Some Pepperidge farms cookies don’t seem to have an equivalent in Germany. And I think real Spam is better than the generic Frühstücksfleisch, but that’s probably just a Geschmackssache.

And then there’s Kabelsalat, but it usually has no Mayo. ;) Kabelsalat wiki (in German)

The border-free zone is called the Schengen area. There are still some EU member states that aren’t included. Euronews article

“Austria has blocked the accession of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen, the passport-free area that has abolished border checks between the vast majority of EU member states.”

There is a trend called “no poo” where people try to minimise shampoo use. https://www.nopoomethod.com/ Mailab did a funny video on it in German. https://youtu.be/rcpM3uW86Uk

The Wikipedia article includes the whole text. Here is the Deepl translation:

The sad story with the lighter. Paulinchen was alone at home, Her parents were both out. As she jumped through the room With light courage and song, Suddenly she saw in front of her A lighter, nice to look at. “Ei,” she said, “ei, how beautiful and fine! That must be a fine toy. I’ll light a little wood for myself, As my mother often did.”

And Minz and Maunz, the cats, Raise their paws. They threaten with their paws: “The father has forbidden it! Meow! Mio! Meow! Mio! Don’t move! Or you’ll catch fire!”

Paulinchen can’t hear the cats! The little stick is burning brightly and brightly, It flickers merrily, crackles loudly, Just as you see it in the picture. But Pauline is very happy And jumped back and forth in the room.

But Minz and Maunz, the cats, Raise their paws. They threaten with their paws: “The mother has forbidden it! Meow! Mio! Meow! Mio! Throw it away! Or you’ll catch fire!” But woe! The flame seizes the dress, The apron burns; it shines far. The hand burns, the hair burns, Even the whole child burns.

And Minz and Maunz, who scream Pitifully in twos : “Come! Come here! Who will help quickly? The whole child is in the fire! Meow! Mio! Meow! Mio! Help! The child is on fire!”

Everything is completely burned, The poor child with skin and hair; A heap of ashes alone remains And both shoes, so pretty and fine.

And Minz and Maunz, the little ones, They sit there and cry: “Meow! Mio! Meow! Mio! Where are the poor parents? Where?” And their tears flow Like a brook in the meadows

Thank you for that thoughtful explanation. It’s a perspective I hadn’t considered.

Well I have seen some pretty conservative farmer types get on the village stage and dance in drag, but maybe you have been to some Fasching celebrations that were tame?

I would say that around Fasching time, things get pretty fun & flamboyant, even in the rural areas of BW.

Glückwunsch! For me, a study app helped a lot with the memorization. I used “Leben in Deutschland Test” from the Google Play Store.