GERMANY 🍺! Happy Oktoberfest. I've been on quite the journey across Eurasia the past few months, have been slowly editing and releasing the videos as I go along. So apologies if some of these videos are a bit late. I've been to so many places that not all of them will make it onto RUclips. If you'd like to see my trips in Holland 🇳🇱, Italy 🇮🇹, and the Baltics 🇱🇹🇱🇻, I'll be posting those on Patreon. If you wanna watch and also support ya boy out in the field, all you gotta do is pitch in $5. Check it out here: www.patreon.com/sabbaticaltommy
As an American whos wife is from Germany and son born there..many misconceptions..first as you go West, most Germans speak English, they take it in school. As The Autobahn does have some speed limits in certain areas,as for congestion and road narrowing. Germans are excellent drivers and obey road rules. Unlike my home State of Florida, or Autobahn wouldnt work.bAs far as A/C units, some metro trams or trains do have it, most Apts dont as they figure we only get like 6 -8 weeks of heat,why bother? Also pay gas after you pump blew my mind. Transit, also you pay but might not be asked to show your ticket, so you can possibly get away with one or two stops freely..The elephant in the room is Neo Nazi, not ww2 storm troopers..just against the liberalism that has taken over, as many migrants refuse to assimilate and try to live off govt.or scam. Whereas Germans culturally are hard workers and take pride that they have jobs Same as some who have come to USA. Many Germans fed up with no say in their politics. Parks look over grown and unattended but they are not..Germans like things to be of native plants not of trimmed and artistically pleasing. Food is pretty decent and its great with no tax or tip. Relativly reasonable even tho prices have risen last few years etc....i could go on..I really like Germany its grown on me a lot.
Dresden was not bombed by the Soviets. It was bombed by the americans and especially the british. The british "area bombing directive" is particularly critiziced as a policy to destroy german cities without any concrete military objective. Obviously the germans started the war and the bombings in the first place. But area bombing as collective punishment in the end of the war is debatable....
@@---ie2ms Haha, that's quite the historical revisionism. So, by your logic, an insane bully isn't responsible unless they formally challenge you? Otherwise, fighting back is illegitimate and the bully should be allowed to trample everyone? The lack of action against the Soviet assault was pure pragmatism, realpolitik, and strategic prioritization-avoiding unnecessary fronts that could lead to two major powers uniting against them. Also, Germany declared war on the US right after Japan's attack, which, by the way, happened without a prior declaration of war.
@@JG-zc1kmYou might revisit history lessons, Deutschland didn't declare the war, it even proposed a peace treaty to the British several times even though British were in knockdown
Nice. I'm basically the guy in the end but with more hair. 😂 Same experience in the GDR, I was 18 when the wall came down and it was absolutely mindblowing. Subbed and looking forward to more content. Also from our neighbour states and beyond in the east like Poland, Czech Republic and so on. My family came to Germany east and west from Poland (Galizia) after 1945 though they were ethnic Germans.
The Sauerbraten must have tasted very strange if you're not used to it. I like your casual style, the lack of music is so refreshing to other tourist videos.
As a person interested in languages you have missed an opportunity in Bautzen. There you could have had the possibility to meet Sorbic speakers. Sorbic is a separate West slavic language spoken in Eastern Saxony and Southern Brandenburg in an area called Lausitz.
It's heartwarming to have you here. I have followed you all over Asia, have literally watched every single video of your trips over there. I really appreciate your attitude when it comes to new countries. You do research, you learn the language and you read the news. Now I see you apply this to my home country. Its funny and simultaneously feels super strange. Strange to see you exploring, noticing things like that there is Bretzels all over the place, which to me obviously just feels normal. If you need someone to show you around please let me know. I live 1,5 hours away from Munich and would offer you a ride, to the alps for example. I would really take my time for you! Willkommen in Deutschland 😄
Stationed in Darmstadt from 1972-74, loved being in Germany! Loved the folks I met, Castles, Palaces, Museums, Architecture and the pride Germans took in their country. I'm much older now, but from time to time, I think back and smile. Thank You Germany!
I'am from Darmstadt, was 11 in 1972, remember well all the Americans, father gave me a Dollar bill and I was allowed to go inside the baracks in Griesheim Airfield to buy icecream in these cubeform paper wrapping ( we had no such ). It was such a beautifull time and a great place to grow up; now everything is in decline more and more
My guy, you asked a 18 year old cafe worker about property prices in that area 😂. Wtf man, she clearily doesnt have a clue and just wants to go clubbing
Guy is my age. He instantly mentions “there were places for you when you didn’t behave”. But since it wasn’t him, it all “was not bad”. Well. For me it comes off as some sort of selfish ignorance, but still I can be happy for him he didn’t lost friends who were destroyed by the “places” he talks about. I just think it is very lazy to talk about East Germany like that when you were there and obviously even “know”.
@@fiedel I dont think that is selfish ignorance, he just adapted to the life, cuz there was nothing you could do about it anyway. He basicaly just meant that these times werent as bad, as most people tend to believe they were, when you read or hear about the history, it is often way exaggerated. He just pointed out, that it was only bad for a minority of people in such a matter and he just tried to dodge the bullet. Also it is a matter of your kind of personality, whether you are politically interested or not. I think calling that selfish ignorance is pretty disrespectful, especially when he was pretty obenminded and chill as a person.
Loved the chess match at the beginning. I am german and understood the elder one, and he said they collect the money for a children and teen chess club he works add, to go on matches because the parents can't pay all the costs of those matches and it helpes them out. Love how he teaches young people chess and dp his best that they also can collect memories and have real competive matches. Always love how passionate some germans do theire hobbies.
Rarely watch long videos on youtube but whenever Tommy drops one of these gems i'm binging it like nothing. 😎 Keep up the great work. Very unique stuff, not a lot out there.
@@ViK45HA Yo, so Dresden was like the spot during WWII, right? It was this major vibe for the German war effort-tons of factories, railways, and supply hubs. But by '45, Allies were like, "Nah fam," and straight-up firebombed the place. It was wild-massive destruction, but also super controversial. People debate if it was really necessary ‘cause it hit civilians hard. It became this whole tragic symbol of war’s chaos and destruction. So yeah, Dresden was basically ground zero for one of the most intense and talked-about moments in the war. I can explain in other dialects, if needed.
you can look forward to getting a few tickets from the speed cameras in a few weeks from the rental company. On the autobahn, you can only go as fast as you want where the sign is posted with a white circle with black diagonal lines on it, usually between cities, in busier places and on the outskirts of the cities, the speed limit is usually 100KPH or there abouts. But great videos, I love them.
@@SabbaticalTommy Lol, you'll be fine, the tickets are usually not very expensive, I've gotten quite a few, at most I think they were around 50 bucks, and you can pay them online.
Another fun fact, even if you are legally allowed to as fast as you want, if you are in an accident, you will be liable. So Germany, will let you screw yourself but at your own risk
One thing to note on the fact that a lot of Germans don’t speak English. You have to differentiate: A lot of people you ran into that didn’t speak German were either people with a Turkish background or old people in East Germany. In the DDR, English wasn’t taught the same way it was in the West, and Turkish-Germans have much poorer English on average. Same goes for older people of 60+. Anyone born and raised in Germany under the age of 50 will have a very good level of English
" Anyone born and raised in Germany under the age of 50 will have a very good level of English" That is absolutely not true unfortunately although "very good" is open for interpretation of course.
>Anyone born and raised in Germany under the age of 50 will have a very good level of English That's not true. English proficiency in Germany is definitely at a much lower level than in the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries. Even among the younger generation (the age bracket of 15 to 30, let's say), English isn't ubiquitous -- especially among people with lower / more practical education.
