Germans don't do Jaywalking, they do rules.

This one will be brief. Not to detract anything from Germany, a country which I admire greatly, but tales of Asia beckon.

The trip was rather tame this time, mostly seeing relatives I hadn't seen in ages a few small trips around Düsseldorf & Cologne and of course a detour to Amsterdam. The real fun came when traveled east to Berlin.

As a side note, I used a great site called www.mitfahrzentrale.de to travel from Dusseldorf to Berlin. It's basically like Couchsurfing.com for rides in Germany. People post where they are going and other people post where they need to go. Typically, there is an agreed upon sum for gas.

Aside from being far cheaper than the train you get to experience the wild (yet strangely safe) Autobahns and possibly meet an interesting person. I know I had a blast zipping across the country in a BMW 740i powered by Butane and going 190 km/h! Be sure to check it out next time you go.

Despite the freezing December weather, the Christmas Markets were a great source of entertainment and cheap food! Many a time I would warm my freezing body with some form of Wurst and a cup of Gluhvein (hot spiced red wine.)

Now, where were we, ah yes. Berlin is massive. Back home the buildings are huddled together, effectively blocking out the sky and emanating grandness in the landgrab that the City is. Here on the contrary, the streets are wide and the buildings, especially in ex-Soviet East Berlin, are mammoth.



Once again, one was faced with the history of walls. Unlike the ones in Belfast these are more of a figment of the past. The people live together... Though, try getting a West-Berliner to explain to you just why he will never live in East Berlin :)

Awe-inspiring and sense stimulating as Berlins cultural scene was, possibly the most interesting surprise I got was back on the west coast in the little town of Krefeld where my relatives are based.

In NYC, one crosses the street wherever he pleases. The shortest path to any destination is a straight line, even if it means crossing Broadway in the middle of the block during rush hour traffic. You will dodge cars, wave trucks to a stop and give dirty looks to the ones that honk. Occasionally, you'll look up from your Blackberry to catch sight of tourists nervously waiting at the crosswalk. Smug with pride you'll keep on walking.



It seems that when you travel you tend to realize just where you've come from. "Toto, we ain't in Brooklyn no more." Going out for an evening walk with the relatives, I was suddenly startled by a clutching at my back. Thinking something bad had happened, I'd asked just what the matter was.

Apparently, I had attempted to cross this empty, quiet, well-lit street on a RED light. In response to the shocked expression I was getting, I tried to explain that I hadn't even realized I was crossing the street. Not once in the past years have I had to consciously think about the act.

What I got in response was an impassioned 20 minute lecture on the rules of crossing in Germany. If the light is red, then you stand. Make sure you're not standing in the bicycle lane though! That will block their motion and upset them. Just because there isn't anyone around, doesn't mean it's not wrong and of course illegal.

Granted, this was a small town. One of many in Germany. It is also true that though I'd received a few scoffs for similar actions in Berlin, a cosmopolitan city loaded with foreigners, the reprimands were rare.

Often in my travels in the country I was told, with regret, that apparently the well valued and world renowned German traits of punctuality, efficiency and politeness are being eroded. Sure, just about every train I took in Germany was late by at least 10-15 minutes, providing quite a headache when I had 2-3 connecting trains on my way to a destination.

Despite that, by and large, I found the country runs quite smoothly. Everyone seems to know exactly where to go and which document to have to get any possible thing you'd imagine. Even the window-washer has to have a certificate stating that he has completed the proper qualifications to do his job.

Perhaps the shocking thing about traveling is that sometimes being in a foreign place with a different set of rules and values makes you evaluate your own habits which you execute mindlessly on a daily basis. Secretly, this was also my goal. In fact, that was the chief reason for the next part of the journey which was to bring me to Asia. First stop Hanoi, Vietnam.

Can cultural shock be fabricated?

More fotos of Dusseldorf, Amsterdam und Berlin @ dimakay.fotki.com