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Life is tough for the modern working woman. There is what to do with the children when you’re working. And there’s what to do with the man when you’re shopping. Some German entrepreneurs seem to have come up with the solution.
Welcome to the Kindergarten for men.
‘The women are issued a receipt for their partners when they hand them in and can pick them up again when they return it to us later,’ Alexander Stein, manager of the Nox Bar in Hamburg told Reuters news agency. The men are given a name badge on arrival and for 10 euros they get two beers, a hot meal, televised football and games.
The living room-sized space at one end of the bar looks like it's been perfectly equipped as a children's daycare center. There are comic books spread out on tables, comfortable couches, plastic toys and even a playpen of sorts with a construction set. It's only when you catch a glance at the copies of Penthouse and Playboy scattered about that you realize this is not your average kids' area.
In fact, children aren't allowed here; women aren't either. The Nox bar has set aside this room for men only. More precisely, for men who have no desire to tag along with their wives or girlfriends while they look for skirts, scarves and handbags in the designer boutiques in Hamburg's premier shopping district.
Besides providing non-stop sports on TV and other grown-up toys, Stein has also arranged special presentations for the boys in his charge, like home-improvement workshops and men's literature. Upcoming topics include whisky tasting, cigars and cocktail mixing. ‘Last week the men had a remote control car to play with. Next week there’s going to be a mini racetrack,’ said Stein. ‘It beats sitting around in shoe shops, that’s for sure,’ one man told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
 Jonny (l.) and Günter dig in at the Männergarten - Playboy is allowed, women aren't.
The environment and general camaraderie is what appeals to men who spend the afternoon here. They could just wile away the time at home in front of the TV while the missus exercises the credit cards. But the "Männergarten" offers the chance to engage in a little conversation and hang out with other guys. The name badges help break the ice.
"Last week, I spent a couple of hours talking with two interesting guys who were here from [the city of] Wuppertal, which is about three hours away from here. I couldn't have done that if I'd stayed at home," said Holger Leez, who's as relaxed as if he were sitting in his own living room.
But for some men, it takes a while to get comfortable in the new environment, according to Bianca, a waitress at the Nox bar. "Some guys look almost scared after their wives leave them here," she said. "We just kind of take their hands and assure them that everything's going to be OK."
The intense interest in the Männergarten concept has taken the Nox bar completely by surprise. Manager Stein has been overwhelmed by calls from the media and says some of the Männergarten men have as well. Over the past several weeks reporters and camera crews have outnumbered guests.
"Whether we keep it going depends on who comes when the buzz dies down," Stein said. "Some of our regulars have put their head round the door and recoiled in horror."
But the buzz has infected bar owners in other German cities. According to the Nox website, Männergartens are opening up in Cologne, Munich and Berlin.
Deutsche Welle / Payroll World magazine
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Here's another man-toy: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=1741
Not sure how the heck I'm supposed to be able to afford this thing, but I need it! I want it!  )
Hugs, my friend:
-L
"But he that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail."
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act One, Scene IV
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I knew there was a reason why I needed bluetooth connectivity.
"Geekzone" - I love it!
Hugs Lenny
-N
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Männergarten! Hahahahahaha
You said when you'd die that you'd walk with me every day
And I'd start to cry and say please don't talk that way
With the blink of an eye the Lord came and asked you to meet
You went to a better place but He stole you away from me
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