• Toilets - When we first arrived, I stared at the toilet for a good long time trying to figure out how it flushed. Answer: There is a foot long, 10 inch tall rectangle on the wall that you push. It would be obvious if it didn't say stop at the top. I guess that means "stop the water flow", but I assumed it was a warning, like "stop, don't touch!". There are also hot and cold water knobs above the porcelain throne, but I haven't figured those out yet! Still, a button the size of a shoebox. It just seems like overkill to me :)
• Public Restrooms - Thank goodness I was with someone who lived here for a while the first time I had to use a public restroom, or as they call it here, a Wash Closet. There are no men and women's signs on the door leading to the restrooms, just the letters WC. Oh, and the ones I have been to so far don't have warm water at the sink. Eeeewwww!
• Showers - The water temperature is so hot here, that in order to keep people from scalding themselves in the shower, the hot water in showers and bathtubs doesn't work until the cold water has been turned on. A really nice feature, but it took me a while to figure it out the first time around.
• Light switches - The light switches are two-inch square panels (no switches). It is really nice when there is one or two of them. But when you have four or five light switches in one area, it is a foot-long panel!
• Windows and doors - The windows and glass doors here open two ways. If you turn the handle parallel to the floor, the door / window opens, if you turn the handle straight up, it will tilt in. Let me tell you, the first time I tried to open the door to the balcony and it started tilting in towards me from the top, I was not just a little scared!
• Rolladens - These are metal shades on the outsides of windows and doors that can be pulled down to block out the light, which is a good thing at 10 p.m., when the sun is still up, or at 4:30 a.m., when it makes its next appearance!
• Driving - Here I could go on and on. After being in a car a few times over the weekend, I understand the need for all of the driving safety briefings. The bike trails behind Erin's house look like super highways compared to many of the roads in and around the villages! There are no lines separating the lanes, probably because they wouldn't fit! To slow traffic down in some areas, they put flower pots with with reflective signs in the road, so only one car can pass. It is anybodies guess who has the right of way in the instances! Some of the turns here are super sharp. We visited a village where the turns were near 180 degrees. They were 3 point turns even in a mid sized sedan! And the speed limits are extremely high, even inside city limits (100 kilometers on rural roads / 50 kilometers in cities). And the Autobahn, forget about it! The "recommended" speed is 130 kilometers per hour.
• Food - Apparently it is common to have a fresh bakery or deli in the front of any manner of store. I had a sandwich at a store that was kind of a cross between a Lowe's and a Bed, Bath and Beyond (that only accepts cash). The kind woman at the counter did not speak English, so I am still not sure what I ate, but it was delicious! :) i haven't really had a chance to get out to the local restaurants to try traditional fair, but I am looking forward to it!
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