6 things to love and miss

I've recently suffered a long bit of blogger's block...coupled with a rather busy schedule....I've had a few ideas rattling around in my head for several weeks.   Pondering a few things I love about living in Germany versus what I miss about the good ol' USA has led me to these conclusions:

Loving in Germany                                          

1.  Fresh brotchen from the Barbarossa bakery!  And nussplunders, and apfeltasche, and..... 
 

Nussplunder!  Our favorite!  (Nate still prefers donuts!)

2.  Reduce, reuse, recycle.....relax....we have 5 different bins to sort our trash!  **nothing is open on Sunday** makes German shopping something to do for necessity, not so much for want on the weekend.  Besides, the lines are terribly long on Saturdays!!!
                                                  
3. Autobahn.  It's fast.  And fun.  Well maintained...Until a traffic stau.  Then you wait.  Sometimes for hours.    

4.  German radio:  the classical station plays an eclectic variety of music:  jazz,  French bistro, symphony, chorale, opera, and even a German story hour.      

5.  A school whose campus includes Elementary, Middle and High School--makes pick up super easy... when I can find them all.... Plus they can ride the bus!                          

6.  Fresh, in season fruits and veggies at the local shops; weekly farmer's markets nearby, and even better,  an awesome village butcher deserves a bit of praise for selling local meat --he actually *knows* the farmer!   And I'm pretty certain my husband would say the coffee is hands down, better.

sadly, as I publish this, Benjamin will be closing his doors.  

Missing the USA: 

 1.  Stan the Donut man.  

 2.  Target.  The BX isn't too bad, but there's not much comparison shopping and when the item you're looking for is in stock, you'd best get it right away.

 3.  Parking spaces that fit American sized cars.  Actual street parking, too.  Not "on the sidewalk,  pull in your mirrors" parking.

  4.  NPR.  no longer being carried over here --apparently I can stream it live at home.  WHY would I do that when I only listen to the radio in the car? (And now bicycle!)

  5.  Neighborhood schools.  We really miss walking distance schools!  Here our friends are scattered across a very large district--sometimes more than 45 minutes away-- making impromptu play dates impossible!

  6.  CSA (community supported agriculture)--you don't realize how wonderful and convenient the CSA is until you don't have it anymore...Convenient access to organic foods in a variety of stores with competitive prices.  

I know this list could be longer and perhaps more interesting, but at least gives a little glimpse into life here for us to someday remember!