I'm usually a pain in the ass. This video was well done. I'm the only American that I know who has Grohe fixtures in my bathroom and I dry the shower after every shower. I had two aus Hamburg grandparents that helped raise me in the U.S.. They did not even dry the shower, yet I do. That is so strange now that I know it is a German thing (depending on how hard or soft the water is).
“I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.” quote by Douglas Adams (author of "A Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy") Perhaps it isn't so much you becoming germanized that makes you dislike new technology but rather that you're just getting old... Or you can blame it on the Germans. Whatever makes you feel better. 😅
Ha! 😂 I am old, 54, and I have started to get this thing about new technology and older people. I am pretty sure it's not a decrease of intelligence, it's the lack of time. Why the heck spend hours or days of the short life span left on learning how to use some new technology if the old way works just fine? 😉 However, most Germans, regardless of their age, are more than willing to accept new technology if it helps to save money. My parents in law, both close to their eighties, had no problem with cancelling their newspaper subscribtion, when they learned that they could share my husbands digital subscribtion for free. 😊 It still feels somewhat unreal to see them reading their newspaper each on their own tablet at breakfast time... 😂
I don't know, I was born before CDs and during my lifetime that entire technology has come and gone again. I feel like technology cycles have become maybe a bit too short for your model.
There is a German word for what has happened to Deutsche Bahn. It has been "kaputtgespart". Kaputtsparen means: economize on something to the point of ruin.
In addition, after reunification the government invested almost exclusively in the East. As a result, signaling technology in many areas is at the level of the 1960s. Another point is that freight transport, local and long-distance passenger transport run on the same tracks. This means that express trains are slowed down by slow trains. New high-speed lines are hardly being built anymore because citizen protests oppose the whole projects
The same here in the Netherlands, and more "managers" doesn't solve the problems. A lot of things should never been privatised, when all of a sudden stockholders are involved you know it is going to be a downwards spiral.
DB is not privatized! It was only changed into private law, what gives transparency to the true cost of running the system. Before that, the costs were cloaked and therefor the prices were subsidized, lacking funds elsewhere. @@markschattefor6997
The DB has not been "kaputtgespart", because the money spend by the income generated is still high, but often times inefficient. Also, the politics take taxes and money out of the system like everywhere and also gives everybody a management job with political connections. But DB is a state-owned company with the state having control over the control mechanism, what they don't have in true privatized companies. That's why it is a bite in the ass for every taxpayer, getting nearly nothing from it. However, the overall lobbying against let's say goods transports, has to do with disabling German military to deploy fast over train networks (Socialist Moscow lovers). And also with pulling regular transportation on the streets, favouring (international) trucks, which companies are in international shareholders hands.
I'm happy to live in a region that has soft water. Tap water, which consists of groundwater, is hard. It contains many minerals and also lime. Our tap water comes from dams (surface water). It contains significantly fewer healthy minerals (it tastes significantly less “metallic”), but also no lime. That makes life easier. The skin doesn't feel tight after a shower (you don't have to apply cream straight away), the hair needs less care products, there are no limescale stains on glass and metal surfaces (at most, small stains like those left by rain on a glass pane - they can be done too Wipe dry very easily), washing machine, kettle etc. do not need to be descaled regularly. You also don't need a water softener when doing laundry or in the dishwasher.
The water in the region I live is so hard, I got bruises all over my body from showering every morning... ...maybe not that hard, but if you forget whiping it only once, you better have some vinegar or citrus acid at hand.
I have hard water but don't bother wiping it off. The few centimeters of limescale deposits provide extra corrosion protection... 🙈 And chrome is too much _bling bling_ for me anyway 😎
@@312Annabella Here, at the east sea, so hard water everything gets a white cover, bathroom and kitchen, coffee is urg. As I read your post, I suddenly rembered how much were better, softer, easier in midth germany, like nostalgia. 😀 Now I really miss it.
The “German Stare” isn’t referring to prolonged eye contact. It’s referring to staring at a stranger for what would be considered to be far too long by the standards of other cultures. In the US, you never want to be caught staring at a person, even if they are being absurd. You can catch a quick glance, but if they catch you looking at them, you immediately avert your gaze.
I too scoffed at electric toothbrushes, then I used one. It was life changing. My teeth were cleaner than ever before and faster, and more thorough in less time.
@@mareiketje4899because it's a pain, trying to get the stain off! So it's better spending 1 min.viping sprinkles instead a few ours cleaning calcareous marks!
I feel like in Germany it is accepted to look at someone until you have established eyecontact. Then the "first looker" either smiles (active and friendly) or looks away (passive and nonthreatening), otherwise it transforms into a stare and is perceived as a threat. It is quite normal to establish eyecontact here.
8:35 Nice! German beer snob buys a can of HOLSTEN Pilsener. The price-performance champion, the beverage of choice of the working class. (I actually like it, but this is next-to-bottom-shelf!)
I'm a German and I don't know what's that about "German staring". I have never seen a stranger looking at me for longer than a split second and I don't do it either. It's never more than just a quick look to make sure we don't run into each other.
It's a regional thing, mostly. Some areas do, some don't. Also remember, not everybody living in Germany these days is an ethnic German. And you can't always tell just by looking at them (and before this gets misconstrued, this isn't a criticism of foreigners in Germany; it is a simple observation of fact).
I have never been to Germany so I obviously do not know but I have heard about this in a lot of videos. Most of the time these are videos from the south of Germany so could it be a regional thing? I don't understand how this is not considered to be rude behavior. I thought if that happened to me I would tell them to take a photo so they can stare at that after I am gone. I have the impression Europeans have really bad social interaction. They are not friendly, often they will not speak English even though they know it. they do not say excuse me when the burp or sneeze and probably they do not say excuse me when they pass gas out their back side? They also do not seem to say please or thank you very often. When an American has bad manners like that we ask them if they were raised or born in a barn because they are acting like an animal. Europeans burp at the table, they do not even cover their mouth they just keep talking or eating while they expel that noxious gas out on everyone and over the table as if they are providing a special treat.
Concerning "Starring": I often have experienced that I earned a smile of the people that I was "starring" at. If you don't walk "blind" through the world it is better .
True, when I approach another person on the sidewalk, I seek eyecontact one time when we get into line of sight at a respectable distance and a second time when we get close. Then I (try to) form a smile and greet the person along with a nod. Usually I also forget to keep eye contact until the other person has responded (IF they return the eye contact) It seems to me to be the best way not to get awkward and to signal some level of assurance to the other person
Cleaning the shower afterwards depends on where you live: Depending on the "Water Hardness" (Härtegrad) it can be necessary or not. When you have soft water you dont have to, when you have hard you have. One of the best was Braunschweig, who got their water from the Harz, very soft. On the other hand, Munich and Rhein-Main are much worse - one drop of water and you have instant spots.
Brotzeit can be at any time during the day … like a small „meal“ of cold food like a sandwich in between and is a Bavarian dialect expression. Abendbrot is dinner with cold food like bread, sausages, cheese etc.
Yeah, my parents were from Berlin and we always called it abendbrot, sounded more like ahmbrot. Was a whole extra meal on sundays. Breakfast, lunch, Kaffe, supper, abendbrot.
Brotzeit CAN be the evening meal. It really is just a light meal/snack of breads, cold cuts of meat, cheeses, spreads, and maybe slices of bell peppers or pickles. Other such meals are butterbrot and abendbrot. Brotzeit is more Bavarian and a brunch to just after work time snack or light meal. Butterbrot is more breakfast through lunch and some extra veggies… a simple open faced sandwich. Abendbrot is a light evening meal much like brotzeit, but likely with soup or salad.
Who cleans the shower with the towel they use to dry themselves off??? 😳 You got that one wrong 🫠 You hang a small towel specifically for the shower somewhere in the vicinity that you use for the shower exclusively. Don't dry the shower with your own towel 😳
At the advice of some gamer friends, I dumped most of the wireless garbage that constantly needed replacing...headphones, computer mice, keyboards, speakers, and more. A wired mouse is so much more precise and fast...a 4 foot wide sweep over three monitors in 1 second. Wireless never did that for me and I kept having to replace or charge batteries every few weeks.
