Kultur 5

I do not find it shocking at all that Germans rarely say entschuldigung after running into a person on the street because they are known for being slightly rude. I think it is funny how they usually say if they make someone bleed though. It was very nice that the boys still give up their seats on the subway for elderly, but it is funny that it is probably because they are scared of the only ladies.

It is funny that sex shops are just like every other store in Germany because in America they are hidden because so many Americans think that is it bad. Germans have a completely different perspective of them however. Germans think that having them is natural and that going in for some porn because they have left over money is no big deal. I find this disgusting because I am use to how Americans portray sex and sex shops.

I like the idea that in Germany people have to pay to use the public restroom. Doing this ensures that they are constantly kept clean and that people will not go into the bathroom for no reason and destroy it. It isn't very expensive, ranging from 30 cent to a Euro, and it is worth it. When I went to Germany we either had to pay a machine to get into the bathroom or we had to tip the woman in the bathroom cleaning it as we used it, but every time I used the bathroom it was spotless.

I do not like the German way of flirting because it can people in a lot of trouble if they go to Germany and try to flirt with Germans. Also in our culture we are kind of taught that the guy should start the flirting, so the fact that it is up to German girl seems kind of awkward.

I think that Hamburg is a very cool city not only because it was the birthplace of composer Johannes Brahms, but because it has a lot of history. For example, I found the Hanseatic League to be very interesting because it promoted international trade and eventually over 200 cities joined this league.