My American Sister's HONEST Take on Germany! (People, Autobahn, Bakery, Supermarket + Recycling)

roads being small is actually way safer than big roads. It incentivizes drivers to go slower, American roads are designed on outdated traffic models and ideas.

Handing over your credit card to a stranger is totally unthinkable in Germany! What a crazy thought 😄 It's about personal space, which is different in every country. Here credit cards are definitely untouchable, like someone's baby, you can't touch that either.

I'm in rural Texas and small roads are more of a county maintained thing. Our FM (farm to market) roads are 2 lane, but a good sized road. I know we have more space in general. I loved the German roads I've traveled. Now I did see some neat tractors in Germany when I was there, both big and small. Loved Willa's participating in the video! She has really began to bloom in her personality ❤. Thanks for sharing!

Next time, tell your sister that she can order her drinks with icecubes. They are available, just not by default. Also, when the street is too narrow to overtake safely, you just don't. That being said, I look forward to the next visit. 😊

Of cause there are cameras at the gas station nowadays. But a decade or two ago, there were no cameras all around, and people also paid after filling up. So I would say that the problem of stealing gas isn't that great. I think overall the German society is a very trustful one. You can also recognize it when you think about public transport. There are no gates at the entrance. They simply trust the majority of people.

In our village we don't have a footpath either, the road is too narrow for that. But the drivers know how to behave when a pedestrian or a woman with a pram is walking on the road. The only footpath we have is from the bus stop to the next village.

Farming culture (including tractors and cows) is quite different between northern and southern Germany. The south is much more clustered, farms are mostly smaller, and a lot of natural obstacles make farming more difficult. Thus you need smaller equipment. And as space is more limited, cows spend more time inside barns. And of course, the weather plays a re role, too.

The fuel system, like many others, like public transport travel for example, is based on the "trust" system. Even before cameras stealing fuel wasn't a thing.

As "Tasche" is a bag, pastry with a filling is often called that way.

what a lovely sister you have! have a great time! greetings from cologne.

regarding bottle recyling...there are different variations in Germany ...roughly said: Glas bottles of certain types (mineral water, beer etc.) are taken back, brought to a facilty were they are cleaned & reused again. Some plastic bottles too (for example we have bottles with a thicker wall thickness for mineral water), but they cannot be reused too many times to the cleaning process... Also there are glas bottles and glas containers (such for pickles etc.) which are not meant to be reused - these you have to put in the glas containers which you have in your neighborhood. Here you have to sort them according to their color (colorless, brown or green). This glas is recycled/remolten to produce new bottles. Plastic bottles which are made of thin material are taken back for recycling, but not for beeing reused. Every grocery store or supermarket has those machines for that (You put the bottles into it were they were crushed and you get your deposit bill. The big advantage of glas bottles is that the content does not change flavour or cannot be contaminated do to glas not beeing prone to intrusion of unwanted substances. Other that the plastic used (PET =polyethyleneterephtalate). Beverages in glas bottles have a simply longer expiration date and taste better. That affects mostly "natural" beverages such as mineral water, beer etc....if you have artificially flavored drinks with lots of unhealthy chemicals and a too strong taste, you don't need to care about the drawbacks of plastic bottles.

It always fun to see the Reaction from your Family-Members. She seems like a lovely person and has a great Smile.

Thats lovely Risa your sister was over to visit 💕 I am sure you all had a Fantastic time together . Willa sure enjoyed having her Aunt visit too . Have a Good week 🥰

I was laughing my head off! Ausfahrt... dont worry about mistaking that for a town. I did the same thing about 15 years ago. Only difference is, when I kept seeing the same sign I thought to myself.... gee this town is so huge! My wife still makes fun of me to this day.

OMG! I melt every time I see Willa and hear her talking!!!

well, especially in villages that can be 1000-2000 years old, the houses were there first and the streets came much later. The ways in between houses originally had to accomodate street carts and small agricultural horse-drawn wagons. Naturally, the streets were not designed for two-way car traffic alongside planning the settlements…

About the size of roads: if a road is narrow you're certainly not supposed to dash along with high speed on it - particularly within settlements like villages and towns. If your driving style can be considered reckless you're half way into trouble already and you'd better not be involved in an accident. But apart from that it's just a habit that we're taking care of each other and try to treat each other with politeness and attention - most of the times at least😊

The compact nature of villages and towns is due to zoning laws that only allow the building of houses within designated areas. Though the reason for these laws (or customs) have changed over time. In the Middle Ages, there probably was a security aspect (certainly when city walls were a thing) but also wanting to be close to communal services. Nowadays, it is mostly about keeping the countryside and nature free from too much human presence (including vehicle traffic) but also more efficient use of utilities if houses aren’t spread over a larger area.

Filling up with gasoline and deliberately not paying afterwards is either fraud or theft or embezzlement. According to the accusation of the public prosecution, this comes to court and is not done with a fine of 500 euros. The first time there is certainly probation and a hefty fine. If repeated, it can mean up to 3 years in prison . Using a false license plate on the car to avoid being found would mean up to 5 years in prison. You'd rather pay, I'd say, 😄

Bottles at grocery stores, fun fact: ALDI in the US charges a 5c debit for plastic bottles to make you return and get your 5c back. I was in the states a few weeks ago and was kinda surprised about it.