As a retired Management and Comunication trainer of a south German Car Company some thoughts about our staring. We in northern Europe have a culture of "keeping eye contact". We use eye contact as a non verbal communication channel. It is not meant as a threat if i keep eye contact. If you do not look into your partners face while talking to him, your are not honest and you are "hiding your hand". This is typical for northern Europe. If we assess customer contact personell we look and check if the applicant is keeping proper eye contact to the customer. The US culture is very different with that. Comes from the gunslinger times in the wild west??
I think in some parts of germany Brotzeit means the break during morning work and before lunch. Abendbrot is then dinner but like you said cold meal with coldcuts, fresh and pickled cucumber and tomato. We sayfor eating healthy: eat breakfast like a king, lunch as middleclass and dinner like a pauper
@@holger_p hi Holger, Dankeschön. Ich habe als Koch in verschiedenen Regionen in Deutschland gearbeitet. Da merkt mann das die selbe Sache je nach Bundesland oder slebst in Nachbarstädten verschieden genannt werden. Vielen Dank für deine wertfolle Anmerkung.
This is why I love showering away from home. Hotels, eg. I'm just gonna leave this all wet! We scrape the glass panes every time and they still look awful. I tried using vinegar on them and I discolored the floor stones. The armature looks pretty good though after a simple wipe.
It's not only far more often on time, the train network is also much more packed. Far more trains - and still working well. Mad respect for the SBB guys.
Das wundert nicht, über die SBB und ihre Infrastruktur sind ja schließlich zwei Weltkriege weniger weggegangen: zum guten teil stammt sie (die deutsche) aus dem Anfängen des vorigen Jahrhunderts , aus Bismarcks Zeiten sogar, - wie es auch beim Telephonnetz der Fall zu sein scheint.
The shower thing confused me a bit.. do Americans just not care whether their shower implements get calcite stained, or is the average tap water in the US so soft that it doesn't stain?
Some informed beer drinkers in the US buy that same lineup you have. I have for about 45 years. My shops carry 30-45 labels of German beer in all styles. Every major US city is loaded with German brands.
I've spent the entire 46 years of my life here and have never seen or otherwise noticed anyone wiping the metal fittings clean after a shower. So I really wouldn't say that's typically German.
I never thought about drying the stainless steel in the shower, but I do squeegee the glass after every shower. It is a chore that I don't like but I always do it.
For families it tends to make sense for the main cooked meal of the day to be in the evening on weekdays as one or both parents will be at work and the children will likely be at school. In our family we did have the main meal at lunch time on Sundays because we were all at home.
When I was young having warm lunch was normal in Germany. Mom was at home all day, the children did come home from school at lunch time. And the father came home for lunch when possible or he did have warm lunch where he did work or some did even had a type of a thermos flask - more a thermos can - for warm lunch with them. And in the evening we did have Abendbrot/Brotzeit. This was typical in Germany about half a century ago.
@@ThomasVWorm Yes, that was the case in West Germany. I am a child of the GDR. Our mothers weren't at home all day - they had jobs. We still had a warm lunch, the children in kindergarten and school (for 55 pfennigs per meal), the parents at work (it cost a maximum of 1 mark per portion). My mother worked at Deutsche Post. There were too few employees at their post office to have their own cafeteria. So every lunchtime the employees went to a neighboring restaurant where they got their lunch. They did not pay the usual prices that every private visitor to the restaurant paid - for them the prices were the same as in a company canteen. In the evenings at home we had bread, sausage, cheese or even Viennese sausages, schnitzel,... with bread. “Real” cooking was only done on weekends.
The Deutsche Bahn used to be great. I remember mocking my students back in England about their bad and unreliable train system. Two decades later, here we are. And talking about staring: If you think the Germans do stare, then have fun in India. 😂 I have never felt so being stared at like there. For looooong periods of time, even after asking them: “Why are you staring at me?!”, they kept staring. 😂
ROFL! "I was only seven minutes late, but i hate Deutsche Bahn!" I guess you got us germans there, trust us to find the one and only hair in the giant bowl of soup! Enjoying your videos very much, thank you for your work!
There are really places which don't have a ton of limestone in the water. I lived in a few places and the worst is Reutlingen, depending if you get water from the Lake Constance or the Swabian Alb. The Swabian Alb water is so bad that your black tea develops a skin on it during summer days. In Saarbrücken on the other hand, water leaves nearly no traces. The water has very little solved limestone in it and you don't need to wipe down all the time.
Black tea _always_ develops a slick, no matter the water. That's just black tea. If you want to avoid that you have to stir constantly while it's seeping.
Das gilt aber in SB nur in den Stadtteilen, wo man das weiche Sandsteinwasser aus dem Bliestal hat. Im den Stadtteilen mit "Muschelkalkwasser" ist es hart bis sehr hart, so daß es dort zB schwer bis unmöglich ist, Zierfische nachzuzüchten (Malawibuntbarsche vielleicht ausgenommen).
I was just in Germany near Bonn and the DB rant is much needed xD. Yes having the trains are good, but also missing my connection in Mainz by 20 MINUTES and having to get another ticket to go to the frankfurt airport was, great lol
You don’t need to buy another to ticket! At least they’re good for that - if it’s their fault that you missed your train, the Zugbindung is cancelled and you can use another train without a new ticket.
@@glockenreinstill have to buy a ticket and then apply with a formula to get your money back for this ticket that you were forced to buy. (don't expect 100% back) BUT always ask the personnel in the new train and explain situation and you might get in without purging a new ticket. To apply for a refund you also need a official statement of the bahn info or the personal in the train that the train was late. Hope this helps......it definitely sucks & is unfair 😊
@@HejSue I did not know that was the official way, thanks for explaining! 😅 I have literally never done that though and it happens to me at least every other month. I always just get on the new train, show my old ticket and explain. No one’s ever not accepted that, maybe I have a trustworthy face or something. I also wonder how you’re supposed to buy a new ticket because very often there is no time and you have to sprint to the new train. Even if you bought the ticket online, often that would only work out when you’re already on the train.
@@glockenreinyes it's impossible, because when the staff would make you buy a ticket, they would have to wait for you and that causes delay so they say just get in. And the ICE staff is nice because they don't meet rude people all the time. The regionalbahn staff are stressed and mostly not nice. If they want you to buy a new ticket, then you should force them BEFOREHAND to hand you out a statement of delay, that you need to apply for refund. A screenshot of the db app is also good. Note literally every personnel handles this differently, what is ok for that, could be not ok for others. I have witnessed so many times db staff threw out people when it is not to their liking - even if it was the last train in the middle of the night.
@@HejSue I always went to the DB service point, where I always got a written notice on my ticket that Zugbindung is cancelled due to a delay. Never had to buy another ticket nor did I have to rely on train staff being nice. Therefore, I'd even say the actual official way IS to go to the service point if a train delay causes you to miss other trains.
Brotzeit CAN be the evening meal. It really is just a light meal/snack of breads, cold cuts of meat, cheeses, spreads, and maybe slices of bell peppers or pickles. Other such meals are butterbrot and abendbrot. 🔹 Brotzeit is more Bavarian and a brunch to just after work time snack or light meal. 🔹 Butterbrot is more breakfast through lunch and some extra veggies… a simple open faced sandwich. 🔹 Abendbrot is a light evening meal much like brotzeit, but likely with soup or salad. Mahlzeit! 🧀🥯 Lasst es euch schmecken! Ahn guada!
I, too, still have a manual toothbrush and headphones with cords. Why? They are much more cheaper, they work without electric power (practical AND more sustainable), they are reliable and noone will steal them 😂
Nun habe ich ja noch nie gehört, daß man jemandem den Kopfhörer von der Stereoanlage gemopst hätte oder eine Zahnbürste - das dürfte ein echtes Randphänomen sein.
I don‘t know anybody that is still brushing teeth with the non-electric tooth brush. In fact all of my family and friends are equipped with electric brushes in 2nd to 4th generation!
