39

Control

Posted by Claudia Moser on 11:22 AM in
As announced by Beth in her GBE2 no. 4 entry, this week's topic is CONTROL. Somehow it is really funny, each Monday morning I wake up, grab my phone and check the entry on the Facebook group, let the word go through my mind and then let it go in order to gather my creative ideas (I hope at least!)

The first thoughts were CTRL + ALT + DEL, one action which I do pretty often, on a daily basis actually, at least 10 times, but I guess I will not be original writing about this keyboard combination. Thought abandoned!



Picture from here

Then I remember my first childhood memory, me wandering about. But since yesterday we had a very active and dinamic discussion about

quote from Gill

where do you draw the line? Being as most of us blog and then share our links on FB, it is reasonable to assume that most of us have our blogs visible/readable to friends and family. Where do you draw the line in what you write?

unquote

I gave another thought and changed my mind. Nevertheless maybe one day I will tell you the story, it is rather representative for my education.

Break, break cried my mind. I was focusing too much on the topic without actually getting anywhere, thus decided to take a long walk with hubby, to the region celebration, called Hessen Tag. The weather is not so appealing, rather grey and cold, but a long walk clears the mind and tones the body, right?

We ended up walking for 4 hours, we did at least 12 kms (on foot!) and we had so much fun.

And as life usually is, you get inspiration where you less expect it!

What amazed me (and mind you I went there for the second time), is the level of control they have everywhere. A lot of police, private security. I do not know if they are worried of some attack, or simply think of extra drinking. Anyway some of the snapshots from today and some of my comments / thoughts I had while taking the pictures.

This is how the Germans control even the parking space:



Can you see how straight the lines are? They all looked the same!



And a very simple way to show the exit, mark it with chalk!



Then each crossing is watched by a guard in order to keep the cars from entering the streets.



In case a guard is missing, according to hubby, no worry! The Germans have self-control, and trust me they do, they would never cross the line!



In case you are in need of cash, no worry!



Very controled entry towards the train



This is German order and efficiency at its best, and it gave me enough material for the control post while having fun. What else can a girl want?

Happy week!

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39 Comments

Anonymous says:

What a fun and interesting view on control. I enjoyed that! Thanks for your quirky look at the many meanings of "Control".


@Catchats - thank you! I appreciate your feedback :)


I was smiling at this one, Claudia. But I will tell you something; some Canadians would have crossed the yellow gates!


LOL! I love it!

I've been to places here in America where the parking lot is exactly like that! It is humorous!

Fun blog!


@Belle - really? Not the Germans though :) pretty organised!
@Marian - I was amazed, there were more than 3.000 cars, all parked in a similar manner!


Superb post, Claudia! You gave such an inyeresting account of the way control is exercised and interspersed with your own commentary/interpretation made it so readable and enjoyable. Wonderful pictures, too! I need a good long walk!!!


This comment has been removed by the author.

CTRL + ALT + DEL!! I had to chuckle...that is one I should have thought of!! LOL :)

I enjoyed reading your take on control there in Germany. Great pics too. I so enjoyed this post and being able to peek into your world. :)

Cheers, Jenn.


@Desiree - thank you! Yes, this country is a master :) But still very organised, a fact which I appreciate immensly!
@Jenn - well, I could have stopped there but would have been rather short right?

Anonymous says:

that does seem controlling. I like the idea of control alt delete. Sounds good to me.


@Ana - glad you enjoyed it!


Fascinating! No offense, here I go speaking my mind when maybe I shouldn't, I couldn't help but think about the forties and Nazi Germany. The government had such control over the people. Could this be a personality trait of the nation that was conducive to a leader like Hitler to rise and control the people? Told you I can't keep my mouth shut! I enjoyed your post.

Joyce
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com


@Joyce - no offense taken! I don't know, I think this is indeed a delicate subject and to be honest I do not have an answer. I do believe that the Germans are very organised and that is a trait that I appreciate a lot, me as being of latin origin (Romanian), thus with a tendency of being a bit chaotic!

