Am I a sunlounger arsehole?

[Sunloungerhogger]

Curious to hear views…. On holiday, sit down at a pair of completely empty sunloungers on the hotel’s stretch of beach - no belongings or towels on or around them. There’s actually a sign on the parasol saying for safety reasons unattended belongings will be removed after 30 minutes. After about 5-10 minutes the woman on the sunlounger next to me says would you move, as that lounger is taken. I said well there were no belongs here, it doesn’t appear taken. She said we are a group, my friend was there. I reiterated there were no belongings at which she said “shizer” (yes, not to reference stereotypes about Germans and sunloungers, but she is German…..) and claims her friend had only gone to the toilet. The beach is busy and I couldn’t see any other sunloungers nearby (certainly not nicely right by the water as this is) - so, AIBU for not moving so her supposed friend could sit there whenever she returned? Prepared to be told I am!! (Am telling myself that if she’d asked a bit more politely I might have, but she didn’t….).

I think if she’d said something straight away then it would have been polite to move, but after 5-10 minutes, no.

They will probably share the sunbed next to you and say evil witchy spells so you burn under the sun, wasps fly into your drink and you get blisters from your new sandals 😂 if you can cope with the hostility then uanbu !!

Did the friend in question return herself and ask you? If she had only popped to the toilet I presume it wouldn't have been for very long.

Tbf if there isn't anything left on there then I'd say it's fair game. I'd chuck a towel or a sunhat on there if I wanted to make sure it was reserved.

So I'd say no you weren't being the arsehole, a bit awkward mind.

Sounds like she’s at it to me. Her chance to say something was when you arrived. She doesn’t get to demand you move whenever she fancies.

No if she’d said straight away fair enough

Yes there were no belongings whatsoever, hence why I do think it was fair game, and if there had been some other loungers available I obviously would have moved. Am sure they were saying some witchy spells about me to put flies and sand in my drink! I don’t speak German so luckily am in blissful ignorance. As luck would have it the loungers on the other side of me just became free so I moved there so their friend could go next to them, so I can now appease my conscience about not being a complete dick.

Read the OP. The German lady explained her friend had gone for a "shizer" so it might have taken a while.

I would feel the same as you OP. If I arrived to the lounger and as I was putting my stuff down the neighbour sat up and politely said "oh my friend is using that lounger, she's just popped to the bathroom" I would have said no problem and moved on.

But if I'd settled myself down and gotten into a relaxed state to be interrupted and rudely told it was taken I would not have moved unless there was a convenient other option.

lol no the German lady said shizer the way we would say Shit as an exclamation.

Missing the point but it's scheiße

I use the ‘nothing left on it’ as a rule; works both ways when trying to leave something on it which isn’t valuable and won’t blow away! You were in the right.

Scheiße?

Relax now and enjoy the beach 💗

The only way to keep a seat (or lounger) is to occupy it or leave something. If its empty its up for grabs. Once you leave its again up for grabs. After 30 minutes even if stuff left on it I would chuck it on/under another lounger and occupy it. But I am petty like that. I would say the staff moved it.

I did and I know German. That to me did not mean a poo, but rather an exclamation of "shit!" as we would say in English. Which is a common utilisation in Germany too.

she called you a shithead in german.
yanbu.