Did anyone count how many times I said "THIS IS SO REAL"?? 😂🫠💀 👉Go to buyraycon.com/felifromgermany to get up to 50% off sitewide for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Brought to you by Raycon.
Yet patients with severe chronic pain cannot get treatment anymore. I was on prescription American fentanyl for over 12 years, now because of the criminals overdosing on illegal drugs I cannot get any real pain management. The opioid crisis isn't because of doctors or medical prescriptions. It is because of the open border and addicts and illegal drug users committing crimes to get illegal drugs and overdose.
American Aldi stores, sama club, and similar stores have the same carts that require a quarter to use and then you get the quarter back when you return it.
Sure, you did seem to be on a bit of a chillout, which eas awesome!! Loved this video for its REAL vibe!! Uyen & Liam's vids seemed to be the most fun 😂😂😂 Keep 'em coming! 🍻
Uyen Ninh is absolutely adorable!! Had she not met her German boyfriend, she might have gone on to be the Lucille Ball of Vietnam. Her comic timing, chops and physicality are reminiscent of Lucy's three sitcoms.
@thorstensyring4756, yes. It just recently became official though they have yet to set the date and time. No doubt he'll be worrying about what the astrologer may choose!!😄
We had German exchange students in the US that could not get over the lack of emojis we used while texting. It always felt over the top when they texted back, but they were so nervous that their tone would come across as angry or upset if they didn’t include enough 😂😂😂😊😊🎉
I can really relate to that because im so dry and introverted that even when im texting with other germans i use to put in tons of emojis so they dont think i hate them. 😅
It's so funny coming from a country stereotyped as being cold and unfeeling. As an American, I've noticed we tend to use text like lol or slang to signify when we're being casual and non aggressive. Sometimes I'll put a :) cuz I feel like a 🙂 is less genuine for some reason
Oh I hate it. I am German and I just can't get used to people texting with emojis. In comments here on yt isn't a totally different thing. You can express your emotions much better with these. But a common every day text message doesn't need those!! I mean, hello?? What for? The people know you, so if they wanna read any kind of emotion into your text...that is their business. I had to learn to separate that, I admit. But text is text. If you think someone is angry, go ahead and ask them. If you just assume something, the following drama is on you.
Anyone who uses emoji in their message is immidiately less genuine to me. Maybe one normal emoticon like :). But don't spam those yellow shits at me. And then my american relatives spam the group full of gifs. Just say "Happy birthday" normal. Don't shove an image, that you didn't even make, into the chat. It's obtrusive.
I remember visiting a friend in Denmark in March and we went to the beach for a walk. We were all bundled up in warm jackets, but up in the dunes above the beach were a group of naked people laying out there. My friend said "they are German. No one else would be that crazy."
The meaning of “nudism” FKK stands for “free body culture”, a movement that originated in Germany. Nowadays, nudism is often used as a synonym for skinny dipping or being naked in public. Many people value naturism as a way to free themselves from the constraints of clothing and experience a carefree feeling of closeness to nature.
I lived in Germany for 18 months in the early 90s, and many of these topics are familiar to me. But the one that's seared in my brain is the German obsession with lüften. My apartment lease required me to perform "eine sachgemäße Be- und Entlüftung" on a regular basis. My German boyfriend insisted on sleeping with the windows wide open -- in February! And then he wondered why I didn't sleep naked. Apparently, he couldn't feel that the temperature in his apartment was something like 2° C. Today, when a German friend of mine visits the U.S., he's thrilled to find a hotel with windows that open so he can "stoßlüften." Frische Luft is truly a German obsession.
I'm not German but I just don't understand how people who don't open the windows get fresh air. Air conditioning doesn't introduce new oxygen, right? 🤔
I'm from the US, and I completely agree with Germany on this one! 2 C is only 35.6 F - I won't close my bedroom window until it's around 5 F (-15 C) - and that's with no pajamas, and only a sheet and a thick blanket as a cover. Once I'm forced to close the window, I will run a fan so the air doesn't feel stagnant. I do not however agree with them on not using air-conditioners in the summer - as someone who detests the heat - air-conditioning is he best invention ever!
My dad's family came to the U.S. from Germany around 1910 and my Grandma would always tell me that it was good for my health to sleep with the window open. 😊 I didn't realize that was advice from Germany.
When I did my Erasmus in the UK, while everyone else would flock to their "national groups" the Germans were the only ones who flocked everywhere BUT to each other 😅
This is so true. Though I always only experienced it in Germany while living in international dorms .😂 I lived in Sapporo for a year and very surprisingly I was the only German exchange student. People kept asking me whether I wasn’t sad to not be able to speak any German. 🤷♀️Why would I 😅? But although I am a stereotypical grumpy and non-talkative Berliner I would not hide from other Germans. The thought process behind that and the complaining about ‚how dare other Germans are around‘ always bothered me. If they don’t have the right to be in that particular place then neither do you, hun! 🤨
Went to Cardiff's in Wales. Made friends with the other Germans but also the French girl and the Swiss girl. Tried to make some local friends but it was COVID times and it was haaaard! Ended up making a Scottish and an English friend though.
Americans "flock" in foreign countries till these days. You, Germans, at least learnt from your own mistakes - unlike other nations. And anyway, if my great-grand father murdered someone, should I feel guilty? By the same logic I should be extremely proud of my other great-grand fathers who gave the world very many scientific, medical, and technical inventions. These inventions saved far more lives than had ever been taken by German hands. What about that?? And I still haven't mentioned cultural feats! By no means do I want to downplay the past tragedies but do you realize that many other nations were also possessed by evil spirits back then? Take Japan, just one example, the most prominent one. And so, it's time to move on and grow some balls, don't you think? Unless, of course, you're serious about the suicide that you've been committing as a nation over the last few years. It's painful to watch. Like, to be an ethnic German woman in Germany is no win - even when you're 60 you can get raped. Or a 15-year old gang-raped by 9(!) foreigners from 6 different countries, 8 of which got away with suspended sentence, none of them was deported (WHAT is wrong with you and your justice system??!!). The raped girl is mentally done for life - she might never heal. There are 2 rape cases a week in Germany, disproportionally high committed by foreigners. That is a FACT. These are no single cases as many German politicians try to sugarcoat it. Or stabbing people who were dozing off on a local afternoon train, coming home from work and school. Shouting "God is great" could not be missing. Of course not. Tragic. These criminals feel your inner guilt and they understand your tolerance as weakness. If you don't get your sh*t together soon, dear Germans, then it'll be a little too late. You'll be subdued to the newcomers and your children will be their servants. Things like that have happened many times over in the course of history. Haven't you paid attention in your history classes? Doesn't matter we split atoms, walk on the Moon and use smartphones - human nature is still the same. Armin the Cherusker is turning in his grave. @marcromain64
I mean, where is the point in making friends in another country if you don't invest time to get to know the locals. In the end you'll understand them way better.
I was born in Arkansas, and my mother is the child of German immigrants. When I was growing up, my mother was OBSESSED with "fresh air" and creating cross-breezes through the house. When anyone in the home got sick, she would become even more super vigilant about "airing out the house," even if it was freezing cold outside. I never knew this was an influence of her German immigrant parents and grandparents. I just figured it was how everyone's mother did things, and I believed the logic behind it, so I do it, too. I was in my 40's before I learned that it was a German habit (first heard of it from Uyen's YT videos). I've had wonderful giggles with Mom about it since then.
Uyen is really funny! I like that she's so open about her experiences, including the difficulties - made me think again about how relatively easy it was for me when I moved to Germany for the first time as an equally reserved northern European who could already speak German...
I am an American and have lived in the USA my entire life. I agree with the angry German on the tax thing. It is deception to show a price for an item and then throw on the tax at the checkout.
I like to see exactly how much I'm paying in tax. The grocery receipt will also show which items are taxable and which are not. I think every American child had that experience where they were given one or two dollars to buy some candy and they had to put something back when they didn't account for the tax.
It isn't deception. It is a system where proportionately lower wage earners pay more tax than the wealthy. (why conservatives hated Steve Forbes "flat income tax" idea in the 1990s. 7% off the top is way more than they are paying after all of the tax shelters and off-shore account income hiding.
@JCarter276 Exactly, check the receipt, if you're interested. But it shouldn't be up to the consumer to factor tax on top of everything, that's what we have computers and cash registers for. Just include the tax, for crying out loud 🤭
The tax is not up to the seller, it's up to the state and the state is constantly trying to change the sales tax (usually to a higher amount). I wouldn't want to change a price based on what someone else was doing to my bottom line. We have these things called smart phones that can connect to the internet. The internet can likely tell you what the sales tax is wherever you are. A smart phone also has a calculator app to do the math. Would you prefer the VAT? I wouldn't.
@renshiwu305 We all know they are state taxes, but they are updating these taxes in their store regularly, all it takes is to label the post tax price. Taxes don't change that often, at least far less than a store will adjust their sales, etc. To me, it's just a way to overcomplicate things and to further confuse the situation. What can be more easier than knowing what you are paying for upfront? Look at the receipt if you want to know what the tax was.
I'm trying to learn German, and was getting a little frustrated with why i was having to learn terms for hiking, swimming, surfing, and other outdoor activities so early. Now i know why, lol. Thanks Feli!
@frankhooper7871 If there is no traffic we don't wait just because it's a red light. It's interesting we both share the "don't like to waste time", effieciency and being direct attitude but you Germans are way more law-abiding than us.
Meeting germans abroad, that's so true. When we were in Thailand my wife (French) and me spoke french when there where Germans and german when there where French. Simple reason: I can easily meet 80 millions of them when I am back 😄
As someone who has carried an empty water bottle around - for hours! - even though it was really inconvenient 😅 - I totally relate to Liams Video and I couldn’t stop laughing 🤣🤣
A special bonus of Uyen's videos is that she lives in my hometown, Mannheim, so I usually know the places in her videos. Haven't met her in person, yet, though.
Whats almost never beeing said about the "Lüften": europeans have very energy-efficent housing, especially the windows are kind of draught-save (because of the long cold winters). And Lüften, especially in winter, exchanges the warm, moisture-rich air to prevent mold.
As an adult, when I visited Hawaii with my parents and heard other German speakers, I would excuse myself for interrupting, ask if they were Germam, and then introduce my parents to them so they could speak German with each other. My parents kept asking me why I did that, and were very surprised that I was so bold as to go up to perfect strangers and begin a conversation with them. I thought they would enjoy it, but they did not. I like speaking German with strangers who are German.
This happened quiet a few times to me. But I'm the German and "the victim". And it's a super-annoying and emberassing situation: "Here are people, talk with them; And I give you a rule what language to use; start now !". If you are not German, you might love to practize your language skills and just "like speaking". But in your native language, this doesn't sparkle any joy at all. Just because you are able to do something, you have to really do it ? That's a strange idea.
@holger_p I spoke German when I approached the Germans to ask them. Thank you for your explanation. My folks never explained I that way, and now they have both passed away.
@monikatraeger7774 But think about, the Germans enjoy speaking English ;-) They are proud they are able to do it. It's kind of disappointing, if you approach in German. So learning English was a waste of time for them;-) I'm exaggerating, but that's the idea. You don't do them a favour. Finally, if there are 9 Germans and 1 English speaker in the room, all 10 persons are speaking English, just to be polite and to exclude nobody.
