Top 5 Differences Between Germany and Home

Since I'm planning on moving to Germany next year, of course I had to be very observant about everything during my time there. That way, I can take in all the details, and experience less culture shock when I move (although oddly, I find foreign countries a lot more comforting to be in than home in Toronto).

To be honest, I've been delaying my posts about Germany because I'm not exactly sure where to start. I mean, I loved it. Everything was better than I expected, and I always have really high expectations. But before I venture into some really exciting blog posts in the next few days, here's a list to get everything started....(also, making lists seems like a very German thing to do)

Top 5 Differences Between Germany and Home

1. Germans have really big pillows. Like, huge. They're these massive squares that are about three times the size of the rectangular North American pillows. I quite like them as they're very good for pillow fights.

2. German buses are very clean. HUGE improvement from home, where I'm forced to sanitize my hands anytime I touch one of those bus poles in fear of contacting some incurable disease (Buses also always arrive on time - it's a miracle!)

3. It's hard to find a place that sells just regular bottled water, as everyone seems to like drinking the carbonated version, which I strongly dislike. Actually, everything seems to be carbonated and bubbly. Even apple juice (horrible invention).

4. Cobblestone roads, while very pretty, can be very difficult to walk with heels in. I must master this talent by taking long walks in Montreal before moving to Europe.

5. German doors can be very complicated. Further details can be quite embarrassing so I'll leave it at that.

So now I'm fully prepared to move.

Just have to, you know, find a job there and learn the language.

How to Buy Playboy Magazines in Germany

So I've been practicing for my upcoming language test and I've recently bought a German exercise book. Usually I not a fan of language exercise books, but this one's surprisingly entertaining and quite useful.

My favourite line they teach you is:

Fuehren Sie auch Magazine mit Fotos? Playboy, zum Beispiel? Es ist nicht fuer mich, es ist fuer meinen Großvater. 

Which translates to:

Do you carry illustrated magazines, too? Playboy, for example? It is not for me, it is for my grandfather. 

The moral of this post is that anyone looking to buy said illustrated magazines in a German speaking country should memorize that line. Other than that, exams start next week and I've become a zombie. See photo below (although judging from the photo, I seem very content with being a zombie).

69 Fun Facts About Germany

In the midst of being overly excited about my move to Germany next year and trying to figure out this ancient looking application, I thought this post should be appropriate. Being inspired by a travel memoir I'm currently reading (look for a review to come out soon!) I've also added a "German word of the day" widget at the side of my blog. Why 69 fun facts? Because I didn't have enough facts to make it to 100, and there's nothing wrong with a bit of German lovin'. Enjoy!

1. Germans are the second largest beer consumers in the world, after the Irish (of course).
2. Beer is officially considered a food in Bavaria.
3. Michael Ballack does not like beer.
4. Germany is Europe’s largest economy.
5. The most popular German surname (Nachname) is Müller.
6. Chancellor Angela Merkel has a Barbie doll made after her. 
7. Historically, Germany was known as the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Weimar Republic.
8. 31% of the country has been kept with forests and woodlands, with Hesse having the most.
9. There are over 300 kinds of bread in Germany.  
10. There are also bread museums.
11. There are 35 dialects of the German language.
12. The Wittelsbachs ruled Bavaria for 738 years.
13. Munich is further north than any major US city (excluding Alaska). 
14. German is the official language of 5 countries: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. It is also spoken in Northern Italy and the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.
15. Germany is the first country to adopt Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 1916.
16. 2% of Germans do not own cell phones.
17. Gummy bears were invented by a German.
18. The balcony of the hotel Michael Jackson dangled his son over is in Berlin.
19. While it is called Oktoberfest, it actually starts in Steptember.
20. The first Oktoberfest was a wedding celebration for Prince Ludwig of Bavaria.
21. 65% of the Autobahn (highway) has no speed limit.
22.  The Cologne Cathedral took 632 years to build. (Bill Bryson in Neither Here Nor There (p. 88) wrote: "It is absolutely immense, over 500 feet long and more than 200 feet wide...It can hold 40,000 people. You can understand why it took 700 years to build - and that was with German workers. In Britain they would still be digging the foundations.")
23. The first printed book was in German.
24. German is the third most commonly taught language worldwide.
25. When JFK visited Berlin, he infamously said “Ich bin ein Berliner,” which also translates to “I am a jelly donut.”
26. Hugo Boss designed the official uniforms for the Nazi Party and Hitler Youth. (I did an assignment on this for German class if anyone is interested in reading more about it)
27. To ask for a beer in a pub, you would use your thumb to indicate “one” rather than your index finger (watch Inglorious Basterds for improper examples of ordering beer)
28. Til Schweiger, sometimes known as the "German Brad Pitt,” is born one day after Pitt.
29. The longest word published in the German language is Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft (79 letters). Try saying that five times fast. 

Book review: Bryson's Swiss jokes aren't so funny

Neither Here Nor There is a travel memoir by Bill Bryson about his travels throughout Europe. Bryson, for those who may not be familiar, is the author of multiple non-fiction books, and is well-known for his travel memoirs about Europe, Australia, Great Britain and the US.

Having previously read In a Sunburned Country and thoroughly enjoyed it, I had high hopes for Neither Here Nor There. 

While I did enjoy the first chapter about his journey up to Hammerfest, Norway to see the Northern Lights, I ended up finding the book too predictable after the first few chapters.


The plot for each city goes like this: gets off train, checks into hotel, walks around city centre, [insert cultural jokes here], gets hungry, eats dinner, goes to sleep, and then repeats the same experience in a different city the next day

Having gone to over 20 cities, it gets a bit depressing after awhile. I found it surprising how he never made an effort to meet any locals or other travelers throughout the whole trip, but rather, seem satisfied being in ignorant bliss of his surroundings and passed his time by making jokes, particularly aimed toward the Swiss.

Examples:

Q: What do you call a gathering of boring people in Switzerland?
A: Zurich