Reactions to driving back here in the States after getting back from Germany.

[randomness]

I drive faster now that I've been driving in a place where 85 mph or so is about normal for the middle lane. This will last until I get my first speeding ticket here, I think. :)

Wow, I can fill the tank for less than $25! It was costing about €50 (about $60) to fill the same sized tank in Germany. It got to the point that when I drove through Luxembourg, which has the lowest fuel taxes of any of the countries in the neighborhood, €1.09 a liter felt cheap.

Lanes sure are wide in the States. Even in Boston, the lanes are pretty wide for Europe. Of course, in Europe, they tend to be a bit more consistent than in Boston, where they vary a lot, when they're painted on the roads at all. In Germany, they are very consistent, but narrower, and nearly always well-marked.

Someone needs to fix the street surfaces around here. I've been told that road repair crews in Germany have competitions to see who can build the smoothest surface. They do a great job of fixing potholes; the holes don't last long--the repairs do. At 200 km/h, you feel every ripple in the asphalt.

Comments

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

And southern California has absolutely nothing going for it. Don't remind me.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Citrus trees in one's yard? Excellent Mexican cuisine? (I'm reaching, I suppose.)

[frotz.livejournal.com]

Dude! Southern California has an amazing amount going for it. This sort of place (eastern San Diego County) I could visit again and again. Even if one crosses the mountains there's still that lovely ocean, temperate weather, and LA has way better food than Boston.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

LA has way better food than Boston.

True dat.

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

Road-wise though, you have to admit we're pretty much screwed here.

[frotz.livejournal.com]

How so? Pavement is generally well-marked and in good repair. If one is driving (or riding) for fun, you've got fun and utterly gorgeous roads up through the canyons and hills to the east.

Granted, the one problem I do see is that your urban freeways are way over comfortable carrying capacity for a lot of the day, and that y'all seem almost incapable of considering alternatives to driving, which leads to things like the building of yet another north-south highway through one of my favorite state parks. If it's more of a sociopolitical screwing you're talking about, I'm totally with you on that. But if you're just trying to get through traffic, switch to a motorcycle. :)