Kapitel 7 Kultur-Texte - Nathan Mealey

I enjoyed the usa-kulinarish blog. It was interesting that one poster had no idea where to get Reynold's Parchment Paper in Deutschland, which is something we take for granted here. Questions like "Was ist unsweeted chocolate?" were intriguing - it seems that unsweetened chocolate must not be used in Germany as much as it is in the US. It's also notable that one poster describes decorating their table for Thanksgiving, even though it's not a German holiday ("auch wenn dieser Feiertag keine deutsche Tradition hat") - they really seem to get into USA food.

The revelations in the "What Discipline?" article are certainly surprising. Given the very orderly reputation Germany seems to have, such chaotic queues are remarkable, especially the bit about queuing at bus stops. It goes to show that you can't make too many assumptions about people or countries.

From 365 Dinge: I thought that the Badeschiff looked cool and very relaxing. The Kumpelnest 3000 seems like much more fun though, and who could resist a Bier diploma from the Bierakademie? The Mobilbaukunst im Meilenwerk looks very interesting - there seems to be a great variety of cars there: American, British, and of course, German. I'd have to get das größte Schnitzel der Stadt too.

It seems like being a student in a German-speaking country is a great deal. While we have student discounts for some things some of the time, Germany seems much more committed to the idea with discounts for museums, theaters, and the like. I also like the idea of low rates for university residence halls.

The fact that supermarkets are a niche thing in Germany while specialty shops are the norm is remarkable in that it is the opposite of the way things are here. It seems, though, that Germany is also experiencing growth in such one-stop shops for much the same reasons we did - lower prices, less effort, and more convenience.

I'd heard of Stuttgart before, as the home of Porsche and Mercedes, but I didn't know about the Schlossgärten and Schlossplatz in the downtown area. Its excellent art and seemingly laid-back atmosphere make it a place I'd like to visit sometime, along with Munich (for its museums, history, and beer).