Wednesday, September 14, 2011

What is different here?

(It reminds me of a Sesame Street song... one of these things is not like the other)

Obviously, many things here in Germany are not like they are in the U.S. But what? You might ask. So here are a few observations for you.

Things we have in Germany that they don't usually have in the USA (at least in my experience)

  • Bakeries, lots of bakeries, on every other street corner in the city and at least one but probably more than that in every town
  • A lot of pharmacies
  • A lot of travel agencies
  • A lot of pork - wurst (sausage) of all kinds, ham, salami, bacon, schinken (sort of a salty ham)
  • Fizzy water everywhere. You can get it in different strengths of fizz - regular, medium, and light
  • More bikes than I have ever seen in one place
  • Scarves in all types of weather
  • Great public transportation
  • Really complicated recycling programs
  • All sorts of fish and cheeses and cuts of meat I have yet to identify
  • Electric tea kettles 
  • Lots of Turkish and Mediterranean food

Things they usually have in the USA that we don't have in Germany

  • Closets
  • Free tap water at restaurants
  • All you can eat buffets
  • 64 ounce fountain drinks
  • 32 ounce lattes
  • Obese people
  • Target
  • Bagels (we found one bagel place, but you can't get a bag to take home)
  • Lemonade
  • People doing things as they walk or drive - like eating, drinking their 64 ounce sodas, and texting
  • Ranch dressing
  • Spicy food
  • Stores that are open on Sundays
Things that we have in Germany that surprised me a little
  • Subway restaurants
  • Peanut butter
  • A lot of Rollerbladers
  • Ebay and Amazon.com
I am sure I'll add to the list as I discover more!
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About Me

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Thanks for coming to my blog. It started as a way to keep in touch with family and friends, and now has become an ongoing project. I'm an American living in Germany and trying to travel whenever I can. I write about my experiences as an expatriate (the interesting ones and the embarrassing ones), and about my travels. There are some recurring characters in this blog, particularly my husband Brian and several of our friends. The title comes from the idea that living in a foreign country means making a lot of mistakes. So the things you used to do easily you now have to try over and over again. Hopefully, like me, you can laugh at how idiotic it feels. If you have happened upon my blog, then welcome. Knowing that people are reading what I write makes me keep going. Feel free to write comments or suggestions for future posts.