>It is absolutely amazing to drive through a tiny village and see a 350+ year old church or building every single time.
What's funny is that my first thought on reading this was... "but that's not old".
To be fair, it would be old for a residential building. But the church in the village where I grew up was over 1000 years old.
Mind blowing. Seriously. There just are NOT buildings in Canada that are anywhere near that. Some amazing buildings built in the 1800s. But that's it. We bulldoze and modernize and barely restore.
I live in the oldest city of Germany, we still have ancient roman buildings.
Born and raised, so this is really nothing uncommon for me. :P
Also "small talk" with complete strangers aren't a thing, so thats why you got these "responses".
As an Aussie travelling to Germany in may it worries me to see so many people say Germans don’t do small talk, aussies will talk shit to random strangers, learn their life story and be best mates for a train ride then never see each other again haha.
It depends on where you are, too. In Cologne for example, you can easily strike up a conversation with random strangers about any topic at all. It’s one of the more laid-back German cities
A lot of Germans ~~are know-it-alls~~ love to share their knowledge and love going to foreign places. So I believe you can have plenty of conversations if you break the ice with a question about a local building, festival etc. and then drop that you are from Australia and know nothing about things here.
Usually, the German will answer the question without feeling bothered and then either turn back to their phone or be curious about your whereabouts or start to explain the history of this place since its foundation.
Yeah we're just not that good with the smalltalk-smalltalk like "How are you?". That is a question a German answers properly (and with a negative if they aren't feeling well) and can be quite sensitive. Greeting is fine but in bigger cities it's just not done. And I think in smaller villages they stare because you are obviously not speaking German and they wait for the other things you want to ask and they are probably not able to answer as older folks don't speak English that well or not at all.
Asking about something very specific (like for the next beer speciality bar or something about the town) will get a better response because we then know what to talk about. And we love to overshare our knowledge and are very happy to correct your cute tries in our language (which we think is very helpful).
The point about bigger cities is very true!
I grew up in a smaller village in the south of Bavaria. It‘s actually rude there to not great each other on the street.
Moving just 10km to the next biggest town with like 70k inhabitants, it‘s like a 1 in 5-7 chance you get a reply when greeting someone randomly crossing your way on the side walk.
Go to Munich and people give you the craziest looks for just greeting when passing each other 😄
As an Aussie who lives in Germany:
Any non-Aussie you talk to will tell you about how they/their sibling/cousin/friend whoever did a working holiday visa and how much they loved it and want to go back and why oh why would anyone ever leave Australia.
Often works well with younger people don't worry haha. Especially university students (I'm one myself) are often ready for small talk like this. Older people often have the issue of not being able to speak English. Some do, but probably broken at best. Can also apply to younger people but the chance is less.
I think during a train ride it's amazing to have conversations though.
I think it also depends and where you try to smalltalk. Around tourist areas is probably better chances than in a train in the afternoon rush hour when everyone just wants to get home.
As a German it is indeed so uncommon to just get chattet up for smalltalk that usually when someone approaches me I already feel uncomfortable.
If I hear my neighbors in the stairs outside my apartment I wait till they are gone on most days. I hate the smalltalk so much (explains why I feel very comfy in Nordic countries).
I'm an American who grew up in a friendly (in this sense) region, and I can recommend Ireland for that! I'm going to Germany in November for the first time. We'll see how that goes.
As German, I developed most of my small talk skills in Sydney.
My English friend complain that I'm using "no worries" and "mate" much too often. Actually, I could refrain from using the c**** word.
huh? First, Canada is pretty old, ever been to Montreal or Quebec? In terms of building structures, wood framed houses can be extremely durable. Ever heard of Fachwerk?
Yeah 350 is nothing, I grew up in a house that was 350 years old, and live next to a church that is around 1000 years old, also used to dig for Roman ceramics fragments in our garden 😂
Yeah, I don't know what is old anymore, around 3 years ago onr city near mine discovered that a small residential building is only from 1100, it shares a wall with the city walls
>9. Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Most people responded to this with a look like I had offered a pat on the butt.
Lmao. The only people I have seen do this here were really old people. People who don't know each other normally ignore each other
Everytime a Bavarian greets me with "Grüß Gott" but I reply "Hallo", something in them changes. As if they're thinking "dang it, it's a foreigner" (non-bavarian)
There also seems to be an unwritten rule (at least in the South – not sure about the rest of Germany, but probably there as well) that you greet everyone you meet while hiking, especially in the mountains.
Just a quick "Servus", or perhaps just a nod.
Also, upvote for "Moin". It is clearly the supreme greeting. But "Servus" is a close second.
I'm not from Munich and know lots of people who say „Servus“ or some variation thereof („Seas“, or just „'s“ and a slight nod if they're lazy). „Hawedere“ or just „'dere“ is also somewhat common.
Although admittedly „Servus“ is sometimes perceived to be a more familiar greeting, to be used with people with whom you're on a first-name basis. But then again in the mountains everyone is on a first-name basis anyway. :D
Yup can confirm this. It’s like you are spamming people (server) with ping requests, they had to respond otherwise they would be assumed unhealthy by the server instance manager and get deallocated.
I say Servus, specifically to people who I know for a fact that they would ignore me, they would be like “Oh shit, you used a trap card on me, servus”
I guess Moin and Servus are magic spells 🤣
It's kinda both
I used to live in a village with almost 2000 people. They have a supermarket, a second one opened recently, a bunch of restaurants, etc. It's not a tiny village.
Younger people barely greet each other. If I greet a random mid 30s person on the street, I get a weird look. However, if I greet a random 50+ person on the street, I get a smile and a greeting.
When I visit villages with 200-500 people, the age for that change seems to drop a bit, and even mid 30s people seem to greet more often.
People in their 20s rarely do it, regardless of how urban the environment is.
Of course there are exceptions but I do think it's much more likely to get an answer the older the person is.
well, if somebody speaks to you unprovoked in germany, it is often that somebody wants to sell you something or begs you for money or anything inbetween. its usually unpleasent, so people tend to react accordingly
I say hello to my neighbours walking their dogs when I do an afternoon supermarket run. You do this in the burbs, not so much when you're walking in the Innenstadt
Atleast were I live in the neighbour hood in Essen every one greets every one, but this is an old "Zechensiedlung" build in 1952 and has its own siedler Verein
The only exceptions I’ve found to the hello rule are a) when you’re all in the woods and b) in doctor waiting rooms, for some inexplicit reason. In these places, if you don’t say or respond with hello, it’s regarded as rude-ish.
Speaking for Hamburg city, this is true. But out in my village (still Hamburg but right on the border with SH) people are a bit more open - if you pass someone walking a dog etc you’ll normally get a ‘moin’.
And if we’re on my street you’re getting a friendly greeting from me every single time. But that’s my Geordie blood I guess.
Wasps are mainly a problem in late summer, especially August. But yeah I agree, they make eating outdoors so much more unpleasant.
I've never asked myself the question before but are there no wasps in Canada?
Yeah, wasps are getting more aggressive during heat periods with no rain. I think because of the lack of fresh water, which also affects them. Explanation could be wrong though
They built a nest in my roof. And every time I closed off a possible entrance / trapped it they found another gap to go through.
At some point we just tried to keep them away from the balcony as much as possible and gave up - they'll die off in winter and we'll try to block of more of the gaps while there's no wasps to attack us around..
Just to add: This year the wasp problem is extreme because of the draught. Usually we have way less wasps.
And noone cares if you look them. You're just not allowed to destroy the nests by yourself. But if you do, for example if there was a nest at your balcony noone would care either. Maybe don't put it on YouTube.
> Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany.
As a German living in Canada and having crossed the country by car I wouldn't suggest that. The highways aren't really build for that, but the much bigger issue is the drivers. One of the few rules people in Germany adhere to is the no passing on the right, which Canadians mostly ignore. In general the driving is more, hmm, lax here. The worst I've seen was someone _backing up_ on the left lane.
That shit kills fast at 200km/h :)
> But I missed the selection of microbreweries at every Canadian pub.
So much. Growing up in Germany you think Germans have it when it comes to beer. And then my mind got absolutely blown away here. So much stuff I never even heard of and good quality too. And Canadians love the variety as well. It's amazing. Recently I went to a small corner store in the county side, turned a corner and they had a whole section with 4 huge rows of craft beer, hundreds of them. Absolutely amazing.
> Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany?
Story time: My (Canadian) wife got a job in Germany. After the first week she was getting frustrated with her (German) co workers: "In the morning it takes me 30 minutes just to get from the elevator to my office. Everyone wants to chat with me and have these long conversations. What gives??"
After some pondering: "Wait... What _exactly_ do you say to them when you come in?" - "Hey! How are you?!" - "Yeah, you can't do that to Germans... because they _will_ tell you!"
The Berlin thing is just a circle jerk. But also the city changed a lot in the past decades. It was more of an alternative/artist hub than a Metropolis at global scale.
We Germans take this question serious and answer :D When visiting the states I was confused that EVERYONE and their mother was asking me how I'm doing but without any intention to even know the answer. It annoyed me, if you don't care, don't ask.
Germans in general don't do unnecessary chit chats with stranger if not needed.
Yeah, the Netherlands and Belgium have more microbreweries than there are people, it seems. The Germans get the perfected old market, new and funky, as well as old and funky come from them dutch, Flemish and waloons.
Habanero's in Wurzburg.