German here: my mother was very strict with the difference, I never did it myself but when I visited my daughter in her own house, she showed me her two different towels for hands and dishes and I was like WHAT?? 😄
I remember several years ago I was vacationing at Lake Powell and a bunch of German tourist showed up on the beach I thought it was funny how they all showed up in one big group got over on a Sandstone ledge overlooking the water and immediately started spreading out beach towels in an orderly fashion the best part was one very beautiful German lady decided to put on her swimsuit after she got to the beach that was a nice treat for a 14 year old boy I'm 48 years old now and I still fondly remember that😅
i never could when plenty of others could, i learned it in one night on a birthday using a lighter, kind of roughing up my hand in the process, but i was a bit shitfaced already anyway but i just stood at the bar to serve people for a while giving me a lot of tries on it lol it's all about where you position that leverage of the lighter in a way you don't squeeze your fingrers to shit (rule of thumb: WAY CLOSER to the crown THAN YOU THINK) now i can't even do it on newspapers without abusing the staples a bit, but i know people that can do it on hard folded sheet of a4 paper but at that point it loses its point of being a quick opener if you have to pre-fold shit and it's more about the sport of the skill of it, kind of like tearing up phone books with your bare hands, it's about the technique of layering the shit, but the opposite i can pop them open in a second with a lighter everytime these days i'm not techincally german, rather Dutch (swamp german) lol
I have carried for over 25 years a bottle opener on my key chain. I was given to me by a craft brewer I stopped at in Oregon. Even with the twist offs in the USA, I would rather use an opener.
As a Brit with German and Austrian friends, I love these videos. The towel thing is well known in the UK as both Brits and Germans fight over the sun loungers in Spain! I do admit that from a pessimistic point of view us Brits have a more German attitude that an US one 😂
I remember a British TV ad where a German tourist attempted to place his towel on a lounge, but a Brit, standing on his balcony, threw his towel and therefore was quicker. The towel had the pattern of the Union Jack.😂
As an American, if the person wasn't around, I would just move the towel. From our perspective, claiming something when you aren't there is rude. On a similar note, I was on a bus tour with a friend in Ireland. My friend and I didn't get seats together, so after the first stop,we got back to the bus earlier. We got chewed out by a young British couple (younger than us and we were late 20s) and a random British old lady who didnt even know them for "stealing" their seats. We specifically chose seats that had no bags or jackets. None of the other passengers cared and the driver just hollered for them to sit down so he could drive. Being "polite" internationally is so difficult because what is offensive in one place can be a required behavior elsewhere and vice versa.
@jenniferpearce1052 thats not normal british behavior, its just them being entitled idiots. Which we all have. If we want to claim a seat we'll put something on top of it then leave, like those towels that other person mentioned, if nothings there, then its not normal to just assume thats your seat without putting something on top of it, like your rucksack or something.
I like that more and more hotels and resorts in Spain have "no sunbed reservation" policy. It's usually written everywhere around the pool. And if they see an unattended towel they just simply remove it.
The birthday issue, I found later, after my friends (in California) had a party the week before my birthday. My German friend stared at us incredulously. After a few beers came the sarcastic dark humor which was refreshing.
When I lived in Germany for my Studenten Praktikim exchange, the main thing I learned was how to open a bottle with a lighter. (And not just "get the bottle open" but with a nice impressive POP when it goes off.
I live in a German dominated area of Iowa with my own German Heritage. This makes me feel at home and recognize many of these attributes in myself and my community. Thank you Feli for letting me laugh at myself.
The opening the windows one. I had a friend visit from munich and she found it weird that we never opened the windows at all to let fresh air in. Until you know, she walked outside and reminded herself that She's visiting texas in the summer. It was 110f 43c that day
Yeah, you don't open the windows during a heatwave in Germany either. Most people don't have AC in their homes, so keeping the cool air in is the only way to handle it.😅
One of the things I hated about living on Guam (tropical island) is that we could NEVER open our windows. Our house was built out of concrete (for typhoons and earthquakes) and the air conditioning ran every day of the year. It must have been my German heritage but I felt like I couldn’t breathe there. It was depressing.
Of course not, *bringing in extremely hot air* - are you nuts?!? 🙄 Open the windows when it's at least chill, then close them to *keep the cool air inside* when it's hot. It's not that difficult to comprehend, or are you implicating Germans are all geniuses? 😁 And *you're lost* when the temperature *never goes well below 20 °C* (whatever the “imperial” measure for that may be), which you're forcing onto all others by permanent usage of AC, as in the US. 😒
When I moved from Southern California to Northern Germany, I learned the joy and pleasure of sleeping with open windows in cold weather. I also was introduced to the lack of screens on windows (a topic worth your attention Feli!). I was truly blessed to live in a historical thatched roof house. One evening my cat climbed over the thatched roof and jumped into my bedroom through my open and unscreened window, with a live mouse in its mouth. Which it released and continued to tease while I frantically attempted to catch this poor mouse in my hands as it ran frantically around my bedroom floor. In the end I was successful. I captured the mouse and closed my cat into my bedroom, while I carried the mouse downstairs to our back door and released it into freedom. Part of why this entire episode is so hilarious is that our kitchen and downstairs were infested with mice when we first moved in and I observed no mercy in getting rid of them! My German partner had lived in the US for many years, so she as I, was accustomed to having screens on windows. Therefore she made certain that every essential window had a screen which could be installed during the spring and summer months. Following the episode of my cat and her mouse, I used my window screen year round. My cat learned to gently pat against the screen in order to gain, mouseless entrance to my bedroom year round!
Ich habe die ganze Zeit über so sehr gelacht xD Ich kannte alle Creator zwar schon, aber immer wieder cool zu sehen, wie du die Videos angehst und Dinge erklärst, die für Nicht-Deutsche merkwürdig sind. Sehr, sehr cool
I am an expat from the UK living in Germany now since 1989, and this just made me chuckle so so much, and to be honest I now cannot live without the window open in the bedroom..
German here. I went to a student exchange to Japan during school. They have that listing the price without the tax too and I honestly forgot all the time. I can remember at least 2 times were I stood there not having enough money for the stuff I was planning to buy because I hadn't calculated the tax but only the price for the product I had seen on the price tag. 😅
I am in Moab and have a retail store. One thing I do notice is the Germans that come here tend to be a bit more frugal when compared to the French. They are also more friendly once you gain some common ground. The German mothers are a bit more critical of their children when compared to US mothers, but the "bad" US mothers give their children very mixed signals and the Germans tend to be much more clear. IE, as US mother will tell the kid to "pick out what they want" then criticize or question their decision after telling them to make their own decision, where the German mother might tell them to pick out what they want, but the child already understands the parameters they're expected stay in.
Yes, but the "frugal" has more a meaning of "don't waste money", it's not "buy cheap". Germans themself refer to watch the ratio of price and quality. And people you are educating, you give commands, on adults you would call it an advise. Giving unwanted advise on everybody, is considered inpolite in USA, but ment helpful by a German. Cause giving others education is a free valuable service.
The ER reference at 6.08 refers to the US TV series *ER*. Dr Greene was played by Anthony Edwards, Dr Carter by Noah Wyle. Oh and a young, very dashing paediatrician by the name of Dr Ross was played by George Clooney. 😁😁
God I miss Rolläden! German in the US - all of these are so real. My American spouse now also gets upset at people jaywalking in front of the kids 😂 By the way, lüften isn’t necessary in the US because the houses are made of cardboa… I mean wood, which ventilates enough, whereas German houses are built like bunkers and get stale and moldy if you don’t air them out regularly.
In Spain we do the windows thing too; at which hour we do it will change with the season (the weather). We call it _airear_ The "big houses" guy at 21:51 is giving the male version, in Spanish. The female version is _"¿pero tú te imaginas limpiar todo eso?"_ (can you imagine cleaning all that?) And Uyen is the CUUUUUUTEST
Awesome! I must be more German than American. I'll give a nod but I ain't engaging. Great video as always, Feli! Looking forward to the hang out tomorrow! 🙂
Hi Feli, I love your channel :) I am German and I lived abroad for a year in Vietnam to volunteer after my Abi - so I ADORE Uyens Channel, she is so funny and smart. In the birthday video she is comparing German and Vietnamese Culture, so the "not opening the gift in front of everyone" is a vietnamese thing ;) Also: I also do not like the complaining in German culture, I always love to enjoy the little things and look at the bright side :) All the best from Schleswig-Holstein!
I think the not opening gifts thing is more broader than that, I think it is more like an Asian thing. I know China don't do that either but I never knew it was considered rude and I have been married to one for 10 years.
@utha2665 Turkey, being in the middle has it pretty random. You could open a gift right there or afterwards. There's nothing rude or polite, but I think we tend to open gifts right there, more like the West.
But complaining about everything is our national sport! And it's so much fun with the right audience. That's our way to celebrate and enjoy the "little" things of life! 😜
I loved keeping the bottles and dumping them into the machine every month. I love that they were all over the airport too... perfect last minute returns. I wish we had that system here so people would actually recycle their bottles!
Yes, me as a German can say "This is so Real" many times to these things. They are funny. I know when I am in German I can tell Americans apart from Germans from a mile away, just the way they do things. It is all good. It makes us who we are. :)
09:39 - in Russia, we also ventilate the room this way. The coolest thing is in winter, when it's very hot in the apartment, you open the window and fog begins to fall from the street. It's also nice to stand in front of an open window at this moment and cool off. Also, if there are windows in the apartment in the north and in the south, you can open the windows at both ends and then get powerful ventilation. Especially during a winter snowstorm.
I do have experience hiking with a German but that time as it was in my country in unfamiliar territory she wasn't as rushed but the prepared thing is definitely on point, while we had like a couple of sandwiches when we got to the highest point she shared her snacks and had this big backpack
This video identifies a couple of the most conspicuous shortcomings of life in the US: - Tax added at the cash register is something practically no other country does and it's high time we changed this. - The exorbitant costs for relatively simple medical facility visits. I dont know what the solution to this is because the insurance companies have so much power here.
Add tax at the register because every state has a different rate. Insurance won't come down until: 1. the repeal of Obamacare that drove up prices. 2. Demand the price in writing upfront and search the internet for charity hospital discounts. We got a bone set for just $2000 cash as a charity case. 3. For other surgeries, Google "medical tourist" in the Caribbean, to save about half and get a FREE vacation!
The tax added to the advertised price is there because every state, count and city has their own sales tax, and this is all added up together to produce the total price. Where I grew up, I was in the immediate vicinity of 5 different sales tax rates. Including the sales tax in the advertised price would either mean companies would take a smaller margin in higher sales tax areas (which is why they would lobby this to death, or if forced to accommodate, they would simply raise the prices and pocket all the uncollected sales tax headroom in markets with lower tax rates), or advertising would have to avoid showing any prices at all, because the same advert even on broadcast TV could be received by any number of combinations of jurisdictions. That or the federal government enacts a nation-wide sales tax rate… which we all know isn’t going to happen either.
@puellanivis It sounds like you're being an apologist for the status quo. Whatever the total tax is for the particular jurisdiction should be what is displayed on the shelf for the item. I'm sure that other countries have different taxes for different jurisdictions also.
@puellanivis Companies wouldn't take a smaller margin in higher sales tax areas, what are you basing that on? The cost would still be the same in the end. Do you argue that people would shop less in high tax states just because the could see the effective price?
