That's not really true germans are mostly shy in the way they don't know you. They need Time to get to know a person. That's one of the reasons why there seem Not so polite. Making friends in Germany: You put time in and they will stay your friends forever. And for me as a German I never forget a Person that I met.
I'm staying in south africa for half a year and i'm not learning afrikaans. I can say morning, and thanks and please. I already speak 3 languages and afrikaans is not gonna help me anywhere but here ^^ so i do believe it depends on the situation
And it is not that difficult. German and english are close relatives anyway. And you must not get stressed out about learning german. If you try you may get stuck somehow and you can very often get away with some english words and sentences. People in general will recognize your effort and kindly help you. And don't be afraid of mixing up the articles. People may smile but understand you. And accent is not at all a problem. People here are used to so many accents, may it be bavarian, saxonian, frankonian, colognian or all the foreign accents like french, english, turkish, italian, asian and what not.
@@stakeoutrockhound523 It's Hennebergisch which is a Franconian dialect which is spoken in the Southwest of Thuringia: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennebergisch
Sure there are, but it also depends on where you live. Where I do live (a district of hesse with a lot of villages and a few small towns) you are considered a weirdo if you do not at least attend the Kirmes of the biggest town here (that's a special kind of festival in germany, one could say it is festival to celebrate the town/village where it takes place. So all non-germans can understand my comment as well)
@@joannahgn5678 Da frag ich mich aber, wo du wohnst. Ich komm auch aus einem kleinen Dorf in Hessen und hier interessiert es keine Sau ob du bei einem Fest auftauchst oder nicht. Dass es in einem kleinen Dorf immer irgendwen gibt, der sich über irgendwas das Maul zerreißt, das ist normal. Aber auch da sind andere Themen wesentlich weiter vorne.
@@Piretfreak87 Werra-Meißner-Kreis, Wer nicht zumindest einmal aufs Johannis-Fest geht ist einfach seltsam, selbst die weggezogenen kommen typischerweise zu diesem wieder zurück hierher
Most surprising/shocking thing for my wife (American) in Germany was the German aproach on friendships. Almost all her German coworkers seemed to be reserved, no big smalltalk or real bonding. But all of a sudden, a simple "how are you?" to one of her coworkers turned into some sort of a 2 hour therapy session... I belive, this goes along with your point of brutal honesty. First people tend to be very reserved, but if they let you get closer, you can get overwhelmed with how open Germans can be, when it comes to their personal problems. She felt, there is no inbetween, just "mutual respect" that turns into "trustworthy person".
Yeah, in Germany "how are you" is a real question that will get answered, it always confuses Non-Germans immensely. I guess we are really pretty weird.
"How are you?" can be a bad question to ask in Germany especially to an older person because chances are you'll spend the next hour hearing about their hernia, their kidney stone operation, the times they need to get up at night to pee and how everything compares to the time they had really bad hemorhoids that they needed to have cut open (will be described in detail with the sounds it made and the colour of the fluid.)
Maybe it's because we are not as superficial as the let's say average white US Citizen. From an early age onwards we are told that you don't learn about the true character of a person during the first but rather during THE LAST meeting.
Ahhh, brutal German honesty: We are just like "Why in hell would you ask me a question if you do not want a honest answer?! "🤔🤔🤔 No matter what the question is! Probably even if we are asked "How are you?" Okay if a non German person asks I might respond in the way the anglophone world would in a act of politeness -no matter how I am- but still be pissed that someone makes me lie for the sake of a kind of politeness that feels so wrong to me 😤 So, please do not use that as greeting in Germany, unless you really want to know how the other person is.
We were talking about icebreakers in English class and then we talked about "How are you?" and our teacher told us we always had to answer "fine". Our class was like:"Okay, I will probably die tomorrow, but I am fine.
Not a German but Danish (very similar culture and mindset). When I lived for a period of time in the United States in my younger years I found it very strange that unknown people wanted to know how I was actually doing. I just played along but never really got used to the fake politeness.
@@avatarjiyuna3159 Well I would say that many germans really answer "I'm fine" but mostly only to strangers. Or when they dont want to talk about it. But if a friend would ask me how I am, I would be honest and just tell her/him that I don't wanna talk about it😊
Jup, I hate it when someone asks "How are you" who don't cares about me. It is more for people who know each other better and it is an invitation to tell how your life is going. If I don't feel good and I don't know or like someone I feel uncomfortable to say that I feel bad oder to lie.
@@TheCimbrianBull Fake politeness or real politeness , you won't lose a kidney if you just say I'm fine or not fine & make a excuse and move away from that person. You people make it such a big deal out of it.
Being 55 years old, let me tell you: I remember VERY hot days and summers in Germany. We just didn´t EXPECT air condition, we DEALT with it, lol. It never lasts very long.
jutta popp Never lasts very Long ?! Don’t u remember the last summer which literally startet in April and ended in September with an average temperature of 37 degrees 🤔😂
@@liliblume5468 It's always only a couple of days with such extreme temperatures. I'd prefer air condition too but if there isn't any, so what? People are so whiny these days lol The bf of my niece couldn't even drive with his car when the ac didn't work. Like wtf? I just open the windows, end of story. smh
September Rain I live in Berlin and the temperatures are indeed very hot not only for a few days and nobody uses air conditioning, my car doesn’t even have it but still the summers are way hotter than they used to be.
Garage928 Who do you think you are to say what Germans complain about ?! The heat is dangerous, the forests are burning off and people are indeed dying so most people are happy about a bit rain after 40 degrees of temperature...U are just rude and don’t know shit. Google the fucking temperatures of last year and tell me again the heat lasts for only for a couple of days !
complete bullshit. i come from the countryside and i absolutly hate it there. the people are just closed minded and just want to get drunk while the guys think a dancefloor would be a great place to drink and try to act cool to get a girl but they won't dance and just stare at every guy who is just trying to have a good night and fucking dance ! Schützenfest and Dorffeste just suck.
People being brutally honest and telling you what they think is a good thing, unlike Britain where they're super friendly but actually can't stand you.
Black Water - they’re not brutally honest in those places, they think brutal honesty is haughty or being “up yourself”. If you offer your honest opinion about someone’s outfit, or opinion on a personal matter, or correct someone’s grammar/spelling mistake in Wales and Scotland there’s an 80% chance that the Welsh and Scots would be offended and think you’re being rude.
@@abcxyz-cx4mr If I had a pound for every time that I was called up stuck up bitch when I thought I was being polite. Lol. Thanks - I'll take that into consideration.
Of course it’s a sign of ignorance to not even attempt to learn the language of a country! I really don’t understand why you would even want to live somewhere for years when you can’t even basic conversations with people.
So glad that most of us have a talent for languages but not everybody does and even if you move to a country wanting to learn the language you might just never get it right. In Germany people tend to like speaking english and instantly switch if they feel you have trouble with German ( pretty much robbing you of an opportunity for the sake of efficient communication, I am guilty of this too) I am still struggling with certain turkish words, although I try to learn the language since being a kid and there are plenty turkish speaking germans and foreigners in the country, but I just seem to lack some face muscles to get it right XD
Well, I once had a discussion with someone on TH-cam who found it absolutely not necessary to learn the language of the country he was living in because he would get away with English almost every time and he said it was no longer up to date to have to learn that language.
Philemaphobia I’m a bit confused by your reply, but I just want to clarify that Antoinette and I were both clearly talking about people who make no effort, not people who try but struggle.
Ja obwohl ich sagen muss das ne Klimaanlage in einigen Sommern echt von Vorteil wäre. Wenn es mehr als 2-3 Tage über 35° ist bringt Stoßlüften auch nicht mehr viel ^^.
Darauf sollte ich mich vorbereiten. Ich bin ein Deutscher Amerikaner und plane, so bald wie möglich nach Deutschland zu ziehen. Ich werde eines Tages dort ankommen. Ich habe auch Deutsch gelernt. :)
Thumbs up. Giving straight forward honest answers may seem weird for some of the more polite people but it really helps getting to the point. Telling my wife that some dress doesn't suit her is just saving her a lot of time figuring out if it really suits her or not.
Having grown up in germany I never felt winter much of an issue.. Until I spend my first winter in Finland. From that experience: vitamin d supplements will help a lot.
Regarding the heat, while yes it has gotten hotter in the summer compared to 10 years ago and yes german homes usually don't have airconditioning. Most homes are well enough insulated that as long as you open the windows for a time during cooler times, like early in the morning or late in the evening, the temperature can be kept below 30°C within the apartments. It can become a problem if it's very hot for several weeks since, but it's still managable. Of course that isn't true for every apartment or house, but I think it does for most. A good rule of thumb to avoid this is to make sure to avoid apartments in the uppermost floor of a building. Those tend to heat up the most, but as I said how bad it is depends on the building and some other things, like the direction the apartment windows are facing.
these videos always make me happy I'm German :) being proud of our nationality is not very popular I feel like, but I think it should be. It's a great country!
reasons to celebrate: 1. first monday this week. 2. first tuesday this week. 3. first wednesday this week. 5. first thursday of the week. 5. first friday of the week. 6. first saturday of the week. 7. first sunday this week. 8. BONUS REASON: I have a birthday this year!
