[Aachen]

I watched that video already :). It's really cool, I didn't know it could work that well. My two months in Finland were during the late summer and more southern (relative to Oulu, still far away from the south of Finland). There is a very acceptable infrastructure for cyclists, and in the city there's simply a ton of space (so much green, big buildings, big roads, so much space still available! Amazing place) so you aren't bothering car traffic there either most of the time, but I was told by locals at the hacker space that come winter, most of that bike usage would disappear.

As for my exaggerating about the situation in Germany: perhaps, that's of course a matter of how it comes across and what your reference frame is. I wrote it how it seems to me; to you, it might seem different, and as you say, it's additionally regional. I do think that where I live is probably representative for Germany though (reasons given in a sibling comment, ctrl+f my threads page for stroopwafel).