German:

“Wenn es in London anfängt zu regnen, macht man in Hamburg den Regenschirm auf”

Translation:

“When it begins to rain in London, we open our Umbrella’s in Hamburg”

I have only heard this phrase since a year, from my grandmother, the informant who claims that this is a popular saying in Hamburg, north Germany. It corresponds to the weather similarities that Hamburg and London share as cities in different countries. Hamburg in Germany is famous for its famous “Nieselwetter” or “Drizzle/Rain weather”, so much that I have observed it in German learning textbooks when they discuss culture and Geography. Similarly, London across the world is also known for its rainy weather all year round. I think this saying simply speaks discusses the similarity of the two cities. I would like to make the observation that this term came around with the development of Europe and the European Union. As travelling became a lot easier between European countries, it was much easier to make observations about culture and weather. As both cities are extremely cosmopolitan, the already established similarity in culture is strengthened by the similarity in weather, when comparing the two.