- Foreigner: "Hello, Fritz! How are you?" - Fritz: "Well, not so good as last week. I have hemorrhoids and the doctor prescribed this ointment that I must rub my anus with three times a day. But it really itches and burns!" - Foreigner: *speechless* 😳🙄😶
I never understood it. I moved away 6 years ago and right now I am back for a visit for 2 month and honestly, it's the weirdest thing ever. I'm so uncomfortable with it now, that I'm seriously socially awkward in Germany.
@@evilstermegaman I live in Australia and used to live in New Zealand as well. People there are not superficial! It's just a different form of interacting with each other. And yes, I would rather be surrounded by positive people instead of constantly complaining people. It has a huge impact on your mental health!
I am german and i like to watch this kind of Videos👌 its interesting to hear whats special in germany what we not realy recognize ( hope my english is not too bad 😂)
@@AntoinetteEmily oh thank you😊 what do you think about that germans like to come on point * better come 5-10 min earlier* to a date or apointment. I heart that we are really crazy 🤔
The real vicious cycle is climate change makes the air hotter -> spends tons of energy to cool down buildings -> CO2 used to produce that energy causes climate change
Just lurking yes but it is more important to protect from cold climate than from hot climate. Sure both is dangerous in there own ways, but the change to survive hot weather is higher than cold weather. I am against air conditioners too but I am not against heater there are so many environment friendly methods if you inform yourself decent.
@@andreawirtz2728 Weather isn't climate. The heat of the past few years has led to draught, we now have the biggest ever recorded fire in the Bundesland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern thanks to last summer's heat. We also have dust storms in Brandenburg. We have dying forests and wetlands. This is not about feeling well in summer. This is about our country rapidly changing.
I think learning the language of the country you want to live in is a sign of respect. No matter if you come to Germany or any other country in this world. Here in Germany we know that our language is not the easiest one to learn and me personally, I have a lot of respect for everyone who does learn our language. But I have to say, I do not agree with the last point on your list. I don't think that you have a problem if you don't like to celebrate in Germany. Especially if you live in a big city. Noone will care if you go to a festival or not. But even in small villages you are not forced to go to any kind of festival.
You are right that we do not force anyone to celebrate with us, but as we have these cultural barriers (no polite small talk or shit chat with strangers) it will be more complicated to build up any friendship here with us. But there is another way to do that, that Antoinette never had mentioned but I guess she will in the nearer future. Join a club and engage yourself in that club. Her daughter is now close to the age where she will move her attention more to her peers than to her family and at that point, it could be her wish to join a club. Often this is the moment when the parents did take some responsibilities for the club and with that, you must and will build up some new relationships.
I always thought it's normal and actually a good thing, when people are honest. Instead I found that many American people appear kind of unauthentic. Not in a very bad way, but just a bit too friendly.
As a German who gets irritated looks for his honesty sometimes by other Germans I don't think I'd enjoy the US or New Zealand in that matter. 😅 IMO especially if someone is important to you he/she deserves honesty... I'd feel bad for lying, even if it were just about someone's weight, haircut or cooking.
Antoinette Emily That is great!!! :-) Thank you very much Antoinette. 😊 I would love to visit New Zealand and I would love to visit Germany. You are always welcome here in Japan. 🤗❤️
@@TheMusicLauncher Japanese is actually like english. Easy in the beginning, but difficult when you want to deep dive into it. Ever gave it a try? If you find Japanese hard to learn then maybe you just haven't found your way to learning Kanji yet. If so, don't stress about them and don't even try learning them one on one. Always put them into context. Good luck!
@@missis_jo You do realize that Japanese is rated as one of the hardest languages to learn, while English is generally known to be easy to learn, right? Hell, I learned English on my own, without school or help. Try doing that with Japanese.
Such a true video. Yes, it was hardly ever over 30 degrees when I grew up. 26 were the warm days. If someone does not like Fasching, they should move to Niedersachsen. It often happened that I only remembered it is Fasching when suddenly seeing 3 dressed up elementary school children, as where I grew up, Fasching was not celebrated that much. You have to search for an event. But we have Schuetzenfest, Jazz Festival and all the other things that feel like straight out of GIlmore Girls
Antoinette, I am a German woman, who has lived in America for the last 33 years, where the culture is apparently similar with regard to people never saying what they really mean. Even after 33 years in the USA, I can not get used to people constantly saying things they do not mean. I think it is healthy to be honest with one another, of course, in a tactful way. Glad you like it in my country. Thanks for the video!
"It is a sign of ignorance if you live in Germany without learning the language." - I think that sentence holds true for everybody living in any country around the world, not only in Germany.
Being lived in a tropical country all my life, 30-35 degrees celcius is a very common occurence! Here it’s normally 27 degrees when I wake up (5-5.30am) and in the afternoon it’s usually 36-38 degrees and mind you it’s the rainy season:( we do have air conditioning here but it usually just doesn’t cut it :/
That "tropical" is the point. :facepalm: We people in Germany & Austria have mostly DRY air. We even get grilled in the summer-sun and once it doesn't rain for a few weeks, our plants on the fields start withering because of having no water. EDIT: At my place, our heat-peak was this year freaking 39,8 degrees Celsius with air so hot that simple walking out of the house was a huge pain.
"jaywalking is a huge no-no" really only when theres kids around. you can really just go if youre in a hurry and if someone goes up to you ignore them theyre being rude tbh. but dont jaywalk if there are children watching, especially very young children.
Please note that there are noticeable regional differences. Beer and wine festivals are big in the south, less so elsewhere. You may know about the Oktoberfest, which is the most famous such festival - it's in Bavaria/Bayern. In fact, people in other regions jokingly call Bavaria a foreign country at times. One of the large political parties in the Bundestag is the CDU/CSU, so-called because it's actually made up of the "sister" parties CDU and CSU. On a state level these are separate, independent parties, but they have agreed that in Bavaria only the CSU runs for office whereas in the 15 other states only the CDU does so. This enables them to join together on the national level as a single parliamentary group. Fasching (the carnival) has places where it's a major celebration and other places where it has much less relevance. I think most cities have some sort of celebration, but there are places so well known for them that they are called what translates to "carnival strongholds". Keep in mind that the (first?) Unification of Germany happened less than 150 years ago. In fact, I as a German think I stand a better chance to understand most people speak English (even those who are not native speakers) than I do to understand a Bavarian speak the pure, unadulterated Bavarian dialect. Honest answers are not ubiquitous, but I guess they are rather more common. If you are asking someone how you look, the honesty will probably depend on their closeness to you. People who are not particularly close (but still want to remain friendly with you) will often tell you you look good regardless of what they actually think. And people who don't really know much about fashion (like me) might also give generally vague, positive answers. But from a certain level of closeness onwards you can expect rather brutal honesty in most things. The thought process there is that you need honest criticism to improve, and when people are close enough, they know that a bit of criticism won't actually hurt their relationship.
Exactly what my eavesdropping son thought also. I didn't catch the word at all and couldn't figure out what word was said but he said "What? Hate?, Did she say "hate"?
The honesty is great in my opinion, if i do something wrong i want to be told he yeah dont do that so i know not to do that, and when i ask a question i want an honest answer i dont want people to say what they think i wan to hear
Tolles Video. Ich bin deutsche und erst seit deinem video fällt mir auf das deutsche so viele Feste feiern..in unsere Stadt sind zwischen April und oktober bestimmt 5-8 Feste 🙈. Man muss ja nicht zu allen Festen hin aber es ist eine schöne Abwechslung.👍
That’s true, in Germany we absolutely LOVE to celebrate and also to get crazy and drunk. Especially in the little villages, everyone celebrates on Saturdays and Fridays, every weekend! Almost no one is at home in the evening at the weekend which I think is great bc I love to celebrate :). I‘m german and I think your facts are true! Lots of love from the Northcoast
K/DA Kai‘Sa wassss echt? Es gibt natürlich immer Leute die nicht gerne feiern gehen möchten und das ist auch volkommen ok, aber bei uns aufm Dorf gehen alle am Wochenende feiern haha :).
@@AntoinetteEmily oogh, look out for good schools. Otherwise your daughter could get bullied cause she's a "white unbeliever, and female". Sounds like 1940, but is actually true...
