American reacts to Germany. Interesting Facts about Germany
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to Germany. Interesting Facts about Germany
Original video: • Germany. Interesting F...
Thanks for subscribing for more German reactions every weekday!
Join as a member to get the ridiculous emojis and badge!
/ @ryanwass
Got a video request? You can fill out this form!
forms.gle/gmHJ...
Got a fun local news story? Submit it here!
forms.gle/FvRA...
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS
We don't rent because it's affordable but because buying is not a reachable goal for the most..
... and being free ist bit more complicated after buying.
German house prices always were high and still are. People can't afford to buy.
I think that's partially because German houses are high quality compared to e.g. the USA. When you buy a house in Germany, you usually intend to live in it until you die. "Starter homes", like in the USA, just aren't a thing.
There are a lot of reasons. If you buy a house in Germany a lot of things are different. You are liable with your entire assets, Not only the house. You can't deduct any payments from tax. The prices don't rise constantly. There were long times - decades - with constant or even falling prices. These are only three things.
Isnt that kind of the same Reason.We rent because its more affordable then buying.
Who needs a House if you dont have a Family. LIke who needs a House if you Live alone isnt that way to big
Regarding card payment -> even if card payment is accepted, that doesn't mean, that credit card payments are accepted. Most Germans use debit cards, instead of credit cards. So finding places where credit cards are accepted is far more difficult. edit: oh, the source video actually mentiones this.
Reasons behind, the european (debit) card system since the 70s, and the costs for accepting credit card payment. Some years ago the costs for card payments at the point of sale have halved, but it's still roughly 7 times more expensive to accept a credit card than a (German) girocard.
If you have a VISA card, you can pay at quite a lot of places in Germany nowadays.
Of course not in small shops (or at least very rare).
Thanks to Covid hystery, much more transactions are done by card now. I am just trying to use cash more again.
@@heiko3169I am German living abroad. But when I am visiting I normally do not have problems with my master card.
@@ralfjansen9118 wtf? warum? endlich die chance zu haben von dem mist bargeld wegzukommen und es dann MEHR zu benutzen? o.O
German lady here. I smile a lot at people. And you know what: they are smiling back.
In hospital the staff (June21th-July5th) was so wonderful nearly angelic and smiled at me most of the time. They did all they could to make sure I knew to be safe and well cared for. Really sweet. When I asked the "pastoral care worker"(?), she told me it was the other way round and I gave them happiness and smiles, made them feel good, despite having reason enough not to be happy. A good person from my past meant "you are both correct".
Me too
😄
??? Where do you live?
@@MiaMerkur In Stuttgart, Germany
American bread is practically cake.
cakes taste better
@@steemlenn8797 Not if you want bread. US *"Milkbread"* is a *'Yeast Pastry"* same as *"Brioch"* is or germans *"Hefezopf".*
Btw. a *"Hefezopf"* is called in the US *"Loaf of bread"* 😮💢
What is *the function of bread?*
• Be a Mainfood _(Potatoe/Rice/...)_
• Still hunger *by itself*
> None of functions are within US bread. So it can't be smt it is not.
Bread as well has a crust, which adds most of its taste to the bread.
> US Toast *does not* have a crust but has *to fake it* by toasting it changing the structure from soft to bit crusty & add smt alike a crust taste. Since this still is all on the outside the taste still is bland & the *milksugar/added sugar,* still keeps its sweetness to it.
There are some american kinds of sliced bread, that would by law need to be marketed as cake in some european countries, because they contain that much sugar.
@@steemlenn8797 What you like is sugar ;-)
I am german and I never saw a naked person in public. It's definatly not common 😂
Never been to the "Englischer Garten" in Munich then.
@@petracastro6021 in my 40 years I also never saw a nacked person in public. And yes, I have never been to the english garden, munich is not entire germany.
Depends entirely where you are. Around Berlin it's not unusual to see women topless at small lakes and at the Ostsee there are (were?) FKK beaches. No idea if they are still popular.
Go into a sauna or a FKK-beach and you can see naked persons in puplic.
You will see a lot at the Isar outside of Munich or in the English Garden of Munich.
In central part of Germany people tend to be naked in outdoor pools ("Freibäder") lying on the grass.
In northern part of Germany people tend to be naked at beaches.
As a German, the first time I came to the US and went to a restaurant with a friend of mine, I genuinely thought that the waitress was a really good friend of my buddy based on how she interacted with him. She seemed incredibly happy to see him! When I learned that they had never seen each other before and this was how all servers interact with their customers, I was floored. It seems so superficial and just plain wrong to me.
Oh and I thought it was so rude when they brought me the cheque without me asking for it. I felt like they were kicking me out.
They are in fact kicking you out. You sitting around talking doesn't make them money, you see.
USA is smiling because they think they will teceive more money.
Compleet f..ked of country😊
In former times, like 30, 40 years ago the servants used to smiÎe, too.
Because that time "customer was king" and bosses asked you to.
Nowadays most "servants" are acting like they are not working, get disturbed by you when talking to colleagues and do not want you to come.
Yes, we can buy Food for two Days and dont starve, if Stores are closed on Sunday. Its like Magic ;)
It depends, in cities often grocery stores are open until 10 in the evening and for a few hours on Sunday as well. In smaller towns yeah nothing is open on Sunday.
I kind of like it, I dont need to plan ahead what I want to eat for the whole weekend, I can just go to the store between 12 and 5 and decide what I want to cook that day.
There is a reason why the Bundesamt für Katastrophenschutz recommends us to have a two week supply of food at home. It's to survive the Sundays.
