As I was sitting in my hotel room, I noticed a tiny door between the two main windows. I was curious what this was so I opened it up. It was too narrow for a balcony, but it was wide enough for vents for the outside. So, I started to ask around and find out why there was a narrow door on my 5th floor hotel room that allowed fresh air to come into my room in Munich. I sought out to find that answer as this does not exist in the hospitality industry where I live. Now I do open the windows every once in a while, (as long as the pollen isn’t bad) to freshen the house, but it isn’t a daily practice. In Germany it is done daily and there is even a name for it - Luften. Luften translates into “ventilation”.
Germans typically build houses and hotels as airtight as possible to help with energy efficiency. While they do have heating as the winters can get very cold, many homes and other buildings do not have air conditioning. This can make it hot in the summer. However, as a culture, Germans like to have fresh air from outside. The act of ventilation of fresh air is referred to as Luften. Did you know that if you rent a house or apartment in many parts of Germany it is required to proactively practice Luften?
There are two types of Lubten Stoßlüften and Querlüften.
Querluften is something similar I have done at my house when the air gets ‘stale’. It is when you open windows across from each other, ideally in different rooms or on opposite walls. This is to create a cross ventilation of air. How long you need to keep the windows open for a full exchange of air will depend not only on the size of the room, but also how windy it is outside.
Stoßlüften is when you ‘shock the air’. In fact, Stoß translates into English as shock. The practice of Stoßlüften is when you open the windows only for a few minutes.
When you travel abroad, ask questions of the locals. You can learn something new that you can take home and incorporate into your every day life or simply gain a better understanding of how others’ culture.
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