I knew that I'd be going to the opera house that night so I thought I would take the letter to my friend, Michael McCown. He is kind enough to serve as my human cheat-sheet for all things German. After we stab one another at the beginning of the second act we have the whole rest of the act to wait until the curtain call. We call that time Bier Uhr (Beer Hour). Last Thursday this mysterious letter from the GEZ was our Bier Uhr topic of conversation.
Michael looked at the letter and then asked me if Brenda and I had a TV and radio. I told him that our apartment does have a TV that we use exclusively for watching DVDs and we have an alarm clock that has a built-in radio. He then proceeded to tell me that in Germany people have to pay for the usage of TV and radio waves and the organization that monitors it is called the GEZ.
At first I didn't believe him. He said it would cost 17 euros per month. I asked him how they could possibly know if we used our TV or not. He said "They have their ways." I asked what would happen if someone claimed they didn't have a TV or Radio and didn't pay the fee but then were caught using one. He said they could get a 1,000 euro fine.
This warranted further investigation. Michael asked some native Germans that walked by what they knew about the GEZ. They had a pretty light-hearted nature about the whole thing and said they hadn't heard of anyone getting fined. They also said if the GEZ comes to your door, don't let them in. Sound advice.
In other news, we have been doing quite well. I have a company audition for Oper Frankfurt on Thursday. I'm excited to have the opportunity to sing for them. We have a return guest coming into town tomorrow and we are looking forward to Brenda's parents coming to visit next month.
We hope you're having a great week!
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