Aaron T. Grogg

Just over four weeks into our residence in Germany and the most common word my wife and I find ourselves using when we encounter something new and different is “civilized”… Not the word I expected to use. I expected “efficient”, for sure, but “civilized” just seems to fit better. A few examples…

• First of all, driving:  Yes, there’s the autobahn, which, in my ignorance, I thought was more like “here’s a big road (or two or three) where people can drive really fast.”  But it’s not, it’s like our Interstate system.  Imagine if every roadway that had that iconic (to U.S. residents) blue sign allowed you to go as fast as you are comfortable driving (most of the time).  It’s really cool, and very smart.
• But this system only works well because, for the most part, most Germans drive very respectively:  the left lane is for passing only.  After a driver passes someone, they move back into the lane to their right.  You listening, California??
• And speaking of changing lanes:  You will almost never see someone do so without using their indicator…  I think most of the U.S. is guilty on this one…
• Autobahn ausfahrts (yes, yes, snicker away, I’ll wait… it’s an exit, people): 300 meters before an exit, you get a blue rectangular sign on the side of the road with three white, angled slashes. 200 meters before, same sign with only two slashes. And at 100 meters before, another sign with just one slash. So civilized, right?
• Traffic Circles (aka roundabouts):  Certainly not just a German thing, but I love them, so I thought I’d mention them…  And not those roundabouts you encounter some times in the states, with Stop signs or street lights, real honest-to-goodness roundabouts, with Merge signs…  Drive up, slow down, no one coming? Then carry on…
• Our under-the-sink trash can: It’s on a swivel and connects to the cabinet door so that when you open the door, the can swings out.  And the top rim of the can has a little plastic “nub” so that as the can swivels, the nub pushes the lid up, so that opening the door swings the can out and opens the lid for you…  Damned civilized!
• The repairman’s toolbox: Simple, but ingenious, it doubles as a step-stool.  You’re carrying the damn thing anyway, why not make it doubly useful?
• Eating french fries (or, surprisingly here, pommes frites):  When handed an order of frites, it comes with this wonderful little wooden, two-pronged fork to eat with. Made from a renewable resource, the little disposable fork is also totally biodegradable. And just clever…
• But by far the greatest thing, so far, has been the windows: ALL of the windows and glass doors in our house have three handle positions: down is locked; horizontal opens like a door, swinging vertically on the top and bottom side hinges; but up (here’s the magic) hinges the bottom of the door, so the top swings in, allowing you to easily ventilate your haus without having to have everything gaping open…

Anyhow, a few observations, surely more to come…

Prost,
Atg

It has now been nearly three weeks, and (astonishingly, we’re told) we already have an apartment (really a townhouse, for some reason, basically our last 3 apartments combined), both passed our German driver license test (which we’re told some fail multiple times), bought a car (a black, Volvo sedan, but cool), Marianne has completed her work orientation, and we’re slowly, very slowly, starting to settle in a little. So much so that we’ve actually done a few errands without using the GPS to find our way there and back!

So far, it’s cold. Really f-ing cold. We had rain for nearly every day for the first two weeks, but were warmed by our incredible hosts (the people that got Marianne the gig, our very good friend, and his wife that we met shortly after arrival), Chuck and Ginger. They have been our saviors, and are certainly the reason we have been able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. Both their warm welcome into their home and their never-ending energy in helped us accomplish whatever we wanted or needed to do, giving us the greatest head-start on our journey that we could have possibly asked for.

And even with the cold weather, and between fits of rain, we have had some sun (not at all warm, but bright light none-the-less), we have gone on several cool excursions (Christmas Markets are awesome: glühwein (hot red wine) und brats (um, brats)!!), and we have also enjoyed some peaceful time together: we’ve admired the full moon playing peak-a-boo with the clouds above our back yard; smiled warmly at one another while sipping wonderfully warm beverages as our toes somehow got even colder; chuckled juvenilely at every-day German phrases that would be considered hilarious on the 3rd-grade playground (einfahrt or ausfahrt, anyone?); and sat mildly befuddled watching life pass by us, suddenly so strange and bewildering…

I think we’re both fighting the fact that this is all so foreign to us, probably trying to keep strong for one another… We buy cereal, cheese, butter, even milk, that we’re not quite sure about, because the label is completely in German, and, well, just different… You don’t realize just how many words are on product packaging until you can’t read most of them, and you suddenly wonder just what the hell they all say!

The people here have been terrific, considering how little we know of the language (yeah, we’re typical Americans in that regard), and we are slowly adjusting: we finally mapped out which day each of our four trash bins needs to go out; the insane number of traffic signs no longer overwhelms us; we’re no longer afraid to say Sprechen sie Englisch, bitte? (but can’t wait `til that phrase can leave our vocabulary…).

Then this morning we awoke to a wonderful, thin blanket of white fluffy snow on the ground! Somehow the snow here does seem more beautiful. Maybe it’s because we aren’t in the city, where the white snow immediately becomes black slop. And then I got to “enjoy” shoveling the sidewalk and scraping the car windows… Ah, the suburban life…

Anyhow, a brief update on our ever-changing life abroad, hope you’re all well, and that you’re getting set for a wonderful end of the year!

Prost,
Atg