Funny how on USA history class they never mentioned the civilian casualties due to ally advance, i read it in a book and could not believe what i read👍
WWII had millions of civilian casualties. It was the first war, really, that considered civilians as contributors to the war effort. Who was growing the food, making the equipment, ammo, etc
The probably never mentioned the Rhein Meadows camps. Where civilians were starved to death and deprived of water after the war. If they tried to head to the river to drink, they were shot by American troops. They were then starved throughout the entire country in what was called the Year of Hunger.
@@kevinnickel7529 Those camps were only under US stewardship for 2 months. You sure that was long enough to starve people? BTW, over a million prisoners of war at once surrendering will always cause an issue no matter who is in charge.
Thank you for the beautiful video. My dad grew up in East Germany (Leipzig) during the separation of East & West. Growing up in the East, his friends and him always heard about West Germany. They dreamed of a new life and once they got older, they escaped to West Germany. Two of them went through the border of West & East before the wall was fully built. Out of the two that ventured through the not yet built border, one died from a landmine while the other was able to make it through unharmed. The other three went through the East border of Germany, got arrested by the neighboring countries authorities. After a year of prison, they were released in the same country they were captured in. From there they made their way along the outside border of Germany & made their way back into North West Germany. My dad’s bestfriend who he escaped with, wrote a book about his whole venture. Lastly, my dad informed me that for Christmas he was able to share a banana with his brother.
achja, die bananenlüge. es ist ja mittlerweile bekannt, dass man in der DDR unmengen an bananen hätte haben können. allerdings die kleineren aus kuba. verkaufte sich aber nicht, also wurde auch nicht viel bestellt. die ossis wollten die großen bananen. und weils nur die kleinen gab heulen se rum 🤡 als ob man keine anderen probleme hatte als bananen, zum beispiel den nachbarn der schön alles petzen geht, oder das verlorene studium, weil man nen witz über erich gemacht hat
The man learns the most exotic lingos possible with his left hand, comes to Germany and boom! nada haha. Finally you can envy me! :D Cheers mate, keep up the good work. Tschuess!
Almost to 1 million subs great job. No loud music no drama just amazing video, facts and intereation with locals TY. Always look forward to your videos!
You used to be able to pump gas in the United States before paying. Apparently people for the most part were more honest and trustworthy here then. Kudos to Germany for still being able to do this.
Interesting, I thought it was the same globally. It’s the same in the UK, fill up and then pay. And back when I lived in the Middle East, I didn’t even have to leave the car, I miss that aha
@@tavish4699 Same here in the USA, but don’t be fooled into believing any law enforcement is going to go after them. Not happening. They will take a report and that’s about it. Besides, the vehicle is probably either stolen, unregistered, or registered to someone else.
14:24 "It was the Soviet resources who rebuild..." NO not at all. East Germany hat to pay heavy reparations, so if a production facility was not destroyed by war and Ruskis liked it, it was deconstruckted, placed in boxes and delivered to Russia. It was east German resaurces who rebuild the city with emphasising the new communist man = buildings that allow spying on one and each other. The nice city centers where left byside to rot, cause its century old structures did not realy fit the picture of a new sovietlike/communist society.
yeah let's act like people didn't desperately need places to live... sure, it was all ideology 🤡 restoring the old buldings was way more expensive and took more time for less space. meanwhile western germany bulldozed their still existing cities to make space for roads, roads, and even more roads, oh, and a mall. and the city centers that were not bulldozed were vandalized by "modern" architecture
The synagogue in my hometown was not destroyed by the nazis because it was to close to the German housing. But it was destroyed by the Sowjets who stored military equipment in it and let it fall in disrepair. And I think that is a good metaphor for east Germany in general. What the Nazis didn’t manage to murder, destroy and eradicate by force the Sowjets did by disregard, stealing and revenge. While west Germany got a lot of money for reconstruction from the US right after the war east Germany had to wait for reunification. That’s why old inner cities in East Germany looks quite a bit better than west German ones just because they are newer 30 years after reunification. Fascinating development.
Einbahnstraße means one-way street :) If you would literally translate it it would say "One road/lane street" :) Also, you are NOT allowed to drive as fast as you want everywhere on the highway in Germany, only when there is a sign with a speed limit that is crossed, otherwise there will be signs saying how fast you can go.
English emerges from Saxon (German language family), Latin (church) and Scandinavian languages (Viking). So German shouldn't be that difficult for an American. Many words sound similar. I come from Saxony but has nothing to do with the Saxon people who settled with the Angles (North German tribe) in England around 200. the remaining Saxons were almost exterminated on the mainland by Charlemagne and the rest merged with the other Germanic tribes in Germany.
A very American perspective on the east west history. I would recommend watching Ken Loach's 'Singing the Blues in Red / Fatherland' which beautifully contrasts the negative aspects of both sides of the iron curtain, most of the film contrasts East and West Germany but the almost zombie like acceptance of the UK people to the prevailing propaganda at that time was the most haunting part of the film for me as a Brit.
I hate to say it, but as much as I like England, if there's still one country in the world where the chances of being called a Nazi as a German are high, it's England.
@@starseed8087 There aren't many Nazis in Wales where I'm from, Ralph Waldo Emerson described us as 'naturally democratic' people. The culture is very different.
@@starseed8087 I come from Germany when I had my final trip with the school class to Paris in 99. When we got off the bus and a group of French young people noticed that we were German, they collectively raised their right arms and said the appropriate thing. I don't think it was meant in a friendly way.
German checking in. You mentioned you can go as fast as you want on the autobahn then you proceeded to sit in a t-roc. In that car, you certainly cannot go as fast as you want.
I’ve been following you for about a half a year now - I’m taking a videography course at our local tech school - stating this coming Nov. In any case I really enjoy your meanderings (took me awhile to come up with the proper word, “meanderings” - I believe I nailed that one, yes, “meanderings” - (knowing how you like various languages) 😊
I was stationed in Germany in the early seventies. I loved my time there. Bavaria was one of my favorite places. I was stationed in Landstuhl. I enjoy your videos & amazed how you pick up languages. Best of luck to you.
definitely the best channel on youtube. my family are now religiously watching your uploads. so much better than the junk on T.V. Educational and funny. Big up
Did you record this before your other European trips? A lot of the things you're surprised about are things all of Europe does like buying petrol and main landmarks being free. Weird that this is the first time you encountered it!
I just finished a 3 weeks hols in Germany, swit and Italy. I love Germany. It is historical, beautiful, quaint , modern . It’s facilities , hotels are modern and very tourist friendly. Food , beers , liquor is great and cheap.
@@AK-hi7mghow can you hate Germany?Its like Paradies!I think you have the German sickness,complaining all the time and making negativ Drama about nothing!
I'm glad you had a good time in my home country! My family and me got out of East Germany right after the wall came down. Even though I was just 4 years old at the time, I think many people tend to forget about the nastier aspects of life in the DDR (or GDR). A friend of my mother actually got pulled into a dark alley at night by the Stasi, and they wanted her to "give something back to the glorious motherland". They wanted to recruit her by force so she could spy for any dissent among family and friends and then report back to the Stasi. But luckily she managed to get out of this situation with an absolutely genius response: "Sorry but I cannot keep secrets from my husband, because I talk in my sleep."
Thank you for the amaing videos. Your travels remind me of th eones i did during my flying career in the military. I appreciate how you keep you videos down to earth and easily connect with the average travleler liek me. Please, keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
8:37 Just to be clear, East Germany was never part of the Soviet Union. The GDR was its own country and entity, they spoke German. You wouldn’t see Cyrillic letters in East Germany even 50 years ago
I love Germany! I have been so blessed to have Taken 4 different trips of 21 days to Central Germany, where I drove the Autobahn and enjoyed speeding as fast as my rental would allow and then the "defeat" of being passed as though my car was "parked" ... haha. My favorite food was BROT!! with a variety of cheeses. Oktoberfest music made me so happy!! I am feeling quite nostalgic right now just thinking of all the good times! I thought Frankfurt was a great airport.. I did get on the wrong train the first time, but actually got fairly good at taking the local buses and trains... Also took the train to France and enjoyed that a lot... Thanks for your thoughts and experiences that you have shown us.
