Michael Every few years, we travel to Germany to be thoroughly shocked by the cultural differences once again. For example, in Germany, it's common for people to bump into you while passing by, and they consider it so normal that no apology is needed. Or the injustice of multiple lines when queuing, which you have to switch in between quickly with some elbow action to get service faster. Or the fact that Germans will unabashedly stare at you, a phenomenon known in America as the "German Stare." Or that on the left lane of the highway, a car sometimes comes rushing dangerously fast, even when you're already driving at 180 km/h!

Michael Preparing for the trip, I had previously booked a car in the "BMW 1 Series or Golf GTI" class with Sixt, to be able to speed properly on the Autobahn again. After all, in California, you're allowed to drive at a maximum of 75 mph (120 km/h) and will be immediately arrested if a patrol car measures you going over 100 mph (160 km/h). Normally, I book rental cars for trips to Germany with American companies like Alamo/National or Dollar, but since we planned to drive all over Germany, I paid one and a half times the usual amount with Sixt to avoid ending up with the Opel Corsa, which is typically the consolation prize in the cheapest category.

Angelika Whenever we visit Germany, time is incredibly tight, and we can hardly fit everything in we've planned. If we didn't manage to visit you, please forgive us, but you know where we live. This time, we traveled long distances across the country; from southern Germany to northern Germany and back again. And since our tour of Germany was also our annual vacation this year, we tried to visit some tourist highlights as well.

Michael Due to the ongoing European Football Championship, many cars were driving around during our visit with mounted German flags and even side mirror covers in the national colors. We even saw German flags in front yards, something that wouldn't have happened in 1996! It almost seems as if the Germans are visibly enjoying finally expressing a national pride that was frowned upon for half a century, as if something that was once forbidden is finally allowed again. In America, national pride is more normal, although someone with an American flag in their front yard in San Francisco is often seen as a defiant Republican in a city that's too liberal for their taste. I predict that soon, when singing the national anthem, Germans will also place their hand on their heart like the Americans do. As always, you'll read it here first in the newsletter!

Angelika We did not visit Germany this time in the depths of winter as usual, but in June, and this had the advantage that we could visit beer gardens and comfortably sit in street cafes. We immediately noticed that an astonishing number of people were drinking an orange-colored beverage in wine glasses.

Michael How disciplined the Germans drive! When the number of lanes is reduced at a construction site, almost everyone drives up to the narrowing as prescribed and then merges alternately from the right and left, in accordance with the regulation issued by the Ministry of Transport. Although drivers reduce their speed, there is usually no stopping or traffic jams.

Angelika Many believe: Once you have the Green Card, you always have the Green Card. That used to be the case, but today the Green Card, like a passport, expires after ten years, and the holder must take responsibility for renewing it. We also had to deal with this issue this year because our Green Card would have expired in July 2012. Now, the renewal is not quite as time-consuming and nerve-wracking as the initial application, but rather a somewhat expensive bureaucratic formality. You can apply for the renewal at the earliest six months in advance. The immigration authority is keeping up with the times, and the application can be filled out online. It is then electronically sent to the correct branch of the immigration authority, in our case to Phoenix, Arizona. We paid the fee of a whopping $450 per person right away by credit card. The actual renewal fee is $365, and $85 is due to the re-collection of biometric data, which includes taking fingerprints and creating a new photo.

Angelika In San Francisco, it is almost a daily occurrence to come across unusual things or events. For example, there are Unclothed older gentlemen sitting on deck chairs in front of the Castro Cinema . We are quite used to this sort of thing. But we were quite astonished when we recently went for a walk on the city beach 'Ocean Beach' and came across tombstones on the beach.

Angelika In May of this year, all of San Francisco celebrated the 75th birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge. Everyone knows and admires the world-famous bridge, which has not lost its charm even after 75 years and spans the entrance to the Golden Gate to connect San Francisco with Marin County to the north. There is nothing more beautiful than driving over the reddish shimmering bridge on a sunny day and enjoying the views of San Francisco and the boats in the Bay. Or when the typical San Francisco fog magically envelops the bridge, leaving only the tops of the upper bridge towers visible. And back during the construction year of 1933, hardly anyone thought it possible to build a bridge exposed to such strong winds, currents, saltwater, fog, and earthquakes.

Michael If it's sunny on the weekend, we often drive the 15 minutes to the beach in Pacifica to read and watch the surfers. There are always two folding chairs ready in the trunk, and for the past few weeks, a beach tent that we bought at Costco for the bargain price of $40. This tent is absolutely amazing.

Michael When I recently received a 2-dollar bill as change at the checkout in a Target supermarket, I initially thought the cashier was trying to play a prank on me. However, as I found out shortly afterward on Wikipedia, the bill is indeed a valid form of currency, although very rarely seen, comparable to the dollar coins, which are also cursed by cashiers and dispensed as change by some postal machines.

Michael San Francisco does a lot for its cyclists, almost absurdly much by American standards. You might remember the old issue ( Rundbrief 08/1999 ) where I mentioned the Wiggle , a wiggly bike route through San Francisco, promoted by a club of radical cyclists .

Michael From time to time, invisible company fairies at Yahoo place small gifts on the desks of hard-working engineers. A few tickets for a baseball game here, a sweet treat there, and rows of so-called "swag" (or "schwag"), the technical term for the trinkets you get handed at conferences and trade shows. Another word for these promotional gifts is Tchotchke , a term originating from Yiddish, which has its roots in the Slavic word for 'toy'.