When my wife and I arrived in Germany, we had steep learning curve. It was the stuff that people never really bother to tell you during the job interview. As mentioned in previous postings, we arrived in our 2nd floor flat (really 3rd floor as Germans don't give ground floor a number) and tried to settle into by doing the first shopping excusion. For you 'new' expats you won't appreciate the situation in the old days. Things are easier for your now.
We had arrived in country on a Friday late-afternoon and searched out for pizza that first night. After a late dinner, we settled in for the night and put groceries as first on the agenda for Sat AM. We woke around 10AM and with some leisure made our way to the shop by 11AM. When we arrived, we quickly learned the shop was to close at 12:00 as this was a Saturday and Germans value their free time. I remember rushing through the store trying to figure out brands, locations, and translations. Things took a while but we made it to register with some time to spare.
At the register, I proceeded to take out my Visa card. That was met with some confusion and scorn by the cashier. Then I pulled out American Express. Everyone uses American Express. I got the same look. I could only yell out to the line behind me, "No Visa, no Amex, what gives?!" I looked like a fool. It got worse.
We scrambled into our pockets and pulled out 20DM and this required the cashier to take items off the register total (which has reached 28DM). This required a manager, a key, and some additional discussion. People in the line were in shock when we removed diapers from our total.
Now, my embarassment had just about reached it peak when we discovered that we needed our own bags to take the groceries home. As I recall now, my wife carried 11month son home, while I placed all our groceries in his bassinet. The Germans were probably laughing for days afterwards.
About 2 years later, the grocery stores extended Sat hours to 2PM. Furthermore, they all take EuroCheque (EC Card) which works like a debit card. Tell me if you've experience any of the same?
