Italy vs. Germany

Before heading over the Frankfurt, I thought that it would be a city like New York because of all the hustle and bustle that is so common in major business districts. Frankfurt is one of the main business centers in all of Europe, but if you walked around not know this you would not believe it. On Friday around noon, there were no people in the business areas and it resembled more of a ghost town than a major financial district. There were very few cars on the road, and not too many people on the street in the downtown areas. Granted this was a Friday, but it was early in the afternoon so it was suprising to see only a handful of suits with briefcases. Perhaps Frankfurt is different than the U.S. Maybe they get out extremely early. Nonetheless, this did suprise me.

After getting back to Rome around 10 PM, I immediatley noticed the differences between the two cities. It was pretty late on a Sunday, yet the roads were still packed with cars and Vespas, and there were a decent amount of people walking around. On Moday morning, I was overwhelmed by the mass amounts of people on the street because I became accustomed to the lax German attitude after spending just over two days there. The people in Germany walk and drive slower compared to Italians. In Rome, constantly you are being bumped into and passed by speed-walking pedestrians who are usually in a rush for no apparent reason. Although we flew for just two hours north of Rome, the two cultures are completely different. I kind of like the German easy-going ways because they never seemed rushed and it was more peaceful.