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I spent the summer living in Strasbourg, France, Scheibenhard, France, and Frankfurt, Germany, all the while working near Frankfurt (my wife is fluent in French, and I like trains and the autobahn, hence the arrangement).
Driving: Two observations: Audi station wagons seem to be the preferred vehicle of choice for 200+ kph driving (sure, lots of BMWs, Mercedes, even some Italian exotics, but mostly Audis!).
And on the one hand, it seemed like you were expected to get the hell out of the left lane if someone was zooming up behind you (makes sense), but people also seemed free to veer into the left lane to pass a car regardless of whether someone was coming up from behind on the left (doesn't make sense- fricking scary). I saw that *all the time*. No collisions though- good reflexes and brakes.
Shopping: We had the exact same experiences with the bags and Sundays (France, too). On the one hand it's really nice that most everyone really gets a day off and chills out, but on the other, you better plan ahead, especially if Mr. Toddler needs his milk! It makes Saturdays a little more hectic.
Language: On the German side of Scheibenhard (called Scheibenhardt; the border runs through town), no one spoke French. They don't teach it in the schools there. The kids learn mostly English. This pisses off the French, who do speak some German (and Alsatian, which is Germanic, although it is fading away). But in general most Europeans kick Americans' ass in the multilingual department. I find the Benelux folks, who have to deal with France, Germany, and the UK, tend to be the most consistently tri- (or more) lingual.
Energy: Tons of windmills. And for the most part I think they enhance the beauty of the landscape. I didn't see any solar, but I know their is a lot of govt funding for it. And they tend to use energy quite efficiently, in ways that reduce waste, not utility so much. If the US could implement some simple things (like the card-holder in hotel rooms that also serves as a master switch), we'd save a lot of energy. 10-20% in residential and commerical settings without settings. The main impediments here are culture and inertia, but I digress.
Bathrooms: Mixed bag.
Beer: GOOD.
Smoking: BAD. Sometimes I could only get a seat on the smoking car on the ICE; I could barely see across the train. I got used to it, but don't miss that aspect at all. As my 4 year old said, "This isn't called France. This is called cigarette world." Same for DE.
And in response to other letters:
I hate to perpetuate stereotypes, but yes, Germans can be... so... GERMAN sometimes! Precise to the point of insanity, from an '80% is good enough' American perspective.