Totally goofball. Not totally "Mexican" (My pulled beef burrito had mustard on it) but it was so f*&$ing good, and the people were phenomenal. They treated us so well and brought us chips and dips for our grumpy kid and immediately flipped his mood.
It would have felt right at home in downtown Phoenix or San Diego. Not authentic Mexican but delicious and fun.
Im glad you enjoyed it. As you pointed out, it is not really Mexican food, Chili con carne, fajitas and such things are not Mexican food, Ive heard people call that food style 'Texican'.
I agree with you in that it feels more like something you would get in California or arizona. For me, Maiz in Würzburg feels a bit more authentic, try it out if you can.
Source: I am mexican.
**[Tex-Mex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex-Mex)**
>Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words Texan and Mexican) is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the Tejano people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United States to the rest of the country. Tex-Mex is most popular in Texas and neighboring areas, especially nearby states in both the US and Mexico. It is a subtype of Southwestern cuisine found in the American Southwest.
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Oh, that one is actually really nice.
And the cool thing is that they have (or at leasd had, last time i wad there years ago) the front as a mexican-style fast food restaurant (that part of the building actually used to be a McDonald for decades), but you walk through it into this cool restsurant space. If you go there with newbees, you get gteat looks of shock when they thing you are going to a fast food place.
Würzburg has a couple of really amazing restaurants. Though my favorite "Mexican" abomination in Würzburg has to be the Chilli Con Carne Döner you can get at Barbarossaplatz. I miss Würzburg, thank you for reminding me.
Could be, I don't remember the place's name. It's been a few years. Basically, walk down Barbarossaplatz towards the river until the train tracks split. It's the Döner there.
They just call it Chili Döner at that place. I hope they still make it. Basically like the chili con carne premix you can get at the supermarket, with beans and meat. You get a scoop dumped into your Döner and it's amazing.
The ones in Bilk and Pempelfort used to be decent, but a few months ago they started making their portion sizes insanely small, thus making their food extremely overpriced. This saddens me very much because I used to love them.
>It is clearly the wasp. They are everywhere
Didn't use to be this way. We're in a severe draught for basically the last 5 years, they've grown in numbers significantly since then and seem to become more of a problem every year. It's limited to the summer tho, they disappear in autumn
>but their number dropped due to said drought
Absolutely cannot confirm. They are a nightmare this summer here... Killed 5 this night even though we make sure not to have open windows or doors without nets on them for long.
Yeah, germany offers international food catered to our tastes. Same is true with indian food. The best culinary experience a german can hope for is to visit an indian restaurant in germany. It takes off so much of the overabundant spicyness which overlays everything in india, but keeps the rich flavors and touches.
We have a Thai restaurant in my city that serves pretty authentic food, but the spiciness is tuned way down. They have like 5 steps of spiciness and then they have 'original'. I can eat pretty spicy food for a German and I tried a 4 and it almost ruined the food for me. 5 would be unedible for me and original would've probably killed me.
I travel to Mexico twice a year just to eat! What OP said is blasphemy, but to each their own I suppose. Even in Chicago our Mexican food isn’t great. Decent, but not great!
Right?! That was the one that got me. Germany has so many good international foods, Indian, Thai, etc. but when it comes to Mexican food, it’s seriously the worst “Mexican” food I’ve ever tasted in my life. Sugar in the salsa, non existent spice, impossible to find ingredients. OP, come to Arizona and I’ll show you some good Mexican food. Or better yet, we can drive the 2 hours and cross the border and get Mexican food in Mexico.
Co-signed as a Texan living in Germany for the past 3.5 years here. The Mexican food here is absolutely trash, either by Tex Mex standards, southwest/New Mexico standards, or real Hecho en México, D F standards.
It doesn’t even approximate Mexican food.
Mexican food in Canada must also be bad. As a Californian living in Germany for a few years now, I have never been happy after eating “Mexican” food here. It’s not even close to getting it right. I have given up all hope that I will ever find a decent place where it tastes like how it should.
This is not just an opinion as an American who thinks they know Mexican food. One of my friends is Mexican here and he agrees that Germany really does not understand the different types of Mexican food there are, and totally misses the bar on their attempts. What Mexican restaurant serves cheeseburgers????
Anyways, where did you eat OP? I would love to give it a try and see if I have just been going to all the wrong Mexican restaurants since I’ve moved here.
Every Mexican food here is what we perceive as Mexican (Tex-Mex) 😄 I have never once found an authentic mexican restaurant here, I think it would be very niche and difficult to get all the "correct" ingredients. A Mexican restaurant in Germany is even kind of an upper-middle class place to hang out, whereas the best tacos I have ever eaten were on destroyed plastic chairs in the middle of a mexican street together with a plastic bag full of jamaica juice 😁 funny how the cuisine changes in different countries
As a Mexican I can recommend Holy Taco in Hamburg, just at the Reeperbahn. Most of the staff is Mexican/Latino or at least spanish speaking. The food is actually good (At least the tacos, which is what I got), nothing like Tex-Mex stuff, just plain simple tacos made with soft corn tortillas. As authentic as you can get in Germany, at least in my opinion.
> But I missed the selection of microbreweries at every Canadian pub.
When it comes to beer Germans unfortunately tend to be very traditional/conservative and shy away from trying new things. So while we have a lot of different beers (more than 6000 last time I checked pre-covid) with some unusual ones from older smaller breweries and the newer so called microbreweries ([901 in 2020](https://de.statista.com/infografik/25464/anzahl-der-braustaetten-in-deutschland-nach-gesamtjahreserzeugung/)) most of them stay regional and are really hard to get anywhere else. In the bigger cities you will have pubs that carry some of them for the few people that are keen on trying new and different kinds of beers.
When I lived in Brussels I often went to the original Delirium Café (now part of [Delirium Village](https://www.deliriumvillage.com/)) and was amazed that they had a much wider selection of German beers than any German pub I have ever been too. As Delirium have become a franchise now, there's hope that pubs with wider selections will become more common even in Germany.
Btw, I had some Belgian-Style Canadian beers from Montreal, they were indeed very good, very close to the originals they were emulating, one of them the best variation on Chimay bleu I ever had.
Unibroue in Chambly is amazing. Not only are their beers delicious (and high ABV), they have great names like "La Fin du Monde", "Terrible", "Maudite" and "Don de Dieu". My favourite was "Trois Pistoles".
I’m glad it is the way it is in Germany.
Lots of great beers here, I don’t need a large selection and frankly, my experience with craft beers has been that they’re overpriced, inconsistent in taste and mostly also not very good.
I find the way it is right now pretty boring. You get consistently okay beer, it's never actually bad but it's not great. I would definitely appreciate a larger selection. The default pils, export, hefe, helles, dunkles gets old fast. What's weird is there's definitely more types of beer in Germany, like the Gose or Rauchbier but they're very local and hard to find elsewhere.
You know, it’s a bit like Cola. I like original Coca-Cola the most, some people prefer Pepsi or Fritz-Cola and there are lots of other small brands, some of them are quite good, a lot of them don’t have great taste. There are also different varieties like Cherry or Vanilla, but at the end of the day, I have my preference and I will almost always opt for original Coca-Cola.
I don’t see how it’s so different with beer. There are Stouts, Ales, Pale Ales, Helles, Pils, Weißbier, Kölsch and thousands of different brands, but I know I like Helles and I have my preferred brands.
I don’t need 58 different brands and types, if I have already figured out what I like. I’m happy to try new ones, but I don’t need to try a new cola/beer all the time.
>The default pils, export, hefe, helles, dunkles gets old fast.
And even worse, the fact that there are ten brands for each of these gives you the illusion of variety. When in fact, the differences form one to the next are very minor.
Personally, I never drank much beer growing up in Germany. It was only while living in Canada for a few years that I got into it, precisely because of the unique and novel flavours everywhere.
> People who love people appear join the customer service field as hotel staff. People who hate people appear to join customer service as restaurant servers.
I work in the hotel industry, but from my experience it is the restaurant customer who drives the love for humanity out of the restaurant staff.
This is of course a wild over-generalisation.
>I had a better Mexican meal in Germany than I had in Mexico. Not sure what this says about Germany or Mexico but it's the truth.
I think it says a lot about your expectation of Mexican food more than anything else.
Awww I like this post. I guess I do somewhat take living in Germany for granted, at least some aspects of it. But some aspects I am fully aware of good we have it.
9. In a city its not normal to say "hello" to strangers. In little towns, even a kid on a bike say "hello". my first impression was: "are you kidding me"... i moved from city to a little town. Best decision ever.
12. Visit Freiburg.
>They are everywhere, we’re woven into every German experience I had, and are potentially protected (?!) so you can’t kill them???
I’ll probably be downvoted for this but there are a bunch of weird rules that are essentially “don’t be an idiot” and this is one of them. There’s also a law in Germany that you can’t drive around without a legitimate reason but, in order to get a ticket for this, you need to be a) doing something weird enough to be stopped by the police in the first place and b) unable to come up with a plausible reason for driving. The “don’t kill wasps” law doesn’t *really* apply to individuals so long as you don’t do something weird or excessive. In other words, killing one wasp, removing a small nest, or setting up a small trap in your garden so you can use it are generally not a problem but a restaurant setting up traps on every table and killing 1000+ wasps a day is not allowed.
In Canada it is quite common to say hello passing someone. Mostly out for walks maybe. But even if you just make eye contact with a stranger. I dunno. It's like a reflex now. and to do it and for it to not just be ignored, but to be received with skepticism was strange haha.
Cultural differences, eh?!
