Germany : the best country in the Western Europe? ; A perspective from an Indonesian

First of all, this is obviously only one opinion from an Indonesia guy. It wont affect any rank or any statistic regarding which country is the greatest,the most powerful,the richest or the best in The Western Europe. It was only my personal opinion toward this country : Germany. 

I stayed in Germany in the late Winter and Spring 2012. I worked as a Famulant ( German: junior doctor/clinical student) in Universitaetsklinikum Essen, North-Rhine Westfalen. I shared Wohnung ( German : flat/apartment) with a German doctor and a German student. I've visited not only the big cities like Berlin,Munchen,or Frankfurt, bu also suburban area and small cities like Aachen,Lübeck,ect. I was also very fortunate to be able to be invited by Native conservative German family to celebrate Easter ( their big holiday) during that time. Hence, I consider that I've already had some experiences and perspectives about the real Germany and how the people actually lives. I've already also traveled to and stayed in several countries in Europe ( France, Belgium, Netherland, United Kingdom and Austria) to be a comparison.

Dont get me wrong. I wrote this without any intention to make other countries less than Germany. I was raised with British pop cultures influences, Paris will always be my favourite city (till now), and I always ordain Salzburg,Austria as the most romantic city in Europe. And Clearly, it is only my opinion without referred to reliable sources. I do not know in statistics whether Germany's performance is better than any others country in Europe or not, but for me, Germany is my favourite country. Well,I guess, because their NAZI history ( Deutschland uber Alles!), they are inclined to not mentioning their achievements and proclaiming their country to be the best ( though I believe they noticed that their country is one of the most powerful in the world). But,there are several point that makes me pondering that Germany is one of ( If we can not say the most) the best countries in Europe (or particularly in Western region).

1. Public Transportation

Are you familiar with DB (Deutsche Bahn)? ICE or RE? U bahn or S bahn? Yes.and I was always amazed with Germany's national public transportation system.

So what is the differences? England already has National Express and Nationalrail or Britrail and they're quite good. France has TGV ( fastest train) and it is obviously excellent. Netherland has its Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). All of them are great. But What I was amazed from Germany in comparison to other countries is, the system is really and extremely integrated into one national system with same high standard with (almost) similar terms and conditions. There is only very slight distinction among 16 states (Germany is federal country), but overall it is similar whether you are in Kiel,Aachen,Frankfurt,Stuttgart,or Dresden. The choice is always ICE or RE ( city to city)? S bahn, U bahn,or bus (inter city) ? With same sign,same rules,same prices. Their train system unites Germany and connects every cities there. This integrated national system is notably very helpful for foreigner like me because it is easy to understand. You dont have to hire a guide, purchase a travel agent packages, if you want to travel in Germany. You dont have to confuse about choosing which modality or which kind of bus you take because it is similar in every part of Germany. You dont have to read many terms and conditions. The great thing about germany, is the goverment are clearly invested massively for public transportation and take lead. private sector were not really involved in this bussiness so there is no unnecessary competition and the price for public transportation is very affordable. Another great thing, The timetable for every public transportation in Germany are precisely very punctual and can be accessed on the internet. You can save alot of time.

I also love the concept of one-stop-services of "hauptbahnhof" (main central station) where every modalities transportation ( bus,train,taxi,subway) station are located into one spot (usually in city centre/touristic site and with so many shops/mall/hotel/parkinglot there).the hauptbahnhof are usually located in downtown, so it is quite easy to hang around. 

