Glimpses of Germany - The First Month                                          June 17, 2001

• Do they really drive over 120 mph on the Autobahn?  Yes, they do!  The reason seems clear: that's the only way to average 60 mph!  Autobahns are apparently maintained by the various German states, each to its own standards and with separate improvement plans (much like US highways.)  Transitions between these autobahn sections are not usually transparent.  Additionally, there are many stretches of autobahn under construction or repair, especially in former East Germany.  Here the speed limit is reduced to 50, 35, or even 25!! mph, which, by the way, everyone observes.  So to average 60, one needs to accelerate whenever the opportunity arises.  And yes, there are plenty of accidents.  We saw three (not catastrophic, but highway blocking) accidents on our 1000 mile trip from Munich (really, München) to Berlin and back.  (Aside: It seems strange that people change the names of places depending on the language they speak.  Why don't we refer to locales by the names used by the residents?  Why say Lisbon when it's Lisboa?  Or Munich when it's München?  Beats me.)
  
• Watching one's P's and Q's is an old American (or is it English?) expression.  In Germany one needs to watch one's E's and U's instead.  Towns with similar names abound.  We took a detour to see scenic Freiberg, only to discover the tourist town is Freiburg.  Trying to find a back road to Berlin, we got bushwhacked by the two nearby Radeb_rgs.  Eventually we found this sign.  Other places with similar names -- we followed the road out of Berlin toward Frankfurt/O, only to discover it went east to Frankfurt am Oder, the Polish border town, when we wanted to go west to Frankfurt am Main, the bustling airport city.  Then there's Grünwald, our town, and Grünwald near Berlin.  I guess it's just like home; how many Newtons are there anyway?
  
• Did you notice the truck in the red and white circle on the sign?  The first time we tried to find Grünwald we saw a similar sign.  It had an arrow with the word Grünwald next to it and an empty red and white circle.  Eventually we discovered that the bridge over the Isar to Grünwald was out.  The sign meant: No road to Grünwald here!
  
• There really are cuckoo birds in Germany.  Unlike the clock, which sounds every once in a while, the bird bleats coo-coo, coo-coo continuously.  Talk about annoying, especially when you're trying to concentrate on a three-foot putt.
  
• About hotels -- Don't expect a clock in your hotel room; we never had a one.  Apparently the punctual Germans all wear watches or are tuned into the ever-chiming church bells.  Soft feathery pillows and comforters are standard in German hotels.  Had I known, I could have left my pillow behind.  Don't expect a large TV -- 19'' seems the max.  Surprisingly, the TV often faces in a direction inconsistent with comfortable viewing.  Also, don't expect a well spaced bathroom.  For example, we're staying in a rather nice 3-star hotel tonight.  But the sink juts out right in front of the toilet, so to use the commode requires getting in sideways!
  
• Substantial breakfasts are included as part of any hotel stay.  Enter the breakfast room and those guests seated nearby usually say "Guten Morgen".  Enter an elevator and people will say "Guten Tag".  Leaving breakfast?  Don't forget to say "Auf wiedersehen" to the other guests.  This makes for an outward appearance of friendliness, though in two weeks on the road the only person to actually strike up a conversation with us was a Floridian.
  
• A typical breakfast buffet includes excellent coffee, several juice choices, boiled eggs, an assortment of sliced deli meats and pate, various sliced and/or packaged cheeses, fruit salad, yogurt, rolls, bread and sometimes cake.  Dick chooses just a few items.  I try everything new and, if there's something I like, all available variations on the theme.  I figure the buffet is a chance to sample different things and compare  brands.  Tasting things now will make food shopping  easier down the road.  As Dick doesn't want to leave the impression that we're wasteful, he often tries to eat those items I select but leave unfinished.  This morning, thinking I might return yet again to the buffet, he plaintively requested:  "Please don't eat any more, I'm already full."
  
• Tables in Portuguese restaurants invariably had cloth tablecloths.  These were covered over with a table-size sheet of textured, white paper having a plastic, waterproof backing.  You always got a nice clean eating surface.  In Germany, there are usually tablecloths covering all or part of the table.  However, these are NOT changed for each customer, so there are often bread crumbs or water marks on the tablecloths.  I of course always want a fresh tablecloth, but given Germany's strong green, environmental perspective, I haven't yet worked up the nerve to request one.
  
• Want a private, romantic lunch?  Make sure you're at a table for two at an unpopular restaurant.  Why?  Because if there's room at your table, and if the restaurant is full, there's a good chance someone will ask to join you.  At one restaurant there was a table for 4, two of the seats on a cushioned bench along the wall.  The table was occupied by a family of 3 and their dog, dogs being allowed most everywhere in Germany.   A couple comes over to this table and asks if they can sit down.  The wife replies that there's one seat free.  "No problem" they say.  Then the man sits in the empty seat and his wife squeezes herself into the "seat" between two tables on the already fully-occupied cushioned bench!
  

Goes to show -- different country, different expectations, different customs.  For me, noticing them is one of most enjoyable parts of traveling.

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