In the grocery store one can find some interesting fruits and vegetables. For example “cape gooseberries” (they look like orange colored cherries Link) or “star fruit”. There is a second kind of celery that is very popular here. It isn’t the green stalk kind but a brown, round root about the size of a baseball. It is white inside and tastes somewhat similar to green celery.
The public transportation system is based on the honor system. You normally don’t have to show anyone your ticket. Instead, they randomly check buses, subways, and trams. If you are riding “black” (without a ticket) you pay a fine of 40 euros. The nice thing about this system is the boarding time is shorter because no one is checking tickets. In Munich, the same ticket is valid on all lines - buses, subways, and trams. Fare prices are calculated by concentric rings (like most big cities)
We are now the proud owners of a five bedroom, 2.5 bath town house with a small yard. We can not move in yet as we still have to do some renovations first.
Most Germans buy thier cars with cash. This includes new cars. Even if we are talking about $25,000. The idea of financing a car is not very popular. I’m not sure why this is, but monthly payments are avoided like the plague. Only homes are financed. This explains why so few Germans have credit cards. As far as I know, there is no such thing as a credit rating. When you apply for a credit card, the credit card company calls your bank to verify your income. Your credit limit is set depending on what you deposit each month. Needless to say, the mailbox is not overflowing with credit card applications.
On March 29, a liter of regular unleaded gas was running about 1.30 Euro. That works out to about $6.25 a gallon. Only Holland is more expensive in Europe.
I have become a big fan of a drink called a Radler - half beer, half lemon soda (think Sprite). It’s absolutely awesome in summer. You can make it in the States with Sprite and Heiniken. It won’t be quite the same, but could still be tasty.
In the winter time you can order a Weißbier with a beer warmer, which is a caldren filled with warm water in which to warm your beer to the desiered temperature. Apparently one does not drink beer too cold, since it loses flavor.
After looking at tonnes of houses we came across a town house outside of Munich. We had a look and liked what we saw.
Ever seen milk in a carton that doesn’t require refridgeration? In Germany it is very popular. It is called “Haltbarmilch” which means, it keeps. I don’t much care for it, but I use it in my coffee since there is nothing else at work. I’ve also been searching for what we call half and half. Since I don’t really know what two ingredients half and half is made of (half cream, half milk?) it has been difficult to find. Here they use condensed milk as a coffee creamer.
When it rains, Germans always set their umbrellas open on its side on the floor. The reason for this (I asked) is to pevent mildew from forming. It is printed in the instructions (you’ve read your umbrella’s instructions, right?), and Germans of course follow these instructions. So you can imagine when I come to work on a rainy day, the floors are covered with umbrellas, open, laid on their side. This goes for the appartment building as well.