If I have a fixed appointment, I don't use the train. It's too risky for me to miss this appointment. But about the tooth-brush-thing: Ask your dentist: he will tell you, that he sees the first look who's using an electic brush and who doesn't. The teeth of the manual users are much more damaged...
Hmmm... afaik, Brotzeit is Bavarian for Vesper, which is a Zwischenmahlzeit - a meal between regular meals, usually eaten at work, or on outdoor activities or when traveling, e.g. with Deutsche Bahn.
Brotzeit is not a term for a cold dinner with bread. It stands for an intermediate meal, mostly in the afternoon and consisting of bread, cold cuts and/or cheese, with maybe some additional vegetables/salad. Most popular in Bavaria and Southern Germany. "Abendbrot" would technically be correct, as well in S.-Hall. Using "Abendbrot" instead of "Abendessen" per default is slightly associated with simpler folks, as especially the (with regional exceptions) obsoleting term "Abendsuppe".
Talgo From Madrid to Málaga: 3 minutes early. Amtrak from Philadelphia to New York: 5 minutes early. SBB from Lausanne to Zurich: on the dot. ICE from Berlin to Hamburg: cancelled, next train in 60 minutes and delayed by 45. So much about my recent experience.
It's not like Germans dislike new technologies. After all, we are a country obsessed with technology. We simply despise shitty and unnecessary technology. And that toothbrush is the perfect example. You can get a decent toothbrush for 1€ - 3€. It will last you a month. That's 12€ - 36€ per year. Compare that with an electric one! You'll pay more for the brushes and it will for sure break after a few years, generation some electronic waste. There is no scientific proof that electric toothbrushes are better, they will cost you more money and have a larger impact on the environment. Apart from that, i love this channel. German nuclear scientist here that has worked with US colleagues for more than 20 years and stumbled across this channel by chance. And boy, you nail it! Both fantastic cultures, both with their flaws and greatness. In some aspects very similar, in some others very alien to each other. In any case, you're doing a great job as an ambassador for both cultures and building bridges understanding each others cultures. Should you ever be in the Geneva region and keen for a private tour of CERN and it's massive, underground experiments, drop me a message.
My electric toothbrush is a BRAUN (you know, a German company). I get the cheapest rechargeable version I can find - now $35. They last for years, and the older ones weren't lithium ion. The brush part lasts for months and there are many really cheap no-brand ones available.
Elektrische Zahnbürsten sind deutlich besser als nicht elektrische. Sie reinigen gründlicher und schonender. Deshalb sollte man unbedingt eine verwenden.
Hilariös, dear Nalf! I’m just having so much fun with your rants about your assimilation journey😊. They are so nicely crafted and full of detail. Is that part of what living amongst us life engineering freaks brought to you? Carry on, I love them little video treats!
There is a word that describes pretty well what many German companies like Deutsche Bahn or Lufthansa do when they try to improve something better but make it even worse than before.: Verschlimmbessern.
Stimmt am DB ! I recently looked forward to a nice train ride from Amsterdam to Essen. Due to customs holding up a freight train, I missed my connection in Monchengladbach. Then there was a failed attempt to make another connection in 3 minutes. Finally, twice connecting on local trains, I got to Essen Hbf nearly 2 hours later. My friend who had agreed to meet me there got there with his car got there later than he expected due to Klima Klebers on the way. Next time......Lionel trains !
@@uliwehner Also they stop if you press to hard. My teeth got really sensitive and hurt when I sucked air into my mouth or drank cold water (like normal tap water). This was because of me pressing too hard and also because my bad technique (wiping back & forth, instead of circular motions). The electric brush does the circular motions, and you just have to guide it. Those two things greatly helped my teeth get better.
I am German and I clean my shower once a week or every other week. As well as the sink, the bathtub and the rest. The first time I saw a wiper blade with a wall mount inside the shower to wipe down the tiles and the glass after showering, was in an AirBnB in South Beach.
Not sure where you get your last point from. I don't know of a single German that prefers snail mail over email. Also, electrical tooth brushes are everywhere, plus dentists suggest using them over manual ones.
This video is online for quite some time now, but I just binged you, landed here and want to transport my respect. As a German for me sometimes it's quite cringe to hear abozt our weirdnesses. Goes without saying. You so it in a manner thats very digestible. And entertaining, sometimes even very funny. And not cringe at all. Authentic. Besides in OUR (TV-)entertainment, we like that. So it must be something about you. Thanks for all this. It is very welcome.
German here: Someone here called it Kilometerblick (kilometer view). It's the first time I've heard that, but it applies perfectly to me. I don't stare, I just look somewhere, even through people, I often don't really notice that someone is there. Of course I also look at people, but believe me, it's almost always meant in a friendly way: I make eye contact. If the other person looks back, I give them a brief nod or even a smile, especially if I have the feeling that they are feeling uncomfortable, alone or lost.in this case it's more of a sign that I've noticed you and that everything is okay for me and that you're welcome to talk to me if you want to. I hardly ever want give nasty looks. Of course, it's different for everyone and there are stupid people everywhere. But there are others everywhere too.
Ist eine preußische Militärsache. Der preußische Soldat (das prügelbare oder zu prügelnde Subjekt, wie Hegel ihn nannte) hat den über ihn gestellten Vorgesetzten anzuschauen. Und das hat der Untertan nicht nur der Obrigkeit gegenüber beibehalten. (Und nebenbei, schaut Euch mal die Faxenmacherei beim usamerikanischen Militär und seinem Gebrülle an, auch das wird das besagte "Subjekt" wie Vieh behandelt).
It really annoys me when people diss the DB - if you travel by car you have occassions where it takes you much longer than expected to due traffic jams, accidents or rush hour as well, but with trains people seem to think there should never be any technical or mechanical issues, it has to run like clock work or it's crap. Nobody would complain about being 7 min late on a car journey or when cycling or walking somewhere. In the last few years I have had significantly more trouble with fligths being cancelled or horribly delayed, and DB saved the bacon a couple of times getting me from Frankfurt Airport to Pfronten at 2am when the connecting flight to Munich was cancelled.
Well, but it is almost an exception when connections go that smoothly - about half of the trains of the DB had a delay last year. Compare that to Japan or even Switzerland....
While i do agree with you. the thing about the DB is, that she could be so much better. She used to be better, and i think that is the main reason ppl complain. They knew the DB as she should be, and hate the DB for what she has become.
Never have I ever have had accumulated so much delay in my life (and I travel far and often) with my car than with the DB. Over 60% of connections delayed or missed because of random cause or complete breakdown. Not to mention the higher costs (compared to having and maintaining a car in total with credit and maintenance, fuel, etc.) you have to pay for travel way longer for less way. The inconvenience of bringing things, especially heavier stuff from A to B. And then not being where you need to be when you have arrived. (When I drive by car I park where I am destined to be and that's it, I arrived. By train I have to switch from distance to local travel means (which are especially in Munich also very eager to delay you even more if they even decided to drive) and other people you might visit feel the need to pick you up so that you arrive eventually and not 7 and a half hours later than expected. Then DB is a corrupt company that destroyed cargo as well as person travel means by letting their trains and rails deteriorate accompanied by an impressive amount of why-should-we care. Let's give a practical example. I lived in Frankonia for quite a time and didn't have a car. By train (RE from a smaller town then ICE) it took me 3.5 hrs to arrive at Munich train station to visit my family. Then I needed to change to local means and go by S-Bahn to an outer part of Munich which took another 45 mins to 1 hour depending when the next S-Bahn would go. There someone would pick me up or I would have another 30 mins walking. So all in all it took me around 4.5 hrs to 5 hrs to arrive at my family, and that only if everything went well (which means at max a delay of 10 mins). Regularly (def more than 50% of the time) i was heavily delayed (by at least 1 to 1.5 hrs). This does not include the time I needed to get from my flat to the next train station which was around 15 mins. With car it took me 2.5 hrs to leave home and arrive at my families. With me being physically where I wanted to go to. So at my destination. 2 point 5 hours vs approx. 5 hours. Then let's talk about time tables. My car drives when I want it to, also at night, best time to drive. Would I be able to reach my destinations with train at let's say after 10pm, very unlikely. Regios notoriously do not drive after 10.30 pm and before 04.30 am. And ICE also quit their service generally around 12 am. This is a fucking joke mate. I cannot tell you how much jams are not a problem compared to the rate of DB being delayed, broken, not on time or out of work. Worst jam in 7 years was once when they had road work and removed 2 of 3 tracks from the A9 near Ingolstadt (a very heavy load motorway segment in Germany where traffic is really stuffed oftentimes). That was the only time it took me 7 hrs instead of 2.5 hrs. In over 90% of all cases I arrived under 2.5 hrs. This is not even remotely comparable to the problems the DB causes when being dependent on it. It was incredibly seldom that it even took 3 hrs instead of 2.5 hrs. So ranting about the DB is not actually only a Volkssport, it's also maddeningly justified.
