Cultural Intrigues

Below is an unorganized, random laundry list of cultural insights that I find interesting enough to document, but do not warrant a blog post. Enjoy!

• Ambulances only turn on their sirens at intersections
• What German's call "Kindergarten" is actually daycare/preschool
• Ice cream shops close down in the fall and winter...phooey
• Germans love being outside, no matter what the weather is like
• In America, we have football field length grocery aisles dedicated to chips/pretzels. In Berlin? Don't count on it. There might be a brand or two, but the chips will most likely be a nasty bbq flavor
• Children do not learn to ride bikes using training wheels. They have small 2-wheel bikes that they balance on
• Dogs are impeccably trained
• Facebook and Google maps is not as common in Germany because they strongly value privacy. One can opt to take their home or work off of googlemaps.
• One must put a 50-cent or 1-euro coin in a slot to get a cart in a grocery store. This is to prevent cart theft. 
• Only ethnic restaurants seem to have full bars. If you go anywhere else, you get two choices...Beer or Wine.
• So. Much. Construction!
• Christmas Markets begin set up as early as the beginning of October
• German wines (especially Rotwein) are not going to blow your socks off. They're not bad, not great
• Germans are timely
• Just because the rule says no drinking or eating on the U-Bahn does not mean that you have to
• The F-word and other swears are said and written in advertising, on radio, and on regular cable television. It surprises me every time.
• Drinking beer at 7am is totally acceptable. Drinking Glühwein at 7am is totally acceptable.
• Apparently, dressing like you came from the '80s is totally acceptable. 
• For people who are generally orderly and composed, Berliners go CRAZY on Sylvester!
• There is an Italian restaurant down the street from where we live. No one is ever in there but the owners, who are usually smoking outside and talking. How do they stay open?
• The salt that Germany uses on the roads after the snow is a mix of rocks and dirt
• Where are all of the animals? We have seen birds, but no squirrels, no chipmunks, no rabbits...nothing!