I was an army brat and lived there in my youth. It's not new. Graffiti has been there even back in the 90s. It sucks, but it is what it is. Usually jibberish, and more-so found in bigger cities.
I was there on a FAM Trip (familiarizing trip) for travel agents, etc, and as the oldest one there... and as the only one who spoke fluent German... I tried to explain Checkpoint Charlie to everyone. They just stared at me blankly..... And they still have plenty of people who hate "Ausländer".
That’s how history goes. A lot of places where some historic events took place. The most important thing though, to remember the cause and the outcome. And if outcome is bad or worse tan bad, then may be it makes sense to not to repeat the previous errors?
The English Language comes from influences all over Europe. There are linguistics channels here on RUclips that explain how the language developed. Hundreds of years ago the English Language sounded like German. Interesting stuff
there is a reason why it is a germanic language, long story short: angles and saxons moved from what today is germany to england and that is how english developed..
English never sounded “like german”. Both languages split from the common ancestor language, Proto-Germanic (Urgermanisch in German, also sounds and looks absolutely nothing like modern German), and went their separate ways. English never sounded “like german”, it sounded like Proto-Germanic a couple thousand years ago, german also never sounded “like english”, but again, sounded like Proto-Germanic a couple thousand years ago. It’s like saying “humans used to look like monkey’s”, which just isn’t technically correct. We share the same ancestors as the other primates, but we went separat paths tens of thousands of years ago, and the common ancestor species we once belonged to simply no longer exists.
Omg the "Soviet Union sculpture" shoutout to Bald was absolutely hilarious. I love watching both of your videos - such cool takes on everything! Thankyou Sabbatical for what you do!
You did a great job summarising the main historical facts in Berlin! Not that easy cause there’s a lot of history, but you covered it well without any major misinformation 👏
Imagine europeans went to america talking about slavery and everything openly and asking if they had slaves, and if they hung people. This guy would be so butthurt and offended but when it is not him well american ignorance shines.
I was 10 or 11 when the Wall came down. I paid quite close attention as I had family in Germany. It's hard to overstate the significance of that event. As a British person growing up with the Cold War still raging it was an amazing spectacle and definitely felt like the world was changing for the better. Oh dear how wrong I was.
@@Jordan-xg4pn Because while we did not see the first signs in the 90s, by Sept 11 it was clear that we were heading towards turmoil. And then here we are, back to a situation even worse than cold war as we have regional hot wars going on.
You could also visit “West Berlin” by train. My experience was heading to Berlin on a modern (for the time) electric train around 1973. When we got closer a steam powered locomotive hooked up to pull the train. We were met with some East German border guards with very sour dispositions. That experience was a foundation to my understanding of communism.
8:12 I like that in Germany you can just get into any car on the street and drive away. You just have to make sure you return the car at the end of the day, fully fueled for the next visitor.
@@smiley9872searching the comments for that. Only you so far mentioned it. Nobody knows. Hope everything works out for peaceful solutions. Our leaders are insane.
@@hammurabii.3173 finding solution should have been first thing. Now we somehow have to avoid the worst thing. Nobody is thinking about this in USA. They believe whatever they are told.
I served as a British soldier in a variety of garrisons in Westphalen. 7 years out of 16 spent in Germany and loved every moment of it. Beautiful country and once they let their guard down their generally lovely people too. Years later I ran a business in the old eastern part of Germany and owned a property in a village about 4km's westward of Bautzen. "The town of towers". The town is one of my favourite spots on this planet. In the background of part of your vide there was a building called SOPHIENKELLER - The food there used to be great value for money and I never had anything from there that was not Lecker Lecker. The best selection of restaurants in Dresden is in the Altstadt. Before the wall came down the Reichstag was a great museum and the wall went round the back of the building along the river. Berlin was a joy to live in when the wall was present - I had a flat about a 100 yards from the Olympiastadion. The best posting in the British Army. Now the wall has gone (and as much as we should rejoice that) I lament it - the city has just become way too large and unweildy. Enjoyed this one - a trip down memory lane almost. Thanks.
just found your channel. i'm also from long island. i'm 52 now but backpacked around europe summer 1994 when I was 22 along with a bunch of friends from queens. we made our way to berlin from amsterdam. i'd say in 1994 you could still see a lot of remnants of old east germany still alive, especially on some of the trains which you could tell were old east german trains. I was 18 and in high school when the wall came down in 1990, so it was an amazing historical trip to visit germany.
Tommy, an interesting fact about Bautzen ( or Budišin) is that it used to be an unofficial seat of Slavic minority, Sorbians, in Germany. Eastern parts of Germany and what is now Western Poland were through history frontiers between Slavic and Germanic people.
41:02 people are simply more concerned with privacy in Germany, most people do not appreciate being recorded, especially when done sneakily 41:50 if you ask someone how they are doing (wie geht's?) they will share how they feel at the moment / how their day is going and will ask you to share how you are in return. It's not just a greeting, but more genuine. She asked you how you are doing in return and expected an answer. Ignoring it will come across as dismissive. Obviously you didn't know this, so that's okay, but keep in mind that it's not a greeting, but a conversation starter.
Hey Sabbatical, great video. Had fun to explore with you. That idiot in the cologne store probably has an illegal business going on. for example money laundering. This is often the case in these stores where the boss is of Arab origin. Mostly that called "shisha Bars" are places you should not go to cause of rip offs or unfriendly people especially when you filming. You asked about dangerus places in berlin. There aren't exactly unsafe areas. More dangerous people. But you should stay away from dark places. My question to you would be. Have you noticed that German is hardly spoken on the streets and subways in Berlin? You hear mostly Arabic and Turkish. Or does someone who doesn't speak German not notice this?
@@SabbaticalTommy Thank you for your quick response. OK, interesting. For me as a German it's noticeable. Especially in the subway. But I also have a comparison to 10-20 years ago. Although there are districts in which the majority are of Arab origin, you can say that it now runs through the whole of Berlin. We also have fewer problems with Nazis than with Arab clans. I don't know if you've heard, but a few years ago an Arab clan went into a museum, broke into the "green vault" and stole very valuable jewels, not all of which have yet been resurfaced. The jewels were called “Sachsenschatz”. Maybe u find something about it if u want
In the UK there are 'Turkish Barber's Shops'. Sometimes as many as 5 or 6 next to each other, or very close. Strangely the men have high end cars outside, but no or few customers. So where does the money come from?... It's the same even in small towns.
he komme zu uns nach OStSachsen hier haben wir solche Probleme noch nicht. Hier bei mir ist es ruhig. wohne 50km östlich von Bautzen. klar sieht man auch optisch etwas die auswirkungen von 2015 in der stadt aber diese ganzen gewalt und GrapscherProbleme haben wir nicht.
My great grandfather was well known on Geissen. He sold brezels and engaged in philosophical discussions with philosophy students at the bruhaus there. Apparently there is a sculpture of him in the university conservatory. RIP Brezel Heinerich.
You probably mean Giessen (think you switched the e and i there) that’s a popular university city. The city though is mostly known for how ugly it is after it had been rebuilt after the Second World War. Interesting story though 👍
I feel like your channel will become something more cherished as time goes on and the world continues to trend toward homogenous globalism. It will be interesting for future generations to see how there used to be different countries with their own characteristics and culture
Man I miss my Germany trip, I stayed in Lörrach which is southwest on border of France and Switzerland. Been learning German for the past several months it’s a wonderful language. The life size chess board is very common cross the country. The autobahn was awesome I miss it, but yeah don’t drive as fast as you want everywhere on highway 😂, it’s only as fast as you want when the circle has the line through it. You gotta go on a brewery tour
I was in Germany in the 90s.. loved it.. the one thing that struck me about cities in eastern Europe was the drabness of the buildings.. everything looked so gray and foreboding.. their was color in a lot of the architecture also.. I was born in Chicago. It was kinda like that downtown, too.. it has changed over the years, though..