Michigan has a 10c deposit of bottles and cans. It has been the most successful program in the US since 1976. People regularly still request them as donations for programs. The deposit was started to keep the Great Lakes beaches clean and it’s done a fairly good job. Then again it is a region filled with both Dutch and Deutsch heritage.
Opening the windows was actually encouraged in the US in the 1950s, but that was because Americans then used furnaces to heat their homes, and since it releases cafbon monoxide, which is toxic, they need to exchange it with oxygen.
Watching all these videos I can see where my father's side gets a lot of their idiosyncrasies. While my grandmother was in the US, her parents came from Germany and she grew up around lots of German Immigrants. She always would sleep with the windows open and to her fresh air was important for good health. My father also was the same, and to some extant so am I. The fires that swept Canada in the early part of the year was a big irritant to several of my relatives because they had to keep their windows closed for weeks on end. My mom's family is from Italy, and they are the same when it comes from fresh air. The main difference comes from the reserved attitude my dad's family has when meeting others compared to Italians, and small talk. The comment "I wouldn't want to have to clean those windows" is spot on. When my dad's side visited my new house years ago first thing out of their moth mouth was something like "Those ceilings are high, I wouldn't want to have to clean them." "Those windows so tall, good luck finding drapes for them," and "that loft will be expensive to heat." When my mom's side was, "Oh, I like the high ceiling and loft," or "wow nice big windows."
I don’t know, every time I traveled abroad Germans were the MOST friendly and helpful! I had a German BFF my whole London trip simply because we waited at the same bus stop together. German tourists are the best!
The more and more I see things via your videos Feli, the more I realise that we British are basically Germany's cousin. Claiming the loungers with your towel at 6:00am on holiday, yup; done that. You need a £1 for your shopping trolley. Open that bloody window at night to get the fresh air in, even if its -5C, that's why you have a quilt. Christmas markets, there's one in my city centre right now. Some of our Christmas songs are the same, but just in different languages like O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree). Well, it makes sense I guess, we are both technically Germanic language speakers and Germanic 'people' 🤔
@mayatabachnikoff7999 More or less, yeah. I actually just recently found out I have great-grandparents from my mam's side of the family who were from Germany
And now, you tommys have a German National Coach 😅 but, in real germans Love England, WE have the same culture, blood and History and my grandpa Topf me, they have respect for the british Soldier in Fights, they was always Gentleman and really good soldiers and he know what He talking about. He fight under Rommel in Africa.
2013 war ich mal mit meiner Familie in Thailand über Weihnachten und Silvester. Wir waren auf 2 verschiedenen Inseln und sind übers Festland gereist. Irgendwann sind wir dann über einen Markt geschlendert und ich war dann mal kurz alleine und hab mich umgeschaut. Dann kam ein älterer, europäsch-aussehender Mann auf mich zu und hat mich auf englisch gefragt, ob ich 'autan' gegen die Moskitos nutzen würde. Ich hab ihm dann gesagt, dass ich noch nicht so gut englisch sprechen kann und er dann "na dann können wir uns ja auch direkt auf deutsch unterhalten! Benutz' lieber Citronella-Öl, das hält die Viecher fern" Kann diesen Moment nicht vergessen😂
13:15 reminds me of my next door neighbour. We were waiting at the crosswalk with her kids (they were 3 and 5 at the time) and some bloke next to us crossed the street while it was still red. She screamed "Be a role model for f*ck's sake! You're supposed to f*cking wait for the f*cking light to go f*cking green... A**hole!" I was too scared to point out the irony in her role model argument at that moment. There's also a meme in German that I've seen plenty of times: "I was jaywalking in front of some children. Of course - being a good role model - I let myself get run over by a car." 😅 Well, as they say "Rotgänger - Totgänger!" (red walker - dead walker)
Feli, watching your vidios reminds me of my time in Germany (4 years). There was a bit of culture shock, but I quickly adapted to the change. As a soldier I lived in a small community close to base. I found the culture and all my neighbors in town wonderful. So thank you for reminding me of such a wonderful time in my life.
My husband and I want to emigrate to northern Germany when our children graduate and I watch all of these people's reels to help me and my husband with the minor things that can add to culture shock. I have learned how many things I had in my childhood that were very German things (my family is German and Norwegian, primarily) but my husband thinks these are weird. I am happy to know that, while a lot if this is parody, much of it is based on fact. Jordan is probably my favorite to watch, but I do watch a lot of these people on a regular basis. Thanks for clarifying the truth in these because I do rely on a lot of channels to help me assimilate to German culture before my husband and I emigrate in about a decade.
Where in Northern Germany do you live. I am a german from Schleswig-Holstein, the true north. Welcome up here. One thing... every german state is different and a lot of stereotypes of germany are based on our Texas, err Bavaria 😂
@wandilismus8726 lol well Texas is definitely not representative of the US, that's for sure lol I currently live in Minnesota, land of German and Norwegian and Irish immigrants in addition to the Sioux Natives. My husband and I actually wanted to move to Denmark initially but the process for foreigners to own property and the language and a few other barriers are why we decided on Germany instead. We played around with a few other ideas but Denmark and Germany were really where our hearts, political views, and ancestry lie. We aren't 100% decided on where exactly, but from my research and desire to be in a decent latitude similar to what we have now, Flensburg is the largest city near where I want to be, but anywhere north of Hamburg seems fine. We wish to potentially own a house with a small bit of land so we can have 2 dogs. We know that it will be pricey and maybe not feasible, but it is the goal. My youngest also is looking to attend ballet school in Germany or France, but she isn't settled exactly (she is 12).
@daniellarkins3849 I actually stated that in the previous reply in this thread. Our hearts, political views, and ancestry are why we want to go to Germany. We feel a pull toward it. While some of the way things work culturally are still traditional (like markets being closed on Sunday, though the reason behind it isn't as necessary anymore), we find their government infrastructure to be much more progressive like we are. Times change and we change them so we should have the infrastructure of rules, regulations, laws, and public resources change with the times. I realize these things take time, but the political stress there isn't as toxic as it is in the US. Yet it is also similar enough to the US in terms of freedom and economic structure. The quality of life seems to be, overall, much better as well, despite the fact that it is significantly smaller in land mass. I realize there will be things I'll miss about the US and even more that I haven't realized I will miss. However, the more research I do about Germany vs US, the pros column continues to grow at a faster rate than that of my cons list.
Ashley before you do that, I have a few very important tips for you. You and your husband should save some money (even before moving here) and visit the most parts of Germany. I know it costs a lot of money, but you should invest the time and visit several parts of the country. I would suggest one month or at least two weeks, just to experience the country as a whole, before you make the final decision to which part of Germany you are moving to. And you should Not just visit the northern part of Germany. Because even though we are one country, The people and mentality is 100% different depending on what part of Germany you are in. So in order to not moving to a part of Germany where you and your family will feel unhappy you should better know a few things about Germany: The people in Northern Germany are known (even by German standards) to be sometimes extremely quite, introverted and NOT talkative. In other words it is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary for two North Germans to sit next to each other, watch television together, not say a single word for 9 hours (!!!) And then say Tschüss "Bye" and just go home. And This would be regarded as your best friend... Yes they are that introverted sometimes. They are not unfriendly. It's just their mentality. The states of Schleswig-Holstein, and the Northern parts of the state of Niedersachen (especially on the coast) can be like that. Of course in the major cities it's not that extreme. But in small villages, yepp. They are really that introverted and quite. So it will take a very long time to get warm with them. If your are not used to it, you need to be prepared. Hamburg and Bremen are also North Germany. But they are much much more open. But rent there is very high. But they're cool and friendly cities. Albeit with the typical Major cities problem like Protesters, Some homeless people (but nothing compared to the US) and a higher crime rate (but still nothing compared to crime rates in the US) For all parts of North Germany one thing applies: *It's only raining twice a week there* First it rains from Monday to Friday. Then it rains Saturday and Sunday...😂 There is a reason North Germany is almost as green as Ireland. Because it's more or less also raining as much as in Ireland 😂😂 And yes they do have sunshine. Sometimes it doesn't rain for a 2 weeks during the summer. But then it's another 6 weeks of nonstop rain... So if you don't like rain, you have a problem. Then there is Nordrhein-Westfalen short NRW. Where Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf an other major cities are located. More Specifically the Ruhrgebiet area. If you like Soccer, it's *THE* region for you. Basically every major cities has their own large soccer club with millions of fans. But don't go with your fan outfit into another town of another soccer club alone. That Is just asking for trouble. The people there are open and honest. But unemployment is higher in that metropolitan area. And most Germans call the whole are *our German Detroit* 😂 It's of course not as bad as Detroit. But there are areas there where it is more or less similar. (Albeit still without gun violence and school shootings) If you stay in the area where everything is normal, you can live quite comfortably there. Or you just avoid the Major cities in Nordrhein Westfalen and move to a smaller village or a smaller town. It's perfectly safe there. Just the manor cities are sometimes a problem. Then there is the Eifel, it's an area in the Southwestern part of Nordrhein Westfalen and Northwestern part of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It's one of the most beautiful area we have in Germany. Just wonderful forests, lakes and some mountains. The whole area was formed by anchient volcanoes millions of years ago, so it's perfect for hiking, camping and exploring nature. And it's also the area where >90% of the german wine is made. So if you like wine, hiking and camping and lakes. That area is the best spot. But that's more or less all there is. So it's quite boring in case you don't like that. Then we have the state of Baden Württemberg. Baden Württemberg is known for always following the rules and saving money whenever they can. Not everyone, but most people are literally like Scrooge McDuck. If they can save 8 cent by collecting rain water to water their plants they will absolutely do it. And if you don't clean the staircase in your apartment building (even though your contract for the apartment says you are supposed to) Or you are mowing your grass even though it is prohibited that hour of the day: Trust me your neighbor will report you to your landlord 😂 They take their rules very seriously. But besides that, they are very helpful and warm people. It also has a lot to offer for hiking, camping and exploring. The southern part of that state has the western part of the Alps, so there is more then enough to start hiking and go skiing during the winter. And the Bodensee (Lake Constance) is also a beautiful holiday destination. Education level and level of income are very high. Standards of living are also high. And now the state of Bayern. (Bavaria) The state which is what most people think all of Germany is. Beer, pretzels, Oktoberfest and lederhosen (leather pants) That outfit is only worn during special festivals and in some restaurants. During the festival season you will definitely see a lot of people wearing it (since absolutely everybody has that outfit, because it's a tradition in Bavaria) But when there is no festival, you would see absolutely nobody wearing it, maybe some employees in some restaurants, but that's it. Everyone is wearing normal clothing. But beer and pretzels: Yeah, that's part of the culture there. Beer is part of the lifestyle in Bavaria. But be careful even though the northern and Southern Part of that state are officially called Bavaria. They are not both Bavaria. Well Just on paper. The southern part is indeed the true Bavaria. Munich is Bayern (Bavaria). More Specifically it's the district of oberbayern --> Upper Bavaria (That is where Feli is from) While people in the Nuremberg area regard themselves as Franken (Frankonians) and Nuremberg is located in the district of Mittelfranken (Central Frankonia). So the language as well as the traditions, festivals and food are different from the southern part of the same state. And all parts of Bavaria are proud of their regional traditions even within the same state which has the official Name Freistaat Bayern (Free State Bavaria) But Saying to someone from Nuremberg he is a bavarian is taken as an insult. It's like saying to someone in San Francisco he is absolutely like someone from San Bernardino ...😂😂 But it's more or less a love-hate relationship between this two parts of the same state. Besides beer, soccer, Festivals and pretzels.There is a lot of scenic landscape to explore. Their are thousands of hiking trails and large forests across the whole state. And just like the neighboring state of Baden Württemberg. Bayern also has the Alps as their southern border and they have also access the Lake Constance. So each winter all of Germany follows the annual "tradition" to visit the Alps and try to learn skiing. So if you want to do that, you need to book your hotel in advance if your are not from the area or if the drive is too long for a one day trip. Or take public transport towards the Alps. Because during winter time basically everyone is in Baden Württemberg or Bayern for skiing, since both states border the Alps. Bavaria is basically our German Texas: The 15 other states most of the time hate Bavaria, Bavaria also hates the 15 other states most of the time and threatens to declare independence at least once a year. But in the end they always stay. Most of the time they just want something to be done the way they would do it, but the 15 other states refuse. Then they remind the federal government that Bavaria pays the most taxes to the federal government and they can just freeze the money or decleare independence from Germany if they don't get their way. Sometimes they get their way or it's a compromise. But in the end they always stay, like the last few hundred years... And the most important part. *Bavaria is conservative* It was always conservative and will always be conservative. Only they major metropolitan areas and cities have more left leaning politicians due to the high number of students there. But the state in itself is deeply conservative. The conservatives there are ruling for 50 years and they will also rule in another 50 years. And nobody is going to change that. But remember:. Conservative/right leaning in Germany Is *NOT* the same as in the US. Conservative is Germany is most of the time like Beeing a Democrat in the US. (That's how far right the Republicans have drifted) So you need to compare what German conservative parties say and what the US politicians would say to form an opinion. And thr mentality in Bavaria is: First: Bavaria Second: Bavaria Third: Bavaria Fourth: Germany Fifth: European Union. Education level and level of income is very high in Bavaria. But the same is also true for the standards of living. They are also very high there. So public transport and public safety is more or less everywhere operational and the police is always available and you can send your children to School alone. But they are always honest and helpful people. But they are 100% proud of their state and they won't allow anyone to tell them otherwise. Which is also the reason why they think they know everything best. And that Germany should be run exactly like the state of Bavaria. (Which the 15 other states of course don't want) You know their is a German way to do it and there is a bavarian way to do it. And in Bavaria it's always done the bavarian way.... (So yeah, definitely our German Texas...) But besides that, it's a beautiful state.
