I wanted to wait a few months before sharing with you some observations I’ve noted between living in California versus Germany. Not to say that one is better than the other, but just to share how life here is different than back home, especially for those who are curious! And a good reminder to appreciate the things I once had or have now 🙂

Aside from being on completely different continents- here we go!

1. Weather: Dreadful.  Well, at least to a Southern California native. The fall and winter has basically been cloudy 80% of the time with rain more often than I can remember. Now the rain here is unlike the California rain I’ve seen thus far. Instead of a sudden downpour, the rain here is more like a thick drizzle of water that is consistent. Not too big of droplets, not too small. Big enough for you to wince, but not enough for you to get soaked within a few minutes of standing uncovered. Oh and it’s also pretty cold here. The bone chilling cold since the humidity tends to be higher here which lends itself to the stiff, frost bitten like cold that one experiences living here. Temperatures have been around 35F-40F most days. On good days, 45. I hear that it will get much colder soon. Aiya. Please note that I am also most likely dressed the warmest at this point of time (long down jacket to my knees, double leggings, knee high boots, thick sweater, undershirt, sometimes another undershirt, scarf and hat). Makes for a funny photo compared to the locals arounds here who where jackets up to their waist. Since the temperatures here are so mild, there is no air conditioning here (summers are only hot as in around high 80’s/90’s for a few weeks). There are heaters thank god! Although mine doesn’t seem to work so well  (floors heated by hot water running via pipes).
2. Grocery Shopping: Stressful. Why? Because the one thing that is efficient and quick here happens so to be the one thing I do the most. Buying groceries. The sales clerk sits on a chair and scans your items, sliding the goods as far as they can for you to pack on your own (no bag boy). By the time I find my wallet, I have to pay and then scurry as fast as I can to the end of the register to bag my things before the next customer is up. Sometimes I start muttering myself to hurry it up, but yes. Oh how stressful this is. Compared to the US way of having someone to help bag your items and working at a decent pace of scanning, one can see what a big stark difference this can be. OH. And I’ve noticed that even though markets have 5 lanes open. Even at their busiest hours, they have at most 2-3 lanes open.
3. Shopping Prices: Although the check out process can be stressful, I do love how the prices include tax. There’s no guessing. I can have my coins out and pre-counted prior to paying so that I can just give the change and be like “ha ha, I got my payment ready and now you have to count it and now I have time to bag my things. MUHAHAHHA.” It’s nice to know that the price listed is what you’ll pay. That’s something I never understood why we do not have in the states.
4. Transportation: Neutral feeling. In California, I drove everywhere. In Germany, my legs are my mode of transportation. Although it is nice to be active and eco friendly by walking and taking public transportation, it’s a bit cumbersome when you have your purse on you, an umbrella in one hand and a giant bag full of groceries in the other. The subway here is quite expensive (~$9.50 for roundtrip) just into the city. I do miss driving very much as I have the freedom to go anywhere and everywhere. And not have to worry about what I can fit or carry in my bag. I can just bring it all in the trunk! Ah the freedom of driving and feeling safe as well. Walking at night can get a bit creepy especially since my hood is on, blocking my side views since my head gets so cold….
5. Smiling: NOT ALLOWED. Just kidding. So in California, smiling at an old grandma or even someone’s dog is widely practiced and accepted. In Germany, not so much. You’ll get looks if you’re just smiling. I’ve gotten accustomed to this much earlier than I thought I would. But smiling should not be initiated unless you know the person. So walking and smiling is just a weird combo. You smile when you are with a group of people and laughing about a joke. Sometimes I just smile because people are funny. I still smile at dogs and see out of the corner of my eye how their person tries to hold in their smile since a stranger is gawking at how cute their franimal is. I mean, come on! Just crack that smile. It doesn’t hurt! It’ll make your life a bit more happpyyyyy.