Yeah, I don't get why he said that. I understand that Americans tend to go grocery shopping about once a week - in a massive way. So the stores closed on Sundays should not bother them too much
I can‘t recommend you to visit the Oktoberfest in Munich. Unless you want to pay a small fortune for 1 beer or see plenty of drunk und puking people 😂
@@TheSuperappelflapthat's not true. Only in train stations, supermarkets and co. Are open. But in cities, even Berlin or so, they are closed on Sunday.
Wow. "... doesn't come, unless you specifically ask for it"
Yes. How else are they going to know in a restaurant, that I am finished and that I want to pay and leave now? I can't immagine something more offensive, than a waitress throwing a bill onto my table and expecting me to pay and leave, because they think it's time for me to do so now. I don't get this about America. "The customer is king." But the waitress is deciding for me, when I have to go? Feels like getting kicked out of their establishment. What if I want to order some additional stuff and stay a bit longer? WTF?
Exactly. I remember at least one time where we just got our meal when the waitress already brought the check. We had some interesting times in the states.
Then again the question "Darf es noch etwas sein?" has become oddly rare in Germany, too.
Yeah, because they kick you out of the restaurant with a big fake smile after they forced you to pay the bill + the enormous "tip", they think that is great service. "It was sooo nice to see you guys here, you made my life soo much better today .. and now move your ass out of here"
And now i wonder, would they even love robbers if they smile at them, with the gun in the hand while robbing them, but when they also say : "Oh guys, its soo nice to see you, what a great day, and now please give me all your money". Also .. its more or less the same than what goes on in the restaurant, only minus the gun 😄😄
Busy restaurants in cities will do that in Germany too, though. If you come in at 6, theyll start coming to your table not so subtly hinting that you need to f off at around 8 because they want to clear the table for the second shift and start closing up around 10 in the evening.
"The customer is king" as long as he's consuming & spending money.
He stops being king as soon as he's just sitting there without throwing money at the restaurant. 🙂
@@beldin2987I had to laugh so hard on your comment!😂
Did anybody notice that at 15:09 ice hockey fans were shown when the narrator talked about soccer?
That tripped me up as well.
yep, because the one filming wouldn't have been able to cross that bridge freely during a football match because of the crowd :D
Maybe the narrator was Canadian.
Soccer fans wouldn't go side by side in different team jerseys, without fighting or at least shouting each other...
Luckywise hockey, american footbal, baseball and other sports become more and more popular in Germany, with different fans going to a game peaceful together.
Kölner Haie
I would perceive the waitresses face as a sign of her determination and concentration for her work😉. And when you watch closely there seems to be a little smile at the end. Smiling when you don't feel like it should be classified as torture 😅🤪.Thank you for this entertaining Video
Just wanted to say the same. Usually waiters are friendly persons and will smile at the customers (if not totally stressed).
Simple reason: nice waiters get a tip :)
👍👍Absolutely. Everyone who complains should try solving a complicated math problem and keep smiling! It makes your muscles ache, and the solution might be wrong or take longer.
I've been living here four years now and I find German waiting staff and shop staff perfectly friendly, especially if you speak to them in a friendly way ('danke' goes a long way). I'm British, and northern British at that. We're supposed to be renowned for our friendliness - maybe it's partly because I bought that with me but I still find German cafes and shops great to visit.
She's also coming out of the building directly into the sun. Most people squint when they do that.
That's Munich. And waiters and waitresses in the inner part of Munich are notoriosly unfriendly and sometimes openly rude. I experienced that too often and that is the reason why I haven't been to a restaurant in the Munich city anymore since 30 years.
The video is 8 years old. new fact about the energysector.
In the first quarter of 2024, almost 60 percent of the electricity generated in Germany came from renewable energy sources. Specifically, it was 58.4 percent.
And believe ist or not. There were no black- or brownouts.
And new coal mines were open (with cutting down forests) because of stupid decision to close nuclear plants. The same time German-ruled EU kicks other countries for that. True moral example, not just hypocrisy, but cold politics of intentional harming others, be really proud if you have stomach for that
@@peter_oso Actually it was leaked that is was not needed. The media covered that.
Also we didnt needed those plants anyway. No one wanted to operate it for longer. Despite that, Habeck still let the plants online for a few months more and it worked
Did you guys even read the report of the Bundesrechnungshof?
@@serae4060 can yoiu be more precise pls?
@@xSoulhunterDKx the report about the Energiewende from the 7th of March 2024
Visiting neighbouring countries is very common and the best part of living in Central Europe 🇪🇺 Me and my friends used to go to the Netherlands all the time, it's only a 30 minute drive from where I live 🇳🇱
This is especially true for the state of Saarland, where I live.
We frequently cross the border to France for a shopping trip or to visit some German friends who bought a house in France and are now living there!
The city of Saarbrücken borders the French border and especially on weekends you can spot many french cars here that came to visit Saarbrücken for a shopping trip.
four hours until Amsterdam :D
I live near the border of Netherlands. So most of my IKEA stuff is from there
living near Bremen it's was always closer to visit the Netherlands or Denmark than somewhere in the south haha
Awesome ❤
I visited some times too
These are observations, not facts. 2:46 In Bavaria, shops close early, but in the rest of the country you can still shop after 7 p.m.. Restaurants and cafes are open on Sundays... you won't starve. Museums, sports facilities and things like that are open, ...so not everything (!) is closed. Offices and shops, on the other hand, are indeet closed.
Btw. electricity generation from renewable energies is well over 50% now.
6:54 Americans are usually wrong in their assessment of the UK. The Kingdom has long since lost its importance on the world stage, and it has also become a xenophobic country, there is hardly any foreign investment anymore, and people there earn an average of €8,500 less than in Germany or France.
