For those that remembered, I went to Germany for 10 days.

Roads got narrower.
Taxes increased.

That's about it.



The rolling hills that I have missed for so many years were, much to my relief, still there, and still green as ever!
The rental, an Opel Astra, was fantastic! I was very happy with the car (wagon). If they start selling the GTDi here, I will most likely be on their list of buyers. The diesel performed great - way more power than I expected, and way better gas mileage than I expected. Handling was perfectly sufficient for the curvy road in the Odenwald. The six speed manual never had me guessing where it was, nor what gear I should be in. Sixth gear is mostly for the Autobahn, or flat roads at a brisk, steady speed.
Climate control was great, the layout of the controls, once I learned them w/o a manual was acceptable. Al in all, I was quite satisfied....so much so, that Opel has tempted me to no longer be strictly Benz.
My only annoyance was with the turnsignal stalk. It appears to be all electronic (no mechanical connection to the steering wheel), and would on occassion remain blinking when I didn't want it to - pushing it the other way (as you might do to bring it in its resting position) only made it start blinking in the other direction.
Seating room for 4 was more than ample - I had 3 in the backseat at one time, and none of them complained. Front seating was not power, but there were enough levers to move the seat in pretty much the same manner a power seat would.
I hear that Saturn is supposed to start selling this Opel late in the fall, however, they will not be offering a diesel model. Well...I doubt I will get a gasser...if I have to wait 2 years for a great diesel, I will.

Other than that, there are many cars on the road - more than ever, parking space is at a premium. Nobody goes to the bathroom once they leave their house - This must be so, because I only found one sign for a public bathroom (never did see the actual facility) I did use a restroom along the A5 - it was the worst bathroom I have ever been into in my entire life...it still makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. (If you're in a restaurant, you can find a bathroom just fine).
Access for handicapped/elderly people is pretty much non existant - they have a lot to learn from Florida (and I mean A LOT). Too many times my grandmother, who uses a cane, had to climb up and down stairs to get to either an office, restroom, or an apartment. I can imagine that thousands of elderly are couped up in their apartment, because they can't make it down the stairs in one day.
A lot of people were surprised at my friendliness and openess - almost all welcomed it, and played along nicely. Shop hours are near bizarre - they haven't changed much since I lived there years ago. Banks close in the middle of the day for 1/2 and hour (they have plenty of employees in most of them to have a rotating lunch). Many stores close at 5, some earlier, on certain days they close at 8pm. If you're going to go there, ask a local for the shop times, and make yourself a calendar.

Saw a lot of C class, and a lot of A class cars. Saw a Smart on the Autobahn (A5) and it reminded me instantly of a roller skate. Many of the other extra small cars were made by Renault and Fiat. Peugeot has a nifty 2 seater. Ford has a nifty convertible (named Ka). I saw some other 2 seater that reminded me of a large, souped up go-kart - rumor has it is was a BMW of some sort. I saw 1 126 380SEL, 1 126 SEC, 1 SL55, and a good amount of SLK's. 140's would be too damned big to drive around over there, unless you lived next to the Autobahn, and worked down the road, next to the Autobahn.

Restaurants were plenty, usually had very good food, and were usually more reasonably priced than in the US. Some things that I ate there, would cost at least double if not more, here. A lot of things you just can't get here, unless you import.

They tax everything - sales tax just increased to a whopping 19% (slightly lower on food). Income tax is outrageous! That there hasn't been some sort of uprising is surprising to me. Unemployment benefits are an embarrassment to me, because they are way too generous - I'm not even going to write about them. They even have a tax for owning a dog - and it better not be a "dangerous breed" such as a Bull terrier (Spuds McKenzie) because their tax is 10x the regular rate. €200 vs. €2000.
Fuel was around €1.16/liter of Diesel and up to €1.35/liter of regular (no lead) Super is of course more money.

I have missed, and still do miss Germany - but not their taxes, and certainly not their bureaucracy (something I have to deal with for the next year, most likely) - they have made bureaucracy into an artform. From this, you may surmise that politicians are all pretty much carved out of the same wood.
Let Germany be a warning to us here in the U.S. - that unchecked social welfare/benefits will most assuredly lead to not only higher taxes, but to new taxes on things you haven't even thought of yet.

Anyway....those are my two cents on what I saw over there. I enjoyed my trip alot, and wish that I could've stayed longer. There was a day when I was flirting with the fantasy of staying there, and finding a job with my company there. This dream quickly vanished when I heard about the taxes.

Tschüss!

__________________
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D