Damn Im surprised i never seen that word Ass before, words that are the same but mean different things usually stand out for me :D thanks for the info :P
Watching from Scotland and been to Berlin alot. I've been around city on a bicycle and visited most of places you've been, also been to a club and many other places. Street markets etc ❤🎉🎉🎉
@@Rarematt oh dear your not making sense. Baveria is a state, Berlin is a city in the state of Brandenburg, it's the blue north of Germany with 3000 huge lakes, and one of the largest wetlands in Europe and has historic towns, and Berlin the capital. 😎🇩🇪
I was stationed in Germany in the US Army back in the 1970's. As an NCO, I went on a garbage detail from my base. We took a couple of trucks to the local dump in W. Germany. We were told by our Lt. Not to pick up anything in the dump. As soldiers threw off the garbage from the trucks, I was standing on top of the garbage on the ground. Everywhere as far as you could see, were NAZI photographs everywhere under my feet!. During those days, Germany was trying to forget its past. Needless to say, I was shocked. Even the LT who was on the back of the truck, saw me looking down at the ground and warned me not to pick anything up......later he told me how Germany was trying to forget their past. We were stationed at a former German military base, from WW2. It was outside Stuttgart. I will not disclose where. But it was in need of serious repairs. We were out in the bush for almost 1 year, while German contractors redid the buildings. There were still German Mauser rifle racks in the hallway walls when we got to that old base. Memories burned in my mind forever.
Hey man, Great Video! Germany is very diverse- there is a lot more to Explore! I am more than happy to accompany you in a tour in munich and the Mountains !
thanks Tommy another interesting walk around .......when you end up on the west coast of Canada I invite you to explore my island (Quadra) and you have a invite to my clandestine cabin on a small lake if you are lucky you may get a few howls from the resident wolves ......cheers Paul
Very cool to see you in my home country! Definitely didn't expect you to visit the Soviet War Memorial in Treptow, there are two more, one in Tiergarten and the other one in Pankow. Visited them the last time I went to Berlin, watching your video really makes me want to visit the city again.
GERMANY 🍺! Happy Oktoberfest. I've been on quite the journey across Eurasia the past few months, have been slowly editing and releasing the videos as I go along. So apologies if some of these videos are a bit late.
I've been to so many places that not all of them will make it onto RUclips. If you'd like to see my trips in Holland 🇳🇱, Italy 🇮🇹, and the Baltics 🇱🇹🇱🇻, I'll be posting those on Patreon. If you wanna watch and also support ya boy out in the field, all you gotta do is pitch in $5. Check it out here: www.patreon.com/sabbaticaltommy
Greetings from Laos. Thank you for another exciting video. This is how I learn about other countries.
Great vid!
Cheers,
Happy Croptober fest incoming, eheheh
@SabbaticalTommy brother check 25:55-26:04 ASAP and fix it, i might be crazy but...
I hope you’re coming to Austria 🇦🇹 too
Dude, I love your more stoic demeanor. I think many are getting sick of the over-hype idiots.
Definitely! As soon as I hear the "influencer" voice, it's a hard pass. And usually a click on "Don't Recommend this Channel Again".
Good comment
Everyone has their niche on Social Media
@@adrianMKofficial most men don't like fakeness and want authenticity. putting on a fake voice/tone is not authentic, that's bad in both ways
Same here, i cant stand the energetic travelers, this is perfect for me.
As an American whos wife is from Germany and son born there..many misconceptions..first as you go West, most Germans speak English, they take it in school. As The Autobahn does have some speed limits in certain areas,as for congestion and road narrowing. Germans are excellent drivers and obey road rules. Unlike my home State of Florida, or Autobahn wouldnt work.bAs far as A/C units, some metro trams or trains do have it, most Apts dont as they figure we only get like 6 -8 weeks of heat,why bother? Also pay gas after you pump blew my mind. Transit, also you pay but might not be asked to show your ticket, so you can possibly get away with one or two stops freely..The elephant in the room is Neo Nazi, not ww2 storm troopers..just against the liberalism that has taken over, as many migrants refuse to assimilate and try to live off govt.or scam. Whereas Germans culturally are hard workers and take pride that they have jobs Same as some who have come to USA. Many Germans fed up with no say in their politics. Parks look over grown and unattended but they are not..Germans like things to be of native plants not of trimmed and artistically pleasing.
Food is pretty decent and its great with no tax or tip. Relativly reasonable even tho prices have risen last few years etc....i could go on..I really like Germany its grown on me a lot.
Let me guess, you're one of the good migrants, or maybe you call yourself an "expat"
Tell me what's better in Germany or Europe generally?
@@Mike-h8m come and see for yourself
@@Mike-h8m Nobody wants to convince you that Germany is better than America. Just stay in your boring susburb and don't bother us.
God bless you. Everything you said nails it. People like you are and will always be welcome here 🇩🇪
Dresden was not bombed by the Soviets. It was bombed by the americans and especially the british. The british "area bombing directive" is particularly critiziced as a policy to destroy german cities without any concrete military objective. Obviously the germans started the war and the bombings in the first place. But area bombing as collective punishment in the end of the war is debatable....
Adolf sympathizer 👀. Killing millions is okay but blowing up buildings is a step too far!
Germany didnt start the war. Britain declared war. They couldve just not declared war, just like they didnt care about the Soviets attacking Poland
@@---ie2ms Haha, that's quite the historical revisionism. So, by your logic, an insane bully isn't responsible unless they formally challenge you? Otherwise, fighting back is illegitimate and the bully should be allowed to trample everyone? The lack of action against the Soviet assault was pure pragmatism, realpolitik, and strategic prioritization-avoiding unnecessary fronts that could lead to two major powers uniting against them. Also, Germany declared war on the US right after Japan's attack, which, by the way, happened without a prior declaration of war.
@@JG-zc1kmYou might revisit history lessons, Deutschland didn't declare the war, it even proposed a peace treaty to the British several times even though British were in knockdown
@@RansomMemoryAccess You might say hello to your elementary school history teachers, they haven't done a good job the first time it seems
Nice. I'm basically the guy in the end but with more hair. 😂 Same experience in the GDR, I was 18 when the wall came down and it was absolutely mindblowing. Subbed and looking forward to more content. Also from our neighbour states and beyond in the east like Poland, Czech Republic and so on. My family came to Germany east and west from Poland (Galizia) after 1945 though they were ethnic Germans.
The Sauerbraten must have tasted very strange if you're not used to it.
I like your casual style, the lack of music is so refreshing to other tourist videos.
Tommy asking young asian girl about property prices due to Hit** bunkers presence is the highlight here
I think it's even funnier that the place next to the sushi restaurant is number 88 (and says GHB)
Dude, you have to follow the speed limit in Germany unless you're in an unrestricted zone !!
I guess he can not read speed limits either, even though it is the same numbers as most use. What an idiot.
As a person interested in languages you have missed an opportunity in Bautzen. There you could have had the possibility to meet Sorbic speakers. Sorbic is a separate West slavic language spoken in Eastern Saxony and Southern Brandenburg in an area called Lausitz.
Why? That's pointless if he doesn't speak German either..
@@eily_b Sorbic culture
I’ll have to go to vlog on that region - it’s very unlike the rest of Germany in my experience whilst being still accessible to outsiders
Nah, he's not interested in our actual cultures, he wants to see stuff related to WW2, just like every other American that comes here.
Never heard of it und ich bin Deutscher.
