BYOB

Shopping for groceries in Europe takes a little getting used to. The first time we went to the nearby store for groceries and paid, we realized, "Oh... WE have to bag all this stuff ourselves." But where were the bags? Oh... In Germany it's BYOB (bring your own bag). There is no giant plastic bag stack or dispense-o-bag apparatus at the end of each check out lane like in the U.S. With a determined shrug, we agreed, "We are back in Europe now! We will adjust to this." So we gathered up all our purchases in our arms and headed for the car, hoping we wouldn't drop or spill anything. Oh... Wait a minute... We didn't drive, we walked to the store. On the way home, as we juggled our purchases, we imagined a big flashing neon sign hovering over our heads that proclaimed, "FOREIGNERS!!" We've been good to BYOB ever since...