Now that football is over until 2014, it's time to turn our attention to another German national obsession: lüften. This translates to "airing out" and is one of the first words I learned in Germany because they use it, well, constantly. In Germany, there is nothing that can't be lüften-ed: bedrooms, bathrooms, classrooms, cars, clothes, kitchens, sheets, pillows, rugs, tents, shoes, sleeping bags... if you can name it, Germans can lüften it. It is absolutely essential to lüften regularly in order to get rid of schlechte Luft (bad air, which most Germans visualize as a malevolent presence hovering over them at all times) and replace it with frische Luft (fresh air).
These are the same Germans, by the way, who are convinced that if you go outside with wet hair you will 100% no doubt about it get a cold or a bladder infection or maybe even a heart attack. Clearly, Germans have a deeply ambivalent relationship with Luft.
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