I'm a German German teacher. So it's always very interesting to listen to people talking about my country and culture so fondly. Thank you for your input! And good luck with learning our language. It's hard but also a beautiful language full of humor and pictures :)
I find in the little village I live in most people don’t speak English. I’m ok with that because I’m trying to learn the language. I think it’s beautiful. I was surprised on how many holidays they have here. My husbands like oh I have a three day weekend and then like the next week like a have four day weekend. I asked him what was the holiday and we both didn’t know. I love that Germans respect family time.
If you live in the eastern part of Germany the people most likely studied Russian instead of English at school. Everyone in Germany with a not just basic education speaks at least one foreign language. In Saarland this might be French, but in the most areas it will be English. Maybe in your village people just feel they are not skilled enough or they might be too shy to speak English with a native speaker.
Lavender Luna when they do speak English they told me to slow down because I’m talking too fast. My neighbor had said the same thing and I of course slow down but I also had told her that I’m actually speaking slow and most talk faster than I do. She was like wow that is crazy!!
It's so kind of you share with us these tips. I've heard the same advices from people who live in Germany too. Wheater, language, german's behavior all of them must be considered to someone has the dream to live in Germany.
Living in Germany and I think, this summer is not that bad. Yes, there are some days with the temperature above 30° C, but at least only for a few days. And you can let in some cool air around sunset. Last year, the hot weather started back in mid to late April and stayed that way until September, if I remember correct. And even the nights were so hot, that you coudnt sleep.
I have to agree with every point you raised. I lived in Germany for 6 years back in the early 1990's and loved every minute of it. ii - The heat... I was lucky enough to live in a house with a cellar, so if it got too hot overnight we used to sleep down there. During daylight hours we lived in the garden. We set-up a garden sprinkler and paddling pool to cool off. iii - Winters... I remember on my first winter living there looking outside in the morning and it looked like we had overnight rain - it wasn't rain, it was black ice. I suffered for many days after when I walked out 'normally' and ended up on my backside. iiii - Language... learning is a must for any Country you visit/live in. I learnt very basic German at school. My stock phrases when I first arrived were : Alles klar, Entschuldigung, wo ist and Guten Tag - my most used first phrase was Pommes ohne Mayo. I learnt the language as I went along and locals appreciated that I was trying, even if it resulted in many having a laugh at my expense.
I think as a foreigner working in another country we need to be openminded and take the challenges. Of course be prepared to all those negative things and survive. Good insights, very informative.
Haha, is that Kiwi dialect? Me hearing: "Don't come to Germany if you don't stand the hate".... Me: "Whatwassat?" --"...because it can get really hot here..." 😅
I did get it after a second... But yes, I have frequent problems just acoustically decoding what native english speakers say... But my comment about kiwi dialect had no mean intent, I find such dialects sweet to listen to actually😊
several times some german did not believe what i said. One day i had a toothache, so that i had to excuse to my boss to leave the office. Then, my colleague asked me repeatedly the same question why i had to leave as if i had lied. Another time, my other boss asked me whether I had read the message he sent. I had not opened my email and he asked me to open the email because he wanted to know whether I lied. Another occasion, I just served a n old frail patient and then her daughter came in. afterwards, she accused me that i had stolen her father's armwatch and reported to the doctor in the ward. I felt exploded with that stupid nonsense. the next day, the paramedic, who brought her father, gave the ward the armwatch. I understand it is necessary to have a proof to believe someone. On the flip side, it shows also a stupidity and hypocrisy if it pointed out to the wrong person.
I'm a native German, living in Germany, and I don't particularly like to celebrate anything. I guess I shouldn't live here according to Antoinette's criteria :-)
When we were stationed in Schweinfurt we used to go to Fasching in Wurzburg. :-). We also loved the Federweisser festival in a small village near us, and the Schweinfurt town festival with the Ferris Wheel. And of course the Weinachtsmarkts in Salzburg, Nuremberg, and Schweinfurt. We miss going to the Wurzburger Hofbraukeller!!! We miss pretty much everything about Germany (Except the heat in the extra hot summers).
I live in Germany for many years now, well I'm German so nothing special about that xD The funny thing about it is, that some of those points you had are actually things I don't like. The worst of them is heat. I'm melting the last couple of days.😭 But I love Autumn und winter doesn't bother me at all. I love snow😍❄ What you said about learning German is totally true. When we see that someone is trying to learn German we appreciate that a lot. But you should prepare yourself for a few giggles. Personally I think every person who tries to learn German has my respect. It's a really difficult language (I think I could have never learnt it when I weren't born here😂). But every time I hear someone attempt to speak German I need to laugh or giggle, not because we think it's bad, but it sounds way to cute. ❤😂. You should definitely prepare for that. I actually didn't notice, that we party a lot, but now that you mention it🤔 we even have specific music genres just for partying 😂 so yeah apparently we party a lot 💃😂
Get enough bright lights in the house for the time until you move... (several 1500+ lumen bulbs per room!) It seriously makes a huge difference when your room is brighter than the winter-daylight :P
I was born in Bamberg and raised up in the region you were living right now, so I love your Videos. The photos remind me so much on my youth, were I loved to spend time on winefests ;)
Whenever I see your videos I have to think of my mother, who came from Ireland to Germany with my father at the age of 21 years. At the beginning the German language was very difficult for my mother but now after 56 years in German today she speaks accent-free German and I am really proud of my mother because German is a difficult language. everything you said about Germany and us Germans is so true no matter what it is. Germany has great people and we have a beautiful country. I am German and Irish myself and have lived in Australia for 2 years and had a lot of New Zealand friends there. I found New Zealanders incredibly nice and you can be proud of your country and the New Zealanders speak much better English than Australians.By the way, your German is really good. I wish you and your family good luck here in Germany and a lot of blessing. Seàn
Oh, there are so many other reasons, for me, even after 3 years here, I still can't get used to these things: - slow internet - bureaucracy - communication via post (are we in the middle ages!?) - superficial approach from Germans in a lot of situations
Hallo Antoinette, ich habe vor vielen Jahren 6 Monate in NZ gelebt -ich habe bis heute viele schöne Erinnerungen an deine wunderschöne Heimat. Lovely greetings Susan from Bavaria ☺
Ahhh this feels good to hear someone else pointing out the things I realised as a German while being in Florida for 4 months. At some point I missed the German honesty so so much. I didn't really like the all happy and nice vibes of Americans since I'm used to blunt confrontation. Thanks for the vid I really enjoyed watching it.
Is it humid over in Germany ? It’s been 37 degrees in Virginia this past week and so humid . I honestly don’t think I could go without an ac because of the humidity . We can’t open windows here at night really because so many bugs . I remember being in England one summer and it was really hot ( not like here hot ) but you can open windows there , so it wasn’t bad .
It can get ridiculously humid close to the coast or large waters. I live right next to the Baltic sea and when we get some hot days in a row I can only hope for a decent wind or thunderstorm to get some breath into me again.
Didn't remember the early bird being such a pretty one. ;-) Anyway, it is of quite some interest to listen to your personal experience with German habits. Seems people here are not as bad as some other foreign people think. :-) Lower Frankonia is as any other region a fairly special one to live in. Sure, they do Fasching there not knowing the true festivals name is Karneval, but they are still friendly people there. :-) Have a good day and thank you for your interesting videos presented in this calm and understandable way. :-)
it's part of the experience of living in a different country to learn the language. I'm a native English speaker and I find my fellow native speakers to be most ignorant and feel they should not learn the language of their host country.
I absolutely love the German culture and have been watching your videos a lot lately! Hopefully one day I will be there as well. Lots of love from South Africa😁🇿🇦
As a South African that has lived in the UK and Australia, I find that I'm too brutally honest for those places. I have offended many by pointing out problems so that they can be fixed. I don't recommend either of these places, particularly Australia where they are very thin skinned and the dominant culture is a payback culture for imagined slights.
I must say you are rather extreme. You are extremely good observing your German life and culture. You are extremely good in communicating your observations in a way that can be useful to others. And as near as I can discern, you are extremely good at responding to your observations in the most productive manner. I am an American who lived two and half years in Austria, roughly fifty-five years ago. My wife and I are considering moving to Germany now for an expected year-and-a-half stay. As I came across your videos here, I thought these are perfect for my wife to see, and also for me to consider things as they were and things that may be different now after five decades. We both look forward now to watching more of your videos. Thank you!
I wont use any AC because I think its part of the problem. Im thinking like this: my fridge needs a lot of power already and its cooling only this little box. how much energy does a AC need to cool down a room, or apartment.... or a house? and when I think about american crappy houses with no insulation.... omg..... and btw, I think when a AC is working its producing more heat than its cooling overall right? pls correct me if im wrong P.S. sry for my bad english
I love your channel and your positive attitude! By the way, your way of bringing up your children bilingually with the one parent - one language method is the only right method. I studied linguistics with the main focus on bilingualism, so I know. :-) I couldn't comment on the video about bilingual children, but I wanted to let you know that you are doing the right thing! Keep up the good work, I really enjoy your videos! You seem like such a nice person! Greetings from Munich!
