+rideswithscissors only if your sheets are made out of pasta. Fun fact: Maultaschen have a original Swabian name (Swabia is a region with its own accent in southern Germany) and are called "Herrgottsb'scheißerle" which basically means "God screw-ies". I love my home :D
Hello, I'm german and I enjoy your videos very much. But one little thing ... catholics are allowed to eat meat on sundays (even when it's "Fastenzeit" what means the Lenten season before Easter). You confounded it with Friday. But today not many catholics care about it ... and I live in a very catholic region close to Cologne :-). Sorry for my bad english, and I will watch all ur videos cause it's funny to get this sight onto my country. Best regards!
Not true for every restaurant, in fact in most of the "not fast food" and "not bar" restaurants you either need a reservation (and a waitress who tells you where to sit) or you have to wait and hope the waitress gives you a table. So its kind of similar to getting seated.
Actually the most common thing is to walk up to the waiter and say something like "We need a table for 4 people...." and the waiter will say "yeah - just chose a table" or (in case it's really full) "yeah - we have a table right over here". Very short procedure, no waiting at the entrance - just state what you want and get a direct answer (German efficiency here). ;-)
well i think youre right there! :D i never got seated when eating out. but i also think for some more expensive places you will get seated! ;) its just a question of money and service :D
+DiePixelspieler Leider beziehen einige Firmen ihr Wasser aus dem ganz normalen Hahn. Füllen es in Flaschen und verkaufen es 10x so teuer :/ true story
Jeipei Dann dürfen sie es aber nur Tafelwasser nennen, das ist Gesetzlich geregelt. Hier ne Quelle (toller Witz :)): www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/min_tafelwv/gesamt.pdf
das man für wasser zahlen muss ist echt lächerlich, auch für wasser ausn kran. in australien haben kneipen sogar oft nen zapfkran wo man sich was holen kann.
Germans sit longer in restaurants because they visit restaurants less often. What I noticed is that many Germans actually cook their own food at home, and even the tiniest German apartment will ALWAYS boost a kitchen. Americans go out way more often, Germans eat at home more often. The price range of dishes served in the US is also larger, it can go from quite cheap to quite expensive. While, except for fast-food-Döner, to go to a restaurant in Germany will usually cost two or three times as much than in the US. It's another culture.
In Deutschland gibt es ein Gesetz das mindestens ein nicht alkoholisches Getränk günstiger sein muss als das günstigste alkoholische Getränk, was in einer Gaststätte angeboten werden muss! Auch genannten das "Apfelsaftgesetz" und es gilt seit 2002! ;) In Germany there is a law that must be at least one non-alcoholic drink cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink, which must be offered in a restaurant! Also called the "Apfelsaftgesetz" (="Apple juice law") and it applies since 2002!
Das hab ich mich schon oft gefragt ob das geht, aber ich dachte mir immer es kommt komisch das zu fragen weil es eben niemand tut^^ aber wenn das geht bin ich froh mir dadurch geld zu sparen
Depends on the restaurant, i guess. In my favourite Whiskey and Rum Bar, it's no question to have tap water for free, but i can imagine that there are greedy owners, that charge you even for tap water.
Yeah, I know there's still bottled water. The normal one without flavor is basically useless crap, but if it has a flavor, where's the problem? Tap water has a better quality than bottled water by the way.
While I'm not a fan of drinking water I still have to point some things out on this: No, the bottled water is not the same as just tap water from elsewhere. "Mineralwasser" (Mineral water) is what the name says, a water already containing a certain minimum (and maximum) of minerals, micronutrients and so on and is has to originate from subterrestrial reservoirs. "Quellwasser" (Spring water) and "Tafelwasser" (Table water) are from similar sources (subterrestrial reservoirs), but do not contain the amounts of minerals, micronutrients and so on as mineral water does. The difference between Quell- and Tafelwasser is that Tafelwasser gets some of those elements ADDED afterwards. Obviously mineral water is of higher quality than table water and you will rarely ever find plain table water in good restaurants (The slogan "The queen of table waters" on Apollinaris bottles is misleading, it's actually a mineral water). You will find low quality products like Bonaqua and so on in bars (Telling you "Drink beer!") or low-end restaurants. Good restaurants always server something like Apollinaris, Gerolsteiner, the overhyped Italian "San Pellegrino" (low on minerals), Selters. If you get served Bonaqua or crap like that in a restaurant except to get served artificial meat and cheese too. Now we come to plain tap water: Tap water is safe in the meaning of not being risky. It doesn't contain any harmful components and has "drinking water" quality. While it tastes well (or neutral) enough for drinking in most regions or might even have some good taste on its own in some regions, it might as well have just one attribute in others: Not harmful. I wonder how you would react if you would get a glass of tap water served in Aachen with the calcium carbonate visibly sinking down inside your glass. Actually a glass of water fresh from the tap will look pretty white in Aachen. While calcium carbonate is not risky, I wouldn't even want to cook tea using it without filtering it first. Tap water can have about any source: River coast filtrate, artificial lakes and so on. BTW: German service is far better than its repuation, if its not impossible or illegal, you usually get what you wish. Just as you usually can even have noodles with your steak if you do not like fries, you can always try to ask for "Ein Glass Leitungswasser" (A glass of tap water). In some places this will result in a strange look, but at the end in most cases you will get it ... for free. Some cooks will even serve you a steak well-done, though most of them will shed tears while roasting it, because the cow was already dead enough before, no need to roast it to death.
There is a law in germany, that at least one non-alcoholic drink has to be cheaper than the alcoholic drinks. the funny thing is, that normally it isn´t the water.
ronja m also ich kenne das so, dass ein alkohol-freies getränk auf der speisekarte billiger sein muss. wenn man n halben liter wasser und n halben liter bier vergleicht, ist das wasser meistens teurer.
Actually, you cannot use milk as your cheapest drink to satisfy the law. Neither coffee or warm tea. It often isn't water either. The law is known as Apfelsaftparagraph, so it may be apple juice but I'm not an expert on this.
Our sparkling water is no tap water, but from natural springs. And they often are naturally carbonated. The tap water is treated. And Restaurants must have something non-alcoholic as cheapest drink.
+Schulzffw You mean § 6 Gaststättengesetz and you got one thing wrong: It can be any nonalcoholic beverage, including table water. Not a second nonalcoholic beverage beside water. Actually, in most restaurants the one drink that is cheaper than beer will be water, while Coke, juice etc. are often more expensive than beer, especially in pubs that have special contracts with or are connected to breweries.
Two things i like to add: The amount of the tip sends a message about how satisfied you are with the service, so don't tip automatically. If you don't tip at all you tell the waitress or waiter that her/his service was 'unter aller sau' (under all pigs - crappy). Not only true for waiters, but also taxi drivers, baggage porters or any other service staff that is generally considered to be tip-worthy. About the maultaschen legend: even today the southern part of Germany is mainly katholic and maultaschen are of swabian origin (the south-western part). Katholics were not allowed to eat meat on fridays, especially not on Karfreitag (the friday before eastern). Actually if there is any day of the week when katholics eat meat, it's on sundays. Maybe some may consider this as nitpicking, but Germany is full of 'Besserwisser' and 'Klugscheißer' and i am one of them. ;-)
for the spending a lot of time in the restaurant and stuff it's mostly that - at least where I am from - you go out and eat maybe one a month and then you have all your family with you and you talk there and spend a bit of quality time talking and hanging out. The reason we don't get impatient when it takes half an hour (which often) is that we know that the food will be prepared freshly and when there are many people in the restaurant 30 minutes is still acceptable. But when you are german you usually have your Stammlokal, which is a restaurant you usually go to and with the time you will get to know the people working there and if you're nice you will probably get better and faster service. And if you live in a small city you probably know the people there anyways.
+The Anna I live in the U.S and I don't like rushed service. I like to socialize with the staff and I want to enjoy my time with the person I am with. But, I would feel a nagging voice not to hold the waiter or waitress up. I don't want to rush them. I am always thinking how I might be effecting someone else. I would be afraid I might get them in trouble for holding them up from other costumers and I don't want them to get in trouble with their staff. Also, I like to focus my attention to the person I am with. I also hate being interrupted when I am talking with the person I am with. I should just be able to put my cup or glass at the end of the table and the person waiting on me should just understand that is when I want a refill. Not ask me every few minutes if I want one. If I want dessert I will order it. I don't need it suggested. I really hate rudeness and inconsideration. I don't like when it's done towards me. So, I try not to be that person. I think it would be challenging to get use to no refills on my coffee though. I usually only want two anyways. I can't handle that much caffeine and I don't want to be in the bathroom ever 5-10 minutes. I also don't like to be rushed out the door. When I am done with my meal. I like to enjoy socializing and talking with whom I'm with. So, that's at least one area in Germany I can easily get used to. There are other areas too. I love love Christmas. I wish I could just hop on a train and disappear into Germany during the whole Christmas season, then come back after New Years. lol Also, my name is Anna and German is my ancestry. Nice to meet you Anna. :)
Minimum wage is, if not otherwise defined by contracts with the trade unions, € 8,50 (January 2016) The reason it might take longer to serve food in Germany, especially in the smaller "family lead" restaurants is, that they mostly prepare the food fresh. No "convenience food" or "fast food" (note: "fast" in German means "almost" and that is what the US "fast food" for Germans is). Preparing food might take about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on what you order (main dish) if you have a soup or so to start with, no problem. Depending on where you go for dinner, the average time being there is between 90 and 150 minutes.
+Kees Kopf You're an idiot if you think all restaurant in the US are fast food. You should stop going to Cheesecake Factory every time you visit Florida.
My grandfather taught me that people that start insulting in a discussion in real have no arguments to counter facts. Thanks for the "Idiot" you just proved his words
Oh yes, I did! I was about 14 and wanted to protest against Nixon and the Vietnam War and my father said, I should not do it because "Nixon is a good guy!". There I was convinced he was an idiot. Since he was raised by my grandfather, yes I thought my grandfather raised an idiot.
+GonGon84 not always, sadly. France for example has a law, so that restaurants and in general, all food serving places have to provide tap waiter for free.
I work at a bakery and earn minimum wage. It's 8,63 by the way. And I once went on a date with a guy from Texas, and I was wondering why he was in such a hurry. I wasn't even feeling full yet, just taking a small break from eating (it was a sushi buffet), and he already asked if I was ready to go. But then we discussed it too, he said that in the US you're not supposed to sit and chat for long, you have to eat and then leave because there are other people waiting for the table. Which, in my opinion, sucks. Especially because I eat very slowly.