As a German myself I absolutely HATE meeting other Germans abroad. Every time I‘m on holiday in a foreign country and I hear other people speak German I immediately start to speak English fluently and avoid them at all costs. I do not need to be near the people I usually see or hear everyday at home.😂
My mom used to drive me crazy. We were standing at a German bus stop on a cold windy day. There was a teenager wearing her coat wrapped around her waist and shivering. My mother yelled at her if you put your coat on you wouldn't be cold stupid. We were so embarrassed.
As a token Brit (born & raised in UK) from a German mother I had plenty to learn from her parents when I went for extended stays with them - particularly from my grandmother (Oma). Just one example: if you closed an *internal* door, she would immediately claim it was 'stuffy'; if you left it open, she would immediately claim there was a draft. Usw, usw.........
Als ich gerade den Part mit dem lüften gesehen habe musste ich erstmal all meine Fenster auf machen weil ich heute noch nicht gelüftet habe. 😂😂😂😂 Danke für deine tollen Videos. ❤️❤️
I just found your channel and I am enjoying myself immensely. I'm married to a German and lived in Munich for 8 years. So much of this is spot on! I've shared this one with my kids who have grown up around the world.
Putting towels on to "reserve" a pool bed/seat in holidays is so real. I like to be the other very German guy who then goes to the front desk asking if it is proper house etiquette to allocate pool beds with a towel for the whole day. Usually they say that it is not and is is not allowed to do so. Then I ask, well, I would appreciate if you would look around for abandoned pool seats with towels on them while breakfast. Most of the time they go around, collect all towels and put them in a booth or storage so the owners can retrieve them when asking and at that moment they get told that they can't allocate in advance only when they are about to use them. Typically that behavior lasts two days, at max three and the rest of the vacation time there are always free spot to take at the pool. Unless.... there is a new bunch of German tourists swarming in the nest week and it happens again and I need to talk to the front desk again...
THAT is so me. Most of the time, though, I am just the third type, who just gives them a condescending sneer and then talks behind their backs with my British wife.
15:43 the kitchen organization, not wanting to waste paper or plastic is just eco-friendly, less wasteful, easier on your pocket, my family does this and so will I (I'm Indian).
Feli, the one about the towels was so familiar. I have 3 towels in my kitchen never knew why. Discovered it's my inner German coming out. My heritage is SW Germany, Darmstadt. My family immigrated in the 1860's
I’m Australian and have only British ethnicity. But after watching this, Germans seem like my type of people. So many of these things are relatable for me! I’m less into small talk, and prefer deep conversations, too.
OK the irony of “I wouldn’t want to pay that electricity bill“ combined with opening the windows multiple times a day 🤦🏻♀️ I just will never understand
There's a whole science behind Stoßlüften to make it very energy efficient. 😅 The key is to not have your window cracked for long periods of time but open them for about 5 minutes at a time. Compared to most American homes, German homes are better insulated and more energy efficient in general though. Plus, we don't have any air vents so at some point you need to let in some fresh air.
Okay, a bit science: CO2 contains 3 atomes, it needs more energy too warm it up. O2 contains 2 atomes, whitch means, it warm up with lees energy. So to air out will help reducing the energy costs an reduces humidity and mould. In other states the walls are often not that good insulated like in germany.
Yeah, what Feli said. Part of the science is that most of the heat isn't stored in the air itself, but in the walls and in the furniture. If you only quickly exchange the air (all windows wide open for a couple of minutes), the walls & furniture will quickly heat up the room/flat again and you won't lose much energy. If you keep the window open for longer, you're slowly draining away the heat out of your house/flat while your heating is working overtime to essentially heat the outside.
@pj-schmid Oh yeah that's true but most people who sleep with the windows open will turn the heat off too overnight. Otherwise, yes, that would be a huge waste of energy.
I always used to consider air conditioning a modern way to keep a home cool during hot summers, but after visiting Munich in 2000 I realized that general air circulation was an important feature as well. While shopping and dining in Munich the air inside the buildings was very still and stale even though the outside temperature was comfortably in the low 70's. I can absolutely see how someone in Germany would want to "air out" their homes during the day. Loved Munich!
Since you ask - as a Danish I recognize the towels. I have had more than one incident where a German family had occupied a whole section of the beach with their towels and was very annoyed when they returned after hours and saw that we had rolled them up and arranged them like a pile of firewood while we used "their" sunchairs and "remember - we are not occupied by Germany anymore on a paper on top". 😂😂
Along the Dutch coast we're well familiar with German tourist digging holes in the beach thinking they claimed that spot for the entire season. Still not as bad as the English. They plant a flag everywhere they go and expect that piece of the world to be theirs forever. 😂
At a Croatian campsite they even had large signs with beach rules of which most were about that topic. They even included, that everything will be removed. But I don't think they really did that (all the time) because there were lots of towels around.
![German Reacts to German (?) Scenes in Hollywood Movies! [Part 2] | Feli from Germany](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AoOz6UT-Ex4/mqdefault.jpg)
![German Reacts to German (?) Scenes in Hollywood Movies! [Part 2] | Feli from Germany](/img/tr.png)
Did anyone count how many times I said "THIS IS SO REAL"?? 😂🫠💀
👉Go to buyraycon.com/felifromgermany to get up to 50% off sitewide for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Brought to you by Raycon.
Yet patients with severe chronic pain cannot get treatment anymore.
I was on prescription American fentanyl for over 12 years, now because of the criminals overdosing on illegal drugs I cannot get any real pain management.
The opioid crisis isn't because of doctors or medical prescriptions. It is because of the open border and addicts and illegal drug users committing crimes to get illegal drugs and overdose.
Need to do Craig Ferguson
LOLOLOLOLLL...
American Aldi stores, sama club, and similar stores have the same carts that require a quarter to use and then you get the quarter back when you return it.
Sure, you did seem to be on a bit of a chillout, which eas awesome!! Loved this video for its REAL vibe!! Uyen & Liam's vids seemed to be the most fun 😂😂😂 Keep 'em coming! 🍻
Uyen Ninh is absolutely adorable!! Had she not met her German boyfriend, she might have gone on to be the Lucille Ball of Vietnam. Her comic timing, chops and physicality are reminiscent of Lucy's three sitcoms.
He is german fiancee 😄
@thorstensyring4756, yes. It just recently became official though they have yet to set the date and time. No doubt he'll be worrying about what the astrologer may choose!!😄
fr
imagine she meets liam carps
A fiancee is not a boyfriend?
We had German exchange students in the US that could not get over the lack of emojis we used while texting. It always felt over the top when they texted back, but they were so nervous that their tone would come across as angry or upset if they didn’t include enough 😂😂😂😊😊🎉
Yes I've talked about this before too and I had to drastically adjust my texting style when I first moved here 😅
I can really relate to that because im so dry and introverted that even when im texting with other germans i use to put in tons of emojis so they dont think i hate them. 😅
It's so funny coming from a country stereotyped as being cold and unfeeling. As an American, I've noticed we tend to use text like lol or slang to signify when we're being casual and non aggressive. Sometimes I'll put a :) cuz I feel like a 🙂 is less genuine for some reason
Oh I hate it. I am German and I just can't get used to people texting with emojis. In comments here on yt isn't a totally different thing. You can express your emotions much better with these.
But a common every day text message doesn't need those!! I mean, hello?? What for? The people know you, so if they wanna read any kind of emotion into your text...that is their business.
I had to learn to separate that, I admit. But text is text. If you think someone is angry, go ahead and ask them. If you just assume something, the following drama is on you.
Anyone who uses emoji in their message is immidiately less genuine to me. Maybe one normal emoticon like :). But don't spam those yellow shits at me. And then my american relatives spam the group full of gifs. Just say "Happy birthday" normal. Don't shove an image, that you didn't even make, into the chat. It's obtrusive.
I remember visiting a friend in Denmark in March and we went to the beach for a walk. We were all bundled up in warm jackets, but up in the dunes above the beach were a group of naked people laying out there. My friend said "they are German. No one else would be that crazy."
🤣🤣🤣👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
The meaning of “nudism”
FKK stands for “free body culture”, a movement that originated in Germany.
Nowadays, nudism is often used as a synonym for skinny dipping or being naked in public.
Many people value naturism as a way to free themselves from the constraints of clothing and experience a carefree feeling of closeness to nature.
Finnish people dig holes in frozen lake ice and jump into them.
@tammyblack2747 I am weak ... lol
Imagine to experience this in a big City!?
Uyen is awesome. and her relationship with her fiance is just so cute
Liam's "toast is not bread" you-tube short is freaking hilarious. I lost track of how many times i watched it.😂
Very true. Also, the follow-up short where he forgot to hand in the "Pfandbon" to get his deposit back at the checkout 🤣
There.is a Calvin and Habs short where they are watching the Great German Bake off - and every week is bread week.