Funny stuff Antoinette! I started travelling to Germany about 5YRS ago. I'm a naive Texan, but have lived in San Diego for over 25YRS. I went alone to an Industrial/Goth music festival that's held in Cologne every year. It was absolutely the best time ever! I walked around & every single person was super friendly. I picked up very quickly that Germans are totally fascinated by both Texas & California. In fact, most of the time I would look down at my watch & an hour had already passed. I would then have to politely end the conversation & move on of course. Anyway, I met some people that lived in the small village of Schwerte. All the people I met & their families are "salt of the earth", "give you the shirt off their backs" Country German folks! To make a long story short - I consider them my 2nd family, visit twice a year, & they've even visited San Diego once (more after they retire soon). I just really lucked out!!! They all want me to move there (especially my GF of course), but I just can't pull the trigger for various reasons. Ah to be young & just starting your life like you were/are....... ( ;
I like your videos very much,and I like your personality. I hope you could show more pictures when you explain things. That would be more interesting.^_^
Great video! I've been living in Germany for 2 and a half years now and I'm leaving soon, because it's the worst country I've ever been in, hands down. For many people that want to move to Germany, please reconsider and do a lot of research about the country before. A couple of reasons why I'm leaving are that people are rude, not funny, boring and the life here is very boring, the language is not fun to learn at all, I learned it pretty fast but I began to hate it, people judge a lot (they are using the direct approach as Antoinette said in the video).
Yeah, in the 80s/90s it was like max of 2-3 weeks over 30-35 degrees per summer. Nearly 40 degrees were less common than today, at least it’s like that in my memory. It was usually ok to get somehow through that short period of time. On the opposite side, I remember living in Wellington for 4 years and my Kiwi friends complaining about the “unbearable heat” ;-) when the temperature rose over 24 degrees in summer, but it has becomer warmer there too. Well, the starting point is just what people are used to as the “normal” temperature. I can definitely relate to the winter experience. That struck me hard after returning to Germany and is still noticable. Kiwi expat friends of mine feel the same as you.
I admire how positive you are about all these things and especially about the first thing you mentioned. I have lived in different cities in Germany for over 7 years but I've only experienced this behavior since I moved to Hamburg about a year ago. I don't think I can put such a positive spin on it. In my experience the people telling others "what they are doing wrong" are simply unable to coexist with other human beings and believe they are more important than others. I wonder if it's a local thing or it's me.
@@katibarrett8779 Pls give me an email addy if you consider working as an au-pair for 4-6 weeks next summer in Germany! My then thirteen-year-old son would love to have somebody to talk to in English and show him/her around and you could earn some money.
Are you became an ambassador of Germany, Antoinette? What and how you explained things was so lovely and true. AC: Yes the highest temperature were not so extreme and the period of really hot days were not so long to invest in ACs. Therefore were our winter really really cold. The winter started at mid, latest at the end of November and ended latest at mid of April. The temperatures under -10°C for a longer period were no rareness. Lowest temperature...mmh I remember something about 40°C for a few days. And we always had white Christmas! We children had sooo much fun with the snow, which was often higher than 60cm downhill to northern Germany. In some areas more than 120cm...always! But not only summer and winter...we had all seasons and we always could define what season we have now. But that is changing more and more. We have not really winter anymore and the summer becomes hotter and hotter. One famous german word: Klimawandel
In what time and mysterious part of Germany did you grow up? ;) >>Der Winter weist für die Periode 1761 bis 2017 einen Mittelwert von −0,2 °C (1961-1990: 0,2 °C) auf. [...] Der Winter 1829/30 war der kälteste der Zeitreihe mit einem Mittelwert von −6,6 °C.>Die 1960er-Jahre müssen geradezu ein Weihnachts-Winterwunderland gewesen sein. Rund die Hälfte aller Weihnachtsfeste in diesem Jahrzehnt war weiß: Dichte Schneedecke an allen drei Feiertagen. So muss es doch sein, oder? Leider Nein. Ein absolutes Ausnahme-Jahrzehnt, sagt Jens Oehmichen vom Deutschen Wetterdienst: "Das ist ein relativ seltenes Phänomen, dass es im Tiefland weiße Weihnachten gibt und wenn man mal zurückschaut in die Vergangenheit, da sieht man also, dass man pro zehn Jahre ein bis zweimal weiße Weihnachten hat im Tiefland."
As a Mediterranean living in Germany for more than 8 years now, there are certain things that I found different from the culture I grew up in. 1) Some I loved immediately, 2) some I still can't accept even now, 3) some I was quite against at the beginning but realize now that they make more sense and 4) some I'm still trying to accept as such and adapt and 5) some where I try to change Germans on.:D:D Examples for 1) Their directness. Oh God, I love it. I don't have to think about what they might actually be meaning. I'm also a direct person and was probably an outsider in my culture.:) I don't mind criticism as long as it's not personal. 2) I still can't get used to being told off by people working in the service sector. A shop owner or waiter can easily shout at you. If this would happen in my country, that shop wouldn't continue business for more than a month and that waiter would right away be fired. After all, I can't stand impoliteness. There can always be a way to state something most negative in a polite way. 3) The fact that they aren't always available, that the shops or certain government offices are open at given days only. Everybody has a life outside of work and they are entitled to it. The only country I can imagine myself opening a coffee shop is Germany because it can be closed at 6pm and nobody would think it's crazy. Whenever I see shops open on Sundays, I start questioning if the boss is paying the employees extra money for this. 4) Their slowness. I have a hot blood as a Mediterranean, I can't wait.:D I try to detain myself to make the time pass for me while waiting for a German prepare something for me. :) I practice being a patient person thanks to Germans.:D 5) Their lack of solutions in cases of crisis. Because Germans do everything slowly, carefully and thoroughly, things work most of the time and in a very efficient way. But unfortunately not always.:D Because it's a rare event, they don't know how to think practically when things don't work. In such cases, I try to push them, start giving ideas in a very kind and careful way. And to my surprise, they mostly get surprised by the idea and its practicality. I'm surprised because they can't even think about it.:D Being grown up in a culture where people mostly disobey rules and create trouble, we develop our ways of solving problems, I guess. I believe Germans should be able to adapt this 'thinking out of box' thing easily because I call them an 'engineer' folk. They just need to put some risk analysis in their infamous regulations and rules books. :D Liebe Grüße an alle, die es bis hier gemacht haben! Ich mag Ihr Land so sehr!
Really? The last part is actually quite unusual from my experience. I would say it is the opposite. I'm not sure which country you are from but as a German I would consider most Mediterranean Countries super slow and inefficient. That's why there is more chaos. We do have an issue with bureaucracy tho. Everything takes super long and there are papers for everything. I think the issue in Germany might be that they want thinks to be done "the old fashion way". For sure not an entrepreneur country (these times are long over). But yeah when it comes to working things need to be done quick and proper. We hate quick solutions that don't look professional ;)
Antionette. Just recently subscribed, and am enjoying your videos. As a person who has lived in Germany in the small town of Lemgo for four years, agree with you 100%. Numbers 3/4 & 5 are very true. I enjoyed my time in Germany, and would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you for doing these videos. You're a star. Greetings from Belfast, Northern Ireland. 🇬🇧🇩🇪🇳🇿
I'm German and I'm really annoyed by people who tell you what you've done wrong. Especially elderly (bitter) people do that A LOT even though there's nothing really to complain.... they complain.. 🙄 That never happend when I spent some time in the US and Australia. People are more chilled there.
Ich lebe jetzt schon seit fast 10 Jahren in Australien und hab als Teenager ein Austauschjahr in den USA gemacht. Ich versteh gar nicht mehr, wo diese Idee herkommt, dass Aussies oder gar Amerikaner "chilled" oder "laid back" sind. In beiden Ländern sind die meisten Leute stockkonservativ und oft rassistisch. Die regen sich über viele Sachen auf.
@@gulliverthegullible6667 die Australier, die ich erlebt habe, waren cool drauf. Okay, die alten Farmer im Outback waren etwas knöchern, aber ich hatte keine Probleme. (Wie mit den Ureinwohnern umgegangen wird, ist nochmal n anderes Thema, aber da darf sich sicherlich keine Nation aus dem Fenster lehnen.) In England habe ich 4 Jahre gewohnt und um mich kurz zu fassen... da will ich nie wieder hin. (Ja, ich hab da auch nette Freunde gefunden, aber trotzdem.) Und mit den Amis hatte ich auch nicht so viele Probleme. Die sind halt bissl dumm, aber ansonsten bin ich mit denen klargekommen. (Thema Ureinwohner/Schwarze, siehe Australien.) Fest steht aber, dass der Begriff "Deutsche Meckerkultur" durchaus seine Berechtigung hat!
