DUH! and first observations

Well, I guess if I want to be blogging, I need to remember how to get to my blog!  DUH!

Since getting to Germany there have been a few DUH's in my life.  One does not contemplate SO many common things being different than in the US.  Here's a few:

Traffic signs, cars and the cost of gasoline:  Just about all different.  OK, so the octagon red for a stop sign is fairly universal, but there are lots of others that we have to learn.  Speed limits change quickly and are in small circles.  Stop lights show a red-yellow before turning green...don't know exactly what that means. It would be nice if travel books had a section of all the traffic signs pictured and what they mean.  My husband has been doing all the driving so far (although I have the car today...but it is raining, so maybe I won't be attempting to drive into the city) and stick shifts aren't his forte...'nuf said!  By the way, all the cars are smaller (very nice, by the way) and gasoline is equivalent to approximately $7.00 a gallon.  According to a German friend, ours would be too if the government stopped subsidizing...$7.00 a gallon is more of the true costs...hmmm, maybe people would stop driving the big cars!

Grocery Stores - well, nothing exists like what we are used to.  I've been into two REWE stores, one smaller than the other.  The larger one in this village we are living in (Mainz-Kinthen) has just about what we would need, but its primarily for groceries.  No big pharmacy or pharmacy like items, no aisle from which to choose motor oil or pots and pans.  Not a whole lot of pre-packaged stuff in the freezer.  More fish in the freezer and a few frozen veggies.  Stores are about 20 percent of a typical Fry's in Tucson in size.  Good selection of meats and in much smaller packages.  Probably the one outstanding observation to note is that there are no baggers.  You bag your own...and you better bring your own bags because if you don't you have a choice of paying for a paper bag, a reuseable bag, or a very thin (can't possibly hold much) plastic bag which are available at the check out counter BEFORE you check out.  We purchased a paper bag our first go round, then I brought my own reuseable bag which I packed from home!

• The check out clerks must belong to a good labor union. They are seated.  I saw this also in England.  Why do ours stand all day getting swollen ankles?
• At the bigger store I could not figure out how to get a grocery cart.  They were all chained one to another.  I watched one man who seemed to push a button and took his cart.  I pushed anything that looked pushable, to no avail.  I hand signaled my question to the next shopper who spoke to me in German and showed me a small plastic chip that gets inserted into the handle...and voila! she got her cart.  I did not find out, however, where to get one of those chips.  She seemed to tell me that if I waited for her to shop, she'd bring me her cart....hmmm....I just picked up a hand basket since I was walking back to the apartment with only what I could carry in my one bag..There are certainly no abandoned grocery carts broken down on the side of the road or left at bus stops! And they are about half the size of ours.
• There seems to be signs for a farmers market but I can't exactly tell where...I think it happens behind some homes...in looking around town yesterday on foot, the older homes have these driveways that go to the back where there are huge connected barn-like structures.  They are beautiful and certainly speak of a time gone by as far as construction...the roofs are particularly beautiful with all sorts of tiling. My phrase book is not enough...I need to get a small, decent English-German dictionary.

Living in one room - well this is taking a bit of getting used to.  It was the one area I was most concerned about before leaving.  In looking at the website for the hotel, http://www.atrium.de/, I thought we would most be comfortable in a superior apartment.  When Doug asked his company, they said we were registered in a superior apartment.  Apartment at best means studio in our vernacular.   Well, what we got was NOT what was pictured on the website.  When I complained and asked them to pull up the virtual tour of the website, they said "it is a mistake."  Now we aren't paying for this, so I wasn't going to argue about truth in advertising, etc.  But asked for an upgrade to what was depicted.,  One was available the next day (apparently a DELUXE apartment-the difference in upgrade we are paying).  The night we spent in the superior apartment was truly miserable.  Bed sizing in Germany is much smaller than we might be used to in US.  If you know my husband, he is a big guy and anything smaller than a king-sized bed for two of us just does not work.  So unpacking waited a day until we got into our new digs.  The entire room is a bit larger so there is even a window in the bedroom alcove which gives  us lots more air circulation.  And there are two twin beds pushed together which is equal to a king, longs as you don't want to cuddle. 