Portland must have soft water. I wipe down the shower everywhere I've lived in California (and now Florida). Hard water stains on the glass doors, tile, fixtures if I don't.
@@Call_me_daddy6The water in Cologne is so hard, I made ice cubes and put them in my water and when the ice started to melt, I had "dandruff" floating in my glass.
Very strange, Mr. Nalf! Around 01:30 you mention "outdoor sports" as your "new focus" on activities! BUT you said you shift to Bouldering after retirering from American Football. I always thought that American Football is a 100% outdoor sport, where Bouldering is at least partially done indoors in climbing centers. But what do I know mainly having experience in german Football?
(I just wrote that comment under an old video of yours, so I thought for you to read it, I better post it under the most recent one as well) Hey Nalf, I've been watching your videos for a couple of years now, and I have to say; it always amazes me, how entertaining and well made your videos are. Firstly your friendly character is always very inviting and you have the talent to tell storys and facts in a way that just makes the listener feel good. Then there is the background music to your videos, which I find very fitting and even funny at times (without being overly silly). Lastly all the different camera angles (or different clips for each topic) make the video come alive. All those facts combined makes me feel like im watching an art piece, every time I tune in. I love everything about those videos and your in my top 3 youtubers fs. Keep it up, buddy
Your video made me think about my childhood Märklin train-set. Sigh! The smell of ozone!!! 🤣🤣🤣 On the tech issue, I wonder whether there still is an aversion to credit cards over there? Still was an issue when I was last in Berlin just before the pandemic. One last thing: you owe it to your health to get an electric toothbrush! So much better for a truly thorough cleaning. Braun makes good ones.
Hey! Anothrr Wire-headphones-manual-toothbrushing-German here! I got to disapoint you, though - its not about being German, its about us getting old haha
Brotzeit is not necessarily bound to a certain time. It is done in the morning, as a pubil when you consume your Pausenbrot you are also having Brotzeit, it is done when you hike and make a stop and eat some prepared sandwiches(Pausenbrote). Abendbrot is a Brotzeit done in the evening instead of a big meal you have a few slices of bread with something which again is also a Brotzeit. Brotzeit is also rather used in the south of germany as far as i am aware.
Ha, at 3:24, that's Stuttgart! We're especially "lucky" in having to deal with the delays and issues related to the Stuttgart 21 mega project, which...well, I'm not sure what that "21" stands or stood for, but it sure couldn't have been the intended year of completion, could it?
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I love your tone,
I'm usually a pain in the ass. This video was well done. I'm the only American that I know who has Grohe fixtures in my bathroom and I dry the shower after every shower. I had two aus Hamburg grandparents that helped raise me in the U.S.. They did not even dry the shower, yet I do. That is so strange now that I know it is a German thing (depending on how hard or soft the water is).
“I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”
quote by Douglas Adams (author of "A Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy")
Perhaps it isn't so much you becoming germanized that makes you dislike new technology but rather that you're just getting old... Or you can blame it on the Germans. Whatever makes you feel better. 😅
Good one 😉
😂
Ha! 😂
I am old, 54, and I have started to get this thing about new technology and older people. I am pretty sure it's not a decrease of intelligence, it's the lack of time. Why the heck spend hours or days of the short life span left on learning how to use some new technology if the old way works just fine? 😉
However, most Germans, regardless of their age, are more than willing to accept new technology if it helps to save money. My parents in law, both close to their eighties, had no problem with cancelling their newspaper subscribtion, when they learned that they could share my husbands digital subscribtion for free. 😊 It still feels somewhat unreal to see them reading their newspaper each on their own tablet at breakfast time... 😂
@@Kristina_S-O save is a verb; safe is a noun or an adjective.
I don't know, I was born before CDs and during my lifetime that entire technology has come and gone again. I feel like technology cycles have become maybe a bit too short for your model.
There is a German word for what has happened to Deutsche Bahn. It has been "kaputtgespart". Kaputtsparen means: economize on something to the point of ruin.
In addition, after reunification the government invested almost exclusively in the East. As a result, signaling technology in many areas is at the level of the 1960s. Another point is that freight transport, local and long-distance passenger transport run on the same tracks. This means that express trains are slowed down by slow trains. New high-speed lines are hardly being built anymore because citizen protests oppose the whole projects
The same here in the Netherlands, and more "managers" doesn't solve the problems.
A lot of things should never been privatised, when all of a sudden stockholders are involved you know it
is going to be a downwards spiral.
DB is not privatized! It was only changed into private law, what gives transparency to the true cost of running the system. Before that, the costs were cloaked and therefor the prices were subsidized, lacking funds elsewhere. @@markschattefor6997
The DB has not been "kaputtgespart", because the money spend by the income generated is still high, but often times inefficient. Also, the politics take taxes and money out of the system like everywhere and also gives everybody a management job with political connections. But DB is a state-owned company with the state having control over the control mechanism, what they don't have in true privatized companies. That's why it is a bite in the ass for every taxpayer, getting nearly nothing from it. However, the overall lobbying against let's say goods transports, has to do with disabling German military to deploy fast over train networks (Socialist Moscow lovers). And also with pulling regular transportation on the streets, favouring (international) trucks, which companies are in international shareholders hands.
basically what happened to boeing, blizzard entertainment and a bunch of other giant US companies
Complaining about the DB is Volkssport!
We want the Deutsche Bundesbahn zurück 😂
The same in Slowakei about Slovak Railway 😂
Cleaning the shower depends on the water. We don't do it, we have "soft" water.
I'm happy to live in a region that has soft water. Tap water, which consists of groundwater, is hard. It contains many minerals and also lime. Our tap water comes from dams (surface water). It contains significantly fewer healthy minerals (it tastes significantly less “metallic”), but also no lime. That makes life easier. The skin doesn't feel tight after a shower (you don't have to apply cream straight away), the hair needs less care products, there are no limescale stains on glass and metal surfaces (at most, small stains like those left by rain on a glass pane - they can be done too Wipe dry very easily), washing machine, kettle etc. do not need to be descaled regularly. You also don't need a water softener when doing laundry or in the dishwasher.
The water in the region I live is so hard, I got bruises all over my body from showering every morning...
...maybe not that hard, but if you forget whiping it only once, you better have some vinegar or citrus acid at hand.
I have hard water but don't bother wiping it off. The few centimeters of limescale deposits provide extra corrosion protection... 🙈
And chrome is too much _bling bling_ for me anyway 😎
@@312Annabella
Here, at the east sea, so hard water everything gets a white cover, bathroom and kitchen, coffee is urg.
As I read your post, I suddenly rembered how much were better, softer, easier in midth germany, like nostalgia. 😀
Now I really miss it.
me² I am frisian living up north...we dont have to do this..we have the best water
In my part of Germany Brotzeit is a daytime meal and Abendbrot is for evenings - obviously.
in Southwest it is called "Vesper" and can be "Brotzeit", "Abendbrot", "Picknick" or "Zwischenmahlzeit"
But we also call "Vesper" a snack you take with you on a trip or to school.
In north germany Vesper is about 16:00. Bread/cake with tea/coffee and a lot of stuff going on it.
@@Blast-Forwardno, that is just a snack, not Vesper.
@@MiaMerkur In the south we call it like that.
as a german i can wholeheartedly say i love a hot dinner simply because im not at home during lunch hours and you have more time to cook
For me, what Americans consider staring at someone is actually looking them in the eye. Meeting someone with an open gaze.
