As our time here winds down, we’d like to share some interesting cultural tidbits we’ve learned from our year in Germany.  Did you know…

House and Home  There’s no “German Chocolate” cake or warm German potato salad.  Here we’ve only encountered the cold version.  An interesting find at the bakery is Amerikaner, which could be compared to a sugar cookie dipped in glaze.   The standard paper is longer and narrower than in the US.  Envelope sizes differ as well and American standard sized envelopes cost more to send. The mailman won’t pick up outgoing mail from your house! 

There are no top sheets on beds and no towel bars as we know them in bathrooms.  Instead towels hang on hooks from their tag.  The towel manufaturers are obviously in on this because all the towels here come with sturdy hang-compatible tags.   

TV shows don’t start at regular half hour increments like 8 but rather 8:15 or 9:55. There are fewer commercial breaks but much longer (10-11 minutes).  Calendars start the week on Monday, not Sunday.  Germans seem suspicious of any drinks that don’t fizz.  Mineral water is added to just about everything and …voilà! It’s a Schorle! Apfelschorle, Weinschorle, etc.

Out and About  There is a noticeable absence of Drive Thrus for banking, dvd returns, library, etc,  not even for postal drop boxes.  We actually have to walk to take care of these errands. McDonalds does however, have a McDrive.   

 In Wisconsin, I learned to orient myself with cardinal directions.  East to Lake Michigan, south to Milwaukee, etc.  German autobahns direct you to cities. Take the A9 to Munich.  There are no billboards cluttering the autobahns, and far fewer  notifications of what’s at each exit.  We’d be lost without the GPS (called a Navi here).   

When two cars meet at an unmarked intersection, the one on the right has the right of way. Even if you're going straight!  Rechts vor links. Your normal radio programming will be regularly commandeered by traffic news to inform you of accidents or people driving the wrong way (Falschfahrer).  And that basket of giant pretzles on the table at the restaurant?  You pay for what you eat unlike the nacho chips in the US.

My Mom is learning how to separate

Verboten!  The spectrum of things you’re not allowed to do in Germany runs from illegal to socially unacceptable.  So in that vein, you may not:  talk on your cell phone, Handy, while driving, deny or minimize the Jewish Holocaust, display the swastika,  purchase Mein Kampf (Hitler wrote this in prison),  belong to Scientology or Satanism, homeschool your children, run out of gas on the Autobahn, wash your own car in your driveway (due to the run-off), do yard work on Sunday (our neighbors warned us we could be reported!), and say Happy Birthday to someone before the actual day.   

On the other hand, you MUST pay to call the post office, sort your garbage properly, have car and health insurance, wear a helmet when skiing and put winter tires on your car (or insurance won’t pay in the event of an accident.)

Miscellaneous Tidbits Most German taxis are Mercedes. Chancellor Angela Merkel has a Barbie doll named after her.  While it is called Oktoberfest, it actually starts in September.  There are over 1,000 kinds of sausages in Germany. The German Purity Law of 1516 limits the ingredients of German beer to water, hops, and barley.  The German keyboard keeps us hunting for z, y, @, ?, " and / among others and has four additional letters: ä, ü, ö, and β.

Emergency numbers: Police 112, Fire Department 110.  Interestingly, the area code of Nuremberg is 911.  The length of telephone numbers is determined by the population size of the community ranging from 3 digits to 9.  For example, 384 is a complete number.  Approximately 88% of Germans live in cities, 231 people per square km, where the US has 30.  The whole of Germany is as big as Montana.  Can you imagine 85 million people living in Montana?  Where would all the cattle go?

Now you’re prepared to hop the pond yourself and enjoy Deutschland!  Viel Spaβ!