Things I like/dislike about driving in Germany:

After driving around Bordesholm and surrounding villages at least twice a day during the last month, I have been continuously flopping back and forth between my love and hate for driving here. I will list a few contributors:

Likes:
-picaresque scenery - always something interesting to see - a beautiful stone wall, little shops along narrow, winding streets, children playing along the streets, people on bicycles...
-traffic lights provide a yellow signal just before the red light also - not just before the green. I like to think it is because all the cars are manual, and they want to give us that extra second of preparation to shift into gear.
-bicycles and pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way
-speed limits seem to be optional - I have yet to actually see a police car ticket someone for speeding
-teeny tiny vehicles all around - no big semis or suburbans to beware of
- the fact that one really can avoid driving in most instances - public transportation is such a normal part of life, and there are more bikes with baskets parked at the supermarket than vehicles



Dislikes:
-picaresque scenery - always something to be cautious of - a stone wall to swerve around, cars parallel parked along both sides of narrow winding streets, children, bikers, etc...
-no right turns allowed at a red light if no one is coming...
-bicycles and pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way (unless you are a pedestrian vs. bike - if you accidently step on to the bike path on the sidewalk, they are fully entitled to crush you). The abundance of walkers and bikers has also made me almost late driving Emmi to Kindergarten many times. I can´t count how often I sit for ages at an intersection before I can finally get around all the people on foot and bike.
- people drive FAST - especially, it seems, on the tiniest streets
-of all the teeny cars around, I happen to drive the one minivan and feel like a huge awkward monster that has to squeeze between other vehicles. I cringe every time I meet a car on the little streets here
-the number of times I´ve had to drive on the curb...
-30 (km) zones are everywhere, which feels ridiculously slow. No one seems to pay attention, so I usually go with the flow of traffic, but I still get nervous that I´ll be chosen as prey to the one police officer who actually decides to hand out a speeding ticket....
-Right of Ways happen all the time. I am so used to most intersections being marked with one street that has stop or yield signs, while the other street doesn´t have to worry about it. But even on streets that feel like the "main road" here, you have to constantly look to the right every time a little street crosses through. Kind of a pain.

Okay, for now my dislike list looks way longer than my like list, but I´m going to pretend that it is just because I wanted to describe the dislikes... I really do have fun sometimes driving around here. It is a good challenge, and I feel way more confident swerving around obstacles now that would have petrified me a month ago! Driving in the States again will be a breeze!!