In The Land Of The Hausfrau

I made it! Here I am in the Land Of The Hausfrau, the Mecca for Housewives: Good old Germany.

I am not sure whether the world is aware of this little fact or not, but they make the best Hausfraus in the world here. If you don't believe me, ask one! She'll tell you herself.

I started my career as a Housewife here in Germany and I cried "uncle". They must have a secret school here somewhere where the Hausfrau is trained, perhaps deep in the Black Forest, or tucked away on an island in the North Sea, or maybe they are just born that way.

It was the women after all who cleaned up after The Great Big Mess their men made while playing their war games. It is not something that we really give much thought to; ask an American and they will tell you that it was the Americans who "rebuilt" Germany through financial aid.

But a dollar bill won't get up and clear a pile of rubble, and the German men were either dead or being held prisoners of war, so it was up to the women. They called them "Trümmerfrauen" in English, rubble women, who took on the chore of moving the mountains of ruins, salvaging that what could still be used and then taking out the trash.

The weaker sex, my foot! I suspect that if one took a closer look at what went on after most any war in history, we would see something along the same lines... women cleaning up an making do and just generally holding things together.

RH

PS: If you are wondering why I am sitting around blogging in Germany, it is due to another perhaps little known fact about Germany... Periodic lousy weather in the summer. It's raining and DH doesn't get here until Thursday. You may be hearing a lot from me in the next few days.