Just got back from Germany- it was an amazing trip. 14 days- 6 train trips, a Rhein river cruise, 101 miles walked,2 miles run,10 miles biked. Here are my observations
1-People walk and/or ride their bikes EVERYWHERE. Pedestrians rule- stop lights for pedestrians and cyclists are everywhere and are obeyed by both pedestrians AND cars. I got yelled at by another cyclists for not crossing at an unprotected crossing!! Cars yield to walkers and cyclists. There are wide paths adjacent to the roads everywhere. When people are on holiday they think nothing of packing up and riding up and down the Rhein ( or anywhere else) for a couple of weeks.
2) Public transportation is so awesome- the train and bus system can't be beat. I was overwhelmed at first- so many trains everywhere. The express,the regional, the city!! We didn't rent a car once. Lol though I found out pretty quick that my single suitcase still was overpacking when I had to haul it around!!
3) Germans treat their animals differently. I did NOT see one stray or loose dog!! I saw no cats in the city- out in the small towns I saw a few running around but not many. ALL dogs were leashed. The biggest surprise was that dogs are allowed EVERYWHERE. Trains,restaurants,malls,stores- even on tourist attractions- like the river boat cruise and a few castles. People take their dogs everywhere- and they don't jump or run around. The dogs are just so used to going everywhere in crowds and seeing tons of other dogs. And the dogs we saw aren't all froo-froo'ed up or fawned over. You can tell that the owners love their dogs and treat them well but the people over there don't treat them like they're their babies. Part of the family and important yes- but like spoiled children- no. I saw 2 people who knew each other and happened to run into each other- one had a dog- they stopped and chatted. 10 minutes later I came past and they're still chatting- the dog just lying there patiently waiting.
Lastly the people are nice and patient as I botched up German. When I got really flustered I fell into my 6 years of French. Most Europeans know 1-2 languages besides their native tongue. It actually opened my eyes to the other side of the language barrier-here. I am grateful that the German people didn't treat me like the way I've seen some English speaking people treat non English speaking people. Man just try and go to Germany or France and figure out the train system with no French or German- it's quite intimidating! Thankfully dh understands a bit of Germanand the big stations have English( and French and Chinese) signs.
It was a great trip and I'm so happy to be back and also grateful for experiencing something totally outside my box!! 4951