6. Sundays: Homebody Day. You betcha. On Sundays, everything is basically closed. There are 2 markets opened in the city (near the airport & main station/Hauptbahnhof) which is an inconvenience, but at least something is open if you happen to run out of milk for your cereal. Some restaurants are open, but majority are closed as this is a designated “rest day” and the government encourages businesses to honor this. Gas stations are open thankfully. I’ve been finding myself having a hard time to truly enjoy the weekends since Saturday is basically the only day where I have full access to any stores/markets, etc. *I just found out that some museums and the movie theatre are open Sundays so YAY. I now have a wider scope of fun things to do* Sometimes, you just want to do some shopping on Sundays! So thus, my Sundays normally consist of church, baking, cooking, resting, laundry and netflix. Not like I need more of this as I have an abundance of time as it is throughout the week. Sundays for ya!
7. Language: English makes me perk my ears. Contrary to belief, not everyone speaks English here. Yes, there are many expats and working foreigners in the city; however, on a day to day basis, getting around may not be the easiest. Going to the bakery, butcher, florist, super market, post office (the most difficult) and so on can be hard at times. Especially when you have questions or run into things like , “Wait a minute. I want bacon, but I ended up getting pork belly 🙁 .” Google Translate helps bunches, but of course, it’s not perfect. And so I learn. Older people tend to speak no English while the younger generation can/knows English. You can also run into the problem of finding someone that can help you with directions, but does not feel confident enough  to speak English and so they say “nein” and go on their merry way. It’s nothing personal, but if they don’t feel that they have a good command of the language, they rather not try. Thus, I’ve taken a personal initiative to learn German. The grammar is quite complicated, but hey, if I can read some signage and food item menus or ask for directions to the closest bathroom, that helps me quite greatly.
8.  Service in General: Nonexistent. I have a newfound appreciation for customer service in the US. Yes, I have to tip servers and such at restaurants, but in general, the customer service in the states is beyond amazing. You have a complaint. Generally, emailing or calling results in a response, whether your issue is resolved or not. Here? No one cares. You’re lucky to get a reply back within a week via email. You emailed a realtor to request a tour of an apartment because you’re moving within a month. No response until one week later. You’re shopping for pants and happen to pick up a pair of black pants just at the same time when the salesperson is stacking the black pants and notices you holding the last pair of black pants only to take it out of your hands to finish his stacking job. You go to the bank to exchange money and the teller says that she doesn’t speak English and shoos you away to the exit when you find out through persistence and questioning that the second teller who was sitting right next to the former teller speaks fluent English. Welcome to Germany! Customer service is not valued here unfortunately. And for that, I am so thankful and appreciative of the fact that someone is willing to listen to my thoughts on whether it’s an improvement to something or even a Yelp review back home. I am heard! You get used to it though. Set expectations low and know that this is not priority here and you’re all good.
9. Work Life Balance: Exists! For whatever lack of customer service there is which I imagine makes a lot of retail/restaurant industry employee lives a lot easier, there is work life balance in Germany/Europe that may compensate for such unruly awakenings. 25 days of vacation excluding holidays is quite the norm along with fixed ~8 hour days, unlike the initial standard of 10 vacations day and long work hours in the states. The Germans know how to not exert themselves too much and truly enjoy their personal time. It’s not unusual for you to get shooed out of a store,  even with goods in hands asking you to leave, 5 minutes prior to a store closing or a floor waxing vehicle in a supermarket being operated less than an hour from closing hours. Be warned as this is nothing personal and the employees simply want to close “on time!” In contrast, in the states, it’s often normal for shoppers to be given an extra 5-10 minutes after closing time to finish their shopping and to slowly make their way to the check out line.

Fresh Produce and Lower Prices: Is amazing. Wow. Never had I tasted such fresh produce and goods until Germany/Europe! The organic goods here (or referred to Bio here, pronounced as Bee-yoh) are out of this world. It’s pretty amazing how good a tomato can taste when it’s not filled with overgrowth hormones or pesticides. Fresh fruit and vegetables will blow your mind out of this world! Europe in general regulates what chemicals can be used on farms much more than the loose lax guidelines in the states. And for that, the byproduct is fresher and healthier foods. I personally buy the non organic items because that tastes like organic to me in the states. So scary huh?! Another plus of living in Germany is that groceries in general are cheaper than in the US.