1 Year in Germany (*Almost)

I can not believe we are coming up on a year of living here. We will actually be in London for our real 1 year but to celebrate our 1 year Germany-versary early, this is my post about all the things that Germany does better than the States. 

For all the things I love and miss about living in the states, there is no denying that there are some things Germany just does right. 

1. Toilet paper. 

The toilet situation here is super weird, I mean seriously, no one needs a shit shelf ( literally the toilets are built with a disgusting inspection area..it's totally fucking weird) but, when it comes to wiping your ass after inspecting your shit, Germany has you covered. It's stronger and bigger pieces than in the states and to top it all off you can get a huge pack for like 2 Euro.. 

...Okay I'm done being gross now... 

2. Construction. 

About two months ago I seriously watched them rip up half the Autobahn that leads out to our house and replace the whole damn road. It was really impressive to see because in the States, they just do these shitty patches everywhere, they cause tons of traffic and they don't hold up. Here they drop the two lane Autobahn into one lane and literally rip up the entire road, then completely replace it. This process only took about 2 weeks and there was, wait for it....NO traffic!!! Then, they opened that lane, shut down the other and rinse, repeat, and boom! We have a whole new road!

3. Driving in General. 

Germany has driving rules that just make sense, as a result everyone knows what they're doing and drives well! In the year we have been here I have seen zero accidents, and not sat in traffic once. There was a huge Stau a few months ago but it was from a broken down truck on a bridge or something. Plus how awesome is it that I actually know at which point my car tops out at, and it was totally legal for me to figure it out. I predict many speeding tickets upon our return to America. 

4. Bread. 

This one really needs no explanation but if you really need one, I can post a picture of my ass because I can NOT stop eating their bread here. Every village has a bakery that will make you want to gain like 100 pounds.. EVERYTHING is good. 

5. Shopping Carts.

This is a serious concept that the US needs to get on board with. I mean how many times have you come back to your car to find a cart rammed into the side of it? Lots I imagine, or maybe it's just me. Here, using a shopping cart will cost you a 1 Euro deposit. You bring the cart back, you get your Euro back. Very simple. Very easy. Very freaking smart. . 

6. Shopping bags.

They don't exist. Well not in the way they do for us. If you do not bring your own, you can buy one from most stores, or carry your shit out in your arms. Let me tell you, if you have to carry all your shit out in your arms...you will probably only forget your reusable bags or basket once. 

7. Bulk trash day.

I hear that in some areas this actually does exist in the States but I have never personally lived anywhere that does it so it goes on the list. Every 6 months you can clean out your house, storage, garage of any and all crap you don't want and throw it on your curb. People will come by every hour for about 3 days and pick through your stuff and whatever is left over gets picked up and you don't have to deal with it ever again. Also, feel free to pick through your neighbors pile. I totally furnished the kids toy room with some awesome Ikea stuff that my neighbor was crazy enough to throw out!

8. Pedialyte. or ORALP'A'DON as it's called here. 

Harper got really sick a little while back and could not keep anything down, including water. She was crazy dehydrated so I ran down to our local Apotheke in search of something to re hydrate her. Instead of a giant jug that has to be used or tossed within 24hours, their version of pedialyte comes in dry packets that make the perfect size serving for a kid. Also, by some miracle it was the only thing she actually could keep down.

9 Rolladens.
These are the most genuis thing in existence. Metal roll down shutters that turn your house to total darkness if you want. They keep your house cool in the summer, warm in the winter and look like they would be excellent protection should the Zombie Apocalypse ever come. I freaking LOVE them and when we build a house we will figure a way to have some imported! 

So yeah, there it is. I never claimed that this would be a very good list of things but these are all things that over the past year have made me think "Why in the hell do we not do it this way!?!"