I agree with both, hilarious skit and toast is no bread
Luv him too
I lived in Germany for 18 months in the early 90s, and many of these topics are familiar to me. But the one that's seared in my brain is the German obsession with lüften. My apartment lease required me to perform "eine sachgemäße Be- und Entlüftung" on a regular basis. My German boyfriend insisted on sleeping with the windows wide open -- in February! And then he wondered why I didn't sleep naked. Apparently, he couldn't feel that the temperature in his apartment was something like 2° C. Today, when a German friend of mine visits the U.S., he's thrilled to find a hotel with windows that open so he can "stoßlüften." Frische Luft is truly a German obsession.
Wir sind nicht aus Zucker😊
I'm not German but I just don't understand how people who don't open the windows get fresh air. Air conditioning doesn't introduce new oxygen, right? 🤔
@ElkeSiegburg Ja, aber für sowas gibt's Heizung.
As everything german, the obsession with air and gases started in ze wars.
I'm from the US, and I completely agree with Germany on this one!
2 C is only 35.6 F - I won't close my bedroom window until it's around 5 F (-15 C) - and that's with no pajamas, and only a sheet and a thick blanket as a cover. Once I'm forced to close the window, I will run a fan so the air doesn't feel stagnant.
I do not however agree with them on not using air-conditioners in the summer - as someone who detests the heat - air-conditioning is he best invention ever!
My favourite is when Uyen finds out she's germanised like when she stand up to leave a party slapping her legs 😂
Lol we do this in Poland as well. I read Brits do this as well.
@InessaMaximovathat’s so funny! Yes we do in Britain, we always say “right!” And slap our legs and get up 😂
Yes we brits slap our legs, say right!, and then stay another half an hour 😅😅
@emmaplover We Germans say "So!" slap our legs and get up 😂
My dad's family came to the U.S. from Germany around 1910 and my Grandma would always tell me that it was good for my health to sleep with the window open. 😊 I didn't realize that was advice from Germany.
And today? Do you still sleep with the window open? ;)
Uyen and Liam are simply brilliant :)
They are my faves! ❤❤
Kind of funny, that they both live in Baden-Württemberg. We are blessed, for real. 😅
@Eragon2679I sense a crossover.
@vastro921 that would be great! British, german, and vietnamese cultures would make for quite an interesting mash up. 😄
I love Calvinandhabs! Their "round sunglasses " skits are HILARIOUS! 'Ah, Doktor Jones...' 😅
When I did my Erasmus in the UK, while everyone else would flock to their "national groups" the Germans were the only ones who flocked everywhere BUT to each other 😅
We flocked together in foreign countries almost nine decades ago. I didn't end well, so we decided to try a different approach. 😉
This is so true. Though I always only experienced it in Germany while living in international dorms .😂
I lived in Sapporo for a year and very surprisingly I was the only German exchange student. People kept asking me whether I wasn’t sad to not be able to speak any German. 🤷♀️Why would I 😅?
But although I am a stereotypical grumpy and non-talkative Berliner I would not hide from other Germans. The thought process behind that and the complaining about ‚how dare other Germans are around‘ always bothered me. If they don’t have the right to be in that particular place then neither do you, hun! 🤨
Went to Cardiff's in Wales. Made friends with the other Germans but also the French girl and the Swiss girl. Tried to make some local friends but it was COVID times and it was haaaard! Ended up making a Scottish and an English friend though.
Americans "flock" in foreign countries till these days. You, Germans, at least learnt from your own mistakes - unlike other nations. And anyway, if my great-grand father murdered someone, should I feel guilty? By the same logic I should be extremely proud of my other great-grand fathers who gave the world very many scientific, medical, and technical inventions. These inventions saved far more lives than had ever been taken by German hands. What about that?? And I still haven't mentioned cultural feats! By no means do I want to downplay the past tragedies but do you realize that many other nations were also possessed by evil spirits back then? Take Japan, just one example, the most prominent one. And so, it's time to move on and grow some balls, don't you think? Unless, of course, you're serious about the suicide that you've been committing as a nation over the last few years. It's painful to watch. Like, to be an ethnic German woman in Germany is no win - even when you're 60 you can get raped. Or a 15-year old gang-raped by 9(!) foreigners from 6 different countries, 8 of which got away with suspended sentence, none of them was deported (WHAT is wrong with you and your justice system??!!). The raped girl is mentally done for life - she might never heal. There are 2 rape cases a week in Germany, disproportionally high committed by foreigners. That is a FACT. These are no single cases as many German politicians try to sugarcoat it. Or stabbing people who were dozing off on a local afternoon train, coming home from work and school. Shouting "God is great" could not be missing. Of course not. Tragic. These criminals feel your inner guilt and they understand your tolerance as weakness. If you don't get your sh*t together soon, dear Germans, then it'll be a little too late. You'll be subdued to the newcomers and your children will be their servants. Things like that have happened many times over in the course of history. Haven't you paid attention in your history classes? Doesn't matter we split atoms, walk on the Moon and use smartphones - human nature is still the same.
Armin the Cherusker is turning in his grave. @marcromain64
I mean, where is the point in making friends in another country if you don't invest time to get to know the locals. In the end you'll understand them way better.
I was born in Arkansas, and my mother is the child of German immigrants. When I was growing up, my mother was OBSESSED with "fresh air" and creating cross-breezes through the house. When anyone in the home got sick, she would become even more super vigilant about "airing out the house," even if it was freezing cold outside. I never knew this was an influence of her German immigrant parents and grandparents. I just figured it was how everyone's mother did things, and I believed the logic behind it, so I do it, too. I was in my 40's before I learned that it was a German habit (first heard of it from Uyen's YT videos). I've had wonderful giggles with Mom about it since then.
Uyen is really funny! I like that she's so open about her experiences, including the difficulties - made me think again about how relatively easy it was for me when I moved to Germany for the first time as an equally reserved northern European who could already speak German...
Uyen is the peak of internet! She is so funny and cute!
I am an American and have lived in the USA my entire life. I agree with the angry German on the tax thing. It is deception to show a price for an item and then throw on the tax at the checkout.
I like to see exactly how much I'm paying in tax. The grocery receipt will also show which items are taxable and which are not. I think every American child had that experience where they were given one or two dollars to buy some candy and they had to put something back when they didn't account for the tax.
It isn't deception. It is a system where proportionately lower wage earners pay more tax than the wealthy. (why conservatives hated Steve Forbes "flat income tax" idea in the 1990s. 7% off the top is way more than they are paying after all of the tax shelters and off-shore account income hiding.
@JCarter276 Exactly, check the receipt, if you're interested. But it shouldn't be up to the consumer to factor tax on top of everything, that's what we have computers and cash registers for. Just include the tax, for crying out loud 🤭
The tax is not up to the seller, it's up to the state and the state is constantly trying to change the sales tax (usually to a higher amount). I wouldn't want to change a price based on what someone else was doing to my bottom line. We have these things called smart phones that can connect to the internet. The internet can likely tell you what the sales tax is wherever you are. A smart phone also has a calculator app to do the math. Would you prefer the VAT? I wouldn't.
@renshiwu305 We all know they are state taxes, but they are updating these taxes in their store regularly, all it takes is to label the post tax price. Taxes don't change that often, at least far less than a store will adjust their sales, etc. To me, it's just a way to overcomplicate things and to further confuse the situation. What can be more easier than knowing what you are paying for upfront? Look at the receipt if you want to know what the tax was.
I'm trying to learn German, and was getting a little frustrated with why i was having to learn terms for hiking, swimming, surfing, and other outdoor activities so early. Now i know why, lol. Thanks Feli!
I'm from the Netherlands and we have a lot of similarities with Germans. love these tiktoks and your videos.
I've never seen a Nederlander pay any attention to a red pedestrian light though
@frankhooper7871 If there is no traffic we don't wait just because it's a red light. It's interesting we both share the "don't like to waste time", effieciency and being direct attitude but you Germans are way more law-abiding than us.
I am from Denmark, and we have smiliar things like that
same with Swedes
I came to America as a kid a long time ago and it is very difficult to deal with warm weather and everybody breaking the law all the time.
Meeting germans abroad, that's so true. When we were in Thailand my wife (French) and me spoke french when there where Germans and german when there where French. Simple reason: I can easily meet 80 millions of them when I am back 😄
Even my 88 year old mother can't sleep unless we have the windows open a crack. And it has to be cold too, keeps you healthy.
As someone who has carried an empty water bottle around - for hours! - even though it was really inconvenient 😅 - I totally relate to Liams Video and I couldn’t stop laughing 🤣🤣
Uyen is one of my favorites!! So happily you reacted to them!! This especially so, because she’s Asian!! We relate a lot!!!
A special bonus of Uyen's videos is that she lives in my hometown, Mannheim, so I usually know the places in her videos. Haven't met her in person, yet, though.
I was super excited to see Feli react to her videos!
🎉Uyen is my favorite to
Wait Germany relate to Asian rlly?
Whats almost never beeing said about the "Lüften": europeans have very energy-efficent housing, especially the windows are kind of draught-save (because of the long cold winters).
And Lüften, especially in winter, exchanges the warm, moisture-rich air to prevent mold.
Actually with the higher heating in American homes, the air is often too dry and people will use a humidifier.
As an adult, when I visited Hawaii with my parents and heard other German speakers, I would excuse myself for interrupting, ask if they were Germam, and then introduce my parents to them so they could speak German with each other. My parents kept asking me why I did that, and were very surprised that I was so bold as to go up to perfect strangers and begin a conversation with them. I thought they would enjoy it, but they did not. I like speaking German with strangers who are German.
This happened quiet a few times to me. But I'm the German and "the victim". And it's a super-annoying and emberassing situation: "Here are people, talk with them; And I give you a rule what language to use; start now !".
If you are not German, you might love to practize your language skills and just "like speaking". But in your native language, this doesn't sparkle any joy at all.
Just because you are able to do something, you have to really do it ? That's a strange idea.
@holger_p I spoke German when I approached the Germans to ask them.
Thank you for your explanation. My folks never explained I that way, and now they have both passed away.
@monikatraeger7774 But think about, the Germans enjoy speaking English ;-) They are proud they are able to do it. It's kind of disappointing, if you approach in German. So learning English was a waste of time for them;-) I'm exaggerating, but that's the idea.
You don't do them a favour.
Finally, if there are 9 Germans and 1 English speaker in the room, all 10 persons are speaking English, just to be polite and to exclude nobody.
@holger_p Thank you for your kind explanations. I really appreciate it.😊
Oregon has no sales tax. Price as marked
Argentina: the price you see is the price you pay.
We call it “final price” or final consumers price.
In most countries it's the "RRP" recommended retail price, this "add tax" shenanigans is definitely a American peculiarity
like.... EVERYWHERE, BUT the USA.
19:15 I can open a beer bottle with a Dollar bill, We Dominicans are born with master degrees in opening bottles.
Dr Greene - Anthony Edwards
Dr Carter - Noah Wyle
I’m American. I 100% have two towels in my kitchen at all times. Drying dishes with the same towel you use to dry your hands is so unsanitary.
I have two as well but our Everything Else Towel would be the paper towels or if it’s only to dry a clean counter, the hand towel.
Why? You should only be drying either clean dishes or hands.
German here: my mother was very strict with the difference, I never did it myself but when I visited my daughter in her own house, she showed me her two different towels for hands and dishes and I was like WHAT?? 😄
I don't get it, aren't your hands clean when you dry them? And then you grab the clean dishes to your hands.
@yadiracamacho499 In my house it’s also because the dish towel gets really wet and is a different type of towel than the ones we use for hands
Calvin is from Austria and Habs is from Germany. They live 10 years in USA if I'm not wrong.
