When I go to a restaurant, I don't go there to spend time with the waiters, I want them to take my orders, be polite and then give me my space to spend time with the people I'm with and actually want to spend time with. Nothing worse than waiters who just won't leave you alone.
Thank god someone said that! I would even say that this extends to any kind of human interaction required in purchasing a service or a product. Basic human politeness, know the answer of my questions (95% I won't have any) and just let me be. Irrespective of the fact I am solo or in a group its EXTREMELY rare that I would want to interact more than what I mentioned with a probably tired, overworked, underpaid and irritated (by customers and management) service staff person. I don't want to burden them with extra work of interacting with another guy and just use as less of their energy as possible.
My husband and I just returned from Germany and we went to Freiburg because of your great videos about the city. 😊. In fact I used your Love and Hates of Freiburg and Strasbourg, as well as the eats of both during my trip research. Thanks for making such great, helpful videos. They really make the difference. Congrats again on the million subs!! 😃🎉
When I lived and worked in Zurich, Switzerland, where the culture is similar to Germany) one of my staff person described their personalities like a coconut - so the same analogy as your M&Ms. Love it!
I once paid 4 Euros for a seat reservation. However, there was an old lady already sitting in my seat and I did not have it in me to tell her to get off. Experience tells me that most passengers understand how the seat reservation system works and will gladly get off when you show them proof of reservation, but I was not going to make an old lady stand for 3 hours in a crowded train with no other seats left. One of the oddest dilemmas of my life.
@@jesusthedevil You're not wrong, but I didn't feel good about the idea of kicking an old lady off a train seat. Even though I would be 100% legally in the right, I can't help but feel that karma would come kick my ass if I went through with it.
@@donutdude1934 Big Respect, well done. Sometimes older people just do not know how to handle the online Reservation System, so it is hard for them to make a seat Reservation.
The funny thing is when you go to a kneipe (or pub) in Germany, they’re usually dog friendly and the dogs are very well behaved. I petted a retriever while there and the owner got upset at the dog for not laying low and not responding to other peoples cues. Poor dog wanted to say hello and greet guests, but I found it kind of hardcore not to allow the dog to do so
Another thing I would like to add, is to learn at least a bit of the language. Learning some of the language will make your experience so much better. I am an American who is fluent in German, and the rest of my family knows the language to some degree. We had a good time in Germany because of it. The locals (might) will respect you more for it even though most younger aged Germans speak alright English. I will be moving to Germany for University soon, to Heidelberg, very excited lol.
Love your videos. 😍Just FYI: riding a bike on the sidewalk: everybody does it, especially in Berlin, but it is illegal. It's just that enforcement is a joke.
US tourists think that Germans are yelling..... in their own language? That's nicely ironic!! And German pronounced by southern Germans or Austrians is usually mellifluous and beautiful, but - of course - it helps to know what they're saying.....
I was a huge fan of the cold cuts and cheese breakfast. My wife and I will buy some nice cold cuts, cheese and bread to have for breakfast on occasion. Another mistake: Buying your NYE fireworks and thinking its alright to take them inside the beer hall or restaurant. They were making people put them in a trash bin when we were there.
Found this vid by accident and watched some of those "What to Do and Not in Germany" and by far you are the best. Not even one of your points is wrong. I have to add, we are indeed cold when we first met you. Maybe it is the language barrier, or since we do not know you, we are reserved. But if you ask for help, you will get it. May it be directions or other things like buying a ticket for public transportation. Last but not least, do not expect small talk, get to the point.
Once upon a time in MAD Magazine: The trouble with foreigners is, that they don´t understand you no matter how loud you SHOUT at them. (Guess this American joke still fits today)
I'm ok with most of it, but classifying the complete lack of service for efficiency is just wrong. The lack of service is just that, lacking. Often the staff are on their phones, cleaning, doing whatever and the customer mostly comes last. not in all areas, but after 5 years it's clear, there is no service in Germany. When you do get a waiter etc that you think, oh there it is and you ask where they are from, each and every time ive asked they are not German. Funny thing is when i ask German friends when they travel don't they notice the difference? They say yes and they love the service outside of Germany. So it's not from a lack of demand, its culture thats stuck in the 50's.
As a German, I have never heard a German pronounce the sentence "Ich liebe Dich, mein Schatz" the way you did. Maybe you should work a little on your German pronunciation.
A german would run away, if a sales person is coming up to "help". That's like somebody selling you sunglasses on the beach, considered annoying behaviour, having your time to look around on your own, is considered fine. Service is not intrusive, you have to ask for it.
I like to put a positive spin on it by saying that _you’re_ in charge of the pace of your meal. If you want to sit and read your book for an hour, they’ll let you. Sometimes US servers are attentive to be attentive*, but I think we’ve all had a few experiences where that attentiveness carried an unspoken message that they want to keep that table turning, so please don’t dawdle. * Tipping culture is certainly part of it, but also if you came to my house, no money changing hands, my 🇺🇸 cultural norm would be to anticipate your needs and offer you anything I think you might want.
@@Magic_beans_ Right, and getting things offered is so damned annoying. Sometimes I just take a water and don't drink it, to stop the permanent questioning of anybody passing the room. Cause rejecting offers is considered bad behaviour too. So by saying "No thanks", "No thanks", "No thanks" the host is making the guest feeling bad or inpolite. Thankfully it's the reverse way on the bathroom. If you need it, you ask for it. That's the way it's supposed to be for everything, but isn't, not even in German culture.
OMG......I am German and for my whole life I go absolutely CRAZY when people come up and want to help me in an insistent way. I really have to try to control myself so hard to not get snappy.
I'm a non-white shopper with a darker skin color. I've always interpreted "helpful salespeople" as *surveillance* -- even more so in Europe because "American niceness/intrusiveness" is not common while shopping in commercial retailers and bigger stores in Europe, mainly only in certain small shops and mostly in (high-end) boutiques.
Also remember to press the round button on the door of the train/metro when you need to get on or off, the door doesn’t automatically open at every stop, and do it quickly too, learned that the hard way.
Regarding the service: It has also to do with not being intruding. That goes for Restaurants especially, the service people are there to help you bring you your food, and drinks and tell you where the restroom is, but while you are eating they will leave you allone and stay back so that you can enjoy the cmpany that you are with and aren't interupted every 5 minutes, because a server is asking you if everything is okay. Compared to many restaurants in the US you will also stay in the restaurant for much longer because no one is pushing you out. It is similar for shopping. The service people will have an eye on you and if you make contact, they will come over and help you out, otherwise they will let you look through the product on your own, to make your own decision and if you need help with a size or something else they will help you out later. They are there to help you get what you want and not necessarily to push product. That is how a lot of European countries prefer it.
