metza metza berlin

hey all. hotpants here, from berlin. i'm having an awesome time, but for the sake of the blog i choose to fill this blank a few ways:

berlin is _______(fill the blank) cooler than the US.

blank=very much
---> they have a phrase here called the "american condition," as in we don't want to fall into the american condition w/ no universal health care, only 2 weeks of vacation (they get 6 weeks) and more than 40 hour work weeks (many get 35s). oh and with homeless people that the gov't doesn't care for via a constitutional amendment that everyone is guaranteed housing.

blank=not that much
---> there are a ton of turks that live here that don't to have citizenship, even if they are born here. however, they do get to be "legal" immigrants and get all the cool things i described above... maybe that is a more humane immigration policy. you know, acknowledging that the labor is needed... something to think about...

blank=not
---> i got a ticket today on public transportation, not for not buying a ticket but for not getting it stamped. it was a stupid error (that not one a sign had told me to do... or the guidebook...), and even though the ticket had the time on it and it was clear that i had made a silly mistake and not jumped the train w/o paying, the guy gave me a ticket. now i know that cops in the states can use their judgment the wrong way sometimes too, but i'm glad that sometimes they let things slide that are obviously not harmful or just not important. silly germans with their rules. oh and seeing the reichstag did scare me momentarily. good thing i saw defiance on the plane ride over here.