We've had a few visitors now as well as a few trips back home to Canada and Ireland, and the one question we frequently get is "what is the strangest/weirdest/most different thing you've noticed about Germany?" So here goes - the list (compiled with the help of Mark, Sarah and Hoff in one shape or form) of all that makes Germany so...well...different...
1- All things toilet - This discussion started when we took Sarah to Heidelberg and while coming out of the washroom she casually mentioned that the woman who used the stall before her left the toilet seat up. That made us consider that the sign (pictured above) which is prominently displayed in our bathroom at home (who the heck lived there before us anyway???) was possibly there not to prevent men from sprinkling on the seat, but perhaps women??? This finally lead to talk of the German shelf toilet (also pictured above). Apparently when asked, any German will explain the reason for the location of the "shelf" is so that you can examine your "business" to ensure it is normal before flushing it away. I swear I have never put this much consideration into my toilet activities until moving to Germany...(and for the record, we have a very American toilet in our house!)
2 - Smoking - As previously mentioned, Germany has cigarette vending machines on every street corner, as well as the convenient cigarette slide at the grocery store. It wasn't until I attended my first music festival in Darmstadt, however, that I realized how much they embraced smoking. There were well dressed, cigarette logo adorned models milling through the crowds with open cigarette packs handing out samples to anyone who was interested. They were also encouraging sample takers to sit in the special roped off cigarette area to enjoy the music and said free cigarettes in the comfort of a lounge chair. All the PSA's in California against smoking came rushing back to me upon witnessing this spectacle. I've decided I will start smoking (perhaps a pipe?) just to belong!
3 - The man in the 5 sizes too small tight white pants on the tram (you know who you are!) - for that matter, I will include the 75 year old ladies with fuchsia and turquoise hair as well as the guy I frequently see biking through the park with small round sunglasses and turn of the century carny clothes. Apparently I am not living in the fashion capital of the world.
4 - Women only parking spaces - (The sign doesn't indicate for pregnant women, women with kids, disabled etc...) I assume it's just women. Needless to say I haven't driven around searching for a parking spot since we arrived.
5 - On the topic of driving - no speed limits! Everything they say about the autobahn is true. But my question is, why is it that we now live in the land of no speed limits and yet Mark, for the first time ever, has received 2 speeding tickets in 3 months??!?
6 - No Sunday shopping - 'nuff said
7 - The air raid sirens - The first time we heard them was about 3 days after we arrived and I was tempted to hang my Canadian flag out the window so the allies knew where we were. Apparently, since there are a lot of chemical companies around our area, they are in place as a warning system in case of toxic spills/chemical explosions. We, however, have been hearing regular test sirens. Supposedly. But if I start to develop a rash, I'm moving...
8 - No kitchens - It's customary when you move from your rented apartment to take your entire kitchen with you (yes, even the kitchen sink). We discovered this while house hunting when we walked into a series of apartments with bare walled kitchens and water hook ups. We were lucky enough to find a landlord willing to install a kitchen for us, but normally we would have spent many hours in Ikea with limited ability to speak German, miming out what our dream kitchen would look like!
9 - The working girl - One Sunday on our way to the train station, we passed by a lovely woman standing on the side of the road in the middle of the day. The next time we passed, she was there again, talking to a bus driver (this was not a bus stop by the way). Eventually we clued in to exactly what she was doing on a Sunday afternoon at 2pm. The last time we drove by she had found herself a nice little trailer to park on the side of the road. Apparently business is good!
10 - The Herkules Bar - Germany certainly doesn't have the strict closing times we had become accustomed to in California, however, you can imagine our surprise when we walked by the Herkules bar and saw that it's opening hours were listed as 6am to 5am. The bar is open 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have it on good authority that just before 5am, a bell is rung to signify last call. Patrons can then order 2-3 pints, head outside to the curb and drink happily for an hour while the place is literally hosed down inside in preparation for the 6am opening. We haven't experienced this first hand ...yet...
So to all future visitors to our humble no pee on the seats apartment, this is just a taste of what you can expect.
And any volunteers brave enough to join us on a night out the Herkules are very welcome!
