Rules for Jay Walking and Road Rage=Shopping Rage in DE

So, here are some funny differences I've noticed so far.................................




Rules for Jay walking (in front of kids):
This sign is on every street light.  It says "only by green of the children a role model."  So, I guess it means that in order to be a good role model, you have to wait for the green.  


PRACTICAL ROAD RULES:

- You can jay walk in front of kids, if there isn't a cross walk nearby meaning more than 20 feet away...ish. 

- You can jay walk against the red, if it's on the other side of the street and if it's not looking.


OK. THIS makes sense to me.  I really don't know how the kids that grow up in NYC survive.  

No one respects a queue.


In a bathroom, supermarket, bank, post office, it's all the same. Everyone cuts. No one puts the little plastic thing in between their stuff on the conveyor belt. Everyone is annoyed if you pay slow or you don't have all of your things packed in your bag by the time you pay. PS: It's nearly impossible. Suggestion: hire baggers. Teenagers here need jobs, too.

At least in the states, if someone cuts in line, someone will yell at that person and most likely shame them to the back of the line.  Here no one says anything.

There are a crap load of blogs on this... Here's one.





You have to recycle everything and protect the environment, but EVERY dude pees on the streets...in full daylight....in front of everyone....even when there are bathrooms close and if they're sober.]

No woman I know understands this and here's another one.


I mean.  I get it on one hand.  I have done my fair share of urban peeing.  I find it crazy that you have to pay for bathrooms here.  It makes me FURIOUS!  It is a human need and the restrooms are mostly in restaurants or bars, shopping malls, etc.  I can understand having a bathroom attendant that is paid with the funds for public toilets in the mall or in some other kind of public situation, but not in a restaurant or bar, book shop, etc.   And then, sometimes, you have to pay for a toilet with the bathroom attendant sitting there staring at you...and the bathroom is not clean.  WTF IS THAT ABOUT? I mean.  Really?  


Anyway....enough of that one.  



Bikers and pedestrians have the right of way except when a bus is coming. Those assholes will always try to run you down.




You can drink in public! Beer and wine = 16 years old. Hard alcohol = 18 years old. It's a little funny to see kids in the bar.

Crabben is tiny gross shrimps. NOT CRAB. Don't be fooled.

Your name has to be approved by the government.

Ice Ice

Ok. So, there's this thing called Alstereisvergnügen. I AM SO EXCITED! So, the Alster is the big part of the 2 part man-made lake thing in Hamburg. It's the city center.  These are pictures from the first day that people were officially allowed on the ice.  Last Tuesday.

Alstereisvergnügen

So, maybe from here we should have thought that it would be ein bisschen gefährlich (a little dangerous).  There is a sign that says to never cross under the bridges on the ice because it's always much thinner than the rest of the lake.

So, we crossed over from the Alster, the big lake, to the Binnenalster that is the smaller lake that is by all the shops.  We found out later that that wasn't a great idea.  It wasn't roped off, but we weren't allowed on it.  There were a bunch of people on it, but then the cops came and told everyone to get out, but nicely, which was a bit surprising.  

BUT it was amazing!!  The pointy building is the Rathaus (City Hall) building and all the fancy shops and the new Mac Store all right here.

There were really cool ice chunks that had refrozen.

Since we came from the other side of the lake, we didn't see any signs saying not to go on the ice on this side.

And, then the cops.  They were even being a little funny on the loud speaker.  There were a couple of teenage girls that were pretending not to listen, but standing in the direct line of sight of the cop here (below).  So, he began talking to them directly.  It was pretty funny.   He said, "HALLLLLLOOO!  THIS IS THE POLICE......PLEASE GET OFF THE ICE.  GIRLS......I SEE YOU..... "  And they still took their sweet time coming in.  They were, what looked like, doing their fashion photography.  Trying to look really cute on the ice.

Ok.  This looks way more scary here.  That ice by the boats is really not frozen.

I thought this duck was frozen onto the ice.  I waited around to see that it wasn't.

Next day....when it became really obvious that we can't walk on the small lake.

ICE GRAFFITI

There were a few people riding their bikes on the snow/ice.

We're trying to find me some cheap ice skates.  This would be awesome!!!

AND, of course, you can drink on the ice, too.  There were nice boys selling beers on the ice.  Good idea..

I LOVE these old wooden sleds.  They sell the lame plastic ones that come in neon colors, but more than half the people still buy the old school ones.  I love it!

 ********  UPDATE   -  THE LAKE IS NOT FULLY FROZEN ANYMORE!!!  *********

SO THIS IS TOTALLY CRAZY!!!  This is what it looked like today!!!  I can't even believe we were out there.  And the newspaper reported that over 1 million people came and visited and walked on the ice this past weekend.  NUTS!

 Ok.  This is the Elbe (river)...Still a few ice chunks.

Rathaus / City Hall

There's this cute little boat that always has a cake and coffee special....which we found out today was not a special.  They just make it look like it on a sign outside.  It worked on us.  hahaha.