The German way

Rules seem to be followed much more carefully here than what I'm used to in the states. Ad-hoc-ery is not tolerated.

One of the big sidewalks on the Heidelberg campus is currently blocked off because of construction, so the university laid down a big red carpet going onto the grass around the obstruction. This struck me as super German.

I went running the other day, and some cops had pulled a couple cars over, and the cops and the cars were parked halfway on the sidewalk. I ran into the street to go around the cars, but then a policewoman called me over, to ask why I was running in the street, which (I learned) is not legal.

Watching people cross the street provides another example: even very late at night, when no people or cars are in sight, if the crosswalk light is red, no one will cross the street.

When I was in Hamburg, my friends told me that the weeping willow trees on the canal are trimmed so that their leaves do not get wet from dangling into the actual water.