“And we’ll have fun, fun, fun in the warm European sun”

(Note: Yes, that is my shameless Beach Boys lyric reference).

It was just a small news item, tucked away at the bottom of the page. So small in fact, that I almost missed it. Thankfully, I am armed with the correct information and can now be prepared for future “sun lounger encounters”, lest they turn nasty or I am accused of being “all wet”.

What in the world could I be commenting on? Trust me, you’d never guess…not in a million years…unless you have been the unwitting victim of this pool-side scam. Although my time in Germany has been brief, and my sunbathing opportunities minimal, I have no first hand knowledge of this ongoing feud between the sun lounger “haves” and “have nots”.

Apparently, the long-running feud between the Germans and the rest of the world regarding the reservation of sun loungers is coming to an end. As the story goes, Germans have a reputation for getting up at the crack of dawn to scope out prime sun real estate, either beach or pool-side. Once the sun lounger or deck chair of choice has been identified, the stake is claimed with the towel being strategically draped across the chair. New flash: Tourists are within their rights to remove towels if there is nobody there.

Sadly, this legal revelation will come as a blow for all those German tourists who believe that the draping of a towel is enough to secure possession. And it will hit them harder still to discover that it was one of their own countrymen who discovered it. A German lawyer by weekday, sun worshipper by weekend (and who incidentally has also been a victim of the sun lounger scam in the past) has finally set the record straight. There is no legal precedent that supports the water-logged notion that sun lounger possession is “9/10s of the law” when blanketed in terry cloth.

While his revelation is likely to bring him hero status among the many tourists who have engaged in heated discussions with Germans over the towel issue, it is unlikely to gain him any points from his fellow Germans. Still, it is nice to know that this notion “doesn’t hold water”...