Kultur 4 - Bikes and Crosswalks

Guten Tag,

German cyclists definitely have more right of way than American cyclists do. It is particularly noticable around campus. I guess that you have to consider the fact that in these instances, most of the time they aren't riding on bike paths, but on pedestrian walkways.

Strictly obeying stoplights is definitely not something that Americans do. Even our driving laws allow right turns on many red lights. While I can appreciate the safety reasons behind this strict obedience, in my own opinion, I don't deem that it is always neccesary. The example of the rebellious teenagers late at night waiting for the light to turn green is an instance where I would personally have just crossed the street if there really were no cars in sight. If there are little kids around, I can understand setting an example by not crossing. While an adult is perfectly capable of deciding when it is safe to cross the street, a little kid may not, so their obedience of crosswalks is more of a necessity than the obedience of an adult.

Tschüss,

Ashley

German Transportation

Just from what I've read and heard about, public transportation in Germany seems to be a way bigger deal than it is in America. And if they do use their own form of transportation it seems to usually not be cars like how it is in America.

From reading that articles transportation and traffic laws in Germany seem to be a pretty big deal. Even pedestrian cross walks are taken in black and white. Green means go, red means stop. With nothing in between. I'm sure this results in many fewer accidents and traffic violations while in America, these seem to always be a problem. This most likely fits in with the stereotype that all Americans are selfish. We are always so focused on the fact that we are late or that we have somewhere else to be that we consider traffic laws to be more like guidelines that don't really apply to us.

Being from a small town, even the Michigan buses were a handful to get used to. I don' t think that I would fare well in Germany where it seems like there is a very strategic way of handling the subways. After 3 months of living here, I am getting more and more used to the buses and I am sure that the German subways are the same way. Just one of those things you have to get used to. But I am sure that to all tourists or even native Germans who do not typically ride them they would be quite difficult to navigate

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!

Kultur 4 - Eric Vander Putten

I found the online articles very interesting to read. There were a lot of things that were talked about that I had never heard about Germany before, like how they love to ride bikes and apparently love to be nude.

The article about crossing the street I found very interesting because it is very different from many places in the United States, especially in Ann Arbor. I don't think I have ever gone a day without seeing people walking across the street while the don't cross sign is on.

The article about the illogical logic was also very interesting because that is also very different from the United States. Here, if someone had just bought a ticket and then asked when the next train was coming I think almost everyone would assume they were asking about the next train they can board, and not the literal next train.

Overall I found these articles to be very interesting and I enjoyed reading them very much.

Kapitel 4- Kultur Kyle O'Meara

I found these articles to be very interesting about day-to-day activities of German and how they follow rules of transportation. In particular I was not aware that Germans had distinct roads for bicycles only that could take them throughout town. I would feel that would be very beneficial in Ann Arbor, as bicyclists are always weaving around people on sidewalks. I also was shocked that many Germans follow the crosswalk signs all the time and cars try to play chicken with you if you break the rules. It seems in the USA cars are very respectful of people and try to be as far away from them as possible, even if the pedestrian is in the wrong. I also noticed people in the US in some cities such as Boston, do not follow the crosswalk guides at all, instead opting to look both ways and cross. The honor system riding subways is very different than the United States, and the US even has gates that block people without tickets or passes from even getting on the train or onto the platform. Again I learned Germans are very literal about questions asked and will directly answer your question without regarding the context it's in from previous questions.

Kultur-Texte Kapitel 4 - Jeremy K

Bewegen Sie!
I enjoyed reading about Germans and how anal they are about their organization. I knew they were an orderly people, but I didn't know I'd get targeted by a BMW if I decided to jay-walk in Deutschland (How different from Ann Arbor!). I guess I also never realized how prominent bicycling is in German (or Europe in general, for that matter). I'm trying to imagine a whole-nother world of "bike-roads." Traffic-light-regulated roads for cyclists that put our "sidewalks" to shame. True, it is a healthier and more environmentally-friendly option, but it's obviously not as feasible here. Just because of the design of our cities. It's impractical for the majority of people here to bike to work. We're so large and spread out in comparison to Germany/Europe (I believe they compared Germany to the size of Montana!). Also, they seem to be a lot more strict about young people driving cars in Germany (though Michigan DID just enact more restrictions on drivers under 18 about 6 months ago). Perhaps Germans think their children are incapable of using those 4-wheeled killing machines. Kind of like how they think, if they send their children here to America, they'll inevitably get shot.

Willkommen!!

Welcome to our class blog!

We will be using this blog throughout the semester for two kinds of assignments:

1. Once per chapter, the homework plan will direct you to post a response to the culture readings for the chapter on the blog.

2. Roughly every other week, the homework plan will direct you to post here for your Abenteuer mit Deutsch (AMD) assignment. First you do a fun activity that involves German, then you post about it. You should spend an hour total on this (maybe 45-55 minutes doing something, 5-15 minutes posting about it). See Was ist ein AMD, AMD Ideen and Beispiele for ideas. This should get you excited about the kinds of things you can do!

Whenever you post something, please include your name and the name of the assignment (e.g. AMD2, Kultur5) as labels. See "Blog: How To" for more details!