As you may already know, I am American and my wife is German (as all hell). We live in Hannover, Germany, and though we do not own a car, we sometimes get to borrow one from friends and family members. During the weekend of December 15th, 2012, we drove between the state of Hesse (Hessen) and Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) along the A7 Autobahn.
People in Germany often drive very fast on the Autobahn. We averaged 120 km/h during our journey, which is about 75 mph. In this video, you can see cars passing us at far greater speeds, especially the first car at the very beginning.
Listen, Germans, I know you want to make it home in time for Tatort and Wiener Schnitzel, but that’s no reason to wrap your Beemer around a tree.
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Oh God, My Wife Is German. 
Last time I was in Germany, 1997, I was in the backseat with my aunt and her German nephew was driving us to Stuttgart on the autobahn at speeds reaching 160 kph. Felt the same way as you.
Later on, I found out that the German autobahns are built to much better specs than American highways and well-maintained, which partly explains why there are no posted speed limits.
I guess high speed driving is something one gets used to if you grow up in Germany.
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Exactly! Right? Thank you! Even my American brethren keep calling me a pussy for being uncomfortable with it, but I stand by my initial impression; the Autobahn is scary. Unless you’re drunk.
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“We’re headed north…”
Have you noticed that that means NOTHING to many (most) Germans? Particularly those who have not lived outside of Germany? My theory is that most of their roads (streets, bikepaths, etc.) are so old that it just doesn’t make sense to think in terms of compass points — those routes are not based on a grid carved into the land as the populations grew, but rather woven around existing pockets of people.
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My God, that explains it. Whenever The Wife and I are exploring our city, I always say “We’re headed west. Toward the river,” and she gets this blank look on her face. Then she responds in terms of landmarks.
Great observation! Thank you!
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