I remember several years ago I was vacationing at Lake Powell and a bunch of German tourist showed up on the beach I thought it was funny how they all showed up in one big group got over on a Sandstone ledge overlooking the water and immediately started spreading out beach towels in an orderly fashion the best part was one very beautiful German lady decided to put on her swimsuit after she got to the beach that was a nice treat for a 14 year old boy I'm 48 years old now and I still fondly remember that😅
A German joke is no laughing matter.
I can't open any bottle without an opener even if my life depended on it. You're not alone, Feli. 😂
Me neither. If there's no opener I'll always need help.
I never tried, because why would I when I have an opener. So *maybe* I could manage, but IDK.
i never could when plenty of others could, i learned it in one night on a birthday using a lighter, kind of roughing up my hand in the process, but i was a bit shitfaced already anyway
but i just stood at the bar to serve people for a while giving me a lot of tries on it lol
it's all about where you position that leverage of the lighter in a way you don't squeeze your fingrers to shit
(rule of thumb: WAY CLOSER to the crown THAN YOU THINK)
now i can't even do it on newspapers without abusing the staples a bit,
but i know people that can do it on hard folded sheet of a4 paper
but at that point it loses its point of being a quick opener if you have to pre-fold shit and it's more about the sport of the skill of it, kind of like tearing up phone books with your bare hands, it's about the technique of layering the shit, but the opposite
i can pop them open in a second with a lighter everytime these days
i'm not techincally german, rather Dutch (swamp german) lol
I have carried for over 25 years a bottle opener on my key chain. I was given to me by a craft brewer I stopped at in Oregon. Even with the twist offs in the USA, I would rather use an opener.
If it’s a twist off cap it’s not beer!
17:47 ich hab nen Plastikchip von Obi
As a Brit with German and Austrian friends, I love these videos. The towel thing is well known in the UK as both Brits and Germans fight over the sun loungers in Spain! I do admit that from a pessimistic point of view us Brits have a more German attitude that an US one 😂
Very true. The goofy optimism of Americans contrasts sharply with the bleak pessimism and gallows humour of Brits. Ours is not a 'can do' culture.
I remember a British TV ad where a German tourist attempted to place his towel on a lounge, but a Brit, standing on his balcony, threw his towel and therefore was quicker. The towel had the pattern of the Union Jack.😂
As an American, if the person wasn't around, I would just move the towel. From our perspective, claiming something when you aren't there is rude. On a similar note, I was on a bus tour with a friend in Ireland. My friend and I didn't get seats together, so after the first stop,we got back to the bus earlier. We got chewed out by a young British couple (younger than us and we were late 20s) and a random British old lady who didnt even know them for "stealing" their seats. We specifically chose seats that had no bags or jackets. None of the other passengers cared and the driver just hollered for them to sit down so he could drive. Being "polite" internationally is so difficult because what is offensive in one place can be a required behavior elsewhere and vice versa.
@jenniferpearce1052 thats not normal british behavior, its just them being entitled idiots. Which we all have. If we want to claim a seat we'll put something on top of it then leave, like those towels that other person mentioned, if nothings there, then its not normal to just assume thats your seat without putting something on top of it, like your rucksack or something.
I like that more and more hotels and resorts in Spain have "no sunbed reservation" policy. It's usually written everywhere around the pool. And if they see an unattended towel they just simply remove it.
The birthday issue, I found later, after my friends (in California) had a party the week before my birthday. My German friend stared at us incredulously. After a few beers came the sarcastic dark humor which was refreshing.
I'm British . I go abroad to meet locals, not Brits. But it is nice to share experiences with Brits if l do bump into them. But this is rare.
23:50 doch
22:20: the relaxed face of a German is only perceived as grumpy face in cultures where a distorted permanent grin is the standard.
👍👍
exactly.
As a dude with a resting bitch face I feel this so hard 🤣
But the worst is when you meet another resting bitch face cuz I don't know if I pissed them or what 😱
We're fucked front and back 😢
When I lived in Germany for my Studenten Praktikim exchange, the main thing I learned was how to open a bottle with a lighter. (And not just "get the bottle open" but with a nice impressive POP when it goes off.
I live in a German dominated area of Iowa with my own German Heritage. This makes me feel at home and recognize many of these attributes in myself and my community. Thank you Feli for letting me laugh at myself.
Ein Handtuch für die Hände, eines für das Geschirr bin ich voll dabei. Aber ich habe noch nie eine Liege mit einem Handtuch reserviert.
The opening the windows one.
I had a friend visit from munich and she found it weird that we never opened the windows at all to let fresh air in. Until you know, she walked outside and reminded herself that She's visiting texas in the summer. It was 110f 43c that day
Yeah, you don't open the windows during a heatwave in Germany either. Most people don't have AC in their homes, so keeping the cool air in is the only way to handle it.😅
Oh, is that all?! 😂
One of the things I hated about living on Guam (tropical island) is that we could NEVER open our windows. Our house was built out of concrete (for typhoons and earthquakes) and the air conditioning ran every day of the year. It must have been my German heritage but I felt like I couldn’t breathe there. It was depressing.
Of course not, *bringing in extremely hot air* - are you nuts?!? 🙄
Open the windows when it's at least chill, then close them to *keep the cool air inside* when it's hot. It's not that difficult to comprehend, or are you implicating Germans are all geniuses? 😁
And *you're lost* when the temperature *never goes well below 20 °C* (whatever the “imperial” measure for that may be), which you're forcing onto all others by permanent usage of AC, as in the US. 😒
When I moved from Southern California to Northern Germany, I learned the joy and pleasure of sleeping with open windows in cold weather. I also was introduced to the lack of screens on windows (a topic worth your attention Feli!). I was truly blessed to live in a historical thatched roof house. One evening my cat climbed over the thatched roof and jumped into my bedroom through my open and unscreened window, with a live mouse in its mouth. Which it released and continued to tease while I frantically attempted to catch this poor mouse in my hands as it ran frantically around my bedroom floor. In the end I was successful. I captured the mouse and closed my cat into my bedroom, while I carried the mouse downstairs to our back door and released it into freedom. Part of why this entire episode is so hilarious is that our kitchen and downstairs were infested with mice when we first moved in and I observed no mercy in getting rid of them! My German partner had lived in the US for many years, so she as I, was accustomed to having screens on windows. Therefore she made certain that every essential window had a screen which could be installed during the spring and summer months. Following the episode of my cat and her mouse, I used my window screen year round. My cat learned to gently pat against the screen in order to gain, mouseless entrance to my bedroom year round!
Ich habe die ganze Zeit über so sehr gelacht xD Ich kannte alle Creator zwar schon, aber immer wieder cool zu sehen, wie du die Videos angehst und Dinge erklärst, die für Nicht-Deutsche merkwürdig sind. Sehr, sehr cool
13:20in Bremen in Germany all people cross the road even if the light is red. Most people there don’t care about whether there is a traffic light.
I am an expat from the UK living in Germany now since 1989, and this just made me chuckle so so much, and to be honest I now cannot live without the window open in the bedroom..
Uyen is a fkn queen!
German here. I went to a student exchange to Japan during school. They have that listing the price without the tax too and I honestly forgot all the time. I can remember at least 2 times were I stood there not having enough money for the stuff I was planning to buy because I hadn't calculated the tax but only the price for the product I had seen on the price tag. 😅
Open windows are quite common across Europe, even Italy, France, Croatia, Bosnia, Switzerland etc.
I am in Moab and have a retail store. One thing I do notice is the Germans that come here tend to be a bit more frugal when compared to the French. They are also more friendly once you gain some common ground. The German mothers are a bit more critical of their children when compared to US mothers, but the "bad" US mothers give their children very mixed signals and the Germans tend to be much more clear. IE, as US mother will tell the kid to "pick out what they want" then criticize or question their decision after telling them to make their own decision, where the German mother might tell them to pick out what they want, but the child already understands the parameters they're expected stay in.
Yes, but the "frugal" has more a meaning of "don't waste money", it's not "buy cheap". Germans themself refer to watch the ratio of price and quality. And people you are educating, you give commands, on adults you would call it an advise.
Giving unwanted advise on everybody, is considered inpolite in USA, but ment helpful by a German. Cause giving others education is a free valuable service.
@holger_p Yes. In the U.S., unwanted advice is taken as "I think I know better than you and you need my advice."
@jenniferpearce1052 .. and reception is not "I'm happy to learn something new"...
The ER reference at 6.08 refers to the US TV series *ER*. Dr Greene was played by Anthony Edwards, Dr Carter by Noah Wyle. Oh and a young, very dashing paediatrician by the name of Dr Ross was played by George Clooney. 😁😁
God I miss Rolläden!
German in the US - all of these are so real. My American spouse now also gets upset at people jaywalking in front of the kids 😂
By the way, lüften isn’t necessary in the US because the houses are made of cardboa… I mean wood, which ventilates enough, whereas German houses are built like bunkers and get stale and moldy if you don’t air them out regularly.
In Spain we do the windows thing too; at which hour we do it will change with the season (the weather). We call it _airear_
The "big houses" guy at 21:51 is giving the male version, in Spanish. The female version is _"¿pero tú te imaginas limpiar todo eso?"_ (can you imagine cleaning all that?)
And Uyen is the CUUUUUUTEST
Awesome! I must be more German than American. I'll give a nod but I ain't engaging. Great video as always, Feli! Looking forward to the hang out tomorrow! 🙂
I'm amazed at how German I am despite never having lived in Germany.
Uyen is just a national treasure as you are❤
You certainly break the stereotype concerning the beauty of German women 😊👍🥳 Keep going and all the best! 🎉
Hi Feli, I love your channel :)
I am German and I lived abroad for a year in Vietnam to volunteer after my Abi - so I ADORE Uyens Channel, she is so funny and smart. In the birthday video she is comparing German and Vietnamese Culture, so the "not opening the gift in front of everyone" is a vietnamese thing ;)
Also: I also do not like the complaining in German culture, I always love to enjoy the little things and look at the bright side :)
All the best from Schleswig-Holstein!
I think the not opening gifts thing is more broader than that, I think it is more like an Asian thing. I know China don't do that either but I never knew it was considered rude and I have been married to one for 10 years.
@utha2665 My Indonesian friend was the same when she first moved to the US.
@jenniferpearce1052 Yeah, thanks for confirming that. I thought it was wider spread. It's funny how different customs are.
@utha2665 Turkey, being in the middle has it pretty random. You could open a gift right there or afterwards. There's nothing rude or polite, but I think we tend to open gifts right there, more like the West.
But complaining about everything is our national sport! And it's so much fun with the right audience. That's our way to celebrate and enjoy the "little" things of life! 😜
The more i watch this video, the more germans are just like us dutch, but strict instead of annoyed
I loved keeping the bottles and dumping them into the machine every month. I love that they were all over the airport too... perfect last minute returns. I wish we had that system here so people would actually recycle their bottles!
I was getting on a plane from NYC to Munich last week and saw a German with a few empties in his backpack. It's real.
Yes, me as a German can say "This is so Real" many times to these things. They are funny. I know when I am in German I can tell Americans apart from Germans from a mile away, just the way they do things. It is all good. It makes us who we are. :)
i am Polish and I never close my windows...lol
Love your content keep up the great work!
I thought the joke with the angry looking German guy was that, even if you're in a bad mood, you completely switch when you apologize.
