Like many of you I was posted overseas. I was in Germany. My two years in Germany proved instructive as to some cultural differances between them and us, such as...


1. German homes have a restroom just inside the front door. I was told it was for strangers needing to use the toilet. The law forces homeowners to allow strangers to come in and use the facilities.
2. No screens on the windows, thus allowing bugs and insects to enter freely when you're trying to air out the room.
3. Taxes, taxes and more taxes. TV tax, radio tax, church tax...
4. lackadaisaical attitude towards bathing.

any who just some observations, where were you stationed and what peciluar things did you notice?

remind me not to move there...

Church tax?

I've heard about the less than enthusiastic attitude towads bathing, however....

I loved Germany.  Good beer, good women, and good times all around.  Yeah its expensive especially if you have a car.  I rode my ZX-7 mostly though.  Great little towns with all kinds of holiday festivals one weekend after another....a non stop party.  Awesome landscape and historical content with the Roman structures.  Close enough to visit any other western european country and see the sites on any weekend.  Loved every minute of it.

Negatives - They are very ANTI-ICE CUBES. Fookin warm soda and beer. And all their drinks seem to be carbonated. Even bottled water. Plus, most homes have no A/C in the summer. Plus a lot more of them are smokers than in the U.S. and they can smoke just about anywhere. All drive little shitbox cars because gas is like $5 a gallon. If you don't have cable, they have a total of like 3 national channels, one of which is always dedicated to documentaries. I like learning like anyone else, but Jesus Positives - But, they have very good roads, no potholes and their signage is squared away. They have a 35 hour workweek and get six plus weeks vacation a year, so they are much more relaxed than Americans. Can also be as fanatical as Americans about their sports. Tend to be more environmentally conscious (recycling, etc) than us.

Quoted: Like many of you I was posted overseas. I was in Germany. My two years in Germany proved instructive as to some cultural differances between them and us, such as... 1. German homes have a restroom just inside the front door. I was told it was for strangers needing to use the toilet. The law forces homeowners to allow strangers to come in and use the facilities.

So you could go to McDonalds and get a Schnitzel McMuffin with Egg and a Becks and then go cruising for the nicest house in town to drop a present???

The beer was good tough.

Quoted: Negatives - They are very ANTI-ICE CUBES. Fookin warm soda and beer. And all their drinks seem to be carbonated. Even bottled water. Plus, most homes have no A/C in the summer. Plus a lot more of them are smokers than in the U.S. and they can smoke just about anywhere. All drive little shitbox cars because gas is like $5 a gallon. If you don't have cable, they have a total of like 3 national channels, one of which is always dedicated to documentaries. I like learning like anyone else, but Jesus Positives - But, they have very good roads, no potholes and their signage is squared away. They have a 35 hour workweek and get six plus weeks vacation a year, so they are much more relaxed than Americans. Can also be as fanatical as Americans about their sports. Tend to be more environmentally conscious (recycling, etc) than us.

I have never had a warm beer in Germany.

I agree it is a very clean coutry, They are anal about cleaning thats for sure.

Quoted: Positives - But, they have very good roads, no potholes and their signage is squared away. They have a 35 hour workweek and get six plus weeks vacation a year, so they are much more relaxed than Americans. Can also be as fanatical as Americans about their sports. Tend to be more environmentally conscious (recycling, etc) than us.

Not positives but reasons they have 10%+ unemployment and an economy that is anemic at best.

Quoted: Quoted: Like many of you I was posted overseas. I was in Germany. My two years in Germany proved instructive as to some cultural differances between them and us, such as... 1. German homes have a restroom just inside the front door. I was told it was for strangers needing to use the toilet. The law forces homeowners to allow strangers to come in and use the facilities. So you could go to McDonalds and get a Schnitzel McMuffin with Egg and a Becks and then go cruising for the nicest house in town to drop a present???

kind of makes you wonder, was it really a problem that strangers weren't allowed in people's homes to use the restroom that they would make a law over it?

I wonder how many strangers actually ask to use a  homeowner's restroom?