It's heartwarming to have you here. I have followed you all over Asia, have literally watched every single video of your trips over there. I really appreciate your attitude when it comes to new countries. You do research, you learn the language and you read the news. Now I see you apply this to my home country. Its funny and simultaneously feels super strange. Strange to see you exploring, noticing things like that there is Bretzels all over the place, which to me obviously just feels normal.
If you need someone to show you around please let me know. I live 1,5 hours away from Munich and would offer you a ride, to the alps for example. I would really take my time for you!
Willkommen in Deutschland 😄
Danke!
5:34 I like how Uschi the dog instantly came over to say hi when you said her name.
Stationed in Darmstadt from 1972-74, loved being in Germany! Loved the folks I met, Castles, Palaces, Museums, Architecture and the pride Germans took in their country. I'm much older now, but from time to time, I think back and smile. Thank You Germany!
I'am from Darmstadt, was 11 in 1972, remember well all the Americans, father gave me a Dollar bill and I was allowed to go inside the baracks in Griesheim Airfield to buy icecream in these cubeform paper wrapping
( we had no such ). It was such a beautifull time and a great place to grow up; now everything is in decline more and more
Sadly their lack of pride is why they're now disappearing 😢
Ja und viele deutsche getötet und vergewaltigt? Rape and killed germans ?
My guy, you asked a 18 year old cafe worker about property prices in that area 😂. Wtf man, she clearily doesnt have a clue and just wants to go clubbing
Should have asked her to expound on current geopolitical risks
Should've asked "them" "their" pronoums lol, chances are they are libt4rds.
I know, he asked the dumbest questions this video...
Time to dtart your own channel & one up him@@daveduncan9034
😅🤣😂
Loved the interview at the end. Just a regular persons experience without any kind of agenda. That’s why you’re the best travel channel.
Guy is my age. He instantly mentions “there were places for you when you didn’t behave”. But since it wasn’t him, it all “was not bad”.
Well. For me it comes off as some sort of selfish ignorance, but still I can be happy for him he didn’t lost friends who were destroyed by the “places” he talks about. I just think it is very lazy to talk about East Germany like that when you were there and obviously even “know”.
@@fiedel I dont think that is selfish ignorance, he just adapted to the life, cuz there was nothing you could do about it anyway.
He basicaly just meant that these times werent as bad, as most people tend to believe they were, when you read or hear about the history, it is often way exaggerated.
He just pointed out, that it was only bad for a minority of people in such a matter and he just tried to dodge the bullet.
Also it is a matter of your kind of personality, whether you are politically interested or not. I think calling that selfish ignorance is pretty disrespectful, especially when he was pretty obenminded and chill as a person.
Loved the chess match at the beginning. I am german and understood the elder one, and he said they collect the money for a children and teen chess club he works add, to go on matches because the parents can't pay all the costs of those matches and it helpes them out. Love how he teaches young people chess and dp his best that they also can collect memories and have real competive matches.
Always love how passionate some germans do theire hobbies.
Rarely watch long videos on youtube but whenever Tommy drops one of these gems i'm binging it like nothing. 😎
Keep up the great work. Very unique stuff, not a lot out there.
"I'm trying to not talk about Nazi's and the War..." ... "Let's go to Dresden..."
LOL! Right?!
@@winconfig British done it
🤣
what has dresden to do with nazis or war?
@@ViK45HA Yo, so Dresden was like the spot during WWII, right? It was this major vibe for the German war effort-tons of factories, railways, and supply hubs. But by '45, Allies were like, "Nah fam," and straight-up firebombed the place. It was wild-massive destruction, but also super controversial. People debate if it was really necessary ‘cause it hit civilians hard. It became this whole tragic symbol of war’s chaos and destruction. So yeah, Dresden was basically ground zero for one of the most intense and talked-about moments in the war.
I can explain in other dialects, if needed.
you can look forward to getting a few tickets from the speed cameras in a few weeks from the rental company. On the autobahn, you can only go as fast as you want where the sign is posted with a white circle with black diagonal lines on it, usually between cities, in busier places and on the outskirts of the cities, the speed limit is usually 100KPH or there abouts. But great videos, I love them.
Shit. My dreams (and bank account) have been shattered!
@@SabbaticalTommy Lol, you'll be fine, the tickets are usually not very expensive, I've gotten quite a few, at most I think they were around 50 bucks, and you can pay them online.
This is why I don’t like driving in other countries. You can ruin yourself by ignorance quickly.
@@adamhartline2855 Yep, I wouldn't be too concerned.
Another fun fact, even if you are legally allowed to as fast as you want, if you are in an accident, you will be liable. So Germany, will let you screw yourself but at your own risk
One thing to note on the fact that a lot of Germans don’t speak English. You have to differentiate: A lot of people you ran into that didn’t speak German were either people with a Turkish background or old people in East Germany. In the DDR, English wasn’t taught the same way it was in the West, and Turkish-Germans have much poorer English on average. Same goes for older people of 60+. Anyone born and raised in Germany under the age of 50 will have a very good level of English
Die Türken Araber sprechen kein Englisch und nicht einmal deutsch! 😅
" Anyone born and raised in Germany under the age of 50 will have a very good level of English"
That is absolutely not true unfortunately although "very good" is open for interpretation of course.
I would day under the age of 30 because english is taught daily in the school.
Lmao wrong
>Anyone born and raised in Germany under the age of 50 will have a very good level of English
That's not true. English proficiency in Germany is definitely at a much lower level than in the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries.
Even among the younger generation (the age bracket of 15 to 30, let's say), English isn't ubiquitous -- especially among people with lower / more practical education.
Funny how on USA history class they never mentioned the civilian casualties due to ally advance, i read it in a book and could not believe what i read👍
Perhaps it was the USA History class you attended or maybe you slept through the class. It was taught in my history class.
WWII had millions of civilian casualties. It was the first war, really, that considered civilians as contributors to the war effort. Who was growing the food, making the equipment, ammo, etc
The probably never mentioned the Rhein Meadows camps. Where civilians were starved to death and deprived of water after the war. If they tried to head to the river to drink, they were shot by American troops.
They were then starved throughout the entire country in what was called the Year of Hunger.
@@kevinnickel7529 Those camps were only under US stewardship for 2 months. You sure that was long enough to starve people? BTW, over a million prisoners of war at once surrendering will always cause an issue no matter who is in charge.
Thank you for the beautiful video. My dad grew up in East Germany (Leipzig) during the separation of East & West. Growing up in the East, his friends and him always heard about West Germany. They dreamed of a new life and once they got older, they escaped to West Germany. Two of them went through the border of West & East before the wall was fully built. Out of the two that ventured through the not yet built border, one died from a landmine while the other was able to make it through unharmed. The other three went through the East border of Germany, got arrested by the neighboring countries authorities. After a year of prison, they were released in the same country they were captured in. From there they made their way along the outside border of Germany & made their way back into North West Germany. My dad’s bestfriend who he escaped with, wrote a book about his whole venture. Lastly, my dad informed me that for Christmas he was able to share a banana with his brother.
achja, die bananenlüge. es ist ja mittlerweile bekannt, dass man in der DDR unmengen an bananen hätte haben können. allerdings die kleineren aus kuba. verkaufte sich aber nicht, also wurde auch nicht viel bestellt. die ossis wollten die großen bananen. und weils nur die kleinen gab heulen se rum 🤡 als ob man keine anderen probleme hatte als bananen, zum beispiel den nachbarn der schön alles petzen geht, oder das verlorene studium, weil man nen witz über erich gemacht hat
The man learns the most exotic lingos possible with his left hand, comes to Germany and boom! nada haha. Finally you can envy me! :D Cheers mate, keep up the good work. Tschuess!
😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂❤❤❤
Almost to 1 million subs great job. No loud music no drama just amazing video, facts and intereation with locals TY. Always look forward to your videos!