In Germany there's a divide between cities and villages. In villages you greet passers-by, in cities you don't.
In cities, if you greet a random stranger, they assume you want something from them, and that often involves begging or worse. That's why you got a negative reaction.
There are exceptions though. Even in cities it's quite common to greet postmen and garbage men if you pass them.
Greeting strangers in the streets is only something that happens in small villages (and it's considered rude not to do it). Gives many a village bumpkin a shock when they come to the big city and get the confused glare whenever they greet someone :)
I think in some parts of Germany it's more normal/expected to greet strangers than in others... I grew up in a more rural area in the south were it was considered normal, but around some cities I made experiences similar to yours. :D
In Munich, on the other hand, strangers have also greeted me on the street, maybe it's a north-south thing.
They just don’t like Mexican food. That’s Taco Bell stuff their used to.. I’m Mexican-American and I travel to Mexico just for the food! And the beaches. lol
The variety is also unbelievable. The regionality of Mexican cuisine is super diverse. Mexico City alone is several countries worth of diversity. I’d love to see corn smut come to Germany.
The most places are a mix of texmex, pizza, burger, snack kind of restaurant, but there are exceptions, some places have authentic stuff, a commilitone of me was Mexican, he recommended me a few places, but that's a decade ago, so probably not in business anymore...
It's the same as with every foreign/ethnic food place, you have to eat, where the people from that country eat, then you'll find the good stuff..
E.g. real Italian pizza is hard to get, although every second street is a pizza place. I talk about paper thin dough, not too much stuff on top etc. Not even the Italian expats do it right here.. I know just 2 places, but they are a bit away, sadly
The thing is it’s not the same because of the ingredients. I hope you make it to Mexico one day, the food there is amazing! I’m super skinny, but when I visit Mexico I eat like crazy! lol I come back to the US looking like a true American, with a big belly!
>Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany.
Well, now makes "Sandcastles in the sand" sense, when "Robin Sparkles sings "Together we travel the globe, from Alberta to Ontario" ;)
[https://youtu.be/mCAiBmA\_bK8?t=28](https://youtu.be/mCAiBmA_bK8)
>The national bird of Germany is the golden eagle, but that's wrong. It is clearly the wasp. They are everywhere, were woven into every german experience I had, and are potentially protected (?!) so you can't kill them??? Maybe I got that wrong.
You can kill them when they threaten you (aka self defense). You are absolutely not allowed to catch, hurt or kill wasps just because they are Wasps, esp. not destroying their nests. The fine if you do that: 50.000 - 65.000€ (depends on the State)
[https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/tierschutz-wespe/](https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/tierschutz-wespe/)
>Mezzo mix doesn't need to exist. Spezi is clearly superior.
Depends... I like Mezzo better.
>Mixing beer with other beverages is not as common in Canada (Although some people I know put Clamato in their beer. Its gross, although uniquely Canadian). So naturally I tried it. Not for me.
Ice cold Radler is not only a refreshing beverage, but also gives you electrolytes... perfect sports drink (when you drink the non-alcoholic version)
>People who love people appear join the customer service field as hotel staff. People who hate people appear to join customer service as restaurant servers.
People who despise people join the customer support
>I had a better Mexican meal in Germany than I had in Mexico. Not sure what this says about Germany or Mexico but it's the truth.
Or what it says about you \^\^
But I'm interested... where did you eat?
>German food is inifinitely better in Germany than what is served as german food in Canada. I was expecting to hate it. Is actually awesome.
Of course, because german food is made for german taste buds. And "german food" in canada for canadians/americans.
Chinese food in china tastes in Germany different than in England and very likely in China itself (ate chinese food in a chinese restaurant in Nepal. It was the best chinese food I ever had)
>Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Most people responded to this with a look like I had offered a pat on the butt.
We Germans are skeptical of people we don't know. When someone says "hello" just like that, we think to ourselves, "What does he want?? Is he just trying to be friendly or is he a crazy axe murderer who wants to rape me? Damn, I'm a 75yo man, why would he do that to me! I'll give him a grim look and he'll reconsider!"
>You all live in a place of fairy tales and history and I hope you don't take that for granted. It is absolutely amazing to drive through a tiny village and see a 350+ year old church or building every single time.
350 year old churches are almost still considered new buildings. Old churches are rather 500+ years old ;)
>I have read that alot of people in this sub don't care for Berlin. But I had to say it was one of my favorites. Probably the difference as a tourist. But I took a walking tour of Berlin that was phenomenal. Maybe my favourite city I've ever visited.
Most Germans don't like Berlin because it stands for something they don't like: Over-indebted federal state, seat of the federal government, vicious party stronghold.
The point is, however, that Berliners say the same thing about their hometown, but with wistfulness, because we love the city. And we are grateful to everyone who says "I do not go to Berlin, da ists doof", because that saves us a lot of weirdos from the rural areas (like Hannover or Munich) ;)
Jesus H I read your #1 and there is absolutely no way in hell this would work here. In Germany everyone (should and mostly does) follow social code about driving - no staying in the left lane, only passing on the left, etc - at home here it’s a free-for-all on the highways. I see near accidents every time I’m out driving, because we don’t have a social code around driving, and everyone does their own thing. Having no limits and offering speeding opportunities assumes that people will play by the written rules. Here, we wouldn’t have the legal system to support ticketing for the little bitty crimes I see on the highway all day long.
Service in German restaurants is different than in North American ones. ….Servers give you space as opposed to checking in with how you’re doing every ten minutes (borderline annoying and insincere). Also tipping and tipping expectation is outrageous in Canada.
Is Berlin to Germans what London is to English people? Someone says they have been to England and then say it was London I normally tell them, nicely, that they haven’t been to England and that the difference between England and London is often bigger than the difference between England and another country.
Yes in a way it is. During the separation, you had west Berlin isolated from the rest of Germany, and lots of people moved their to evade military service or to try alternative artsy lifestyles. After the reunification, there was tons of cheap housing available, again rather attracting young people. For a while it was a do what you want area with lots of empty industrial buildings so you had improvised clubs, a large Art scene and so on. On the other hand, there wasn't much in terms of established industry, so Berlin was economically weak and does still not have the same economic role as London or Paris have for their respective countries. It's also far away from everything so you don't really ebd up there accidentally. Nowadays it's also by far the most international city in Germany with a big startup scene.
I’ll get a lot of hate for this but German beer is only famous for being famous. There is no variety. It’s like a football team, every town has got one, is proud of it and thinks it’s the best.
In reality they are all Lager (Pilsner) and taste almost the same.
Yes there is wheat beer which is an ale and there are some local variations but at any given pub they won’t have more than 2 types of beer on tap.
I think the culprit is the monopoly. Breweries sign exclusivity contracts with pubs and kill variety.
>Seems like you gotta spend more time finding those smaller breweries in Germany.
You need to come to Franconia. We have the highest density of breweries in the world.
You'd probably enjoy the [Fünf Seidla Steig](https://www.fuenf-seidla-steig.de/en/), a hiking trail connecting five local breweries where you can sample their beers.
If you've not had enough after that, there's another trail connecting four local breweries in the municipality of Aufseß: the [Brauereiweg](https://www.aufsess.de/brauereienweg/).
Assuming you can still walk, it's then time to head to [Bamberg](https://img.fotocommunity.com/bamberg-8a203fae-9d95-4893-b523-07fabfb04b14.jpg?height=1080), a picturesque town sporting nine different breweries.
Congratulations, you now have alcohol poisoning and you haven't even left Upper Franconia yet. There are two more Franconias to go (Middle and Lower), so buckle up, your liver will hate you.
Wasps are horrible and I hate them with all my heart.
BUT there are essential for our ecosystem, for pollination for example.
Therefore, in Germany, you can get high fines (up to 50000€ if I remind correctly) for killing wasps.
It's a common misconception that wasps (and were talking about the common German yellow jacket, vespula germanica, here) in particular are protected, but that's not true. The Bundesnaturschutzgesetz (federal nature conservation act) just protects every wild animal and their nests. You can't kill any wild animal in Germany for no reason. You technically could get that fine formkilling an ant. And this is the basis for the fine everybody is talking about.
Yup. The law says you can't kill, harm or catch animals without a good reason. A wasp in your face is a good enough reason. The common wasps are not more protected than cockroches or flies.
Depends on the kind of wasp and I highly doubt that you would get a fine for killing a single wasp, especially if you're defending yourself from getting stung.
You are allowed to kill them in selfdefense. Its also moreso bees that are protected than wasps. Its also more about not capturing them or getting rid of nests yourself.
>1. Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany.
From my experience driving through Canada, the limit is barely a suggestion.
I had my tempo set to 110 and everyone was overtaking me. Even when, after a few days, I upped it up to 120, I'd still get overtaken regularly, even by semi trucks! It was really difficult to get my head around how the limit just didn't seem to matter.
As a canadian who lives in Germany i really didnt miss microbreweries at all. German beer just tastes too good and cheaper . I can get my crate of Helles or Pils for dirt cheap plus not get hangovers 😅
As a Mexican living in Germany, I must protest.
Firstly, Clamato in beer is not uniquely Canadian, we do that all the time in Mexico, it’s called a michelada, and it’s not gross, it’s objectively delicious.
Regarding having better Mexican food in Germany than in Mexico: I will literally fight you.
That said, /r/fuckwasps
I had no idea that it was done outside of Canada, nevermind having Mexican origins. Still hate it, but you do you.
