what an american passport gets you

so, on my flight across the atlantic: when we arrived in london for my layover, i didn't have to go through customs because i wasn't staying in the uk.  when i arrived in hungary and left the airport, though, i did have to go through customs, and it was SO different from the two times i've been through customs getting into the uk.  the united kingdom wants to know (a) how long you are staying in their country, (b) what the purpose of your stay is, and (c) an address where you can be contacted during your stay.  (when we entered ireland last spring break the customs agent asked claire staples "what kind of group do you purport to be?" this amused us greatly.)  the uk seems to want some control over who comes into their country and how long they stay.  hungary?  couldn't care less.  all i did was hand my passport to the customs agent, who scanned it, stamped it, and handed it back.  no words were exchanged, and into their country i came.  when we crossed the border (on the train) into austria and then today into germany there were no border checks or customs forms to fill out.  it seems like if you stay within continental europe they don't care at all where you go or how long you stay.  SO different from what i'm used to.  the government of germany has no idea that i'm here, and i imagine they literally don't care if i ever leave.  it's wonderful - makes the world feel small when the borders don't matter so much.

so now we're in munich!  we got in around noon, had some lunch, and took the subway to the olympic stadiums from the 1972 munich olympics.  for those of you who haven't seen the documentary "one day in september," about the terrorist attack at the munich olympics, go out and rent it today.  and the steven spielburg movie "munich" is pretty good, too.  it was kind of surreal to see the olympic village and know that this was where the events had taken place.  i'll definitely be watching the documentary again when i get home.

things that change as you travel into western europe (by claire and jenny):

1. fashion.  it has gotten significantly better, in our opinion.  no more hot yellow and hot green worn together as an outfit, no more full body one piece suits with elastic waists, no more socks with sandals.  people in munich dress WELL.  i, on the other hand, am doing something i thought i would never do.  i am wearing tennis shoes with a skirt.  i know, i know!  for years i have scoffed at people who have done this - i still think it looks ridiculous.  but i have no one to impress, and it's comfortable.  make fun of me all you want, but you have to love these shoes.

2. in our humble (american) opinion, men have gotten increasingly attractive as we've travelled westward.  perhaps it is just that they are dressing better.

3. oddly (to us), there is less english posted on signs.  in budapest almost every sign was in hungarian, german, and english.  is salzburg almost everything was in german and english.  in munich, every sign in is german and there is very little english.  we are stumbling our way through buying subway tickets and had a little difficulty at lunch today, but were eventually successful at both. if you're going to appeal to tourists in hungary, your signs in hungarian aren't going to suffice...apparently that isn't true in germany.  now, do i want my hair to be seidig and glatt?  i don't know.  but it's going to be.


(now that we're back at the hostel, google tells me that "seidig and glatt" means "smooth and silky"!  i do want that!  hooray!)

4. in the 5 hours we've been in germany i've seen more people of middle eastern and african descent/origin than in all of our days in austria and hungary.