A lot of Americans prefer this, too. I've been at some restaurants where the servers are so very intrusive. The worst is when I've just taken a mouthful of food and at that moment the wait staff demands to know how I'm enjoying it. What am I supposed to do, open my mouth and show them? On the other hand, I was in a different restaurant where I did happen to need service, so I waved to the waiter from across the restaurant--and she waved back and then left!
@@zaram131 Do you think we are all looking forward to get more immigrants? Stay on your continent and try to improve things there, dont bother others. We dont need gunculture or McDonaldization of US-Americans.
I'm a non-white shopper with a darker skin color. I've always interpreted "helpful salespeople" as *surveillance* -- even more so in Europe because "American niceness/intrusiveness" is not common while shopping in commercial retailers and bigger stores in Europe, mainly only in certain small shops and mostly in (high-end) boutiques.
#1 tip for me: Always carry some cash. After visiting the UK and France, where credit cards and tap-to-pay were nearly ubiquitous-even for a small street vendor or a coffee bar, this was not true in Germany. Yes, you can pay with cards at major stores and restaurants. But many smaller shops will take cash only. Even at a coffee shop that accepted cards gave side-eye when I tried to charge €10, and the cashier asked, “can’t you just pay in cash?” Also keep in mind you might need some euro coins to use certain public restrooms!
@@quincyquincy4764 I'll be curious to see if any of this has changed post-pandemic! The needing cash to use restrooms, even at a McDonald's, was definitely a shock for me!
Having a strong cash based society is considered to be a safeguard for privacy and democracy in Germany. Even though it comes with the price of making money laundery easier for criminals...
Freiburg! The sunniest place in Germany. Where we will probably try to live if Tangerine Palpatine is back in power. Ah, Germany. So many of my best memories are there.
I increasingly dislike the portrait of the German language sounding rude. This is spread by Hollywood movies. The guttural ch might sound harsh. But Germany is the land of poets and thinkers. You can speak any language in a harsh manner. Wolters said „ich liebe dich“ how a German would never say it. Stop it please!
*Food by weight* : This might also apply in Germany. Here in Prague, especially during the Xmas markets, it's common to see a ham being cooked on a spit. You buy the ham, and it's served on a slice of bread. Locals/ Czech speakers will be given a normal, manageable amount (typically 50g of meat ). A tourist however can sometimes be hacked off a 200g "slice", and it becomes expensive as the food is sold by weight. So ask for a certain weight ( somewhere 50g to 100g is more than enough ). If you get too much, say no, that's too much and get them to reduce the meat they are going to sell you.
Often tourists clog the escalators. At least here in Munich it is customary to stand on the right-hand side so that others can pass on the left, no matter whether in a department store or underground, etc. Often (especially English-speaking) tourists think that no one understands them because they don't understand anything themselves either. But 90% of the people understand what you say! 😈
That is interesting, because I just got off a lufthansa flight in Seattle, and the German tourists take up the entire escalator and hallway on the way out of the terminal. Not to mention some of the most obnoxious airplane travellers... serious, it was a disaster.
I wish I could like this 100 times. I booked a direct train from Cologne to Amsterdam. Let's just say it was not direct... there was cancellation, there was changing, there was a lot of running and I got to Amsterdam 3hr late and stressed 😂
I live in the Netherlands on the Amsterdam - Hannover/Berlin train route. Dutch trains are occasionally delayed, but rarely more than 10 minutes. The international trains from Germany however take being late to a whole other level. They're hardly ever on time and 90 minute delays aren't an exception 😂
Great list, I remember many of these from my past trips to Germany. I would add: • One usually has to pay to use public restrooms, whether through a turnstile or by leaving coins in the basket of the person outside who cleans them. • Punctuality isn’t just important for business meetings; I was gently scolded for arriving a few minutes late to a relative’s home, even when nothing else timed was planned. • At restaurants, don’t expect any type of drink to be served with ice, and there is no such thing as free refills.
There are no free refills in the USA. Sure, there is no additional charge for a refill. But that doesn't mean refills are free. It just means that the price of the refills is already included in the price of the food.
@@AlexGys9Of course, I realize that there is still a COST to the refills that may be embedded in the original price. But it is quite common for the customer not to be charged extra for refills (typically of sodas) in the US.
My big tip is is don’t be asking a bunch of questions to someone who’s not working in that area, like the DB lady isn’t going to know about the buses for example. My mom is so bad for that, asking cleaners about the trains….they probably won’t know. People really stay focused on their role & they don’t want to be giving you half-hearted advice about something they don’t have knowledge about so they might refuse
Years ago, at a food stall near a tourist trap (I think it was Neuschwanstein) we heard a story from a worker there about how an American tourist ordered four Bitburgers for his family, thinking they were burgers. I'm not sure if that actually happened or whether it was an ice breaker used by the worker (himself an American) but it gave everyone a chuckle.
@@SteveInNEPA1 As a German I never heard the word head cheese and had to look it up. But even the German translation "Presswurst" did not ring a bell. Must be a really rare regional thing.
Most of the points you mentioned are exactly true (I`m Bavarian and thus I know what I`m talking about). In some points, however, I think you exaggerate a little bit. For example, the "Stammtisch" issue - if one wants to sit at that place, just ask the server if that certain bunch of Stammtisch guys will show up on that certain day. In most cases, those Stammtischs are a thing like "once a week", like e. g. every friday. On all the other weekdays, that certain table is just a table like all the others, so no problem to sit down there. I like your videos a lot, go on with the great work! Greets from Landshut/Bavaria!
*Train Seat Reservations* : Same here in Czech Republic. I'm ruthless. The seat reservation costs a couple of euros, literally. So I'm sorry Granny. You know it, and I know it. So yes, you're in my seat Granny, so I'm sitting there. Someone else can give up their seat if they so choose. But on train seat reservations, I'm ruthless. 99% of Czechs are also.
Good morning from southern Poland. Thanks for the video. We just spend three weeks driving through Germany and it was an experience we’ll never forget.
3:48 Have to make a minor correction here. Not EVERY city or town has its own brewery. Especially not in the northern half of Germany. There are quite a few here, sure, but for the most part it's a regional thing up north. That said, there are a LOT of small breweries all over the place and it can be a journey in itself to check them all out. Just make sure to have proper food a little while BEFORE having beer - to mitigate the effect of the alcohol if all you are used to is what Americans call "light beer".
Oh man, we were just in Freiburg a month ago on a 10 trek that ended in München for Oktoberfest. I wonder if we had any overlap; would have been fun to see you guys.
