For those who I've been lucky enough to talk to often thanks to IMessage, Skype, etc. some of this you've had a chance to hear about already. The easiest way to recap my thoughts thus far is probably by bullets. It'll be a change of pace from my other blog posts! :)
- Food -
How many of you have had German food before? I had before we got here at a cute little German restaurant in my hometown, I've eaten in Germany in Epcot and even been to the Biergarten at the Standard hotel in the meatpacking district. Those count right?! Ha. No. None of that counts. The food here is good don't get me wrong but what i've learned about the food that you have when you are in those stereotypical "German" places in the US is Bavarian German food which is quite different from other parts of Germany. When you go to a restaurant you can expect the standard Weinerschnitzel which is pork grounded really thinly and breaded. If you're lucky it'll be breaded in pretzel bread which will make it infinitely better. Pork knuckle (I don't think explanation is needed here), some kind of sausages, blood sausage if you're lucky and some starch. Germans love their meat and potatoes and fried food. Lord what I would do for a nice big salad with fresh fruit and some cheese and grilled chicken on it. Helllooooo Panera chicken poppyseed salad. But, sadly that doesn't exsist here. If you are a meat and potato and starchy type of person Germany is your place!
- Language -
Before coming here I attempted to learn some German, I signed up for the German word of the day, downloaded a great free app called Duolingo ( I highly suggest it!) and bought a pocket guide of common phrases. I thought I would be set! I've mentioned this before in other posts about how much English Germans have which is true. Most of the people our age who i've met have taken about 9 years of English in school. When you are out and about and you try to order something in German, usually they realize that you are not a native speaker and will start speaking to you in the broken English that they have. Broken English + Broken German = well, an interesting conversation.
- Atmosphere -
I've now been in the shoes of anyone who visits America and doesn't speak English. Imagine walking around and everything from the sounds you hear, to the sights you see is in another language. It can be quite jarring to feel like you are in this alternate bubble of a language that no one around you is speaking. You have no clue what people are saying around you, or what the signs right in front of you says. Of course, nothing that a little Word Lens or Google Translate can't help you with, it'll just take you a bit longer to understand. Just make sure that wherever you are allows you to have your cell phone to be out. I was kicked out of a store once trying to buy a Happy Birthday postcard and had my phone out with Google Translate trying to figure out what each postcard said. Having not seen the "no cell phone sign" when I walked in I was promptly escorted out. She didn't speak any English for me to try and explain what I was doing so I didn't try.
- Convenience -
We are spoiled in America. There I said it. If you are sick in the middle of the night, guess what there is a 24 hour walk in clinic down the road! Here in Germany-- It's passed 6pm and you need some tylenol for that headache? Oh, too bad the Apotheke is closed, you're going to have to wait until tomorrow and if tomorrow turns out to be Sunday, well.....best you google alternatives for getting rid of a headache. Back home, we pretty much have access to anything we want at whatever time we want. Jim & I have a 24 hour diner within walking distance from us so no matter what time of night we can walk down the street get a glass of sangria and a burger or have breakfast at 10pm. You definitely don't have those luxuries here. Convenience also goes for the supermarket-- There are few choices of things- there are two kinds of bread, two kinds of waster definitely not enough for an entire aisle of water like we have at home. Here there's one, maybe two, cases of ice cream. Back home, we have an entire aisle. You want gluten free ice cream- you got it. You want all natural vanilla bean free- vanilla ice cream- you got it. Here- not so much. After you've shopped through the aisles of minimalism and you get to the check out. I hope you brought bags with you. If not, you have to pay for them. 1 euro for a heavier duty bag, and 50 euro cent for a regular looking plastic grocery bag. This is the same for EVERYWHERE so make sure to bring your bags. :)
- What i've learned -
Before coming here, I had this crazy adventurous bucket list. I wanted to visit Istanbul, go to India to see the bright colors and the amazing culture, all these things that littered my bucket list. After coming to Germany I've realized I'm an overly cautious planner, I like knowing where I'm going, how i'm getting there, how long that will take, what it will cost, and where i'm sleeping. I'm way less adventurous than I had thought. Now, let me not get adventurous confused with spontaneous because I definitely still have a spontaneous side to me. I know Jim wants to visit Ireland and maybe one day i'll surprise him with plane tickets beause hey, they speak English there ;)
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