Driving on the German autobahn Jul 1, 2008
Yes, I drove on the autobahn in Germany.  No, it's not exactly what I expected. 

The autobahn isn't a specific road; it's a term that refers to the German highway system.  It's true that there are no speed limits.  Well, it's mostly true.  There was an occasional speed limit when it went from three lanes down to two, but people didn't seem to notice.  In addition to the lack of speed limits, there's also a lack of police, which makes sense since there really aren't any laws to enforce. 

Despite the autobahn sounding like a lawless, chaotic mess, it was actually quite organized and systematic.  Most parts of the autobahn are like a 3-lane interstate.  The right lane is for slow people and trucks.  The middle lane is for medium-speed people and trucks passing trucks.  The left lane is for speeders.  But there's one big difference:  You stay out of the left lane unless you're going at least 100 mph.  The reason is simple:  Other people are going at least 100 mph in that lane, and they come out of nowhere.  The cool thing is that people inherently follow this rule, largely because they don't want to die.  This works out well for the speeders because people stay out of their way.  It also works out for the non-speeders because they avoid death.  All in all, it's a great system that must save millions of dollars of unnecessary law enforcement money.  Imagine if New Jersey had no traffic cops?  The state would no longer be in debt. 

After driving several hundred miles on the autobahn, I not only saw zero cops, I saw zero accidents.  Not to say the system is fail-proof and completely safe, but it was definitely worth noting. 

Since it's Germany, there were a lot of VWs, BMWs, and Mercedes.  But by far the fastest cars on the road were Audis.  I don't know why this is.  Every Audi I saw was zooming by me at 120 mph.  I personally got our little rental car up to 120, but it seemed to completely top out at that speed.  They say gas mileage decreases exponentially after 40 mph, so I can't even imagine how inefficient it must be to drive three times that speed. 

Another thing of note was the types of cars on the road.  There were approximately zero SUVs.  There were approximately four pickup trucks.  The rest were sedans and wagons. 

Overall, it was a very cool experience, and even more so in a rental car with manual transmission while trying to read signs that made no sense. #travel
Brief observations in France (1) Jul 1, 2008
I was in France for about four hours for a layover, and here's what I came away with: 
  • French people stink.  It might be because it was 90 degrees and humid, and people refuse to wear shorts (more on that later).  But it was probably more so because they don't wear deodorant.  Lovely.  It's a simple fact that I would emanate a foul odor if I didn't wear deodorant, but I have a small amount of respect for my fellow man, so I wear it.
  • French people don't wash their hands after they use the bathroom.  The "stand-up" and the "sit-down" bathroom.  Nice.  To be honest, I almost don't think it's that big of a deal, but it's such an ingrained part of American culture that you at least have to pretend to wash your hands as you leave the bathroom.  At least turn on the sink.
  • The fashion trend for males seems to be to wear dainty little girl shoes, feminine-looking capris (either white or light khaki), and to be as skinny and un-muscular as possible.  I could do that.
  • Hearing the French language spoken either sounds beautiful and poetic or presumptuous and diminutive, depending on who's speaking and the tone they use.
  • Airport security was unusually pleasant and relaxed, and I didn't even have to take off my shoes.  Compared to the U.S., where it's so much more militant and intolerant, it was a breeze.  But then again, France doesn't have to worry about being attacked by terrorists because they don't have an offensive foreign policy.  Or any foreign policy.
Ok so there were a few opinions thrown in among those observations.  So what? #sociology
Anywhere is better Jul 1, 2008
There's a tendency among people who travel abroad to make their travel destinations sound better than anywhere else.  "Germany is better than the U.S. because..."  I find myself falling into this trap when I try to describe some of the things I experienced in Germany, because, quite frankly, certain things are better, such as their public transportation system, their soccer team, and their use of bacon in every meal.  It's not to say Germany as a whole is "better" than the U.S., just certain small parts.  I'll try to keep it all in perspective. #travel