Point 1 is correct, and you said it before in an old video. In the US, it is very easy to become an acquaintance, but hard to be a real friend. In Germany it’s the other way round. At first they may be a bit distanced, but once you get to know them, they become good friends Point 2 is also correct. I speak very fast and loud. When i’m on the phone while in the US, people look at me shocked 😀 The point with the professional service is also true. In Germany they are professional, but not always as nice as in the US. In the US, they are really, really nice, but often they don’t know the answers to the simplest questions. They don’t “think outside the box”, and only know things, which have directly to do with their direct job/task
I'm very excited to be coming to Germany this December (Oberderdingen in Baden-Wurttemberg, and Berlin). It will be my wife's first time. This trip was postponed by the Covid crisis and hopefully it doesn't get postponed again by a U.S. gov't shutdown - we need the air-traffic controllers.
Being married to a German and living three years in Munich, this video is very accurate! Definitely want to get those reserved tickets on the long trips. We reserved a private wagon from Berlin to Munich all to ourselves with our two children. Worth every penny. Likely will be doing so again now that we have three children this summer, as we are going to Euro 2024 in Munich and Berlin!
As a German language teacher told us at the beginning of the school year, French sound like they're making love while at war and the Germans sound like they are at war while making love.
Leaving for Germany tomorrow. We have enjoyed many of your videos!! We’ll be visiting many areas of Europe that you’ve visited, or lived. Really have appreciated the info you’ve shared!! Especially the train info!!!
People make the mistake of thinking that the German language is uniformly harsh-sounding (I'd also made this mistake for a long time). But there are many dialects of German and varying sounds to it, depending on the region and locale. In Perugia (Italia) I met a group of ladies from a city in southern Germany and the way they spoke had a beautiful sound.
Ha ha, that´s just like in Finland "Minä rakastan sinua" does not sound very sweet or romantic, but when you say it you really mean it. Like in old finish joke old lady ask from his husband why he never says "I love you"? The husband replies "I said that to you over 60 years ago and if it ever changes, i will tell you about it." 😄. It is not the amounts that counts, but the meaning of it 😁.
They can be friendly but when you´re not from Hamburg you never make it to the inner circle. I am German and had to spend 8 years there. I hated every day of it.
C'mon, no German says I love you like they're yelling/angry. They can be loud but this is a 1940s cliche about how Germans talk :( And... there are 80 million Germans, they aren't all the same.
And yes, I ran into the zones in Munich - I had to make sure the group tickets we bought when we went to dachau (which we could use the next morning to get to the airport) covered all the zones. The MVV app made it ridiculously easy.
I got screwed over with the zone crap when buying a ticket in Munich from a kiosk. ....I had selected english for the language but it still wasn't clear.
Don’t expect first come, first serve if a new register opens at any shop. After 30 years in Germany, I know enough to say that I was waiting before the Johnny come latelies & will check out before them.
I'm German and I like the mistake you point out at 2:32 but I think it depends on whether you live in a rural or urban area. I lived all my life in a rural area where people usually let people get off the public transport before they go in. Once I moved to a big city the people really don't care anymore and people often push in as soon as the train arrives or stand in the way of the people getting off. I hate that behavior of my fellow germans!
Oh man the train thing reservation thing is so right lol. I had a rail planner ticket to travel around Europe, which meant I could get like 10 rail travels anywhere I wanted to but I couldn't reserve seats with it. I got asked to move like 4 times when travelling through Germany :D
Your problem is resolved with a little lateral thinking! My wife and I use Interrail/Eurail all the time to travel between the UK and Bodensee but NEVER use the reservation facility on the app. For half the price of the app, one simply makes reservations through either the DB or OeBB websites (both of which allow you to make reservation only, no ticket purchases) which also frequently let you also chose your seat. Note, you cannot make reservations on regional trains.
Not every German eats sausages, ham and cheese at breakfast. There is also the sweet variant with nutella, honey or jam. Typically a hotel also serves that as well.
Als je naar Duitsland gaat (en ook naar Oostenrijk, Liechtenstein of Zwitserland) en je wilt Duits praten spreek vreemden nooit aan met "du". Altijd met "sie". In Duitsland is erg onbeleefd om vreemden met "du" aan te spreken. "Du" zeg je tegen je vrienden of kleine kinderen.
@@EdwardGregoryNYC Well, my Dad worked with Italians decades ago and said you may think they argue and shout at each other, and it's actually just a normal conversation. Of course, there are different parts of Italy and mentality may differ as well.
@@jasek911 Yes, I was being a bit facetious, but also I'm drawing on many dinners with my Italian relatives, my wife's family. Also I have some amusing memories of quite a bit of public arguing going on in Rome at the train station and on public transit. But I freely acknowledge that my comments were an exaggeration.
Another mistake tourists might make is not at least learning a little German so they can ask a question without worrying about the language barrier, such as "Where is the nearest train station" or something similar.
My family and I (Americans) went to Germany over the summer. We've been wanting to go for a while and I actually plan on moving over there sometime within the next few years. I was the only person in my family who could really speak German, however my sister, mother, and father also learned quite a bit and they were glad for it. Learning even just a bit of a language can make your experience visiting a country so much better.
One thing I observed is that in Germany, they appreciate it if you make an effort to speak their language…doesn’t have to be perfect, but put in an effort.😊
The DB is a mess. May have been functional in years past but they have not invested in it for decades. Oh and avoid Hamburg it is basically a building site.
In Germany, we learned the hard way, that we had to be by the train door with our luggage by us when the the train stopped. In some of the smaller towns the trains literally stop only about 10 seconds. 😮
I’m traveling soon on a river cruise touring Christmas markets and will be mostly in Germany and I’m so nervous because I can only speak very simple German, with my first language being English. I want to be respectful if culture as well as language, so I hope I don’t mess it up! Wish me luck.
Many speak English. If they don’t, smile, point and you’ll be fine. One of my favorite memories was trying to order from a German menu using Google translate. Try the gluehwein and local sausages 😀
This will be a nice vacation. Christmas markets in Germany are magical. English is not a problem, especially in tourist areas, as Juergen already said. A little tip: a US bathroom is a toilet, or WC watercloset. A bathroom is where the shower is 🛁 in Europe. 😉
no worries.. almost everyone here speaks english. Even my 85 year old father knows some basic english. most of us will switch to english if they see you are struggeling with the german language. It might help to know the german word for harbor, just in case you need a taxi to get back to your cruise ship.
I’ve travelled extensively in Germany and, as usual, agree totally with the content. However, do Americans really think Germans are loud. Coming from the loudest nation on the planet, that’s funny.
