Many people coming to Germany to live are unaware of the fact that most cars here have two sets of tyres.  The reason for this is the large difference in temperature and therefore road conditions between the summer and winter months.

The winter tyres are made of a rubber mixture that does not because so hard in freezing temperatures, which gives them more grip on cold roads.  The tread has so-called “lamella” shape, which allows it to run better on snow.  Since many side roads do not get gritted or cleared of snow, this can be an important factor.  Cars that are primarily driven on roads in the Alps may even have spiked tyres or snow chains.

The summer tyres are made of a different mixture, that does not become so soft when it gets hot.  This allows them a better grip on hot tarmac in the summer, even when it is wet.

It is important to be aware of this difference, as driving with the wrong kind of tyre can have a negative influence on any insurance claims after an accident.

So every year in April and October I take my car to the garage to have the tyres changed.  They do not simply change the rubber tyre, but the whole wheel.  At the same time they balance them out and also make sure that the tyres with the most tread on them get put on the corners that are most likely to wear during the season.

Left: winter - Right: summer

The ‘old’ tyres are then put into storage and I am used with a certificate called a Reifenpass with their storage location on and the amount of tread in millimetres left on each tyre.

The whole process can take anything from about 15 minutes up to (as it did yesterday) a whole hour.

For those who do not use their cars so much, there is an alternative called “Ganzjahresreifen” – tyres for the whole year, that are a comprimise between the other two.

Thousands of German employees breathed a sigh of relief a few days ago – the cancelling of the so-called Pendlerpauschale was ruled to be invalid by Germany’s constitutional court.

Germans pay a lot of tax compared to may other European countries, but they also have a lot more ways to claim tax back than in those other countries as well.  The rules are very complex, but generally speaking it is possible to offset such things as courses and books that you have paid for privately, as long as they are for your career.

Until the end of 2006, the cost of getting to work could also be claimed back, either by producing tickets for public transport or on the basis of the kilometers driven.  But then, all that changed, and the first 20km could no longer be claimed back.

For the past two years, people have been arguing that this is unfair and several local courts had already dealt with the issue.  But now, the consitutional court has taken the final, binding decision.

It didn’t take long for the politicians to respond.  On the lunch-time news that very same day there was an interview in which they were saying that they did not like the verdict, but that they would – as soon as possible – repay all of those affected since Januar 2007.

I checked my tax statement for that year, and sure enough it contained the important words (translated) “The tax statement is not yet conclusive.  Should a court decide that dropping the Entfernungspauschale be unlawful, it will be revised.  You do not need to contact us for this”

Let’s see how long they take…

I am often intrigued and sometimes even puzzled by parking regulations in Germany.

There are some quite simple rules, usually involving a think called a Parkscheibe or quite simply a ticket machine.

But every now and then I come across a sign that causes confusion so that I myself become unsure about where to park.

What is really annoying though, is when I sign is quite definite about whether you can park or not, and people just ignore it.

Precisely that is happening in front of our block of flats at the moment on a regular basis. There is a turning circle which you are meant to leave free for other people to turn round in, it being the end of the road (unless you have some form of special permission, eg. the district nurse).

But some drivers are so blatantly ignoring the signs – that they actually park directly under them! Try talking your way out of this:

The last time I looked, the fine for parking here was 25 Euros. I’m sure if the town were to check here a bit more often, they could make several hundred Euros every day!

P.S. it happens in the UK as well