They say you should never see a dog or a monkey in its eye. If you are new to the German way of living, I think you should not see anyone in the eye. I mean, like every dog has his area defined [ though demarcated by pretty unhygienic means], I feel like even I have an area. Anyone whom I see inside the imaginary circumference wishes me Hallo, Guten Tag or something. Some people do it so sweetly, you feel running to them and... ok, forget it, they are mature nuns busy in the work of God. But some people look at you and say the hello in such a grotesque manner, you wish you'd never see them again.
Water is supposed to be water. Hydrogen two atoms, Oxygen one. Somehow, that is not the case here. Un-carbonated water feaures in the same extinct species' list as dodo and dinosauraus. Especially when one is travelling and drinking so much CO2, there is all this green house effect going on inside. And it makes your stomach go queasy at the very mention of bottled water!
Just about everything can be made more convenient and hands free using technology. We bought a bottle of strong adhesive and couldn't figure out how to open its capillary like nozzle. So we decided to take a look at the instructions [ it was in German, so looking was all we could do.. luckily there were some photos and photos don't have any language so far! ] . Flip the cover , place it securely against the nozzle and twist. Lo and behold! the nozzle tip is open.
Of course, the sensor fitted doors are found everywhere - from local banks to supermarkets to railway stations.
Speed. Its not just a Hollywood movie, its also a passion for the Germans. Look at the autobahns. Or the ICE trains. You can travel at 260kmph in an autobahn and you would still find people whooshing past. As for ICE trains, well, the less said the better. The way trains cruise at 250+ kmph speeds, you wonder if they are on magnetic levitation. But they are not. And thats the biggest deal.
Language. If you can say 'Danke Schoene' and 'Tschuss' with the same elan as Germans do, you can win their hearts. But if you can't, be prepared to be surprised. Not always, may be, not often. But sometimes, you can see faces twitch and twist when you communicate that you can't speak in Deutsche. 'Ich sprache nicht Deutsche'. That will kill you.
Beer. If you can't bear beer, you can't enjoy any party in Germany.
Bread. There are more kinds of bread to be seen in a German cafe than there are kinds of insects in this world. [Wasn't that a huge number?]
This list is by no means complete. Nor is it meant to be in bad taste.
To a ill-mannered guy who comes from India, the German politeness and sense of humor is inspiring. But it takes time to get used to these things. Till then, you are allowed to say you don't like it !
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It's good that you are being honest. I have found my time here the same....shaking my head at the srangeness of not being able to get uncarbonated water from any cafe. It's so foreign to them. So I take my own bottle because I'm tired of not getting what I want. And in the spirit of being in Germany, I will now aim to get what I want. And when people greet with 'hallo' as I wait in the doctors waiting room, I feel that they do this more because it;s their 'duty' rather then them being friendly out of good nature.
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