A big mistake would be, especially when you are in Southern Germany in the Freiburg area where this video is taken, to not visit Europapark. It has won the best themepark in the world award many years in a row and for good reason. Imagine Disneyland but at half the entrance fee, affordable good food and drinks and just better rides and coasters over all. There is a free fastpass sytem that comes with your ticket that you can use in the app too and they even have a beergarden to keep things more local and still have that German experience. Very good shows as well, also included, I myself really enjoyed the ice skating show and the medieval knight spectacle. There is just so much to see and do that you can easily spend 2 or 3 days there.
5:15 this is one of the things that annoyed me the most when i visited USA, waiters&servants always buzzing around you so much that i needed to say "i know its a tipping country but please, if i want something i will ask, you don't need to be here constantly"and one of the things that i loved the most when i visited Germany. Professionalism and respect from waiters/servants but nothing of that kiss ass/fake smile attitude. Probably a culture shock that isn't talked as much as it should.
Hi there, I am American (from Texas actually) and I've worked in the restaurant business in the past in 2 different locations and we are taught to check on the costumers, BUT to be aware too. So while I can't speak for every restaurant, I can say we try not to be a bother either, so I do apologize if the people who helped you were overly-friendly.
@@Zodia195 It's not just restaurants, your whole customer service industry seems weirdly over friendly to the rest of the world. We're used to polite professionalism
It's ridiculous to the point where if someone is professional and to the point, despite being polite, it's often times seen as rude here. I recently came back from Europe and found the dining experience overwhelmingly better than in the US.
Hey, do you only visited the south of Germany and the Capital? You must visit the north for example Cologne and Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf have for example a different Beer, it called „Altbier“. It is the oldest traditionell breewing.
Only mistake I saw today was you having Ganter Beer. 😁 Try Rothaus or even better Waldhaus where available. Waldhaus so far has won 38 international taste and quality awards and 182 gold medals in regional challenges. You‘ll actually taste the difference and you‘ll be able to identify them from there on. 🍻
I swear, the absolute DUMBEST thing you can ever say (be-it Germany, or anywhere, really).... "You can't do this to me... I'm an AMERICAN!!" And yes, I saw someone say that, and proved wrong immediately when I was there in 2005. I was 3rd person embarrassed for my country when that moron yelled that. I swear, only other Americans were able to identify me as an American (because of my mid-Atlantic accent), because I was on my best behavior while I was there. When you're in another country, even as a tourist, you are representing your home country. So be on your best behavior.
A big problem for young Americans which annoys us Berliners. Probably because of the US strange laws on alcohol. Young Americans knocking back strong German beer as if it is American yellow fizzy water and getting rapidly VERY drunk.
Using public transport tickets in Germany involves a transubstantiation problem, since they must be validated by being entwerted, thus transferring its German Wert into an Anglo value.
Another thing I´ve experienced with Americans, in Germany religion and sexuality are private matters. Asking Germans about their religion or sexuality ( especially if you don´t know them well) is not considered appropriate bordering on offensive.
Yes, German can sound rude if you experience it for the first time (in a way like the same with Arabic). But... I advice you to listen to songs of the German singer Reinhard Mey. He uses such a beautiful German language.... some somgs making me cry because of their beauty (I am fluent in German, and I studied there). "Laß Liebe auf uns regnen"....
Ha ha!! The Birthday thing is sooooo true!! My very best friend in the world is German and early on many many years ago I made the horrible mistake of wishing him Happy Birthday before his actual day. I quickly learned NEVER EVER wish a German a Happy early Birthday!
When I go to a restaurant, I don't go there to spend time with the waiters, I want them to take my orders, be polite and then give me my space to spend time with the people I'm with and actually want to spend time with. Nothing worse than waiters who just won't leave you alone.
Thank god someone said that! I would even say that this extends to any kind of human interaction required in purchasing a service or a product. Basic human politeness, know the answer of my questions (95% I won't have any) and just let me be.
Irrespective of the fact I am solo or in a group its EXTREMELY rare that I would want to interact more than what I mentioned with a probably tired, overworked, underpaid and irritated (by customers and management) service staff person.
I don't want to burden them with extra work of interacting with another guy and just use as less of their energy as possible.
You'll change your mind when you cant find them to add on a dessert, or need to pay quickly.
@@b.w.9244 Can one not pay at the counter or front desk directly in Germany ? I have done this across the world, most of the time.
My husband and I just returned from Germany and we went to Freiburg because of your great videos about the city. 😊. In fact I used your Love and Hates of Freiburg and Strasbourg, as well as the eats of both during my trip research.
Thanks for making such great, helpful videos. They really make the difference.
Congrats again on the million subs!! 😃🎉
When I lived and worked in Zurich, Switzerland, where the culture is similar to Germany) one of my staff person described their personalities like a coconut - so the same analogy as your M&Ms. Love it!
Yes the service was the same when I went shopping in Turkey.
They're not super nice but get straight to the point when it comes to helping you
I once paid 4 Euros for a seat reservation. However, there was an old lady already sitting in my seat and I did not have it in me to tell her to get off. Experience tells me that most passengers understand how the seat reservation system works and will gladly get off when you show them proof of reservation, but I was not going to make an old lady stand for 3 hours in a crowded train with no other seats left. One of the oddest dilemmas of my life.
Why would't its not your fault that the train doesn't offer free reservations for old people.
@@jesusthedevil You're not wrong, but I didn't feel good about the idea of kicking an old lady off a train seat. Even though I would be 100% legally in the right, I can't help but feel that karma would come kick my ass if I went through with it.
You're an angel...
I would do the same. We often give up seats for older people or moms with babies etc. A little kindness goes a long way.
@@donutdude1934 Big Respect, well done. Sometimes older people just do not know how to handle the online Reservation System, so it is hard for them to make a seat Reservation.
The funny thing is when you go to a kneipe (or pub) in Germany, they’re usually dog friendly and the dogs are very well behaved. I petted a retriever while there and the owner got upset at the dog for not laying low and not responding to other peoples cues. Poor dog wanted to say hello and greet guests, but I found it kind of hardcore not to allow the dog to do so
A good dog owner, the dog was probably young.
Such a nice person. He talks really intensively(is this an english word?). Hope his Heart will doing it till 100.😊
Wurzburg has some fantastic white wine!
Another thing I would like to add, is to learn at least a bit of the language. Learning some of the language will make your experience so much better. I am an American who is fluent in German, and the rest of my family knows the language to some degree. We had a good time in Germany because of it. The locals (might) will respect you more for it even though most younger aged Germans speak alright English. I will be moving to Germany for University soon, to Heidelberg, very excited lol.
Of course it's not only beer. However, if you're ever in the Lausitz, try their porter. It's a must if you like dark beer. That stuff is so delicious.