That is a bit over the top. In USA one is usually slightly rushed by the staff so as to get another group at the table but they would not ask you to leave while eating or conversing after a meal
Restaurants in Germany (and most parts of Europe) generate a larger chunk of their profits from beverages then US restaurants. That's the main reason they encourage you to sit for a longer time after the meal and won't bring you the check automatically (hoping you will order more drinks). It's also the reason you will rarely get free refills or "bottomless" coffee cups here. There are quite a few all-you-can-eat restaurants around for the very same reason: You will still have to pay for beverages and are very much encouraged to sit a long time and order lots of them. As far as I can tell some visitors from the US think the service is bad and the waiters lazy here. And on the flipside European visitors in the US feel rushed and unwelcome sometimes. Very different cultures :)
I've been in the US several times now and the tab water thy serve you there for free tastes horrible most of the times. That has nothing to do with spring water. Tastes more like poop water. No seriously it allways tastes like chlorine.
I think the reason why we stay in a restaurant for so long is because we don't go out so often, so if I eat out it's basically just for spending time with my friends and then it only makes sense to stay as long as possible... Love it
The reason why you have to pay for water in Germany is, that the restaurant makes a deal with the Drink-Company. For example Coka Cola. Cola pays for a part of the restaurant. But than the restaurant is forced to sell The Coke water and all the other Softdrinks. They are not allowed to make the normal water fizzy. Cola doesn't produce beer. But i don't know why beer is cheaper. But its true..
14fadu6 where are u from, and where did you get that information? I´ve never heard of it and I´m pretty sure you´re wrong. I know people who owes restaurants here in germany, and Cola surely didn´t payd part of the restaurant.
Bayern. Was glaubst du warum Cola auf der ganzen Welt vertreten ist? In den Schulen und Kinos. Die machen überall ihre Deals. Aber hier in Europa wird keiner gezwungen. In Afrika schaust schon anders aus(Grundwasser abpumpen und so..)
14fadu6 du laberst einfach käse^^... cola ist überall vertreten weil es eines der beiebtesten getränke der welt ist punkt^^... du glaubst doch nicht ernsthaft das cola mit jedem kleinen kiosk an der ecke einen deal abwickelt, geschweige denn irgendeinen teil kauft (zuviel mafia filme gesehen)... es gibt auch keine cola ausschenklizenz... nur eine für alkohol und tabak (wegen steuern)... cola verkauft getränke an zwischenhändler, dadurch bekommt coca-cola geld, die verkaufen dass dann weiter an restaurants, kioske und bekommen dadurch ihr geld, am ende zahlt der endverbraucher... danke dass ich dir diesen wirtschaftsunterricht 6. klasse vorstellen dürfte... ps: wasser kostet nicht immer mehr als bier, außerdem warum sollte wasser kein geld kosten^^ diese bayern
DerSpassVerderber Ich weiss das mein Gymnasium damals von Cola Geld bekommen hat, damit Sie dort die Automaten aufstellen durfte und vom Kino in meiner Stadt dass Sie dort kein Leitungswasser sprudelig machen dürfen sondern Bon Aqua nehmen müssen. Genau aus besagtem Grund. Glaub es mir oder auch nicht. Ich kann mit beidem leben.
14fadu6 aha und das hat dir natürlich deine schulleitung erzählt^^, oder wohl eher deine mitschüler^^... und sorry wenn du in so nem kaffst wohnst dass du von irgendwelchen geschäftabwicklungeng von deim kino weißt, kannst du echt nur in irgendnem kaff wohnen, ^^ außerdem sag mir mal irgendnen größeren betrieb wo es keine coca cola gibt... die coca cola company hat allein in deutschland echt ganz schön viel zu tun scheinbar^^ jedesmal nen vetrag abwickeln zigtausen mal im jahr^^
I'm german and I drink tap water all the time, which I highly recommend, because we have very high standarts for it. But in restaurants I will order something I don't get much at home like ginger ale.
A little hint on ordering water in Germany: you can get tab water (and it is free!). You just have to order "Leitungswasser". But be warned: this is very uncommon and will let you look cheap. The most people in Germany drink carbonate water from bottles, even at home. So do I. So is you order water (or Selters in eastern german regions) you will get carbonated water. Usual sizes are 0.2l, 0.4l in glasses and 0.2l, 0.25l, 0.5l or even 0.7l in bottles. But uncarbonated water becomes more and more in-fashion. Most restaurants have that. You have to oder "stilles Wasser" (=silent water, i.e. not sparkling). But be warned: that water costs the same as the sparkling on.
I never even realized how much carbonated water we drink in Germany until I went to the states and carbonated water was actually a rare thing there. I don't understand why we drink so much bottled water here in Germany, because actually unlike in many places in America, our tab water is pretty good. Aber es wird hier schon auch viel Leitungswasser getrunken. Es gibt ja auch Sprudelautomaten, von denen ja auch fast jeder einen daheim hat. Als unsere amerikanische Austauschschüler unseren das erste mal entdeckt hat war er total fasziniert :DD
One of the reasons we stay longer in the restaurant after we finished, is the fact that it is an event for us. Unlike in the states its more expensive to eat out in Europe than cook yourself, so it's something "special".
it's funny that you said it but it's true, we DO spend more time in restaurants! i never really payed attention to it before! but es, we go out to eat and after we're done we sometimes order another round of drinks and just sit there and chat until we feel like leaving OR maybe even have an espresso or coffee after our meal and THEN leave. i don't even know why to be honest... sometimes it's because we order wine to our food and when we're done eating we sometimes still have wine in our glasses/bottles and we are used to drinking it slowly as to savor it. so you slowly drink your (sometimes expensive) wine and chat until the glasses/bottles are empty. Another explanation could be that when you go out to eat it usually is something special like meeting friends or celebrating something so normally you have a lot of things to talk about. Of course we also go out to eat because we are too stink in lazy to cook at home but even this occasion will be celebrated to its fullest. idk but going out to eat stays something rather special this way than to go there, eat and leave immediately. BUT of course this is just from my point of view and not necessarily for the general german.
Another important difference - listed prices always include all taxes. You don't need to carry a lawyer and accountant with you in order to predict how much money is going to actually get out of your pocket.
Maybe another point of view on eating out from a German viewer.. ^^ For my family and me it is something nice to go eating out. We're actually enjoying the time we have to wait for dinner because that is the time to chat~ chat about the week~ chat about whatever comes to your mind... about the things that you have no time talking about when you're cooking at home because you're bussy cooking, you know? :D ^^ And one more hint for all the students or school kids ~ I do rarely give tips at Cafés or anything. I'm always saying: "If I don't earn my own money yet, I don't have to feel like I have to give tips." This always calms my mind a little, so I don't have to feel bad about giving no tips x'D
I'm surprised you didn't mention that there is no such thing as free refills for your drinks in German restaurants. If you order a soda/pop in most places you have the choice between a larger and a smaller size, but even the larger size isn't all that big. If you want to have a second glass you have to pay extra for it. The free refills has always been something I really liked about restaurants in the States/Canada. Another difference is that in Germany you don't get ice in your drinks. The ice thing is actually something I never quite understood. In Germany, when you order one glass of pop you really get one glass filled with pop. In the States and Canada, when I forget to order it without ice I get a glass that is crammed full of ice cubes and only has a tiny little bit of the pop I want. Though, I guess, what with the free refills, you can just get more. Still, the ice is going to melt and water everything down... And apropos ordering pops without ice here...I find it rather amusing that when I order, say, a diet coke without ice the waiter tends to be a bit confused but if I order a diet coke with no ice they get it immediately. I don't know why they don't seem to be able to understand the word "without" but have no problem understanding "with no". Weird.
ClaGaCla Ahm, wait, "I find it rather amusing that when I order, say, a diet coke without ice the waiter tends to be a bit confused but if I order a diet coke with no ice they get it immediately. I don't know why they don't seem to be able to understand the word "without" but have no problem understanding "with no". Weird." Do I understand you right, that you are a native German, that complains, that native English speakers don't understand your choice of English words? Just order the darn coke with no ice, like everyone else does, and don't try to invent a better language for them! It's their language, and they probably know better, what sounds right and what sounds weird.
Stefan B Of course I order the "darn coke with no ice". I'm also not complaining or trying to invent a better language for them or anything like that. I just don't understand why they don't get what you're saying when you order a coke without ice as opposed to a coke with no ice. And before you start implying that my English is so bad that it's hard to understand for native speakers...I've never had a problem with anyone not understanding me when I used the word "without" in other contexts or situations or at any other time, no matter what I was saying, and other people also say "with no ice" when ordering their pops. So I suppose it's just a matter of habit, the waiter is used to hear "with no ice". It simply surprised me, since it doesn't make more sense - grammatically or logically speaking - than ordering a drink "without ice". I'm not saying it's bad or wrong or whatever. Just like Sam does in many of his videos, I simply noticed something interesting/different that doesn't immediately make sense to me.
Bottled water and tap water are usually different. While tap water usually comes from a water reservoir, bottled water is often labeled "Quellwasser", meaning that it comes from a natural spring. Those differ in the amount of minerals and arguably taste from each other. Some claim they are more healthy, too. Tap water is perfectly fine, though.
+Aroddo bottled water is tab water, the spring water is first stored in a reservoir so there is no difference. also in bottled water they often filter away most of the minerals to keep it more "clean"
This is my first comment on your videos (to pe precise, I just rediscovered them after watching world cup videos most of the time) and I like them a lot, so I think I will have to return the favour by making a longer posting and bless you with a few invaluable insights about us Germans and correct you on a few issues, like us Germans love to do so much. Once in the past, you asked yourself why so many Germans are watching your videos. That's because Germans love to see others talk about them... and so do I, that's why I'm watching your videos from time to time. We obviously like hearing things that please us and I think we are a bit more narcissistic about that than others. Praise what we consider as our virtues, we admire those who admire us :-). I just watched your video about the 10 most awesome things about Germany. Obviously, the most awesome thing about Germany currently is that we are finally, FINALLY football world champions (never call it soccer here!!11!). You might have noticed the excitement during the tournament and how incredibly happy the people were when we won it... yes, we, not just the Mannschaft, AT LONG LAST! It's already a month ago and I'm still happier than I was before the championship and that will certainly continue for some time. You have to forgive us, we tried a few world wars in order to become more awesome and even though we were in the finals, we didn't make it, so we changed our minds and decided kick other nations' asses in a different manne. OMG, that 7-1 versus Brazil, the German death machine was running pretty... err, I got a bit carried away. Regarding the topic of this video: Catholics actually weren't allowed to eat meat on a Friday, not on a Sunday (because Jesus was crucified on a Friday) and a couple of them probably keep up that tradition until today. The Ravioli thing isn't the most funny thing about that, however. People usually ate fish at that day (well, rich people, to be precise, the common people back then probably ate cabbage and porridge most of the time), so a few monks thought it was OK to declare everything a fish which is living in water, like... BEAVERS! That's right, they ate beaver meat on Friday. That might be a reason why beavers are so rare here until nowadays. Waiters: We have no minimum wages here, unlike you goddamn communists in the US :-D. Well OK, we will have them soon. Water: It's pretty common to drink tap water here at home... at least that's what I'm doing. However, restaurants here make a lot of their money from drinks, so they are not giving you something from the tap because they couldn't charge much money for that. I mean, opening a bottle of water and serving it to you will bring them let's say 2,50€, that's silly! And yes, beer is often cheaper than most other drinks. Don't ask me why. Bottled water: Yes, it's ridiculous. I think that bottled water is a waste of money. It's also pretty annoying to carry it home from the supermarket. When I drink water, it's usually from the tap. There are only tiny, unnoticable traces of chlorine in it because you only need very small amounts of it to disinfect it, unlike in warmer countries. When I'm going to lunch on work days, I'm taking something from the "Mittagstisch" (inexpensive meals available at lunch time) and I'm not ordering a drink. Instead, I will have a cup of coffee when I'm back at work. Some people might call me stingy, but I'm not an idiot who spends his hard-earned money on something which isn't any better than tap water which costs 5€ per CUBIC METER (which is about 260 gallons), including sewage costs... err, well, that was the over-serious German within myself yet again.
