*Sports Clothes*

When Germans participate in sports, they bring their sports clothes with them, or at least their sports shoes in a bag, instead of wearing them on the way. To me, that's kind of inconvenient, so I get weird looks on my way to and from football, especially when I'm splashed with mud and my shoes are leaving behind caked dirt.

I entered my old post on scarves in Scribbit's December Write-Away Contest.

*Very Casual Dress Pants*

In Germany, dress pants go with running shoes.

*Knock on Wood*

Knocking has different roles in Germany.

-When a professor is done teaching, all the students knock on the desks as appreciation. Yup, that was a huge surprise to me.
-All office doors are closed, even during office hours (seems ridiculous to me), so you have to knock and wait for them to say "come in." (Of course, this is especially complicated if you aren't sure what they've said.) After entering, you close the door behind you. I will never ever get used to the whole office hours thing. They're not there for you, you're there for them, so it doesn't matter what you have on your schedule, if you want them to help you, you'd better show up for the couple of hours they have scheduled. (And yes, this even applies when you're calling from a foreign country. They told me to call back during office hours which were during the middle of my night.)
-Sometimes people will come in to a gathering and instead of greeting everyone individually, will knock on the nearest table or doorjamb and wave at everyone.

*Kur*

Coming from America, where health care for everyone is still a hope of the future, I couldn't believe that in Germany, there's a thing called "Kur." As far as I can tell, when you need some kind of long-term therapy, they send you off to some lovely little city snuggled in European scenery, to an amazing spa--for several weeks. I've heard of people going there after surgery or a heart attack; one friend of mine was there for her eczema; others have gone for physical therapy. You have a heated room and a pool, three meals a day . . . and this is fully covered by insurance.

Is it just me, or does this sound almost like "paid-for vacation" to someone else, too?

*Knaben and Mädchen*

Schools in Germany used to have a separate door for the "Knaben" (boys) and the "Mädchen" (girls). They still have the doors marked, but they aren't limited to those people.

*Kinderwagen*

I'm letting Jasmine do the talking this week.

See here.

It's true. Those strollers are insanely amazing.

*Cars in Good Repair*

Cars here never look old and beat up. It was a rather eery feeling when I first noticed it. There aren't missing rear view mirrors or smashed in bumpers. There aren't even crumples on the side of doors. When I was reading up a bit in preparation for my trip to Switzerland (where I was the only driver), I read that there's a thing called the "TÜV" that checks cars and they have to be in really good shape or they don't pass the test. In America, a car with a smashed bumper (ahem, Sequoia) may just stay that way if no one wants to pay for it.