Refamiliarizing oneself

Moving back to ones native country after a prolonged stay abroad is like being released from a longer prison sentence: One needs to adjust to some changes that have happened during ones absence. And one needs to refamiliarize oneself with some basic features of the local culture.

Concerning the first point, the most obvious are shop opening hours. When I left for the Netherlands, supermarkets still closed at 8 pm during the week and 1 pm on Saturdays (this is already an improvement -- during my childhood, they closed at 6 pm and were closed Wednesday afternoons). Anyway, yesterday evening I was getting hungry and when I was checking my fridge, I just found emptiness. A glance at the clock told me that it was a quarter to eight. Remembering the times before I left for abroad, I rushed to the supermarket (mentally already preparing to eat either nothing or a Döner tonight) only to find out that it would have been open till 10 pm. Times have changed.

Perusing the second point, that one needs to refamiliarize onself with basic features of the local culture I have another story: Recently, I was riding my racing bike when a car overtook me, braked sharply (so that I almost had to make some evasive manouver headed towards a ditch), honking and yelling at me at the same time. What's the matter? Well, I (as quite often) dared to not use the bike path and took the road instead. I know this is a traffic violation but it is -- in my experience and after having cycled in a dozen or so countries -- only in Germany that ordinary car drivers usurp the role of deputy sheriff when it comes to traffic violations by cyclists. I guess there is some law and order gene in most of my compatriots that doesn't leave them any other choice.