(I want to start with the following disclaimer in this, my first, on-line contribution to the family blog: I will not be able to match David’s writing, humor, or photos – so I won’t even try. But since David has taken a hiatus from Munich for six weeks, I need to do my part for the blog. So I will play it straight; just the facts, ma'am.)
Since we have arrived, I have been puzzling (as did David in his post about street signs around the neighborhood) over the German attitude regarding rules.
I came with the American stereotype that Germans are rule-bound and more rigid than us Americans. Like most stereotypes, there is a core truth here, but the reality is, of course, more complicated and more interesting.
While many Americans like to flout their independent, by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach to life, Germans seem to come from the perspective that social rules have a purpose – otherwise they wouldn’t have been created in the first place – and are often to be respected.
For example: people should ride the right direction in the bike lane, forms should be filled out correctly and applications filed properly, and everyone should pay his or her fare on public transportation.
Each of these examples tells something different about German culture. The first is just logical. Everyone obeying biking rules prevents crashes, keeps traffic moving, and helps to encourage a bike culture for all, from the very young to the elderly. (And it seems to work here in Munich, where there is a strong bicycling culture.)
The second example also makes sense, but can be taken to an extreme. I tried not to think of this, but as an American Jew who grew up learning about the Holocaust, the grotesqueness of inane record-keeping in concentration camps came to mind.
But present-day Munich, is obviously a very different place. Bureaucracy can merely seem like a hurdle to get through. My favorite example of this is the Kreisverwaltungsreferat or KVR. This local government agency takes care of a variety of necessities, including residence permits (for foreigners as well as Germans who have to register if they relocate to a new town or city), license plates, and visas. I ended up having to go three times within the space of one month (once for me and twice for the kids when they arrived). Each trip involved waiting on different lines with completed paperwork and passport, being sent off to another floor and office, and discussing my request with more than one clerical worker and decision-making official. The maze-like, drab 1960s décor kept making me think of Soviet era, labyrinthine officialdom. This is unfair – as I think the KVR was ultimately quite efficient.
One other aspect of the operation reminded me of Soviet culture: a professed fidelity to rules which cannot be circumvented, bent, or broken (!) – each official with whom you meet asserts – only to find in the end that rules are flexible when needed. I quickly learned that the most important thing was to be assertive and push back when you think you are being told something unreasonable. For example, after having followed instructions from one clerk to wait on a particular line, only to be told after 20 minutes that I had to go to a different floor -- stand your ground! Explain that you were instructed to be there by someone on the first floor and that you know it is right. Or when one clerk tries to reject the kids’ visa applications because our copy of the apartment lease copy did not have the square meters of the apartment -- negotiate! Explain how many rooms there are and that it is perfectly big enough for the whole family.
Special dispensation was usually granted after one official had consulted his or her supervisor and, thus, did not have to take responsibility for bending the rules. Whenever a rule is seemingly bent, the official involved tells you how big an exception he or she is making in your case. Both David and I were told this when we arrived at the airport and were given a hard time for not having visas then – even though they were not required.
Back to my original three examples of rules in German society. The last example is my favorite and illustrates when fidelity to rules is quite enviable. On German public transportation in Munich – and in other German cities that we have visited in the past – people pay fares largely on the honor system. Yes, you just read that right. There are elaborate fare structures for various zones, single journey tickets, monthly passes, children, teens, etc. Everyone needs to find out what he or she is supposed to pay (there are numerous signs and helpful websites) and buy the correct tickets or passes. That’s it.
Truth be told, this is not completely the honor system. If during an occasional, random check of fare tickets, you are found without the proper fare, you will need to pay a 40 euro penalty fare. As far as I can make out, that is all that happens. And rather than emphasizing the punishment, the transportation website gives detailed information about if you would like to dispute a penalty or how the inspection was conducted.
I should note having been in Munich for almost three months and having ridden on a variety of subways, buses, trams, and suburban trains, I have never seen anyone inspect tickets. Never. I keep trying to imagine how such a system would operate in New York. Would most people pay their fares? I doubt it. Far be it from me to romanticize Müncheners as saints, but I suspect that the great majority must be paying their fares since I often see people at the ticket machines and the transportation system is a model of efficiency, so someone must be paying for it.
I’ll end my little meditation by noting that I have always liked rules and the orderliness they reflect. (David, I’m sure, on the other side of the rule spectrum, might accuse me of being a little obsessed in this regard.) I’m not sure if this is a legacy of my British ancestry (another society that seems to enjoy order more than do Americans). But, I am feeling right at home in Munich.
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