You used to be able to pump gas in the United States before paying. Apparently people for the most part were more honest and trustworthy here then. Kudos to Germany for still being able to do this.
Interesting, I thought it was the same globally. It’s the same in the UK, fill up and then pay. And back when I lived in the Middle East, I didn’t even have to leave the car, I miss that aha
U can do that all over europe+ in south europe balkan u dont have to get out of car they will do it for u
Pretty sure it’s normal in a majority of the world?
i mean there is cameras and you have a plate on your car
its not like you can run away
@@tavish4699 Same here in the USA, but don’t be fooled into believing any law enforcement is going to go after them. Not happening. They will take a report and that’s about it. Besides, the vehicle is probably either stolen, unregistered, or registered to someone else.
Dang this was one of my favorite episodes thus far. It was very informative 👍🏻
14:24 "It was the Soviet resources who rebuild..." NO not at all. East Germany hat to pay heavy reparations, so if a production facility was not destroyed by war and Ruskis liked it, it was deconstruckted, placed in boxes and delivered to Russia. It was east German resaurces who rebuild the city with emphasising the new communist man = buildings that allow spying on one and each other. The nice city centers where left byside to rot, cause its century old structures did not realy fit the picture of a new sovietlike/communist society.
yeah let's act like people didn't desperately need places to live... sure, it was all ideology 🤡 restoring the old buldings was way more expensive and took more time for less space. meanwhile western germany bulldozed their still existing cities to make space for roads, roads, and even more roads, oh, and a mall. and the city centers that were not bulldozed were vandalized by "modern" architecture
The synagogue in my hometown was not destroyed by the nazis because it was to close to the German housing. But it was destroyed by the Sowjets who stored military equipment in it and let it fall in disrepair. And I think that is a good metaphor for east Germany in general. What the Nazis didn’t manage to murder, destroy and eradicate by force the Sowjets did by disregard, stealing and revenge. While west Germany got a lot of money for reconstruction from the US right after the war east Germany had to wait for reunification. That’s why old inner cities in East Germany looks quite a bit better than west German ones just because they are newer 30 years after reunification. Fascinating development.
Einbahnstraße means one-way street :) If you would literally translate it it would say "One road/lane street" :)
Also, you are NOT allowed to drive as fast as you want everywhere on the highway in Germany, only when there is a sign with a speed limit that is crossed, otherwise there will be signs saying how fast you can go.
it means one way street. Bahn is literally translated as either lane or direction
first time I saw you're unable to speak the local language where you visited. And it's German 😂
lol right?
german is so unattractive that even a polyglot skipped learning it
Exactly what i came to comment.
Also, Dutch and Hindi.
English emerges from Saxon (German language family), Latin (church) and Scandinavian languages (Viking). So German shouldn't be that difficult for an American. Many words sound similar. I come from Saxony but has nothing to do with the Saxon people who settled with the Angles (North German tribe) in England around 200. the remaining Saxons were almost exterminated on the mainland by Charlemagne and the rest merged with the other Germanic tribes in Germany.
A very American perspective on the east west history. I would recommend watching Ken Loach's 'Singing the Blues in Red / Fatherland' which beautifully contrasts the negative aspects of both sides of the iron curtain, most of the film contrasts East and West Germany but the almost zombie like acceptance of the UK people to the prevailing propaganda at that time was the most haunting part of the film for me as a Brit.
I hate to say it, but as much as I like England, if there's still one country in the world where the chances of being called a Nazi as a German are high, it's England.
@@starseed8087 There aren't many Nazis in Wales where I'm from, Ralph Waldo Emerson described us as 'naturally democratic' people. The culture is very different.
@@Sulurianxxgreat Emerson
@@starseed8087Shocking. There are Germans who if they don't say they are Germans one can be sure they are Brits.
@@starseed8087 I come from Germany when I had my final trip with the school class to Paris in 99. When we got off the bus and a group of French young people noticed that we were German, they collectively raised their right arms and said the appropriate thing. I don't think it was meant in a friendly way.
Hopefully you don't miss Switzerland. Love your content
German checking in. You mentioned you can go as fast as you want on the autobahn then you proceeded to sit in a t-roc. In that car, you certainly cannot go as fast as you want.
Great stuff, Tommy! One whole hour, watched it straight through!
I’ve been following you for about a half a year now - I’m taking a videography course at our local tech school - stating this coming Nov. In any case I really enjoy your meanderings (took me awhile to come up with the proper word, “meanderings” - I believe I nailed that one, yes, “meanderings” - (knowing how you like various languages) 😊
I was stationed in Germany in the early seventies. I loved my time there. Bavaria was one of my favorite places. I was stationed in Landstuhl. I enjoy your videos & amazed how you pick up languages. Best of luck to you.
Wurzburg!
@@christosdoumas1140 No, Landstuhl.
@@christosdoumas1140 No, Landstuhl. Big American military base
@@bobbaker8263 Landstuhl is not in Bavaria 😅
That's Palatinate, not Bavarian.
definitely the best channel on youtube. my family are now religiously watching your uploads.
so much better than the junk on T.V. Educational and funny. Big up
Did you record this before your other European trips? A lot of the things you're surprised about are things all of Europe does like buying petrol and main landmarks being free. Weird that this is the first time you encountered it!
Always a good day when Sabbatical posts! 🙌🏼
It's refreshing how unbothered the guy is. He's very classy in comparison to most traveler youtubers.
Yeah, I find I’ve loved the videos too.
I just finished a 3 weeks hols in Germany, swit and Italy.
I love Germany.
It is historical, beautiful, quaint , modern .
It’s facilities , hotels are modern and very tourist friendly.
Food , beers , liquor is great and cheap.
Cool. I live here and I hate it . (Cologne born and raised)
@@AK-hi7mghow can you hate Germany?Its like Paradies!I think you have the German sickness,complaining all the time and making negativ Drama about nothing!
@@AK-hi7mg Und Tschüss 🤪🤪🤡🤡
@@AK-hi7mgNo worries. You’re one of the people that doesn’t appreciate what they have.
So ironic how people often say the germans are unfriendly, but the first guy throwing a fit was an arab store owner LOL.
Very good content as always, pure real life with normal people, simple yet informative
I'm glad you had a good time in my home country!
My family and me got out of East Germany right after the wall came down. Even though I was just 4 years old at the time, I think many people tend to forget about the nastier aspects of life in the DDR (or GDR).
A friend of my mother actually got pulled into a dark alley at night by the Stasi, and they wanted her to "give something back to the glorious motherland". They wanted to recruit her by force so she could spy for any dissent among family and friends and then report back to the Stasi. But luckily she managed to get out of this situation with an absolutely genius response: "Sorry but I cannot keep secrets from my husband, because I talk in my sleep."
damn that's a cool story
that old Chess guy is a legit dude.
I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.
well, that owner of the parfume shop...our beloved citizens.
Thank you for the amaing videos. Your travels remind me of th eones i did during my flying career in the military. I appreciate how you keep you videos down to earth and easily connect with the average travleler liek me. Please, keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Definitely my new favorite travel channel. Its like one of my buddies making travel vids. Good shit, bro. Keep it up
52:35 Bald imitation was perfect lol good job
"LOOK AT THIS SOVIET SINK"
That picture booth used to be in every mall in America. It's funny you walked away. They do take a while to come out.
8:37 Just to be clear, East Germany was never part of the Soviet Union. The GDR was its own country and entity, they spoke German. You wouldn’t see Cyrillic letters in East Germany even 50 years ago
I love Germany! I have been so blessed to have Taken 4 different trips of 21 days to Central Germany, where I drove the Autobahn and enjoyed speeding as fast as my rental would allow and then the "defeat" of being passed as though my car was "parked" ... haha. My favorite food was BROT!! with a variety of cheeses. Oktoberfest music made me so happy!! I am feeling quite nostalgic right now just thinking of all the good times! I thought Frankfurt was a great airport.. I did get on the wrong train the first time, but actually got fairly good at taking the local buses and trains... Also took the train to France and enjoyed that a lot... Thanks for your thoughts and experiences that you have shown us.