Anonymous says:

Nicely done! Depending on the area, folks here would either obey the yellow gates or they'd walk around them (or maybe even move them out of the way) freely. ;O)


@Beth - for sure I would also be creative and move them if I need to :)))


That's the Germans for you. You should see them on vacation in Europe, putting their towels out ion the best recliners round the pool before dawn, just to deprive anyone else of the best seats.


Claudia, I was thinking what Belle said. Here some would definitely have crossed the barriers. Nice to know it's orderly there.


@Tony - well that is just one aspect. By choosing to live in Germany, I started to appreciate their efficiency and order, and not to focus on the not so positive sides. Do you know the joke with the eu nationalities?


@Barb - guess it could happen here too :)


Love the photos, Claudia. Those lines of parked cars reminded me of the Trooping of the Colour which happened here over the weekend. From my earliest years I remember being so impressed by those lines and lines of red-coated soldiers marching in ruler-straight lines. The cars were just like that, regiments of machines! Fab post! *hug*


Great take on the word of the week. Interesting how we're controlled to varying degrees - it really is a cultural thing.

Laurie
http://earthdragonhealing.blogspot.com/2011/06/source-weekly-post-on-topic-selected-by.html


I loved that, especially after having been in Germany. You are right they do have self control. Those cars precisely parked were great fun to see. Nice take on this topic.
Pam


@Gil - yes I saw the Queen's celebration, pretty impressive!
@Laurie - yes, cultural differences, well put!
@Pam - you've been to Germany? Where?


What a creative way to illustrate this weeks word! Well done!

Kathy
http://www.thetruckerswife.com/


Seemed like a little too much control for me, but then maybe Germany finds it necessary to exert that much control.

My GBE 2 Control blog: http://myheartblogstoyou.blogspot.com/2011/06/issues-of-control.html


Sounds alot like us Brits, who made very controlled queuing an art form. ;)


@Kathy - thank you!
@Theresa - a cultual thing indeed!
@Steven - you made me smile, I do remember the queuing in UK :) Thank you for this!


LOVED THIS!!!!!!! LOVE YOU!! and walking 4 hours...crIPity!! you must have great walking shoes

Thank you so much for sharing your physical and heart region!! LOVE the visuals..and YES straight lines indeedy!! : )


@Brenda - thank you, this is very sweet of you! And yes I have great walking shoes!


lol that's an awesome t shirt

The Kate Escape: Control

Anonymous says:

Thanks for the pictures! I really enjoyed this blog. The lines were perfectly straight in the parking lot! Take care.


Wow! I'm not sure I've seen anything so orderly and structured in a very long time. ha! That is control! :)


@kate - yes, the T shirt says it all LOL
@Beachlover - thank you! And straight lines indeed, for 2 miles LOL
@Sunshine - proper control!


Ctl-Alt-Del I didn't even think of that one and then you went on to create a very creative and interesting post. I'm impressed.


@Julie - well Ctrl + Alt + Del is a part of daily life, so it was pretty easy :)


So funny looking at the photos! Indeed, Germans know about control. I studied in Germany immediately following seven months in Italy and a trip to Egypt, and I went into complete and utter shock seeing how well everyone actually followed the rules. Was particularly drawn to the way bicyclists and pedestrians shared sidewalk space simply by staying on their side of the yellow line. No need for bikes and cars to nervously circle one another, and no need to ding the bell to get pedestrians out of the way. Just perfect, symbiotic order. :)


@Alana - where have you been in Germany? Now the byciclist have a lane of their own between the cars' lane and the sidewalks, pretty funky :)


I stayed in Luneburg (outside of Hamburg) for a couple of months - but several years ago!!

While I was there, I traveled around a bit - was in Berlin a couple of times and drove around Bavaria, but I primarily stayed in Luneburg. Have you been? It's a lovely town - all the downtown is blocked off to traffic so there are lots of little shops and ice cream stands.


@Alana - I've never been to Luneburg, but hubby has been and mentioned lovely houses. Funny right? But what I find great is that you have such lovely memories!

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