BLASTS FROM THE PAST

OK Since we haven't done anything exciting in the last day or two, I thought I might back track a little bit and explain some of the major differences here to you all. From the moment we stepped off the plane, there were a few OBVIOUS differences that we saw!

First of all, as soon as I went to the bathroom, I noticed that NOTHING in their bathrooms look like ours...not even the stalls that you go into! The toilets are more rounded if you will and they have got some REALLY weird "handles." Most toilets have buttons that are not even attached to the toilet, but more like a button that is installed directly into the wall. There are some with handles, though, but not many and they also look different. In general, you also have a shower that is completely separate from your tub. The showers are teeny tiny stalls and the tubs usually have a shower hose attached as well although you can't really use it as a shower. I will post examples of this after we move into our house.

Let's see: the bedding. If you've ever been to IKEA, you might have an idea about what the bedding looks like. First of all, you have no fitted sheet, you have a flat sheet folded like a fitted sheet. Next, you have no flat sheet, you only have a down feather comforter and it is folded into thirds on your bed with a HUGE down feather pillow. Brent has come to like it, but when it's hot (and it is most nights right now because they don't have air here either) I prefer a flat sheet to cover up with. If you don't' the monsters will come and get you! :0)

Next, one of the most interesting differences in my opinion is the fact that most of their tv programming is American shows that have been dubbed over in German. I truly find it hilarious that most of what they watch has people talking and their mouths moving at 2 different times. Why I find this funny, I don't know, but nonetheless, hilarious! One show that they have UNEDITED and in English but with german subtitiles is MTV. I think that's funny, too. Even though there's not much on MTV that I like, I have been watching a good bit of it just because I get some english in! Also, they have a CNN International channel that is in english. Most of the music on the radio has a good bit of English on it as well.

Let's see....plugs, kitchens (almost non-existent), heating systems, cars (and driving), food (boy is that a big one), malls, people smoking...well, just about everything to be honest is different in some way. Let's break a few of these down. In one of the houses we looked at, there was not even a kitchen. We were going to make a deal with the landlord to install one and then pay an extra amount per month to pay for it.

Cars... First of all most people drive some sort of small car and secondly, Germans are so nice when they are not behind the wheel, but boy do they ever get aggressive once they are behind the wheel. They love to pass people and on top of that, they will pass you with the smallest amount of room to do so, they get so irritated if you actually slow down to make a turn, and boy do they ever FLY down the autobahn. Since I first started writing this post and things got so unbelievably crazy right before moving, I have driven on the autobahn thank you very much! I don't see myself doing it very often, but if need be, I'll do it. I only got up to about 120 kilometers per hour and that's around 80ish in the states. Seriously I got sick at my stomach the first time Brent was driving and his just above 90 miles an hour! People will pass you like you're standing still, too.

Food....ahhh, the food here. I have been losing a good bit of weight since we've been here and I can honestly attribute it to walking a lot (because that's just what you do around here) and also to not eating! Don't get me wrong, I can eat the fool out of their ice cream and bakeries, but anything else and you've pretty much lost me! It doesn't help that I don't have a clue most times what I might be ordering! When we first got here, we went to breakfast the first morning and were served the traditional german breakfast of a plate full of mystery meats, cheeses, and a basket full of the best, most fresh bread you can get. We were also given jam and butter. Lastly, you're given a partially boiled egg. Brent took one for the team and ate them on occassion, but I just couldn't stmach it! They also drink a lot of coffee and man, it's the best!

The malls here are very different. They are partially indoors and partially out and most have a grocery store right in them. There really isn't a food court persay, but there are restaurants here and there. It's really hard to describe this because they are just different here. They have grocery carts which you can "rent" (kind of) and take into the regular stores as well.

The only thing I need to say about smokers is that they are EVERYWHERE! It annoys the every living crap out of me that someone will light up right there by my babies! They all do it and they all do it right there in the presence of their kids and in no way attempt to keep the smoke out of their precious little faces!

As time goes, hopefully we'll be able to blog a bit more about the differences here!