I don't think ac is the cause of global warming... it is actually a combination of many bad human habits. If energy is produced green (solar, wind, ...), then why is ac so bad? (asking seriously, not sarcastically)
@@JBru1978 AC creates heat. It takes energy to cool something, and it creates warmth. Plus we don't have 100% renewable energy, which means AC adds to the general output of problematic substances.
She has just mentioned, that there is no air conditioning in Germany, which is true...where is your problem? Surely you are aware that air condition is very common in other countries? Manche Leute müssen sich einfach immer wichtig machen....🙄
Hello ^^ I'm a bit late for this video, because I just stumbled across your channel xD I am a German and I thought it might be worth mentioning, that the more rural you get, the less people will know English, or lets say the less people are willing to speak English. It's our first foreign Language and from my experience I can say, that a lot of people are scared to have to speak English, because they don't have good grades in the Language and don't want to screw up. At least it was like this in my case (I'm 30, so maybe it's different now, but it was like this for me). I had always failing grades in English classes and whenever I heard someone speak English, I was scared I would need to talk to them and embarrass myself. It got better after I helped working on an international festival and I HAD to speak English and it helped me a lot to get over that fear. By now I actually enjoy speaking English with others and I'm not scared any more, but I still see a lot of students and such, that don't want to speak English. (I have some friends, that can't understand even basic words as well)
Interesting video it is always fun to see oneself through someone else's glasses but I don't agree with those Germans who told you that it was not that hot when they grew up. I was born in 1961 and there has always been heatwaves throughout my childhood. I don't recall a single summer without temperatures above 30. Summer 1976 was extremely hot and dry with temperatures of 37 C e.g.... so it might be that we beat some records the recent years but to say that it was not hot, seems to be wishful thinking of some..
@@berndhoffmann7703 it is not exceptional that some years have longer summers than others. This May e.g. was exceptionally cold and rainy. The next two weeks we will have 20 degrees in Berlin which is exceptionally cold for july. Whenever the temperatures rise above 30 nowadays people think that this is abnormal. it is not. In 1473 there was an extremely hot summer which lasted 4 months. People could cross the Danube by foot because it had dried out completely. If this happened today people would panic.
Also the days with high temperatures above 30 C in 1976 were not many. Most was in Rheinstetten with 17 days. Don't trust memories, it's always better to look at real statistics.
Although I prefer the Winters to the Summers in Germany, I use my Christmas lights to brighten the short days. I'm not allowed to put them up before Totensonntag, which is really late for me as an American, but I leave them up through January which I'd never do back home. I swear some people keep them up til March to endure the short days at latitude 51!
Loved this video!!! I've been living in Ireland for the last 2.5 years and am originally from the states, I've been struggling with coming up with videos that showcase difference in cultures/norms and life in general.... So thank you not only for entertaining and informative videos but also for ideas! ❤️❤️❤️
A few weeks ago, I heard some english author saying "English are too polite to be honest and Germans are too honest to be polite"
That's not really true germans are mostly shy in the way they don't know you. They need Time to get to know a person. That's one of the reasons why there seem Not so polite.
Making friends in Germany: You put time in and they will stay your friends forever. And for me as a German I never forget a Person that I met.
English are too polite to be honest??? Never heard of that, and I don't believe in it.
We Germans call a spade a spade
Ordnung muß sein!
@@niceberliner Spade, shovel: similar, but not the same ;)
No matter where you live, you should always learn the language. Otherwise you‘ll never understand the culture.
The funny thing here: if you say this as a German you are a Nazi.
I'm staying in south africa for half a year and i'm not learning afrikaans. I can say morning, and thanks and please. I already speak 3 languages and afrikaans is not gonna help me anywhere but here ^^ so i do believe it depends on the situation
@@lucyfer4619 Ääääh, nö.
@@e020613 I see you are a beginner in learning it as well- keep it up!
@@lucyfer4619 Schmarrnsepp, or *rubbish-Joseph* to address the international audience over here. ,)
Learning the language is a sign of respect
Also, you are missing out on experiencing some aspects of the culture if you do not learn the language.
And it is not that difficult. German and english are close relatives anyway. And you must not get stressed out about learning german. If you try you may get stuck somehow and you can very often get away with some english words and sentences. People in general will recognize your effort and kindly help you. And don't be afraid of mixing up the articles. People may smile but understand you. And accent is not at all a problem. People here are used to so many accents, may it be bavarian, saxonian, frankonian, colognian or all the foreign accents like french, english, turkish, italian, asian and what not.
I think it is more a sign of need ;-)
That respect aspect is bullshit
@@stakeoutrockhound523 It's Hennebergisch which is a Franconian dialect which is spoken in the Southwest of Thuringia: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennebergisch
You don't have to go to festivals if you don't want. There are enough Germans who avoid going to festivals.
Sure there are, but it also depends on where you live. Where I do live (a district of hesse with a lot of villages and a few small towns) you are considered a weirdo if you do not at least attend the Kirmes of the biggest town here (that's a special kind of festival in germany, one could say it is festival to celebrate the town/village where it takes place. So all non-germans can understand my comment as well)
@@joannahgn5678 Da frag ich mich aber, wo du wohnst. Ich komm auch aus einem kleinen Dorf in Hessen und hier interessiert es keine Sau ob du bei einem Fest auftauchst oder nicht. Dass es in einem kleinen Dorf immer irgendwen gibt, der sich über irgendwas das Maul zerreißt, das ist normal. Aber auch da sind andere Themen wesentlich weiter vorne.
@@Piretfreak87 Werra-Meißner-Kreis, Wer nicht zumindest einmal aufs Johannis-Fest geht ist einfach seltsam, selbst die weggezogenen kommen typischerweise zu diesem wieder zurück hierher
I'm German, 24 yrs old and hate festivals. I do love drinking but more privately with people I know at my or their homes.
@@joannahgn5678 Oh wow. O.o Dann kann ich ja froh sein, dass das hier nicht so ist. Ich bin nämlich absolut kein Mensch für Feste.
Most surprising/shocking thing for my wife (American) in Germany was the German aproach on friendships. Almost all her German coworkers seemed to be reserved, no big smalltalk or real bonding. But all of a sudden, a simple "how are you?" to one of her coworkers turned into some sort of a 2 hour therapy session...
I belive, this goes along with your point of brutal honesty. First people tend to be very reserved, but if they let you get closer, you can get overwhelmed with how open Germans can be, when it comes to their personal problems. She felt, there is no inbetween, just "mutual respect" that turns into "trustworthy person".
Yeah, in Germany "how are you" is a real question that will get answered, it always confuses Non-Germans immensely. I guess we are really pretty weird.
@@stakeoutrockhound523 Actually yes, we do.
"How are you?" can be a bad question to ask in Germany especially to an older person because chances are you'll spend the next hour hearing about their hernia, their kidney stone operation, the times they need to get up at night to pee and how everything compares to the time they had really bad hemorhoids that they needed to have cut open (will be described in detail with the sounds it made and the colour of the fluid.)
@@johngill6290 That's true! Germans are said to be very reluctant to open up but let us complain about our illnesses and we'll talk for an hour.
Maybe it's because we are not as superficial as the let's say average white US Citizen.
From an early age onwards we are told that you don't learn about the true character of a person during the first but rather during THE LAST meeting.
Ahhh, brutal German honesty: We are just like "Why in hell would you ask me a question if you do not want a honest answer?! "🤔🤔🤔
No matter what the question is! Probably even if we are asked "How are you?" Okay if a non German person asks I might respond in the way the anglophone world would in a act of politeness -no matter how I am- but still be pissed that someone makes me lie for the sake of a kind of politeness that feels so wrong to me 😤
So, please do not use that as greeting in Germany, unless you really want to know how the other person is.
We were talking about icebreakers in English class and then we talked about "How are you?" and our teacher told us we always had to answer "fine".
Our class was like:"Okay, I will probably die tomorrow, but I am fine.
Not a German but Danish (very similar culture and mindset). When I lived for a period of time in the United States in my younger years I found it very strange that unknown people wanted to know how I was actually doing. I just played along but never really got used to the fake politeness.
@@avatarjiyuna3159 Well I would say that many germans really answer "I'm fine" but mostly only to strangers. Or when they dont want to talk about it. But if a friend would ask me how I am, I would be honest and just tell her/him that I don't wanna talk about it😊
Jup, I hate it when someone asks "How are you" who don't cares about me. It is more for people who know each other better and it is an invitation to tell how your life is going. If I don't feel good and I don't know or like someone I feel uncomfortable to say that I feel bad oder to lie.
@@TheCimbrianBull Fake politeness or real politeness , you won't lose a kidney if you just say I'm fine or not fine & make a excuse and move away from that person. You people make it such a big deal out of it.
