What I love about Germany

As I was reminded by a good childhood friend via facebook last night, I probably should write about the positive aspects of living in Germany as well. And I would be amiss if I did not list them in great detail, as living in the Heimatland, despite the patterns described in yesterday's post, has been an amazing experience so far.

Let me start with one of the absolute advantages of living in Germany:

1. The public transportation system.

I know, I know - I am the first one to bitterly complain about the tardiness of certain ICEs (Germany's version of high speed trains, abbreviation for InterCity Express) or the disruptions to schedules due to constant construction in many urban areas. Be that all as it may, I am nevertheless in awe with the level of connectivity that the German train system, be it the Deutsche Bahn, its local subsidiaires, or independent operators like Metronom here in Lower Saxony, offers. Over the past four months, I have travelled to Jena, Bielefeld, Siegen, Lübeck, and Hamburg (several times actually!), and despite some kinks in the systems (usually aforementioned lateness of ICE trains!), I have loved every minute of it. Of course, the greatest travel is by far an ICE journey that is uninterrupted by changing to other trains, either other ICEs or local connections. I am embarking on such an uninterrupted trip to Munich in a couple of weeks, and I can hardly wait. I always reserve a seat and try to get one with a table, and there is nothing like speeding through the German landscape at high speed, either being lulled into a restorative nap, reading a good book or paper, conversing with fellow travelers, or just simply reflecting on life by staring out of the window, absorbed in musings about the meaning of life and other related things (usually leading to the nap I just mentioned). It is simply fabulous.

2. A bicycle friendly infrastructure

Many of you know my old green Toyota Carolla, which at certain times of my life in the US has served as my closet, my storage room, my library, or (yes, I am embarassed to admit it ) my trash can! Suffice it to say that I could not imagine my life without being enclosed in four doors and tons of steel (or whatever material cars are made of) after living in the suburban area of Washington, DC. I remember fondly the reaction I got from a fellow student when, after my first week in the DC area, in 1999, I declared to her that I would ride my bicycle from home to the university, a mere 3 miles away. Well, after I actually started living there, I understood that "riding my bicycle" is synonymous with "wishing my life to end early." Only recenty, maybe in the past 3-4 years, Washington DC started to create bike paths downtown, but in my humble opinion, cannot hold a candle to what we have here in the Heimatland. Thus, communting only by bicycle was then a far, far away dream, or more like a fantasy!

Not so in the Heimatland. I remembered fondly when I studied in Munich, where I rode m bicycle everywhere, and loving it not just because it was an inexpensive and highly convenient way of getting around (especially after the trains stopped running), but because you stayed in shape. Now, in Lüneburg, this dream or fantasy has become a reality. For a person so dependent on her car just until September of last year, I have had no problem whatsover to not only ride my bicycle pretty much everywhere, but I am relishing in the freedom of not owning a car.

Plus, living in Lüneburg, located in Northern Germany known for its flatness (if that is even a word!), has the added benefit that riding my bicycle does not equate the Tour de France, as riding your bike in my hilly hometown Siegen will make you feel like deserving the yellow jersey everytime you get to your destination!

3. The weekend

Yes, I am perfectly aware that the weekend is a rather global phenomenon rather than an exclusively German event. However, Germans do the weekend really well. To my American friends, have you ever noticed that traffic is often worse on the weekends than the worst during-the-week rush hour, or at least equally bad? Have you also noticed that your weekend calendar is more packed than even your usual busy work week. You rush from one BBQ to the next shopping trip to the next movie theater to the next family event to the next church service to the next mini-league baseball game to the next swim meet to the next whatever? Even a relaxing chat over coffee with a friend at the local Starbucks becomes a rush and item to be checked off your list.

Don't get me wrong; we Germans like to schedule and plan things on the weekends, too, and Saturdays are usually the busiest days in Lüneburg's downtown shopping district. But for some reason, there is a common feeling of restfulness that will settle on you even during the most hectic shopping trips. And Sundays are the most glorious days in Germany. Shops are closed (unless it is a special "verkausoffener Sonntag, " meaning stores are open that day for shopping); families, couples, and friends stroll peacefully through neighborhoods or nature, stopping occasionally for an afternoon treat of coffee/tea and cake; and you can't help but give into the overall feeling of restfulness, tranquility, and general sense of well-being. Gosh, I didn't realize how much I missed that.

