As promised: another post! This time pre-departure...for a trip to Germany's so-called "17th State". In other words, I'm off to Germany's most popular vacation destination, Mallorca! Don't worry, I never heard of the place before I moved here either, so for those who don't know, it's an island South of Spain with (I'm hoping) lots of warm weather and sun. I will not be staying in Palma, the capitol city, but in a smaller city outside called Peguera. Luckily it is not the main tourism season yet, because when it is, the island is crowded with young Germans drinking and partying all the time! So I will get to enjoy a few days away (on my few days off of work) of (hopefully) good food and landscape - it is supposedly very pretty. I booked a package deal with hotel and flight included, and 2 meals a day, which will still leave me some leeway to explore the "native" culinary culture as well. So stay tuned, since the next post will be a report!

But true to the actual theme of this blog, I will now give a report on driving in Germany! I can say that I am officially used to driving here...after 2 months. There are quite a few differences that made the first few weeks *quite* stressful, so I compiled a list of "problems" associated with driving in Germany (from an American's perspective) and Germany's solutions to these issues:

Problem: VERY narrow lanes
Solution: smaller cars, many even smaller than an American small car

Problem: bumpy, cobblestone streets
Solution: limited to side residential streets with a low speed limit

Problem: lots of city traffic
Solution: a yellow traffic light to warn drivers that the green light is coming (a good idea in my opinion)

Problem: speeders
Solution: permanent traffic cameras that "flash" you, taking a picture of your license plate to send you a speeding ticket. The only problem with this is drivers learn where the traffic cams are and only slow down when they know one's coming up!

Problem: expensive gas prices (yesterday I paid 4.64€ per gallon, or about 1.20€ per liter)
Solution: get this - mostly diesel cars! Diesel prices here are sometimes 20cents per liter cheaper than normal gas. What I also find astonishing is that Germany is in general very environmentally conscious, but apparently not enough to pay more for gas cars! But see the next one...

Problem: pollution
Solution: lower car taxes for cars with low emissions and high efficiency (so drivers are rewarded for non-diesel cars in lowered taxes somewhat)

Problem: small streets thus limited parking
Solution: rarely marked parking spots (allows for closer parking), and allowed to park in some areas with car half on the curb

Problem: parking with car half on the curb
Solution: the curbs here are much lower than in the States!

Problem: no straight intersections
Solution: white marking lines guide you around curves and through crooked intersections (which can actually look a bit confusing...)

Problem: uncertainty if allowed to turn at intersection
Solution: a blue sign showing if you have to drive straight ahead or can turn, as well as white arrows on the street at practically every intersection showing if you are allowed to turn or not (things for which I am very thankful)

Problem: crazy street connections, confusing street formations
Solution: GPS navigation. So many cars have it built in, or people buy it separately to find their way through the cow paths of German cities. I luckily had Navigation and GPS by default built into my cell phone PDA, which I now am also very thankful for!

Problem: high highway speeds
Solution: more cautious and "smart" drivers, and semi trucks really going the speed limit (which is lower for them) and almost never trying to pass. German drivers pay upwards of 1.500€ for driving school, and have strict written and practical tests. In my experience, this leads to very cautious drivers who watch out for people needing to change lanes and people wanting to pass!

Problem: publicly-run buses that need to stay on schedule despite city traffic
Solution: buses are always allowed the right of way - you have to wait for them to turn out onto the road from a bus stop, for example.

Problem: uncertain middle lane markers, close oncoming traffic
Solution: this is something I just had to get used to, since the oncoming traffic is just as close as the lane next to you. As far as markings, the middle lane is sometimes marked with a white straight line, but otherwise it's a dotted white line, just like the normal lane markers! So I guess the only solution to this problem is to stay in your lane if you're not sure, and follow the other cars - and gather experience!

Problem: more pedestrian and bicycle traffic
Solution: stricter laws on running red lights and speeding

Problem: no cup holders in the car
Solution: no thirst, I guess! But for real...travel times here are generally shorter (commute to work or visit to friends), so I guess there just isn't a need to drink in your car while driving (hehe, of course I mean non-alcoholic!). I did by a cup holder, but it didn't work - somehow wouldn't support the weight of anything! To say the least, that is one thing that I will be purchasing on my visit to the States this summer.

Problem: Limited air conditioning in cars
Solution: Summers that are not that hot. Plus, cars without A/C have a sunroof (like mine) to help with circulation. We'll see how that turns out...

Problem: different street signs
Solution: well, there's nothing to do but learn them! And try to pay attention to them as well as other cars...

I think that covers most issues I've had with driving here. I feel you have to be much more active as a driver here since all other drivers are too!

So, I'll wrap it up now until I get back from Spain. By the way, the picture is one of the Easter stickers (mostly kinda ugly in my opinion!) included for free in a TV magazine for which I have a test-subscription, but this chick one really cracked me up - it looks like this chick has pecs and abs of steel, like he was really working out! HA!

 

 

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