Introduction
Climate
Public Transport
Roads
Shops
Food
People
Television
Sports
Tourism
I've been to US thrice. So I was kind of, prejudiced, when I landed in Germany. The first thing which stuck me was the language. Everything was in German - the signboards, the directions, the advertisements. That shouldn't be surprising, considering the fact that German is the language of Germany. But having grown up to seeing English wherever I went, it was, in a way, disconcerting. This is not to say that the Airport didn't have English signs. Indeed it did.
I was put up at Boblingen, about 15 km from Stuttgart, an industrial town located in South Germany. Stuttgart is the home of Mercedez Benz, Porsche, Bosche, to name a few. So it is an important City!
In the following paragraphs, I'll attempt at summarising my impressions about the various things I saw there in the course of my short stay. Needless to say, my narrative will be heavily biased, being of a personal nature.
Germany is a cold country. It is warm in spring/summer, but nothing compared to Indian standards. 30 degrees centigrade is hot and rare here! It drizzles a lot, even in spring/summer. So, an umbrella is a must (I was forced to buy one).
One of the most impressive things about the place is the public transport system. It is superb. Period. Trains are a common means of transport, followed by bus. As for trains, you've all kinds of trains - from international ones (EuroCity - which connects different European cities), to Rural Bahns (which run in rural areas). Usually there is a Station within 15 minutes walk from any place!
Railway Stations all over Germany are uniform in design, and signboards. This means, if you've seen one, you've seen all. More seriously, it allows you to go to any place, without wondering about what you'll find there. There are symbols to denote all common things - information, toilets, exit, fire escape, gates, etc.
Most of the small stations only have automatic ticket vending machines. First time users may find it difficult to figure out how to use it, but soon you get used to it.
The other striking thing is, the local train schedule is not only put up in the Railway Stations, but are also available in popular Hotels, Cinemas and other places - so that you can plan suitably.
This is in addition to excellent web sites, which give you any and all information. VVS and DB to name two
Roads are similar to US roads, except that there are no speed limits on the freeways (autobahns, as they're called). Metric system is followed - which means, distances are in kilometres and not miles! The signboards are in German (where they're not symbolic), which means some time to get adjusted to.
Shops in Germany close at 4 PM on Saturday and reopen only on Monday
morning. This is by law. This is probably the one which put me off
the most!
Shopping Centres, Malls and chain stores are similar to US. The hitch
is, if you need something specific. As mentioned earlier, all signboards
are in German, and chances are the attenders may not speak English. However,
you can walk around and spot the stuff you want.
It's only for serious and costly purchases like cameras or phones, that you are hampered by the language (or your lack of knowledge of them).
McDonalds exists in most places - which means there is one source of vegetarian food. Chinese restaurants server vegetarian too, as do Thai. Otherwise, vegetarian food is a problem. Indian restaurants are few and far, but the local Indians can guide you to it.
The food in my canteen was quite good. Besides my hotel served breakfast. So it wasn't too much of a problem - except dinner, where I exercised my culinary abilities. (Fortunately my hotel came with a kitchenette).
Germans are not too fond of foreigners. I guess they don't need to be! The present generation is supposed to know English, but you won't find people talking English. Some of them may know the language, but may not care to respond to you - that's the worst part!
Next to the shop timings, this is the worst I can say about the place.
By default, only one English TV channel is allowed in Germany (usually
CNN). The reason, it seems is, English is just another language - like
German, French, Spanish. So one channel for each language is all
that you need to see!
Fortunately, my Hotel had 4 English channels (CNN, CNBC, Sky and EuroSports).
Most of the movies shown in German channels are nothing but Hollywood movies dubbed in German. The same applies to the serials as well - I could see "Friends", "Xena", "Baywatch", "X files" - the whole lot!
I figure out that there is not much censorship in place. You can see the "1-900" ads at night. (If you want to know what that is, drop me a mail:)
Football is the passion. I was around, when Bayern Munich beat Valencio to lift the UEFA Cup. Boy! wasn't there a celebration! Formula 1 Grand Prix is popular too, thanks to Michael Schumacher.
Unlike US, Germany has a history. This means, there are quite a lot of historic places to see. There is a story behind many of the old structures (whatever survived the wars!). One good thing about tourist places is, there is always an Information Centre, where you'll get English help.