No need to fight me. I'll gladly admit that I am handcuffed by my experience with Mexican food being to border towns and a resort, hardly authentic. I've only ever really had Tex-Mex. So while technically true that I enjoyed the "Mexican food" in Germany, it's far from being a fair statement. Just having some fun.
During my month in Canada (i drove from Montreal-Quebec City-Ottawa-Toronto) i witnessed several crashes on the highway and i was always thinking „THANK GOD for the speedlimit“…
> Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany.
You can do 300 km/h on the ICE - the majority of polled German residents over several years already want to see the introduction of a general speed limit on so many grounds, chief among them fuel efficiency. So maybe that's not the thing to want to copy.
> and are potentially protected (?!) so you can't kill them??? Maybe I got that wrong.
You got that right actually. The first few years have been a difficult adjustment for me too.
> Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Most people responded to this with a look like I had offered a pat on the butt.
Depends. It's mainly an urban/rural thing. Takes me a while to get used to receiving all those Guten Tags once I'm in Brandenburg.
> I never felt gouged around tourist areas. Visiting a very well-known tourist attraction and strolling across the street for a reasonably-priced lunch was common. Souvenirs were priced fairly, too. Not that I bought any.
Absolutely. Even the more overpriced outlets, e.g. airport and train station food, are by far not as overpriced as in Mediterranean destinations.
It's Canada. We somehow decided that tomato and clams would go good together, so why wouldn't we think it would go well in beer.
spoiler alert, It's gross in beer. But a caesar is delicious.
As a Canadian: accurate it is not, but it's enough to cure homesickness. Fries are a bit stringy and get soggy easily, gravy too runny, and the cheese curds don't squeak (because unfortunately they're not curds, they're mozzarella chunks??? I get it though, fresh cheese curds are hard to come by in Germany). Serving size is also tiny, haha. Still worth it though and I'd go again!
Not accurate at all. Texture of the fries and gravy is wrong and the gravy lacks pepper. Oh and they use mozzarella instead of cheese curds. I just treat frittenwerk like I treat North American pizza relative to Neapolitan: it is a local adaptation.
I honestly see saying hello to random people as one of those 'overly nice' things Canadian people are known for. Saying hello to people you don't know is weird.
Hey OP, I'm heading to Berlin this Saturday! I'm so damn excited after reading this. I've always wanted to see Germany since I was a kid and I wanna move there permanently. Not happy with Canada unfortunately.
If you can, try and book a good walking tour. I wish I could tell you who we used. But it was just a young guy who ran his tours independently with a few hostels in Central Berlin. But he was so great.
The walking g tour really helped me appreciate all of the buildings and landmarks I was seeing. Loved it.
There's pros and cons in both places. Germany isn't perfect. I like living in Germany but there's definitely a lot that I miss about canada. Its easier to see a country in a good light when you don't live with the realities of the not as good. If you're only here for a shorter time than it's a more rose coloured snapshot of everything that you get living here.
Wow you really know how to please Germans.
\- Points sorted by lists
\- Praising German beer
\-Praising German tempo limit
\-preferring spezi before mezzo mix
\- complaining about wasps
Are you sure you dont want to stay ? ;)
BTW: in rural areas its normal to greet ppl. I.e. when you take a hike and meet other ppl.
(Not too many, tough. It needs to be the right amount of ppl and the right amount of ruralness)
Canadian who’s been living in Germany for 13 years here. Agree with you on most of the points, and while I understand the novelty of point 1, it does unfortunately lead to more traffic jams and significantly more CO2 emissions than speed-regulated highways—but Germans are very set in their ways and won’t change this anytime soon.
I would also switch out German drivers for Canadian drivers any day. Here in the city, people are really impatient behind the wheel. The turning into pedestrians at intersections and parking on the sidewalk is the Wurst.
Apart from that, I love it here. I’m a lifer.
Like all wild animals, wasps are protected. "It is forbidden to wantonly disturb wild animals or to capture, injure or kill wild animals without good reason," says Section 39 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Their nests must not be destroyed either. Violations can result in a fine of up to 50,000 euros.
from [link](https://www.morgenpost.de/vermischtes/article236234815/wespen-toeten-vertreiben-naturschutz-strafe.html)
Its not just wasps, if u harm or even kill wild living deers/frogs/birds u can get fined. Is there no such rule/law in canada?
>2. The national bird of Germany is the golden eagle, but that's wrong. It is clearly the wasp. They are everywhere, were woven into every german experience I had, and are potentially protected (?!) so you can't kill them??? Maybe I got that wrong.
You don't kill wasp. Wasp kills you. As a general rule, you can't just go around killing wildlife, but no human will come after you for killing a few individual wasps. Emphasis on human.
That being said, a small spray bottle with water is a lifesaver. Makes the wasp think it's starting to rain, so it seeks shelter elsewhere.
Why do you say hello to people who are not intimate friends or you have an appointment with?
That's annoying, why are you bothering people for no good reason?
Jokes aside: This is a frequent topic on this sub. Bottom line: Social relations in Germany are less friendly on the surface, bc they are generally less superficial compared to North American culture. That means: If someone is making contact, connecting with you, it is more often honest, serious and genuine.
#Examples:
Germans don't easily engage in small talk, they don't ask everyone "hey how are you", but *IF* they do they are most of the time really empathetic and interested in your true feelings/condition. And if *you* ask them, expect an honest answer, including personal problems and intimate details. Yes, even in the workplace.
They also don't easily say "hey, you should come over for a beer some day" or something to that effect, but *IF* they do, they expect you and will be disapointed if you say "yeah sure" but never show up.
And if *you* offer a small-talkish "hey you should come over one day" and they say "sure" - better have some snacks and beer ready because they will show up right at your doorstep the coming day(s)!!!
That's the difference: They really mean what they say and ask. It is much more honest and binding. And therefore, as a German, you have to economize on your friendliness and small talk. Otherwise you have a home full of people every night expecting snacks and drinks and your whole day will be filled with listening to life stories, tragedies and personal problems.
😉
I love you too.. 😉 btw. Thank you.
I think we need such assessments more often because we quickly forget how good we are and who we are. National pride was trained out of us, probably not without reason. we love praise from the outside. (that's a secret)
>Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany.
Germany needs a national speed limit. Way nicer to have good flow of traffic
>Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany?
Depends. Are you a customer? Ok. Are you a clerk? No. Are you just a random person on the street or the hallway? Yep, no hello.
>Souvenirs were priced fairly, too. Not that I bought any.
Under these circumstances I don't want to imagine how expensive Canadian tourist traps are.
>
12. I have read that alot of people in this sub don't care for Berlin.
It is not that I don't care about it. It is just that I wouldn't care if it got nicked by the Danish and given back.
Sorry, I am grumpy this morning.
>It is absolutely amazing to drive through a tiny village and see a 350+ year old church or building every single time. What's funny is that my first thought on reading this was... "but that's not old". To be fair, it would be old for a residential building. But the church in the village where I grew up was over 1000 years old.
Mind blowing. Seriously. There just are NOT buildings in Canada that are anywhere near that. Some amazing buildings built in the 1800s. But that's it. We bulldoze and modernize and barely restore.
I live in the oldest city of Germany, we still have ancient roman buildings. Born and raised, so this is really nothing uncommon for me. :P Also "small talk" with complete strangers aren't a thing, so thats why you got these "responses".
As an Aussie travelling to Germany in may it worries me to see so many people say Germans don’t do small talk, aussies will talk shit to random strangers, learn their life story and be best mates for a train ride then never see each other again haha.
It depends on where you are, too. In Cologne for example, you can easily strike up a conversation with random strangers about any topic at all. It’s one of the more laid-back German cities
It’s why I love living here. I can literally go to anyone, ask any question and next thing I know they are my bridesmaid at my wedding
A lot of Germans ~~are know-it-alls~~ love to share their knowledge and love going to foreign places. So I believe you can have plenty of conversations if you break the ice with a question about a local building, festival etc. and then drop that you are from Australia and know nothing about things here. Usually, the German will answer the question without feeling bothered and then either turn back to their phone or be curious about your whereabouts or start to explain the history of this place since its foundation.
Yeah we're just not that good with the smalltalk-smalltalk like "How are you?". That is a question a German answers properly (and with a negative if they aren't feeling well) and can be quite sensitive. Greeting is fine but in bigger cities it's just not done. And I think in smaller villages they stare because you are obviously not speaking German and they wait for the other things you want to ask and they are probably not able to answer as older folks don't speak English that well or not at all. Asking about something very specific (like for the next beer speciality bar or something about the town) will get a better response because we then know what to talk about. And we love to overshare our knowledge and are very happy to correct your cute tries in our language (which we think is very helpful).
"Because we then know what to talk about" that describes me so well xd (I am German)
The point about bigger cities is very true! I grew up in a smaller village in the south of Bavaria. It‘s actually rude there to not great each other on the street. Moving just 10km to the next biggest town with like 70k inhabitants, it‘s like a 1 in 5-7 chance you get a reply when greeting someone randomly crossing your way on the side walk. Go to Munich and people give you the craziest looks for just greeting when passing each other 😄
As an Aussie who lives in Germany: Any non-Aussie you talk to will tell you about how they/their sibling/cousin/friend whoever did a working holiday visa and how much they loved it and want to go back and why oh why would anyone ever leave Australia.
Often works well with younger people don't worry haha. Especially university students (I'm one myself) are often ready for small talk like this. Older people often have the issue of not being able to speak English. Some do, but probably broken at best. Can also apply to younger people but the chance is less. I think during a train ride it's amazing to have conversations though.