Restaurants have to use those tiny bottles of mineral water and they have to open them for you in front of you at your table, so you don't get scammed by paying for mineral water and getting tapped water instead.
fun fact: we have a law that states, that there ALWAYS has to be something non-alcoholic in the menue that costs the fewest per liter. the sense behind this is of course to prevent people from drinking alkohol if they just want anything to drink and maybe don't have so much money. if the water in a restaurant is cheaper than beer this means that some juice or anything else has to be cheaper :D
Ima explain the Water thing to you. In Germany, as well as in Austria we have excellent water quality. The water you can buy in bottles is worse then the water you get at home. It is impolite to order water in those regions, because it is like bringing your own food but using the kitchen of the restaurant :D
What I found frustrating in Germany was the ice situation. I live on iced tea. My heritage is Southern (USA). I fill my glass with ice and top it with the freshly brewed tea. I got so excited and impressed in Germany when I got 3 ice cubes in my drink that I took a pic of it! I found that most of the time I got things chilled, not ice cold there. There's a difference. Oh well it's a small price to pay for visiting a place that I have come to love.
Thanks for the videos, I am German and it is always interesting to get a different view on your own culture. I think it is a cultural / historical thing about the carbonated water. In Ancient Rome even children was given wine to drink with little to no alcohol, obviously. It was just safer than the "dirty" water where all the junk from people's living was contained. So not serving plain water of which the origin was unknown to you was kind of an appreciation to you as a guest. Furthermore, even nowadays ordering your water non-carbonated may get you a bottle which still can contain a little gas. If you want water from the tap, you may ask for "Leitungswasser", pronunciation is like lighting but with a "U".
if you have a 26 Euro Bill and you want to give a tip, it is common to say "Machen Sie 30." (Make it 30.) so the rest is the tip. of course, you can be more generous by saying 35. that's the whole sum you'll pay and the rest of the 50 euros are getting back as a change :)
wahnsinnig? Leute, die das wort "normal" benutzen, als wäre es das Maß für alles nenn ich wahnsinnig. Wieso soll ich nicht 4 Euro trinkgeld geben? Wieviel Trinkgeld ich gebe, kann dir doch am Arsch vorbeigehen. Jeder sollte das geben, was er zu geben bereit ist und für angemessen hält.
I get the impression that it's only American's who don't like the hang around in restaurants. :P I'm Australian, and my family's British, and in both countries going out to eat takes AT LEAST two hours. Even at work, when I try to fit in a lunch with a friend in my lunch hour, it feels really rushed only being there, like, 50 minutes. Most of the other tips, I'm excited to know, given I'm moving the München in three weeks! Will definitely remember about the water, I really hate that sparkling stuff =.=
Usually you give ca. 10%-15% TIP in Germany. That depends also on the quality of service or how friendly the service was. In general you round up and the 19% on the bill are the VAT and not a service fee. A unwritten law also says to give the TIP as cash if you pay by card. TIP: Those who buy more expensive goods in Germany can get the VAT in many cases at the customs back, but thats a bid paper-war and only worthwhile by bigger expenses.
just one little correction: its applied by law that water HAS TO be cheaper than ANY alcoholic drink. so if a beer costs 2.50€, water will cost 1.50€. water has almost the same price in restaurants (except from "higher class" restautrants). i love your videos :D
I'm german, and I never EVER order water in restaurants. Whenever I eat out, I just get a nice glass of wine or a Kiba (which is cherry and banana juice mixed, try it, it's delicious) because of the occasion.
debit cards (ec) usually are accepted, not so much credit cards as the charges for the business owner are much higher. Another reason why cards are not so popular is because guests tend to include the tip also on the card payment. Problem is, before the server gets his tip, the boss would have to deduct the 19/119 VAT and it would be subject to the waiter's income tax (everything that is paid to pay the bill is subject to VAT), whereas when the tip is paid in cash directly to the waiter it's considered a separate payment and tax free (VAT and income tax wise). Conclusion, even when paying with a credit/debit card, always hand out the tip in cash, this will make the server a lot happier! Considering the bill for the guest: This is relevant if the payer had invited some guests and wants to treat the payment as a business expense, then a machine printed receipt is mandatory, on which the invitinig person needs to name the invited persons, state the reason of the business related expenditure and needs to sign it as well. Then 70% of the cost are deductible as a business expense.
There might be regional differences but at least were I live (North Rhein Westphalia) the day on which catholics were not allowed to eat meet was friday. It is still quite commen in some places like cafeterias to serve fish on fridays. Sorry if someone already pointed this out but in all those comments I did not find it.
Nice video! But as a german I have to say: You get your glass of water for free in all restaurants, if you declare it as "Leitungswasser" (actually there is a law that grants you free tap water in a restaurant). This is water, that comes out of the faucets in german households. In german it has a very good quality, but obviously doesn't contain carbonic acid.
In Austria we differentiate between water (tap), soda (carbonated tap water) and mineral water (carbonated water from special springs. If you order "water" in Austria you normally get water from the tap. But especially in the cities it could be you have to pay for tap water too, because the restaurant would make no profit, if you take it with a cheap menu offer. But with coffee it's always free.
I'm a German girl and I'm totally with you on the water... it's ridiculous ;) The thing that I miss about eating out in America was you would get free water and, even better, free coffee refills ( = awesome). Here, you order a drink, and sometimes you kind of don't want to drink it before the food comes because drinks can be really pricey. Anyway, great videos, keep on posting! Cheers ;)
The water thing is all over Europe. And we order mineral water at the restaurant because we drink tab water everyday at home… so, it's just to drink differently because we eat outside, and they don't all taste the same, some of us are very picky choosing it :P Eating out still a kind of special event in here ^^
I've moved to Germany from the States a week and a half ago and this is so true haha especially with the spend on longer times in restaurants. I have to get over the feeling that I'm loitering still
you dont tip like that. i dont anyway. if you have to pay 55, you put 60 in the book. waiter takes the book with her and returns it to you with the 5 euro change, usually in coins. you then just leave the tip (whatever amount you wanna give) in the book and take the rest of the change. thats how it works in fancy restaurants.
murfad As you said, fancy restaurants. In restaurants that deal with paying right at the table in person it's usually as described. And I've had a waitress freak out on me after tipping above 15% because she couldn't believe that tip.
+TheMegoShow I never tip less then 5 dollars and if it's more I round it in fives. I'm not trying to show off. I just really appreciate hard work and good service. That's because I have worked in the service industry and I am really thankful for the service. But, I won't tip if the person was rude. Mistakes happen and I am not picky about that. I don't expect a person to be perfect. I know it's their job and they put up with a lot. But, if they give 100% and have a good attitude, that speaks volumes to me.
German here. I'm drink tap water all day long (but sometimes I'm looked at as if I'm nuts. Even though German laws demand tap water to be drinking water) I hate that they don't serve free tap water in restaurants (at least not always). That's why Germany is the "Servicewüste" (= service desert). In Japan, many restaurants even serve free tea!
I think you should be clear that you are staying in the south west of Germany. If you would get far more north it would change a bit, at least the fact of sitting for hours in a restaurant. Like we are saying in the rest of Germany you are living where the romans lost their foot sick soldiers ;-) So its a little like in italy.
General tip: just don't order water if you're going out to eat. If you really want water, you can ask if you can have a glass of tap water and some places will not charge you for that, others will charge a small fee for the service (like 0.50€) and some will say they can't do that, either because they want you to buy the bottled water or because they don't comply with the regulations necessary to give out tap water to drink.
catholics are not allowed to eat meat on fridays, not sundays, and it still kinda applies today (though no one forces you too, expect that often in catholic majority areas cafeterias offer mainly fish and meatless meals on fridays)
+LaettaDieb75 Aschermittwoch and Karfreitag [Ash Wednesday and Good Friday] are fast and abstinence days (no meat, and only one full meal with two optional light snacks). All Fridays in the year are technically abstinence (no meat days), but this has been changed basically everywhere by the local bishops to only the Fridays in Lent. The Maultaschen story comes from an earlier time, when all of Lent was no meat allowed, and various areas of Germany came up with various clever "solutions". These are generally not approved by higher church authorities.
I enjoyed this and the tips are good. But to explain the tipping situation in Germany, one has to know the history of the situation. Up to around 1967 a tip was automatically added onto the bill along with other taxes. After VAT (Mehrwertsteuer) came in, the whole situation became extremely difficult to calculate and it was decided to provide the guest with a lump sum including all taxes and service charges. But it then became difficult for the waitress to give back exact change and on the other side guests still wanted to show their appreciation for good service. The correct thing to do, if you're satisfied, is to add on approximately 5% and then round off the sum to the next highest or lowest Euro. This would mean, with a bill for €28, you add on €1.40 making it €29.40 and give the waitress €30. If you're not too satisfied, then you could also pay her only €29.
I'm German and I never understood why sparkling water is so popular here -it even kind of hurts when drinking fast. And I can't understand why my fellow Germans carry bottles of non-sparkling water from the shops when there is perfect tap water available. By the way, I work in the student exchange business and one of the most common complaints of the incoming students is the confusion about sparkling water. And I totally agree ;-)
Believe it or not, you can actually ask for tap water (Leitungswasser) in Germany, and you should get that for free. Chances are you will be the first person ever to do that in any given restaurant, and it might take a moment for the waiter to wrap their head around the concept. Everybody overhearing the conversation will think you are a weird miser and stare at you, but my wife (a New Zealander) has done it and lived to tell the tale. These days she'd probably go with beer or Apfelschorle - the latter being non-alcoholic and delicious!
