Germany Rules!

English is a language spoken by many... and the usage of words have changed such that it means different things to different people. When I say rules, you may be thinking it to be great(which it is) and so. But, think again... Check the dictionary... this is what m-w.com has to say about Rules...

"a prescribed guide for conduct or action b: the laws or regulations prescribed by the founder of a religious order for observance by its members c: an accepted procedure, custom, or habit d (1): a usually written order or direction made by a court regulating court practice or the action of parties (2): a legal precept or doctrine e: a regulation or bylaw governing procedure or controlling conduct"

and... when I say germany rules, I meant the bold part!
Yes! there are so many rules! and people abide by them! very religiously!! Coming from bangalore, this sucks for me!!

Everything is planned, and has to happen in a specified way! theres no alternative!

It seems strange in the begining, but one will get used to this and probably start liking it! I hope I wont fall in that category! though you never know!

And for one instance dont ever think Germany is the all that awesome! The German trains are known to be on TIME, every time, EVERY SINGLE DAY, ALWAYS... and the day I landed, the train i was supposed to take, was late by 5 minutes! :) and you must've seen the announcements that used to come inside the ICE - inter city express. Announcements that the connecting trains would be delayed to enable passengers on this train to board it... Thats what happens when you follow too many rules! you lose flexibility! :)
However the train reached its final destination on time... to the dot. it was supposed to reach Stuttgart at 10:33, and it did! at alarming precision!!

One more really really awesome thing in Stuttgart is that all clocks in public (atleast all that I've seen till now) are analog! & the times specified for the transport system aint in multiples of 5! Amazing how people make out 12:12 and 7:22 from these analog clocks!

Even alarming is the fact that people from India, start calculating time in precise terms!

My friend, who was supposed to leave for Paris the night I arrived, happened to give me a visit and forgot his mobile in my hotel room. Back in his apartment, a couple stations away, he was all getting worried. His problem was that the bus to Paris leaves at 21:30 and that he can get ready by 20:00. But we had to get to my room and take his mobile and then he had to continue to the bus station... we left on schedule... 20:00 hours... and on the way to the nearest train station we happened to meet a few guys and had to talk and in the mean time missed the train. The next train was 15 minutes away... and ... this guy became nervous... he went, "ok... now I've missed this train, the next train will come here in 15 minutes... as in 20:19. It will take 7 minutes to your stop. From there the next train will be coming in 8 minutes interval. That means I need to get your room and get back with my mobile to the station in 7 minutes 30 seconds. which means we have to run from the station to the hotel as we cant reach in time if we walk!"
WHAT?! when did you start acting so German!!


And... heres the best... when he went to a frisuer (hair cutting) and sat for a cut, he was asked the most deadliest question... I have to put that in Italics... "How many millimeters short you want your hair to be cut to?" If i'm asked such a question, I'm a gonna freak out! how many mm? cant u freaking just gimme a short haircut?!