We stopped at a rest stop in Germany on the way to Switzerland today for lunch. In Europe, bus drivers have to take a mandatory break if they have driven over a few hours, hence the rest stop. At first, I thought, “Ew, we’re having lunch at a rest stop?” Our tour leader assured us that the rest stops in Germany are nothing like they are in the US, and he was right! You can order real food that is served on real plates with real silverware. I had linguine bolognese, and they made it fresh right in front of me! Another girl had orange juice that was fresh squeezed from this machine that takes a whole orange, slices it in half, and squeezes the juice into your glass. It was pretty cool.

You have to pay 0.70 € to use the restroom. There is a turnstile in front of the restrooms where you put the change to get in. It dispenses a ticket for 0.50 € that is good for anything, e.g., food, souvenirs, etc., at the rest stop. The toilet seats are self-cleaning. The oval seat somehow stretches into a circle, it spins around while this contraption disinfects it and dries it, then it goes back to its original shape. The Germans think of everything!