So, what is German, anyway?

Adam here- A while back I was talking with my father and he mentioned that he wanted to know what some of the differences might be between German life and Americn life. So, Laura and I have been living here long enough to notice some of these differences and I am going to try and identify them.

So difference number one: Christmas stuff.

The Christmas lights here come in the thin, rectangular box that was very familiar. However, the tiny white lights within had a surprisingly different connection. The lights were one big, connected loop. This made it very interesting to place them on the tree. We had to lasso them around the tree rather string them along.

As for the Christmas tree stand, this too, was very different from anything I have ever seen. But it is amazing! It is one of the best German things we have encountered so far. It doesn't require any hammering of the tree trunk. It doesn't require any awkward belly slithering to get to those confounded twisting screws that take forever to screw into the trunk (only to find that as you did this the tree tilted), and it doesn't require any guessing about whether it is full of water, and therefore, no spills. It is one heck of an amazing invention. The German christmas tree stand is so simple. You place the trunk into it, have someone hold it straight, then crank the handle until the tree is secure. The crank pulls on a wire loop that forces four posts tightly against the trunk. Then, simply lock the crank in place and you are done. Literally it takes a minute. When you want to take the tree down you simply unlock the crank and take the tree out. Brilliant!! And as for the water, there is a little red knob that pops up when it is full. So, you just pour until the red pops up and then stop. Every other day or so, check if the knob is still up. If it is down, add water. Brilliant!!

Check back soon for more differences.