Wonderful article! Living in Germany is a dream of mine, though I did live in Austria for 5 months as a study abroad student. Sadly, I never did go up into Germany but in regards to the Austrians, it is appropriate that they are close to Italy, as they are so laid-back. I loved where I stayed (Klagenfurt) and I miss it a lot. But, I do not recall there being rules and regulations to such a pervasive degree, as you pointed out.

Oh and you talk about them complaining...it's not pathetic like we Americans do it, right?