The “German Stare” isn’t referring to prolonged eye contact. It’s referring to staring at a stranger for what would be considered to be far too long by the standards of other cultures. In the US, you never want to be caught staring at a person, even if they are being absurd. You can catch a quick glance, but if they catch you looking at them, you immediately avert your gaze.
I too scoffed at electric toothbrushes, then I used one. It was life changing. My teeth were cleaner than ever before and faster, and more thorough in less time.
you forgot to wipe the window with a wiper after showering
Yes, this is the most German (or should I say Alman) thing ever!
@@mareiketje4899because it's a pain, trying to get the stain off! So it's better spending 1 min.viping sprinkles instead a few ours cleaning calcareous marks!
We Germans not only love the Brotzeit, but also our fresh cakes in the afternoon with coffee or tea.🙂🥧☕🫖
I love them at all times of the day.
👍🍰@@mojojim6458
sounds delicious!!
...aber bitte mit Sahne 🎶🎶🎶
But that is Kaffee und Kuchen Zeit or Kaffeezeit in my region.
I feel like in Germany it is accepted to look at someone until you have established eyecontact. Then the "first looker" either smiles (active and friendly) or looks away (passive and nonthreatening), otherwise it transforms into a stare and is perceived as a threat.
It is quite normal to establish eyecontact here.
I just give them a couple of winks with one eye and give them a seductive smile back!!! 🤣 Their reaction is priceless
@@michaelvonfriedrich3924 , does that go for either sex?
I‘ve learned that it’s okay to stare at someone if you are a woman. If a man stares at you, you are more likely to feel threatened .
@@CabinFever52 well of course the reaction is priceless 🤣
he's talking about staring at a complete stranger, isnt he?
8:35 Nice! German beer snob buys a can of HOLSTEN Pilsener. The price-performance champion, the beverage of choice of the working class. (I actually like it, but this is next-to-bottom-shelf!)
I'm a German and I don't know what's that about "German staring". I have never seen a stranger looking at me for longer than a split second and I don't do it either. It's never more than just a quick look to make sure we don't run into each other.
Dann komm mal nach Berlin. Hier wurde das Glotzen erfunden. Das kann manchmal mehrere Sekunden gehen. Und niemand denkt sich was dabei.
Yes. I don’t understand why they say they stare. I don’t see it.
It's a regional thing, mostly.
Some areas do, some don't.
Also remember, not everybody living in Germany these days is an ethnic German. And you can't always tell just by looking at them (and before this gets misconstrued, this isn't a criticism of foreigners in Germany; it is a simple observation of fact).
I have never been to Germany so I obviously do not know but I have heard about this in a lot of videos. Most of the time these are videos from the south of Germany so could it be a regional thing? I don't understand how this is not considered to be rude behavior. I thought if that happened to me I would tell them to take a photo so they can stare at that after I am gone. I have the impression Europeans have really bad social interaction. They are not friendly, often they will not speak English even though they know it. they do not say excuse me when the burp or sneeze and probably they do not say excuse me when they pass gas out their back side? They also do not seem to say please or thank you very often. When an American has bad manners like that we ask them if they were raised or born in a barn because they are acting like an animal. Europeans burp at the table, they do not even cover their mouth they just keep talking or eating while they expel that noxious gas out on everyone and over the table as if they are providing a special treat.
@@lennybuttz2162 Knowledge based on RUclips videos. 👎🏻👎🏻
Concerning "Starring": I often have experienced that I earned a smile of the people that I was "starring" at.
If you don't walk "blind" through the world it is better .
What you call a stare we call eye contact - and we get vaguely suspicious of people who avoid our gaze! It seems shifty to us…
True, when I approach another person on the sidewalk, I seek eyecontact one time when we get into line of sight at a respectable distance and a second time when we get close. Then I (try to) form a smile and greet the person along with a nod. Usually I also forget to keep eye contact until the other person has responded (IF they return the eye contact)
It seems to me to be the best way not to get awkward and to signal some level of assurance to the other person
😂
Cleaning the shower afterwards depends on where you live: Depending on the "Water Hardness" (Härtegrad) it can be necessary or not. When you have soft water you dont have to, when you have hard you have. One of the best was Braunschweig, who got their water from the Harz, very soft. On the other hand, Munich and Rhein-Main are much worse - one drop of water and you have instant spots.
Me: wtf is Brotzeit
Nalf: also known as Abendbrot
Me: ah
I was in the US Army in (West) Germany many years ago. I really enjoy this website. Keep it up!
Brotzeit can be at any time during the day … like a small „meal“ of cold food like a sandwich in between and is a Bavarian dialect expression.
Abendbrot is dinner with cold food like bread, sausages, cheese etc.
Yeah, my parents were from Berlin and we always called it abendbrot, sounded more like ahmbrot. Was a whole extra meal on sundays. Breakfast, lunch, Kaffe, supper, abendbrot.
@@marcokeller3575Yes, "ahmbrot" is exactly right :)
Brotzeit CAN be the evening meal. It really is just a light meal/snack of breads, cold cuts of meat, cheeses, spreads, and maybe slices of bell peppers or pickles. Other such meals are butterbrot and abendbrot. Brotzeit is more Bavarian and a brunch to just after work time snack or light meal. Butterbrot is more breakfast through lunch and some extra veggies… a simple open faced sandwich. Abendbrot is a light evening meal much like brotzeit, but likely with soup or salad.
My favourite type of Übergangsjacke is the 3 in 1 kind. A light rainjacket with a zip-in windbreaker for colder days. Aces!
My German heritage must be showing…I clean my shower after each use…at least wipe the chrome and use a squeegee.
Who cleans the shower with the towel they use to dry themselves off??? 😳 You got that one wrong 🫠 You hang a small towel specifically for the shower somewhere in the vicinity that you use for the shower exclusively. Don't dry the shower with your own towel 😳
you never use a towel. Use a "mikrofasertuch". Thank me later. :)
He still can’t give up his American side. 😊
Brotzeit don't have to be Abendbrot. In bavaria a Brotzeit can be every time of the day. 😊
Agree and a even better word for that is Vesper [feschper].
Brotzeit = hefezeit
The Übergangsjacke kills me :D
At the advice of some gamer friends, I dumped most of the wireless garbage that constantly needed replacing...headphones, computer mice, keyboards, speakers, and more. A wired mouse is so much more precise and fast...a 4 foot wide sweep over three monitors in 1 second. Wireless never did that for me and I kept having to replace or charge batteries every few weeks.
"I won't use that newfangled technology!!" he says while filming with an iPhone pro!! 🤣
🤣👌
I'm from Baden and we call Abendbrot "Vesper" (pronounced Feschba)
As a retired Management and Comunication trainer of a south German Car Company some thoughts about our staring. We in northern Europe have a culture of "keeping eye contact". We use eye contact as a non verbal communication channel. It is not meant as a threat if i keep eye contact. If you do not look into your partners face while talking to him, your are not honest and you are "hiding your hand". This is typical for northern Europe. If we assess customer contact personell we look and check if the applicant is keeping proper eye contact to the customer. The US culture is very different with that. Comes from the gunslinger times in the wild west??
I think in some parts of germany Brotzeit means the break during morning work and before lunch. Abendbrot is then dinner but like you said cold meal with coldcuts, fresh and pickled cucumber and tomato.
We sayfor eating healthy:
eat breakfast like a king, lunch as middleclass and dinner like a pauper
We just say second breakfast, in other parts of Germany. Cause nobody eats bread. Or it's a very new fashio to do so. It's more rolls.
@@holger_p hi Holger, Dankeschön. Ich habe als Koch in verschiedenen Regionen in Deutschland gearbeitet. Da merkt mann das die selbe Sache je nach Bundesland oder slebst in Nachbarstädten verschieden genannt werden. Vielen Dank für deine wertfolle Anmerkung.
Vesper
I never wipe those "metal things" clean after showering. I clean it once a week.
Me, German, reflecting on doing this shower cleaning thing every single day 😂 I just can‘t stand those water stains. You‘re spot on!
