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July 19, 2007

"Hut 66"

Filed under Life in Europe

"Hut" is the German word for hat, and it is pronounced like "route" as in "Route 66". I am prohibited from wearing "Hut 66" in Germany.

Having grown up in St. Louis, Missouri a short distance Route 66 hat from old Route 66, I have had a special interest in the "mother road" for years, having traveled it between St. Louis and California more than once. So the husband of my wife Monica’s sister gave me a "Hut 66" several years ago, which you can see in the photo taken by my friend Vic Kubik when he visited me in Germany. When I first came to Germany 36 years ago I would not have worn a baseball hat anywhere, since it would have been a sure indication that I am not German. But things have changed over the years and you sometimes see Germans wearing baseball hats, especially during sporting events like last year’s World Cup football tournament. I used to wear my "Hut 66" quite a bit in Germany until 9-11-2001. Shortly after that date, Monica prohibited me from wearing it in Germany since in her opinion it would be a sure sign that I am American. Since at least one of the 9-11 pilots spent some time in Hamburg, she was concerned for my safety. So "Hut 66" has been retired to the USA. In Germany I now wear baseball caps with motifs like my web browser Firefox or Germany’s national colors with the word "Germany" prominently displayed on the front. When I wore that hat in an internet cafe in Berlin a few months ago, the fellow at the PC next to me said, "I didn’t know we were playing today!"

Paul Kieffer's blog with personal insights and news from the German-language region in Europe.

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