GERMANY - The Ampelmann is here!!!!

I'm now in the former East Germany and how do I know that? The Ampelmann of course!

For those of you who do not know who the Ampelmann is, the photo above should give you a clue. In the old East Germany the men on the pedestrian crossings for some reason wore a wide brimmed hat and as you can see the green one had a very definite stride. After German reunification there was a program to standardise the road signs and they started to change the pedestrian crossing men to be the same as those in the West. However, this did not go down to well, petitions and protests were made with the result that today the Ampelmann has a range of merchandise, a chain of shops and most importantly protected status.

I have to admit I am a fan and at home I do have an Ampelmann hoodie (green man on front, red on the back) - I'll wear it next time I come round for dinner - That's all my invites to dinner stopped then!

And for those of you who now think I'm now completely mad, here is an evening pic of Schwerin to bring some normality to the proceedings.