No, he's spot off!
Not only the armatures are tried, but also the tiles and glass panes
This is why I love showering away from home. Hotels, eg. I'm just gonna leave this all wet! We scrape the glass panes every time and they still look awful. I tried using vinegar on them and I discolored the floor stones. The armature looks pretty good though after a simple wipe.
Try the Swiss 🇨🇭 transportation system: SBB is usually on time, and sooo much better than DB!
It's not only far more often on time, the train network is also much more packed. Far more trains - and still working well. Mad respect for the SBB guys.
Das wundert nicht, über die SBB und ihre Infrastruktur sind ja schließlich zwei Weltkriege weniger weggegangen: zum guten teil stammt sie (die deutsche) aus dem Anfängen des vorigen Jahrhunderts , aus Bismarcks Zeiten sogar, - wie es auch beim Telephonnetz der Fall zu sein scheint.
So true. Usually very trustworthy.
The shower thing confused me a bit.. do Americans just not care whether their shower implements get calcite stained, or is the average tap water in the US so soft that it doesn't stain?
Some informed beer drinkers in the US buy that same lineup you have. I have for about 45 years. My shops carry 30-45 labels of German beer in all styles. Every major US city is loaded with German brands.
For me, the best beer is in Berlin, in Strassenbrau.
@@greetp-jp4 Yuk
I've spent the entire 46 years of my life here and have never seen or otherwise noticed anyone wiping the metal fittings clean after a shower. So I really wouldn't say that's typically German.
Oooooh, yes we do!😊
I do it also!
I never thought about drying the stainless steel in the shower, but I do squeegee the glass after every shower. It is a chore that I don't like but I always do it.
Lol, Uber gangs sounds like an illegal organisation of Uber drivers
😂
😂
For families it tends to make sense for the main cooked meal of the day to be in the evening on weekdays as one or both parents will be at work and the children will likely be at school. In our family we did have the main meal at lunch time on Sundays because we were all at home.
When I was young having warm lunch was normal in Germany. Mom was at home all day, the children did come home from school at lunch time. And the father came home for lunch when possible or he did have warm lunch where he did work or some did even had a type of a thermos flask - more a thermos can - for warm lunch with them.
And in the evening we did have Abendbrot/Brotzeit.
This was typical in Germany about half a century ago.
@@ThomasVWorm Yes, that was the case in West Germany. I am a child of the GDR. Our mothers weren't at home all day - they had jobs. We still had a warm lunch, the children in kindergarten and school (for 55 pfennigs per meal), the parents at work (it cost a maximum of 1 mark per portion). My mother worked at Deutsche Post. There were too few employees at their post office to have their own cafeteria. So every lunchtime the employees went to a neighboring restaurant where they got their lunch. They did not pay the usual prices that every private visitor to the restaurant paid - for them the prices were the same as in a company canteen. In the evenings at home we had bread, sausage, cheese or even Viennese sausages, schnitzel,... with bread. “Real” cooking was only done on weekends.
sounds wonderful to me!!
When I was a child, the DB still worked great
Tooth brushes are mostly electric nowadays. Only when traveling the old fashioned manual device is packed in. 😊
The Deutsche Bahn used to be great. I remember mocking my students back in England about their bad and unreliable train system. Two decades later, here we are. And talking about staring: If you think the Germans do stare, then have fun in India. 😂 I have never felt so being stared at like there. For looooong periods of time, even after asking them: “Why are you staring at me?!”, they kept staring. 😂
ROFL! "I was only seven minutes late, but i hate Deutsche Bahn!"
I guess you got us germans there, trust us to find the one and only hair in the giant bowl of soup! Enjoying your videos very much, thank you for your work!
i wipe the glass door of the shower, but never the handles :D
Hypocrite! 😂 Sorry … 🙂
„Real“ Germans wipe and dry every part! The metal, the glass and even the tiles using a dedicated towel and shower wiper 😂
@@peterl1771 Well, then apparently I (born, raised and living in Germany) am not a "real" German 🤔
@@sabineschroter1012I have never wiped the faucet or tiles or tub. I do wash wash the textile shower curtain every other week, though!
@@sabineschroter1012 Then you seem to be a soft water German 😉
9:10 Even the way you say snob sounds German! (schnob) I love it!
The German word is the same…Snob….no Sch anywhere
Brotzeit is not limited to the evening. Abendbrot is though
Yeah, for me Brotzeit is more a "small meal during the day," might be a second breakfast or something like that.
Brotzeit exist in southern Germany only.
There are really places which don't have a ton of limestone in the water. I lived in a few places and the worst is Reutlingen, depending if you get water from the Lake Constance or the Swabian Alb. The Swabian Alb water is so bad that your black tea develops a skin on it during summer days.
In Saarbrücken on the other hand, water leaves nearly no traces. The water has very little solved limestone in it and you don't need to wipe down all the time.
Black tea _always_ develops a slick, no matter the water. That's just black tea. If you want to avoid that you have to stir constantly while it's seeping.
Alb vs Alp. Brezel vs pretzel. B vs P.
@@K__a__M__IActually, no! Since I use a water filter (I live in a region with very hard water), it doesn't do that anymore.
Das gilt aber in SB nur in den Stadtteilen, wo man das weiche Sandsteinwasser aus dem Bliestal hat. Im den Stadtteilen mit "Muschelkalkwasser" ist es hart bis sehr hart, so daß es dort zB schwer bis unmöglich ist, Zierfische nachzuzüchten (Malawibuntbarsche vielleicht ausgenommen).
0:45 If you want to avoid limescale deposits on the shower fittings, you have to have them gold-plated
congratulation: you are officially german
I swear never Heard of Brotzeit. Always used Abendbrot. But I do appreciate you like the breat Brot hier.
I was just in Germany near Bonn and the DB rant is much needed xD. Yes having the trains are good, but also missing my connection in Mainz by 20 MINUTES and having to get another ticket to go to the frankfurt airport was, great lol
You don’t need to buy another to ticket! At least they’re good for that - if it’s their fault that you missed your train, the Zugbindung is cancelled and you can use another train without a new ticket.
@@glockenreinstill have to buy a ticket and then apply with a formula to get your money back for this ticket that you were forced to buy. (don't expect 100% back) BUT always ask the personnel in the new train and explain situation and you might get in without purging a new ticket.
To apply for a refund you also need a official statement of the bahn info or the personal in the train that the train was late. Hope this helps......it definitely sucks & is unfair 😊
@@HejSue I did not know that was the official way, thanks for explaining! 😅 I have literally never done that though and it happens to me at least every other month. I always just get on the new train, show my old ticket and explain. No one’s ever not accepted that, maybe I have a trustworthy face or something. I also wonder how you’re supposed to buy a new ticket because very often there is no time and you have to sprint to the new train. Even if you bought the ticket online, often that would only work out when you’re already on the train.
@@glockenreinyes it's impossible, because when the staff would make you buy a ticket, they would have to wait for you and that causes delay so they say just get in. And the ICE staff is nice because they don't meet rude people all the time. The regionalbahn staff are stressed and mostly not nice. If they want you to buy a new ticket, then you should force them BEFOREHAND to hand you out a statement of delay, that you need to apply for refund. A screenshot of the db app is also good. Note literally every personnel handles this differently, what is ok for that, could be not ok for others.
I have witnessed so many times db staff threw out people when it is not to their liking - even if it was the last train in the middle of the night.
@@HejSue I always went to the DB service point, where I always got a written notice on my ticket that Zugbindung is cancelled due to a delay. Never had to buy another ticket nor did I have to rely on train staff being nice. Therefore, I'd even say the actual official way IS to go to the service point if a train delay causes you to miss other trains.
My last visit was in 2013 and the trains were awesome. Sorry to hear that they are not doing as well now.
Brotzeit CAN be the evening meal. It really is just a light meal/snack of breads, cold cuts of meat, cheeses, spreads, and maybe slices of bell peppers or pickles. Other such meals are butterbrot and abendbrot.
🔹 Brotzeit is more Bavarian and a brunch to just after work time snack or light meal.