If you want to reduce your costs for transportation during traveling in Germany, you can always share ticket with Gruppen ticket, or traveling during weekend, or have experience of "Mitfahrengelenheit" (you rode in with stranger car but only pay for the shared cost of petrol)

2. People, Languange and Living Cost

"Was ist der typisch Deutsch? 1.Ordnung 2.Pünktlichkeit 3.Diszipliniert 4.Kalt 5.Unnahbar"

What's typical German? 1.Everything in order 2.punctuality 3.Discipline 4.Cold 5.unapproachable

Those are some stereotypes for German people. But like every other stereotypes, sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong. But from my experiences, German people are (more or less) is nice people.I particularly amazed with their attention with details. Just try to ask something (even just casual question like a direction to a street that you dont know) and they will give you every detail. They will draw you sketch and everything, and it is exquisite how crazy they are for detail.
About the Language. Ok, German is hard. Even when you already studied German in high school (like me), but when you speak with native German, you hardly understand what they actually talk. But the good news is most of them can speak English, and WILLING to speak English. They tend to accept that English is our lingua franca in this world ( because the history of British Empire) and wont force foreigner to speak German (though preferably if you could speak in German, it is a great plus). It is not like when I was in Paris, and there is a man who forced me to speak French "this is Paris, this is not London.Please speak French". But,still I Love Paris :D

Living cost.This is what I like from Germany, the living costs are ridiculously cheap in comparison with others developed country. You can buy Döner (Turkish-German hamburger) for 3-4 euros (3,5-4,5 dollars) and for Asian like me, the portion of one Döner is for two portion meals. During my night shift in hospital, I usually eat half Döner for dinner and eat another half for breakfast. For students, there is semester ticket which you can purchased for 200euros/terms and it is valid for almost every transportation in whole area of the state (you can imagine, like in Northrhine westfalen, you could travel from Aachen to Dusseldorf,from Essen to Münster). To be a comparison. DAAD (Deutsche Akademischer Austauch Dienst/ German Academic Exchange services) gives annual scholarship for scholars with 750euros/month. It is sufficiently enough for living cost in whole parts of Germany, But UKBA (United Kingdom Border Agency) will only issued UK Tier 4 visa (student visa) if the applicant showed there is a financial ability to support them 1.000 poundsterling/month (outside london) and 1200pounds/month for London. 750 euros compare with 1000poundsfor living cost, you see the difference,right?

One of my friends from Jakarta who studied Engineering in Essen Germany told me that his living cost in Essen were lower than his cost in Jakarta,Indonesia. gobsmacked? Yeah, I am.

3.Education

 Education is one of great points for Germany. They offer very high standard of education for FREE. There are several states in germany who charge a little tuition fee but still it is quite cheap. No matter you are native,local, foreigner, white,black,asian,atheist,muslim,christian, but as long as you want to learn and pass the exam, then you got education as high as you want and you can. This affordability would not reduce their standard, in fact their universities were still in highest rank in the best world university.

The affordability of German Education attracts so many students around the world including Indonesians. In Germany, it easy to find Indonesian students (another great point). Germany is different with some fellas in western europe who charged foreign student very greedy like " Ok, you are from third world country and want to study abroad,you must be INSANELY rich. Let's suck your money and bank deposit"

5. Cultures

France are very well known for French Food (and also...french kiss). British? Ok, Dont ask me about British cultures,because I am so infatuated with Brits! And when Britons speak with their accent as well. Germany Cultures are less popular than Germany BMW or German team soccer but they do have great culture!"pommes und currywurst" would not beat the popularity of "Boeuf bourguignon" and they will not ever beat English for their accent but Germany has another thing to explore.

I recalled when I visited Bayern (Bavaria) I see alot of native german cultures there. I was invited to Easter tradition celebration in Munchen with my friend (Native German) and it was very exciting! and then I realized, Germany is very rich for their cultures. And we should remember in the early days, English and Dutch are actually German inherited. With the Prussian Empire and Old Romanic Empire history in Germany, we could see, this nation has already went through hardship and another hardship before they achieved like these days.

And there are so many points why I love this country. From Germany, I could learn some lessons how to develop your country (remember, Germany starts from a scratch after World War II) and with their perseverance, they become one of the remarkable developed countries in the world. Such a great Job!And now, after I leave this country, there is always a piece of my heart that I already left in Germany. Ich hab mein Herz in Deutschland verlosen! And (if I could), I defenitely will come back someday to this country to make such a sweet-walk-to-remember!

Ich immer vermisse Deutschland!

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