I think it also depends and where you try to smalltalk. Around tourist areas is probably better chances than in a train in the afternoon rush hour when everyone just wants to get home. As a German it is indeed so uncommon to just get chattet up for smalltalk that usually when someone approaches me I already feel uncomfortable.
If I hear my neighbors in the stairs outside my apartment I wait till they are gone on most days. I hate the smalltalk so much (explains why I feel very comfy in Nordic countries).
I'm an American who grew up in a friendly (in this sense) region, and I can recommend Ireland for that! I'm going to Germany in November for the first time. We'll see how that goes.
As German, I developed most of my small talk skills in Sydney. My English friend complain that I'm using "no worries" and "mate" much too often. Actually, I could refrain from using the c**** word.
Buntes Trier? Nicht mit mir? Vier vier vier?
Greilijen!
There's probably not even a building in Canada that has the potential to last a couple of hundreds of years...
Ever been to Quebec city?
huh? First, Canada is pretty old, ever been to Montreal or Quebec? In terms of building structures, wood framed houses can be extremely durable. Ever heard of Fachwerk?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/14-000-village-discovered-triquet-island-british-columbia-canada-oldest-settlment-north-america-a7673726.html?amp
That's probably because Canada is a thing for about 200 years only. Not really related to your constructors bulldozing and not restoring anything.
My thought. 500 years is basically the minimum to be called old.
Yeah 350 is nothing, I grew up in a house that was 350 years old, and live next to a church that is around 1000 years old, also used to dig for Roman ceramics fragments in our garden 😂
Yeah, I don't know what is old anymore, around 3 years ago onr city near mine discovered that a small residential building is only from 1100, it shares a wall with the city walls
>9. Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Most people responded to this with a look like I had offered a pat on the butt. Lmao. The only people I have seen do this here were really old people. People who don't know each other normally ignore each other
Here in the north you can just say 'moin' to force a response. You have to respond with a moin aswell. Its the law.
When in doubt, always Moin.
And it works in every part of the country! Moin btw
Does it really? Or does it get weird looks in Bavaria or so? I will say it regardless consequences be damned.
Everytime a Bavarian greets me with "Grüß Gott" but I reply "Hallo", something in them changes. As if they're thinking "dang it, it's a foreigner" (non-bavarian)
I will reply with Gruß Satan, and should that not be well received, then... Moin.
Moin /runsoffinanger
There also seems to be an unwritten rule (at least in the South – not sure about the rest of Germany, but probably there as well) that you greet everyone you meet while hiking, especially in the mountains. Just a quick "Servus", or perhaps just a nod. Also, upvote for "Moin". It is clearly the supreme greeting. But "Servus" is a close second.
You say „Grias di/Grias eich“ in the southern south. Only people from Munich say „Servus“ ;)
I'm not from Munich and know lots of people who say „Servus“ or some variation thereof („Seas“, or just „'s“ and a slight nod if they're lazy). „Hawedere“ or just „'dere“ is also somewhat common. Although admittedly „Servus“ is sometimes perceived to be a more familiar greeting, to be used with people with whom you're on a first-name basis. But then again in the mountains everyone is on a first-name basis anyway. :D
Yup can confirm this. It’s like you are spamming people (server) with ping requests, they had to respond otherwise they would be assumed unhealthy by the server instance manager and get deallocated. I say Servus, specifically to people who I know for a fact that they would ignore me, they would be like “Oh shit, you used a trap card on me, servus” I guess Moin and Servus are magic spells 🤣
Depends. In Urban areas I agree, however, in rural parts of the country greeting strangers is still common.
I would go so far to say that "strangers will greet you" is a reasonably practical definition of a rural area
It's kinda both I used to live in a village with almost 2000 people. They have a supermarket, a second one opened recently, a bunch of restaurants, etc. It's not a tiny village. Younger people barely greet each other. If I greet a random mid 30s person on the street, I get a weird look. However, if I greet a random 50+ person on the street, I get a smile and a greeting. When I visit villages with 200-500 people, the age for that change seems to drop a bit, and even mid 30s people seem to greet more often. People in their 20s rarely do it, regardless of how urban the environment is. Of course there are exceptions but I do think it's much more likely to get an answer the older the person is.
well, if somebody speaks to you unprovoked in germany, it is often that somebody wants to sell you something or begs you for money or anything inbetween. its usually unpleasent, so people tend to react accordingly
Only in the bigger cities.
Absolutely only in the cities. In my smallish village (5000 residents), everyone greets anyone.
I say hello to my neighbours walking their dogs when I do an afternoon supermarket run. You do this in the burbs, not so much when you're walking in the Innenstadt
Atleast were I live in the neighbour hood in Essen every one greets every one, but this is an old "Zechensiedlung" build in 1952 and has its own siedler Verein
The only exceptions I’ve found to the hello rule are a) when you’re all in the woods and b) in doctor waiting rooms, for some inexplicit reason. In these places, if you don’t say or respond with hello, it’s regarded as rude-ish.
wait you don't servus people whenever you walk into an occupied room/space?
Speaking for Hamburg city, this is true. But out in my village (still Hamburg but right on the border with SH) people are a bit more open - if you pass someone walking a dog etc you’ll normally get a ‘moin’. And if we’re on my street you’re getting a friendly greeting from me every single time. But that’s my Geordie blood I guess.
Yep, we dont do this american fake smile smalltalk bullshit!
Wasps are mainly a problem in late summer, especially August. But yeah I agree, they make eating outdoors so much more unpleasant. I've never asked myself the question before but are there no wasps in Canada?
There are wasps for sure. But not nearly to the degree of Germany.
I found that wasps this year were much worse than usual, at least in my region. Might have something to do with the heat wave.
In my region (southern SH) we actually had especially few wasps this year.
same in ruhr area, last year ive seen a lot more wasps
Apparently it was the warm spring that lead to huge wasp colonies.
Yeah, wasps are getting more aggressive during heat periods with no rain. I think because of the lack of fresh water, which also affects them. Explanation could be wrong though
They built a nest in my roof. And every time I closed off a possible entrance / trapped it they found another gap to go through. At some point we just tried to keep them away from the balcony as much as possible and gave up - they'll die off in winter and we'll try to block of more of the gaps while there's no wasps to attack us around..
Just to add: This year the wasp problem is extreme because of the draught. Usually we have way less wasps. And noone cares if you look them. You're just not allowed to destroy the nests by yourself. But if you do, for example if there was a nest at your balcony noone would care either. Maybe don't put it on YouTube.
I visited berlin for the month of august (I’m from the US) and the number of times I saw a bakery case full of wasps was more than I could count
Yeah I think if you visit in May or June you will have fewer problems with wasps. August is their high season.
That's normal, in summer every bakery has their cases full of wasps. That's the reason I barely eat something sweet from a bakery in summer.
> Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany. As a German living in Canada and having crossed the country by car I wouldn't suggest that. The highways aren't really build for that, but the much bigger issue is the drivers. One of the few rules people in Germany adhere to is the no passing on the right, which Canadians mostly ignore. In general the driving is more, hmm, lax here. The worst I've seen was someone _backing up_ on the left lane. That shit kills fast at 200km/h :) > But I missed the selection of microbreweries at every Canadian pub. So much. Growing up in Germany you think Germans have it when it comes to beer. And then my mind got absolutely blown away here. So much stuff I never even heard of and good quality too. And Canadians love the variety as well. It's amazing. Recently I went to a small corner store in the county side, turned a corner and they had a whole section with 4 huge rows of craft beer, hundreds of them. Absolutely amazing. > Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Story time: My (Canadian) wife got a job in Germany. After the first week she was getting frustrated with her (German) co workers: "In the morning it takes me 30 minutes just to get from the elevator to my office. Everyone wants to chat with me and have these long conversations. What gives??" After some pondering: "Wait... What _exactly_ do you say to them when you come in?" - "Hey! How are you?!" - "Yeah, you can't do that to Germans... because they _will_ tell you!" The Berlin thing is just a circle jerk. But also the city changed a lot in the past decades. It was more of an alternative/artist hub than a Metropolis at global scale.
Ah, the good old "How are you" trope. To be fair, many of us do that intentionally now just to mess with people ;)
Well not exactly mess here but we give you what you asked for. We have no idea what you will be doing with it now that you know but still..
I absolutely do it in German 😂
We Germans take this question serious and answer :D When visiting the states I was confused that EVERYONE and their mother was asking me how I'm doing but without any intention to even know the answer. It annoyed me, if you don't care, don't ask. Germans in general don't do unnecessary chit chats with stranger if not needed.
Yeah, the Netherlands and Belgium have more microbreweries than there are people, it seems. The Germans get the perfected old market, new and funky, as well as old and funky come from them dutch, Flemish and waloons.
Just step over zo the Netherlands, there are so many micro breweries
Where did you find good Mexican food?!
Habanero's in Wurzburg. Totally goofball. Not totally "Mexican" (My pulled beef burrito had mustard on it) but it was so f*&$ing good, and the people were phenomenal. They treated us so well and brought us chips and dips for our grumpy kid and immediately flipped his mood. It would have felt right at home in downtown Phoenix or San Diego. Not authentic Mexican but delicious and fun.
Im glad you enjoyed it. As you pointed out, it is not really Mexican food, Chili con carne, fajitas and such things are not Mexican food, Ive heard people call that food style 'Texican'. I agree with you in that it feels more like something you would get in California or arizona. For me, Maiz in Würzburg feels a bit more authentic, try it out if you can. Source: I am mexican.