Love your videos. 😍Just FYI: riding a bike on the sidewalk: everybody does it, especially in Berlin, but it is illegal. It's just that enforcement is a joke.
The whole birthday wishes before the actual day is real. It seems silly but holy moly don’t ever attempt.
Almost as bad as asking a woman when the baby is due only to realize she's just a little overweight
Another big mistake: not moving in public transportation if there is space, so people can't get on train or buses anymore!
5 Minuten vor der Zeit ist des Soldaten Pünktlichkeit, nur der Sanitäter kommt 10 Minuten später
US tourists think that Germans are yelling..... in their own language? That's nicely ironic!! And German pronounced by southern Germans or Austrians is usually mellifluous and beautiful, but - of course - it helps to know what they're saying.....
I was a huge fan of the cold cuts and cheese breakfast. My wife and I will buy some nice cold cuts, cheese and bread to have for breakfast on occasion.
Another mistake: Buying your NYE fireworks and thinking its alright to take them inside the beer hall or restaurant. They were making people put them in a trash bin when we were there.
Don't put your feet on the seats in the public transportation. Other passengers will ask you to take them down
Don‘t order a Kölsch in Düsseldorf, the Innkeeper will put you out on the street 😂
Found this vid by accident and watched some of those "What to Do and Not in Germany" and by far you are the best. Not even one of your points is wrong.
I have to add, we are indeed cold when we first met you. Maybe it is the language barrier, or since we do not know you, we are reserved.
But if you ask for help, you will get it. May it be directions or other things like buying a ticket for public transportation.
Last but not least, do not expect small talk, get to the point.
What it would be like to deal with other people who are on time.
You spoke the "Ich liebe dich..." like you are imitating an American who only has seen war movies from WW2. Nobody would say it that way.
Once upon a time in MAD Magazine:
The trouble with foreigners is, that they don´t understand you no matter how loud you SHOUT at them. (Guess this American joke still fits today)
Which MAD Magazine?
@@bighand1530Can´t tell you the magazine number since my brother inherited all of them to also make him a wrotten character
I'm ok with most of it, but classifying the complete lack of service for efficiency is just wrong. The lack of service is just that, lacking. Often the staff are on their phones, cleaning, doing whatever and the customer mostly comes last. not in all areas, but after 5 years it's clear, there is no service in Germany. When you do get a waiter etc that you think, oh there it is and you ask where they are from, each and every time ive asked they are not German. Funny thing is when i ask German friends when they travel don't they notice the difference? They say yes and they love the service outside of Germany. So it's not from a lack of demand, its culture thats stuck in the 50's.
I wonder how it sounds for other people than germans, when germans acually shout and speak loud
As a German, I have never heard a German pronounce the sentence "Ich liebe Dich, mein Schatz" the way you did. Maybe you should work a little on your German pronunciation.
A german would run away, if a sales person is coming up to "help". That's like somebody selling you sunglasses on the beach, considered annoying behaviour, having your time to look around on your own, is considered fine. Service is not intrusive, you have to ask for it.
I like to put a positive spin on it by saying that _you’re_ in charge of the pace of your meal. If you want to sit and read your book for an hour, they’ll let you. Sometimes US servers are attentive to be attentive*, but I think we’ve all had a few experiences where that attentiveness carried an unspoken message that they want to keep that table turning, so please don’t dawdle.
* Tipping culture is certainly part of it, but also if you came to my house, no money changing hands, my 🇺🇸 cultural norm would be to anticipate your needs and offer you anything I think you might want.
@@Magic_beans_ Right, and getting things offered is so damned annoying.
Sometimes I just take a water and don't drink it, to stop the permanent questioning of anybody passing the room.
Cause rejecting offers is considered bad behaviour too. So by saying "No thanks", "No thanks", "No thanks" the host is making the guest feeling bad or inpolite.
Thankfully it's the reverse way on the bathroom. If you need it, you ask for it.
That's the way it's supposed to be for everything, but isn't, not even in German culture.
OMG......I am German and for my whole life I go absolutely CRAZY when people come up and want to help me in an insistent way. I really have to try to control myself so hard to not get snappy.
I'm a non-white shopper with a darker skin color. I've always interpreted "helpful salespeople" as *surveillance* -- even more so in Europe because "American niceness/intrusiveness" is not common while shopping in commercial retailers and bigger stores in Europe, mainly only in certain small shops and mostly in (high-end) boutiques.
Also remember to press the round button on the door of the train/metro when you need to get on or off, the door doesn’t automatically open at every stop, and do it quickly too, learned that the hard way.
Regarding the service: It has also to do with not being intruding. That goes for Restaurants especially, the service people are there to help you bring you your food, and drinks and tell you where the restroom is, but while you are eating they will leave you allone and stay back so that you can enjoy the cmpany that you are with and aren't interupted every 5 minutes, because a server is asking you if everything is okay. Compared to many restaurants in the US you will also stay in the restaurant for much longer because no one is pushing you out.
It is similar for shopping. The service people will have an eye on you and if you make contact, they will come over and help you out, otherwise they will let you look through the product on your own, to make your own decision and if you need help with a size or something else they will help you out later. They are there to help you get what you want and not necessarily to push product. That is how a lot of European countries prefer it.
A lot of Americans prefer this, too. I've been at some restaurants where the servers are so very intrusive. The worst is when I've just taken a mouthful of food and at that moment the wait staff demands to know how I'm enjoying it. What am I supposed to do, open my mouth and show them? On the other hand, I was in a different restaurant where I did happen to need service, so I waved to the waiter from across the restaurant--and she waved back and then left!
Another reason I want to relocate to Europe
@@zaram131 Do you think we are all looking forward to get more immigrants? Stay on your continent and try to improve things there, dont bother others. We dont need gunculture or McDonaldization of US-Americans.
I'm a non-white shopper with a darker skin color. I've always interpreted "helpful salespeople" as *surveillance* -- even more so in Europe because "American niceness/intrusiveness" is not common while shopping in commercial retailers and bigger stores in Europe, mainly only in certain small shops and mostly in (high-end) boutiques.
#1 tip for me: Always carry some cash.
After visiting the UK and France, where credit cards and tap-to-pay were nearly ubiquitous-even for a small street vendor or a coffee bar, this was not true in Germany. Yes, you can pay with cards at major stores and restaurants. But many smaller shops will take cash only. Even at a coffee shop that accepted cards gave side-eye when I tried to charge €10, and the cashier asked, “can’t you just pay in cash?”
Also keep in mind you might need some euro coins to use certain public restrooms!
Very true-Germany takes cash, the UK is almost 100% card only, especially in London.