The water thing depends on the restaurant you're in. Many restaurants offer water, but only like tap water is for free. Actually I think there is a law concerning selling water in restaurants. It has to be the cheapest drink on the menu.
I'm working as a waitress and I get paid 7€ each hour and thats a really common amount of money in germany if you work as a waitress. By the way: the minimum wage will be 8,50€ but only for people over 18. :)
usa: service comes to you germany; you go/select to service waiter:tells you menu/ kellner: asks you when you studied the menu germans don't like to be rushed into decisions, they rather take time actaully is is similar in consumingbehavior at a clothing.store for example
The payment for waiter differs from place to place. In Berlin, in most restaurants its about 6€/h and thats not much, so they are also dependent on tips. But also they accept that a tip is given for proper service. If you get bad service you don't have to tip. With tips the average income goes up to about 13€/h. Of course in high class restaurants the payments are better.
Wow, since yesterday, when I first discovered your channel I've been literally watching every single video you have made and uploaded on your channel :) I instantly had to subscribe as not to miss a single future episode :)) But seriously..... I really like your videos so so much. Keep going this way... greetz from the Dortmund area....
I'm German. I order water in most restaurants. But that's mainly because that's all I mostly drink either way. But most restaurants I've been to give you a whole liter bottle with a glass for 2.50EUR. Still more expensive than drinking at home, but yeah.
Really useful video. I've been there already 8 or more times and was always confused with the paying situation... also, your voice is so soothing! You have a new subscriber :)
Great video Sam! But there is a third way to tip when you're in a more casual bar of café. You'd just pay 26,32€ and then leave some coins on the table before you leave :)
Typically in germany the cheapest drink is either non-carbonated water or tea. I went out a week ago and my first drink was a dark tea it was a considerally big cup with extra sugar and some sweets for 1.50 € after that and the food I was pretty much out of cash but someone decided they'd be generous and pay my Bill, so I could order some more, but bein considerate I thought just get a glass of tab water... yeah even though it was about the same amount of water and there were no sweets with it, it cost 30 cents more. And about tipping you really only tip if your waiter did an amazing job for you. if it's just standart service you dont tip. And one additional point which is very important if a german person says "Ich lade dich ein" (I invite you) that means they pay.
You can order tab water, mains water, supply water what ever the right word is and you dont need to pay for it, but sadly it depends on the owner/restaurant. It is also possible to show your wallet to the waiter if you want to pay. So you dont need to call the waiter to ask for the bill or shout through the whole restaurant.
Nice video! For a german like me, it's rly cool to see what you Americans think about our (eating) culture! Just recently found your channel and instantly loved it. Great fun and keep it up ;D
The water in restaurants is usually overpriced. There is a law that the cheapest drink on the menu needs to be non alcoholic. So usually they offer milk cheaper than the beer to cash in on the thirsty people that just want water.
it's quite right that the thing with the tap water is because in the area around stuttgart it doesn't taste as good because of how much chalk there is inside of it. you absolutely taste the difference if you drink the bottled still water and then tap water. it won't taste as good sometimes when you have old pipes leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. and for the black forest water it may be expensive but it actually tastes different and good cause there is like no chalk at all in that area. or even the water from lake constance tastes different then the water around stuttgart. but with the sparkling water at restaurants if you order "sprudel" you definitely get sparkling water but if you just order water it will be still.
About the tap water I actually see more immigrants in Germany drinking bottled water while all the Germans I know prefer tap water. But that's just for being at home, in restaurants on the other hand you're right. I lived on the Canary Islands for a few months to work there and I also spend some time in other parts of Spain and I hated not being able to drinnk tap water because we had to bring all these 8 litre bottles home to cook or drink some water :D Being back in Berlin the 1st thing I did was drinking tap water for days :)
6:11 Another funny fact - for all i know - about the difference of tap water and bottled water in germany is: The laws/limit values for tap water (concerning sanitary and pollutants) are harder than the laws for bottled water.
The reason you have to pay for water is the calculation of the restaurant. They make a big part of their income with the drinks and if a lot of guests wouldn't pay for drinking, the restaurant had problems to survive. If there was free water they had to set higher prices for the food. This is the reason why it's unpolite just to order food but normal when you just oder a drink.
Took me around 30 seconds to figure out whats "stimmed" until I realised you ment stimmt :D But in general your german has improoved a lot :) and your editing skills are amazing nowadays!
to the tipping: in german high class restaurants it is possible to summon the chef, if you think he did an excellent job with your meal, and thank him/tip him for it. i never saw that in a "normal" restaurant though.
the free water thing heavily depend on the location I'd say. usually restaurants run by young people, especially if they are from the alternative/leftist scene will never ever charge you for water for example. The reason why many restaurants are keen on you ordering drinks is because that's how they earn money. food is usually a zero sum game - they usually break even, but don't make much of a profit on it.
It took me some moments to realize, that you mean "(das) stimmt so" (keep the change)... And you can ask for tap water (" Leitungswasser ") - its for free... but you won't get like 3,4,5,6 and more glasses... If you know that you want to drink like 2-3 glasses ask for a big bottle of water! Its cheaper :)
06:46 In Germany, one non-alcoholic drink must always be cheaper or minimum equal in pricing than the cheapest alcoholic drink (beer) by law and that is usually sparkling water or tab water. Beer is most of the time the second cheapest or equal in pricing with water and then come the rest of stuff. This Law is called "Apfelsaft-Paragraph", but apple juce is most of the time more expensive than beer or water.
Tab water in Germany is not unsanitary, quite the opposite is actually true. It is very strictly controlled, it's propably the most sanitary drink you will find in Germany. Except you live in an antique house with led-lined plumbing, of course ;)
well, the thing about the eating and leaving after it is in germany probably the same as in every other country too: If you want a good time and really enjoy your food or spend some time with friends/familie and can afford it: You normally go to a restaurant and stay for quite some time. On the other hand: If you are busy and dont have much time you get yourself a Döner or Currywurst, thats why that kind of food was intentionally made. Döner for example was invented cause some Turkish people opened a Kebap in germany and saw so many germans dont have much time but wanted a kebap, so he made a "kebap to go" and wrapped all the stuff in bread xD
If you are in anywhere Germany in a restaurant and do not want to pay much for mineral-water with bubbles: ASK them f „bitte ein Glas Leitungswasser“ mean „please a Glas of water from the (water-)pipe“ ..tabwater. Sometime you might pay none or a fee for a clean glass. ANY water „from the wall“ (private or public restroom) is drinkable unless there is a VERY visible warning sign (rare, but seen)...
When I was a waiter in college in Texas, hourly wage was $2.01. So, you had to be careful the type of customers you have or you'll come home with almost nothing. Going 10% or lower and you 're screwed. Just a little over and you may still try to go to another restaurant for the clientele or struggle for the rent.
ericpoperic The $2.01 was only for servers because they assume you make it up in tips. Minimum wage was much higher. In San Francisco now and both are the same amount, higher.
nice one, again =) the expression I only know is "Stimmt so!" - the "so" indicates the amount you gave the waiter is for the bill and the rest for him.
The tab water thing is about the source where it comes from ... Black Forest water is obviously from Black Forest (I live there) and there a many different brands ... in the Black Forest region we have like 30 different water brands who also sell ‘Limo’ - kind of juice soft drink- which the water from the source ... so keep in mind than Germans are very obsessed with clear and mineralized good water ... even if some brands do not taste as good as others ;)
Hey there, great videos... But here you forgot to mention three things for restaurants in Germany: 1.) seat yourself 2.) no free refills 3.) the waiter doesn't introduce him or herself For how long will you be in Germany, i.e. how many more videos can we hope to see? Keep it up.
By law, water has to be cheaper than alcoholic beverages in Germany. That's because in the clubs you had to pay like 8€ for a water but you could get a Whiskey Soda for 3€. So abusive drinking was way cheaper than staying sober.
As a German who hates sparking water, I'm used to drinking tap water. But it's really annoying to always have to specifically ask for non-sparkling water...
In Germany every restaurant must have at least one non-alcoholic drink that is cheaper than all of the alcoholic drinks.
Emil Zet yea, really. And I think it's a good law.
in germany there is a law: the cheapest drink have to be non alcoholic
And it's usually Sprite. Because nobody likes Sprite 😅
God can't see through pasta. Every good catholic knows that.
+Winston Belgeroth Pasta is made of anti-matter Dummy
+Winston Belgeroth OHHH! I see! Hence the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
+Winston Belgeroth Then God can't see under the sheets either. Yay!
+rideswithscissors only if your sheets are made out of pasta.
Fun fact: Maultaschen have a original Swabian name (Swabia is a region with its own accent in southern Germany) and are called "Herrgottsb'scheißerle" which basically means "God screw-ies". I love my home :D
+Becca Scaredycat -Who told you that shit .... ?????
Hello, I'm german and I enjoy your videos very much. But one little thing ... catholics are allowed to eat meat on sundays (even when it's "Fastenzeit" what means the Lenten season before Easter). You confounded it with Friday. But today not many catholics care about it ... and I live in a very catholic region close to Cologne :-). Sorry for my bad english, and I will watch all ur videos cause it's funny to get this sight onto my country. Best regards!
You forgot the most important part! That you don't get seated in Germany. So don't stand there like a goof in the hallway just pick a table yourself.
Not true for every restaurant, in fact in most of the "not fast food" and "not bar" restaurants you either need a reservation (and a waitress who tells you where to sit) or you have to wait and hope the waitress gives you a table. So its kind of similar to getting seated.
I can't think of a single "proper" Restaurant, where you don't get seated, or at least get told to freely choose a table.
Actually the most common thing is to walk up to the waiter and say something like "We need a table for 4 people...." and the waiter will say "yeah - just chose a table" or (in case it's really full) "yeah - we have a table right over here". Very short procedure, no waiting at the entrance - just state what you want and get a direct answer (German efficiency here). ;-)
reklamedamereloaded Or finally, if you are unlucky they tell you when to come back for a free table.
well i think youre right there! :D i never got seated when eating out. but i also think for some more expensive places you will get seated! ;) its just a question of money and service :D
Mineralwasser ist not tapped Water!
+DiePixelspieler Leider beziehen einige Firmen ihr Wasser aus dem ganz normalen Hahn. Füllen es in Flaschen und verkaufen es 10x so teuer :/ true story
Jeipei Dann dürfen sie es aber nur Tafelwasser nennen, das ist Gesetzlich geregelt.
Hier ne Quelle (toller Witz :)): www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/min_tafelwv/gesamt.pdf
+Psycho-Dad Tafelwasser, wenns denn angeboten wird, wird aber dann auch oft teuer verkauft
das man für wasser zahlen muss ist echt lächerlich, auch für wasser ausn kran.
in australien haben kneipen sogar oft nen zapfkran wo man sich was holen kann.
