Above I have some fun talking to a high school class of mostly 15 and 16 year olds about differences for youth in Germany and the United States. One difference all Americans note is how much people in Europe smoke. In this class over 3/4 admitted to smoking, higher I suspect than in American classes. They also were fascinated by the idea of driving at age 16, though thought it bizarre that people can vote, get married and go fight in a war before they can legally order a beer with their meal at a restaurant. I once talked to a similar group in Vienna in a school there that was in a castle like building. This was a good group of students, attentive with alot of questions. The second photo is of a typical set of apartments in a suburb in Germany (this is Neuss, Allerheiligen to be precise, right between the major cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf). You can see the buildings are very well built, from stone, and each apartment has a little deck. Inside Germans are adept at using space efficiently. Kitchens are small, but appliances are built in, and every inch is used. Refrigerators, etc., tend to be smaller than in the US. The reason, of course, is that Germany is a land of 80 million people, not much bigger than Oregon. Land is at a premium, especially in urban and suburban areas. The apartments are very pleasant, colorful, and open.