On my last trip to Germany I noticed a few things which I thought I would share with you – three things I miss in England, one thing I don’t miss and one surprise ❗
➡ In place 5:
I sometimes miss Woolworth, so I’m really pleased to see there are still some shops around.
➡ In place 4:
C & A. I miss that a bit more than Woolworth. There was a time when it was my favourite clothes shop.
Cycling paths! I do miss them! But what car drivers have to be aware of, is that the cyclists can cycle either way on those paths – more to think about when you’re not used to driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road!
Cigarette machines! No, I don’t miss them at all, I’m just surprised they’re still around. When I was a child it was normal for parents to give their children money to get a packet of cigarettes from the machine. Nowadays people have to swipe an ID card before they can get a packet.
Before you ask – no, I was not in the men’s toilet in a pub. To my surprise I saw this machine outside a pub right on the pavement …. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before – quite a surprise 😳
Have you seen anything in Germany that you miss/ don’t miss/ expected/ didn’t expect?
Go on – spill the beans!
I was most surprised by the cigarette machines they disappeared from the UK decades ago . Give that E-cigarettes are banned in Germany there seems to be a contradiction .
That’s weird, Steven – I wonder what the thinking behind banning e-cigs is, without banning real cigarettes?
On the plus side the cycle paths throughout the area are amazing and extensive , wish we had the same in Devizes
I agree! If we had cycling paths like in Germany, I might even get my bike out of the shed again!
Interesting to see C&A still exists … I used to write all their recruitment ads when they were still big in the UK. Actually they’re a Dutch company with HQ in Belgium … truly European.
And perhaps Milton Keynes has taken a leaf out of Germany’s book, as we have excellent cycle paths here called “redways.” Bring your bikes up some time and you can explore them!
Ooh, I just googled ‘redways’ – they do look great, a lot better than what we have here!
How sensible having to swipe an ID card before you can buy Cigarettes
Unfortunately only on the machines. If you buy them in a shop, it still depends on how diligent the shop keepers are.
It may or may not fall into this category, but one of the things that I love (and am totally jealous of) is the German Ausweis.
Rather than carrying a passport. this wonderful little card serves as an ID for travel within the EU, an electronic means of proving your age to cigarette machines (if you need that) and is accepted universally, negating the need for ‘proof of age’ cards or having to always carry your driving license.
This isn’t just for Germany, they seem to have them in most EU countries except of course Ol’ Blighty. I guess as England’s on the way out now anyway, there’s not much hope of me getting one anytime soon – unless these changes for British citizens applying for German citizenship come into place soon!
Yes, I wish we had that too. Do you remember when they tried to introduce an ID card in the UK with all the hoo-ha around it? And yet it works beautifully in other countries.
Who knows what the future holds – small ID card or big blue British passport!