Leben im Deutschland

I really do like living here. The beautiful small city of Tuebingen, down in the south of Germany. Not just because new is always better but because its a lovely mix of the old and the new, the familiar and the unknown. Having lived in three countries for a substantial period of time, and being the "normal" human being that I am, I tend to compare and contrast the three places. My conclusion: Germany is in the "middle" of US and India. Its hard to pen down what I really mean by middle. In a sense, it has a lot of comforts that the US affords but also has a few qualities that makes me feel at home, kinda best of both the worlds  (Okay, agreed. I am leaning very very close to new is always better).

The first thing I really loved here is a quality that I think every city, small or big, should possess...something that I find missing in most places in the US. People, just people, Walking around on the footpaths (sidewalks), meeting each other randomly, smiling at each other, talking to each other. In the US, I found cars zipping past you at 30 mph at least, hardly any people. Yes, walking was initially difficult thanks to the slopes in Tuebingen but I got used to it to the point where I actually enjoy walking and even deliberately miss the bus home sometimes.

That said, there are many many more things that I liked here, and so here I go in no particular order.

People bike around a lot. And they bike as families. And the bikes are not just simple bikes that you find everyday. For the very first time in my life, I saw these:

The infants are carried along in the tiny little "cart" (for lack of a better word) so they can enjoy the bike ride too. So ingenious....so convenient. Simply Amazing!!! Ofcourse, sometimes the kids dont want to sit inside and they insist on the parents' carrying them in their arms but that's a different topic.

I have seen vending machines for drinks, food but for cigarettes, it was my first time. Probably because people here seem to love their cigarettes. There are huge "Lucky Strike" banners in bus stops. On a side note, I've been told that, in Germany, the banners are only put up in places where they cannot distract people. For instance, you wont find huge billboards on highways/freeways, so as not to distract the drivers. Not sure how true it is coz I haven't been much on the road. I would say this is kinda against the purpose of advertisement but well, if it works it works!

The one below has prepaid phone cards and cigarettes. Yes, I got back to the world of prepaid SIM cards and top-ups, with just a tad difference. Top-up can be done using such vending machines, on the phone, online using credit cards, in addition to the usual "go to the street shop, and ask the shop guy to top it up for you". Can that be done in India too now?

While on the subject of phones, I also saw public phone booths after a long long time.  People seemed to use landlines more than mobiles. Another thing that made me feel at home.

The next one is actually the first thing I learnt when I arrived. Also the first thing I learnt when I arrived in the US for the very first time: "How to stop a bus". Seems a little strange? Here's why I had to learn it. In India, the bus stops at every designated bus stop on the route. So I was a little surprised when I arrived in the US and saw that the bus whizzed past some bus stops. I soon learnt that I had to pull the long yellow rope and signal to the driver that you want to get down. Here, I think they have a more sophisticated system, a small button that says "Stop". Easier to understand, huh? That's what I thought!

I always wonder if this system would work in India. Would the bus end up stopping in every stop? It happens sometimes in Tuebingen, so the stop indicator is not completely useful in saving time. But still, it might be useful to have such a system. Might just save time, and avoid some traffic hold-ups. 

They have a nice little vending machine for tickets. A little hard to use for a non-resident (I still haven't figured it out completely...have been relying on the Monatskarte available at the station so far) but an interesting contraption nonetheless. People get rid of all their small coins here, and because they are not holding up anybody behind them waiting to get into the bus (like in the US), they can take all the time they want.

While on the subject of buses, I found some more subtle similarities and differences. Like in India, the checking of the tickets is randomly (same on trains). In three months, my ticket got checked just twice, both times in the same week. People are trusted to be good but the fines for crossing lines are pretty heavy. Like in India, people are allowed to stand in the buses. In fact, some people stand in the bus even when there are seats available because they want to feel "jung" :-) Both in US and India, the bus drivers wear uniforms, whereas they didn't seem to have uniforms here. You would not distinguish a bus driver in a crowd. For that matter, I wouldn't be able to distinguish any Stadtwerke employees. One day I saw many people, old men and young students, cleaning the roads together, and they didnt seem like employees of the city council. I should still figure out how this system works. People are responsible for cleaning the areas surrounding their houses (like in the US), hence cleaner.

Cars and motorbikes! They'e got lovely ones here, small and big, old and new. The best thing is that motorbikes are not some rare commodity (like in the US) nor are they driven dangerously (like in India) to get ahead of traffic.

Even saw a couple of solar cars and gypsy vans!

Another thing that is similar between India and Germany are the street names. They have sensible street names, not just Main St, First St, and so on. The streets are named after real people, and even better, in some places they have a few details about the person. House numbers make sense again too. The houses are numbered consecutively and are easy to locate.

This is probably one of the best things that made me fall in love with the place instantly. Such cute dogs and they are very well-treated, just like babies!!! They are cuddled and pampered. And why not? They are choooooooooooo cuuteeeeeeeeee!!!!! Wish I could have one :-(

I met Sher Khan in Hechingen. Belonged to  Prof. Ardelt and Ursula Wolfgang, who were extremely helpful to me when I was trying to get to the Hohenzollern castle.

A little weird for Americans but goats are also pets.

People live very relaxed lives here. They truly believe in "work hard, play hard"! Weekends are usually spent in festivals ( esp. during summer), hikes and tours.

They are extremely creative too, esp. the children.

This was at the Stadfest. Children building castles

Some street art by the neighboring kids

All this said, there is one thing that I did not like about the place: their timings. They follow very unusual. Almost all the shops and establishments (I didnt find any big malls here), from bakeries to banks open around 7 in the morning close around 5 or 6. And everything, literally everything, is closed on Sundays. (Okay, thats a little exaggeration. There are some restaurants open, but they are not really good!)

Here are some random pics that I took while walking down the streets of Tuebingen.

This is the heating system for the city at the Stadwerke (represented the end of the every city for me when I went for walks) 

Stadwerke entrance at the Franzoesisches Viertel

Lot of rose bushes around in Tuebingen

Keys at MPI ( seriously high tech!)

General structure of a traditional German house. Amazing architecture!

Innovation in swings

They just dont have salt and pepper on the restaurant tables, also a laaarge bottle of sugar. Shows how sweet they are!

Found this outside a student dorm. Assumed it was for drying clothes. Could be anything though!

I stepped out of the Stuttgart airport on the 5th of May 2013, a little scared, a little nervous. And during the course of this (almost) 3 month period, I met some of the friendliest and helpful people, experienced some of the best "firsts" in my life and lived fully. There is a small part of me that wishes I didn't have to go back. Its strange how I can stay in a place for such a short while and feel like I'm leaving home all over again. I'm going to miss you, Tuebingen and I hope I will get to see you again. 

Auf Wiedersehen!