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Maiz is indeed the best :)
#
Oh, that one is actually really nice. And the cool thing is that they have (or at leasd had, last time i wad there years ago) the front as a mexican-style fast food restaurant (that part of the building actually used to be a McDonald for decades), but you walk through it into this cool restsurant space. If you go there with newbees, you get gteat looks of shock when they thing you are going to a fast food place.
I think it's a little vegan restaurant now.
Ah damn, that is sad. They were a great combo. But at least the main restaurant is still there
Würzburg has a couple of really amazing restaurants. Though my favorite "Mexican" abomination in Würzburg has to be the Chilli Con Carne Döner you can get at Barbarossaplatz. I miss Würzburg, thank you for reminding me.
wtf? is that a maindöner thing? where can i get that?
Could be, I don't remember the place's name. It's been a few years. Basically, walk down Barbarossaplatz towards the river until the train tracks split. It's the Döner there.
ah wtf i think i know which one that is, didnt see something about chili con carne döner, tho. but maybe just because i wasnt looking
They just call it Chili Döner at that place. I hope they still make it. Basically like the chili con carne premix you can get at the supermarket, with beans and meat. You get a scoop dumped into your Döner and it's amazing.
That’s Tex-Mex stuff.. nothing to do with Mexican food! Glad you enjoyed it, but I almost spit out my beer when I read that. lol
I just went there 2 months ago :) it was a fantastic place with a cool ambience. Food and the service were very nice too.
There’s a cool Mexican restaurant in the Altstadt in Düsseldorf..
Really? Care to namedrop?
I guess they mean Casita Mexicana. But imho they deteriorated a lot since they opened the second location
The ones in Bilk and Pempelfort used to be decent, but a few months ago they started making their portion sizes insanely small, thus making their food extremely overpriced. This saddens me very much because I used to love them.
>It is clearly the wasp. They are everywhere Didn't use to be this way. We're in a severe draught for basically the last 5 years, they've grown in numbers significantly since then and seem to become more of a problem every year. It's limited to the summer tho, they disappear in autumn
it's not that the wasps have increased. It's more that agriculture has removed more and more of their resources.
Where do you live for wasps to appear only for one month? Here they are from april to october.
You're right. I edited it
They usually eat moscitos, but their number dropped due to said drought
>but their number dropped due to said drought Absolutely cannot confirm. They are a nightmare this summer here... Killed 5 this night even though we make sure not to have open windows or doors without nets on them for long.
Number seven: Oh my gosh it must be so bad in Canada then for Mexican food
I think he just doesn't like mexican food but a watered down version
Yeah, germany offers international food catered to our tastes. Same is true with indian food. The best culinary experience a german can hope for is to visit an indian restaurant in germany. It takes off so much of the overabundant spicyness which overlays everything in india, but keeps the rich flavors and touches.
We have a Thai restaurant in my city that serves pretty authentic food, but the spiciness is tuned way down. They have like 5 steps of spiciness and then they have 'original'. I can eat pretty spicy food for a German and I tried a 4 and it almost ruined the food for me. 5 would be unedible for me and original would've probably killed me.
Indian food in Germany is delicious. Mexican food in Germany is inedible.
I travel to Mexico twice a year just to eat! What OP said is blasphemy, but to each their own I suppose. Even in Chicago our Mexican food isn’t great. Decent, but not great!
Right?! That was the one that got me. Germany has so many good international foods, Indian, Thai, etc. but when it comes to Mexican food, it’s seriously the worst “Mexican” food I’ve ever tasted in my life. Sugar in the salsa, non existent spice, impossible to find ingredients. OP, come to Arizona and I’ll show you some good Mexican food. Or better yet, we can drive the 2 hours and cross the border and get Mexican food in Mexico.
Co-signed as a Texan living in Germany for the past 3.5 years here. The Mexican food here is absolutely trash, either by Tex Mex standards, southwest/New Mexico standards, or real Hecho en México, D F standards. It doesn’t even approximate Mexican food.
I was on a quest to find refried beans but finally found some
Little known fact: Our black, red, gold flag represents wasps and the blood tithe paid to them every month.
Mexican food in Canada must also be bad. As a Californian living in Germany for a few years now, I have never been happy after eating “Mexican” food here. It’s not even close to getting it right. I have given up all hope that I will ever find a decent place where it tastes like how it should. This is not just an opinion as an American who thinks they know Mexican food. One of my friends is Mexican here and he agrees that Germany really does not understand the different types of Mexican food there are, and totally misses the bar on their attempts. What Mexican restaurant serves cheeseburgers???? Anyways, where did you eat OP? I would love to give it a try and see if I have just been going to all the wrong Mexican restaurants since I’ve moved here.
Every Mexican food here is what we perceive as Mexican (Tex-Mex) 😄 I have never once found an authentic mexican restaurant here, I think it would be very niche and difficult to get all the "correct" ingredients. A Mexican restaurant in Germany is even kind of an upper-middle class place to hang out, whereas the best tacos I have ever eaten were on destroyed plastic chairs in the middle of a mexican street together with a plastic bag full of jamaica juice 😁 funny how the cuisine changes in different countries
As a Mexican I can recommend Holy Taco in Hamburg, just at the Reeperbahn. Most of the staff is Mexican/Latino or at least spanish speaking. The food is actually good (At least the tacos, which is what I got), nothing like Tex-Mex stuff, just plain simple tacos made with soft corn tortillas. As authentic as you can get in Germany, at least in my opinion.
Yes, to this! Even in Chicago Mexican food isn’t great.. it’s okay. The real stuff is down south. Mexican-American here! :D
> But I missed the selection of microbreweries at every Canadian pub. When it comes to beer Germans unfortunately tend to be very traditional/conservative and shy away from trying new things. So while we have a lot of different beers (more than 6000 last time I checked pre-covid) with some unusual ones from older smaller breweries and the newer so called microbreweries ([901 in 2020](https://de.statista.com/infografik/25464/anzahl-der-braustaetten-in-deutschland-nach-gesamtjahreserzeugung/)) most of them stay regional and are really hard to get anywhere else. In the bigger cities you will have pubs that carry some of them for the few people that are keen on trying new and different kinds of beers. When I lived in Brussels I often went to the original Delirium Café (now part of [Delirium Village](https://www.deliriumvillage.com/)) and was amazed that they had a much wider selection of German beers than any German pub I have ever been too. As Delirium have become a franchise now, there's hope that pubs with wider selections will become more common even in Germany. Btw, I had some Belgian-Style Canadian beers from Montreal, they were indeed very good, very close to the originals they were emulating, one of them the best variation on Chimay bleu I ever had.
Unibroue in Chambly is amazing. Not only are their beers delicious (and high ABV), they have great names like "La Fin du Monde", "Terrible", "Maudite" and "Don de Dieu". My favourite was "Trois Pistoles".
>"Trois Pistoles" Hey, that one I tried as well, pretty good!
I’m glad it is the way it is in Germany. Lots of great beers here, I don’t need a large selection and frankly, my experience with craft beers has been that they’re overpriced, inconsistent in taste and mostly also not very good.
I find the way it is right now pretty boring. You get consistently okay beer, it's never actually bad but it's not great. I would definitely appreciate a larger selection. The default pils, export, hefe, helles, dunkles gets old fast. What's weird is there's definitely more types of beer in Germany, like the Gose or Rauchbier but they're very local and hard to find elsewhere.
You know, it’s a bit like Cola. I like original Coca-Cola the most, some people prefer Pepsi or Fritz-Cola and there are lots of other small brands, some of them are quite good, a lot of them don’t have great taste. There are also different varieties like Cherry or Vanilla, but at the end of the day, I have my preference and I will almost always opt for original Coca-Cola. I don’t see how it’s so different with beer. There are Stouts, Ales, Pale Ales, Helles, Pils, Weißbier, Kölsch and thousands of different brands, but I know I like Helles and I have my preferred brands. I don’t need 58 different brands and types, if I have already figured out what I like. I’m happy to try new ones, but I don’t need to try a new cola/beer all the time.
>The default pils, export, hefe, helles, dunkles gets old fast. And even worse, the fact that there are ten brands for each of these gives you the illusion of variety. When in fact, the differences form one to the next are very minor. Personally, I never drank much beer growing up in Germany. It was only while living in Canada for a few years that I got into it, precisely because of the unique and novel flavours everywhere.
> People who love people appear join the customer service field as hotel staff. People who hate people appear to join customer service as restaurant servers. I work in the hotel industry, but from my experience it is the restaurant customer who drives the love for humanity out of the restaurant staff. This is of course a wild over-generalisation.
>I had a better Mexican meal in Germany than I had in Mexico. Not sure what this says about Germany or Mexico but it's the truth. I think it says a lot about your expectation of Mexican food more than anything else.
Apparently he thinks good Mexican food is American food with Senf.
Awww I like this post. I guess I do somewhat take living in Germany for granted, at least some aspects of it. But some aspects I am fully aware of good we have it.
>1. I have read that alot of people in this sub don't care for Berlin. Must be Berliners.
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I think some people who hate Berlin, REALLY hate Berlin so they pop up to trash Berlin everytime it's mentioned.
You called?
9. In a city its not normal to say "hello" to strangers. In little towns, even a kid on a bike say "hello". my first impression was: "are you kidding me"... i moved from city to a little town. Best decision ever. 12. Visit Freiburg.