🔹 Butterbrot is more breakfast through lunch and some extra veggies… a simple open faced sandwich.
🔹 Abendbrot is a light evening meal much like brotzeit, but likely with soup or salad.
Mahlzeit! 🧀🥯 Lasst es euch schmecken! Ahn guada!
Butterbrot isn't the name for a meal at all, it's just a buttered slice of bread
Regarding the shower ... I even dry the floor ... 😅
Because I built the bathroom completely on my own and don't want any mold or stains.
I, too, still have a manual toothbrush and headphones with cords. Why? They are much more cheaper, they work without electric power (practical AND more sustainable), they are reliable and noone will steal them 😂
Nun habe ich ja noch nie gehört, daß man jemandem den Kopfhörer von der Stereoanlage gemopst hätte oder eine Zahnbürste - das dürfte ein echtes Randphänomen sein.
I don‘t know anybody that is still brushing teeth with the non-electric tooth brush. In fact all of my family and friends are equipped with electric brushes in 2nd to 4th generation!
I saw my favourite Beer: Berliner Kindl. I love it
If I have a fixed appointment, I don't use the train. It's too risky for me to miss this appointment. But about the tooth-brush-thing: Ask your dentist: he will tell you, that he sees the first look who's using an electic brush and who doesn't. The teeth of the manual users are much more damaged...
Hmmm... afaik, Brotzeit is Bavarian for Vesper, which is a Zwischenmahlzeit - a meal between regular meals, usually eaten at work, or on outdoor activities or when traveling, e.g. with Deutsche Bahn.
Brotzeit is not a term for a cold dinner with bread. It stands for an intermediate meal, mostly in the afternoon and consisting of bread, cold cuts and/or cheese, with maybe some additional vegetables/salad. Most popular in Bavaria and Southern Germany. "Abendbrot" would technically be correct, as well in S.-Hall. Using "Abendbrot" instead of "Abendessen" per default is slightly associated with simpler folks, as especially the (with regional exceptions) obsoleting term "Abendsuppe".
when somebody is impressed how good the deutsche bahn is, then you know: something is very wrong with the trains in his country!
Talgo From Madrid to Málaga: 3 minutes early. Amtrak from Philadelphia to New York: 5 minutes early. SBB from Lausanne to Zurich: on the dot. ICE from Berlin to Hamburg: cancelled, next train in 60 minutes and delayed by 45. So much about my recent experience.
It's not like Germans dislike new technologies. After all, we are a country obsessed with technology. We simply despise shitty and unnecessary technology. And that toothbrush is the perfect example. You can get a decent toothbrush for 1€ - 3€. It will last you a month. That's 12€ - 36€ per year. Compare that with an electric one! You'll pay more for the brushes and it will for sure break after a few years, generation some electronic waste. There is no scientific proof that electric toothbrushes are better, they will cost you more money and have a larger impact on the environment.
Apart from that, i love this channel. German nuclear scientist here that has worked with US colleagues for more than 20 years and stumbled across this channel by chance. And boy, you nail it! Both fantastic cultures, both with their flaws and greatness. In some aspects very similar, in some others very alien to each other. In any case, you're doing a great job as an ambassador for both cultures and building bridges understanding each others cultures.
Should you ever be in the Geneva region and keen for a private tour of CERN and it's massive, underground experiments, drop me a message.
My electric toothbrush is a BRAUN (you know, a German company). I get the cheapest rechargeable version I can find - now $35. They last for years, and the older ones weren't lithium ion. The brush part lasts for months and there are many really cheap no-brand ones available.
Elektrische Zahnbürsten sind deutlich besser als nicht elektrische. Sie reinigen gründlicher und schonender. Deshalb sollte man unbedingt eine verwenden.
Hilariös, dear Nalf! I’m just having so much fun with your rants about your assimilation journey😊. They are so nicely crafted and full of detail. Is that part of what living amongst us life engineering freaks brought to you? Carry on, I love them little video treats!
It's so crazy to see someone talking about Brotzeit that exciting, as for me as a german it's just the most normal standard thing.
Very interesting
I love your videos, always very loosely commented and often very funny. Best entertainment 👋❤️
Abendbrotzeit is great unless you're in hospital - when it's so boring during the day you reeeeeealy crave a "proper" meal in the evening 🤣
There is a word that describes pretty well what many German companies like Deutsche Bahn or Lufthansa do when they try to improve something better but make it even worse than before.: Verschlimmbessern.
Stimmt am DB ! I recently looked forward to a nice train ride from Amsterdam to Essen. Due to customs holding up a freight train, I missed my connection in Monchengladbach. Then there was a failed attempt to make another connection in 3 minutes. Finally, twice connecting on local trains, I got to Essen Hbf nearly 2 hours later. My friend who had agreed to meet me there got there with his car got there later than he expected due to Klima Klebers on the way. Next time......Lionel trains !
Yeah, Brotzeit can also be called Vesper (named after the evening meal of the monks at the former monasteries).
COLD SHOWERS ANYONE? Or are you all warm showerers?? hahahahaha
Haha, thank you, that was refreshing.
Greetings from the northern part of Germany.
Nice to have you here. 🙂👍
The German stare is hilarious!
Brotzeit can also be the snacks between the big meals
Nick, like your glasses! 👍 Why waste money on electric toothbrushes?😅
because they clean your teeth better. i even bring mine when i go camping now. 2 minute timer is built in as well. Just the perfect tool for the job.
@@uliwehner Also they stop if you press to hard. My teeth got really sensitive and hurt when I sucked air into my mouth or drank cold water (like normal tap water). This was because of me pressing too hard and also because my bad technique (wiping back & forth, instead of circular motions). The electric brush does the circular motions, and you just have to guide it. Those two things greatly helped my teeth get better.
Protective Eye gear is very important using old style slow-motion German Toothbrush!🤓
The glasses represent adopting new technology to combat the latest fear, fear of blue light.
I am German and I clean my shower once a week or every other week. As well as the sink, the bathtub and the rest. The first time I saw a wiper blade with a wall mount inside the shower to wipe down the tiles and the glass after showering, was in an AirBnB in South Beach.
Fehlt nur noch der Gartenzwerg im Vorgarten... 😊
Oder im Schrebergarten 😂
Der moderne Spießer hat einen Buddha.
With a little wheelbarrow...hahahahhahahah! I forgot the name for wheelbarrow, so I had to write it in English.
@@ubierin4797Die Glückskatzte ist auch nicht zu verachten.
@@ubierin4797 Hat aber vorher noch gesagt, dass er Atheist ist. Ich kenne diverse solcher Typen.
Not sure where you get your last point from. I don't know of a single German that prefers snail mail over email. Also, electrical tooth brushes are everywhere, plus dentists suggest using them over manual ones.
This video is online for quite some time now, but I just binged you, landed here and want to transport my respect.
As a German for me sometimes it's quite cringe to hear abozt our weirdnesses. Goes without saying.
You so it in a manner thats very digestible. And entertaining, sometimes even very funny. And not cringe at all. Authentic. Besides in OUR (TV-)entertainment, we like that.
So it must be something about you. Thanks for all this. It is very welcome.
We experienced the German stares on holiday and was very uncomfortable. In London you could lose your life for it :-/
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Not with the German stare. It can kill, when necessary.
@ThomasVWorm Männer die auf Ziegen starren?
Men staring at goats?😂
German here: Someone here called it Kilometerblick (kilometer view). It's the first time I've heard that, but it applies perfectly to me. I don't stare, I just look somewhere, even through people, I often don't really notice that someone is there. Of course I also look at people, but believe me, it's almost always meant in a friendly way: I make eye contact. If the other person looks back, I give them a brief nod or even a smile, especially if I have the feeling that they are feeling uncomfortable, alone or lost.in this case it's more of a sign that I've noticed you and that everything is okay for me and that you're welcome to talk to me if you want to. I hardly ever want give nasty looks.
Of course, it's different for everyone and there are stupid people everywhere. But there are others everywhere too.
You can always excuse yourself by saying: "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just daydreaming".
NALF! Wo ist der Duschabzieher aka Flitsche???
