Which funnily contradicts my experience as a German in the US (interesting how cultural perception differs). I've been told in very harsh words to go in line in the US several times, once in a line for the IKEA ferry to Manhattan where I was threatened to be left behind if I do not go to the back of the line. Once in the Metropolitan museum in NYC when I skipped the ropes of an empty queue and was told to go back and follow the route through the zigzag ropes although noone was there.

Another anecdote, whenever I wanted something "unusual" I was denied, and the person "in charge" needed to ask a supervisor. E.g. in an (upscale) hotel I wanted to see a different room for my next stay, took some time to ask different supervisors but in the end it was "impossible". In Germany the person at the reception desk would decide if this is possible or not and most like show me a room.

(Yes all anecdotal and colored by my cultural perception).

Your frustration with US rules, to me, only emphasizes my point. You want the rules to work. Versus the US born/bred idea that they never will. Flippant, I know, but that's my observation.

It's also completly possibile that you're an outlier German that is frustrated with the current rules. For sure, I've seen that in spades. it isn't the mainstream though.

Different cultures play loose with different rules. I believe that for every two countries, you can find one rule that exist in both but are routinely ignored in one but religiously followed in the other and another where it is exactly reversed.

This is something I love about living in germany, actually. In the UK (where I was brought up) you're very used to the kind of absurd situations that develop from common sense not being applied to rules. If you talk to somebody in a position of authority, you absolutely expect them to pick the least reasonable, least constructive application of any rule they have at their disposal to ruin your day.

I don't know why this is so different in Germany. I've more often observed the inverse - where people (mostly well-dressed middle-aged men, for whatever reason) are extremely rude and condescending towards secretaries, ticket collectors, etc.

I wonder if this might be part of the inspiration for the unique British sense of humor/comedy.

I don't think that's a contradiction: Germans police themselves so there is not as much of a need to police each other. And perhaps we subconsciously assume that someone who permitted themselves[1] to violate a rule did so for a good reason.

[1] I don't think that's idiomatic English, which illustrates my point.

Have you ever gotten oN Or off a airplane on Germany? It is gage ring how un-orderly they are - much worse then any other place I have every been.

Quite a lot, actually, Though, in the early 1990's. Perhaps something has changed.

Same in the UK, we would often see queues of orderly lines on the Waterloo city line, past decade or so, that has gone and just all for themselves :(.