What's different?

The money- Ok, so obviously they use Euros here instead of dollars. But there are more differences than just that. They have 1 and 2 euro coins, so most often when you get change at the register, it's a giant handful of coins. Also, credit cards are very rarely used here, so we've had to get used to using cash everywhere, even the grocery store and the gas station.

Cigarette machines- They're everywhere. Like on the sides of buildings and at random intersections. Here's an example:

Bottle recycling- When you buys bottles here, you typically pay €.15-.50 more at the register than the listed price, this amount is the pfand, which you can get back if you return the bottles. We have a giant bag full of empty bottles that I need to return sometime soon.

The numbers- Instead of saying twenty-nine, you say nine and twenty (in German of course, so Neunundzwanzig). Which I thought would be more confusing than it is. It always makes me think of that song "Sing a Song of Sixpence" from when I was a kid.

The Customer service- Ash, over at Hetta Hoo summed it up pretty well in this post. To add my own anecdote, we went to open a bank account, and instead of offering free checking for a year, or a new toaster, or some other thing to entice you, like you would expect in the US, they handed us a sheet of paper with all the many, many fees we would have to pay. It just really doesn't seem like anyone over here is very happy to be getting your business.

Phone numbers- Instead of xxx-xxx-xxxx it's xxxxx-xxxxxxxx, or sometimes something else. It doesn't seem to be consistently the same number of digits for every phone, which is very strange.

Cell phones are called "handys"

Lines- People seem to have very little respect for "lines" Today at the train station my friend was getting ready to use the ticket machine, and this woman just stepped right in front of her to use the machine. My friend has been here a year, and she said that sort of thing is really the norm, rather than the exception.