Mysterious German Pasttimes

It's hard to believe that I have never blogged anything about junking. Junking is a national pasttime around here, at least with the Czechs and the Poles. So what is junking? Junking, which takes place in each village only twice a year, is when people throw out any household items that are too big for the regular garbage can, and the city garbage folks come around and pick up and dispose of everything properly (if I haven't said it before, Germans are super sensitive about protecting the environment....yet another one of my gripes about living here). Anyway, there are no thrift stores in Germany, no Salvation Army upon which to dump your unwanted trashy items; no garage sales allowed; no super-sized garbage cans for disposing of things like couches, bookcases, mirrors, cabinets, carpets, etc....So people just put it out on the streets.

Now here's the fun part. Once it goes out on the street, it becomes fair game and anyone can pick it up. This is where the Czechs and the Poles come in, for when it's a junking day around here, you'll see tons of big, white vans with CZ or PL license plates cruising along, ready to snatch up any half-way decent items for future sale at their flea markets. I had heard about these folks when I moved here last year. I heard about junking, and how it's addictive, and how many of our wives will snatch up items just to keep the foreigners from getting said items, whether those wives want the stuff or not. I heard these stories, and laughed, and thought how pathetic it all sounded.

Why am I telling you all of this? Besides for your cultural enlightenment? Because today I participated in my first junking. It almost sounds illegal, doesn't it? I found this awesome tall cabinet--with drawers--on the side of the road, stopped in the pouring rain, and loaded it in my car. (It definitely needs some paint, but I'm thinking it will be great for storage...assuming I ever take it out of my van). What's even worse is that I was so excited, I spent most of the next hour driving around my stupid village looking for other junky items I could take home and use to clutter my house.

I'm pathetic.