4. 30 vacation days and paid maternity leave

Do I need to say more?

Observations abour German Life

As the 4 month anniversary of my return to the Heimatland has passed quietly, I am inspired to share some vignette-style observations about my life among my people so far.

1. Germans to do no like to smile.

Ok, this is a little bit harsh, as a lot of Germans smile regularly, even on a daily basis. My general statement of this nature is based on my average interaction with other Germans (I swear, I have never been more aware of not being of German origin than reentering the country of my citizenship after 13 years!) during mundane activities of daily life, such as the grocery store, the bus stop, the post office, the sidewalk. And based on these interaction, I am realizing that my dazzling smile, displaying my straight (thanks to years of orthodontics!) and unstained (thank God I quit smoking when I did) teeth to my fellow people. More often than not, I am left hanging with my friendly countenance, looking at cold stares, squinted eyes, and maybe, if I am lucky, a quiver of an upper or lower lip, possibly a smirk. What else can a girl ask for?

Now, after this rather critical and possibly cynical view, I would be amiss if I would not mention the many students I work with, who do respond to my smiling, as well as some of the store staff in some of the stores I frequent regularly, such as the veggie and fruit stand 2 minutes from my house.

What can I say? I have, my dear friends, been corrupted by the American public smiling phenomenon and am finding it hard to adjust. Thus, my resolve is to not let the grumpiness get to me, as beneath it are often hearts of gold, courtesy, and kindness, which are great qualities of many Germans, wide and far.

2. The sun does not like Germany.

Seriously, I see the complaints of my Maryland friends, who, after two days of no sunshine, start complaining about the dreariness of grey and cold winter. Hah, you have seen nothing yet!!! Try northern Germany in December... or January.... or February... I swear: the two weeks that +David Conrad May was here over Christmas and New Year's Eve, we saw the sun twice. He left on Sunday, December 6, and after having already been deprived of sunshine for the week prior to his departure, I had to wait for another week to see some golden rays. Finally, last Saturday, the sun shone brightly in my face during my morning run in the cold. It was glorious, and I changed my route around the park several times, so that I could face the sunlight, even though that meant that I had to run up and down that same darn hill several times!

To combat the lack of sunshine, I just started using a light therapy lamp with the lovely name "Melissa." Thus, if you hear me lovingly refer to my new friend Melissa, I am talking about my beautiful lamp. And boy, is she bright! Supposedly, these lights assist with combating the winter blues and make you more energetic. I will keep you posted. So far, day 1 of light therapy, and I can say that I feel pretty good, even motivated enough to write my blog!

3. Forming lines when getting in and out of trains or buses seems a foreign concept in Germany.

Have you ever tried to get off a packed train or bus in a German city? Good luck, and get your boxing gloves out! Otherwise, you will get run over either by overeager and completely self-absorbed teenagers (ok, that might not be typical for Germans, but a developmental side-effect), grumpy elderly men, or inebriated sport fans (yes, Hamburg has two football clubs that play on the weekends, so I get stuck with the fans).

Honestly, this inability to form an organized line or procedure to navigate entering and exiting vehicles of public transportation seems surprising for a people known all over the world for not only embracing organization, but worshipping it. As the Coca-Cole executive C.R. MacNamara (fantastic performance by James Cagney), from Billy Wilder's 1961 classic film One, Two, Three, says: "It's that damned German efficiency." Unfortunately, public behavior around public transportation has not been blessed with this.

Even though these three particular things can grind away at my serenity from time to time, I love being able to ride my bicycle everywhere; the trains and buses are on time - heck, there is even an accurate timetable for every train or bus, and they are pretty darn accurate - and the Northern German sky, when the sun is shining, is as wide and beautiful as you could wish for.