Possibly it is exactly because of the “autobahn” speeds (when I came back from Poland last time I did a good bit of cruising at 130Mph) that pedestrians wait for the extra protection of the Green Man.
But I must concur with squeegee that driving in Germany is well structured and polite, far less tailgaters and if you wanna stretch the limit the roads are open.
Acckk! There are no pedestrian crossing on the Autobahn, although there are bridges and tunnels.
Might I suggest as this thread has been hijacked all over the place that someone might create some new threads to discuss this. If there is no Question, per se, only discussion, then this should go over in MPSIMS, perhaps B.O. could start a “ask the German guy…” sort of post. I’m sure a lot of folks could find this fascinating but they won’t find it in here.
but it is hard to slow down after such liberating cruising and town trafic does moves faster this side of the globe (maybe New York comes close)
We have roads with trafic lights where the legal speed is 75Mph but everybody drives 90Mph except the ones with the camera, at which point all (local) cars test their brakes.
My personal experience in Germany was that the in-town traffic never moved more than 5 kph over the limit, and usually less because of the congestion. If you go through a light there you stand a better than average chance of being “flashed”*, especially right at the borders of the smaller towns where they are looking for this sort of stuff.
Anyway, as I said, this is now about German traffic, not so much about window screens anymore.
As I said before: Highly dangerous topic. Mention window screens in Germany, and ask why not, and they look for reasons, can’t find any and get worried. This thread is most probably already undetr the influence of German agents who try to move it OT and to their favorite topic: Cars and why are there so many on my Autobahn. Can’t they pick a time when I don’t drive?
Did a little (unscientific) research.
Window screens: Were spotted in Germany. On windows of Turkish immigrant workers. Most likely imported the idea from their home country.
German tenant/landlord laws. Root cause most probably an American folly. According to experts on both sides of the pond, law initially patterned after NY et. al. rent control laws, enacted during WWII. Introduced in Germany with US handholding after WWII to cope with shortage of housing. Subsequently refined and made complicated by German bureaucrats as a job creation method for bureaucrats.
SGWT (Superior German Window Technology ): Major Maalox moments when open & tilt window (or door) decides to open and tilt at the same time. Now it is affixed to the frame only in one (usually lower) corner and threatens to bury you under it’s heft. Not pretty.
Ask the German: No thanks, I pass. Why ask the German? I’d rather ask the girl from Fiji.
Um, if there are no screens, what happens when you have cats, or small children?
I couldn’t live without screens-my cats love sitting on the window sill and pawing at the curtains-I’d have cats falling out the window everyday! (We have four and we’re getting another one).
Guinastasia:
Hmmmm. Interesting question. Full disclosure: No idea. There isn’t much talk about kids & kittens splattering all over the sidewalk. For reasons unknown, it mustn’t be a problem. Why, I really don’t know.
Guinastasia: I’ve seen cats jump out of 2nd and 3rd floor windows and come in for a gaceful landing. I’ve seen them “sail” (all 4s outstretched, tail be my guidance style) through the air. But I believe it’s a ttrained skill and I wouldn’t recommend it for any cat.
Hmmm, I wonder if it’s an evolution-in-action thing: kids regimented enough to not fall out of the un-screened windows grow up to become regimented drivers and pedestrians. kids who don’t, don’t. Could explain a lot.
Dunno about the cats.
And thanks for and interesting (if somewhat acerbic:)) thread! My head still spins when I think about occupying my first German apartment as an adult in 1991. The aforememtioned water faucet was the only sign of a kitchen, and for a long time I ate out a lot, or brought home cold cuts. I also had to have the whole place re-wallpapered and painted.
For a time I shut my “Rolladen” all the time because I couldn’t afford curtains, until my landlord insisted I spend the 120 DM for lace curtains.
No closets, right. I bought one of those cheap IKEA wardrobes and a very cheap bean bag sofa. A bed was given to me as a present.
I love Germany and hope to retire there, but you can bet I’ll be a lot better prepared the next time.
Thanks again
Quasi
Cecil on the falling cats phenomenom.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen screen windows here in Ireland, either.
Squeegee: I believe you are onto something. Both in human and animalistic terms.
Omygod. The very mention of IKEA makes me relive my first encounter of an US version of IKEA after a maybe 20 years pause. It was in Baltimore and it was just like way back in Germany in the early 70’s. Some of the stuff was the same. The smell was the same. The language was different, but some of the names of the items rang a bell. I experienced a deja-vue of about 9 on the Richter scale, and I had to escape to the parking lot and fight the urge to vomit. (Our relationship with IKEA has settled, at least in the mental disorder sense. We actually own and use 4 of their chairs. You wouldn’t notice it. The trick is to shop verrrry carefully and to beat a hasty retreat if that feeling creeps up in you.)
I love my wife, my mother, still love my (dead) dog, but I profess no emotional attachment to a country. If I like it where I live, great. If it would expedite my travels, and not encumber my choices, I would carry the passport of the Tonga Islands. (A notion of very theoretical nature.) If this statement gets me in trouble, so be it.
Believe me, there are better places to retire than Germany. Even German retirees are beginning to find that out. And they tend to be obstinate and slow learners. Get some sage advice (in German) in the South of France, in Spain, Portugal, Italy. That EU thing opened whole new horizons, especially where you least expect it. Just follow the signs reading “Deutscher Kaffee” (“German Coffee”) and they’ll be glad to impart their wisdom.