Germans sit longer in restaurants because they visit restaurants less often.
What I noticed is that many Germans actually cook their own food at home, and even the tiniest German apartment will ALWAYS boost a kitchen. Americans go out way more often, Germans eat at home more often. The price range of dishes served in the US is also larger, it can go from quite cheap to quite expensive. While, except for fast-food-Döner, to go to a restaurant in Germany will usually cost two or three times as much than in the US. It's another culture.
In Deutschland gibt es ein Gesetz das mindestens ein nicht alkoholisches Getränk günstiger sein muss als das günstigste alkoholische Getränk, was in einer Gaststätte angeboten werden muss! Auch genannten das "Apfelsaftgesetz" und es gilt seit 2002! ;)
In Germany there is a law that must be at least one non-alcoholic drink cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink, which must be offered in a restaurant! Also called the "Apfelsaftgesetz" (="Apple juice law") and it applies since 2002!
actually you can have free water if you ask specifically for tap water
No
yes^^
Das hab ich mich schon oft gefragt ob das geht, aber ich dachte mir immer es kommt komisch das zu fragen weil es eben niemand tut^^ aber wenn das geht bin ich froh mir dadurch geld zu sparen
hab ich noch nie gehört.. o.o
Depends on the restaurant, i guess. In my favourite Whiskey and Rum Bar, it's no question to have tap water for free, but i can imagine that there are greedy owners, that charge you even for tap water.
The thing about bottled water is that we just really like it carbonated. Tap water just tastes boring.
True .. u tried Volvic Apfel ? Basicly tap water with apple flavour ;D
Yeah, I know there's still bottled water. The normal one without flavor is basically useless crap, but if it has a flavor, where's the problem? Tap water has a better quality than bottled water by the way.
es schmeckt net gut in den meisten regionen zu hartes wasser usw :D
In my home town it fells just like it got some extra metal taste^^
unicorn_hunter yeah you probably have old pipes or sth
While I'm not a fan of drinking water I still have to point some things out on this:
No, the bottled water is not the same as just tap water from elsewhere.
"Mineralwasser" (Mineral water) is what the name says, a water already containing a certain minimum (and maximum) of minerals, micronutrients and so on and is has to originate from subterrestrial reservoirs.
"Quellwasser" (Spring water) and "Tafelwasser" (Table water) are from similar sources (subterrestrial reservoirs), but do not contain the amounts of minerals, micronutrients and so on as mineral water does. The difference between Quell- and Tafelwasser is that Tafelwasser gets some of those elements ADDED afterwards.
Obviously mineral water is of higher quality than table water and you will rarely ever find plain table water in good restaurants (The slogan "The queen of table waters" on Apollinaris bottles is misleading, it's actually a mineral water).
You will find low quality products like Bonaqua and so on in bars (Telling you "Drink beer!") or low-end restaurants. Good restaurants always server something like Apollinaris, Gerolsteiner, the overhyped Italian "San Pellegrino" (low on minerals), Selters.
If you get served Bonaqua or crap like that in a restaurant except to get served artificial meat and cheese too.
Now we come to plain tap water:
Tap water is safe in the meaning of not being risky. It doesn't contain any harmful components and has "drinking water" quality.
While it tastes well (or neutral) enough for drinking in most regions or might even have some good taste on its own in some regions, it might as well have just one attribute in others: Not harmful.
I wonder how you would react if you would get a glass of tap water served in Aachen with the calcium carbonate visibly sinking down inside your glass.
Actually a glass of water fresh from the tap will look pretty white in Aachen.
While calcium carbonate is not risky, I wouldn't even want to cook tea using it without filtering it first.
Tap water can have about any source:
River coast filtrate, artificial lakes and so on.
BTW:
German service is far better than its repuation, if its not impossible or illegal, you usually get what you wish.
Just as you usually can even have noodles with your steak if you do not like fries, you can always try to ask for "Ein Glass Leitungswasser" (A glass of tap water).
In some places this will result in a strange look, but at the end in most cases you will get it ... for free.
Some cooks will even serve you a steak well-done, though most of them will shed tears while roasting it, because the cow was already dead enough before, no need to roast it to death.
There is a law in germany, that at least one non-alcoholic drink has to be cheaper than the alcoholic drinks. the funny thing is, that normally it isn´t the water.
I never heard Form that law. I live near Stuttgart and now one car es around Herr what you drink :)
ronja m also ich kenne das so, dass ein alkohol-freies getränk auf der speisekarte billiger sein muss. wenn man n halben liter wasser und n halben liter bier vergleicht, ist das wasser meistens teurer.
freaky guy mit dem Gesetz hast du recht aber die wenigesten bars/Clubs halten sich dran. Zudem weiß fast niemand was davon. :)
You are absolutely right about this law. But it's usually something that isn't drunk very often in a restaurant or bar, something like milk.
Actually, you cannot use milk as your cheapest drink to satisfy the law. Neither coffee or warm tea. It often isn't water either. The law is known as Apfelsaftparagraph, so it may be apple juice but I'm not an expert on this.
Mindestlohn 12 Euro wäre toll ;)
Leider sind es nur 8,50 Euro... :D
Wayn :D leb in der schweiz
Marten Ggzz Wayne?!
ericpoperic wayne=egal
Es gibt auch tarifliche Mindestlöhne für bestimmte Berufsgruppen. Kann also sein das man man Kellnern 12€ die Stunde gibt.
+Robin Meineke es gibt keinen extra Tarif für die Gastronomie. (keine Gewerkschaft) Kellner bekommen den gestzl. Mindestlohn... Wenn überhaupt
Our sparkling water is no tap water, but from natural springs. And they often are naturally carbonated. The tap water is treated. And Restaurants must have something non-alcoholic as cheapest drink.
Archer198026 There must be something else, beside water, that is cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink. Its called the "Apfelsaft-Paragraph".
+Schulzffw You mean § 6 Gaststättengesetz and you got one thing wrong: It can be any nonalcoholic beverage, including table water. Not a second nonalcoholic beverage beside water. Actually, in most restaurants the one drink that is cheaper than beer will be water, while Coke, juice etc. are often more expensive than beer, especially in pubs that have special contracts with or are connected to breweries.
Two things i like to add:
The amount of the tip sends a message about how satisfied you are with the service, so don't tip automatically. If you don't tip at all you tell the waitress or waiter that her/his service was 'unter aller sau' (under all pigs - crappy). Not only true for waiters, but also taxi drivers, baggage porters or any other service staff that is generally considered to be tip-worthy.
About the maultaschen legend: even today the southern part of Germany is mainly katholic and maultaschen are of swabian origin (the south-western part). Katholics were not allowed to eat meat on fridays, especially not on Karfreitag (the friday before eastern). Actually if there is any day of the week when katholics eat meat, it's on sundays.
Maybe some may consider this as nitpicking, but Germany is full of 'Besserwisser' and 'Klugscheißer' and i am one of them. ;-)
for the spending a lot of time in the restaurant and stuff it's mostly that - at least where I am from - you go out and eat maybe one a month and then you have all your family with you and you talk there and spend a bit of quality time talking and hanging out. The reason we don't get impatient when it takes half an hour (which often) is that we know that the food will be prepared freshly and when there are many people in the restaurant 30 minutes is still acceptable. But when you are german you usually have your Stammlokal, which is a restaurant you usually go to and with the time you will get to know the people working there and if you're nice you will probably get better and faster service. And if you live in a small city you probably know the people there anyways.
+The Anna
I live in the U.S and I don't like rushed service. I like to socialize with the staff and I want to enjoy my time with the person I am with. But, I would feel a nagging voice not to hold the waiter or waitress up. I don't want to rush them. I am always thinking how I might be effecting someone else. I would be afraid I might get them in trouble for holding them up from other costumers and I don't want them to get in trouble with their staff. Also, I like to focus my attention to the person I am with. I also hate being interrupted when I am talking with the person I am with. I should just be able to put my cup or glass at the end of the table and the person waiting on me should just understand that is when I want a refill. Not ask me every few minutes if I want one. If I want dessert I will order it. I don't need it suggested. I really hate rudeness and inconsideration. I don't like when it's done towards me. So, I try not to be that person. I think it would be challenging to get use to no refills on my coffee though. I usually only want two anyways. I can't handle that much caffeine and I don't want to be in the bathroom ever 5-10 minutes. I also don't like to be rushed out the door. When I am done with my meal. I like to enjoy socializing and talking with whom I'm with. So, that's at least one area in Germany I can easily get used to. There are other areas too. I love love Christmas. I wish I could just hop on a train and disappear into Germany during the whole Christmas season, then come back after New Years. lol
Also, my name is Anna and German is my ancestry. Nice to meet you Anna. :)
And that's why Maultaschen are also called Gottverscheißerle
Which means something like god foolers
Herrgottsbscheiserle
Herrgottsbscheiserle
Minimum wage is, if not otherwise defined by contracts with the trade unions, € 8,50 (January 2016)
The reason it might take longer to serve food in Germany, especially in the smaller "family lead" restaurants is, that they mostly prepare the food fresh. No "convenience food" or "fast food" (note: "fast" in German means "almost" and that is what the US "fast food" for Germans is). Preparing food might take about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on what you order (main dish) if you have a soup or so to start with, no problem.
Depending on where you go for dinner, the average time being there is between 90 and 150 minutes.
+Kees Kopf You're an idiot if you think all restaurant in the US are fast food. You should stop going to Cheesecake Factory every time you visit Florida.
My grandfather taught me that people that start insulting in a discussion in real have no arguments to counter facts.
Thanks for the "Idiot" you just proved his words
Ever think your grandfather raised idiots?
Oh yes, I did! I was about 14 and wanted to protest against Nixon and the Vietnam War and my father said, I should not do it because "Nixon is a good guy!". There I was convinced he was an idiot. Since he was raised by my grandfather, yes I thought my grandfather raised an idiot.
They serve Sparkling Water in Germany not Tab Water and you pay for Sparkling Water in the US too.
+shax tap water in germany is also free if you order it ;)
+GonGon84 not always, sadly. France for example has a law, so that restaurants and in general, all food serving places have to provide tap waiter for free.
+onece444 germany also got the law that tab water is illegal to be sold in a restaurant/bar/lounge etc.
I work at a bakery and earn minimum wage. It's 8,63 by the way.
And I once went on a date with a guy from Texas, and I was wondering why he was in such a hurry. I wasn't even feeling full yet, just taking a small break from eating (it was a sushi buffet), and he already asked if I was ready to go. But then we discussed it too, he said that in the US you're not supposed to sit and chat for long, you have to eat and then leave because there are other people waiting for the table. Which, in my opinion, sucks. Especially because I eat very slowly.