Quoted: Like many of you I was posted overseas. I was in Germany. My two years in Germany proved instructive as to some cultural differances between them and us, such as... 1. German homes have a restroom just inside the front door. I was told it was for strangers needing to use the toilet. The law forces homeowners to allow strangers to come in and use the facilities. 2. No screens on the windows, thus allowing bugs and insects to enter freely when you're trying to air out the room. 3. Taxes, taxes and more taxes. TV tax, radio tax, church tax... 4. lackadaisaical attitude towards bathing. any who just some observations, where were you stationed and what peciluar things did you notice?

Well I lived over there for about 13 years, never heard about a law that says you MUST allow someone to use your bathroom!

Your right about no screens, my wife and I (Mrs. Quib was born and raised there) killed about 300 flys one summer afternoon......right after the farmer behind us sprayed his fields with cow shit!

The taxes really suck! I thought I got out of paying TV tax once. The TV monitoring van drove by and spotted reception coming from our house and found out we were not registered. They knocked on the door, my wife answered and told them we don’t need to pay because her husband is an American. Well a few weeks later I received a notice in the mail that I do in fact have to pay TV tax, they investigated and found out I was a legal resident living and working in Germany and not a GI!

Yea, there are some REALLY stinky people over there!!! My little nephews used to spend time with us during summer vacation. I would shower before work and shower after coming home from work. It was funny one time when they whispered to my wife that “Uncle Quib sure does wash a lot!”

Quoted: I wonder how many strangers actually ask to use a  homeowner's restroom?

Not me! But when I was stumbling home from the Fest, drunk off my ass, I pissed in a lot of peoples front yards!

That’s not bad in a country where I seen the police pull over on the side of the road to take a piss!

First, the bathroom related points:
Toilet paper comparable to sandpaper -- No joke!
Toilets with a platform for your 'product,' so you can inspect it before you send it on its way.

And ...  the goofy health views:
I remember riding the early morning bus to work during cold season.  All the windows were closed and the air was so stuffy you could cut it with a knife.  A friend of mine reached up and cracked open a ventilation window.  Immediately, an old lady slammed it shut -- not because it was blowing on her, but because Germans seem to view stifling, germ-filled air as preferable to cold, fresh air.  Go figure.

The women there are freaks. More tail than you can count, if your an American. Woo hoo!

Quoted: Quoted: Like many of you I was posted overseas. I was in Germany. My two years in Germany proved instructive as to some cultural differances between them and us, such as... 1. German homes have a restroom just inside the front door. I was told it was for strangers needing to use the toilet. The law forces homeowners to allow strangers to come in and use the facilities. 2. No screens on the windows, thus allowing bugs and insects to enter freely when you're trying to air out the room. 3. Taxes, taxes and more taxes. TV tax, radio tax, church tax... 4. lackadaisaical attitude towards bathing. any who just some observations, where were you stationed and what peciluar things did you notice? Well I lived over there for about 13 years, never heard about a law that says you MUST allow someone to use your bathroom! ...i lived on base, but had German friends, one of them told me about the bathroom laws, maybe it was only in that section or town? Your right about no screens, my wife and I (Mrs. Quib was born and raised there) killed about 300 flys one summer afternoon......right after the farmer behind us sprayed his fields with cow shit! The taxes really suck! I thought I got out of paying TV tax once. The TV monitoring van drove by and spotted reception coming from our house and found out we were not registered. They knocked on the door, my wife answered and told them we don’t need to pay because her husband is an American. Well a few weeks later I received a notice in the mail that I do in fact have to pay TV tax, they investigated and found out I was a legal resident living and working in Germany and not a GI! Yea, there are some REALLY stinky people over there!!! My little nephews used to spend time with us during summer vacation. I would shower before work and shower after coming home from work. It was funny one time when they whispered to my wife that “Uncle Quib sure does wash a lot!”

Quoted: A friend of mine reached up and cracked open a ventilation window.  Immediately, an old lady slammed it shut -- not because it was blowing on her, but because Germans seem to view stifling, germ-filled air as preferable to cold, fresh air.  Go figure.

