The article concerning the binders containing lifelong certificates is to an extent discouraging. I think that I am well organized but after a few years I get rid of "non" important stuff to reduce clutter because I see no need to keep something around that I don't look at and collecting dust. There isn't the room for it. I thought it was interesting that it did address the fact that Germans are environmentally conscious except when it comes to the paper that is used for these portfolios.
I find it interesting that there is the laws about grilling only so many times a month. In the summer we grill daily for dinner. It is funny to see a waste in the court times to work out these neighborhood dealings when really the issues seem so miniscule and not important when it comes to daily life. As much as our neighbors dog annoys us at times we've learned to deal with it and ignore it rather than letting it get the best of us. I think it is funny that the dog is only allowed to bark within certain intervals, etc, because there is no way you can keep you dog from barking less than 10 minutes for only 30 minutes a day.
The flag flying article is soo true! In my travels around the world, Scotland proudly fly flags from castles and in store windows, etc, Austria as had flags especially at the borders when crossing and on Mozarts Geburtshaus, but in Germany, asside from the souvenier shops, the flag is non-existent. I was even in Germany during the 2010 World Cup and it wasn't often that there was flags displayed unless Germany was playing in a game then at the pubs you saw people with hand held flags and jerseys. I had been taught this in my class in high school so I knew about it enough to notice!