Somewhere Along the Line, I Developed a Liking for Brezeln

Guess what. I have been in Tübingen about two months now! That means I am a third of the way through my semester abroad. CRAZY! I now have 15 stars on my Germany map marking the places I’ve visited. (I will get to add more this weekend when I go to Kassel and ??mystery??) I suppose it’s time for the good ol’ “what do I like better about Germany VS what do I miss” blog.

The most obvious one to start out with would be the food -Oops! I mean family and friends! ;) But honestly you guys, that’s a given! Anyway, I desperately miss full home cooked meals. Yes, I have a kitchen here, but very limited kitchen supplies. Not to mention the fact that when cooking for one, you end up wasting a LOT of food. Seeing as how everything is so expensive here, I can’t afford to waste food. My typical diet consists of mini pizzas, fruit, and deli sandwiches. I don’t get even close to the right amount of meat and vegetables that I should be eating… The only “real” meat I ever get is by eating out. (and of course that is rare because of the cost)

A little known fact about Germans is that they actually drink more coffee than beer! You would think that would translate to having a HUGE selection of coffee and coffee products- WRONG. Germans typically drink their coffee black and with no added flavor or sugars! Basically, the only place you find the kind of coffee I like Starbucks! I do love Starbucks, but Tübingen doesn’t have one and people should be able to make „fun“ coffee in their own homes!

Water… omg. It should NOT be this difficult to get good natural water! The water in Germany’s restaurants typically isn’t free and it costs a lot. I hate ordering water only to be given the WRONG kind of water! I do NOT want any carbonation or sulfur taste to my water; why is that so hard to understand?? Also, there are no water fountains to be found… I could rant about water for an entire blog, but nobody needs or wants that. Let’s just say I almost always have a water bottle with me everywhere I go. If I forget my water, I get pretty ticked.

Hmm… now that I just whined about the food/drink for three paragraphs, I should point out that there are German foods and such that I will REALLY miss when I am back in the States. 1.) Döner!!! 2.) Schoko-croissants (3. German Brezeln with Apfel Schorle (Brezeln weren’t that high on my list until just recently. I just realized today that I have purchased 5 in the last three days! Don’t worry; I haven’t gotten to the point where I want them for breakfast. That’ a common German thing, but so is Nutella for breakfast. That is much more me. lol) 4.) the Eis. Particularly, Nutella Eis. (ice cream) 5.) the Bakeries on EVERY corner.

Transportation. I love how the train system in Germany is incredibly efficient and can take you virtually anywhere. In the states on the other hand, I wouldn’t dream of traveling all over by train. Amtrak is so SO inferior that it doesn’t seem like it should be considered the same mode of transportation. The trains and busses here are almost always exactly on time. When they aren’t, I’m tempted to take a picture of the sign saying the train is running late. But hey, at least you are informed that the train will be late and by how much. Psh, Amtrak fails again! I wouldn’t go so far as to say I prefer everything about transportation in Germany. Public transportation, yes; but I miss having my own car to drive sometimes. It is a pain to have to switch bus lines multiple times just to go visit friends living on the other side of town.

Germany is far more environmentally friendly than the U.S. There are recycling bins EVERYWHERE! In Germany I don’t have to deal with digging through the trash after my roommates to recycle their water bottles and such. The German recycling system just suits me. Also, the Germans really love their flowers, gardens, and parks. They also spend quality time relaxing in those beautiful parks. I will definitely miss that when I’m in the states. I’m getting really spoiled by the fact that everything is so beautiful and CLEAN in Germany!

Shopping is entirely different in Germany. You bag your own groceries, rent shopping carts, and there is a noticeable lack of customer service here. (That is especially true in restaurants.) I wish the stores would stay open later than they do. I still haven’t quite gotten used to everything closing around 7:00pm. And of course nothing is really open on Sundays. Aside from the crappy hours and lack of customer service, I prefer clothes shopping in Europe. I really like the European style of dress, and there seems to be more to choose from here. Before I go on, I need to clarify that I like the European styles for females. The males over here dress so… metro? I will never be a fan of the Man-pris or Euro mullets! Eww! Ew, ew, ew, EW! Those fashions should have died long ago! Scratch that- they never should have existed in the first place!

Now for a few more random things I miss about home: Skating. Full showers where you don’t have a curtain constantly blowing in on you! The ease of doing laundry… here it is SUCH a pain and (here’s a shocker:) expensive! The availability of affordable things and places like Target. The ease of signing up for classes at MU. The fact that MU provides you with easy access to computers and other technology that is included in your tuition. Being able to PRINT things!

Of course, let’s not forget one of the top reasons that Germany is AMAZING: The language! I love the German language and the fact that I am constantly surrounded by it. That doesn’t mean, however, that I always know what is going on. It’s just fun! Even though I’m in Germany; English books, music, and movies are readily available. If only the United States would have decent access to things in foreign languages… America’s low level of interest and attention to foreign language is a HUGE pet peeve of mine! I hate telling people that I only speak one language. Monolingualism is overly common for Americans, and I think our country should be ashamed of that!