Musings on Deutschland

A helpful arrow!

Moving to a different country, you notice daily differences...idiosyncracies unique to that place that make you go "huh, ok." So I thought I'd start a tab of the little things I notice here. Things I like, am neutral about, or dislike. I might make this a running list as I experience life here, and maybe some things will move from the "dislike" category to the "neutral" or "like!" So, here we go...

Like

• Baked goods - delicious, fresh and CHEAP. I can buy 6 delicious rolls at Globus for 89 cents! Free standing bakeries are abundant here and SO good.

• Power outlets - the voltage here is 220-240 volts, compared to like 120v in America. Things charge a lot faster, which is nice. Do NOT make the mistake of thinking a plug adapter is enough for some American electronics. I instantly killed a brand new printer (bought on base, so came American style) when I plugged it in. Loud POP and smoke came out the side, and we're talking maybe 1.5 seconds being plugged in. Dead. But apple products are ok.

• Driving here is terrifying, but there is one street sign I very much appreciate. The white arrow on a blue background showing you exactly what side of a street divider you are to drive on. I really appreciate that. Thanks Germany.

• One more driving thing I like: at a red stop light, it goes yellow before turning green, so you have a heads up of when it's time to go. Probably more helpful if you're driving a stick?

• Some elements of different super markets. Globus - like a Target with more emphasis on food. But still a place where you can buy a sweatshirt or cheap jewelry or bed linens while food shopping. Rewe (I think pronounced "Reffay") - their sushi is actually good (we were desperate one night and were pleasantly surprised!). Nice meat counter too. Just don't be so selfish as to think you can buy chicken stock or other random ordinary items there.

• Overall food prices. The last few years at home, my jaw dropped every time I checked out at Publix. Impossible to check out for less than $200 it seemed. Here, I've bought a full cart with meat, fresh produce, dairy, frozen stuff - and it's less than 100 Euro!! Going out to eat is WAY cheaper too. You can be in the middle of Mainz or Wiesbaden, cute restaurant, and nearly all entrees are under 20 Euro. Don't forget, no tipping (sort of)!

• Wine - we are in Germany's wine country. I've found I actually really like dry ("Trocken") Riesling. Good bottles are around 4-6 Euro. It's a treat!

• Autobahn driving rules. You are ONLY in the passing lane to pass. Once you make your pass, you get back over! If you're passing but someone comes up behind you at a faster rate, they flash their brights and you get OUT OF THEIR WAY! Merging onto the autobahn (or any highway) is generally a rational/polite experience.

• PARAKEETS! It's so weird but very cool - there are flocks of Collared and Alexandrine parakeets flying and squawking around. They are bright lime green with bright orange beaks. They are clearly non-native but seem to have thrived in the Rhine Valley.

• Long days starting in Spring - being 50* north, the winters are terrible for lack of daylight, but as it (kind of) warms up (writing this part on April 8) the days are longer with a 6:50am sunrise and 8:09pm sunset. Gone are the dark gray days of summer - generally the days have been awash in sunlight, though still WAY too cold for my liking. It was 30* this morning.

• Public farmland trails. Not sure if this is just German or Eurpean, but I've been advised by my resident American farm expert (Monnie!) that this is NOT a thing in the US. Germans LOVE to walk, and living in a farmy part of the country, you will see cars parked randomly on the side of a road next to farmland. You are free to walk, run, mountainbike, walk your dog etc. on farms. They have paths laid out between fields, some paths are even paved, and you can go for miles. It's nice to walk amongst the green land and breathe in the fresh (unless it's fertilizing time) air.

Neutral

• People here are really tall. Granted, Delcours are smurf sized, even by American standards. But good grief, this is a tall populace here. I think the average height is 6'2". And that's the women.

• People walk EVERYWHERE here. And all the time. There is no "bad weather, only bad gear," but if the sun is out, even if it's 30* the crowds will be outside, getting their steps in. Borders on "Like" category, but their disregard for horrible weather moves it down to "Neutral."

