LEISURE: ENJOYING IN THE HEART OF EUROPE>
For Germans, recreation doesn’t necessarily mean lounging around. In its free time, the country likes to take part in strenuous athletic activities and most of these are very well organized. For people residing and working in Germany, it is extremely important to achieve and maintain a balance between work and leisure. Take advantage of your free time too enjoy the vast gamut of activities offered by this nation. Sports, excursions or culture – we would like to introduce you to some of the leisure activities that are available in Germany.
But while tending a small patch of community garden used to represent the epitome of German life, that image changed long ago.
Outdoor Activities
“Get up and get out” has always been a key saying for Germans looking to fill their free time. In Germany, leisure is an active pursuit. For many people here, free time is necessarily spent outdoors. This is the major reason for the wide range of things to do in free time. Residents of Germany love long, sunny summer days. This is the ultimate time of the year when the nature-lovers get the opportunity to utilize their money in the most optimal way. They spend the summers on the beach in the North Sea and Baltic coastal regions, cycling and boating in the countryside of northern and eastern Germany with the meadows and rivers rambling through the idyllic mountain scenery of the Alps. In addition to these activities, numerous lakes and open-air swimming pools, summer toboggan runs and rope courses also attract a vast majority of people during hot summer days.
In the winters, most of the people head towards snow-filled regions. Winter is the apposite time for activities like skiing and snowboard in the south of Germany and the regions with low mountains. Moreover, you will not even need to go to different areas for enjoying in the snow canopy because it will be spread outside your doorstep, alongside the roads. This is a great season for ice-skating and sledging enthusiasts. This chilling season is enjoyed with a cup of hot tea, mulled wine, non-alcoholic punch or grog which is a hot drink with rum. You can find the right accessories and warm, waterproof clothing in any large sports store.
According to the Germans leisure gives economy a boost. When they are not travelling, many Germans spend the rest of the year getting fit for vacation through various modes of fitness training. Jogging, Nordic Walking, skating, cycling, etc. are very popular here. They also enjoy unusual sports like bungee jumping, boxing, deep sea fishing, etc. All these leisure activities are boon for the economy of the country. Every private home invests around 250 euros each month in leisure, according to official statistics which is nearly 12 percent of the total annual income.
Amusement parks and attractions have become increasingly specialized in recent years. An indoor ski run is built inside a run-down industrial center; tropical beaches are developed on farmland in Brandenburg; an old warehouse becomes an alpine climbing landscape. Germans play golf in the middle of the city, visit enormous aquariums, attend musical events and dine at theme restaurants. Civic clubs are also very popular in Germany. These clubs include local soccer clubs, a bowling group, a singing club, a public-safety group, etc. Attending one club or another always was, and still is, the most common leisure time activity in Germany.