Furthermore, British car brands no longer exist either; they belong to German, Indian or American companies.
mhh did u just state your own observation there? Not even in Bavaria everything closes at 7 p.m. I live in Ulm and Neu-Ulm (Bavaria) is close. nothing closes there at 7. I used to live in Munich almost nothing closes there at 7... If you want to be that guy that has to pinpoint everything do it right... It totally is depending on the Location you are in and as always request and demand. And Videos in general do requiere to understand the basics of context and in regards of that. He was talking about groceries/supermarkets being closed on Sundays a second before....leg doch nicht alles auf die goldwage...
closing times depends on the state you livin in
@@xrecixNot state but city. In the black forest in some cities, shops close for lunch break. In Stuttgart that's not a thing. Same goes for Bavaria, it depends on where exactly you are.
@@alvarTV1991 Auch Sonntags haben in den Bahnhofmalls die Supermärkte, Drogerien und kleinen Läden offen, ist auch ortsabhängig. Ich fahre fast jeden Sonntag zu Aldi.
@@danielanisius7834 vielen Dank für deinen informativen Beitrag. Das hätte ich natürlich niemals gewusst... wie kleinkariert müsst Ihr denn alle sein? Da gehts um ein 8 Jahre altes Video von einem Dude der einfach Dinge pauschalisiert und verallgemeinert... wenn jemand eine exakte Wissenschaft haben möchte sollte er einfach den RUclips Chat befragen. Ich mute das ganze jetzt hier viel Spaß beim kleinkariert sein.
Am I really living in Germany for 27 Years?
Affordable Rent?
lol
If buying a house would be affordable, we all would have a house.
Public transportation being good?
If you overlook 30mins delay or cancelled trains/buses.
Bicycle friendly?
Aslong as your drive with full protection u can give it a go, but keep in mind cars are stronger.
well we are used to that. Now imagine how it looks for someone outside of germany, from thousands of kilometers away and without all that day to day life experiences.
Thanks! That is very true.
About clothing:
In Germany we are having a discussion about banning sweatpants in school. So that the students are dressed appropriately. In Germany, sweatpants are not considered everyday clothing. Stuff like thats are just for sports.
1. He is talking about soccer it's football
2. He is talking about football but shows a videoclip of fans from cologne Sharks which is a ice hockey team
Regarding public nud*ty, it's not true. There are special areas where you can do it, but not just anywhere. In fact we have a law against it.
Depends. The law forbids nudity in public places in terms of showing genitals. Going topless in a park on the other hand is nothing that anybody would call the cops for.
I bet he means the people in speedos. I never saw someone completely naked in a park
@@Antisinnvoll yeah... what some US Americans regard as nude for... reasons!?
In the Saxon Switzerland you sometimes meet nudist hiking groups.
@Leoniemiller3320 wrong. As a general rule in Germany, nudity is not prohibited.
There is no law that prohibits you from undressing in public.
At least if you are naked without any "sexual reference". If I want to ride my bike or hike naked, I can.
Wait ... she smiled ... 11:44 .... for sure. Thats a smile :)
Taxis have had a state defined color - "Hellelfenbein" (RAL 1015) which translates to light ivory since 1971. For about 10 years or so some states can grant exceptions for using that color, but most use it anyway, because of recognizability. We have saying here. "if you I want to drive a Mercedes, i call a cab" since the majority number are Mercedes (mostly E-Class).
I was about to write nearly the same.... "If I want to drive a Mercedes, I drive cab!".
If everything was fine at the restaurant, you tip 10%. If you don‘t tip, it means something was wrong. Once the waitress was flirting with my boyfriend that I was having lunch with. Her face, when she realized that I was the one to pay and decide on the amount of the tip, was priceless.
From southern Germany, near Basel, I only drive 3 hours to Paris, with a train that travels 320 kmh, or 55 minutes to Zurich or about 4 hours to Italy.
And the weather is always a little bit better than in the rest of Germany.
If only the "German" would not be so strange in the south.
And all the mountains are no fun to ride a bike.
If it sounds strange to you that universities are free, what about this: you get PAID to learn a profession like electrian, nurse, barber, retail salesman and so on?
I'm alwas wondering how they can say university is free in Germany as there are adminstrative fees. Isn't that "money" I have to pay? Do I not have to pay those fees? Well, they are not high compared to other countries, but for a student it is quite a lot. And it's something, so it's not free (maybe cheap).
The channel @Tank the Tech just made a video about his first spa / sauna experience as an American in Germany.😂
He's also a roadie and tour manager for, among others, Electric Callboy (one of the most successful German bands at the moment).
Haha, what a crossover. Love Tank, and love EC. Just saw them at Jera on Air a few days ago. ❤🪩🕺
The video is 8 years old. As far as renewable energies are concerned, it has been left behind by China, among others.
In absolute terms of course China is much bigger but Germany is now at 56% Power generation from renewable which is far better than Chinas 31% Year 2023
I agree, 8 years is a long time. Especially in times of Corona and (Ukraine) war.
The Chinese government lies about literally every statistic. Whatever amount of renewable electricity they say they are producing, you can be sure its a lot less.
@@adrian5929 More interesting than power generation is power consumption by source. Germany only produces around a third of the energy it consumes.
So regarding the sources of energy consumed, Germany is at 25% green energy and China is at 19% (exactly the same as the USA btw). Germany is still ahead (in this group), but not by much.
Norway, for comparison, is at 71%...
@@adrian5929 We are actually far worse off than China, because they know that too much renewable energy is unreliable.
What do we do when the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow in wintertime? Import nuclear energy from France and coal energy from Poland, that's what. Kind of stupid.
3:39 Those gas prices make me feel nostalgic.
That video must be a little bit old. The Gas prices and that everything closes at 7pm including grocery stores is very outdated.
We don‘t get naked to show off or something. We don’t sexualize naked bodies in this context at all.
That‘s why you see all kinds of naked bodies here, average people, not just the „hot“ ones.
