Saturday, June 28, 2008

Washing the car


On our military commercials it often says that "in Germany, it's illegal to wash your car on a public street." We have been a little confused about this. I asked my neighbor Vanessa about it and she looked at me like I was strange. We have noticed our German neighbor washing his car on his driveway (its not a public street). A week or so ago it was pouring rain. Justin thought illegal or not, he would take advantage of the situation.

8 comments:

mariann and Tory said...

That is a silly rule. I wonder if they really follow through or if it was a rule made up a long time ago?

Unknown said...

Emily!
It is so good to hear from. It's funny how old friends are found again through the wonderful thing of blogs! Your girls are beautiful. And Germany, how fun! My husband and I spent the summer in Rome last year and planned on going to Germany but ran out of money :) What a fun adventure for you. It's fun to see what is happening in your life.
-Clara Denney Starkey

Jason and Stacy Bingham said...

Hey Justin and Emily,
We are loving all your pictures. Jason enjoyed the visit Saturday. I am preparing to come visit by working night shifts. I am not sure how long I will keep it up for though. I am glad Ayla doesn't have the chicken pox again. that would be horrible.
Love you guys,
Stacy

Maike said...

You know, a lot of Germans don't know that it's illegal to wash your car on the street. German TV doesn't run commercials for that...I heard that it depends on where you live whether it is illegal or not. That has to do with the groundwater and the sewer system. In fact, I don't think that you're allowed to wash your car on private property if the water goes into the ground unfiltered. That may be annoying, but I don't think it's silly. We're just trying to take care of the environment. Maybe that's just the German in me.
And yes, they do enforce this with fines.
Maike

Daisha said...

all i can say is nice car!!! :)

Maike said...

By the way, here's a rule that you might want to know: if you wash your car or work in your yard on Sunday and a neighbor feels disturbed by it and reports you, you will be fined. Now, it's kind of crazy that neighbors would have so much power over you, but being LDS and believing that Sunday is the day of the Lord, I think it's cool to still uphold Sunday standards. Of course, we also believe in tolerance and patience... =)
In case you haven't noticed... Germany has a lot of rules/laws about everything...too many. And too often we're too uptight. Which is why I enjoy the American laid-back attitude, although sometimes it's too relaxed...I need a healthy medium.
Maike

Daisha said...

Managing is going great right now . . . haven't had to rent for 4months or so - you know that's where the headache is! It's a great job and we were glad to take - no real regrets, of course it's a crazy day :0

likeschocolate said...

Thanks for posting a comment on our blog. We have been here in Europe for 9 weeks now and will go home at the end of August. What a blessing, but at the same time I will be happy to go home. I am amazed by you and the others who I have met in person and blogs who are over here for a couple of years. The rain is killing me and I just miss just about everything from home. Never thought I was one of those kind of girls. I alyways thought I was up for the adventure. Glad you are having such an amazing time.