I can't believe the amount of graffiti everywhere it really makes the place look sketchy.
Unfortunately, Berlin is also known within Germany for being a bit dirty
Berlin is a s hole @@starseed8087
I was an army brat and lived there in my youth. It's not new. Graffiti has been there even back in the 90s. It sucks, but it is what it is. Usually jibberish, and more-so found in bigger cities.
Its the self hate of the left communist.
Went in 2008, Europe has a bit more than you’d expect
McDonalds right next to Checkpoint Charlie is just incredible
My beautiful capitalism 🥰
No…It’s credible
I was there on a FAM Trip (familiarizing trip) for travel agents, etc, and as the oldest one there... and as the only one who spoke fluent German... I tried to explain Checkpoint Charlie to everyone. They just stared at me blankly.....
And they still have plenty of people who hate "Ausländer".
MERICA
Its not a checkpoint now
Great episode go to Poland next your next door cauntry has growen crazy since communisem
That’s how history goes. A lot of places where some historic events took place. The most important thing though, to remember the cause and the outcome. And if outcome is bad or worse tan bad, then may be it makes sense to not to repeat the previous errors?
Thanks for making my day a little less boring
Love your videos Tommy!! So much so that I started watching all of them!!!
Nice! I was just watching your past videos!
The English Language comes from influences all over Europe. There are linguistics channels here on RUclips that explain how the language developed. Hundreds of years ago the English Language sounded like German. Interesting stuff
More like north western German . Plat deutsch/ Friesian.
there is a reason why it is a germanic language, long story short: angles and saxons moved from what today is germany to england and that is how english developed..
@@bro_sama und Wikinger Einflüsse aber auch Latein durch die Kirche hatten Einfluss auf die Sprache
English never sounded “like german”. Both languages split from the common ancestor language, Proto-Germanic (Urgermanisch in German, also sounds and looks absolutely nothing like modern German), and went their separate ways. English never sounded “like german”, it sounded like Proto-Germanic a couple thousand years ago, german also never sounded “like english”, but again, sounded like Proto-Germanic a couple thousand years ago.
It’s like saying “humans used to look like monkey’s”, which just isn’t technically correct. We share the same ancestors as the other primates, but we went separat paths tens of thousands of years ago, and the common ancestor species we once belonged to simply no longer exists.
@Nova-Franconia wow ok, sounded German to me when I watched a linguistics channel on here once. But I'm probably still a monkey
Omg the "Soviet Union sculpture" shoutout to Bald was absolutely hilarious. I love watching both of your videos - such cool takes on everything! Thankyou Sabbatical for what you do!
Yes finally ur here!! Much love from bavaria
You did a great job summarising the main historical facts in Berlin! Not that easy cause there’s a lot of history, but you covered it well without any major misinformation 👏
lmao "not bomb?!" was some top tier american cringe my friend, well played! had to skip it out of second hand embarrassment lol
FREMDSCHAM :D
I watched it on repeat :D
@@taka2517Google translates that to "foreign shame" (ausländischer Scham).
LOL
I thought the German was just being dry
You could see and visit the Brandenburg Gate from both sides, but you couldn't go through it but there were barriers from both sides.
Never would've expected to see a vlog ad filmed in a mall elevator in Gansu.
I like how you ignored the elephant in the room by not ignoring the elephant in the room.
Imagine europeans went to america talking about slavery and everything openly and asking if they had slaves, and if they hung people. This guy would be so butthurt and offended but when it is not him well american ignorance shines.
I was 10 or 11 when the Wall came down. I paid quite close attention as I had family in Germany. It's hard to overstate the significance of that event. As a British person growing up with the Cold War still raging it was an amazing spectacle and definitely felt like the world was changing for the better. Oh dear how wrong I was.
Yes, feel the same. There seemed such a positive vibe at that time, finally peace. How wrong and naive was that. But we were not yet adults.
Why do you guys feel like you were wrong?
@@Jordan-xg4pn Because while we did not see the first signs in the 90s, by Sept 11 it was clear that we were heading towards turmoil. And then here we are, back to a situation even worse than cold war as we have regional hot wars going on.
Great video ! So informative packed with facts and real history. Thank you for sharing as this was so informative.😊
And a lot of nonsense in it. 😉
You could also visit “West Berlin” by train.
My experience was heading to Berlin on a modern (for the time) electric train around 1973.
When we got closer a steam powered locomotive hooked up to pull the train.
We were met with some East German border guards with very
sour dispositions.
That experience was a foundation to my understanding of communism.
8:12 I like that in Germany you can just get into any car on the street and drive away. You just have to make sure you return the car at the end of the day, fully fueled for the next visitor.
Very informative video! Thanks for all you do !!!
Supermarket chain Aldi also came from Germany to USA
As did ALDI!
@@smiley9872 ALDI TOO
@@TRICK-OR-TREAT236Aldi as well
@@ValentinaMitchell1 Aldi also...
Think he meant to say Aldi. I haven't seen Lidl in the US yet!
what a cute little car you got there. My city of Rio de Janeiro has never been at a world war and it looks 100x worse than Dresden! Cheers
Dresden is a wonderful city. I hope your city never sees war, like we have in EU, unfortunately it's not looking so good right now for us.
@@smiley9872searching the comments for that. Only you so far mentioned it. Nobody knows. Hope everything works out for peaceful solutions. Our leaders are insane.
@@richardvass1462 There is exactly one insane leader that tries to revive the USSR and imperialistic wars of conquest.
@@hammurabii.3173 finding solution should have been first thing. Now we somehow have to avoid the worst thing. Nobody is thinking about this in USA. They believe whatever they are told.
Try to get more Germans to settle there, we'll fix your city
Was just watching your Washington DC episode
I served as a British soldier in a variety of garrisons in Westphalen. 7 years out of 16 spent in Germany and loved every moment of it. Beautiful country and once they let their guard down their generally lovely people too.
Years later I ran a business in the old eastern part of Germany and owned a property in a village about 4km's westward of Bautzen. "The town of towers". The town is one of my favourite spots on this planet.
In the background of part of your vide there was a building called SOPHIENKELLER - The food there used to be great value for money and I never had anything from there that was not Lecker Lecker. The best selection of restaurants in Dresden is in the Altstadt.
Before the wall came down the Reichstag was a great museum and the wall went round the back of the building along the river. Berlin was a joy to live in when the wall was present - I had a flat about a 100 yards from the Olympiastadion. The best posting in the British Army. Now the wall has gone (and as much as we should rejoice that) I lament it - the city has just become way too large and unweildy.
Enjoyed this one - a trip down memory lane almost. Thanks.
just found your channel. i'm also from long island. i'm 52 now but backpacked around europe summer 1994 when I was 22 along with a bunch of friends from queens. we made our way to berlin from amsterdam. i'd say in 1994 you could still see a lot of remnants of old east germany still alive, especially on some of the trains which you could tell were old east german trains. I was 18 and in high school when the wall came down in 1990, so it was an amazing historical trip to visit germany.
The scourge of graffiti knows no bounds.
What hath the Bronx wrought?!
Not just any Kuchen Ass, XXL Kuchen Ass!
It basically means Kitchen Ace and is on the opposite end of the boring/interesting range. They probably sell kitchen furniture and appliances.
Küchen Ass - Meaning best kitchen provider. Kuchen is cake, the Umlaut is important in this case
Tommy, an interesting fact about Bautzen ( or Budišin) is that it used to be an unofficial seat of Slavic minority, Sorbians, in Germany. Eastern parts of Germany and what is now Western Poland were through history frontiers between Slavic and Germanic people.
