It has to be that Germany is a country that likes to follow rules and if everyone isn't following them then it slows down the whole system. They don't want any weak links and if you aren't following the rules (whether you know what they are or not) YOU are the weak link and they will let you know directly or indirectly.
After nearly a year here it still bothers me to be scolded. Yesterday I stopped by the store on the way to meet a group of friends. Right before I left I realized it was on of their birthdays. So as I biked past a grocery store on my way to the cafe I hopped off and decided to buy her some flowers. The price was 1.99 Euro. I didn't have any small change so I gave the checker a 20 Euro bill. He looked at me exasperatedly like I just asked him to run a marathon before he was to give me change. I mean really, he was SO put out by my HUGE 20 Euro bill! In my broken German I told him all I had was one Euro and nothing smaller than the 20. He huffed and puffed (literally) shaking his head at me the entire time because, what?? Isn't this his JOB?? Apparently I was being scolded for not having proper change. He, of course, gave me the 18 Euro back in all small coins. What a jerk! He just slide the change down into my hand like I was some unsavory person who didn't bother to have the perfect change to buy a 2 Euro pot of flowers. At times like this I SO wish I had a better grasp of the language. Not sure what I would have said but seriously!!
Then on my way home from the cafe I was riding my bike on the sidewalk because the street in this particular area (for about 2 blocks NO MORE) has super bumpy cobblestones making it nearly impossible to ride your bike over it without losing half your teeth. I know full well that bikes belong in the street and I do try my best to follow the rules but there are some exceptions. I was riding very slowly, knowing I should be in the street, and I passed an older couple walking. I didn't want to ding my bike bell because I knew they had the right of way walking on the sidewalk so I gave a wide berth and passed them. The woman gasped and the man said something toward me in a scolding tone. I just kept going. Then not more than 100 feet further up I slowly passed another man walking, again giving a very wide berth. He looked me in the eye, shook his finger and at and said "You should be riding in the street!" I fortunately or unfortunately now understand German enough now to actually fully understand the scolding. It is not fun. I replied in my broken German "weil die Straße so holprig ist" "Because the street is so bumpy" while making a bumpy motion with my hand. I'm sure I didn't say it properly. He kept wagging his finger. When I was safely out of hearing distance I said "f*ck you!!" under my breath. Some days it just really still gets to me! Thankfully we have met so many lovely people who offset the grumpy citizen police you come in contact with on the daily. I do believe it is mostly the older generation who act this way and in our area of Berlin there are a ton of older people. So we get the quiet, peaceful out of the center living but also the grumpy older generation.
Then on my way home from the cafe I was riding my bike on the sidewalk because the street in this particular area (for about 2 blocks NO MORE) has super bumpy cobblestones making it nearly impossible to ride your bike over it without losing half your teeth. I know full well that bikes belong in the street and I do try my best to follow the rules but there are some exceptions. I was riding very slowly, knowing I should be in the street, and I passed an older couple walking. I didn't want to ding my bike bell because I knew they had the right of way walking on the sidewalk so I gave a wide berth and passed them. The woman gasped and the man said something toward me in a scolding tone. I just kept going. Then not more than 100 feet further up I slowly passed another man walking, again giving a very wide berth. He looked me in the eye, shook his finger and at and said "You should be riding in the street!" I fortunately or unfortunately now understand German enough now to actually fully understand the scolding. It is not fun. I replied in my broken German "weil die Straße so holprig ist" "Because the street is so bumpy" while making a bumpy motion with my hand. I'm sure I didn't say it properly. He kept wagging his finger. When I was safely out of hearing distance I said "f*ck you!!" under my breath. Some days it just really still gets to me! Thankfully we have met so many lovely people who offset the grumpy citizen police you come in contact with on the daily. I do believe it is mostly the older generation who act this way and in our area of Berlin there are a ton of older people. So we get the quiet, peaceful out of the center living but also the grumpy older generation.
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