxon supporting them.
„I cannot reword“
Those who cannot afford a vacation trip to Mallorca or the Fläming occupy the shores of their lakes either with fishing rods or with inflatable XXL camping and bathing equipment for the whole family. In the water, one must be careful not to get caught between stand-up paddleboards (where young couples like to tease each other), model boats, or divers who immediately tell stories of giant fish after surfacing.
Auf Norddeutsche kann Sachsen schon etwas befremdlich wirken – doch seid beruhigt, liebe Fischköppe: Den Sachsen ist es wurscht, ob ihr ihre markante Mundart mögt oder sie für dumme Ossis haltet – im Windschatten aller Vorurteile gestalten sie ihr Leben lauschig, lustig und lecker.