I want to make a few notes about observations in Germany since the last time I was there. I keep forgetting things on this list, so it will be updated as I remember.
- Things have became more expensive since the adpotion of the Euro.
- In terms of technology things have really changed. The cell phone coverage there is phenomenal compared to the US. I had a full strength signal just about everywhere. According to my hosts, broadband is available just about everywhere. Broadband was available in all of the hotels, but like everything in Europe, it was not cheap. If I remember correctly, they all wanted a few Euro’s/hour.
- The food was quite a bit different. I think that this was mostly due to being in different regions. The food was good, but not as good as where I was at before (the Trier area). This is just my opinion. I left without being able to find a Rahmschnitzel, I can’t believe it.
- Gas has went up. It is about $6.00/Gallon now. It was about $5/Gallon when I was there before.
- They drink more bubble water now than they did the last time I was there. I enjoy it, so it was no problem for me, but some of my colleagues were complaining.
- Bitburger is still the best beer in Germany. I would say that Jever is a pretty decent second. Asbach is still some horrible stuff.
- The fresh fish in Hamburg were not really much better than the fish in the US. I suppose fish are fish no matter where you are.
- The coke still comes in .33l and 1l bottles and tastes much better than the coke in the US or Mexico.
- They have subway restaurants all over the place now. When I was stationed there, for some weird reason, the thing that I missed most was Subway sandwiches.
- McDonalds is everywhere there now. When I was there, there was one McDonalds in Bitburg. It was always packed. I never could figure it out. All of the McDonalds I saw were packed.
- There seemed to be a lot of graffiti. It is really unfortunate when you see a beatiful building that is a few hundred years old, and some dipshit has spray-painted on it.
- They have put wind generators everywhere. I thought that we were doing pretty well with wind generation, but they seem to be doing a lot better.
- Home ownership still seems to be a difficult barrier to breach. In the Offenburg area, typical home prices seemed to be approximately $450,000.