I don't like carrying cash, but thank u for the tip. I'll be sure to have some on me. I'll be going to Berlin in a few days❤
@@quincyquincy4764 I'll be curious to see if any of this has changed post-pandemic! The needing cash to use restrooms, even at a McDonald's, was definitely a shock for me!
Recently my card was not accepted in the main Cologne shopping street at a renowned shop, tbf this is shocking.
Having a strong cash based society is considered to be a safeguard for privacy and democracy in Germany. Even though it comes with the price of making money laundery easier for criminals...
Freiburg! The sunniest place in Germany. Where we will probably try to live if Tangerine Palpatine is back in power.
Ah, Germany. So many of my best memories are there.
Don't move till you're as senile as Bribe'em; then you won't know or care WHERE you are.
I increasingly dislike the portrait of the German language sounding rude. This is spread by Hollywood movies. The guttural ch might sound harsh. But Germany is the land of poets and thinkers. You can speak any language in a harsh manner. Wolters said „ich liebe dich“ how a German would never say it. Stop it please!
If you speak German it in a gruff aggressive way on purpose...Then yeah it doesn't sound nice, like with any other language.
*Food by weight* : This might also apply in Germany. Here in Prague, especially during the Xmas markets, it's common to see a ham being cooked on a spit. You buy the ham, and it's served on a slice of bread. Locals/ Czech speakers will be given a normal, manageable amount (typically 50g of meat ). A tourist however can sometimes be hacked off a 200g "slice", and it becomes expensive as the food is sold by weight. So ask for a certain weight ( somewhere 50g to 100g is more than enough ). If you get too much, say no, that's too much and get them to reduce the meat they are going to sell you.
That's not really a thing in Germany
HonestGuide made me aware of this 😂
@@tedsteiner Yes, and me too !
@@vargsieber OK. I've had food by weight at 2 Xmas markets before. But they weren't in big cities in fairness
@@Czechbound well, it depends, stuff like roasted almonds, sweets and stuff like that often goes by weight, but actual hot food normally doesn't.
Often tourists clog the escalators. At least here in Munich it is customary to stand on the right-hand side so that others can pass on the left, no matter whether in a department store or underground, etc.
Often (especially English-speaking) tourists think that no one understands them because they don't understand anything themselves either. But 90% of the people understand what you say! 😈
That is interesting, because I just got off a lufthansa flight in Seattle, and the German tourists take up the entire escalator and hallway on the way out of the terminal. Not to mention some of the most obnoxious airplane travellers... serious, it was a disaster.
also do NOT expect German trains to be on time, if you do a train journey with like 3 changes, expect at least 1 train to be cancelled or late
I wish I could like this 100 times. I booked a direct train from Cologne to Amsterdam. Let's just say it was not direct... there was cancellation, there was changing, there was a lot of running and I got to Amsterdam 3hr late and stressed 😂
I live in the Netherlands on the Amsterdam - Hannover/Berlin train route. Dutch trains are occasionally delayed, but rarely more than 10 minutes. The international trains from Germany however take being late to a whole other level. They're hardly ever on time and 90 minute delays aren't an exception 😂
@@picobello99 I wanted to meet up with a friend in Cologne - His train was 3 hours late.
They are always on time
when you're late. 😄
Which is ironic because they expect you to be exactly on time everywhere else.
Once again your accurate expertise shines.I love your videos and always looking to watching more.Great job Mark.
Great list, I remember many of these from my past trips to Germany. I would add:
• One usually has to pay to use public restrooms, whether through a turnstile or by leaving coins in the basket of the person outside who cleans them.
• Punctuality isn’t just important for business meetings; I was gently scolded for arriving a few minutes late to a relative’s home, even when nothing else timed was planned.
• At restaurants, don’t expect any type of drink to be served with ice, and there is no such thing as free refills.
The last one goes for basically every country except the US 😉
There are no free refills in the USA. Sure, there is no additional charge for a refill. But that doesn't mean refills are free. It just means that the price of the refills is already included in the price of the food.
@@AlexGys9Of course, I realize that there is still a COST to the refills that may be embedded in the original price. But it is quite common for the customer not to be charged extra for refills (typically of sodas) in the US.
@@stephenhassler4596 I know. I just wanted to point out that it is not free 🙂
Ugh. The restrooms are definitely the worst part about traveling in Germany. It's not just the cost of them but the lack of availability.
My big tip is is don’t be asking a bunch of questions to someone who’s not working in that area, like the DB lady isn’t going to know about the buses for example. My mom is so bad for that, asking cleaners about the trains….they probably won’t know. People really stay focused on their role & they don’t want to be giving you half-hearted advice about something they don’t have knowledge about so they might refuse
Years ago, at a food stall near a tourist trap (I think it was Neuschwanstein) we heard a story from a worker there about how an American tourist ordered four Bitburgers for his family, thinking they were burgers. I'm not sure if that actually happened or whether it was an ice breaker used by the worker (himself an American) but it gave everyone a chuckle.
😂 server: here you go. 4 beers for you and your family. Enjoy😂😂
You mean that Bitburger doesn't mean slider?
When I was a young child, my sister ordered head cheese at a German restaurant thinking it was a type of cheese...😂
@@SteveInNEPA1 As a German I never heard the word head cheese and had to look it up. But even the German translation "Presswurst" did not ring a bell. Must be a really rare regional thing.
Most of the points you mentioned are exactly true (I`m Bavarian and thus I know what I`m talking about). In some points, however, I think you exaggerate a little bit. For example, the "Stammtisch" issue - if one wants to sit at that place, just ask the server if that certain bunch of Stammtisch guys will show up on that certain day. In most cases, those Stammtischs are a thing like "once a week", like e. g. every friday. On all the other weekdays, that certain table is just a table like all the others, so no problem to sit down there. I like your videos a lot, go on with the great work! Greets from Landshut/Bavaria!
*Train Seat Reservations* : Same here in Czech Republic. I'm ruthless. The seat reservation costs a couple of euros, literally. So I'm sorry Granny. You know it, and I know it. So yes, you're in my seat Granny, so I'm sitting there. Someone else can give up their seat if they so choose. But on train seat reservations, I'm ruthless. 99% of Czechs are also.
Good morning from southern Poland.
Thanks for the video.
We just spend three weeks driving through Germany and it was an experience we’ll never forget.
3:48 Have to make a minor correction here. Not EVERY city or town has its own brewery. Especially not in the northern half of Germany. There are quite a few here, sure, but for the most part it's a regional thing up north. That said, there are a LOT of small breweries all over the place and it can be a journey in itself to check them all out. Just make sure to have proper food a little while BEFORE having beer - to mitigate the effect of the alcohol if all you are used to is what Americans call "light beer".
I think the big mistake is missing Augsburg Germany. The most awesome city I lived in 2 years.
