Es ist falsch getippt!

When I returned to Germany from visiting Ireland earlier this month, I had a tiny bit of trouble re-entering the country. After checking my passport, the border guard asked, "Do you live here?" I told him that I did, and he asked me if I had an Aufenthaltserlaubnis (residence permit). I smiled and assured him that I did, and he re-examined my passport. After examining my permit, he informed me that I needed a new one because mine had expired on August 30. Naturally, I was very confused. I'd looked at the permit at least 100 times, and I knew it was valid until July 2007. Furthermore, August 30 was the day that I had arrived in Germany, and I hadn't received the permit until September.

I somewhat nervously explained this to the guard, and he once again examined the residence permit. This time, he noticed something which greatly amused him. He nudged the other border guard and showed my passport to him, exclaiming "Es ist falsch getippt!" ("It's mistyped!") Apparently, the officials at the Worms Ausländeramt had entered the information on a permit in a non-standard way. I have no idea whether I should expect this to be a problem every time German officials check my passport, but it sure did create a bit of excitement that night.

Pizza "Hat"

Will and I went to a Pizza Hut in Germany recently and were extremely amused to find that the back of the menu had an explanation of the restaurant's name to help clear up a common cause of confusion. In German, the word "hut" is pronounced like "hoot" and means "hat," so most Germans assume that "Pizza Hut" means "pizza hat." The very hatlike Pizza Hut logo does nothing to dispell this belief, so the company decided to print the explanation on the back of menus.

Deutsche Bahn ist immer spät!

I started studying German in Fall 2002, and throughout the six semesters of German instruction I had, one of the main aspects of German life which I was taught to hold in high admiration was the Deutsche Bahn, the German train system. Deutsche Bahn, I was told, is the best mass transit system in Europe and perhaps in the entire world. It is incredibly fast, they said, incredibly clean, and ALWAYS on time. You can count on the Deutsche Bahn to be where it's supposed to be, exactly when it's supposed to be there, they assured me.

With that knowledge well in hand, I arrived in Germany in late August to begin my year as a Fulbrighter here. On my first major train ride, I was nearly late to Fulbright orientation due to a massive train delay. I assumed that this was a onetime occurence, but over the next few weeks, I discovered that delays are quite frequent. Will and I began counting, and so far around 80% of the trains we've ridden have arrived at our destinations more than a couple of minutes late. That is why I say that Deutsche Bahn ist immer spät!

The Mannheim Hauptbahnhof (main train station)

Here comes a late train!

Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof

Will, hoping his train will arrive sometime soon