Bedding is different too.  No shared blankets or sheets.  I guess what each bed section has is a duvet...kind of a feather bed or some sort of fluffy quilt thing that is covered in sheeting.  By the end of the night it gets a bit lumpy since it seems best when its sort of shaken out and laid straight.  But its comfortable.  Doug is getting used to not having his softer side of our select comfort bed and I'm happy I can roll over.  I actually like these duvets because I generally sleep with a pillow between my legs and this duvet is large enough to act as body covering and a pillow between the legs.  So bedding problem settled.

The "kitchen area" is a trip.  A small two-burner cook top that is I think convection.  Only the pots provided can be used.  It took a bit to figure out...I've actually gotten to where I don't want to call the front desk because I think I've done that too often and I'm sure they think us the "dumb Americans." Written instructions would be nice.  No oven, and no toaster, but yes, a microwave.  Only a hotel room sized refrigerator with a tiny six-cube ice tray and no ice machines.  That also seems to be something not common to Germany...ice.  The refrigerator does not seem very cold and there is not adjustment...I'm a bit concerned about food storage temperatures.  But then again, the grocery stores did not refrigerate any of the milk and/or eggs!  This kitchen unit is fairly ingenious though...it looks like a nice cabinet.  Lift the top and there is the cook top and a sink whose faucet is similiar in function to a spray attachment to our sinks...it is flexible and you place it in its holder...and again, voila! a regular faucet.   Things I had to remind Doug of...no garbage disposal, make sure all food off plates, and don't leave counter wet!  Its not a granite top! I would love to find a second-hand store that has a crockpot and an electric skillet...maybe then I could actually cook wholesome real meals!

Germany is a very green country.  Eco-wise, everything is very strict.  All garbage and trash must be separated and each house has several containers that are marked for different recycle options (paper, glass, etc).  this is what I was used to 30 years ago in Massachusetts...why Arizona is still not WITH IT is beyond me!  I've seen no trash in the streets - litter seems to be limited to cigarette butts and gum wrappers which are caught in the bushes by the side of the road or sidewalks.  There are small trash cans attached to street posts at intersections...and they are used.  The door to the apartment patio, when opened, automatically turns off the air conditioner/heater...so no wasted energy.  There are no screens which is odd to me...just about every house I've seen has these rolling shutters which in AZ are used mostly as security for when a snowbird is gone for months.  Even upper floor windows have them.  Aside from a few moths, we haven't been bothered by bugs by using the rolling shutters or leaving them open (which negates any sense of security!)...I just wonder why they are so common.  They are highly expensive in the US.  

What Grosses me Out:  Certain toilet practices, especially when considered in public toilets.  Doug had sent me a YouTube video showing how there are toilet brushes in all toilets.  Go to YouTube and enter German Toilets and see if you can find what I'm talking about.  The fact that these brushes (which in my own home get sanitized after I use them) are in public places just gross me out.  Our hotel apartment is set up this way, and I don't want to touch the thing...we are following the "toilet paper first" suggestion of the video.  There are still cigarette vending machines in public with it seems no age restrictions for access....and smoking sections in restaurants.  We went to a german-food restaurant Sunday night and sat by ourselves in the large non-smoking dining room...the smaller pub room was filled to capacity where smoking was allowed, although I truly did not perceive an air of smoke.

I am Most Envious Of:  People who can ride bicycles.  Due to my artifical hips, I don't ride bicycles.  I can, but I'm afraid of falling...I've been thrown from a horse and broken a hip, so I don't take chances...especially since I have no insurance coverage here.  Anyway, there are bike paths all over the place.  I can't say that you see hoards of people riding bikes, but there are traffic paths, dirt paths just about behind any block, and GLORIOUS paved paths for miles and miles through the vineyards, apple orchards, and rolling fields.  On Sunday (all businesses are closed with exception of maybe gas stations and smaller groceries and a few restaurants), when we took a ride to acquaint ourselves a bit with the area, there were families, single people, elderly people all biking through the fields.  I was SOOOO jealous.  I used to love to ride my bike as a kid, and I never lived where it would have been so enjoyable as these riders have available to them.  There were even people riding horses.  I have to say except for the "aging" pudgyness, I have not seen truly fat people.  They obviously eat better, fresher, and have easy options to keep fit.  Its just a part of their lives.  I could not even find larger, plastic glasses to use since we have only stemware in our abode.  Super-sized does not exist in this country. 

Well, it is raining today.  I will write more again soon.  Now that I've figured out how to get to my own blog!  I haven't yet though figured out how to post photos...one new learning experience at a time! DUH!