That is a bit over the top. In USA one is usually slightly rushed by the staff so as to get another group at the table but they would not ask you to leave while eating or conversing after a meal
Restaurants in Germany (and most parts of Europe) generate a larger chunk of their profits from beverages then US restaurants.
That's the main reason they encourage you to sit for a longer time after the meal and won't bring you the check automatically (hoping you will order more drinks). It's also the reason you will rarely get free refills or "bottomless" coffee cups here. There are quite a few all-you-can-eat restaurants around for the very same reason: You will still have to pay for beverages and are very much encouraged to sit a long time and order lots of them.
As far as I can tell some visitors from the US think the service is bad and the waiters lazy here. And on the flipside European visitors in the US feel rushed and unwelcome sometimes. Very different cultures :)
I've been in the US several times now and the tab water thy serve you there for free tastes horrible most of the times. That has nothing to do with spring water. Tastes more like poop water. No seriously it allways tastes like chlorine.
You think that tastes bad, come to Mexico. You'll get sick from drinking it- I speak from experience.
jessica serna We are lucky here in New York City our water tastes great ! Except maybe if your in old building with old pipes
jessica serna "Montezumas revenge"
You probably had Florida water
jack phillips I think it tastes fine.
I think the reason why we stay in a restaurant for so long is because we don't go out so often, so if I eat out it's basically just for spending time with my friends and then it only makes sense to stay as long as possible... Love it
The reason why you have to pay for water in Germany is, that the restaurant makes a deal with the Drink-Company. For example Coka Cola. Cola pays for a part of the restaurant. But than the restaurant is forced to sell The Coke water and all the other Softdrinks. They are not allowed to make the normal water fizzy. Cola doesn't produce beer. But i don't know why beer is cheaper. But its true..
14fadu6 where are u from, and where did you get that information? I´ve never heard of it and I´m pretty sure you´re wrong. I know people who owes restaurants here in germany, and Cola surely didn´t payd part of the restaurant.
Bayern. Was glaubst du warum Cola auf der ganzen Welt vertreten ist? In den Schulen und Kinos. Die machen überall ihre Deals. Aber hier in Europa wird keiner gezwungen. In Afrika schaust schon anders aus(Grundwasser abpumpen und so..)
14fadu6 du laberst einfach käse^^... cola ist überall vertreten weil es eines der beiebtesten getränke der welt ist punkt^^... du glaubst doch nicht ernsthaft das cola mit jedem kleinen kiosk an der ecke einen deal abwickelt, geschweige denn irgendeinen teil kauft (zuviel mafia filme gesehen)... es gibt auch keine cola ausschenklizenz... nur eine für alkohol und tabak (wegen steuern)... cola verkauft getränke an zwischenhändler, dadurch bekommt coca-cola geld, die verkaufen dass dann weiter an restaurants, kioske und bekommen dadurch ihr geld, am ende zahlt der endverbraucher... danke dass ich dir diesen wirtschaftsunterricht 6. klasse vorstellen dürfte... ps: wasser kostet nicht immer mehr als bier, außerdem warum sollte wasser kein geld kosten^^ diese bayern
DerSpassVerderber Ich weiss das mein Gymnasium damals von Cola Geld bekommen hat, damit Sie dort die Automaten aufstellen durfte und vom Kino in meiner Stadt dass Sie dort kein Leitungswasser sprudelig machen dürfen sondern Bon Aqua nehmen müssen. Genau aus besagtem Grund. Glaub es mir oder auch nicht. Ich kann mit beidem leben.
14fadu6 aha und das hat dir natürlich deine schulleitung erzählt^^, oder wohl eher deine mitschüler^^... und sorry wenn du in so nem kaffst wohnst dass du von irgendwelchen geschäftabwicklungeng von deim kino weißt, kannst du echt nur in irgendnem kaff wohnen, ^^ außerdem sag mir mal irgendnen größeren betrieb wo es keine coca cola gibt... die coca cola company hat allein in deutschland echt ganz schön viel zu tun scheinbar^^ jedesmal nen vetrag abwickeln zigtausen mal im jahr^^
I'm german and I drink tap water all the time, which I highly recommend, because we have very high standarts for it. But in restaurants I will order something I don't get much at home like ginger ale.
A little hint on ordering water in Germany: you can get tab water (and it is free!). You just have to order "Leitungswasser". But be warned: this is very uncommon and will let you look cheap.
The most people in Germany drink carbonate water from bottles, even at home. So do I. So is you order water (or Selters in eastern german regions) you will get carbonated water. Usual sizes are 0.2l, 0.4l in glasses and 0.2l, 0.25l, 0.5l or even 0.7l in bottles.
But uncarbonated water becomes more and more in-fashion. Most restaurants have that. You have to oder "stilles Wasser" (=silent water, i.e. not sparkling). But be warned: that water costs the same as the sparkling on.
I never even realized how much carbonated water we drink in Germany until I went to the states and carbonated water was actually a rare thing there. I don't understand why we drink so much bottled water here in Germany, because actually unlike in many places in America, our tab water is pretty good.
Aber es wird hier schon auch viel Leitungswasser getrunken. Es gibt ja auch Sprudelautomaten, von denen ja auch fast jeder einen daheim hat. Als unsere amerikanische Austauschschüler unseren das erste mal entdeckt hat war er total fasziniert :DD
One of the reasons we stay longer in the restaurant after we finished, is the fact that it is an event for us. Unlike in the states its more expensive to eat out in Europe than cook yourself, so it's something "special".
Also if you say "I invite you for dinner", it doesn't only mean that you go out together but also that the person who asked will pay for both of you
it's funny that you said it but it's true, we DO spend more time in restaurants! i never really payed attention to it before! but es, we go out to eat and after we're done we sometimes order another round of drinks and just sit there and chat until we feel like leaving OR maybe even have an espresso or coffee after our meal and THEN leave. i don't even know why to be honest... sometimes it's because we order wine to our food and when we're done eating we sometimes still have wine in our glasses/bottles and we are used to drinking it slowly as to savor it. so you slowly drink your (sometimes expensive) wine and chat until the glasses/bottles are empty. Another explanation could be that when you go out to eat it usually is something special like meeting friends or celebrating something so normally you have a lot of things to talk about. Of course we also go out to eat because we are too stink in lazy to cook at home but even this occasion will be celebrated to its fullest. idk but going out to eat stays something rather special this way than to go there, eat and leave immediately. BUT of course this is just from my point of view and not necessarily for the general german.
Another important difference - listed prices always include all taxes. You don't need to carry a lawyer and accountant with you in order to predict how much money is going to actually get out of your pocket.
Maybe another point of view on eating out from a German viewer.. ^^
For my family and me it is something nice to go eating out. We're actually enjoying the time we have to wait for dinner because that is the time to chat~ chat about the week~ chat about whatever comes to your mind... about the things that you have no time talking about when you're cooking at home because you're bussy cooking, you know? :D ^^
And one more hint for all the students or school kids ~ I do rarely give tips at Cafés or anything. I'm always saying: "If I don't earn my own money yet, I don't have to feel like I have to give tips." This always calms my mind a little, so I don't have to feel bad about giving no tips x'D
You are basically excusing being rude by being poor. *grin*
I'm surprised you didn't mention that there is no such thing as free refills for your drinks in German restaurants. If you order a soda/pop in most places you have the choice between a larger and a smaller size, but even the larger size isn't all that big. If you want to have a second glass you have to pay extra for it. The free refills has always been something I really liked about restaurants in the States/Canada.
Another difference is that in Germany you don't get ice in your drinks. The ice thing is actually something I never quite understood. In Germany, when you order one glass of pop you really get one glass filled with pop. In the States and Canada, when I forget to order it without ice I get a glass that is crammed full of ice cubes and only has a tiny little bit of the pop I want. Though, I guess, what with the free refills, you can just get more. Still, the ice is going to melt and water everything down...
And apropos ordering pops without ice here...I find it rather amusing that when I order, say, a diet coke without ice the waiter tends to be a bit confused but if I order a diet coke with no ice they get it immediately. I don't know why they don't seem to be able to understand the word "without" but have no problem understanding "with no". Weird.
ClaGaCla Ahm, wait, "I find it rather amusing that when I order, say, a diet coke without ice the waiter tends to be a bit confused but if I order a diet coke with no ice they get it immediately. I don't know why they don't seem to be able to understand the word "without" but have no problem understanding "with no". Weird."
Do I understand you right, that you are a native German, that complains, that native English speakers don't understand your choice of English words? Just order the darn coke with no ice, like everyone else does, and don't try to invent a better language for them! It's their language, and they probably know better, what sounds right and what sounds weird.
Stefan B Of course I order the "darn coke with no ice". I'm also not complaining or trying to invent a better language for them or anything like that. I just don't understand why they don't get what you're saying when you order a coke without ice as opposed to a coke with no ice. And before you start implying that my English is so bad that it's hard to understand for native speakers...I've never had a problem with anyone not understanding me when I used the word "without" in other contexts or situations or at any other time, no matter what I was saying, and other people also say "with no ice" when ordering their pops. So I suppose it's just a matter of habit, the waiter is used to hear "with no ice". It simply surprised me, since it doesn't make more sense - grammatically or logically speaking - than ordering a drink "without ice". I'm not saying it's bad or wrong or whatever. Just like Sam does in many of his videos, I simply noticed something interesting/different that doesn't immediately make sense to me.
ClaGaCla After rereading my comment, I think it is actually more grumpy than it was intended. So, sorry for that, have a nice day
Stefan B No worries. A nice day to you, too. :-)
ClaGaCla
When "Subway" started in Germany they also had that free refill, but I don´t know if they stuck with it, because I don´t go there very often.
Bottled water and tap water are usually different.
While tap water usually comes from a water reservoir, bottled water is often labeled "Quellwasser", meaning that it comes from a natural spring. Those differ in the amount of minerals and arguably taste from each other. Some claim they are more healthy, too.
Tap water is perfectly fine, though.
+Aroddo bottled water is tab water, the spring water is first stored in a reservoir so there is no difference. also in bottled water they often filter away most of the minerals to keep it more "clean"
This is my first comment on your videos (to pe precise, I just rediscovered them after watching world cup videos most of the time) and I like them a lot, so I think I will have to return the favour by making a longer posting and bless you with a few invaluable insights about us Germans and correct you on a few issues, like us Germans love to do so much.
Once in the past, you asked yourself why so many Germans are watching your videos. That's because Germans love to see others talk about them... and so do I, that's why I'm watching your videos from time to time. We obviously like hearing things that please us and I think we are a bit more narcissistic about that than others. Praise what we consider as our virtues, we admire those who admire us :-).