,,You don't need to spend so much money"
Christmas markets:
hold my Glühwein
@d21 Tumbleweed more like hoi4 channels
Being 55 years old, let me tell you: I remember VERY hot days and summers in Germany. We just didn´t EXPECT air condition, we DEALT with it, lol. It never lasts very long.
jutta popp Never lasts very Long ?! Don’t u remember the last summer which literally startet in April and ended in September with an average temperature of 37 degrees 🤔😂
@@liliblume5468 It's always only a couple of days with such extreme temperatures. I'd prefer air condition too but if there isn't any, so what? People are so whiny these days lol The bf of my niece couldn't even drive with his car when the ac didn't work. Like wtf? I just open the windows, end of story. smh
September Rain I live in Berlin and the temperatures are indeed very hot not only for a few days and nobody uses air conditioning, my car doesn’t even have it but still the summers are way hotter than they used to be.
Lili Blume until it starts raining again and you all complain. It is really only a couple days and you should enjoy the summer
Garage928 Who do you think you are to say what Germans complain about ?! The heat is dangerous, the forests are burning off and people are indeed dying so most people are happy about a bit rain after 40 degrees of temperature...U are just rude and don’t know shit.
Google the fucking temperatures of last year and tell me again the heat lasts for only for a couple of days !
I'm German and I honestly think, the partys in little villages are literally better than the ones in big cities 😅😂
Dorffest = Village Party 👌 best partys of them all
@@the.9ty9 trueee!🍻
Luisa True!
Das vorglühen der Dorfkinder ist die alkoholvergiftung der stadtkinder
complete bullshit. i come from the countryside and i absolutly hate it there. the people are just closed minded and just want to get drunk while the guys think a dancefloor would be a great place to drink and try to act cool to get a girl but they won't dance and just stare at every guy who is just trying to have a good night and fucking dance ! Schützenfest and Dorffeste just suck.
People being brutally honest and telling you what they think is a good thing, unlike Britain where they're super friendly but actually can't stand you.
Especially in Scotland and Wales, also in Ireland too (I know Ireland isn’t in Britain btw).
@@abcxyz-cx4mr Are they brutally honest in those places or not?
Black Water - they’re not brutally honest in those places, they think brutal honesty is haughty or being “up yourself”.
If you offer your honest opinion about someone’s outfit, or opinion on a personal matter, or correct someone’s grammar/spelling mistake in Wales and Scotland there’s an 80% chance that the Welsh and Scots would be offended and think you’re being rude.
Those countries have a sickly sweet or a sickly nice culture similar to Canada.
@@abcxyz-cx4mr If I had a pound for every time that I was called up stuck up bitch when I thought I was being polite. Lol. Thanks - I'll take that into consideration.
Of course it’s a sign of ignorance to not even attempt to learn the language of a country! I really don’t understand why you would even want to live somewhere for years when you can’t even basic conversations with people.
So glad that most of us have a talent for languages but not everybody does and even if you move to a country wanting to learn the language you might just never get it right. In Germany people tend to like speaking english and instantly switch if they feel you have trouble with German ( pretty much robbing you of an opportunity for the sake of efficient communication, I am guilty of this too)
I am still struggling with certain turkish words, although I try to learn the language since being a kid and there are plenty turkish speaking germans and foreigners in the country, but I just seem to lack some face muscles to get it right XD
Well, I once had a discussion with someone on TH-cam who found it absolutely not necessary to learn the language of the country he was living in because he would get away with English almost every time and he said it was no longer up to date to have to learn that language.
Philemaphobia I’m a bit confused by your reply, but I just want to clarify that Antoinette and I were both clearly talking about people who make no effort, not people who try but struggle.
UntotesSchaf and I would say that guy is rude and disrespectful.
@@DrGlynnWix Yep but he (or maybe it was a female, I don't know) had another opinion. ;-)
We don’t have air conditioning, we have „Stoßlüften“😂
xDDD Das stimmt, ich musste so lachen xD
Ja obwohl ich sagen muss das ne Klimaanlage in einigen Sommern echt von Vorteil wäre. Wenn es mehr als 2-3 Tage über 35° ist bringt Stoßlüften auch nicht mehr viel ^^.
Darauf sollte ich mich vorbereiten. Ich bin ein Deutscher Amerikaner und plane, so bald wie möglich nach Deutschland zu ziehen. Ich werde eines Tages dort ankommen. Ich habe auch Deutsch gelernt. :)
Einfach in der Nacht lüften und am Tag die Fenster zu.
it would be very ironic if we would answer the heat problem due to climate change with air conditioning which propels climate change
Thumbs up. Giving straight forward honest answers may seem weird for some of the more polite people but it really helps getting to the point. Telling my wife that some dress doesn't suit her is just saving her a lot of time figuring out if it really suits her or not.
When someone compliments you you also know they mean it.
and it is saving her from an embarrassing appearance
@@berndhoffmann7703
Yes, correct. And it also saves you from listening to her complaining about it for a long time afterwards. 😁
Sven Weihusen yeah did that to my last three wife’s. Zack, divorced! HaHa..
Having grown up in germany I never felt winter much of an issue.. Until I spend my first winter in Finland. From that experience: vitamin d supplements will help a lot.
You definitely need to take the D! 😉😏
Hmm I love winter there is no reason too get depressed. Ok without snow you get depressed from this grey but with snow it looks amazing.
I hate Winters in Germany. That's one of the reasons why I am moving away.
@@lianevoelker9845 moving to where?
Liane Voelker sometimes i think it too
Regarding the heat, while yes it has gotten hotter in the summer compared to 10 years ago and yes german homes usually don't have airconditioning. Most homes are well enough insulated that as long as you open the windows for a time during cooler times, like early in the morning or late in the evening, the temperature can be kept below 30°C within the apartments. It can become a problem if it's very hot for several weeks since, but it's still managable.
Of course that isn't true for every apartment or house, but I think it does for most.
A good rule of thumb to avoid this is to make sure to avoid apartments in the uppermost floor of a building. Those tend to heat up the most, but as I said how bad it is depends on the building and some other things, like the direction the apartment windows are facing.
This is the most accurate video about Germany I’ve seen so far :D
Really good job ;-)
these videos always make me happy I'm German :) being proud of our nationality is not very popular I feel like, but I think it should be. It's a great country!
yea right Germany only have drunk people that's it and fat people gosh good thing I wasn't born on drunk land I will have a heart attack
@@DavidRamirez-qw3jp you're really rude
I agree! I always make it a point to be proud of being German! Why shouldnt we be? Every nationality has something special!:)
True ^^
Deutschland Deutschland über alles
Na, wenn einer eine Frage stellt, dann muss er schon damit rechnen, dass er eine Antwort kriegt.
Wer damit nicht klarkommt, soll halt nix fragen.
Ha ha but germany are so touche filly if you honest to them. Like babies ha ha
@@betacrossing6070 no we aren't. Describe exactly what you mean,please.
Finde ich auch. Warum fragt man sonst?
@@betacrossing6070 I think you just can't handle the honesty, hun.
@@hym3323 its 50/50 i think ,from my German View 🧐✌️
reasons to celebrate: 1. first monday this week. 2. first tuesday this week. 3. first wednesday this week. 5. first thursday of the week. 5. first friday of the week. 6. first saturday of the week. 7. first sunday this week. 8. BONUS REASON: I have a birthday this year!
peter koller First Monday, my least favorite celebration 😆
You forgot the most important reason: still being alive! ;)
@@ThePegasus1979 Yeah, because the only thing worse than getting older is not getting older. :)
@@ThePegasus1979 you forgot the most important most importand reason: beer is life! :D
@@RL-os9xl But you have to celebrate that day because that is the easiest way to overcome the hurdles of a Monday.
Here's one that everyone who's lived in Germany will know but that will shock every foreigner when moving here: Medical details in small talk.
- Foreigner: "Hello, Fritz! How are you?"
- Fritz: "Well, not so good as last week. I have hemorrhoids and the doctor prescribed this ointment that I must rub my anus with three times a day. But it really itches and burns!"
- Foreigner: *speechless* 😳🙄😶
Exactly. It's totally normal to tell a total stranger at the busstop about how you solve your constipation problem. 😀
I never understood it. I moved away 6 years ago and right now I am back for a visit for 2 month and honestly, it's the weirdest thing ever. I'm so uncomfortable with it now, that I'm seriously socially awkward in Germany.
@@lianevoelker9845 that's called "oberflächlich". Back to the states with you, where that belongs to, I guess. 😛
@@evilstermegaman I live in Australia and used to live in New Zealand as well. People there are not superficial! It's just a different form of interacting with each other. And yes, I would rather be surrounded by positive people instead of constantly complaining people. It has a huge impact on your mental health!
I am german and i like to watch this kind of Videos👌 its interesting to hear whats special in germany what we not realy recognize ( hope my english is not too bad 😂)
Your English is great!