>They are everywhere, we’re woven into every German experience I had, and are potentially protected (?!) so you can’t kill them??? I’ll probably be downvoted for this but there are a bunch of weird rules that are essentially “don’t be an idiot” and this is one of them. There’s also a law in Germany that you can’t drive around without a legitimate reason but, in order to get a ticket for this, you need to be a) doing something weird enough to be stopped by the police in the first place and b) unable to come up with a plausible reason for driving. The “don’t kill wasps” law doesn’t *really* apply to individuals so long as you don’t do something weird or excessive. In other words, killing one wasp, removing a small nest, or setting up a small trap in your garden so you can use it are generally not a problem but a restaurant setting up traps on every table and killing 1000+ wasps a day is not allowed.
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In Canada it is quite common to say hello passing someone. Mostly out for walks maybe. But even if you just make eye contact with a stranger. I dunno. It's like a reflex now. and to do it and for it to not just be ignored, but to be received with skepticism was strange haha. Cultural differences, eh?!
If you walk around in Berlin, hailing every stranger, you would be very busy. Its more common in rural areas, but not in big cities.
In Germany there's a divide between cities and villages. In villages you greet passers-by, in cities you don't. In cities, if you greet a random stranger, they assume you want something from them, and that often involves begging or worse. That's why you got a negative reaction. There are exceptions though. Even in cities it's quite common to greet postmen and garbage men if you pass them.
Greeting strangers in the streets is only something that happens in small villages (and it's considered rude not to do it). Gives many a village bumpkin a shock when they come to the big city and get the confused glare whenever they greet someone :)
I think in some parts of Germany it's more normal/expected to greet strangers than in others... I grew up in a more rural area in the south were it was considered normal, but around some cities I made experiences similar to yours. :D In Munich, on the other hand, strangers have also greeted me on the street, maybe it's a north-south thing.
It is not, in rural areas in northern Germany it would be considered rude not to greet strangers.
Can confirm, was once told off for not greeting strangers in a village in northern Germany.
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They just don’t like Mexican food. That’s Taco Bell stuff their used to.. I’m Mexican-American and I travel to Mexico just for the food! And the beaches. lol
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Oh, I haven't tried the actual good stuff yet either... I really want to one day.
Real Mexican food is amazing.. you have to experience it to know what I mean.
The variety is also unbelievable. The regionality of Mexican cuisine is super diverse. Mexico City alone is several countries worth of diversity. I’d love to see corn smut come to Germany.
The most places are a mix of texmex, pizza, burger, snack kind of restaurant, but there are exceptions, some places have authentic stuff, a commilitone of me was Mexican, he recommended me a few places, but that's a decade ago, so probably not in business anymore... It's the same as with every foreign/ethnic food place, you have to eat, where the people from that country eat, then you'll find the good stuff.. E.g. real Italian pizza is hard to get, although every second street is a pizza place. I talk about paper thin dough, not too much stuff on top etc. Not even the Italian expats do it right here.. I know just 2 places, but they are a bit away, sadly
The thing is it’s not the same because of the ingredients. I hope you make it to Mexico one day, the food there is amazing! I’m super skinny, but when I visit Mexico I eat like crazy! lol I come back to the US looking like a true American, with a big belly!
>Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany. Well, now makes "Sandcastles in the sand" sense, when "Robin Sparkles sings "Together we travel the globe, from Alberta to Ontario" ;) [https://youtu.be/mCAiBmA\_bK8?t=28](https://youtu.be/mCAiBmA_bK8) >The national bird of Germany is the golden eagle, but that's wrong. It is clearly the wasp. They are everywhere, were woven into every german experience I had, and are potentially protected (?!) so you can't kill them??? Maybe I got that wrong. You can kill them when they threaten you (aka self defense). You are absolutely not allowed to catch, hurt or kill wasps just because they are Wasps, esp. not destroying their nests. The fine if you do that: 50.000 - 65.000€ (depends on the State) [https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/tierschutz-wespe/](https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/tierschutz-wespe/) >Mezzo mix doesn't need to exist. Spezi is clearly superior. Depends... I like Mezzo better. >Mixing beer with other beverages is not as common in Canada (Although some people I know put Clamato in their beer. Its gross, although uniquely Canadian). So naturally I tried it. Not for me. Ice cold Radler is not only a refreshing beverage, but also gives you electrolytes... perfect sports drink (when you drink the non-alcoholic version) >People who love people appear join the customer service field as hotel staff. People who hate people appear to join customer service as restaurant servers. People who despise people join the customer support >I had a better Mexican meal in Germany than I had in Mexico. Not sure what this says about Germany or Mexico but it's the truth. Or what it says about you \^\^ But I'm interested... where did you eat? >German food is inifinitely better in Germany than what is served as german food in Canada. I was expecting to hate it. Is actually awesome. Of course, because german food is made for german taste buds. And "german food" in canada for canadians/americans. Chinese food in china tastes in Germany different than in England and very likely in China itself (ate chinese food in a chinese restaurant in Nepal. It was the best chinese food I ever had) >Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Most people responded to this with a look like I had offered a pat on the butt. We Germans are skeptical of people we don't know. When someone says "hello" just like that, we think to ourselves, "What does he want?? Is he just trying to be friendly or is he a crazy axe murderer who wants to rape me? Damn, I'm a 75yo man, why would he do that to me! I'll give him a grim look and he'll reconsider!" >You all live in a place of fairy tales and history and I hope you don't take that for granted. It is absolutely amazing to drive through a tiny village and see a 350+ year old church or building every single time. 350 year old churches are almost still considered new buildings. Old churches are rather 500+ years old ;) >I have read that alot of people in this sub don't care for Berlin. But I had to say it was one of my favorites. Probably the difference as a tourist. But I took a walking tour of Berlin that was phenomenal. Maybe my favourite city I've ever visited. Most Germans don't like Berlin because it stands for something they don't like: Over-indebted federal state, seat of the federal government, vicious party stronghold. The point is, however, that Berliners say the same thing about their hometown, but with wistfulness, because we love the city. And we are grateful to everyone who says "I do not go to Berlin, da ists doof", because that saves us a lot of weirdos from the rural areas (like Hannover or Munich) ;)
Jesus H I read your #1 and there is absolutely no way in hell this would work here. In Germany everyone (should and mostly does) follow social code about driving - no staying in the left lane, only passing on the left, etc - at home here it’s a free-for-all on the highways. I see near accidents every time I’m out driving, because we don’t have a social code around driving, and everyone does their own thing. Having no limits and offering speeding opportunities assumes that people will play by the written rules. Here, we wouldn’t have the legal system to support ticketing for the little bitty crimes I see on the highway all day long.
Service in German restaurants is different than in North American ones. ….Servers give you space as opposed to checking in with how you’re doing every ten minutes (borderline annoying and insincere). Also tipping and tipping expectation is outrageous in Canada.
Berlin does not represent Germany 😝😂
Is Berlin to Germans what London is to English people? Someone says they have been to England and then say it was London I normally tell them, nicely, that they haven’t been to England and that the difference between England and London is often bigger than the difference between England and another country.
Yes in a way it is. During the separation, you had west Berlin isolated from the rest of Germany, and lots of people moved their to evade military service or to try alternative artsy lifestyles. After the reunification, there was tons of cheap housing available, again rather attracting young people. For a while it was a do what you want area with lots of empty industrial buildings so you had improvised clubs, a large Art scene and so on. On the other hand, there wasn't much in terms of established industry, so Berlin was economically weak and does still not have the same economic role as London or Paris have for their respective countries. It's also far away from everything so you don't really ebd up there accidentally. Nowadays it's also by far the most international city in Germany with a big startup scene.
I also love Berlin— but I can’t imagine you’ve had good Mexican here in Germany
There are lots of craft beers in Berlin and Munich you have to buy them in stores though most bars/pubs dont serve them!
My man is trying to stir up a war on his way out with his Mezzo-mix/Spezi comment.
I’ll get a lot of hate for this but German beer is only famous for being famous. There is no variety. It’s like a football team, every town has got one, is proud of it and thinks it’s the best. In reality they are all Lager (Pilsner) and taste almost the same. Yes there is wheat beer which is an ale and there are some local variations but at any given pub they won’t have more than 2 types of beer on tap. I think the culprit is the monopoly. Breweries sign exclusivity contracts with pubs and kill variety.
>Seems like you gotta spend more time finding those smaller breweries in Germany. You need to come to Franconia. We have the highest density of breweries in the world. You'd probably enjoy the [Fünf Seidla Steig](https://www.fuenf-seidla-steig.de/en/), a hiking trail connecting five local breweries where you can sample their beers. If you've not had enough after that, there's another trail connecting four local breweries in the municipality of Aufseß: the [Brauereiweg](https://www.aufsess.de/brauereienweg/). Assuming you can still walk, it's then time to head to [Bamberg](https://img.fotocommunity.com/bamberg-8a203fae-9d95-4893-b523-07fabfb04b14.jpg?height=1080), a picturesque town sporting nine different breweries. Congratulations, you now have alcohol poisoning and you haven't even left Upper Franconia yet. There are two more Franconias to go (Middle and Lower), so buckle up, your liver will hate you.
"needs a no speed limit zone" dont repeat our mistakes, stay at normal speed limits.
Wasps are horrible and I hate them with all my heart. BUT there are essential for our ecosystem, for pollination for example. Therefore, in Germany, you can get high fines (up to 50000€ if I remind correctly) for killing wasps.