I just watched your video about the 10 most awesome things about Germany. Obviously, the most awesome thing about Germany currently is that we are finally, FINALLY football world champions (never call it soccer here!!11!). You might have noticed the excitement during the tournament and how incredibly happy the people were when we won it... yes, we, not just the Mannschaft, AT LONG LAST! It's already a month ago and I'm still happier than I was before the championship and that will certainly continue for some time. You have to forgive us, we tried a few world wars in order to become more awesome and even though we were in the finals, we didn't make it, so we changed our minds and decided kick other nations' asses in a different manne. OMG, that 7-1 versus Brazil, the German death machine was running pretty... err, I got a bit carried away.
Regarding the topic of this video:
Catholics actually weren't allowed to eat meat on a Friday, not on a Sunday (because Jesus was crucified on a Friday) and a couple of them probably keep up that tradition until today. The Ravioli thing isn't the most funny thing about that, however. People usually ate fish at that day (well, rich people, to be precise, the common people back then probably ate cabbage and porridge most of the time), so a few monks thought it was OK to declare everything a fish which is living in water, like... BEAVERS! That's right, they ate beaver meat on Friday. That might be a reason why beavers are so rare here until nowadays.
Waiters: We have no minimum wages here, unlike you goddamn communists in the US :-D. Well OK, we will have them soon.
Water: It's pretty common to drink tap water here at home... at least that's what I'm doing. However, restaurants here make a lot of their money from drinks, so they are not giving you something from the tap because they couldn't charge much money for that. I mean, opening a bottle of water and serving it to you will bring them let's say 2,50€, that's silly! And yes, beer is often cheaper than most other drinks. Don't ask me why.
Bottled water: Yes, it's ridiculous. I think that bottled water is a waste of money. It's also pretty annoying to carry it home from the supermarket. When I drink water, it's usually from the tap. There are only tiny, unnoticable traces of chlorine in it because you only need very small amounts of it to disinfect it, unlike in warmer countries. When I'm going to lunch on work days, I'm taking something from the "Mittagstisch" (inexpensive meals available at lunch time) and I'm not ordering a drink. Instead, I will have a cup of coffee when I'm back at work. Some people might call me stingy, but I'm not an idiot who spends his hard-earned money on something which isn't any better than tap water which costs 5€ per CUBIC METER (which is about 260 gallons), including sewage costs... err, well, that was the over-serious German within myself yet again.
Restaurants have to use those tiny bottles of mineral water and they have to open them for you in front of you at your table, so you don't get scammed by paying for mineral water and getting tapped water instead.
fun fact: we have a law that states, that there ALWAYS has to be something non-alcoholic in the menue that costs the fewest per liter. the sense behind this is of course to prevent people from drinking alkohol if they just want anything to drink and maybe don't have so much money. if the water in a restaurant is cheaper than beer this means that some juice or anything else has to be cheaper :D
Fridays! That is why you still have places that serve fish especially on Friday! Not Sunday. I did not see anybody else post that fact, so I did.
So lustig!!! Hab deine Videos gerade gefunden und es ist wahnsinnig spannend so eine Sicht zu hören! Cool! Mach weiter so!
Ima explain the Water thing to you. In Germany, as well as in Austria we have excellent water quality. The water you can buy in bottles is worse then the water you get at home. It is impolite to order water in those regions, because it is like bringing your own food but using the kitchen of the restaurant :D
What I found frustrating in Germany was the ice situation. I live on iced tea. My heritage is Southern (USA). I fill my glass with ice and top it with the freshly brewed tea. I got so excited and impressed in Germany when I got 3 ice cubes in my drink that I took a pic of it! I found that most of the time I got things chilled, not ice cold there. There's a difference. Oh well it's a small price to pay for visiting a place that I have come to love.
Thanks for the videos, I am German and it is always interesting to get a different view on your own culture.
I think it is a cultural / historical thing about the carbonated water. In Ancient Rome even children was given wine to drink with little to no alcohol, obviously. It was just safer than the "dirty" water where all the junk from people's living was contained. So not serving plain water of which the origin was unknown to you was kind of an appreciation to you as a guest. Furthermore, even nowadays ordering your water non-carbonated may get you a bottle which still can contain a little gas. If you want water from the tap, you may ask for "Leitungswasser", pronunciation is like lighting but with a "U".
Maultaschen are also called Herrgottsbscheißerle
if you have a 26 Euro Bill and you want to give a tip, it is common to say "Machen Sie 30." (Make it 30.) so the rest is the tip. of course, you can be more generous by saying 35. that's the whole sum you'll pay and the rest of the 50 euros are getting back as a change :)
+chaosgoettin There is no 26 Euro Bill, lel.
dude, dir ist klar das "bill" nicht nur der geldschein ist, sondern auch die rechnung? :D
chaosgoettin Es war spät, okay? ._.
:D Entschuldigung akzeptiert. Wenn hier jemand schuld hat, dann ist es die Englische Sprache :D
wahnsinnig? Leute, die das wort "normal" benutzen, als wäre es das Maß für alles nenn ich wahnsinnig. Wieso soll ich nicht 4 Euro trinkgeld geben? Wieviel Trinkgeld ich gebe, kann dir doch am Arsch vorbeigehen. Jeder sollte das geben, was er zu geben bereit ist und für angemessen hält.
Minimum wage here is only 8.50€ though ;)
Nice video anyway!
I get the impression that it's only American's who don't like the hang around in restaurants. :P I'm Australian, and my family's British, and in both countries going out to eat takes AT LEAST two hours. Even at work, when I try to fit in a lunch with a friend in my lunch hour, it feels really rushed only being there, like, 50 minutes. Most of the other tips, I'm excited to know, given I'm moving the München in three weeks! Will definitely remember about the water, I really hate that sparkling stuff =.=
I'm moving to Munchen too! for a foreign exchange :D
Usually you give ca. 10%-15% TIP in Germany. That depends also on the quality of service or how friendly the service was. In general you round up and the 19% on the bill are the VAT and not a service fee. A unwritten law also says to give the TIP as cash if you pay by card.
TIP: Those who buy more expensive goods in Germany can get the VAT in many cases at the customs back, but thats a bid paper-war and only worthwhile by bigger expenses.
"Just stay with the beer, it got water in it." awww I laughed so hard. thanks man, you just made my day !!! :D
just one little correction: its applied by law that water HAS TO be cheaper than ANY alcoholic drink. so if a beer costs 2.50€, water will cost 1.50€. water has almost the same price in restaurants (except from "higher class" restautrants). i love your videos :D
I'm german, and I never EVER order water in restaurants. Whenever I eat out, I just get a nice glass of wine or a Kiba (which is cherry and banana juice mixed, try it, it's delicious) because of the occasion.
debit cards (ec) usually are accepted, not so much credit cards as the charges for the business owner are much higher.
Another reason why cards are not so popular is because guests tend to include the tip also on the card payment. Problem is, before the server gets his tip, the boss would have to deduct the 19/119 VAT and it would be subject to the waiter's income tax (everything that is paid to pay the bill is subject to VAT), whereas when the tip is paid in cash directly to the waiter it's considered a separate payment and tax free (VAT and income tax wise). Conclusion, even when paying with a credit/debit card, always hand out the tip in cash, this will make the server a lot happier!
Considering the bill for the guest: This is relevant if the payer had invited some guests and wants to treat the payment as a business expense, then a machine printed receipt is mandatory, on which the invitinig person needs to name the invited persons, state the reason of the business related expenditure and needs to sign it as well. Then 70% of the cost are deductible as a business expense.
There might be regional differences but at least were I live (North Rhein Westphalia) the day on which catholics were not allowed to eat meet was friday.
It is still quite commen in some places like cafeterias to serve fish on fridays.
Sorry if someone already pointed this out but in all those comments I did not find it.
Nice video! But as a german I have to say: You get your glass of water for free in all restaurants, if you declare it as "Leitungswasser" (actually there is a law that grants you free tap water in a restaurant). This is water, that comes out of the faucets in german households. In german it has a very good quality, but obviously doesn't contain carbonic acid.
In Austria we differentiate between water (tap), soda (carbonated tap water) and mineral water (carbonated water from special springs.
If you order "water" in Austria you normally get water from the tap.
But especially in the cities it could be you have to pay for tap water too, because the restaurant would make no profit, if you take it with a cheap menu offer. But with coffee it's always free.
I'm a German girl and I'm totally with you on the water... it's ridiculous ;) The thing that I miss about eating out in America was you would get free water and, even better, free coffee refills ( = awesome). Here, you order a drink, and sometimes you kind of don't want to drink it before the food comes because drinks can be really pricey. Anyway, great videos, keep on posting! Cheers ;)
The water thing is all over Europe. And we order mineral water at the restaurant because we drink tab water everyday at home… so, it's just to drink differently because we eat outside, and they don't all taste the same, some of us are very picky choosing it :P Eating out still a kind of special event in here ^^
I've moved to Germany from the States a week and a half ago and this is so true haha especially with the spend on longer times in restaurants. I have to get over the feeling that I'm loitering still
you dont tip like that. i dont anyway. if you have to pay 55, you put 60 in the book. waiter takes the book with her and returns it to you with the 5 euro change, usually in coins. you then just leave the tip (whatever amount you wanna give) in the book and take the rest of the change. thats how it works in fancy restaurants.
murfad As you said, fancy restaurants. In restaurants that deal with paying right at the table in person it's usually as described. And I've had a waitress freak out on me after tipping above 15% because she couldn't believe that tip.
+TheMegoShow
I never tip less then 5 dollars and if it's more I round it in fives. I'm not trying to show off. I just really appreciate hard work and good service. That's because I have worked in the service industry and I am really thankful for the service. But, I won't tip if the person was rude. Mistakes happen and I am not picky about that. I don't expect a person to be perfect. I know it's their job and they put up with a lot. But, if they give 100% and have a good attitude, that speaks volumes to me.
German here. I'm drink tap water all day long (but sometimes I'm looked at as if I'm nuts. Even though German laws demand tap water to be drinking water)
I hate that they don't serve free tap water in restaurants (at least not always). That's why Germany is the "Servicewüste" (= service desert). In Japan, many restaurants even serve free tea!
I think you should be clear that you are staying in the south west of Germany. If you would get far more north it would change a bit, at least the fact of sitting for hours in a restaurant. Like we are saying in the rest of Germany you are living where the romans lost their foot sick soldiers ;-)
So its a little like in italy.
General tip: just don't order water if you're going out to eat. If you really want water, you can ask if you can have a glass of tap water and some places will not charge you for that, others will charge a small fee for the service (like 0.50€) and some will say they can't do that, either because they want you to buy the bottled water or because they don't comply with the regulations necessary to give out tap water to drink.
catholics are not allowed to eat meat on fridays, not sundays, and it still kinda applies today (though no one forces you too, expect that often in catholic majority areas cafeterias offer mainly fish and meatless meals on fridays)
Das it's so nicht richter. Das Gebot gilt nur noch für Aschermittwoch und Karfreitag.
