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ynamreG

No, that’s not a fancy new German word I learned.  It’s just Germany backwards.

After one week we’re starting to become somewhat accustom to our surroundings.  We had the opportunity on the weekend to travel to some neighbouring cities.  Our journey confirmed earlier suspicions we had: our apartment is an Ikea apartment.  Everything from the bedding, to the furniture, to the glasses we drink from, and the little lamp that’s situated behind me.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s all very nice, but at the same time, it’s somewhat humourous to walk through a single store knowing you can replace everything in about 15-minutes.

We’ve started to get into a routine for some day-to-day chores.  Grocery shopping is an almost daily event because, in Germany, space is a premium.  Fridges are smaller, cupboards are scarce, and owning a freezer is something special.  Having to grocery shop every other day isn’t all bad, but it took us a week to find the stores we could frequent.  All the grocery stores we’ve found so far could be defined as glorified 7-Eleven’s.  I’m not exaggerating when I say that most of these have chocolate and candy sections that rival Wal-Mart on Halloween.  (Again, not complaining about that.)

Before coming here I always thought Germans were better drivers.  While I can’t say my opinion has changed, I will say this: while they may not be crazy drivers, they are “excessively assertive with a slightly heavy foot.”  The issue is further compounded by lax speed limits.  Many of the roads in and around the town we’re staying in have sharp twists and turns–usually up or down steep hills (see the pictures at the end of this post).  The speed limit down these roads is 80 km/h.  We were a little apprehensive of travelling that fast down such narrow roads so we took things a bit slower.  Not surprisingly, everyone passed us.  At first I thought they were crazy, then I thought they were actually really good drivers, lastly I saw all the memorials in the ditches–crosses and flowers–and I think a little less assertiveness would be prudent.

Weather-wise it’s been raining nearly every single day; so we haven’t had an opportunity to really go outside and take some nice pictures.  We took a few of our rental car and the outside of where we’re staying.  One of the most backwards things I’ve noticed (as visible in the picture below) is that people often park their cars on the sidewalks.  We’ve seen it in a few different places and I’m beginning to think it’s a common thing.

We did manage to make out it to a McDonald’s.  It was there we first observed what I have coined “speed bubbles.”  Not to be confused with a speed bump you find in a parking lot.  These little wonders share the same purpose but have a much different form (also much less effective as you can see from the picture below).

Following are some photos.  They’re not very glamourous but we’ll take more when the weather is better.