I'm heading to Ikea in a few minutes to pick up sheets and a blanket for my bed. Yesterday, as I was moving in, I had the forsite to ask my Danish roommate what they call the bed size in German. It looks more or less like a double to me, but I (logically) assumed it would be something different here. She looked at me and said "What do you mean, what is it called? You just look for the size. I think it's 1.5 x 2 meters." Then she paused and looked at me for a moment, half-wondering if she'd really understood my question correctly. "So you... don't call them by size?"
"No," I told her, "we call them twins, long twins, doubles, queens, kings, or California kings."

I got a puzzled stare in response. I can't blame her. Why do we come up with funny names for our mattresses - names which no one can keep track of anyway? Wouldn't it be easier if you could just pull out the tape measure and say "Ah, I need a 78x48 inch sheet and comforter"? So, I'm off for a 1.5x2 meter set of bedclothes.

P.S. Lest you think Germany is all obvious efficiency, I need to point out an amusing translation, um... thingy. In German, if something is an "emergency" whatever, you tack on the word "not" beforehand. So, for example, the Emergency Exit (Ausgang) becomes the Not Ausgang. Stranger yet for the English speaker is the sign on the escalators, which reads "NOT STOP!" on the red emergency stop lever...