+LaettaDieb75 Aschermittwoch and Karfreitag [Ash Wednesday and Good Friday] are fast and abstinence days (no meat, and only one full meal with two optional light snacks). All Fridays in the year are technically abstinence (no meat days), but this has been changed basically everywhere by the local bishops to only the Fridays in Lent. The Maultaschen story comes from an earlier time, when all of Lent was no meat allowed, and various areas of Germany came up with various clever "solutions". These are generally not approved by higher church authorities.
I enjoyed this and the tips are good. But to explain the tipping situation in Germany, one has to know the history of the situation. Up to around 1967 a tip was automatically added onto the bill along with other taxes. After VAT (Mehrwertsteuer) came in, the whole situation became extremely difficult to calculate and it was decided to provide the guest with a lump sum including all taxes and service charges. But it then became difficult for the waitress to give back exact change and on the other side guests still wanted to show their appreciation for good service. The correct thing to do, if you're satisfied, is to add on approximately 5% and then round off the sum to the next highest or lowest Euro. This would mean, with a bill for €28, you add on €1.40 making it €29.40 and give the waitress €30. If you're not too satisfied, then you could also pay her only €29.
I'm German and I never understood why sparkling water is so popular here -it even kind of hurts when drinking fast. And I can't understand why my fellow Germans carry bottles of non-sparkling water from the shops when there is perfect tap water available. By the way, I work in the student exchange business and one of the most common complaints of the incoming students is the confusion about sparkling water. And I totally agree ;-)
Maultaschen were invented by monks in cloisters to fool their bosses during the fasting period, not by ordinary christians.
Believe it or not, you can actually ask for tap water (Leitungswasser) in Germany, and you should get that for free. Chances are you will be the first person ever to do that in any given restaurant, and it might take a moment for the waiter to wrap their head around the concept. Everybody overhearing the conversation will think you are a weird miser and stare at you, but my wife (a New Zealander) has done it and lived to tell the tale. These days she'd probably go with beer or Apfelschorle - the latter being non-alcoholic and delicious!
The water thing depends on the restaurant you're in. Many restaurants offer water, but only like tap water is for free. Actually I think there is a law concerning selling water in restaurants. It has to be the cheapest drink on the menu.
I'm working as a waitress and I get paid 7€ each hour and thats a really common amount of money in germany if you work as a waitress. By the way: the minimum wage will be 8,50€ but only for people over 18. :)
usa: service comes to you
germany; you go/select to service
waiter:tells you menu/ kellner: asks you when you studied the menu
germans don't like to be rushed into decisions, they rather take time
actaully is is similar in consumingbehavior at a clothing.store for example
In the US, you don't even have to ask for tap water. In many places, they give you ice water while saying hello to you.
The payment for waiter differs from place to place. In Berlin, in most restaurants its about 6€/h and thats not much, so they are also dependent on tips. But also they accept that a tip is given for proper service. If you get bad service you don't have to tip. With tips the average income goes up to about 13€/h. Of course in high class restaurants the payments are better.
Wow, since yesterday, when I first discovered your channel I've been literally watching every single video you have made and uploaded on your channel :) I instantly had to subscribe as not to miss a single future episode :))
But seriously..... I really like your videos so so much. Keep going this way...
greetz from the Dortmund area....
I'm German. I order water in most restaurants. But that's mainly because that's all I mostly drink either way. But most restaurants I've been to give you a whole liter bottle with a glass for 2.50EUR. Still more expensive than drinking at home, but yeah.
Really useful video. I've been there already 8 or more times and was always confused with the paying situation... also, your voice is so soothing! You have a new subscriber :)
Great video Sam! But there is a third way to tip when you're in a more casual bar of café. You'd just pay 26,32€ and then leave some coins on the table before you leave :)
Typically in germany the cheapest drink is either non-carbonated water or tea. I went out a week ago and my first drink was a dark tea it was a considerally big cup with extra sugar and some sweets for 1.50 € after that and the food I was pretty much out of cash but someone decided they'd be generous and pay my Bill, so I could order some more, but bein considerate I thought just get a glass of tab water... yeah even though it was about the same amount of water and there were no sweets with it, it cost 30 cents more.
And about tipping you really only tip if your waiter did an amazing job for you. if it's just standart service you dont tip.
And one additional point which is very important if a german person says "Ich lade dich ein" (I invite you) that means they pay.
You can order tab water, mains water, supply water what ever the right word is and you dont need to pay for it, but sadly it depends on the owner/restaurant.
It is also possible to show your wallet to the waiter if you want to pay. So you dont need to call the waiter to ask for the bill or shout through the whole restaurant.
Nice video! For a german like me, it's rly cool to see what you Americans think about our (eating) culture! Just recently found your channel and instantly loved it. Great fun and keep it up ;D
The water in restaurants is usually overpriced. There is a law that the cheapest drink on the menu needs to be non alcoholic. So usually they offer milk cheaper than the beer to cash in on the thirsty people that just want water.
it's quite right that the thing with the tap water is because in the area around stuttgart it doesn't taste as good because of how much chalk there is inside of it. you absolutely taste the difference if you drink the bottled still water and then tap water. it won't taste as good sometimes when you have old pipes leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. and for the black forest water it may be expensive but it actually tastes different and good cause there is like no chalk at all in that area. or even the water from lake constance tastes different then the water around stuttgart.
but with the sparkling water at restaurants if you order "sprudel" you definitely get sparkling water but if you just order water it will be still.
About the tap water I actually see more immigrants in Germany drinking bottled water while all the Germans I know prefer tap water. But that's just for being at home, in restaurants on the other hand you're right. I lived on the Canary Islands for a few months to work there and I also spend some time in other parts of Spain and I hated not being able to drinnk tap water because we had to bring all these 8 litre bottles home to cook or drink some water :D Being back in Berlin the 1st thing I did was drinking tap water for days :)
6:11 Another funny fact - for all i know - about the difference of tap water and bottled water in germany is: The laws/limit values for tap water (concerning sanitary and pollutants) are harder than the laws for bottled water.
The reason you have to pay for water is the calculation of the restaurant. They make a big part of their income with the drinks and if a lot of guests wouldn't pay for drinking, the restaurant had problems to survive. If there was free water they had to set higher prices for the food.
This is the reason why it's unpolite just to order food but normal when you just oder a drink.
Took me around 30 seconds to figure out whats "stimmed" until I realised you ment stimmt :D
But in general your german has improoved a lot :) and your editing skills are amazing nowadays!
to the tipping: in german high class restaurants it is possible to summon the chef, if you think he did an excellent job with your meal, and thank him/tip him for it. i never saw that in a "normal" restaurant though.
the free water thing heavily depend on the location I'd say. usually restaurants run by young people, especially if they are from the alternative/leftist scene will never ever charge you for water for example.
The reason why many restaurants are keen on you ordering drinks is because that's how they earn money. food is usually a zero sum game - they usually break even, but don't make much of a profit on it.
It took me some moments to realize, that you mean "(das) stimmt so" (keep the change)...
And you can ask for tap water (" Leitungswasser ") - its for free... but you won't get like 3,4,5,6 and more glasses...
If you know that you want to drink like 2-3 glasses ask for a big bottle of water! Its cheaper :)
06:46 In Germany, one non-alcoholic drink must always be cheaper or minimum equal in pricing than the cheapest alcoholic drink (beer) by law and that is usually sparkling water or tab water. Beer is most of the time the second cheapest or equal in pricing with water and then come the rest of stuff. This Law is called "Apfelsaft-Paragraph", but apple juce is most of the time more expensive than beer or water.
one of your best videos, and I thing very enlightening for your US as well as German viewers
Tab water in Germany is not unsanitary, quite the opposite is actually true. It is very strictly controlled, it's propably the most sanitary drink you will find in Germany. Except you live in an antique house with led-lined plumbing, of course ;)
well, the thing about the eating and leaving after it is in germany probably the same as in every other country too:
If you want a good time and really enjoy your food or spend some time with friends/familie and can afford it: You normally go to a restaurant and stay for quite some time.
On the other hand: If you are busy and dont have much time you get yourself a Döner or Currywurst, thats why that kind of food was intentionally made.
Döner for example was invented cause some Turkish people opened a Kebap in germany and saw so many germans dont have much time but wanted a kebap, so he made a "kebap to go" and wrapped all the stuff in bread xD
If you are in anywhere Germany in a restaurant and do not want to pay much for mineral-water with bubbles: ASK them f „bitte ein Glas Leitungswasser“ mean „please a Glas of water from the (water-)pipe“ ..tabwater.
Sometime you might pay none or a fee for a clean glass.
ANY water „from the wall“ (private or public restroom) is drinkable unless there is a VERY visible warning sign (rare, but seen)...
When I was a waiter in college in Texas, hourly wage was $2.01. So, you had to be careful the type of customers you have or you'll come home with almost nothing. Going 10% or lower and you 're screwed. Just a little over and you may still try to go to another restaurant for the clientele or struggle for the rent.
B.J. Martin That is escalating capitalism. You should fight for a minimum wage in the U.S.
ericpoperic The $2.01 was only for servers because they assume you make it up in tips. Minimum wage was much higher.
In San Francisco now and both are the same amount, higher.
nice one, again =)
the expression I only know is "Stimmt so!" - the "so" indicates the amount you gave the waiter is for the bill and the rest for him.
I am sorry - or her...
The tab water thing is about the source where it comes from ... Black Forest water is obviously from Black Forest (I live there) and there a many different brands ... in the Black Forest region we have like 30 different water brands who also sell ‘Limo’ - kind of juice soft drink- which the water from the source ... so keep in mind than Germans are very obsessed with clear and mineralized good water ... even if some brands do not taste as good as others ;)
Hey there, great videos... But here you forgot to mention three things for restaurants in Germany:
1.) seat yourself
2.) no free refills
3.) the waiter doesn't introduce him or herself
For how long will you be in Germany, i.e. how many more videos can we hope to see? Keep it up.
SonoraMan1 he has mentioned previously that he is stopping at video 123 for OCD reasons.
There's a law here in germany, that at least one non-alcoholic drink has to be cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink.
Mostly it's tea or water.
By law, water has to be cheaper than alcoholic beverages in Germany. That's because in the clubs you had to pay like 8€ for a water but you could get a Whiskey Soda for 3€. So abusive drinking was way cheaper than staying sober.
As a German who hates sparking water, I'm used to drinking tap water. But it's really annoying to always have to specifically ask for non-sparkling water...
With the water or beverages in general, restaurants make their main sales; not with the food.