Kapital 4

Guten Abend!

I was very much interested while reading these cultural articles. I was familiar with quite a bit of the information presented, but there was some interesting, and humorous, information I did not know. For example, I was aware of the fact that Germany was a bike-loving country, but I was unaware of the seriousness with which people treat the bike paths. I originally thought it was just a calm and enjoyable mode of transportation. The fact that people are willing to run you down if you get in your way proves that wrong. Germans seem to be super serious about their biking. Which means that one must be conscious of bikes, even when crossing the street.

Normally, a person would only worry about getting hit by a car when j-walking. But in Germany, you have to look out for the bikes, and other pedestrians if you wanna break the law. It seems that most Germans find J-walking an unacceptable practice. This fact would probably be one of the more problematic aspects of an American visiting Germany, because most Americans J-walk religiously. Avoiding J-walking all together would be best. That way, you wont risk attracting unwanted attention from the locals or getting run down by a car, or worse, a bike.

Another thing visitors in Germany need to be aware of is German's almost comical sense of logic. You can't expect them to connect any dots for you. As the article pointed out, if you buy a train ticket, they will happily give it to you. If you ask when the next train is coming they will tell you. What they don't do, however, is tell you when the next train that your ticket is valid for is coming. If you ask a general question, they will give you a general answer. You have to specify what exactly your asking about.

This has probably been the most interesting and enjoyable set of cultural articles I have read so far. I also think that these articles provide you with some of the most useful information.

Well, Auf Wiederschreiben!