It's a common complaint among foreigners just settling into Germany and visiting tourists alike - the amount of rules, regulations, and bureaucracy that Germany has.
Ordnung muss sein as the saying goes: "There must be order!" Parking patrol and other points of public order are tasks carried out by the aptly named Ordnungsamt - which you might loosely translate as "Office of Public Order".
But that doesn't mean Germans themselves are always crazy about all their own rules. When it comes to some things - they like freedom just as much as any other culture might.
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Don't believe us? You don't have to take it from us. The respected German pollster Allensbach put together a sophisticated "Freedom Index" to test this theory out.
The institute interviewed more than 1,000 people about whether they would support or oppose 16 hypothetical bans. Overall, just 34 percent were in favour of the proposed bans as a matter of principle - challenging the idea that Germans are always crazy for rules, rules, and more rules.
A ban on particularly dangerous or extreme sports like skydiving, fighting, racing? Just four percent of those polled liked that idea.
What about euthanasia? Only six percent support a ban on that.
There's a bit more support for banning the sale of drinks with particularly high concentrations of alcohol - about 14 percent. Gambling? About 24 percent.
But what about the granddaddy of all German ban debates - a proposed Tempolimit? Just seeing that word anywhere in German media tells you you're in for a treat of cultural controversy - served up to you in whatever news article you're reading or broadcast interview you're watching or listening to. Those in favour often cite climate protection as a reason for supporting it. Those against frame such a ban as an attack on personal liberty. Put the two against each other during one of Germany's omnipresent roundtable talk shows and don your social anthropology hat to watch a potentially spicy debate it will be hard to look away from - much like its difficult to look away from a runaway train.
The debate over a speed limit on the Autobahn stokes political argument like few other issues can. While the environmentalist Greens are in favour, the liberal Free Democrats made the commitment to a limit-free Autobahn a condition for taking part on negotiations to form the current federal government after the 2021 election.
But what about Germans themselves? If the Allensbach survey is anything to go by, only 21 percent like the idea. Only 15 percent are for a ban on souped-up vehicles like the ones that can really make the most of a limitless Autobahn.
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Are there any potential bans that have sizeable - or even majority support?
Despite the liberal reputations Germans have about things like sex or sexual orientation, a surprising number of them - about a third - support bans on pornography. Around the same number aren't too crazy about certain soft drugs - like cannabis - legalised in Germany in April.
About 44 percent would like to see rules against certain health-endangering foods and about the same number support outlawing films or video games with excessive amounts of violence.
Only two areas out of the 16 surveyed saw sizeable majorities in favour of clear bans - in areas that will surprise pretty much no one.
73 percent are in favour of a clear ban on human cloning, while 83 percent support hard drugs like cocaine remaining illegal.
A particularly contentious topic was whether "radical parties" should be banned, with 52 percent saying radical right parties should see a Verbot.
Ultimately, Germans may not necessarily have a reputation for being flagrant rule-breakers. But that doesn't mean they're always crazy about constantly introducing new ones.
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