Most importantly: You don‘t go to these places to watch naked bodies!! It‘s an unwritten rule not to stare at naked people, and of course it‘s a no-no to take pictures of them.
I used to think the same. Until my best friend once said to me, after 2 pretty young women leaving the cabin: Man, I waited so long and they never put that damn towels down.
My friend was just in the middle of his divorce and really under pressure.
@@alidemirbas6566 Of course these people do exist! When I was a “hot girl” we were in the sauna a lot and I got stared at from time to time. It does happen. But it’s still a no-no and socially not accepted, and most importantly: our FKK beaches and saunas aren’t runways for hotties to show off.
Lol. It's sort of naive to believe that German men are _that_ different. It just happens to be that most guests in a sauna look like average Hans and average Ilse and aren't visually interesting to most.
Yes, FKK culture is a thing but for most young folks it's a no-go. I'm in Austria but the saunas are the same as in Germany, and I don't know any straight male friends who don't get secretly excited when young, beautiful women enter... It's just not expressed outwardly.
You are right, but now we have a lot of foreigners and that men stare. Also male kids in 12-17.
It used to be more save and friendly centuries ago.
15:56 - Not fake! It's the "Geysirhöhle" (geyser cave) at the Therme Erding. And this is only one of 24 different saunas and steambaths (in the naked and mixed part) at the Therme. Think it's still the largest sauna and thermal bath in the world.
You should check out their homepage and videos about it, in another of your videos. 😜
I also recommandé MEDITERRANA near Cologne.
The shop owner has to pay the credit card fees. So it is cheeper for a backer to give a way 2 bread rolls for free than to pay the card fee.
Yeah exacly, i also prefer cash cause they get more money and can buy better stuff with it ❤
Yeah, which are miniscule. We're talking average fees from
@@hannessteffenhagen61 Depending on your business. As backery you have a lot of transactions with less than 5 Euro. You have between 0,10-0,20€ fixed fee plus 1% of the ammount. So for two rolls you get 50 Cent and you must pay 20% of it for the card service fee. If you have an average of 50€ per shopping cart you are right. There you have higher cost to handle cash and this is the reason why you can get cash in many supermakets.
@@hannessteffenhagen61 You are right physical cash makes expenses, thanks for that knowledge, in the runlong card may be more efficient ❤️❤️
I wish everybody all the best ❤️❤️❤️
German gas stations often come with a small convenience shopt too. That's why some people say "Danke Tanke!" as they can get some emergency stuff there. Also Restaurants are open on Sundays too, of course.
And they don't just sell junk food like in the US but some proper food as well !
In the same vein the rest day for many museums and castles and stuff is Monday. So better check in time.
The video has to be pretty old since it is not really accurate to some points. For example China is a lot more foreward when it comes to for example solar energy. Also gas is nearly one euro more expensive then you could see in this video. And Germany is not nearly as bike friendly as the netherlands. I would never ride the bike in bigger citys. Oh and renting is NOT cheap (except for the countryside and most of east Germany without Berlin).
China is maybe ahead in renewables in absolute terms. But just yesterday it was released that we are at 58-60% of renewables on the moment. (Yes, could be even higher if the idiotic conservative would not block it 24/7.)
And yes, the Netherlands have probably the best bicycle network in the world. Nevertheless, you can easily bike in most German places, including big cities. Done in million times.
try renting in Atlanta. or in California. Average rent in Atlanta is $1700 and that is for a one bedroom say 900 square foot or so. i live outside of atlanta and rent is still 1300. Biggest reason why we all buy houses as soon as we can.
@@uliwehner Good luck trying to buy a house in Germany. You probably wont be able to afford to, at least not anywhere where there are jobs and functioning infrastructure.
Average rent in American cities outside of LA and NY is comparable to rent in cities in Europe. Amsterdam is the most expensive. London and Paris arent far behind. The nice parts of those cities at least, not the ghettos. Berlin isnt much cheaper either.
1700 for a 900 sqft apartment would be very cheap in a big city here. You can probably not rent much more than a broom closet for less than 2000 euro per month. Even in smaller towns, 1500 euro for a small apartment is normal nowadays.
"For example China is a lot more foreward when it comes to for example solar energy. "
Because China has a 15 times higher population than Germany, per capita the picture is quite different. Last year it was the first time that China installed more PV per capita than Germany. Check for electricity generation the share of RE, Germany is at 60% of the load, China is much lower.
15:16 Yes, there are mixed saunas, but there are also saunas where only women are allowed in.
Or rather 1 day only for females.
'no spit limit' did he just say spit limit?! 'you heard that right: no spit limit' 😂
Did you know that the world record for spitting on the Autobahn is 8.4 kilometers? And the spitter Hans Olafson (world champion in spitting 2008) actually managed another 2.2 kilometers, but since the Autobahn curved, the last part was not counted. (He claimed a sudden gust of wind carried the projectile off course.)
Don't be fooled about public transportation. Scottish and british people were warned about the Deutsche Bahn, which has become nototiously unreliable over the last decade or so. Communal public transportation still works in most places though. However, don't expect too much of that in rural areas.
Depends where you live. In Munich you don't need a car. Public transport + bike gets you everywhere. Not in rural areas, though.
Scottish people are British too. Here is an explanation for you from a Scot:
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes 4 countries: Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Scotland, England and Wales are all on the island of Great Britain, while Northern Ireland is on the island of Ireland.
Technically, the word British refers only to anyone who comes from any of the three countries in Great Britain, but in practice it can also include people from Northern Ireland who wish to call themselves that.
I suspect you were thinking about football fans at the Euros 2024. If so, you should have said Scottish and English people, because only those two national teams qualified this year.
Finally, England ≠ Britain. It is only one of the countries in Britain, and Scots and Welsh people are not English.