41:02 people are simply more concerned with privacy in Germany, most people do not appreciate being recorded, especially when done sneakily
41:50 if you ask someone how they are doing (wie geht's?) they will share how they feel at the moment / how their day is going and will ask you to share how you are in return. It's not just a greeting, but more genuine. She asked you how you are doing in return and expected an answer. Ignoring it will come across as dismissive. Obviously you didn't know this, so that's okay, but keep in mind that it's not a greeting, but a conversation starter.
Hey Sabbatical,
great video. Had fun to explore with you.
That idiot in the cologne store probably has an illegal business going on. for example money laundering. This is often the case in these stores where the boss is of Arab origin.
Mostly that called "shisha Bars" are places you should not go to cause of rip offs or unfriendly people especially when you filming.
You asked about dangerus places in berlin. There aren't exactly unsafe areas. More dangerous people. But you should stay away from dark places.
My question to you would be. Have you noticed that German is hardly spoken on the streets and subways in Berlin? You hear mostly Arabic and Turkish. Or does someone who doesn't speak German not notice this?
Didn’t quite notice it. Did notice plenty of Arabic spoken in parts. Depends on the area maybe?
@@SabbaticalTommy Thank you for your quick response. OK, interesting. For me as a German it's noticeable. Especially in the subway. But I also have a comparison to 10-20 years ago. Although there are districts in which the majority are of Arab origin, you can say that it now runs through the whole of Berlin. We also have fewer problems with Nazis than with Arab clans. I don't know if you've heard, but a few years ago an Arab clan went into a museum, broke into the "green vault" and stole very valuable jewels, not all of which have yet been resurfaced. The jewels were called “Sachsenschatz”.
Maybe u find something about it if u want
In the UK there are 'Turkish Barber's Shops'. Sometimes as many as 5 or 6 next to each other, or very close. Strangely the men have high end cars outside, but no or few customers. So where does the money come from?... It's the same even in small towns.
We have the same problem in England. Turkish barbers, American sweet shops, dodgy vape stores etc..
he komme zu uns nach OStSachsen hier haben wir solche Probleme noch nicht. Hier bei mir ist es ruhig. wohne 50km östlich von Bautzen. klar sieht man auch optisch etwas die auswirkungen von 2015 in der stadt aber diese ganzen gewalt und GrapscherProbleme haben wir nicht.
Finally you are in my country
You need to visit Heidelberg
@@germanapplemullentree6152 haha why
@@besovereign2032 Because it wasn't bombed as the Americans where there in WW2
@@Mayu-xyxy good answer
Heidelberg is a really nice city. I havent been there in like 15 years, but i remember it being lovely.
@@Cargo_Bay yeh
Thanks for the great video!! Makes me want to plan a trip.
I went to Berlin in 2017 and lived in Germany near Cologne for 5 months in 2022, felt nostalgic watching this video
My great grandfather was well known on Geissen. He sold brezels and engaged in philosophical discussions with philosophy students at the bruhaus there. Apparently there is a sculpture of him in the university conservatory. RIP Brezel Heinerich.
That is amazing.
You probably mean Giessen (think you switched the e and i there) that’s a popular university city.
The city though is mostly known for how ugly it is after it had been rebuilt after the Second World War.
Interesting story though 👍
I feel like your channel will become something more cherished as time goes on and the world continues to trend toward homogenous globalism. It will be interesting for future generations to see how there used to be different countries with their own characteristics and culture
I typed it wrong to avoid censorship
I took a year long sabbatical in 2011 for a RTW trip and these videos already depict a more homogeneous world than the one I saw
Nothing to see@@PaulTC97
@@CastorRabbit😢
But then everyone wants everyone else to open up their country to us but don’t want their country to be closed.
Man I miss my Germany trip, I stayed in Lörrach which is southwest on border of France and Switzerland. Been learning German for the past several months it’s a wonderful language. The life size chess board is very common cross the country. The autobahn was awesome I miss it, but yeah don’t drive as fast as you want everywhere on highway 😂, it’s only as fast as you want when the circle has the line through it. You gotta go on a brewery tour
I was in Germany in the 90s.. loved it.. the one thing that struck me about cities in eastern Europe was the drabness of the buildings.. everything looked so gray and foreboding.. their was color in a lot of the architecture also.. I was born in Chicago. It was kinda like that downtown, too.. it has changed over the years, though..
Legit such a great conversation you had with your driver, even with the language barrier you made it work. Seemed like a really nice grandpa
20:48 no, that actually was West Berlin and the Tiergarten. East Berlin was on the other side.
German guy here: Küchen Ass is an advertisement and means 'Kitchen Pro' 😉
Damn Im surprised i never seen that word Ass before, words that are the same but mean different things usually stand out for me :D thanks for the info :P
'Ass' literally means 'Ace' in a deck of cards, and, since it usually is among the strongest cards, 'Pro' is a well suited translation 😊
@@stayfocused296Your English translation means exactly the same thing and is a common expression.
kitchen Ace
Puns. Booooring.
By the way, there were no Cyrillic labels or signs in the GDR.
Watching from Scotland and been to Berlin alot. I've been around city on a bicycle and visited most of places you've been, also been to a club and many other places. Street markets etc ❤🎉🎉🎉
Awesome stuff man. Thanks again for the cool videos and history lessons. Your videos are always so interesting to watch.
Küchen Ass actually means Kitchen Ace. Its a store for kitchen utensils i guess :b
XXL Creampie Ass, wenn man nur das Küchen durch den schlechten translater jagt^^
Great content as usual!
Berlin is not a good representation of Germany
but still better than Bavaria.
Why is it not a good representation of Germany?
@@Steeler-wg5zobavaria cities much richer and better standard then berlin. Bavaria schould go independent.
@@Steeler-wg5zo Bavaria one of the best in germany. Berlin is trash.
@@Rarematt oh dear your not making sense. Baveria is a state, Berlin is a city in the state of Brandenburg, it's the blue north of Germany with 3000 huge lakes, and one of the largest wetlands in Europe and has historic towns, and Berlin the capital. 😎🇩🇪
I was stationed in Germany in the US Army back in the 1970's. As an NCO, I went on a garbage detail from my base. We took a couple of trucks to the local dump in W. Germany. We were told by our Lt. Not to pick up anything in the dump. As soldiers threw off the garbage from the trucks, I was standing on top of the garbage on the ground. Everywhere as far as you could see, were NAZI photographs everywhere under my feet!. During those days, Germany was trying to forget its past.
Needless to say, I was shocked. Even the LT who was on the back of the truck, saw me looking down at the ground and warned me not to pick anything up......later he told me how Germany was trying to forget their past.
We were stationed at a former German military base, from WW2. It was outside Stuttgart. I will not disclose where. But it was in need of serious repairs. We were out in the bush for almost 1 year, while German contractors redid the buildings.
There were still German Mauser rifle racks in the hallway walls when we got to that old base. Memories burned in my mind forever.
Hey man, Great Video! Germany is very diverse- there is a lot more to Explore! I am more than happy to accompany you in a tour in munich and the Mountains !
thanks Tommy another interesting walk around .......when you end up on the west coast of Canada I invite you to explore my island (Quadra) and you have a invite to my clandestine cabin on a small lake if you are lucky you may get a few howls from the resident wolves ......cheers Paul
No idea where that is but sure I’ll be there
@@SabbaticalTommy Quadra island is off the east side of Vancouver Island Canada a little west of New York
In Germany, they call every opposition neonazis!🤣
Like everywhere in Europe🤣
Very cool to see you in my home country! Definitely didn't expect you to visit the Soviet War Memorial in Treptow, there are two more, one in Tiergarten and the other one in Pankow. Visited them the last time I went to Berlin, watching your video really makes me want to visit the city again.