Before I left for Germany all of my expectations about the culture were centered on clichés like sausage and Oktoberfest. But once I spent some time in cities around the country I realized that while the sausage is amazingly good and beer flows aplenty, the Germans are actually highly influenced by American culture.
Clothing stores play the most popular American songs and people wear T-shirts with English writing across the front. When I visited one museum on German history, about 25 percent of the museum either had pictures of the American military forces or explained how much influence America has had on Germany since WWII.
While there are many parts of America showing through in Europe, it is still a very foreign place. It is easy to live up to the advice of Eleanor Roosevelt and “Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Driving on the Autobahn is not as scary as some people make it sound, though. Until the fastest Mercedes and Audis fly by you at 220 kilometers per hour (about 137 miles per hour), it feels like you are on an American interstate. The only reason why the high speeds around you are unnerving is that some drivers go so fast that the suddenly displaced air pushes your car over while driving.
I noticed that the efficiency of the German traffic system makes the U.S. Department of Transportation look like children with safety patrol vests, though. Not only are parts of the Autobahn unregulated in terms of speed, but the parts that are regulated have electronic speed limit signs that allow the traffic speed to be changed based on the current amount of traffic.
While I did enjoy driving on the Autobahn, the real beauty in German transportation is the train system. The high-speed trains are fast and affordable if you book in advance which illustrates part of why public transportation makes travel in Europe so simple and inexpensive.
The only problem is to make sure that you know how to tell which seats are taken and which are reserved because the Germans are not afraid to tell you to move.
I thought I was sitting in a free seat and a rather scary man started barking at me in German, which is never a pleasant experience.
If you are brave enough to study abroad and travel on your own, then you will have several adventures waiting for you in any part of Europe that you choose.
