A Trip to Germany

Chen Zonghao (Major in Electronic Information Science and Technology)

Walking on the streets, I always had to raise my head to vaguely see the deep eyes behind the high noses. Whenever a pair of sapphires and a pair of black pearls met, my face suddenly became hot. Before I looked away, two dimples appeared on the bony face. So I also smiled to ease the embarrassment.

Germans were naturally meticulous. Usually, they counted the change first, and then counted it in front of me again. The buses never arrived late here. There are countless comments on German's rigor, which include both positive and negative ones. But rigor is only a small part of Germans. I think they are lovely for the most part.

I often saw German adult men eating a pork knuckle with a cup of beer. They sat in a bar overnight to watch a wonderful game. In Munich, whenever Bayern Munich team scored a goal, the bar would fall into madness, which was heartfelt, natural and not hypocritical. Some German waiters often waved their arms and roared passionately at customers, "Bravo! Bravo! (Great! Great!)" The customers were amused. Of course, this could bring them more tips. But when such behavior was repeated day after day and became a habit, or even a will throughout Germany, it could easily explain why Germans always moved us deeply with their loveliness.

German beer culture

German dietary habit was "beer first". Before enjoying staple food, a glass (500ml) of Schwarz Bier was drunk to activate the stomach and start a conversation.

The night life in Germany could not go on without beer. I often saw a stout German awkwardly get into the bar through the small door, with hot steam coming out of his mouth. He could not wait to take a sip of ice beer, as if the ice beer could expel the coldness.

German bars were mostly underground and were hard to find for non-locals. A bar was like an independent small world. As the streets were desolate under heavy snow, bars were always crowded and warm. How can network signal penetrate the wall between two worlds? So when the waiters swiped a card, they had to press a POS machine tightly against the wall to receive signal.

Interestingly, I was told authentic German beer is not sold on the bar counter. Instead, there is a special pipe, and the liquid flowing out of the pipe is Germans' favorite.

German cuisine

Excluding beer, the only thing worth mentioning is roast pork knuckles. A pork knuckle was about the size of two fists. A knife was directly inserted in the center of the pork knuckle. Almost the whole blade could not be seen outside, and only the handle was exposed.

It is strange that the most restaurants in Germany are Turkish restaurants run by Turks, while authentic German cuisine restaurants are "rare animals". According to Germans, the German population plummeted after World War II, so the country attracted immigrants to make up for the shortage of domestic labor force. This is why now Turkish restaurants flourish across the streets of Germany.

There are Chinese restaurants in Germany, but just a few. The owners are usually Chinese and the waiters are all locals. Interestingly, as a Chinese, I could not understand the names of dishes on the menu. The only one I got was rot-gekochtes Fleisch, namely red-cooked meat.

German industry

German Industry 4.0 is a buzz word, but what exactly is Industry 4.0? A simple explanation is applying robotics to industry. However, after my trip to Germany, I know Industry 4.0 is a great revolution of production, consumption, distribution and exchange as a whole. By establishing a huge Internet of Things and using big data analysis, the two sides of the production process — production and consumption — are accurately matched, that is, each customer's need can be specifically covered in the production process.

The Volkswagen factory is an example. It no longer adopts the traditional production mode — producing fixed products through a fixed process. Instead, the customer needs are incorporated into the production process. Maybe, it is just having a customer’s name embroidered onto the seat, or adjusting the seat position to fit a customer’s back. All these come from Industry 4.0.

Of course, Industry 4.0 still faces huge challenges. There are technical challenges: Is comprehensive big data sharing possible? How to carry out unified standards in the process of accurate matching? There are also moral challenges: How to protect privacy in a fully digital future? These are barriers on the road to Industry 4.0, waiting for future generations to hurdle.

Right after I reached Germany, I stubbornly thought Germany only had developed industry, and that German people were nothing but rigorous and even rigid. But after I took a closer look at Germany, I found Germany is actually a modern human relationship society. From a macro view, German system and industry are undoubtedly very modern. However, looking deeper into every lively person in German society, you can find human relationship outweighs interest relationship valued by modern society.

I cannot help thinking of Shanghai. In the process of modernization, Shanghai’s previous human relationship is gradually torn apart. Last year, I went back to my former residence in childhood. I met some old neighbors and saw my old house, but I just felt that both things and people had changed. No conductor was seen on No.42 Bus; the owner of the old house mercilessly refused me after I told him my intention; the old wonton shop on Shunchang Road served wontons of modernist "bony beauty" in soup that tasted nothing more than seasoning bags.