Stranger in one's own country

Angelika I saw many of you during my "Germany tour" in January and February or at least spoke to you on the phone. It was nice to have the opportunity to talk to you in detail and face-to-face again, even though the time just flew by. Many people asked me if much has changed in Germany or if I experience and perceive Germany differently now. The fact is that when you live abroad for a long time, you have a special eye for the peculiarities of your homeland.

For example, when you find the sign in the Frankfurt airport toilets that says, "Using the toilets is free of charge!" you immediately know that you are back in Germany. To be fair, it should be mentioned that the sign was at least in four different languages; they do try to be cosmopolitan. I also immediately noticed the smoking at Frankfurt airport or in the restaurants. As we have often reported, in California, you are not allowed to smoke in public buildings or in restaurants, pubs, bars, etc. It is quite astonishing how quickly you get used to it. Our friend Peter, who also lives in San Francisco and is a Bavarian and a heavy smoker, or rather was, was so unnerved by the smoking in restaurants and pubs during his visit to Germany last year that he completely gave up smoking -- to this day.