General Observations

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All the cars over here are new. I have tried very hard to spot an old one but to no avail. A Taxi driver told us that everyone trades them in when the 3 year warranty expires and they get a new one. The used vehicles are shipped to Russia or South Africa and resold there. They are well priced with a VW starting at 12000 - 15000 Euro or Mercedes about 45,000 Euro.
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I was surprised by the conditions of the railway stations. Most are in very poor condition with weeds everywhere. I expected it to be more cultivated and neat. On top of this the trains are all different and this means they are different heights below the railway platforms and some leave very wide gaps that must be stepped over. All the stations seem to have many steps up to the platforms as well. I was concerned how the elderly or disabled manage to commute by train.
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White tea is a foreign substance here. A waitress nearly fainted when I asked for a white tea last week. There is black tea in teabags but the Germans drink this with lemon slices. The rebel in me has seen me sneak milk into my tea *wink.
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The local councils don't seem to bother to mow the roadside. Woe is me to anyone who falls off the bitumen into the stinging nettles which abound.

There seems to be a struggle between pedestrians and the "Radlers" (Bike riders) These are in plague proportions and sneak up behind you tinkering away with their tiny bells. I think this is supposed to scare us off into the nettles but I find it amusing to slowing respond to see grown stout men wobbling on thin wheels and puffing away. Score one to this pedestrian!!

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