They should give North Island back to Ireland.
"I love bread" ❤ And so do I. And I can consider myself very lucky to live in Germany, where there are so many varieties of it.
Sometimes it just needs a video like this for me to be able to appreciate the little things again...
Btw: Your German pronounciation is very good! Our letter "Ü" is one of the hardest to learn for English speaking people, but you manage to say it perfectly! 🤗😊
Just yesterday, I heard on Deutsche Welle, that - eight years later - cash usage ist still the way to pay for 80% of all transactions in Germany… But, on the other hand, don‘t forget that regular and recurring transactions, such as wages or payments for rent, are almost 100% made by bank transcactions. No one uses checks any longer and banks do not even issue blank checks to customers, because no one uses them. Likewise, most major transactions (such as paying for a car etc.) are almost exclusively made by bank transferral of money.
i moved to the US just before y2k. I have always felt that banking is light years ahead in germany. people still use paper checks today. at the grocery store! personally i have not carried cash for 25 years now here in the US, and i have never written a check.
The women who brought the beer wore very traditional clothes. You see this quite rarely and mainly in southern Germany. Like at the Oktoberfest, for example. And in general it looks a bit more modern than in the video
About Germans not smiling: I hear this quite often in such videos. It might be true, that less people start to smile on their own, than in other places. But I do smile often at people, and I usually get a smile back.
So I can't really understand that.
Maybe these people don't smile right 😜
Could be a regional thing also. I live in the western part of Germany.
Try Wuppertal! Most did not smile back, rather they became angry like "what do you want from me? 😡"
A random person smiling at me? I maybe would see it as a flirt. Or people smile at young children. A waitress? Well, I hate it when the have a fake smile. So better not smile before faking it (at least if you're bad in faking it). But a real friendly smile is nice. The waitress in the video is carrying things. I wouldn't expect a smile. When she's at my table, I appreciate a friendly smile or a friendly word when it comes from the heart.
@@jaywarren8148 Well, it's not fake if it's just you, I'd say.
Eg waitresses with the typical fake smile, yes, I agree...
But it doesn't have to be fake necessarily, just because you don't know that person.
@@frankmunster1566 exactly. An obvious fake smile is bad, a real smile is nice. A fake smile that seems to be real is nice (since I do not realize it's fake).
We can't really See the waitress in the Video at the table, so can't judge her. At the end there is no fake smile on her face and that's pretty cool. To me she is very sympathic.
Hi, a Pro Tip from a german:
Do not go to the Oktober Fest, it‘s way to expensive, overcrowded and loud. Instead, go to smaller Beer-Festivals in September. They‘re as cool as the Oktober Fest but there are way less people and a more relaxing atmosphere. Fore example the Rosenheimer Herbstfest is the perfect mix between huge Bees Festival and old traditions. Its perfect.
nah, you got to go at least once. then go to the smaller ones. Totally works, even for germans.
As long as theres pretty blonde girls with big jugs Im happy
@@uliwehner why?
Pro Tip from another german: Bitte halt die schnauze, wir wollen unsere kleinen ruhigen feste ohne die ganzen Touristen. Danke.
@@uliwehner i agree. at least once you should have seen it, if you are already in the area. the atmosphäre is actually nice there
Dude really just called T-Shirt and Jeans formal. Insane
@07:49 Just compare the cost of a house in Germany and the U.S. ...
@15:19 They CAN be. It's not uncommon. But many are not.
@19:56 Only in very specific areas. Otherwise you can get in serious trouble.
You can't get in trouble for being naked .. only if its in a sexual context or you doing it in the middle of a mall or other restricted areas
@@infiltr8infiltr8 So you can get in trouble (--> "only if...")
@@jaywarren8148 ofc you can ;)
15:58 Okay Ryan; I put my investigater hat on and did a lot of research... like full 5 minutes... or 2. Honestly I used Google Lens and spent most of my time on their website.
This is the "Geysirhöhle" at Therme Erding. Well yeah... it is supposed to be an artifical geyser in the middle of the sauna. That happens when you used every usual sauna gimmick. After all, Therme Erding is the largest "Therme" in the world. They have 22 saunas and 2 steam baths. Well they obviously also have a multitude of pools a day spa and whatnot.
In Germany, when you want to pay the check, you "catch the eye" of your service person and maybe signal by raising a finger or two. They'll see it and come over so that you can ask to "bezahlen". They are not going to criticize your sitting around with your coffee and cake remains by slipping you the bill to encourage you to leave. That would be monstrously impolite. And they are not going to be hanging around to anticipate your every wish. They have work to do elsewhere. They come initially, when you sit down, take your drink order and then, when they have come back with the drinks, they take your food order. They serve you the food and leave you to enjoy it. Maybe they'll ask if everything is OK, but they are not going to be breathing down your neck for a tip. They appreciate a moderate tip, but anything over 10% is considered extravagant, and for little things like a coffee, rounding up the payment sum to the next Euro (or two) is quite enough. They don't get paid enormous salaries, but they also do not depend on tips to live. I like it. Service in Germany is relaxed and practical.
Most closes at 8, many groceries now open until 9 or 10 pm. Restaurants, cinemas and other places are open on Sundays, just not stores
07:30 To be fair about renting, there are a lot of "Genossenschaften" that own houses in Germany. These are cooperatives, where the organization that owns the apartments is owned by the people that live in them. They make up more than 10% of the apartments and if you want to live in them, you have to buy shares of that organization and you vote on the leaders of them and things like that. So in a way, even when they rent, they often indirectly also own their home in a way. As these cooperatives don't need to make profit, such flats are on average 20% cheaper that similar apartments.