Man, I tell you those old German women are VERY sensitive when it comes to breezes! I used to crack open a window only to have my mother-in-law turn right around and close it!

And driving around in the car during the summer with that women........forget it! Bless her soul.  

Spent a total of seven years in Deutchland. Loved it and wouldn't trade the experience for the world. My first tour was in Southern Germany. The food, the beer, the cars and the women were awesome. The first thing I got when I arrived in country was a BMW so that I could tour the autobahns. That was a blast!

German women are straight-up freaks! There were lots of clubs and discos packed with young and willing females. Just pick one and ask her to dance and you're good to go. If you can't get laid in Germany, you can't get laid anywhere!

The army was a lot of fun back then. We'd go to the field on Monday, come back to the kaserne on Friday, and party like dogs all weekend.  

Those were the days!

Quoted: Quoted: Positives - But, they have very good roads, no potholes and their signage is squared away. They have a 35 hour workweek and get six plus weeks vacation a year, so they are much more relaxed than Americans. Can also be as fanatical as Americans about their sports. Tend to be more environmentally conscious (recycling, etc) than us. Not positives but reasons they have 10%+ unemployment and an economy that is anemic at best.

yup.

My favorite was the urinals in the train stations just along a main wall, in plain view for all to see.

Quoted: The army was a lot of fun back then. We'd go to the field on Monday, come back to the kaserne on Friday, and party like dogs all weekend.   Those were the days!

And don’t forget, first thing you did when you got out in the field was scout out a gasthaus and a pay phone!

The Rads would turn their heads when we’d come marching in, prop our rifles up against the table and call out “Ein Weizen bitte!” By the end of the night that gasthaus was rockin’!

I guess the economy is still suffering a few after-effects of absorbing a country about two thirds its size, and fifty years behind it. It's excusable to have a bit of a hiccough.

Point #1 for Germany, though. Autobahn speed limits. Well.. Lack therof, in many places.

NTM

Quoted: I guess the economy is still suffering a few after-effects of absorbing a country about two thirds its size, and fifty years behind it. It's excusable to have a bit of a hiccough. Point #1 for Germany, though. Autobahn speed limits. Well.. Lack therof, in many places. NTM

+25 points for 'hiccough'.

When I went there it was to see a girl that was here in Denver working for the same lawfirm. She was very livid if I didn't take a shower everyday. And if I didn't do it properly she knew. But the kicker was there was no shower curtains so some water got on the floor. And if I used to much water she flipped out. It rained the whole time I was there. How could water be so expensive that she was concerving?  She wouldn't let me smoke inside but she did leave the window open most of the night. So I let em rip and they wouldn't linger. Maybe it was a reason she left the window open or a good time to make some fun. The condo we were in was for students and she had a roomate that would hear everytime we did it. What was up with those seperate blankets?
Beer was good and I was able to drink a different kind every night before bed. I didn't get drunk though. The mother was mad at me because I didn't speak german.

Autobahn was fun and even in the POS Cleo. We did take a BMW for a 1 hour test drive and I got to up to speed. I also picked up a talelight for my sister back home for her beamer and saved a couple hundred bucks too.

All of that stuff was ok or forgiveable. But there was no Right to Keep and Bear arms there and that is something I can't forgive. However you could buy a deactivated AK-47 with the barrel cut up and the bolt and it wouldn't fire at all. But the receiver was intact. And that is all you would need really. But that is what americas bruts consider the firearms so I couldn't bring it back. So I didn't even bother buting one.

The bright side is the women were very loose. I got so many girls digging me just because I am american. Over there its special. I kissed a Holland girl while I was skying in Chech Republic and I could have gone further but stopped myself because the girl I went to see as nice as she was wouldn't let me stay with her after that and I would have spent the rest of my time there in a hotel. But I still would have had fun. But I wouldn't have known anyone. I think I would have went to Berlin and hung out there. It seemed nice. Meter maids with machineguns was nice for some reason.