"Such much" made me LOL as that is a callback to a line spoken by a couple Germans speaking English in "Casablanca".
"Vich vatch?"
"Ten vatch."
09:39 - in Russia, we also ventilate the room this way. The coolest thing is in winter, when it's very hot in the apartment, you open the window and fog begins to fall from the street. It's also nice to stand in front of an open window at this moment and cool off. Also, if there are windows in the apartment in the north and in the south, you can open the windows at both ends and then get powerful ventilation. Especially during a winter snowstorm.
I do have experience hiking with a German but that time as it was in my country in unfamiliar territory she wasn't as rushed but the prepared thing is definitely on point, while we had like a couple of sandwiches when we got to the highest point she shared her snacks and had this big backpack
There's even a Verein dedicated to bottle opening,as well as a Verein for people, who hate Vereine.(Verein is basically club)
This video identifies a couple of the most conspicuous shortcomings of life in the US:
- Tax added at the cash register is something practically no other country does and it's high time we changed this.
- The exorbitant costs for relatively simple medical facility visits. I dont know what the solution to this is because the insurance companies have so much power here.
Add tax at the register because every state has a different rate. Insurance won't come down until: 1. the repeal of Obamacare that drove up prices. 2. Demand the price in writing upfront and search the internet for charity hospital discounts. We got a bone set for just $2000 cash as a charity case. 3. For other surgeries, Google "medical tourist" in the Caribbean, to save about half and get a FREE vacation!
The tax added to the advertised price is there because every state, count and city has their own sales tax, and this is all added up together to produce the total price. Where I grew up, I was in the immediate vicinity of 5 different sales tax rates.
Including the sales tax in the advertised price would either mean companies would take a smaller margin in higher sales tax areas (which is why they would lobby this to death, or if forced to accommodate, they would simply raise the prices and pocket all the uncollected sales tax headroom in markets with lower tax rates), or advertising would have to avoid showing any prices at all, because the same advert even on broadcast TV could be received by any number of combinations of jurisdictions.
That or the federal government enacts a nation-wide sales tax rate… which we all know isn’t going to happen either.
@puellanivis It sounds like you're being an apologist for the status quo. Whatever the total tax is for the particular jurisdiction should be what is displayed on the shelf for the item. I'm sure that other countries have different taxes for different jurisdictions also.
@puellanivis Companies wouldn't take a smaller margin in higher sales tax areas, what are you basing that on? The cost would still be the same in the end. Do you argue that people would shop less in high tax states just because the could see the effective price?
@puellanivis thanks, now I finally understand this US madness. I still wonder why the US is the only country with such problems that I am aware of.
Starts at 2:29
Calvin and Habs are both great. They both speak English and German very well. They do German commentary for WWE.
Opening the windows is fine but not having screens is strange.
Michigan has a 10c deposit of bottles and cans. It has been the most successful program in the US since 1976. People regularly still request them as donations for programs. The deposit was started to keep the Great Lakes beaches clean and it’s done a fairly good job. Then again it is a region filled with both Dutch and Deutsch heritage.
Opening the windows was actually encouraged in the US in the 1950s, but that was because Americans then used furnaces to heat their homes, and since it releases cafbon monoxide, which is toxic, they need to exchange it with oxygen.
Watching all these videos I can see where my father's side gets a lot of their idiosyncrasies. While my grandmother was in the US, her parents came from Germany and she grew up around lots of German Immigrants. She always would sleep with the windows open and to her fresh air was important for good health. My father also was the same, and to some extant so am I. The fires that swept Canada in the early part of the year was a big irritant to several of my relatives because they had to keep their windows closed for weeks on end. My mom's family is from Italy, and they are the same when it comes from fresh air. The main difference comes from the reserved attitude my dad's family has when meeting others compared to Italians, and small talk. The comment "I wouldn't want to have to clean those windows" is spot on. When my dad's side visited my new house years ago first thing out of their moth mouth was something like "Those ceilings are high, I wouldn't want to have to clean them." "Those windows so tall, good luck finding drapes for them," and "that loft will be expensive to heat." When my mom's side was, "Oh, I like the high ceiling and loft," or "wow nice big windows."
I don’t know, every time I traveled abroad Germans were the MOST friendly and helpful! I had a German BFF my whole London trip simply because we waited at the same bus stop together. German tourists are the best!
The more and more I see things via your videos Feli, the more I realise that we British are basically Germany's cousin. Claiming the loungers with your towel at 6:00am on holiday, yup; done that. You need a £1 for your shopping trolley. Open that bloody window at night to get the fresh air in, even if its -5C, that's why you have a quilt. Christmas markets, there's one in my city centre right now. Some of our Christmas songs are the same, but just in different languages like O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree). Well, it makes sense I guess, we are both technically Germanic language speakers and Germanic 'people' 🤔
I think german and british tourists are "feared" around the world for a reason :D
even your royal family is descended from ours (Haus Hannover, the Battenberg guy, no?) we are your older cousin...
@mayatabachnikoff7999 More or less, yeah. I actually just recently found out I have great-grandparents from my mam's side of the family who were from Germany
And now, you tommys have a German National Coach 😅 but, in real germans Love England, WE have the same culture, blood and History and my grandpa Topf me, they have respect for the british Soldier in Fights, they was always Gentleman and really good soldiers and he know what He talking about. He fight under Rommel in Africa.
2013 war ich mal mit meiner Familie in Thailand über Weihnachten und Silvester. Wir waren auf 2 verschiedenen Inseln und sind übers Festland gereist. Irgendwann sind wir dann über einen Markt geschlendert und ich war dann mal kurz alleine und hab mich umgeschaut. Dann kam ein älterer, europäsch-aussehender Mann auf mich zu und hat mich auf englisch gefragt, ob ich 'autan' gegen die Moskitos nutzen würde. Ich hab ihm dann gesagt, dass ich noch nicht so gut englisch sprechen kann und er dann "na dann können wir uns ja auch direkt auf deutsch unterhalten! Benutz' lieber Citronella-Öl, das hält die Viecher fern"
Kann diesen Moment nicht vergessen😂
I love germany. My dad was station at Bitburg Air Force Base. Back in 1972 to 1981. We lived in a village outside the base. I miss it
13:15 reminds me of my next door neighbour. We were waiting at the crosswalk with her kids (they were 3 and 5 at the time) and some bloke next to us crossed the street while it was still red. She screamed "Be a role model for f*ck's sake! You're supposed to f*cking wait for the f*cking light to go f*cking green... A**hole!"
I was too scared to point out the irony in her role model argument at that moment.
There's also a meme in German that I've seen plenty of times:
"I was jaywalking in front of some children. Of course - being a good role model - I let myself get run over by a car." 😅
Well, as they say "Rotgänger - Totgänger!"
(red walker - dead walker)
Feli, watching your vidios reminds me of my time in Germany (4 years). There was a bit of culture shock, but I quickly adapted to the change. As a soldier I lived in a small community close to base. I found the culture and all my neighbors in town wonderful.
So thank you for reminding me of such a wonderful time in my life.
But doesn't anyone see the joke on what the red signal looks like from far away?.The screech and "save the children" still fits.
My husband and I want to emigrate to northern Germany when our children graduate and I watch all of these people's reels to help me and my husband with the minor things that can add to culture shock. I have learned how many things I had in my childhood that were very German things (my family is German and Norwegian, primarily) but my husband thinks these are weird. I am happy to know that, while a lot if this is parody, much of it is based on fact. Jordan is probably my favorite to watch, but I do watch a lot of these people on a regular basis. Thanks for clarifying the truth in these because I do rely on a lot of channels to help me assimilate to German culture before my husband and I emigrate in about a decade.
Where in Northern Germany do you live. I am a german from Schleswig-Holstein, the true north. Welcome up here. One thing... every german state is different and a lot of stereotypes of germany are based on our Texas, err Bavaria 😂
@wandilismus8726 lol well Texas is definitely not representative of the US, that's for sure lol I currently live in Minnesota, land of German and Norwegian and Irish immigrants in addition to the Sioux Natives.
My husband and I actually wanted to move to Denmark initially but the process for foreigners to own property and the language and a few other barriers are why we decided on Germany instead. We played around with a few other ideas but Denmark and Germany were really where our hearts, political views, and ancestry lie. We aren't 100% decided on where exactly, but from my research and desire to be in a decent latitude similar to what we have now, Flensburg is the largest city near where I want to be, but anywhere north of Hamburg seems fine.
We wish to potentially own a house with a small bit of land so we can have 2 dogs. We know that it will be pricey and maybe not feasible, but it is the goal. My youngest also is looking to attend ballet school in Germany or France, but she isn't settled exactly (she is 12).
@ashleyashcraft1754why do you wanna leave America?
@daniellarkins3849 I actually stated that in the previous reply in this thread. Our hearts, political views, and ancestry are why we want to go to Germany. We feel a pull toward it. While some of the way things work culturally are still traditional (like markets being closed on Sunday, though the reason behind it isn't as necessary anymore), we find their government infrastructure to be much more progressive like we are. Times change and we change them so we should have the infrastructure of rules, regulations, laws, and public resources change with the times. I realize these things take time, but the political stress there isn't as toxic as it is in the US. Yet it is also similar enough to the US in terms of freedom and economic structure. The quality of life seems to be, overall, much better as well, despite the fact that it is significantly smaller in land mass. I realize there will be things I'll miss about the US and even more that I haven't realized I will miss. However, the more research I do about Germany vs US, the pros column continues to grow at a faster rate than that of my cons list.
Ashley before you do that, I have a few very important tips for you.
You and your husband should save some money (even before moving here) and visit the most parts of Germany.
I know it costs a lot of money, but you should invest the time and visit several parts of the country.
I would suggest one month or at least two weeks, just to experience the country as a whole, before you make the final decision to which part of Germany you are moving to.
And you should Not just visit the northern part of Germany.
Because even though we are one country, The people and mentality is 100% different depending on what part of Germany you are in.
So in order to not moving to a part of Germany where you and your family will feel unhappy you should better know a few things about Germany:
The people in Northern Germany are known (even by German standards) to be sometimes extremely quite, introverted and NOT talkative.
In other words it is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary for two North Germans to sit next to each other, watch television together, not say a single word for 9 hours (!!!) And then say Tschüss "Bye" and just go home.
And This would be regarded as your best friend...
Yes they are that introverted sometimes.
They are not unfriendly. It's just their mentality.
The states of Schleswig-Holstein,
and the Northern parts of the state of Niedersachen (especially on the coast) can be like that.
Of course in the major cities it's not that extreme. But in small villages, yepp.
They are really that introverted and quite.
So it will take a very long time to get warm with them.
If your are not used to it, you need to be prepared.
Hamburg and Bremen are also North Germany. But they are much much more open.
But rent there is very high. But they're cool and friendly cities. Albeit with the typical Major cities problem like Protesters, Some homeless people (but nothing compared to the US) and a higher crime rate (but still nothing compared to crime rates in the US)
For all parts of North Germany one thing applies:
*It's only raining twice a week there*
First it rains from Monday to Friday. Then it rains Saturday and Sunday...😂
There is a reason North Germany is almost as green as Ireland.
Because it's more or less also raining as much as in Ireland 😂😂
And yes they do have sunshine. Sometimes it doesn't rain for a 2 weeks during the summer. But then it's another 6 weeks of nonstop rain...
