Germany ... Pubs, pork and efficiency

I am just finishing up a few days in Germany on business. We had a global meeting and they wanted to have it off-site from HQ, so we ended up in a little town called Dirmstein. It is a sleepy little town of, perhaps, 1000 people and it rolls up the sidewalks early. I mean this place was just dead. Only the American visitors walking around trying to find a bar that was open. I did manage to find a small pub that served some beer last night when I was on my own (other nights were group outings and somewhat planned). The folks spoke little to no English, so I managed to communicate with my somewhat feeble attempts at German. It all worked out, though, and I even managed to understand their directions to the ATM (de: Geldautomat) to get cash since the answer to my question about accepting master card (Nehmen Sie Matercard?) was a clear "Nein". They were clearly local folk and their conversation centered around farming. They were very accepting and did not seem to mind sitting at a common table (similar to a US picnic table) with an American deeply involved with reading a book. I am sure it looked comical, though.

A colleague and I were inquiring with our German boss what the national fascination in Germany is with pork. Certainly they have their share of "fisch", "ente" (duck), "huhn" (chicken) and "rindfleisch" (rump steak), but the menus are overhwelmed by pork entries in as many ways as one might think. This does not even include the unbelievable number of wurst (sausage) types that are available. Think of a menu with 50 items and 45 of them are pork, usually accompanied by heavy gravies. The only thing our boss could figure out is that the scarcity of land has pushed toward swine being raised instead of cattle.

I noticed as I walked around the larger towns (the ones with traffic) that there is something else that seems very "German". The people will not walk against a crossing light. It does not matter if there is not a car within a mile (1.6 km), they dutifully stand and wait for the little green man to light up before crossing a street, even one that is only 5 meters (16 feet) wide. Whether it is the law or just cultural, they are all obedient. Of course, the typical American (me) looks both ways and goes. I can feel them cringe. My boss even spoke outloud that it is dangerous to cross the street like that. I don't know. It has to be cultural. He said that my approach is typical of American cultural differences with Germans. He said Americans are doers, perhaps a little ADHD. He said "You see a problem and fix it. For example. You need light so you invent a light switch to turn it on. Then, you quickly move to the next problem. Germans", he said, "will spend time improving the switch and designing a number of different styles, types, designs and colors." I added to that thought that they would also write a 200 page manual on the proper use. It is true, I think. Americans as a group like to be busy tackling multiple problems and trying to move on to the next thing. We have a short attention span.

Well, it is back to home now and I hope dinner tonight won't be pork.