As a Kiwi, I am immensely proud of our willingness to help strangers. We can’t bear to see confused tourists poring over a map and feel compelled to inquire if they’ve figured it out. If not, we assist. You’re among friends in this country.
Unfortunately, the same consideration cannot be said of our driving. For some unexplained reason, we bitterly resent being overtaken by another car. In Germany, motorists hurtle down the Autobahns at over 200km and the more sedate drivers are expected to move over to the slow lane…fast! It’s a good system. To obtain your Driver’s Licence in Germany, you you must attend a professional driving school. There’s no such thing as a white-knuckled mum or dad barking out instructions and maybe passing on poor driving skills.
There are set rules in Germany. People are living cheek by jowl and if everyone did their own thing, chaos would reign. These rules ensure that people are not woken at 7.00am by the sound of a lawn mower or a chainsaw and especially in an ever-growing multi-coloured society, a balance of harmony must be maintained.
In the smaller towns of Germany, all the shops and banks close between 12 – 2.00pm. Here in New Zealand, this is unthinkable, especially as most working Kiwis use this time to do business. Yet amazingly enough, for the past 2 weeks of our vacation in Germany, Michael and I have taken to lying down and having a bit of a snooze. It’s a habit we’ll need to break when we return to New Zealand…so much fresh air to breath and walks yet to discover.
In Germany, coffee is served at breakfast but not again until after 3.30pm. It’s agony waiting so long between coffee breaks and by 3.00pm, I’m finding it difficult to be civil to people. I now understand why European visitors to New Zealand are disappointed to see our cafés getting ready to close at 4.00pm. At the moment, I’m missing the cabinet food of New Zealand cafes.
Conversation with our German friends is meaningful. There’s no jostling with elbows, leaning back with hands behind heads or even a playful clout across the head by your fellow diner. No fun at all really. Politics, family squabbles and business matters are all thrashed across the table. I admit I really enjoy this part of the European maturity that seems to be lacking in New Zealand. Here’s Michael’s ‘Dream Team’ in Germany putting the world to rights.
Happy Travelling.
