When in Deutschland, one can easily notice that there was planning through every cycle of the development this place. Designed, and architect-ed while maintaining the balance between humans and nature. Almost all German cities, suburbs, villages, farms, roads, streets, stores, houses, flats indoors and outdoors are always kept pristinely clean, organized, and efficient in many functions. NYC, and East Coast and much of the cities in California look and feel like a third world country compared to Northern Europe.
The least clean, however, are the public bathrooms. Some cost 50 Euro cents some cost 1 Euro. There aren’t that many tall buildings. There aren’t that many super wide buildings. Most houses are beautiful, and well maintained. The building-flats for the most part are decently looking on the outside and have the clean and semi-minimalized European interior. People use their balconies or terraces.
The entire country’s landscape whether blended in the city or out in the farms are beautiful, free of toxic chemicals, refreshingly maintained, and fluidly blend in from city to country or vice-versa.
Deutschland has the best public transportation in the modern world. Beautiful design inside and out, excellent logistically planned and operated and therefore efficient. Very clean, and very efficient, without beggars, or very loud people in general when it comes to speaking in a public area such as the U-Bahn (Subway/Trains etc.).
This includes the U-Bahn (subways), S-Bahn (above ground including regional), ICE (National, and across other EU Countries), and Tram System. The bus system is decent as well. The other thing is the local Germans respect all property. Trains are not vandalized in general. In fact, vandalism or abuse of property, and nature is not there, and hopefully it stays that way. Also, its very safe for people.
Many of the people return items found to the lost and found of the transport authority. I happened to leave my iPad-mini behind at the Moosach Station on U-Bahn, in Munchen. After about a week, I finally made it to the lost and found department at the proper time as it is open only during certain hours. One of the greatest experience was to see how amazingly organized, clean, efficient, and friendly their lost and found department was and continues to be. They had umbrellas, hats, baseball caps, scarfs, big electronic items, phones, andall kinds of belongings, and it seemed as if casual “theft” was not really in existence, let alone real theft. It was like being in heaven for me to see such organization, cleanliness, respect, and human-ness.
This made me understand their bureaucracy, and I started appreciating it, because it worked and still works! It works for the people. The Bundestag-Bundesrat works for the people at large!
In all my trips, I forgot to mention: Not a single hot damn beggar, pan handler, or “homeless” (mentally challenged persons gone nuts) inside any U-Bahn, S-Bahn, Tram, Regional Bahn, Bus! Or at any train station. Furthermore, not a single “normal” person was loud, as in NYC, almost everyone who has a conversation is so loud, as if they want their conversation to be heard. I wonder if deep down New Yorkers feel so alone that they have to speak out loud. Unfortunately, it’s a behavioral pattern across much of the USA. Myself included. I am ashamed of myself!
Way outside, about 2-3 blocks after the central station, HauptBahnhoff, you had drunks – however – they were not begging, panhandling, shouting, or going bananas like in recent NYC.
In NYC , the E-Train Chambers Street Train Station smells like urine. Pretty much all E-Trains cars in almost every E-Train smells badly. There are about 5 to 10, disturbingly loud beggars per ride from Chambers Street to Jamaica, Queens.
I am not going to get started on NYC, and New Jersey Airports. I think SFO Intl is a much better airport. LAX Intl Terminal is decent. Secuirty check-in or check-out in California is horrible, LAX being the worst! NYC/NJ much better at security check-ins and check-outs.
Munchen/Bayern has a decent infrastructure for bikes including carrying them on regional train cars. The city with the best infrastructure with true separate bike lanes is Copenhagen. The bike lanes get plowed first during the snow storm in Copenhagen. People in NYC are conditioned to believe of a superb bike infrastructure in Amsterdam, and it’s not true. Amsterdam has a bike culture, however, not the infrastructure as in comparison to that of Copenhagen and much of Denmark. NYC bike lanes are a freaken joke, and dangerous for everyone. Thanks to, midget, Mr Doomberg’s (Bloomberg). The Bay Area did a better job biking from San Jose to San Francisco parallel to much of the Cal-Train. Within San Francisco I saw a long stretch of biking area from embarcadero to golden gate bridge (the other rim of San Fran not within the city itself, I could be wrong as I don’t fully recall).
Cafes in almost all of Europe including Germany, are real cafes with decent to great service. The cafes in most of Germany are clean, cozy, and friendly. You have to make an effort to speak and understand German, and that’s any other non-English developed or semi-developed country you are visiting. Decafe coffee is not popular here in Germany, although you could find it one of the US/UK café chains. Even the Starbucks, McDonalds have better service here in Germany than in most of USA, sometimes pronounced “ooossaaa” Don’t expect many Germans to go to McDonalds or Starbucks, and I don’t blame them. I go to Starbucks for free internet connection, their coffee is disgusting even while I mostly drink tea. In Italy, the last time I went, within 2 years ago there wasn’t even one Starbucks, Thank God! Free Internet was tough to find in Italy – God Help! Bela Italia!
Fur ihr ein tea, camile, mit ein buter crosiant bitte!
Germans are well dressed to super sharp and sophisticated for work or formal occasions. They are decent in their casual wear. I have to say that much of people in the Bay Area are also well dressed in their casual wear, they are not sloppy in their casual wear. In NYC its anything goes. And I mean anything!
Make sure to head out of Munich City and visit the overall region of Bayern. Check out the castles. One castle within the city is Scholl Nyumbenberg, and its amazing to visit or run the circumference. Visit the Neuschwanstein and other castles and/or go hiking in the Alps( Alpes), its very cool. Also, check out the lakes, such as Lake Starnberg, etc. The country side of Munich is amazing. I hope to hike and check-out Eagles Nest one day. It’s a lovely, lovely city and you will love Oktoberfest. That festival starts around mid-September and lasts about 2 weeks or 4 weeks (I forget). Try to be on foot much as get to absorb much, much more. However, if you are a biker, you there are many bike paths within the city, and outside the city, and many biking trails as well. Das ist alles. Danke for reading! And Veil Glück!