Oh man, we were just in Freiburg a month ago on a 10 trek that ended in München for Oktoberfest. I wonder if we had any overlap; would have been fun to see you guys.
Point 1 is correct, and you said it before in an old video. In the US, it is very easy to become an acquaintance, but hard to be a real friend. In Germany it’s the other way round. At first they may be a bit distanced, but once you get to know them, they become good friends
Point 2 is also correct. I speak very fast and loud. When i’m on the phone while in the US, people look at me shocked 😀
The point with the professional service is also true. In Germany they are professional, but not always as nice as in the US. In the US, they are really, really nice, but often they don’t know the answers to the simplest questions. They don’t “think outside the box”, and only know things, which have directly to do with their direct job/task
As an American, I can agree. Most friendships here are pretty surface level, it's pretty rough trying to connect with people on a deeper level.
Oh you are in Germany at the moment? 😮
Herzlich Willkommen ❤🎉🇩🇪
I'm very excited to be coming to Germany this December (Oberderdingen in Baden-Wurttemberg, and Berlin). It will be my wife's first time. This trip was postponed by the Covid crisis and hopefully it doesn't get postponed again by a U.S. gov't shutdown - we need the air-traffic controllers.
Being married to a German and living three years in Munich, this video is very accurate! Definitely want to get those reserved tickets on the long trips. We reserved a private wagon from Berlin to Munich all to ourselves with our two children. Worth every penny. Likely will be doing so again now that we have three children this summer, as we are going to Euro 2024 in Munich and Berlin!
Have fun!
So you can say "kiss your butt" but you cannot say "bad sex", okay.
As a German language teacher told us at the beginning of the school year, French sound like they're making love while at war and the Germans sound like they are at war while making love.
Leaving for Germany tomorrow. We have enjoyed many of your videos!! We’ll be visiting many areas of Europe that you’ve visited, or lived. Really have appreciated the info you’ve shared!! Especially the train info!!!
Have fun
Fatal mistake: Don't step into the Bächle. Greetz from Freiburg!😉
It is more or less valid for Austria as well, besides the punctuality thing I guess.
People make the mistake of thinking that the German language is uniformly harsh-sounding (I'd also made this mistake for a long time). But there are many dialects of German and varying sounds to it, depending on the region and locale. In Perugia (Italia) I met a group of ladies from a city in southern Germany and the way they spoke had a beautiful sound.
Ha ha, that´s just like in Finland "Minä rakastan sinua" does not sound very sweet or romantic, but when you say it you really mean it. Like in old finish joke old lady ask from his husband why he never says "I love you"? The husband replies "I said that to you over 60 years ago and if it ever changes, i will tell you about it." 😄. It is not the amounts that counts, but the meaning of it 😁.
I went to Hamburg about a month ago, and didn't think they were cold at all.
They can be friendly but when you´re not from Hamburg you never make it to the inner circle. I am German and had to spend 8 years there. I hated every day of it.
C'mon, no German says I love you like they're yelling/angry. They can be loud but this is a 1940s cliche about how Germans talk :(
And... there are 80 million Germans, they aren't all the same.
i thought biggest mistake was tourists not to come in Germany?
What?
It's in the Top Ten most visited Countries in the world. 🤔
coming to germany, ok?
One of our favorite countries to visit... beautiful scenery, magnificent people.
@@arnodobler1096 it also has 2 major european airport hubs
Thank you 😊. I am German and what you mentioned is true! (By the way you have a good pronounciation of German!)
The biggest problem with public transportation in Europe is taking it do yourself a favor and rent a car
And yes, I ran into the zones in Munich - I had to make sure the group tickets we bought when we went to dachau (which we could use the next morning to get to the airport) covered all the zones. The MVV app made it ridiculously easy.
I got screwed over with the zone crap when buying a ticket in Munich from a kiosk. ....I had selected english for the language but it still wasn't clear.
German is no0t romantic? Read and hear German poetry or theater plays. But what am I saying, I am German 😁
And the next mistake in Germany is the lady in the men's bathroom is not a prostitute.
I you want a german or scandinavian friend: buy them a local beer in their country...
I was born in America and lived here all my life, but my personality comes from our old country.
How would you know if you haven't lived here.
You don’t have an “old country” your only nation is America
Don’t expect first come, first serve if a new register opens at any shop. After 30 years in Germany, I know enough to say that I was waiting before the Johnny come latelies & will check out before them.
I'm German and I like the mistake you point out at 2:32 but I think it depends on whether you live in a rural or urban area. I lived all my life in a rural area where people usually let people get off the public transport before they go in. Once I moved to a big city the people really don't care anymore and people often push in as soon as the train arrives or stand in the way of the people getting off. I hate that behavior of my fellow germans!
Oh man the train thing reservation thing is so right lol. I had a rail planner ticket to travel around Europe, which meant I could get like 10 rail travels anywhere I wanted to but I couldn't reserve seats with it. I got asked to move like 4 times when travelling through Germany :D
Your problem is resolved with a little lateral thinking! My wife and I use Interrail/Eurail all the time to travel between the UK and Bodensee but NEVER use the reservation facility on the app. For half the price of the app, one simply makes reservations through either the DB or OeBB websites (both of which allow you to make reservation only, no ticket purchases) which also frequently let you also chose your seat. Note, you cannot make reservations on regional trains.
Not every German eats sausages, ham and cheese at breakfast.
There is also the sweet variant with nutella, honey or jam. Typically a hotel also serves that as well.
We also have very good pastry
1:04 I'm going to be honest Mark I don't think I have it to try to break through to someone just so we could be friends or ok with each other 😕
Als je naar Duitsland gaat (en ook naar Oostenrijk, Liechtenstein of Zwitserland) en je wilt Duits praten spreek vreemden nooit aan met "du". Altijd met "sie". In Duitsland is erg onbeleefd om vreemden met "du" aan te spreken. "Du" zeg je tegen je vrienden of kleine kinderen.
Don't Italians also speak very loud at each other?
Yes, but they don’t come off as Satan incarnate
Yes, but they are actually arguing.
@@EdwardGregoryNYC Well, my Dad worked with Italians decades ago and said you may think they argue and shout at each other, and it's actually just a normal conversation.
Of course, there are different parts of Italy and mentality may differ as well.
@@jasek911 Yes, I was being a bit facetious, but also I'm drawing on many dinners with my Italian relatives, my wife's family. Also I have some amusing memories of quite a bit of public arguing going on in Rome at the train station and on public transit. But I freely acknowledge that my comments were an exaggeration.
Another mistake tourists might make is not at least learning a little German so they can ask a question without worrying about the language barrier, such as "Where is the nearest train station" or something similar.