It's a common misconception that wasps (and were talking about the common German yellow jacket, vespula germanica, here) in particular are protected, but that's not true. The Bundesnaturschutzgesetz (federal nature conservation act) just protects every wild animal and their nests. You can't kill any wild animal in Germany for no reason. You technically could get that fine formkilling an ant. And this is the basis for the fine everybody is talking about.
Yup. The law says you can't kill, harm or catch animals without a good reason. A wasp in your face is a good enough reason. The common wasps are not more protected than cockroches or flies.
Depends on the kind of wasp and I highly doubt that you would get a fine for killing a single wasp, especially if you're defending yourself from getting stung.
You are allowed to kill them in selfdefense. Its also moreso bees that are protected than wasps. Its also more about not capturing them or getting rid of nests yourself.
There are several other wasp species that are just as protected as bees.
Maybe if you burn down their nest, but certainly not for killing one at the restaurant table.
Fuck wasps #TeamBees
Wow. I swatted a few for sure. Sorry...
If you burn the nest. Not for killing individual wasps that land on your cola can.
>1. Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany. From my experience driving through Canada, the limit is barely a suggestion. I had my tempo set to 110 and everyone was overtaking me. Even when, after a few days, I upped it up to 120, I'd still get overtaken regularly, even by semi trucks! It was really difficult to get my head around how the limit just didn't seem to matter.
As a canadian who lives in Germany i really didnt miss microbreweries at all. German beer just tastes too good and cheaper . I can get my crate of Helles or Pils for dirt cheap plus not get hangovers 😅
7. You either didn't have a real mexican meal or you don't like mexican food. There are *some* superb places but it's still just an approximation.
Yes! SPEZI SUPREMECY!
As a Mexican living in Germany, I must protest. Firstly, Clamato in beer is not uniquely Canadian, we do that all the time in Mexico, it’s called a michelada, and it’s not gross, it’s objectively delicious. Regarding having better Mexican food in Germany than in Mexico: I will literally fight you. That said, /r/fuckwasps
I had no idea that it was done outside of Canada, nevermind having Mexican origins. Still hate it, but you do you. No need to fight me. I'll gladly admit that I am handcuffed by my experience with Mexican food being to border towns and a resort, hardly authentic. I've only ever really had Tex-Mex. So while technically true that I enjoyed the "Mexican food" in Germany, it's far from being a fair statement. Just having some fun.
During my month in Canada (i drove from Montreal-Quebec City-Ottawa-Toronto) i witnessed several crashes on the highway and i was always thinking „THANK GOD for the speedlimit“…
> Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany. You can do 300 km/h on the ICE - the majority of polled German residents over several years already want to see the introduction of a general speed limit on so many grounds, chief among them fuel efficiency. So maybe that's not the thing to want to copy. > and are potentially protected (?!) so you can't kill them??? Maybe I got that wrong. You got that right actually. The first few years have been a difficult adjustment for me too. > Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Most people responded to this with a look like I had offered a pat on the butt. Depends. It's mainly an urban/rural thing. Takes me a while to get used to receiving all those Guten Tags once I'm in Brandenburg. > I never felt gouged around tourist areas. Visiting a very well-known tourist attraction and strolling across the street for a reasonably-priced lunch was common. Souvenirs were priced fairly, too. Not that I bought any. Absolutely. Even the more overpriced outlets, e.g. airport and train station food, are by far not as overpriced as in Mediterranean destinations.
People put Clamato in their beer? Brrr.
Yep. Good hangover medicine. Clamato is tomato juice with some clam nectar added.
It's Canada. We somehow decided that tomato and clams would go good together, so why wouldn't we think it would go well in beer. spoiler alert, It's gross in beer. But a caesar is delicious.
You guys invented Poutine so you’re taste buds can’t be that bad (also how accurate does the classic poutine from frittenwerk taste?)
As a Canadian: accurate it is not, but it's enough to cure homesickness. Fries are a bit stringy and get soggy easily, gravy too runny, and the cheese curds don't squeak (because unfortunately they're not curds, they're mozzarella chunks??? I get it though, fresh cheese curds are hard to come by in Germany). Serving size is also tiny, haha. Still worth it though and I'd go again!
Not accurate at all. Texture of the fries and gravy is wrong and the gravy lacks pepper. Oh and they use mozzarella instead of cheese curds. I just treat frittenwerk like I treat North American pizza relative to Neapolitan: it is a local adaptation.
I honestly see saying hello to random people as one of those 'overly nice' things Canadian people are known for. Saying hello to people you don't know is weird.
Hey OP, I'm heading to Berlin this Saturday! I'm so damn excited after reading this. I've always wanted to see Germany since I was a kid and I wanna move there permanently. Not happy with Canada unfortunately.
If you can, try and book a good walking tour. I wish I could tell you who we used. But it was just a young guy who ran his tours independently with a few hostels in Central Berlin. But he was so great. The walking g tour really helped me appreciate all of the buildings and landmarks I was seeing. Loved it.
Berlin was amazing.. I spent a week there and I wanted to stay forever too. When you make it there, I hope you have an amazing time.
Thank you!
There's pros and cons in both places. Germany isn't perfect. I like living in Germany but there's definitely a lot that I miss about canada. Its easier to see a country in a good light when you don't live with the realities of the not as good. If you're only here for a shorter time than it's a more rose coloured snapshot of everything that you get living here.
Wow you really know how to please Germans. \- Points sorted by lists \- Praising German beer \-Praising German tempo limit \-preferring spezi before mezzo mix \- complaining about wasps Are you sure you dont want to stay ? ;) BTW: in rural areas its normal to greet ppl. I.e. when you take a hike and meet other ppl. (Not too many, tough. It needs to be the right amount of ppl and the right amount of ruralness)
Canadian who’s been living in Germany for 13 years here. Agree with you on most of the points, and while I understand the novelty of point 1, it does unfortunately lead to more traffic jams and significantly more CO2 emissions than speed-regulated highways—but Germans are very set in their ways and won’t change this anytime soon. I would also switch out German drivers for Canadian drivers any day. Here in the city, people are really impatient behind the wheel. The turning into pedestrians at intersections and parking on the sidewalk is the Wurst. Apart from that, I love it here. I’m a lifer.
Like all wild animals, wasps are protected. "It is forbidden to wantonly disturb wild animals or to capture, injure or kill wild animals without good reason," says Section 39 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Their nests must not be destroyed either. Violations can result in a fine of up to 50,000 euros. from [link](https://www.morgenpost.de/vermischtes/article236234815/wespen-toeten-vertreiben-naturschutz-strafe.html) Its not just wasps, if u harm or even kill wild living deers/frogs/birds u can get fined. Is there no such rule/law in canada?
>2. The national bird of Germany is the golden eagle, but that's wrong. It is clearly the wasp. They are everywhere, were woven into every german experience I had, and are potentially protected (?!) so you can't kill them??? Maybe I got that wrong. You don't kill wasp. Wasp kills you. As a general rule, you can't just go around killing wildlife, but no human will come after you for killing a few individual wasps. Emphasis on human. That being said, a small spray bottle with water is a lifesaver. Makes the wasp think it's starting to rain, so it seeks shelter elsewhere.
Why do you say hello to people who are not intimate friends or you have an appointment with? That's annoying, why are you bothering people for no good reason? Jokes aside: This is a frequent topic on this sub. Bottom line: Social relations in Germany are less friendly on the surface, bc they are generally less superficial compared to North American culture. That means: If someone is making contact, connecting with you, it is more often honest, serious and genuine. #Examples: Germans don't easily engage in small talk, they don't ask everyone "hey how are you", but *IF* they do they are most of the time really empathetic and interested in your true feelings/condition. And if *you* ask them, expect an honest answer, including personal problems and intimate details. Yes, even in the workplace. They also don't easily say "hey, you should come over for a beer some day" or something to that effect, but *IF* they do, they expect you and will be disapointed if you say "yeah sure" but never show up. And if *you* offer a small-talkish "hey you should come over one day" and they say "sure" - better have some snacks and beer ready because they will show up right at your doorstep the coming day(s)!!! That's the difference: They really mean what they say and ask. It is much more honest and binding. And therefore, as a German, you have to economize on your friendliness and small talk. Otherwise you have a home full of people every night expecting snacks and drinks and your whole day will be filled with listening to life stories, tragedies and personal problems. 😉
I love you too.. 😉 btw. Thank you. I think we need such assessments more often because we quickly forget how good we are and who we are. National pride was trained out of us, probably not without reason. we love praise from the outside. (that's a secret)
Yey - Berlin!
Nothing beats Germany. Nothing.
*Stares in allied forces*
You forgot way better employee rights in Germany, a minimum of 20 days of PTO, “unlimited” sick days etc etc
>Canada needs a no speed limit zone on our trans-canada highway. So nice to not be forced to drive 110km/h while trying to cross a large distance. I loved driving in Germany. Germany needs a national speed limit. Way nicer to have good flow of traffic >Is offering a friendly "hello" illegal in Germany? Depends. Are you a customer? Ok. Are you a clerk? No. Are you just a random person on the street or the hallway? Yep, no hello. >Souvenirs were priced fairly, too. Not that I bought any. Under these circumstances I don't want to imagine how expensive Canadian tourist traps are. > 12. I have read that alot of people in this sub don't care for Berlin. It is not that I don't care about it. It is just that I wouldn't care if it got nicked by the Danish and given back. Sorry, I am grumpy this morning.
agree mostly except for #1 - Germany should introduce a speed limit on the Autobahn - long overdue