Top 10 Best things about Deutschland

1) Beer. Enough said.

2) Chocolate. See above.

3) Trains: you an pretty much get anywhere in the country using these. Fast, very comfortable, and usually pretty affordable. After living here for a while, you pretty much just ASSUME that you can get to any settlement of more than 5,000 citizens by train. And usually, you'd be right.

4) Bikes: Everyone bikes, there are actually bike lanes and racks everywhere. This means fewer cars on the road, less pollution, and less fat people. It's a win-win for everyone except the auto industry(except it gives the car companies an incentive to produce cleaner cars, so it actually doesn't hurt them too much, either).

5) Public goods: Europe just GETS the idea of "the common good" in a way that America, with its rugged individualism, probably never will. While Bush and co. waste my tax dollars on a war of lies and cut spending on parks and education, countries like Germany are ensuring that every city has an outstanding public library, swimming pools, beautiful public parks, etc. For God's sakes, I can't tell you how many small German cities I've been to that have public pools (with diving boards and often saunas and slides and whatnot) that make many private American pools, let alone public ones, look like absolute jokes).

6) The Döner Kepab. You can't really appreciate it until you try it, but I'll try to succintly explain its appeal. First of all, it's cheap, fast, and readily available. Any German town of over 5,000 is bound to have at least one Döner stand, it's a fact. Furthermore, while most German stores are closed very early most days, on holidays, and on Sundays, these places are almost always open, including very late at night. Quite handy when you get a case of the munchies after a night in the local pub.



Döners also pretty much have all the major food groups: meat(lamb or chicken), bread(a pita), vegetables(tomatoes, lettuce, onions, sometimes garlic), and dairy(cheese). Seriously, these things fill you up.

7) Being able to drink in public. You seriously do not know how amazing this is until you've lived here for a while. Can't tell you how clutch it is to be able to sip a delicious pilsener while waiting for the subway or riding a tram. Or you can sip a beer or wine while sitting in a beautiful park in a major urban center, or while looking at a view of the Alps. One of the best (and cheapest) things to enjoy in Germany.

8) Toleration: people here are much more tolerant of lots of things here, but especially anything related to sexuality, including homosexuality. The nudity can get to be a bit much at times, but it's a lot better than dealing with prudish Americans who get into a hissy fit every time someone shows a little skin, or a celebrity has a "wardrobe malfunction" on national TV. Grow up, we're not 4 years old anymore.

9) Politics and equality: German politics is refreshing in a number of ways. There are 6 viable parties and a lot less partisan bickering. Elections are publicly financed, so there's a lot less corruption. And, my favorite, there are actually real choices...for people like me, there are legitimate leftist parties rather than lame corporate parties like the Republicans and Democrats.

10) Beer.