@@AntoinetteEmily oh thank you😊 what do you think about that germans like to come on point * better come 5-10 min earlier* to a date or apointment. I heart that we are really crazy 🤔
same here
Hi mam, i am from india... i am willing to work germany.... it is possible?
5 reasonable points that are easy to agree with! And you delivered them in an entertaining way... Love your vids :-)
"They always find an excuse to celebrate"
I think you might have mispronounced "get drunk"
Air conditioning is really bad for the environnement too because it cools inside but warms the air outside. An endless circle.
The real vicious cycle is climate change makes the air hotter -> spends tons of energy to cool down buildings -> CO2 used to produce that energy causes climate change
Alternatives are available by way of 'Kühldecken', passive Houses etc.
Heating homes in winter is also not exactly environment-friendly either...
Just lurking yes but it is more important to protect from cold climate than from hot climate. Sure both is dangerous in there own ways, but the change to survive hot weather is higher than cold weather. I am against air conditioners too but I am not against heater there are so many environment friendly methods if you inform yourself decent.
@@andreawirtz2728 Weather isn't climate. The heat of the past few years has led to draught, we now have the biggest ever recorded fire in the Bundesland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern thanks to last summer's heat. We also have dust storms in Brandenburg. We have dying forests and wetlands. This is not about feeling well in summer. This is about our country rapidly changing.
I think learning the language of the country you want to live in is a sign of respect. No matter if you come to Germany or any other country in this world. Here in Germany we know that our language is not the easiest one to learn and me personally, I have a lot of respect for everyone who does learn our language.
But I have to say, I do not agree with the last point on your list. I don't think that you have a problem if you don't like to celebrate in Germany. Especially if you live in a big city. Noone will care if you go to a festival or not. But even in small villages you are not forced to go to any kind of festival.
You are right that we do not force anyone to celebrate with us, but as we have these cultural barriers (no polite small talk or shit chat with strangers) it will be more complicated to build up any friendship here with us. But there is another way to do that, that Antoinette never had mentioned but I guess she will in the nearer future. Join a club and engage yourself in that club. Her daughter is now close to the age where she will move her attention more to her peers than to her family and at that point, it could be her wish to join a club. Often this is the moment when the parents did take some responsibilities for the club and with that, you must and will build up some new relationships.
Always clicking on the videos because I enjoy listening to your kiwi accent while getting ready or cooking
It reminds me of my time in NZ :)
I always thought it's normal and actually a good thing, when people are honest. Instead I found that many American people appear kind of unauthentic. Not in a very bad way, but just a bit too friendly.
As a German who gets irritated looks for his honesty sometimes by other Germans I don't think I'd enjoy the US or New Zealand in that matter. 😅 IMO especially if someone is important to you he/she deserves honesty... I'd feel bad for lying, even if it were just about someone's weight, haircut or cooking.
Vielen Dank für dieses schöne Video! Ich bin erfreut und überrascht, wie positiv du von Deutschland sprichst 🤩
I recently discovered your channel and I love your videos. I’ve learned so much. Thank you. 🤗 Lots of Love from Japan 🇯🇵❤️
Japan is cool, but the language is so hard to learn when you only speak german or english :/
Thank you so much this makes me happy to hear. I have a good friend from Japan and I've always wanted to visit.
Antoinette Emily That is great!!! :-) Thank you very much Antoinette. 😊 I would love to visit New Zealand and I would love to visit Germany. You are always welcome here in Japan. 🤗❤️
@@TheMusicLauncher
Japanese is actually like english. Easy in the beginning, but difficult when you want to deep dive into it. Ever gave it a try? If you find Japanese hard to learn then maybe you just haven't found your way to learning Kanji yet. If so, don't stress about them and don't even try learning them one on one. Always put them into context. Good luck!
@@missis_jo You do realize that Japanese is rated as one of the hardest languages to learn, while English is generally known to be easy to learn, right?
Hell, I learned English on my own, without school or help. Try doing that with Japanese.
Such a true video.
Yes, it was hardly ever over 30 degrees when I grew up. 26 were the warm days.
If someone does not like Fasching, they should move to Niedersachsen. It often happened that I only remembered it is Fasching when suddenly seeing 3 dressed up elementary school children, as where I grew up, Fasching was not celebrated that much. You have to search for an event.
But we have Schuetzenfest, Jazz Festival and all the other things that feel like straight out of GIlmore Girls
LOL. Not if you grew up in Southern Germany.
Hardly ever over 30 degrees? Where in Germany did you grow up? At the north sea?
Lower Saxony You did not mention the Grünkohl with Pinkel tours.
Oh my gosh i was searching for a Video like this for years! Thank you so much❤
Antoinette, I am a German woman, who has lived in America for the last 33 years, where the culture is apparently similar with regard to people never saying what they really mean. Even after 33 years in the USA, I can not get used to people constantly saying things they do not mean. I think it is healthy to be honest with one another, of course, in a tactful way. Glad you like it in my country. Thanks for the video!
"It is a sign of ignorance if you live in Germany without learning the language." - I think that sentence holds true for everybody living in any country around the world, not only in Germany.
Ich stimme zu , I agree
Being lived in a tropical country all my life, 30-35 degrees celcius is a very common occurence! Here it’s normally 27 degrees when I wake up (5-5.30am) and in the afternoon it’s usually 36-38 degrees and mind you it’s the rainy season:( we do have air conditioning here but it usually just doesn’t cut it :/
That "tropical" is the point. :facepalm: We people in Germany & Austria have mostly DRY air.
We even get grilled in the summer-sun and once it doesn't rain for a few weeks, our plants on the fields start withering because of having no water.
EDIT: At my place, our heat-peak was this year freaking 39,8 degrees Celsius with air so hot that simple walking out of the house was a huge pain.
"jaywalking is a huge no-no" really only when theres kids around. you can really just go if youre in a hurry and if someone goes up to you ignore them theyre being rude tbh. but dont jaywalk if there are children watching, especially very young children.
Please note that there are noticeable regional differences.
Beer and wine festivals are big in the south, less so elsewhere. You may know about the Oktoberfest, which is the most famous such festival - it's in Bavaria/Bayern. In fact, people in other regions jokingly call Bavaria a foreign country at times. One of the large political parties in the Bundestag is the CDU/CSU, so-called because it's actually made up of the "sister" parties CDU and CSU. On a state level these are separate, independent parties, but they have agreed that in Bavaria only the CSU runs for office whereas in the 15 other states only the CDU does so. This enables them to join together on the national level as a single parliamentary group.
Fasching (the carnival) has places where it's a major celebration and other places where it has much less relevance. I think most cities have some sort of celebration, but there are places so well known for them that they are called what translates to "carnival strongholds".
Keep in mind that the (first?) Unification of Germany happened less than 150 years ago. In fact, I as a German think I stand a better chance to understand most people speak English (even those who are not native speakers) than I do to understand a Bavarian speak the pure, unadulterated Bavarian dialect.
Honest answers are not ubiquitous, but I guess they are rather more common. If you are asking someone how you look, the honesty will probably depend on their closeness to you. People who are not particularly close (but still want to remain friendly with you) will often tell you you look good regardless of what they actually think. And people who don't really know much about fashion (like me) might also give generally vague, positive answers. But from a certain level of closeness onwards you can expect rather brutal honesty in most things. The thought process there is that you need honest criticism to improve, and when people are close enough, they know that a bit of criticism won't actually hurt their relationship.
3:10 i though she said ‘.. who can not handle hate’ and i was like what? 🤣🤣
Teuta Bahtiri me too 😅🤣
I thought I would be the only one who understood this 😂
Exactly what my eavesdropping son thought also. I didn't catch the word at all and couldn't figure out what word was said but he said "What? Hate?, Did she say "hate"?
I WAS EXPERIENCING A MASSIVE HATE WAVE!!!
...HATE - fk Nazis!
Oh what Heat?
OK, fk Global warming
The honesty is great in my opinion, if i do something wrong i want to be told he yeah dont do that so i know not to do that, and when i ask a question i want an honest answer i dont want people to say what they think i wan to hear
Feeling depressed in winter? Get a Krapfen for immediate happyness.
@Pustekuchen Melancholie und die Winterdepression sind zwei grundlegend unterschiedliche Dinge.
das heißt Berliner
Love this straightforward video. Not every country is everyone’s cup of tea. But if you can embrace the culture it’s so much better
I really love your videos I have seen many of them. I am a Norwegian that try too learn German 😀
Ellen Margrethe Larsen Greetings to beautiful Norway 😍
Tolles Video. Ich bin deutsche und erst seit deinem video fällt mir auf das deutsche so viele Feste feiern..in unsere Stadt sind zwischen April und oktober bestimmt 5-8 Feste 🙈. Man muss ja nicht zu allen Festen hin aber es ist eine schöne Abwechslung.👍
Feste sind immer ein guter Vorwand um sich öffentlich besaufen zu können, ohne ein schlechtes Gewissen haben zu müssen.
