Getting A Drivers License

On your 16th birthday in the United States, every teenager can not wait to get their driver's permit. It is awesome to be able to drive and the freedom that comes with it; once you pass the drivers test.

The problem is to many young lives are cut short because of not taking driving seriously. To try an avoid that in Germany, they make the license way more difficult then in the United States. 

In Germany, you must be 18 to apply for a driver's license. You then do 45 hours approximately with trained professional and 12 hours of theory in a classroom. You must then take a driving test with a professional and prove you meet driving standards. 

If you pass, you must pay around $2000 to get your license. However, the license is good for life. The strict driving standards in Germany cut down on the number of accidents, even though they are known to be faster drivers.

I believe we in America should make driving test harder because some people should just not be allowed to drive. 

Booklet in german for driving test. (Non-orginal photo)

Autobahn vs Interstate

When we think of Germany, a lot of people think of the beer and the Autobahn. It is famous for not having any speed limit. The thing that we often fail to see, however, is the Autobahn is smooth as silk. The road is for the most part straight as well.

The roads in Germany are so much better maintained then here in the U.S. Granted, the United States has a lot more roadways to maintain due to the shire size of the United States vs Germany.

Driving on the Autobahn

A misunderstanding I want to point out: the Autobahn is not all no speed-limit. Near towns and cities, there is restrictions on how fast you can go.

Despite the high speeds on the Autobahn, there is less wrecks then on the Interstates in America.

Church (Kirche oft Deutsch)

Today in America, it seems that people are going to church less and less; for whatever reason. Compared to Europe, however, many more Americans go to church then in Europe.

America is the exception, in fact, of democratic countries that have a majority of which regularly attend church.

Just to back up my point, take a look at the chart below. It is clear that Europeans are moving away from the church, compared to previous generations. I am not saying either is good or bad, I am only stating the facts and what I observed while in Europe.

Another point I want to make, is the churches in Europe are very fascinating. Most of them are ancient buildings and they are just marvels to walk through. I went to the Notre Damn in Paris to attend mass and it was just amazing how enormous the church was.

Front of Notre Damn Cathedral in Paris, France.

Me standing in front of the church Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis to, in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany.

A 2000 study by the Swedish-based World Values Survey shows nearly half — or more — don't regularly attend church in several Western European countries. percentage of people who "never" or "practically never" attend church in 14 democracies: Country 1981 2000 France 59% 60% Britain 48% 55% Netherlands 41% 48% Belgium 35% 46% Sweden 38% 46% Denmark 45% 43% Norway 38% 42% Spain 26% 33% West Germany 23% 30% Finland 15% 28% Canada 22% 26% Italy 22% 17% United States 18% 16% Ireland 4% 8% Mean 31% 36% Source: World Values Survey

Christmas (Weihnachtsmarkt)

Easter is just around the corner, but there is not much of a difference between Easter in Germany and the rest of Europe, then is here in the United States.

However, Christmas in Germany is much different. Saint Nikolaus, or as we call him Santa, comes on the 6th of December. I found this out when on December the 6th of last year, I open my door to get ready for school and a ton of presents fall at my feet as I open the door.

I was thinking, what in the world is all this for. I soon found out that Saint Nikolaus brought me presents, which I had to be careful to say he did and not my host parents because I didn't want to spoil Christmas for my host-families grandson.

Christmas is celebrated on the 24th of Christmas and if they exchange presents like we do, it is one or two gifts. This is to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to remove the idea of gifts on that day. Not to say the kids don't get gifts, they just get them more on the 6th.

Some families wait till the 24th to open the gifts Saint Nikolaus brought, however my host family lets their kids open the gifts right away and they get something small for the 24th.

Another tradition in Germany is the Christmas market or Weihnactsmarkt. In Berlin there are 60 of these and I went to about 10 of the biggest ones. Germans really do know how to celebrate Christmas, contrary to popular belief because of the way the culture is perceived.

Me and my sister at a Weihnactsmarkt in East Berlin.

My favorite Weihnactsmarkt in Berlin, Gendarmenmarkt.

My family and a friend from school at another Weihnactsmarkt- Schloß Charlottenburg.

Pride

We Americans are very patriotic and proud of how are country was founded on the principles of democracy.

Germans as well are proud to be german, but they also know of their past. The days of the Nazi's and the communist day will haunt the germans forever and they are aware of that. 

My host-family said when I asked them about this issue, that Germany today is not the Germany of the Nazi's or when they were divided. There is nothing germans can do, but live with the fact that these happened. 

In all of Germany, especially in Berlin there are reminders of the horrible events everywhere you go. It is important for the germans mourn what happened and to remind themselves of the past, so they never let it happen again.

Germans are more proud of their heritage and how they overcame these horrible government's, to having a democratic government like the United States.

Picture of the Television Tower in Berlin. The Television Tower is a reminder of the communist regime that once ruled East Germany.

