In London, the exit signs in stores and restaurants say: "Way Out". Ron and I are children of the 60's, (hmmmm, one child and one teenager) and we found these signs quite funny, although literally quite correct. Here in Germany, there are different signs for "enter" and "exit" depending on the mode of transportation: walking, biking, driving, etc.
"Ausfahrt" signs dot the highways and big cities here: it is the word for "Exit", for cars. At some point in time, an entrepreneur saw an opportunity to cash in on confused American tourists and made t-shirts that read: "Where the hell is Ausfahrt?" The entrepreneur made a fortune.
I have learned to pay attention to signs. I have found that it is good to know where we are, particularly if we are trying to get somewhere other than where we are. So where are we? As compared to America, I found this illustration helpful. It shows where the big cities in Europe lie on the latitudinal lines superimposed over America. Europe is well north of America, mostly in Canada. If you look above North Dakota and Minnesota, you will see Munich (spelled Munchen) and slightly above it and to the right, Berlin. Erfurt is pretty much smack dab between them. This explains why I have been going on and on about the weather. It is late September, and still summer, and we are really far north.
Next, where is Germany in relation to the rest of Europe? Pretty much in the middle, sharing borders with 9 other countries. Berlin is the Capital of Germany, hence the star.
Like America, Germany is divided into states. Since the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany has had 16 states. We are in the state of Thüringen (Thuringia in English). We also spend a lot of time in the state of Confusion, but that's another blog.
Thüringen, as you may have guessed from the blogs, is magnificent. It is my favorite state in Germany. Rivers, mountains, forests, rolling hills, about a million miles of bike paths, villages oozing Old World Charm, castles. Did I mention the bike paths!?
And there you have it. This is where we are. Forever mindful that the closest exit may be behind us: Ausfahrt, ya'll!
Comments