I find videos like this very interesting. I can confirm a lot, sometimes I have to laugh, but a lot has changed in the last eight years. Greetings and smiles from Bavaria ❤️🇺🇸🇩🇪❤️
I recently went to a concert in the Netherlands. Just a one hour drive from my city in western Germany. 😊
In the early days, a vendor had to pay rent on a credit card terminal and run a second phone line. That and a 2% fee on every sale paid by card, made it less interesting for small businesses.
A suggestion for a reaction: "Autonomous regions of SPAIN explained (Geography Now)". It is an interesting video about the different regions of Spain and some of their traditions. It has a couple of mistakes, but overall it is a pretty good video.
it's not the thought: does he stalk me? It's more of: gosh, did I forget who he is.
Hey folks, german dude (born 87) here: Yes we do smile! and nobody will look at you funny if you smile at someone... most likely they smile back and both get on their ways ;). The waiteress is at work, why the F should she be smiling all day? do you like your work so much that you are happy all day? didnt think so :). Its not that she isnt friendly to the guests, because she probably is but she doesnt smile all day which is totaly fine ;). Renting over buying is simple... in the US you can buy a trailer house build like a shoebox for around 40k dollars and just for simplicity in germany for 40k you counldt even buy a garage for your car ;) a normal house (not nice, but also no bucket) is at least 200kPLUS if you want something nice, the prices go easily above 500k... so yeah, renting isnt cheap either but more affordable :).
About the cash vs card: it changed drastically with c-times. I pay almost exclusively 2ith credit card (Google pay) nowadays, but I live here and don't do tourist things. So for visitors it might be different. Also some restaurants and especially "imbisse" (small restaurants would buy at the counter and get your food handed ditectly, no service) still don't accept any cards, and this again is especially outside of big cities. Always have some cash with you for sure (maybe 50€ at all times for yourself only) but generally speaking, credit card works for most things these days.
Love that vid you've commented - most scenes are filmed in Munich, it's my beloved city
For the day trip part: I live in Dortmund and regularly drive to the netherlands to fish. (because of less burocracy, different laws and better fish populations) It just takes me an hour to be at the border, and in 3 hours i can practically go to nearly all places in the netherlands
„Public transportation is excellent” 🥴🥴
😂🤣😆
I know exactly, what you mean. 🫠🤪
yes. and no. compared with most regions outside of europe it is.
For us is getzing more and more bad, for some others it will be exzellent 😂
Only on paper :D
Apparently, it's especially NRW that seems to be terrible (for somewhat obvious reasons). Every time someone comes to visit from outside the state, I get comments on how terrible the trains are here. Probably worst around Cologne and specifically between Dortmund and Münster.
13:50 ohhh, that reminds me of my work learning years. One time i had a can in my hand while taking my lunch break, apparently a coworker saw me, reported me to our boss, then when i went back the boss came in our office and reminded us that „alcohol isn’t allowed anymore during work“ (i think that was 2006/2007) and i showed him my can wich I didn’t finish, it was icetea. I reminded him that i as a new driver wasn’t allowed to drink alkohol when i want to drive home after work xD
I'm 3:21 in and already there are blatant falsehoods! Stores close at 8 pm NOT 7 pm! There are exceptions in large cities with some supermarkets open until 10 pm. Most stores are closed on Sunday, true, but besides gas stations, restaurants are open as well as Konditoreien for a few hours on Sun aft so that you can buy you can buy your cake - Germans have Cafe & Kuchen in the afternoon after a walk (usually in the forest or park) on Sundays.
Ryan, when are you coming to Germany? You would have a blast with all your knowledge about Germany and all your still open questions
It is not true that everything closes at 7 pm ....at least not in the (big) cities. The restaurants are open on Sundays and some supermarkets at the major train stations.
This video is 8 years old as you said. most of the "facts" given are simply not true anymore, in case they ever have been
Two things quickly:
Germans _are_ kinda religious in a way that's not necessarily considered religious: All the "xyz brings luck or misfortune" that we have is part of the old religion. It never got completely out of Germany/the Germans.
And 2nd: Germans "love" (or rather are proud of) german cars in general, and they do take good care of their own car if they have one. But mostly they are not really attached to it. Only few really "love" their car. I think on average Americans love their cars a whole lot more.
😊
Love your channel! ❤
Edit: The bigbig immigration rate is not really "fascinating" to Germany/most Germans. It now has come to a level that's really getting too high. The country can't bear more.
We have good ethics and want to "help"/save everybody, but we have reached our limit, I guess. Germany is small, you know..
And yes, we don't wear much "athleic clothing" in public in Germany. But on the other hand jeans are normal trousers here. They don't wear those (tbh. weird) beige trousers here, that are considered "dressing properly" in the US (unless you're an old grandpa). 😅
I am not superstitious at all. Knock on wood this won’t change.
@@andreasfischer9158 Yeah. But many are though.
I would bet you also don't like getting congratulated on your birthday too early.. 😅
Thats superstition rather than religion.
@FrogeniusW.G. I have made it a habit to travel abroad when it’s my birthday, so no-one congratulates me anyway.
@@FrogeniusW.G. That joke flew right over your head
About recycling: yeah, but it's sometimes also a little bit of an illusion. I do seperate all of my stuff and put it in the correct bins. And my muncipality will fine me, if I don't do it. But all of the garbage in my muncipality is still carried to the same garbage hall, all seperated waste, no matter which type, is dumped onto the same pile, is then sepaerated by a machine again and most of the recycable parts is getting burned in their facility. I don't know why we're actually forced to seperate everything and have to use four types of garbage bins and even get fined, when we don't do it correctly, when it's still getting thrown onto the same pile anyway.
Because people are so bad actually using the system.
The bins are there though because the machines to do it did not exist when the system was created. And even today a lot of towns (or the hired companies) do not have automated seperators.
