So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good bye!

As we head to Italy we reflect on what we have come to learn from Germany, the interesting history and cultural differences from home. Below is a hodge podge list in no order:

• Most public transportation has buttons on doors that passengers must push to enter or exit, saving energy.
• When going to a restaurant there is no host or hostess, you may sit where you like and it is very common for other people to join your table if there is room.
• Tipping in Germany is a little different than the states. In Germany you usually round up, for example if the meal totaled E23 you might round to E25.
• All the taxis and garbage trucks are Mercedes.
• There are Kabob restaurants everywhere, especially in Munich, where Middle Eastern culture is prevalent. However, we were told that the Kabob actually originated in Germany.
• The German people are much more trusting for example letting you pay later for snacks or the honor system in the railways.
• Germany unified in 1871, only 138 years ago.
• In 1923 the German economy crashed rendering $1USD equivalent to $4 trillion Deutschmark
• Hitler had 43 assassination attempts on his life and was thrown in prison once for high treason, punishable by death, but pardon with a sentence of only 9 months in jail! The judge was a Nazi sympathizer.
• The Statue on Brandenberg Gate was once stolen by Napoleon and later retrieved by the Prussians to Germany. It now sits with Victoria, the goddess of Victory, overlooking the French Embassy. And who said Germans had no sense of humor.