Learn Hardcore German: Trotz kleiner Probleme bleibt unsere Straße meist friedlich. - Despite small problems our street usually remains peaceful.

Probleme is plural.
The genitive plural ending for adjectives with no article is -er.
So you get:
- Nominative plural: kleine Probleme
- Genitive plural: kleiner Probleme

Trotz + genitive plural → trotz kleiner Probleme.

Trotz kleinen Problemen would be using the dative plural (which some people say in colloquial German, but it is considered non‑standard in careful written German).
Trotz kleine Probleme is simply wrong grammatically.

What case does trotz require, and are there any exceptions?

In standard German, trotz governs the genitive:

trotz des Regens (des + Regen → genitive singular, masculine)
trotz der Schwierigkeiten (der + Schwierigkeiten → genitive plural)
trotz kleiner Probleme (adjective in genitive plural without article)

In informal spoken German, especially in southern regions, you will sometimes hear trotz with the dative (e.g. trotz den Problemen), but this is not recommended in formal writing or exams. For learners, stick to trotz + genitive.

Can I also say trotz der kleinen Probleme? If yes, what is the difference?

Yes, both are grammatically correct:

trotz kleiner Probleme
trotz der kleinen Probleme

The difference is mainly in specificity and tone:

trotz kleiner Probleme
- No article.
- Sounds more general and indefinite: despite some minor problems, despite minor problems in general.
trotz der kleinen Probleme
- With the article der (genitive plural).
- Sounds more specific: despite the minor problems (that you and I know about / that were mentioned).

So if you are talking about known, specific problems that were already mentioned, trotz der kleinen Probleme fits well. If you just mean in spite of minor problems (in general), trotz kleiner Probleme is more natural.

Why is the verb bleibt in second position when the sentence starts with Trotz kleiner Probleme?

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb (here: bleibt) must be in second position, but “second” means second constituent, not second word.

In the sentence:

Trotz kleiner Probleme – first constituent (a prepositional phrase)
bleibt – second constituent (the finite verb)
unsere Straße – subject
meist friedlich – rest of the predicate

So the structure is:

Prepositional phrase (Vorfeld)
Verb (linke Satzklammer)
Subject + other elements

This is completely normal topicalization in German: any element (time, place, reason, etc.) can be moved to the start, but the verb must still stay in the second slot.

Could I also say Unsere Straße bleibt trotz kleiner Probleme meist friedlich? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

Unsere Straße bleibt trotz kleiner Probleme meist friedlich.

The meaning is basically the same. The difference is emphasis and information structure:

Trotz kleiner Probleme bleibt unsere Straße meist friedlich.
- Emphasizes the contrast: Despite the problems (you might expect trouble), but… our street remains peaceful.
Unsere Straße bleibt trotz kleiner Probleme meist friedlich.
- Emphasizes the subject: Our street is the topic first; the despite information is given later as an additional detail.

Both are very natural. German allows this kind of flexible word order as long as the finite verb is in second position.

What is the difference between meist and meistens here?

Both meist and meistens can mean “mostly / usually / for the most part”, and in this sentence they are almost interchangeable:

… bleibt unsere Straße meist friedlich.
… bleibt unsere Straße meistens friedlich.

Nuances:

meist
- Slightly shorter and a bit more neutral or written‑style.
- Often used directly before an adjective or participle: meist friedlich, meist freundlich.
meistens
- Slightly more colloquial‑sounding and very common in everyday speech.
- Often stands more freely in the sentence: Unsere Straße ist meistens friedlich.

In your sentence, both are fine. If you want to sound very natural, just remember: meistens is extremely common in spoken German; meist is very common in writing.

Is friedlich the same as ruhig? When would I use each?

They overlap in meaning, but they are not identical:

friedlich
- Literally: peaceful, non‑violent, without conflict.
- Can describe:
  - People: ein friedlicher Mensch (peace‑loving, not aggressive)
  - Situations: eine friedliche Demonstration (no violence)
  - Places: eine friedliche Gegend (no conflicts, no trouble)
- In the sentence, friedlich suggests: no fights, no crime, no aggression.
ruhig
- Literally: quiet, calm, not noisy.
- Focuses more on noise level and activity, not on violence.
- eine ruhige Straße: little traffic, not loud.

So:

Unsere Straße ist meist friedlich. → Little or no conflict/trouble.
Unsere Straße ist meist ruhig. → Not loud, not busy.

A street could be friedlich (no crime) but not ruhig (lots of traffic noise), or the other way around.

Why do we say unsere Straße with unsere ending in -e?

Because Straße is:

feminine (die Straße),
singular,
and here it is in the nominative case (it is the subject).

The possessive determiner unser- declines like an ein‑word (like mein, dein, sein, etc.):

Masculine nominative singular: unser (e.g. unser Hund)
Neuter nominative singular: unser (e.g. unser Haus)
Feminine nominative singular: unsere (e.g. unsere Straße)
Plural nominative: unsere (e.g. unsere Straßen)

So with a feminine nominative noun like Straße, you need unsere.

Why use bleibt instead of ist? What’s the difference between bleibt friedlich and ist friedlich?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

bleibt friedlich
- Literally: remains peaceful, stays peaceful.
- Emphasizes continuity over time: despite some influences, the state does not change.
- Fits very well with trotz (despite), because it creates a contrast: Even though there are problems, it still stays peaceful.
ist friedlich
- Simply describes a state: is peaceful (usually).
- More neutral; doesn’t highlight the idea that this state continues in spite of something.

So in:

Trotz kleiner Probleme bleibt unsere Straße meist friedlich.

the verb bleibt nicely underlines: the problems do not ruin the peacefulness.

Why is Straße spelled with ß and not ss, and are there situations where Strasse is correct?

In standard German orthography (Germany, Austria), Straße is written with ß because:

The preceding vowel a is pronounced long: Straa‑ße.
Rule of thumb since the spelling reform:
- Long vowel + s sound → ß
- Short vowel + s sound → ss
- Example: Maße (measurements, long vowel) vs Masse (mass, short vowel).

However:

In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, ß is not used at all. There, people always write Strasse, Masse, etc.
On a computer or phone without ß, some people also type Strasse informally.

If you are learning standard German for Germany or Austria, aim for Straße with ß.

Could I say trotz eines kleinen Problems instead of trotz kleiner Probleme? How does that change the meaning?

Yes, grammatically you can say:

Trotz eines kleinen Problems bleibt unsere Straße meist friedlich.

The structure changes:

eines kleinen Problems = genitive singular (neuter: das Problem → eines Problems)
kleiner Probleme = genitive plural (plural: die Probleme → der Probleme, without article: kleiner Probleme)

The meaning changes:

trotz kleiner Probleme → despite minor problems (plural, more than one, and rather general)
trotz eines kleinen Problems → despite one specific small problem

So choose singular or plural based on how many problems you want to talk about and how specific you want to be.