Kultur 4

German Kultur Kapitel 4

         For this Kultur text for German their were five articles. They all discussed characteristics and habits of Germans that we in America would consider "quirky" to say the least.

         The first articles titled, Two-Wheeled Teutons: Stay Off the Bike Path!, talked about Germans and their biking habits. I found it extremely interesting that Germans bike so much, and would rather bike than drive to work or the grocery store. I also found it very fascinating that pedestrians must stay out of the biker's path unless they want to get run over, which is not unusual. According to the article, typically the pedestrian would be at fault for getting in the bikers way. However, it is the opposite in America. In American, if a biker plows over a pedestrian, usually the biker is frowned upon.

           The second article, The Red Dictator: Crossing the Strasse, talks about the common habits for navigating the pedestrian lane in Germany. Basically the article says do NOT cross the street unless the red light tells you to. The article called this the red dictator. To do so is breaking the law, and although some native Germans do it, as a visitor, it would be considered unwise unless one is trying to lose their leg on purpose.

         The third article, Illogical Logic: The Right Answer in Germany May Be the Wrong One, discusses that as a foreigner, the way a native German thinks may seem foreign to us. This article gave the example of the naive foreigner who buys a ticket for a train, but enters the wrong train on the basis of the German logic. Moral of the story, know where you need to be and when when it comes to German transportation ahead of time.

         The fourth article, Fare-Dodgers Beware: There’s No Such Things as a Free Ride, talks about the trusting atmosphere of the subways and how it is theoretically possible to hitch a free ride. However, the article clearly states, that if one goes without a ticket, they WILL get caught (schwarzfahren), and they WILL get dirty looks from bystanders.

        The final article was short sweet and to the point. It basically said that Germany is compulsively orderly, and that it is rare to find a place that does not have excessive order (with the exception of Kusel). They even have a support group for slobby people.

Brennpunkt Kultur:

The first Brennpunkt Kultur article (seite 123) brings alight the Goethe-Institut, which promotes German language and cultural events. There are 136 Goethe-Instituten around the world, and they rest in 92 different countries. This article also touched on study abroad options available through U.S and Canadian colleges to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The second Brennpunkt Kultur article (seite 145) discusses biking in Germany once more, and why it is more popular than driving. In Germany, people ride bicycles more often because they can do always find a parking spot, they can do so efficiently (there are even stop lights for the bike paths), they don't have to yield to cars, and they don't need to pay for insurance, gas, maintenance...etc. There is also a radfahrprüfung young people can take, which allows children under the age of 10 to ride without supervision.

The next Brennpunkt Kultur article (seite 150) talks about the train systems in Germany. Because Germany is so small, people prefer to travel by train than by plane. According to the article, discounts are available for students and young or retired people.

Brennpunkt Kutur (seite 157):
      Germany has a long standing reputation for creating great/high performing automobiles. However, owning and using a car in Germany is expensive. Gas can be up to 9 U.S. dollars/gallon! On top of this, insurance and tax rates are high, and taking the driving test costs approximately 1000 Euros.

Seite 159:
        The final Brennpunkt Kultur article gave me recognition on the city of Frankfurt in Germany. This city is somewhat the equivalent of what New York City is to America. Not only is it a rich cultural center complete with the home of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (a famous author), museums, theater, opera, gardens, and cozy pubs, but it also is the center of trade, transportation and finances of Germany with their railways, banks, national stock exchange, and so on.