This is part of a series of what I learned living in Germany in the late 1960's (the photo above is not 1960's). When I lived there, there weren't as many pedestrian zones as there are now. . . just very crowded streets with cars, trucks and people walking and on bicycles. Pedestrian zones like above have made it all much more attractive, fun and more environmentally friendly.
After arriving in Germany, it didn't take me long to realize how wasteful Americans are. The first time I recognized it was seeing that they were still living in homes several hundred years old. Whereas we tear old buildings down and rebuild new, they use what is there and renovate the shop or home on the inside. At one time we even looked for an old house to renovate when we first got married. Below is from my scrapbook of 100 things I want to do in my life: #14 and #15!
I remember when I came back to the United States, I scorned my parents and their electric gadgets. . . I'm still that way to some extent. While I will purchase an electric toaster, can opener, vacuum cleaner, and coffee pot, other gadgets were gifts that, frankly, I would never re-purchase if they broke: a cuisinart, a blender (actually, I don't own one for that reason), a crock pot, a bread machine, an electric skillet (still don't have one), a griddle. There was a time that I used an antique rug beater to clean rugs (atchoo!), a manual egg beater (rotary wheel on the side) to make cakes, a manual pencil sharpener.
Even in the 1960's, the Germans were very concerned about the environment. They told me they drank bottle water because Americans had ruined their water by adding chemicals. Their fresh produce was advertised with the name of the country where the produce was grown---some American stores are just now beginning to advertise where the apples, peaches or strawberries are from.
Their grocery stores were all like Aldis (which is a German chain---I shopped there in 1960's)---bring your own bag, a cart requires a deposit, nothing fancy about the store---just food, some toiletries and cleaning supplies. And, if you're shopping for your family, you'd better have a wheeled bag like below.
I laughed when I found out they had American Indian re-enactments in Germany! But, they told me they greatly admired the American Indian and their concern for the environment. (That does NOT explain their fascination for David Hasselhof, however) Click here for more about "hobbyists" in Germany
However, the one thing that I have been adamant about for 40 years is recycling. Even before we had recycle bins that we only have to take to the street, I would drive 15 miles once a month to recycle in Kirkwood. Germany has always been years ahead of us. Our exchange students couldn't believe what we could NOT recycle. In 1980's, McDonald's in Germany had trash bins similar to below where we'd have to sort our trash (not in 1960's---there were no McDonald's there---only A & W Rootbeer near US Army bases)
Click here for more information on Germany and their environmental concerns.
Click here to learn more about Gruene Punkt (it is in English) above-- one of the first recycle logos.
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