Und das Fensterleder?! 😊
Glad you found your spot here in Germany (daheim fühlen). Sometimes one arrives where he should be
Except for Brotzeit and Bouldering the same would be true for Central-Northern Italy. Especially the railway thing.
I was taught that when speaking with a German to make sure you make eye-contact. It's considered rude if you don't.
Ist eine preußische Militärsache. Der preußische Soldat (das prügelbare oder zu prügelnde Subjekt, wie Hegel ihn nannte) hat den über ihn gestellten Vorgesetzten anzuschauen. Und das hat der Untertan nicht nur der Obrigkeit gegenüber beibehalten. (Und nebenbei, schaut Euch mal die Faxenmacherei beim usamerikanischen Militär und seinem Gebrülle an, auch das wird das besagte "Subjekt" wie Vieh behandelt).
It really annoys me when people diss the DB - if you travel by car you have occassions where it takes you much longer than expected to due traffic jams, accidents or rush hour as well, but with trains people seem to think there should never be any technical or mechanical issues, it has to run like clock work or it's crap. Nobody would complain about being 7 min late on a car journey or when cycling or walking somewhere. In the last few years I have had significantly more trouble with fligths being cancelled or horribly delayed, and DB saved the bacon a couple of times getting me from Frankfurt Airport to Pfronten at 2am when the connecting flight to Munich was cancelled.
i was expecting some disaster with 2 transfers-- instead "oh I was 7 minutes late"
Well, but it is almost an exception when connections go that smoothly - about half of the trains of the DB had a delay last year. Compare that to Japan or even Switzerland....
While i do agree with you. the thing about the DB is, that she could be so much better. She used to be better, and i think that is the main reason ppl complain. They knew the DB as she should be, and hate the DB for what she has become.
Never have I ever have had accumulated so much delay in my life (and I travel far and often) with my car than with the DB.
Over 60% of connections delayed or missed because of random cause or complete breakdown.
Not to mention the higher costs (compared to having and maintaining a car in total with credit and maintenance, fuel, etc.) you have to pay for travel way longer for less way.
The inconvenience of bringing things, especially heavier stuff from A to B.
And then not being where you need to be when you have arrived. (When I drive by car I park where I am destined to be and that's it, I arrived. By train I have to switch from distance to local travel means (which are especially in Munich also very eager to delay you even more if they even decided to drive) and other people you might visit feel the need to pick you up so that you arrive eventually and not 7 and a half hours later than expected.
Then DB is a corrupt company that destroyed cargo as well as person travel means by letting their trains and rails deteriorate accompanied by an impressive amount of why-should-we care.
Let's give a practical example. I lived in Frankonia for quite a time and didn't have a car. By train (RE from a smaller town then ICE) it took me 3.5 hrs to arrive at Munich train station to visit my family. Then I needed to change to local means and go by S-Bahn to an outer part of Munich which took another 45 mins to 1 hour depending when the next S-Bahn would go. There someone would pick me up or I would have another 30 mins walking.
So all in all it took me around 4.5 hrs to 5 hrs to arrive at my family, and that only if everything went well (which means at max a delay of 10 mins). Regularly (def more than 50% of the time) i was heavily delayed (by at least 1 to 1.5 hrs). This does not include the time I needed to get from my flat to the next train station which was around 15 mins.
With car it took me 2.5 hrs to leave home and arrive at my families. With me being physically where I wanted to go to. So at my destination. 2 point 5 hours vs approx. 5 hours.
Then let's talk about time tables. My car drives when I want it to, also at night, best time to drive.
Would I be able to reach my destinations with train at let's say after 10pm, very unlikely. Regios notoriously do not drive after 10.30 pm and before 04.30 am. And ICE also quit their service generally around 12 am. This is a fucking joke mate.
I cannot tell you how much jams are not a problem compared to the rate of DB being delayed, broken, not on time or out of work. Worst jam in 7 years was once when they had road work and removed 2 of 3 tracks from the A9 near Ingolstadt (a very heavy load motorway segment in Germany where traffic is really stuffed oftentimes). That was the only time it took me 7 hrs instead of 2.5 hrs. In over 90% of all cases I arrived under 2.5 hrs. This is not even remotely comparable to the problems the DB causes when being dependent on it. It was incredibly seldom that it even took 3 hrs instead of 2.5 hrs.
So ranting about the DB is not actually only a Volkssport, it's also maddeningly justified.
Yeah, corded headphones ftw! 👍(at least until the cords get frayed 😄)
I'm german and still like to use my slide rule sometimes instead of my electronic calculator.
Portland must have soft water. I wipe down the shower everywhere I've lived in California (and now Florida). Hard water stains on the glass doors, tile, fixtures if I don't.
Nalf lives in south germany . The water is full of chalk and limestone
@@Call_me_daddy6 He said it was a "new German habit" as if he didn't have it before living in Portland.
@@Call_me_daddy6The water in Cologne is so hard, I made ice cubes and put them in my water and when the ice started to melt, I had "dandruff" floating in my glass.
Very strange, Mr. Nalf! Around 01:30 you mention "outdoor sports" as your "new focus" on activities! BUT you said you shift to Bouldering after retirering from American Football.
I always thought that American Football is a 100% outdoor sport, where Bouldering is at least partially done indoors in climbing centers.
But what do I know mainly having experience in german Football?
I used an ICE yesterday. It was 130 Minutes delayed (from Berlin to Cologne).
(I just wrote that comment under an old video of yours, so I thought for you to read it, I better post it under the most recent one as well)
Hey Nalf,
I've been watching your videos for a couple of years now, and I have to say; it always amazes me, how entertaining and well made your videos are. Firstly your friendly character is always very inviting and you have the talent to tell storys and facts in a way that just makes the listener feel good. Then there is the background music to your videos, which I find very fitting and even funny at times (without being overly silly). Lastly all the different camera angles (or different clips for each topic) make the video come alive.
All those facts combined makes me feel like im watching an art piece, every time I tune in. I love everything about those videos and your in my top 3 youtubers fs.
Keep it up, buddy
Tobias, thank you so much for this message. I appreciate it so much!
Your video made me think about my childhood Märklin train-set. Sigh! The smell of ozone!!! 🤣🤣🤣
On the tech issue, I wonder whether there still is an aversion to credit cards over there? Still was an issue when I was last in Berlin just before the pandemic.
One last thing: you owe it to your health to get an electric toothbrush! So much better for a truly thorough cleaning. Braun makes good ones.
It only took one trip for me to Germany to become a German beer snob…it’s just so much better. I always look forward to my next visit for that reason!
Next time also visit Czech Republic. I love their beer even more! ❤
@@tarwod1098 Ireland has some good beers as well.
Hahahaha!!! Too funny & so true!!! Love the ‘brotzeit’ meals!! German brot is the best!!! 🥖❤️👍🏼
Yep, I think most of world has much tastier and healthier bread than we have here in America.
Hello Mr. Nalf - it is good to see another post! I don't recall seeing posts from you in a while....
Hey! Anothrr Wire-headphones-manual-toothbrushing-German here! I got to disapoint you, though - its not about being German, its about us getting old haha
Brotzeit is not necessarily bound to a certain time. It is done in the morning, as a pubil when you consume your Pausenbrot you are also having Brotzeit, it is done when you hike and make a stop and eat some prepared sandwiches(Pausenbrote). Abendbrot is a Brotzeit done in the evening instead of a big meal you have a few slices of bread with something which again is also a Brotzeit. Brotzeit is also rather used in the south of germany as far as i am aware.
Ha, at 3:24, that's Stuttgart!
We're especially "lucky" in having to deal with the delays and issues related to the Stuttgart 21 mega project, which...well, I'm not sure what that "21" stands or stood for, but it sure couldn't have been the intended year of completion, could it?
Absolutely - it means it will be completed in the 21st century!
(planned was 2019)
Es war schon ein Bahnhof für das 21. Jahrhundert gemeint ... aber ich frage mich, haben sie mit dem Bau schon angefangen?
I still love the trains there.
Usually I really love the Bahn, but these days it is just sad! It could be so good, I mean like it used to be! Staying optimistic though.