It's the little things that bring on the biggest culture shock sometimes. Like the windows over here. They are awesome and can be configured to be open at the top or opened by the side. They just seem neat until you see there are no screens, which is weird.
And the toilets. Rather than a latch there's a little paddle built into the wall or the back of the toilet that you press on. The toilet in the hotel flushes by way of pressing a little oval right above the seat. (It's perfectly situated to reach back and hit with your elbow while sitting on the toilet, so I suspect it was designed by a woman.) Still, it's just this odd little difference between here and the US.
And then there's the train station newstand. We took the train into Trier to see the Porta Nigra today, and the train station newstand had comic books. Not Archie comics mind you, but All-Star Superman and X-Men issues and Captain America trades. And the one in the Market Square had an entire rack of Manga, like you'd see at a bookstore.
Now, maybe I've just been unlucky but when was the last time you saw comics at a train station or airport newstand in US?
I love love love German windows. There are no screens because there isn't so much of a need for screens (at least where I lived in the Stuttgart area).
ReplyDeleteI miss having windows I can really and truly open, like opening a door.
I've heard that Europe as a whole takes comics much more seriously than we do in the States. Heck, in France, they've given Moebius the equivalence of a knighthood!
ReplyDeleteRather than a latch there's a little paddle built into the wall or the back of the toilet that you press on.
ReplyDeleteThese are neat until you realise that the ones on top of the toilet make it impossible to get the lid of the tank off - or at least, I've never figured out how. As someone who prefers to fix her own minor plumbing problems this bugs me.
What do you think of European news coverage so far?
Flidget -- I think it's in German, but since I don't have a television I can't be sure.
ReplyDeleteXD Well, there's that. But I know that Der Spiegel, at least, does an international edition in English.
ReplyDeleteI miss those windows so much. And the crazy AFN public service announcement ads.
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