Krippen has a few hotels and that's
all. Most of the life is in Bad Schandau, the other side of the Elbe.
Last night we had to change a 100
crown note to get 4 euros from our hotel owner so we could get the ferry up to
Bad Schandau. The ferry takes about 10 minutes and cost 1.7 Euro for a return
trip. It's a very pleasant journey. We had to go to Bad Schandau (BS) to
get Euros as there are no atm machines in Krippen. We had a good meal in an
Italian restaurant while we were there. BS is a small Spa town with a
narrow main street which can be so busy with traffic it is at times impossible
to cross.
Germany has the same problem
as the Czech Republic (CR) of too many smokers. It is impossible to get a meal
in a restaurant without the flavours being masked by someone else's foul
cigarette smoke. I didn't used to believe how dangerous second hand smoke could
be but I do now. I've got a second hand smoker's cough!
Today I went to get a new Sim card
for my phone as my Czech Sim card no longer works. However unlike the CR you
can't just go buy one, you've got to present either an identity card or a
passport! Perhaps that's why Czech phones don't work in Germany, the state
isn't able to track you down. :)
That reminds me of another
difference between the CR and the UK. Very few video cameras are visible in the
streets in the CR. I find it somewhat ironic that security services in the west
now appear far more active than those in a former Warsaw Pact country.
As I can speak a little bit of very
bad German I asked a waitress how much one is expected to tip in Germany as
being a foreigner I didn't know. She said 20 to 30%!!!! Not believing this I
went to ask the same question in the tourist beaureau. The woman there said
about 10%, if you do tip. When I then explained why I asked she almost
exploded with incredulity and rushed off to repeat the story to her
colleague.
In fairness to the waitress
who suggested 20-30%, when I expressed my great surprise, she did say that
tipping was not compulsory.
For those planning holidays, Germany
seems at least 50% more expensive than the Czech Republic.
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