Living In Germany

You've all seen these going around on Facebook and maybe it's been overdone but I couldn't help but laugh at this one because it's SO true! I was convinced before I got here that my life in Germany would consist of drinking at Oktoberfest-like festivals and traveling all around Europe...more or less...I thought we'd be on one big giant 3 year long vacation!! Well, that's not exactly the case. Although we have done our fair share of traveling, most days we're just doing what what we did in the States. We run our kids to practice, volunteer at the school, go the grocery store, clean the house....not exactly exciting.

I love the 3rd picture. The autobahn. I believed what I heard about the autobahn being a freeway with NO speed limit. Well, that's not exactly true. There are stretches where you can go as fast as you want but in our experience, it seems like as soon as you pick up speed (in a minivan that can take while) all the sudden....BRAAAAKE!!! There's a speed limit sign and it may slow you down to 100 km/hr...that's like 60 miles/hr!! YIKES! And the worst part, if you don't slow down they snap your picture and send you ticket in the mail.

Picture #5 is SO TRUE!! Americans do love their big SUVs and trucks but let's face it....we bought those vehicles in the States where gas is relatively cheap (Germans pay €1.59/liter =  $7.91/gal) and parking spaces are huge! Then we get orders over here and ship our vehicle only to find out that the roads are narrow (often like a one lane country road) and the parking spaces are made for a Smart car. After you finally park your vehicle, you open your door ever so carefully, suck in your gut and slowly sliiiiide out. It's no wonder everyone leaves Germany with dings and dents. Did I mention the looks you get? Oh, yeah...don't be surprised if you get evil glares (and the occasional comment) from Germans standing there watching you park. They really are disgusted.

Here's a picture of my parking handiwork:

And the last photo: YEP! That's us in a nutshell. We spend most of our time standing around, looking confused. Learning a whole new system is not easy. Even their trash/recycling system was confusing at first. I have an app on my phone to help me with conversions. I can't even use my oven without having to do a math equation. Don't even get me started on the language. Did you know that just like America there are different dialects? Depending on which region you're in, the little German you know may still sound foreign to them.

So, just when you think that moving to another country is going to be like one long vacation full of adventure and fun...just remember...unless you're Paris Hilton, you still have to wash your floors just like you did back home!

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