@@steemlenn8797 Every muncipality does it differently. Rules vary. Every muncipality has contracts with different waste processing companies. You'll even potentially have a different set of bins than I do, based on different regional solutions.
I get it, when a muncipality, that doesn't have a machine, that does the separation of garbage for them, has to rely on the people, to seperate everything correctly in the first place. But mine does have one. For more than 20 years. Why don't we, people in my muncipality, switch back to one (or two in reality) large bins instead of four and let this machine do its job? It does it anyway, in secrecy and unknown by most people here. Even worse, why do they fine people, who do it wrong then? The garbage guys will undo their correct waste separation anyway. Sorry, but this feels very wrong to me. It has to be idiotic laws or something. It doesn't make any sense.
edit: funny thing is, right now, in this very moment, our muncipality is even touring with a campaign to educate people to seperate their trash correctly. A bus and a garbage truck with five people is touring our region for two weeks, to carry out this campaign. This is an expensive effort, while everything is thrown into one machine anyway. Why?
The only reason for making people seperate their trash is to make them more aware of how much trash they are producing. I dont have much trash at all, maybe one garbage bag every 2 weeks, so I dont bother seperating anything except glass.
My town actually stopped demanding people to seperate plastic from the other waste this year because it was only costing them more money to make people do it and have seperate garbage trucks for the plastic.
A couple things:
1) when the narrator of the video talked about shops staying closed on Sundays, he forgot to mention that bakeries and cafes are also open on Sundays.
2) for the public nudity part he mentioned, people aren’t completely naked in the park but it isn’t that uncommon that women take off the upper part of their bikini or bra when they’re laying in the sun, whether it’s at the beach, in an open-air bath or even a park. No one takes off their boxers or underwear exposing themselves in public. That is illegal. Though you may have heard of FKK (Freikörperkultur = nudism/free body culture) before which a small number of people in Europe practice. But there are designated areas for the practitioners where, correct me if I’m wrong, it’s even prohibited to enter the areas with clothes. I think, mostly, those areas can be found at beaches in the form of separated enclosed areas.
3) gas stations in Germany, for the most part, (I think there are exceptions) have a little “shop”, too. But they’re far from standardized or being anything like a convenience store. Prices for items are usually much higher, too. What might be more interesting to you is, that there aren’t many gas stations which are 24/7 open. Most of them shut down at 10pm the latest which is important as you pump gas first, then go to the cashier and pay for the gas. At least I’m not aware of any gas stations in Germany where you have to put your card into the gas pump before even being able to pump gas. I don’t know if this is the norm in the US but I’ve definitely encountered it there.
4) In a restaurant, waiters, staff or any personnel usually is very kind, smiles or approaches you with a friendly demeanor as long as you’re not dining at something like a fast food restaurant where you can’t expect it. The difference is that it’s in a natural way and they’re not putting up a performance for you because they’re reliant on your generosity when it comes to tips. Reason is that salaries aren’t on a slave labor level which makes the tips just an extra income. In a fine dining restaurant tipping certainly is the norm but you aren’t railroaded into it in any way. In fast food restaurants or any business which isn’t part of the food service industry it isn’t even expected the slightest.
German here :) We smile and we do small talk! Regarding sauna, there are mixed sauna and men or women sauna. I once was in a mixed sauna and I definately do not want to see all that strangers naked ;-) Public transportation is pretty good, bicycles depends on the area - the further north, the flatter the country is. Many gas stations have a little convenience store where you can shop to extremely high costs on Sunday or late at night.
I worked in a factory in Germany in the 1980s during my summer break to make some money and there were vending machines with beer 😄 Whenever you felt like drinking a beer, you went for it.
The video is already older, the service in the restaurants in Germany has now improved. Many have become friendlier and you sometimes get a smile return.🙂🌹
Blutwurst(Blood sausage) is so yummy i bought today some and fry it in the pan and eat it with sauerkraut.
I love doing day or weekend trips to other countries, mostly by train because I can read or sleep or eat while travelling. It's good to experience other countries, cultures and places. And also a fun and educating experience
Thanks to simple contactless payment without a PIN, paying with a card is now more common here than it was a few years ago. Paying by card was always slow and led to congestion at the checkout. Take a look at other videos, for example by Liam Carpenter, we and the cashiers have little to no patience at the checkout :)
For a 8 year old video 7pm is not quite right anymore, more like 10pm when mostly the shops are closing. Here in Düsseldorf thats mostly Supermarkt and Discounter, but others don´t get forced how long are they had to open the shop.
15:05 These "soccer" (even though we call it by the right term football) fans are actually ice hockey fans. The red jersey is from a team called "Kölner Haie" (Cologne Sharks)
"Everything closes at 7pm"
This is utterly wrong, at least nowadays.
Back when I was a kid, in the early 1990's, yeah, that might have been the case with many stores, closing at 7 or 7.30pm, but nowadays most stores are open up until 8pm, and for grocerie stores like Aldi, Lidl, Kaufland etc. it's oftentimes 9pm to even 10pm.
It feels good, to get the view of other people like documentaries producers and reaction creators about your own country.
Some time i get a bad feeling. Everything is bad or horrible, but if you daily see your own country you lost the relations and the view on the good things and get remembered that even bad things aren't that bad.
Ryan.... about sauna in Germany:
I am a sauna freak and yes.... saunas are mixed but usually there's one day during the week where only women can sweat.
And no.... gazers are not welcome and their behavior will be addressed/confronted or even sanctioned by the customers or staff inside.
And no.... as a guy it's impossible to get a hard-on at 90-110 °C (194-230 °F)... 😂
And about renting: An additional reason is that once you own immovable property... you cannot move and choose your neighbors anymore! 😉
The Sauna with the fountain is located in the Therme Erding. Officially called the biggest thermal bath of the world. I made an internship there.