Schools

The school system in Germany is much different then in the United States. We go to grade school almost during the weekday almost five days a week. In Germany they go to school five days a week, but only stay past noon one or two days per week.

They go there to learn and not to socialize, so they don't have gym and other social activities like we have here in grade school. They get quite a lot of homework and are expected to learn outside of the classroom.

Picture of a Schultüte filled with candy.

The only day of school where it is a social event is the first day. The kids carry this big paper cone, in german it is called a Schultüte, filled with candy and at school they share it with all their friends. This is a tradition on the first day of school in Germany.

Crime

Coming from a small town of about 300, it is very rare to see crime. However, when you go to big cities there is always parts of the city, where you are told to never go because it is violent. If you go there you might not come back because of the shootings that happen.

Living in Berlin, the biggest city in Germany, I never once felt like I was in danger. My advisor told us, you should not worry about walking alone in Berlin. He did not advise woman to do that because they are usually targeted more, but if it was unavoidable he assured they would be fine.

Germany has pretty harsh penalties if you commit crimes and you don't get the same rights you would here in the states.

Murders seem like an everyday occurrence in big cities here in the U.S. I heard of one murder happening in Berlin in my four months there. As I recall, it was between drunk men and they beat the one guy until they killed him.

German Police (Polizei) van in the middle of Berlin. It is illegal to take a picture of a police officer in uniform, but not their vehicles.

Even in what outsiders to Berlin call, "rough neighborhoods," I believe that these areas are just poorer and not "rough" as a non-native would think. In fact, several nights I came back at 5-6 in the morning in the area with the highest crime rate in Berlin, called Kreuzburg and I felt just like I did in every other part of the city, safe.

In other European cities, I can not say the same as I do in Berlin. In fact in Paris we were approached by a Police officer and he told us we should leave the area we were in because it is quite a violent place to be. We took his advice and left. Even so, Paris doesn't have a lot of murders, but more thefts and acts of that nature.

Public Transportation

I briefly touched upon this when I talked about Europeans, Germans in particular, being environmentalist. Since going to Chicago over Spring Break, I noticed that the Public Transportation here in the United States is NOT EVEN CLOSE, to as good as in Germany.

The city trains don't run very often and are often late. Nothing is posted as to how to get somewhere. (Thank God for iPhones or I would of been so lost in Chicago) My friend, who lives in Chicago, said it takes an hour and a half for her to get to work and it would be a 30 minute drive.

It is very frustrating to see our transportation after coming back from Europe because their system runs like clock work and in America our public transportation runs like a broken clock.

Picture of the Chicago Metro in North Chicago

It is not necessary at all in Europe to have a car, but here you will get no where if you don't have one. We may add a lot to pollution as Americans, but until a more viable option comes available to us, we are going to continue to drive cars.

Attitude

Walking down the street in Berlin, you notice that Germany people do not stop to chit chat or say a friendly hello to you. It does not mean they are angry, they are much more reserved society and do not pretend they know you, so they don't bother you.

My host-mother with the very first day told me, "If Germans say something to you that seems offensive or and they seem rude, they are not trying to be rude and don't take it personal it is how we are."

This is a picture of my host- family. At first I felt like a stranger living with them. By the end of my stay, they were like my family.

This sounds like it would be awful to meet a Germany, but if you make the step to talk to them, they are very nice people. It will just not happen that they approach you first.

Füssball vs Football

Here in America, a lot of people, particularly men, are very passionate about football. I myself love to watch football and get quite into the games.

In Germany they take it to a whole new level. I went to a soccer game in Berlin and watched soccer games at bars. Germans go absolutely insane when there team wins. It is like a riot every single time the team is playing.

This is not only true for Germany, but for almost every European country. Most people live and die by how their Füssball teams, as they say in Germany, play.

I get upset when my team losses, but I get over it. In Berlin last year, the Hertha Füssball Mannschaft, Hertha Soccer Team, finished with a losing record, the people had a riot on the field. They were very angry their team was moving down a league and no longer in the top league.

Soccer Game in Berlin, in early November of 2010

The reason why Europeans hate American football. The response I got every time, "Football is to slow, you play 5 seconds and then take 30 seconds off." Which when you think about, is true, football is a slow pace game. 

One last thing I want to say about German füssball. They play almost all year around. Whether it be the German national team playing or the local team, games are always going on. Unlike here where there is such a long offseason for say football. Football fans, are left with watching other sports or like I did over spring break took a tour of a football stadium.

Lambeau Field where the Green Bay Packers play(Above)
Me at Wrigley Field over Spring Break. (Bottom)

Dining

When you are eating in a restaurant in Europe there are several differences then in America.

The first is, don't be surprised if there is a seat open at your table and someone comes to sit with you. It happens the stranger just goes about his/her normal business without bothering you. They see nothing wrong with this, nor do I.

This is in the Hofbrauhaus in München. You are bound to meet new people in here as it is very crowded.

