To sum it up gently

These are small tidbits of information that I've been slowly picking up about typical German lifestyles. For those of you who have never lived in Germany, you may find this interesting. For those of you who are from Germany, you may find everything I have to say pretty tacky.


Germans:

- Follow rules. They cross only when the walking man is lit and they will report your license plate if you drive poorly.

- Eat only one hot meal a day: Lunch. Breakfast and dinner are comprised of bread and cheese. And for the hot meals that Germans do eat, you guessed it, is a lot of sausage and sauerkraut.

- Have this weird contraption built into their house that causes all the windows and doors to be boarded up. It's like how a store in the mall closes by rolling down a garage-like gate. So, at night, Germans close up shop on their homes. Introducing, The Rolladen:


- Ride bicycles at all ages.

- Are extremely environmentally conscious. Garbage gets separated into compartments: Plastic, paper and general trash. You must pay for how much you dispose, which discourages needless consumption and purchasing. Water is heavily taxed to encourage conservation. There are wind turbines scattered across the countryside and gas is like $14 a gallon. Don't even think about littering.

- Actually do wear those leather britches that you see on yodelers.


Germany:

- Shuts down on Sundays. The law states that no shop is allowed to be open on this day and to be open requires special and regulated government permissions. Some stores that are open: Bakeries (though only special licensed bakeries and then only during certain hours nationwide), churches and breweries (Bread, God and beer. It's all a German needs).

- Is primarily Catholic (thus the observation of doing nothing on Sundays) and they celebrate events such as All Saints day and Names Day, Ash Wednesday and Easter.

- Like, invented Christmas. And gummy bears.

- Has a different kind of beer for each town. So, while Wassenberg is knows for a beer that is dark and has a heavier taste, Koln, a neighboring city, has something lighter with less hops. Also, beer brewed in Germany are only allowed 4 general ingredients. This means no preservatives. What you drink is as fresh as you can get.