Or, at least, ein bier bitte... my maternal grandmother's last words.
@@SteveInNEPA1 "A beer please" was your grandmother's last words? Talk about having your priorities straight.
My family and I (Americans) went to Germany over the summer. We've been wanting to go for a while and I actually plan on moving over there sometime within the next few years. I was the only person in my family who could really speak German, however my sister, mother, and father also learned quite a bit and they were glad for it. Learning even just a bit of a language can make your experience visiting a country so much better.
@@deutschegeschichte4972 Absolutely.
Congratulations with 1M subscribers. I follow this nice channel regularly. Thanks for sharing 🌲
Du hast wirklich sehr gut heraus gefunden was man falsch machen kann. Danke für die Infos an die Touristen.
One thing I observed is that in Germany, they appreciate it if you make an effort to speak their language…doesn’t have to be perfect, but put in an effort.😊
You are exactly right - i would grant you German citizenship 😊
The DB is a mess. May have been functional in years past but they have not invested in it for decades. Oh and avoid Hamburg it is basically a building site.
In Germany, we learned the hard way, that we had to be by the train door with our luggage by us when the the train stopped. In some of the smaller towns the trains literally stop only about 10 seconds. 😮
True, because the next train is already coming and the trains have to make up for delays.
@@arnodobler1096 very true!!
I’m traveling soon on a river cruise touring Christmas markets and will be mostly in Germany and I’m so nervous because I can only speak very simple German, with my first language being English. I want to be respectful if culture as well as language, so I hope I don’t mess it up! Wish me luck.
Don't worry, there is always someone who can speak at least some English. You won't get lost. Just talk to people.
Many speak English. If they don’t, smile, point and you’ll be fine. One of my favorite memories was trying to order from a German menu using Google translate. Try the gluehwein and local sausages 😀
This will be a nice vacation. Christmas markets in Germany are magical. English is not a problem, especially in tourist areas, as Juergen already said. A little tip: a US bathroom is a toilet, or WC watercloset. A bathroom is where the shower is 🛁 in Europe. 😉
@@arnodobler1096 thank you for the tip!
no worries.. almost everyone here speaks english. Even my 85 year old father knows some basic english. most of us will switch to english if they see you are struggeling with the german language. It might help to know the german word for harbor, just in case you need a taxi to get back to your cruise ship.
germans are like M&Ms 😂😂😂
I Like Your German Beer, Cars & Women 5'8" 38*28*38. (smile)
I’ve travelled extensively in Germany and, as usual, agree totally with the content.
However, do Americans really think Germans are loud. Coming from the loudest nation on the planet, that’s funny.
Am subscribed. When I was in the military was stationed in Wurzburg. Liked it there and hope to go back.
A big mistake would be, especially when you are in Southern Germany in the Freiburg area where this video is taken, to not visit Europapark. It has won the best themepark in the world award many years in a row and for good reason. Imagine Disneyland but at half the entrance fee, affordable good food and drinks and just better rides and coasters over all. There is a free fastpass sytem that comes with your ticket that you can use in the app too and they even have a beergarden to keep things more local and still have that German experience. Very good shows as well, also included, I myself really enjoyed the ice skating show and the medieval knight spectacle. There is just so much to see and do that you can easily spend 2 or 3 days there.
Of course it's cheaper because they don't need to copy all the German architecture like Disney did. They already have it built! 😄
Thinking its still ww2
5:15 this is one of the things that annoyed me the most when i visited USA, waiters&servants always buzzing around you so much that i needed to say "i know its a tipping country but please, if i want something i will ask, you don't need to be here constantly"and one of the things that i loved the most when i visited Germany.
Professionalism and respect from waiters/servants but nothing of that kiss ass/fake smile attitude.
Probably a culture shock that isn't talked as much as it should.
Hi there, I am American (from Texas actually) and I've worked in the restaurant business in the past in 2 different locations and we are taught to check on the costumers, BUT to be aware too. So while I can't speak for every restaurant, I can say we try not to be a bother either, so I do apologize if the people who helped you were overly-friendly.
@@Zodia195 It's not just restaurants, your whole customer service industry seems weirdly over friendly to the rest of the world. We're used to polite professionalism
It's ridiculous to the point where if someone is professional and to the point, despite being polite, it's often times seen as rude here.
I recently came back from Europe and found the dining experience overwhelmingly better than in the US.
Good service means you don't even notice it's there.🇩🇪 Europe
Hey, do you only visited the south of Germany and the Capital? You must visit the north for example Cologne and Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf have for example a different Beer, it called „Altbier“. It is the oldest traditionell breewing.
I got a flight scheduled for Nov. 8 to Munich. Prost! 🇩🇪🍺
237 days left till November 8th 2024.
Japan is the best customer service in the world.
All the German companies I’ve worked with must have missed that bit about showing up to meetings on time
Only mistake I saw today was you having Ganter Beer. 😁
Try Rothaus or even better Waldhaus where available. Waldhaus so far has won 38 international taste and quality awards and 182 gold medals in regional challenges. You‘ll actually taste the difference and you‘ll be able to identify them from there on. 🍻
You're basically an international ambassador, dude.
I swear, the absolute DUMBEST thing you can ever say (be-it Germany, or anywhere, really).... "You can't do this to me... I'm an AMERICAN!!"
And yes, I saw someone say that, and proved wrong immediately when I was there in 2005. I was 3rd person embarrassed for my country when that moron yelled that. I swear, only other Americans were able to identify me as an American (because of my mid-Atlantic accent), because I was on my best behavior while I was there. When you're in another country, even as a tourist, you are representing your home country. So be on your best behavior.
A big problem for young Americans which annoys us Berliners. Probably because of the US strange laws on alcohol. Young Americans knocking back strong German beer as if it is American yellow fizzy water and getting rapidly VERY drunk.
Using public transport tickets in Germany involves a transubstantiation problem, since they must be validated by being entwerted, thus transferring its German Wert into an Anglo value.
Another thing I´ve experienced with Americans, in Germany religion and sexuality are private matters. Asking Germans about their religion or sexuality ( especially if you don´t know them well) is not considered appropriate bordering on offensive.
Yes, German can sound rude if you experience it for the first time (in a way like the same with Arabic). But... I advice you to listen to songs of the German singer Reinhard Mey. He uses such a beautiful German language.... some somgs making me cry because of their beauty (I am fluent in German, and I studied there).
"Laß Liebe auf uns regnen"....
Ha ha!! The Birthday thing is sooooo true!! My very best friend in the world is German and early on many many years ago I made the horrible mistake of wishing him Happy Birthday before his actual day. I quickly learned NEVER EVER wish a German a Happy early Birthday!