Ah, the German beer scene...

Not actually that great. Before arriving, I never would have expected that I would actually be counting down the days until I got back into the US to drink American beer, but that seems to be the case. While the price and convenience here can't be beat, I'm already getting bored of the few available styles ("Would you like a pilsner, a hefeweisen, or a dunkel?"). To be fair, my experience has mostly been limited to shops and bars, with only a few brewpubs and beer halls with a longer beer list, but damn Germany, I'm disappointed. I haven't yet had the "wow, that's damn good" experience in my time here. (I'm sure I will find some excellent beers with a little more effort, but I expected it to be much easier.) This article sums up my feelings pretty exactly.

Nine days until Chicago! I will drink ale, so much ale!

Culture Shock

Oh Germany. So quirky. Here's a few:

•  Exact change please - cashiers will ask if I have 15 cents on top of whatever round euro amount I gave them for my 4.15 euro purchase so they can make even change. I've gotten very used to this, it's nice to clean out the change purse regularly.
• All cash, all the time. Using my card is pretty rare. Tax is included in all listed prices though, which makes paying with cash much, much easier - no random few cent amounts in my final purchase.
• Spray deodorant. Only spray deodorant. The only roll-on stuff is tiny and expensive. I'm a total convert, though. Application is a little weird, but it works so well!
• Dryers are non-existent. I can't do too much laundry at a time, or I'll run out of space to hang it all up around my room.
• No jaywalking. None. Empty street, safe to walk? You better wait for the little green man anyway, or expect disapproving looks from everyone around you.
• Alcohol is everywhere. In convenience stores, shops in the subway, as little impulse buys by the register in the supermarket. Beer, wine, hard alcohol, you name it. But...
• Not exactly the best beer variety in terms of style. The offerings I've found stick pretty strictly to this list, with mostly pilsners, wheat beers, and variations thereof. I miss ale.
• Mullets are far more common than they should be.

On an unrelated note, I suck at blogging. But I'm not going to suck anymore! Early new year's resolution.

On a doubly unrelated note, shit guys it's almost 2012.