• English is NOT spoken ubiquitously here as I was told!! Probably due to living in a non-touristy area (though there are multiple US military bases in this area). Not mad about it, of course it's their right to not speak my language lol. My German, I've found, is terrible and even if I know I'm using the correct words, locals still don't understand what I'm saying. I guess my American accent is too strong.

Dislike

• #1 DISLIKE: the German trash system. This will get its own article.

• Driving here. Terrifying. So many street signs, So many traffic circles. So many curved streets that connect with another street (that joins your curve from a straight approach, but the angle has the right of way). How about a stop sign on top of a stop light? When the light turns green, do you still have to stop as you cross the intersection? Single lane streets that are two way, but with cars parked on either side. Intersections with no stop signs, yield signs, etc. Wrong way signs posted on the center concrete divider that are only visible when driving on the correct side of the highway (gives a newby a heart attack the first few times). Having to know what lane to be in two intersections before your turn. Turning onto said one lane street seeing that you're driving on streetcar tracks. Um, what to do if a streetcar happens upon you??

• Having to PAY to use a rest stop bathroom. That'll be 1 Euro. No money, no toilette. Then the bathroom is still dirty, out of soap and paper towels.

• Having to PAY for shopping carts. And they're all kept outside so if it's snowing, you're walking around the supermarket with snow melting off leaving puddles everywhere and your hands are frozen.

• Oh God, how I MISS Publix!!! One store where you can actually buy everything food-wise that you need!! And I really miss Fresh Market for those times I want beautiful food, presented in a beautiful way to inspire me to pretend I'm Martha Stewart for a moment.

• Checking out at supermarkets here. No baggers, no plastic bags. So if you forget your bags, you have to buy bags there. The checkout person sighs and stops scanning your food as you're rushing to fill all of your own grocery bags. Locals behind you glare at you. I haven't figured out if I'm actually doing anything wrong (I do try to watch how locals check out without being creepy) or if it's just the general German unfriendliness (see 3 bullets down).

• Parking lots - all of the spaces are made for Smart cars. Very tight, you have to know inherently which way to go because forget about street markings or arrows.

• Which brings me to street lines. Forget about a double yellow stripe to mark lanes. It's all white, last painted at least 20 years ago. You want street lights at night (which begins at 4pm)? Where's the challenge in being able to see where you're going? Solid white lines aren't that common, most are dashed and very faint. Or you have two lanes going one direction but no dashed lines. You just have to know. This is a reason why I'm thankful for the "You drive right here" arrow mentioned in the "Like" list above; it's particularly helpful when entering a highway on-ramp at night (because forget about it being well-lit).

• General unfriendliness as a culture. Not to say that I haven't had friendly interactions with some of the locals. But as a whole, these people will not acknowledge your existence, even if you're stepping out of their way on a narrow path. I'll smile and say "Guten Morgan" to some elderlies (at home, usually a good bet they'll appreciate friendly acknowledgement) and they'll either scowl at me or say a rushed "Hallo" while somehow finding a way to convey a feeling of negative judgement at me. The scowl is more common though. I actually like friendly interactions with people, yes even strangers, and I'm starting to just look at the ground or straight ahead rather than greet someone. :(

• Closed on Sundays - no food shopping, restaurants, bakeries or general shopping on Sundays. Thank God for the exchange and commissary on base!

• Cash only. In America, I don't even carry cash. Here there are many places that are cash only. Yes, I've already spilled my loose coins all over the floor at Aldi checkout. Gave the elderlies behind me a good laugh.

• Customer service, response to inquiries...not really a thing here. Lack of responses are hard when you're trying to find sports clubs for your kids (not really a thing, at least if you're American?) or if you email a request for a dinner reservation, even when it's noted on the website that's their preferred mode of contact. (Open Table, not really a thing here).

• Gas stations - there's no such thing (that I've seen anyway) as paying at your pump. You must walk in to the shop like it's 1990 and tell them your pump number. At least gas stations take cards.