Kultur 4

It is so interesting to compare transportation culture in Germany versus here in the United States.  Pedestrians obviously are lower on the transportation food chain in Germany where they have so many paths dedicated towards bikes. I think the deeper principal is that of order. Germans love order! Everything and everyone has their place so one shouldn't try think they are an exception. From the honesty system on the subways to crossing the street when cars are coming, there is a strict system to everything. I love how the articles mention that Germans have the sense of duty to correct those who seem to "forget" about the rules and regulations. One in particular is crossing the street in front of impressionable children.

Kapitel 4 Kultur-Texte

My first thought after reading this Kulture-Texte was "Endlish! Jemand versteht die Bedeutung von die Fahrräder!" I'm a big bike fan myself, so I was excited to learn about the Germans' love 
biking, too. My favorite part is how much they cater to bikers. My home town doesn't have much traffic, so 
even though it wasn't particularly bike friendly (we didn't have our own lanes, and the designated "bike path"
was equally as welcoming to pedestrians) there weren't many other that were there sharing the road. Since
moving too Ann Arbor I've had to learn to share the road with a lot of people. I've been spoiled, and I don't
like it, so I've taken to walking a lot more. In a dream world, bikes would have their own road. Deutschland
ist das Land meiner Träume!

I also found it interesting how closely followed the pedestrian cross signs are. I've lived in both Ann Arbor
and Chicago, spending the majority of my time as a pedestrian, and in both cities jaywalking is not only
common but almost expected (to my irritation as a driver, but I love it when I'm on foot).

Kultur 4

Once again I believe the Germans have a few things right that many other places in the world do not. For example having a huge network of bike lanes that most people use. It is so amazing and green that so many people take part in it, just like here in Ann Arbor in a certain sense. The main difference is that bike riders have the right-of-way. Another thing Germans have right is their views that jaywalking is socially unacceptable. I came from a very busy tourist town and many of the people who would around downtown were terrible. Driving in that area was already bad enough with the traffic with out having to worry about hitting people so I really like the way German drivers speed up and narrowly avoid hitting jaywalkers. That'll teach 'em! Anyways, as for the other articles I found them not nearly as interesting, though I did like how German works on the honor system for trains and are usually very organized.

Kultur 4

From the Brennpunkt Kultur, I think its a really great thing that schools in Germany place such a high importance on being multi-lingual and studying abroad in order to make their citizens more well-rounded. I found it interesting that it is such a hassle in Germany to own a car, but it is probably good since it encourages people to walk/ride a bicycle. I have heard before that the German railway is an excellent form of transportation and that it is quite popular/well used. From the articles, I was surprised to see how popular bicycle transportation is. Also, the roadways in Germany seem to be have more strict rules that are actually enforced compared to the USA. It also seems that taking the German underground subway can be rather tricky. I think that its a great quality of the Germans that they are so organized in every aspect of their lives, so I thought it was funny that the disorganization of the street signs in one city was so significant.

Kultur 4

  Reading the article made me not want to take a train in Germany, it's crazy how specific you have to be when purchasing a train ticket. I will find it very frustrating to give every detail about my trip. Also how they have different prices for specific stuff is weird. Since Germany has so many specifics in choosing a train ticket I can see myself easily getting lost because of a missed detail or being charged extra for something I didn't want but didn't specify. Although I wasn't fond of the train specifics, I however did like how Germany has wider sidewalks for bikers and how they have the right of way and not the pedestrians. If Ann Arbor had similar rules I wouldn't hesitate to ride my bike to class and of course it would be easier to, because of the wide sidewalks. This article made me want to bike all across Germany.

Kultur Vier

I would love it if we had similar bicycle paths here in Ann Arbor.  The bike routes on the side of the road always feel dangerous when I'm on my bike and aren't always there.  When I'm driving its even worse, always worrying about hitting a biker.  "Share the Road" never feels like a good solution.  The pedestrian walkways are no better for bicyclists, I never take my bike on the sidewalk.  First, because I know how annoying bikers are to me as a pedestrian, and second, because it doesn't even get you, held up by walkers, there any faster.
It would be great to see a German family in Ann Arbor with little impressionable children, as the crosswalk signs are generally ignored.  German personal injury lawyers must have a lot less work than their American counterparts.
Dealing with the person at the train station counter sounds infuriating.  This sounds similar to the way you have to talk with customer service agents at overseas call centers.  You must be very precise in saying what you want.
I wonder if there are agents on every train.  Last time I was in Chicago, I took four train rides, and purchased one ticket.  Fortunately, the only time that there was an agent in my car was the only time I bought a ticket.  Here the mentality is to risk it if you can get away with it, and no stigma attached to taking that risk. It is a game, and the train operators fault for setting it up in this way.
Einbahnstraße means "one-way street", that's pretty funny.

Kultur Texte 4

The articles were quite informative on how things work in Germany. It would be very helpful to know if going to Germany. I see why Germans would be so logical when buying a train ticket but that would get annoying after awhile. Although I think I would fit in well, I always do that to my parents to annoy them. For example, my mom asked if I could take the vacuum out (implying for me to vacuum the house). I was feeling lazy that day, so I did exactly what she said and pulled the vacuum out. An hour or so later she asked why I wasn't vacuuming and I replied that you only asked for me to pull it out and didn't say anything about vacuuming (needless to say, she wasn't happy, but I was). In the end, I still had the vacuum though. I found it funny how drivers will try to speed up when you're crossing when you shouldn't be just to scare you, seems like something Germans would get enjoyment out of. It mentioned a lot of people get hit by bikers each year, I don't understand why bikers can't brake or go around the person. If there is time to react (not like the person steps right in front of the biker) why don't they try not to run over the person? Even with the right of way, they don't have to hit people.

Kapital 4 Kultur-Texte

When I read the articles of Kapital 4, I found a Germany that not only traveled in various ways, but also had various rules, whether written or not, and how they followed them.  Knowing already that Germany was a biker-friendly country, I was surprised to see not only how friendly but also what seems to be a bias against all non-riders.  For instance, the sidewalks in Germany are made wider than in other places around the world and they also have the right of way, meaning that if you are walking down a path and you aren't paying attention, you will either get yelled at or possibly ran over.

I also found it entertaining, the differences between American and German citizens in regards to the obedience of traffic signals.  In Germany, the little red "dictator" who tells people to stop, even when it is the dead of night and no traffic, is strictly obeyed.  However, while they are waiting to cross the street, they can help themselves with a game of "Street Pong" that shows up at the intersections.  As opposed to Germany, in America if one has the chance to make it across the street without getting hit, they will take that risk.

Willkommen!!

Welcome to our class blog!

We will be using this blog throughout the semester for two kinds of assignments:

1. Once per chapter, the homework plan will direct you to post a response to the culture readings for the chapter on the blog.

2. Roughly every other week, the homework plan will direct you to post here for your Abenteuer mit Deutsch (AMD) assignment. First you do a fun activity that involves German, then you post about it. You should spend an hour total on this (maybe 45-55 minutes doing something, 5-15 minutes posting about it). See Was ist ein AMD, AMD Ideen and Beispiele for ideas. This should get you excited about the kinds of things you can do!

Whenever you post something, please include your name and the name of the assignment (e.g. AMD2, Kultur5) as labels. See "Blog: How To" for more details!