So if you don't like rain, you have a problem.
Then there is
Nordrhein-Westfalen short NRW. Where Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf an other major cities are located.
More Specifically the Ruhrgebiet area.
If you like Soccer, it's *THE* region for you. Basically every major cities has their own large soccer club with millions of fans. But don't go with your fan outfit into another town of another soccer club alone.
That Is just asking for trouble. The people there are open and honest. But unemployment is higher in that metropolitan area. And most Germans call the whole are *our German Detroit* 😂
It's of course not as bad as Detroit. But there are areas there where it is more or less similar. (Albeit still without gun violence and school shootings)
If you stay in the area where everything is normal, you can live quite comfortably there.
Or you just avoid the Major cities in Nordrhein Westfalen and move to a smaller village or a smaller town. It's perfectly safe there. Just the manor cities are sometimes a problem.
Then there is the Eifel, it's an area in the Southwestern part of Nordrhein Westfalen and Northwestern part of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz.
It's one of the most beautiful area we have in Germany. Just wonderful forests, lakes and some mountains.
The whole area was formed by anchient volcanoes millions of years ago, so it's perfect for hiking, camping and exploring nature. And it's also the area where >90% of the german wine is made. So if you like wine, hiking and camping and lakes. That area is the best spot.
But that's more or less all there is. So it's quite boring in case you don't like that.
Then we have the state of Baden Württemberg.
Baden Württemberg is known for always following the rules and saving money whenever they can. Not everyone, but most people are literally like Scrooge McDuck. If they can save 8 cent by collecting rain water to water their plants they will absolutely do it.
And if you don't clean the staircase in your apartment building (even though your contract for the apartment says you are supposed to)
Or you are mowing your grass even though it is prohibited that hour of the day:
Trust me your neighbor will report you to your landlord 😂
They take their rules very seriously. But besides that, they are very helpful and warm people.
It also has a lot to offer for hiking, camping and exploring. The southern part of that state has the western part of the Alps, so there is more then enough to start hiking and go skiing during the winter.
And the Bodensee (Lake Constance) is also a beautiful holiday destination.
Education level and level of income are very high. Standards of living are also high.
And now the state of Bayern.
(Bavaria)
The state which is what most people think all of Germany is.
Beer, pretzels, Oktoberfest and lederhosen (leather pants)
That outfit is only worn during special festivals and in some restaurants. During the festival season you will definitely see a lot of people wearing it (since absolutely everybody has that outfit, because it's a tradition in Bavaria)
But when there is no festival, you would see absolutely nobody wearing it, maybe some employees in some restaurants, but that's it. Everyone is wearing normal clothing.
But beer and pretzels:
Yeah, that's part of the culture there. Beer is part of the lifestyle in Bavaria.
But be careful even though the northern and Southern Part of that state are officially called
Bavaria. They are not both Bavaria. Well Just on paper.
The southern part is indeed the true Bavaria. Munich is Bayern (Bavaria). More Specifically it's the district of oberbayern --> Upper Bavaria
(That is where Feli is from)
While people in the Nuremberg area regard themselves as Franken (Frankonians) and Nuremberg is located in the district of Mittelfranken (Central Frankonia).
So the language as well as the traditions, festivals and food are different from the southern part of the same state.
And all parts of Bavaria are proud of their regional traditions even within the same state which has the official Name Freistaat Bayern (Free State Bavaria)
But Saying to someone from Nuremberg he is a bavarian is taken as an insult. It's like saying to someone in San Francisco he is absolutely like someone from San Bernardino ...😂😂
But it's more or less a love-hate relationship between this two parts of the same state.
Besides beer, soccer, Festivals and pretzels.There is a lot of scenic landscape to explore. Their are thousands of hiking trails and large forests across the whole state. And just like the neighboring state of Baden Württemberg. Bayern also has the Alps as their southern border and they have also access the Lake Constance.
So each winter all of Germany follows the annual "tradition" to visit the Alps and try to learn skiing. So if you want to do that, you need to book your hotel in advance if your are not from the area or if the drive is too long for a one day trip.
Or take public transport towards the Alps. Because during winter time basically everyone is in Baden Württemberg or Bayern for skiing, since both states border the Alps.
Bavaria is basically our German Texas:
The 15 other states most of the time hate Bavaria, Bavaria also hates the 15 other states most of the time and threatens to declare independence at least once a year. But in the end they always stay.
Most of the time they just want something to be done the way they would do it, but the 15 other states refuse. Then they remind the federal government that Bavaria pays the most taxes to the federal government and they can just freeze the money or decleare independence from Germany if they don't get their way. Sometimes they get their way or it's a compromise.
But in the end they always stay, like the last few hundred years...
And the most important part.
*Bavaria is conservative*
It was always conservative and will always be conservative.
Only they major metropolitan areas and cities have more left leaning politicians due to the high number of students there.
But the state in itself is deeply conservative.
The conservatives there are ruling for 50 years and they will also rule in another 50 years. And nobody is going to change that.
But remember:.
Conservative/right leaning in Germany
Is *NOT* the same as in the US.
Conservative is Germany is most of the time like Beeing a Democrat in the US.
(That's how far right the Republicans have drifted)
So you need to compare what German conservative parties say and what the US politicians would say to form an opinion.
And thr mentality in Bavaria is:
First: Bavaria
Second: Bavaria
Third: Bavaria
Fourth: Germany
Fifth: European Union.
Education level and level of income is very high in Bavaria. But the same is also true for the standards of living. They are also very high there.
So public transport and public safety is more or less everywhere operational and the police is always available and you can send your children to School alone.
But they are always honest and helpful people. But they are 100% proud of their state and they won't allow anyone to tell them otherwise. Which is also the reason why they think they know everything best. And that Germany should be run exactly like the state of Bavaria.
(Which the 15 other states of course don't want)
You know their is a German way to do it and there is a bavarian way to do it.
And in Bavaria it's always done the bavarian way....
(So yeah, definitely our German Texas...)
But besides that, it's a beautiful state.
As a German myself I absolutely HATE meeting other Germans abroad. Every time I‘m on holiday in a foreign country and I hear other people speak German I immediately start to speak English fluently and avoid them at all costs. I do not need to be near the people I usually see or hear everyday at home.😂
I would totally watch a whole video of you reacting to Uyen. I love her!
Das Einzige, wo man beim Preis rechnen muss: Einwegpfand.
My mom used to drive me crazy. We were standing at a German bus stop on a cold windy day. There was a teenager wearing her coat wrapped around her waist and shivering. My mother yelled at her if you put your coat on you wouldn't be cold stupid. We were so embarrassed.
😅😅that could have been me (mother)
As a token Brit (born & raised in UK) from a German mother I had plenty to learn from her parents when I went for extended stays with them - particularly from my grandmother (Oma). Just one example: if you closed an *internal* door, she would immediately claim it was 'stuffy'; if you left it open, she would immediately claim there was a draft.
Usw, usw.........
Als ich gerade den Part mit dem lüften gesehen habe musste ich erstmal all meine Fenster auf machen weil ich heute noch nicht gelüftet habe. 😂😂😂😂
Danke für deine tollen Videos. ❤️❤️
I just found your channel and I am enjoying myself immensely. I'm married to a German and lived in Munich for 8 years. So much of this is spot on! I've shared this one with my kids who have grown up around the world.
Putting towels on to "reserve" a pool bed/seat in holidays is so real. I like to be the other very German guy who then goes to the front desk asking if it is proper house etiquette to allocate pool beds with a towel for the whole day. Usually they say that it is not and is is not allowed to do so. Then I ask, well, I would appreciate if you would look around for abandoned pool seats with towels on them while breakfast.
Most of the time they go around, collect all towels and put them in a booth or storage so the owners can retrieve them when asking and at that moment they get told that they can't allocate in advance only when they are about to use them.
Typically that behavior lasts two days, at max three and the rest of the vacation time there are always free spot to take at the pool.
Unless.... there is a new bunch of German tourists swarming in the nest week and it happens again and I need to talk to the front desk again...
THAT is so me. Most of the time, though, I am just the third type, who just gives them a condescending sneer and then talks behind their backs with my British wife.
15:43 the kitchen organization, not wanting to waste paper or plastic is just eco-friendly, less wasteful, easier on your pocket, my family does this and so will I (I'm Indian).
Feli, the one about the towels was so familiar. I have 3 towels in my kitchen never knew why. Discovered it's my inner German coming out. My heritage is SW Germany, Darmstadt. My family immigrated in the 1860's
I’m Australian and have only British ethnicity. But after watching this, Germans seem like my type of people. So many of these things are relatable for me! I’m less into small talk, and prefer deep conversations, too.
OK the irony of “I wouldn’t want to pay that electricity bill“ combined with opening the windows multiple times a day 🤦🏻♀️ I just will never understand
There's a whole science behind Stoßlüften to make it very energy efficient. 😅 The key is to not have your window cracked for long periods of time but open them for about 5 minutes at a time. Compared to most American homes, German homes are better insulated and more energy efficient in general though. Plus, we don't have any air vents so at some point you need to let in some fresh air.
Okay, a bit science: CO2 contains 3 atomes, it needs more energy too warm it up. O2 contains 2 atomes, whitch means, it warm up with lees energy.
So to air out will help reducing the energy costs an reduces humidity and mould.
In other states the walls are often not that good insulated like in germany.
Yeah, what Feli said. Part of the science is that most of the heat isn't stored in the air itself, but in the walls and in the furniture. If you only quickly exchange the air (all windows wide open for a couple of minutes), the walls & furniture will quickly heat up the room/flat again and you won't lose much energy. If you keep the window open for longer, you're slowly draining away the heat out of your house/flat while your heating is working overtime to essentially heat the outside.
@FelifromGermany Wait, I thought you said they kept the window open all night
@pj-schmid Oh yeah that's true but most people who sleep with the windows open will turn the heat off too overnight. Otherwise, yes, that would be a huge waste of energy.
„Gebt mir einen festen Punkt im All, und ich werde die Welt aus den Angeln heben.“
I always used to consider air conditioning a modern way to keep a home cool during hot summers, but after visiting Munich in 2000 I realized that general air circulation was an important feature as well. While shopping and dining in Munich the air inside the buildings was very still and stale even though the outside temperature was comfortably in the low 70's. I can absolutely see how someone in Germany would want to "air out" their homes during the day. Loved Munich!
That's good to know! Thank you for sharing. Most people have reasons for what they do and it's nice to understand.
Liam is so cool! Especially, when he acts like a proper German and his fiancée acts like an annoyed British girl.
Since you ask - as a Danish I recognize the towels. I have had more than one incident where a German family had occupied a whole section of the beach with their towels and was very annoyed when they returned after hours and saw that we had rolled them up and arranged them like a pile of firewood while we used "their" sunchairs and "remember - we are not occupied by Germany anymore on a paper on top". 😂😂
you are my heroes
Along the Dutch coast we're well familiar with German tourist digging holes in the beach thinking they claimed that spot for the entire season.
Still not as bad as the English. They plant a flag everywhere they go and expect that piece of the world to be theirs forever. 😂
At a Croatian campsite they even had large signs with beach rules of which most were about that topic. They even included, that everything will be removed. But I don't think they really did that (all the time) because there were lots of towels around.
As a German this is just a dumb ignorant person thing rather than german. I would never even think of doing this :D
@TomWaldgeistOf all the dumb ignorant people in the world, it's only the German ones that do this.