Residents in Germany are responsible for clearing the snow on the paths around their properties.  Not only do they have to clear them first thing in the morning, they have to keep them clear throughout the day.  Many people hire companies to do this for them, rather than risk an insurance claim if someone slips on the path and injures themself.

Similarly, if the gound adjoining the path belongs to the town, eg. if there is a school on it, then it is the town who is responsible for clearing the snow.

But if the path does not run next to a road, there is a simple way to avoid the snow-clearing duty: put up a sign…

Betreten auf eigene Gefahr – use this path at your own risk!

I spotted this card in the “late birthday” section of a local supermarket this week:

Happy Easter!

We may have stopped paying with the Deutsche Mark 8 years ago, but every now and then I see a shop that still accepts the old currency.

My latest sighting was in the pedestrian precinct in Oberursel:

And apparently this shop is not the only one in the town!