what is normal?

SHOPPING:

get this...this is a traveling grocer. i was taking a walk through the small town of Bad Vilbel where im staying here in Germany...and i saw this white van pull up on the side of the street (no signage on the van at all) and the guy gets out and opens the doors and starts selling fruits and veg to some old ladies who walked up to the van. this is a normal thing here that takes place (im told). but people also shop at supermarkets of various sizes and types. it depends on preference. my friend told me that vans like these tend to sell to the older generations...and they have regulars. they will knock on the door of a house (if the person hasnt come out to buy things when the van shows up at its normal time) and if there isnt an answer the man will leave the 10 eggs and head of cabbage on the doorstep (or whatever is the usual purchase of the person). if the person hasnt picked up the goods by the end of the day the neighbors will check to see if everything is okay or not (sort of a neighborhood watch produce program).

ANCESTORS:

im told that here in Germany they dont have a lot of family ancestral records beyond about 30 years ago. in fact, they dont even have gravestones beyond about 30 years old. im told that most records were destroyed during WWII due to profiling (and many were kept by churches back then and the clergy burned the records so they couldnt be found). and as to the graves...they dont bury their dead to "keep" they allow the bodies to rot back into the earth and then after that there is no need for grave markers. so after about 30 years these are gotten rid of also.

im finding out some very interesting things while im here. my dads side of the family is part German and weve wanted to do some ancestral history searching...but we have learned that it is impossible. there are no ancestral heritage places here...and there are no records.