Lack of T posts - more than made up for

Some people have asked what things immediately strike a person upon moving to Germany from America. I have been compiling a list, as many things are more similar than one might think, and others things are inexplicably different.  I will add photos as I gather discreet ones.

1. There are a lot of very tall people here.  It's not uncommon for men to be 6'4" and women to be over 6'.  That's not to say that there aren't American-height people here, but M is frequently towered over.  Doors, however, are the same height, and people are always ducking under them.  

2. Women of all ages wear skirts or dresses, which hit at the knee or right above, but rarely pants, unless they are tailored ladies slacks.  It is not an exaggeration to say that I am the only women around to be wearing "man-pants".  And yet, no low-cut shirts.  A good proportion of women have short hair - basically, men's cuts.  The women look really good with them, so I cut my hair really short, too, and it's never felt better.  Also, in case anyone remembers how ugly the 2004 short haircut was, this time it looks nothing like that.  

3. While riding on a full train, people sit very close together, but when a stop comes and many people get off, people don't slide over into the empty seats.  Sometimes on a really hot train, I will get sandwiched between two people and I can't help but stare at all the empty seats across from me and wish I could move, but I am sure that would be considered quite rude.  This closeness happens everywhere.  While waiting at a crosswalk, another person might come up and stand half an inch behind you.  It makes me feel a little claustrophobic, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

4. Some teenagers and adults dress like hoodlums, but aren't at all.  They stand there with gold chains, baggy shorts, low-riding baseball caps...and fanny packs, and will politely move for you to get past and give you directions if you are lost.  

5. People don't wait in lines very well, especially when going through doors.  You can be standing four inches from the door, but once you open it, a flood of people might trample you trying to get through.  It doesn't matter if it's just a door to the bank, and there's no reason to hurry, as soon as people get near a door, it's as though there's a fire and I have no idea why.

6. Walking down the sidewalk is done at the slowest pace on earth.  I cannot force myself to walk that slowly.  I don't know how they get to the doors so fast.

7. People can drink beer all the time, in all venues.  It's allowed in public, so people are drinking on trains, hanging out in the park, walking down the sidewalk...but it's always beer, never anything harder, and not in brown paper bags. 

8. Speedos on men - no...trimming...of the hairs sprouting out of the speedos.  My favorite look is the black socks, sandals, speedo and t-shirt over beer gut.  Really, tho, I do appreciate the relaxed attitude about body parts.

Kitty is Angry

Kitty hates the new apartment:

Actually, she really likes it.  She likes to hang out on the top stair and see all the goings-on below her.  She enjoys running up and down them and swiping at people that walk too close.

One day she woke up and there were pads on the windowsills:

She pretended to relax, but was still a little unsure.  Until the next day, when she realized they were harmless:

If she had any idea that we made them just for her, she'd never even look at them.  We put them up early enough that she seems to think they just grew there.  They are the same color as her to hide her shedding, but even though she looks black and white, all of her hairs that come out are grey.

She loves the balconies

because birds sing in the trees below.  The one weird thing is that since moving her over here, now when she smells eggs cooking, she runs into the kitchen and meows up a storm.  I don't know what's gotten into her, but who ever knows with cats.  That's it for kitty updates.  I know this is a lot of kitty, but she's the only thing at home all day that moves, so we hang out a lot.