When you want to pay, you must ask for the bill or you will sit and wait forever. There is no rush for them to kick you out like in American restaurants. They let you sit there for as long as you feel like.

When they do come with the bill, however, you let them know how much you want to give tip included. I was caught off guard by this as I was wondering why our waitress stood at the table as I got my money out. They give you change on the spot which is nice.

The last thing I noticed and what really makes you stand out as an American is how you eat. At least in Germany, they don't switch there knife and fork like we do.

They keep the knife in there right hand and fork in there left the whole time. They think we are silly for always switching silverware back and forth.

Pünktlich (Punctual)

One of the very first things I noticed in Berlin, is they are a society that runs on a schedule. The first time I got on the U-Bahn or the german equivalent to our subways, I noticed a clock hanging above that said exactly when the train was coming. And it was rarely ever late.

German U-Bahn in Berlin

They even had a schedule saying when every bus or train was coming for every day of the week. So one could plan exactly when to leave to catch each ride at the perfect time without having to wait.

Coming back to the United States and using the Subway system in New York, City or in Trenton, it is a joke. Even if there is a schedule, you don't know because most of the time it's not posted and if it is the train is late anyway.

Yes I like not always living on a schedule and switching things up occasionally, but here in the U.S. it seems we are always waiting on people, whether at the doctors office, for a train, or whatever the case may be. It makes for a better society if everyone is always on time.

 I am not saying everyone in Germany is on time, its most Germans like to make a point to keep a strict schedule.

Smoking

Compared to the United States, smoking is quite popular in Germany still. It is not nearly as frowned upon in public places as in the United States.

In fact on the streets in many German cities, you will find automatic cigarette machines.It is not necessary for you to go to a store to buy cigarettes.

The strange part is, Germans continue to smoke even though the package of cigarettes says directly on it, Rauchen kann tödlich sein or Smoking can kill you.

I guess if you follow the rule, everyone dies, then I see why they smoke so much. It doesn't make sense though to spend money on such an unhealthy habit.

Water

That is right, there is a difference in Germany in the water. I know everyone's thinking, who the hell cares about how the water tastes?

Well let me tell you, when you go to a restaurant in Germany and order water, they will bring you water that has bubbles in it. You swear it is not water because it is carbonated and taste closer to sprite then water. In Germany, when you want normal water you must ask for it special by saying mineral water or in German you can say ohne kohlensaure or without bubbles.

If you ask for mineral water, they think you are weird because in their opinion water is used only for bathing and is disgusting to drink without bubbles. When I drink water, I like to drink it pretty fast and just keep getting refills cause it's good for you and then I don't eat as much.

German water taste funny and with it being carbonated it's not easy to drink it fast. And the worst part is, in a restaurant one glass is around 3 euros or about $4.50, talk about a rip off.

This is one thing I do not miss at all about Germany. Back here in the United States, I get all the free water I can drink. $4.50 for a glass of water, that's robbery.

Environmentalist

I had heard before going to Germany for four months, that Europeans are much more environmentally friendly then we are. This is an absolute truth. Before even landing in Germany, I could see from the plane window multiple windmills. When I finally did land and got into my taxi, on the drive to the school, I saw no SUV's and lots of small cars and several smart cars.

Throughout my stay, I rarely came across any large vehicles, other then the buses used for public transportation. The buses and transportation makes it unnecessary to even have a car to get around. This greatly reduces traffic and the emissions emitted into the environment by removing cars from the roads.

One of the best examples of how much Germans  try to conserve energy, is with the dishwasher. I noticed my host family did not rinse off their plates before sticking it into the dish washer. I found this very strange because I was always taught to wash the food off first in the sink, then stick it in the dish washer.

I asked my host family about this and they told me it is wasting water if you wash the dishes off and use the dish washer. So, I did what they told me and just stuck my plate in the dish washer. It doesn't sound like a lot, but Germans do everything they can to conserve every little bit of energy as possible. It is to bad the many Americans do not have this same type of thinking.

In the above picture, I am in a Botanical Garden right in the city of Berlin. Berlin has many trees because as we all know trees are good for the environment to take carbon dioxide out of the air.

Beginning Travels

As I said, this blog is for a New Media class that I am taking, which talks about various media methods. One of the forms of Media we are talking about are blogs. This is my New Media class and we are all starting are blogs. We all looked so focused on what we are doing.

I knew that I wanted to talk about travel, but I was diligently thinking how I could use my travel in Europe and make it current. I look outside at the snow and it hit me, why can't I compare life in the United States compared to in Europe.

The reason the snow gave me the hint, in Berlin nobody shovels the snow. Early that day a few inches of snow had fallen and the snow was shoveled unlike what I experienced in Berlin. The city does not require it's inhabitants to shovel the sidewalks and it does not have enough money to plow the streets, so nothing gets plowed or shoveled. This makes walking anywhere in the city or driving for that matter a pain to say the least.

As you can see in the picture, nothing has been plowed or shoveled.