Discrepancies

So I've been in Germany for two weeks.  I had expected to miss a lot of things from home, but I've found that in a lot of ways I like the German/European equivalents and ways of doing things better.  For example, Müsli, which is like cereal.  It's a lot of oats and a few raisins.  It's very filling which is more than I can say for cereal.  It's also pretty healthy and doesn't have additives.  Another thing I like that they do is in restaurants the menu items have little numbers for footnotes next to them and it tells you what additives are in the dish.  I love that I can get anywhere with my feet, a bus and a train.  It's pretty inexpensive, convenient and better for the environment than driving everywhere.  I also think it's great that you have to pay for plastic bags.  I have canvas bags for groceries and I just squish them down in my backpack.  I do this at home, but plastic bags are readily available for the public to use and it's just not good for the environment.  It's great that you have to pay for them, so it forces people to use their own bags (although it's a little frustrating when you forget your bag at home).  I love all the Mom and Pop bakeries down town that I can get fresh bread and pastries for about a Euro or two (I have developed a taste for fresh pastries, mmmmmmmm).  I love all the breweries and local beers.  Bamberg is known throughout the world as the "beer city."  There are 9 breweries, the most per square area (mile? kilometer?) in the world, I believe.  In short, I am enjoying the German culture experience.

There are a few things I don't like.  I've already complained about the coffee once, but here it is again.  WHY don't they drink regular coffee here?  You can get it in cafe's, but it's never good.  Instant is getting me by for the time being, but I really miss my coffee pot.  I'm very seriously considering buying a small french press, but they're expensive and I can't decide if it's worth it.  I will probably break down and get it soon, but for the time being I'm dealing with it.

My biggest complaint is smoking.  I can now fully appreciate our laws in the US that require people to smoke outside, I really miss that.  Everyone smokes, everywhere.  I couldn't believe all the people smoking in the Diskothek on Friday, it was so crowded, everyone was dancing and I am just surprised no one got burned.  I come back from restaurants, clubs and bars smelling like a cigarette and it is not enjoyable.  They have Febreze specifically for tobacco smell and that helps, but it's just really gross.

So for the most part, it's great over here, there are just a few things I miss from home.  And of course, I do really miss my family and friends.