Cash = anonymity. Do not ever forget this. If you pay with card they know everything about you.
At 15:05 The Video talks about "Soccer in Germany" and Shows people in Icehockey Jerseys😂
The host keeps saying ribs and the narrator is saying sausages 😂😂
I will say that some of the info is VERY outdated (the only places where everything closes before 10pm are small villages and the 50s, lol) but it's pretty accurate over all, if you don't care too much about the finer details
AND in Bavaria, where even large stores must close at 8pm. For the rest of Germany, you're absolutely right, the video was a bit biased to Baravia/Munich
There is sometimes schooltrips where you go to a different European country. For example some students in Frankfurt am Main can get the opportunity to go to Straßburg (french city with german name located on the border) or Venice. Theres also trips to great Britain or even Malta.
I went on school trips to Berlin, Paris, Rome and Istanbul during my school years. From the Netherlands. Could have gone to more places too, if I wanted. But I already had to travel so much with my parents during school holidays that I didnt want to.
These facts about Germany, was basically all about Munich where the Video was shot.
there is more than munich in the video...
My brother is in San Francisco for work this week and he was shocked that even his hotel uses paper plates instead of ceramic ones at the breakfast buffet 😭😭 so wasteful!
At 2:50 you can see a chairoplane but with springs. Thus the firgurines are bouncing while it is rotating. The shop is a X-mas shop called Käthe Wohlfahrt and it is opened all year round.
Ryan, here's the part about saunas that's usually mind-blowing for Americans: it's even perfectly normal and acceptable to take children to the sauna. Like whole families go there on the weekends.
Correction: Its usual to tip in sit down restaurants in germany as well. Its usually ~10% to 12%, so is not as high as in the US for all I know.
Once I smiled at an old woman and she got angry and said: "stop looking your creep!" Welcome to Germany ✨
Why would anybody want to buy groceries or clothes on a sunday.blows my mind.go to a waterpark,explore caves,play with your kids.
US-Amerikaner arbeiten auch am Samstag für die Firma.
As a Sweed where everything is open on sundays untill very late (at least in Stockholm, i find it very strange that you dont have open. So its not aa European thing. You sound like a single person that gives the same stupid arguments of why people have cars! Dont assume that everybody can do shoppings on working days!
Pretty sure it's because of Gottesdienst 😅
@@paulozavala3232 This is the comment section of a video called "Germany!". So where do you get the "Europe" reference from?
I like to decide every day what I want to cook that day instead of planning ahead for several days. It helps to not waste food as well, if I buy for several days I always end up throwing stuff out because I buy too much. And there are 3 grocery stores within a 5 minute walk from my house. Its nice to go on a little walk and see what is on discount today and come up with something to cook with it.
Gas stations have groceries, yes, but its like 3,50€ for an energy drink instead of 90cents (unless you find a gas station with Rewe to go, those are only about double the price)
Frankfurt- Brussels is a 2 1/2 h train ride, you won’t choose the car especially during rush hours
It indeed happens quite often that you have small talk or a smile on the street.
I had us Americans as customers once. It was so uncomfortable. They smiled the whole time as if they were just putting up an act. Very uncanny. And I constantly felt like they tried to make me look stupid. No respect.
Funny. Almost nothing closes at seven around her. But maybe 50% of stores close at six, and maybe the other half at nine or ten, so the average could be seven. ;-)
And the "smile and small talk" has in my experience a regional divide. When my Berlin aunts visited in the south-west they always where puzzled "why are people so friendly?"
The beer during work has gotten less frequent. Back in the late 80's and early 90's I worked in companies that still ran beer vending machines on-premises. Not so likely these days.
That video is pretty old! live in Cologne, nothing closes here at 7pm. Grocerie stores are open up to 10pm and you have to pay for University in all of Germany.
You should tip though - 10 to 15%. It's a cliché about Americans that they somehow think that there's no need to tip at all. Unless you're really unhappy with the service, you should tip still. E.g. 64 € bill to 70 €, that's okay (not even 10 % in that case).
In germany it is quite common to sit in a restaurant for a long time after you finished eating, and sometimes they add some coffee or other stuff later on. So people would feel forced out of the restaurant if the waiter would just come and handed them their bill right after they finished their meal. Therefore you have to sign for the waiter when you want to pay so you can leave. Also I don't think many germans outside of bavaria really care about Oktoberfest. Like carnival mostly those, living in those regions care about it. At least I don't know any germans who care about either of those, and even after living in bavaria for a few years now (I'm from northern germany), I still don't know ANY people caring about Oktoberfest. And about the saune, as far as I know it is even forbidden to walk in there with clothes on.
We (I and my friends) took 13h too get from east germany to paris with an old fiat punto
Most cars in Europe are nice-looking, even if they are older models, because they must pass technical and emissions inspection every 1-3 years (depending on country and age of the car). The inspection also includes visual appearance - it won't pass with a rust hole in the middle of a door.
And yes, Germans, despite being quite socially reserved, are very comfortable with nudity (regarding the sauna thing).
10:48 just yesterday a cashier smiled at me as i turned to leave and it creeped me out so much. Seeing this video now maybe my reaction was the weird one😅
i consider a 4hr drive long... XD was in paris for a weekend (5 hours from here)... so from Ruhrpot you get to some countries within 2 hours.
Saying that Germany is especially bike-friendly makes me question if this video was well researched.
depending on where you are in germany. at leadt you get most time bicycle lanes
Now, come on. If you compare Germany with the Netherlands you are right. But compared to Spain or Italy???
@@petracastro6021 In comparisment with the US, Germany is the heaven for bikers... :D
Bars.
Bars, Biergartens and any and everyplace, you could get a drink at, is open in Germany on Sundays ;)
Biergartens? Biergardens?^^