Many things totally depend on the regions in germany
That’s true, in Germany we absolutely LOVE to celebrate and also to get crazy and drunk. Especially in the little villages, everyone celebrates on Saturdays and Fridays, every weekend! Almost no one is at home in the evening at the weekend which I think is great bc I love to celebrate :). I‘m german and I think your facts are true!
Lots of love from the Northcoast
K/DA Kai‘Sa wassss echt? Es gibt natürlich immer Leute die nicht gerne feiern gehen möchten und das ist auch volkommen ok, aber bei uns aufm Dorf gehen alle am Wochenende feiern haha :).
Can you go over the schools in Germany
Compared to qiwi
My daughter starts school in September so I'm sure there will be some school-related content coming.
Looking foward to hear something about how are schools there
@@AntoinetteEmily oogh, look out for good schools. Otherwise your daughter could get bullied cause she's a "white unbeliever, and female". Sounds like 1940, but is actually true...
I'm a German German teacher. So it's always very interesting to listen to people talking about my country and culture so fondly. Thank you for your input! And good luck with learning our language. It's hard but also a beautiful language full of humor and pictures :)
I find in the little village I live in most people don’t speak English. I’m ok with that because I’m trying to learn the language. I think it’s beautiful. I was surprised on how many holidays they have here. My husbands like oh I have a three day weekend and then like the next week like a have four day weekend. I asked him what was the holiday and we both didn’t know. I love that Germans respect family time.
If you live in the eastern part of Germany the people most likely studied Russian instead of English at school. Everyone in Germany with a not just basic education speaks at least one foreign language. In Saarland this might be French, but in the most areas it will be English. Maybe in your village people just feel they are not skilled enough or they might be too shy to speak English with a native speaker.
Hm my husband was growing up in the DDR and he also had English in school (and Russian additionally).
Lavender Luna when they do speak English they told me to slow down because I’m talking too fast. My neighbor had said the same thing and I of course slow down but I also had told her that I’m actually speaking slow and most talk faster than I do. She was like wow that is crazy!!
UntotesSchaf what’s DDR?
@@janetweyer9415 DDR was the german term for German Democratic Republic
It's so kind of you share with us these tips.
I've heard the same advices from people who live in Germany too.
Wheater, language, german's behavior all of them must be considered to someone has the dream to live in Germany.
Living in Germany and I think, this summer is not that bad. Yes, there are some days with the temperature above 30° C, but at least only for a few days. And you can let in some cool air around sunset.
Last year, the hot weather started back in mid to late April and stayed that way until September, if I remember correct. And even the nights were so hot, that you coudnt sleep.
Check out the #Dane Wigington YTC to learn about what Nobody will tell you in Germany!
I have to agree with every point you raised. I lived in Germany for 6 years back in the early 1990's and loved every minute of it. ii - The heat... I was lucky enough to live in a house with a cellar, so if it got too hot overnight we used to sleep down there. During daylight hours we lived in the garden. We set-up a garden sprinkler and paddling pool to cool off. iii - Winters... I remember on my first winter living there looking outside in the morning and it looked like we had overnight rain - it wasn't rain, it was black ice. I suffered for many days after when I walked out 'normally' and ended up on my backside. iiii - Language... learning is a must for any Country you visit/live in. I learnt very basic German at school. My stock phrases when I first arrived were : Alles klar, Entschuldigung,
wo ist and Guten Tag - my most used first phrase was Pommes ohne Mayo. I learnt the language as I went along and locals appreciated that I was trying, even if it resulted in many having a laugh at my expense.
where do you live now? moved out of germany?
Very kind and decent comments to the point. Well done
I love these reflections of things that seem absolutely normal to me ...and yes, I get the winter-blues, too :)
I think as a foreigner working in another country we need to be openminded and take the challenges. Of course be prepared to all those negative things and survive. Good insights, very informative.
Haha, is that Kiwi dialect?
Me hearing: "Don't come to Germany if you don't stand the hate"....
Me: "Whatwassat?"
--"...because it can get really hot here..."
😅
Same for me :D
😆I only understood it because English is my native language and I'm familiar with that accent. It definitely sounds like hate.
I did get it after a second...
But yes, I have frequent problems just acoustically decoding what native english speakers say...
But my comment about kiwi dialect had no mean intent, I find such dialects sweet to listen to actually😊
I was kinda scared about that "hate-wave" O.o
@@magnusgerke239 I did understand the same "hate" and was curious what would come next... 😅
several times some german did not believe what i said. One day i had a toothache, so that i had to excuse to my boss to leave the office. Then, my colleague asked me repeatedly the same question why i had to leave as if i had lied. Another time, my other boss asked me whether I had read the message he sent. I had not opened my email and he asked me to open the email because he wanted to know whether I lied. Another occasion, I just served a n old frail patient and then her daughter came in. afterwards, she accused me that i had stolen her father's armwatch and reported to the doctor in the ward. I felt exploded with that stupid nonsense. the next day, the paramedic, who brought her father, gave the ward the armwatch. I understand it is necessary to have a proof to believe someone. On the flip side, it shows also a stupidity and hypocrisy if it pointed out to the wrong person.
I'm a native German, living in Germany, and I don't particularly like to celebrate anything. I guess I shouldn't live here according to Antoinette's criteria :-)
I also don't like to celebrate everything but it's fun sometimes.
I don't like too much of it either.
When we were stationed in Schweinfurt we used to go to Fasching in Wurzburg. :-). We also loved the Federweisser festival in a small village near us, and the Schweinfurt town festival with the Ferris Wheel. And of course the Weinachtsmarkts in Salzburg, Nuremberg, and Schweinfurt. We miss going to the Wurzburger Hofbraukeller!!! We miss pretty much everything about Germany (Except the heat in the extra hot summers).
I live in Germany for many years now, well I'm German so nothing special about that xD
The funny thing about it is, that some of those points you had are actually things I don't like. The worst of them is heat. I'm melting the last couple of days.😭 But I love Autumn und winter doesn't bother me at all. I love snow😍❄
What you said about learning German is totally true. When we see that someone is trying to learn German we appreciate that a lot. But you should prepare yourself for a few giggles. Personally I think every person who tries to learn German has my respect. It's a really difficult language (I think I could have never learnt it when I weren't born here😂). But every time I hear someone attempt to speak German I need to laugh or giggle, not because we think it's bad, but it sounds way to cute. ❤😂. You should definitely prepare for that.
I actually didn't notice, that we party a lot, but now that you mention it🤔 we even have specific music genres just for partying 😂 so yeah apparently we party a lot 💃😂
I am different, I am German and I almost get anxiety thinking of the dark winters. It gets me down every year when days get short.
That little town you went to on the photo, was that Dettelbach?
My husband and I are thinking about moving to New Zealand. We absolutly hate the grey and cold weather in German Winter.
Get enough bright lights in the house for the time until you move... (several 1500+ lumen bulbs per room!)
It seriously makes a huge difference when your room is brighter than the winter-daylight :P
I like that weather lol
I was born in Bamberg and raised up in the region you were living right now, so I love your Videos. The photos remind me so much on my youth, were I loved to spend time on winefests ;)
Moin Antoinette, sehr wahre Worte, sehr gutes Video!
Tip for summer close the shutters three quarters it keeps the cold in.
Whenever I see your videos I have to think of my mother, who came from Ireland to Germany with my father at the age of 21 years. At the beginning the German language was very difficult for my mother but now after
56 years in German today she speaks accent-free German and I am really proud of my mother because German is a difficult language. everything you said about Germany and us Germans is so true no matter what it is. Germany has great people and we have a beautiful country. I am German and Irish myself and have lived in Australia for 2 years and had a lot of New Zealand friends there. I found New Zealanders incredibly nice and you can be proud of your country and the New Zealanders speak much better English than Australians.By the way, your German is really good.
I wish you and your family good luck here in Germany and a lot of blessing. Seàn
Are the long dark winters in all of Germany or are there areas of Germany not effected by that?
Oh, there are so many other reasons, for me, even after 3 years here, I still can't get used to these things:
- slow internet
- bureaucracy
- communication via post (are we in the middle ages!?)
- superficial approach from Germans in a lot of situations
I don't know in which village in Germany you were, but at my location in germany that's not a problem 😂
@@tobimanx7026 Nürnberg... 🤣
Martin Ivanov bruh superficial is like the worst thing, people who aint got nothing to do all day long just want to get on your nerves...
Hahaha so true!
Hallo Antoinette,
ich habe vor vielen Jahren 6 Monate in NZ gelebt -ich habe bis heute viele schöne Erinnerungen an deine wunderschöne Heimat. Lovely greetings Susan from Bavaria ☺
Ahhh this feels good to hear someone else pointing out the things I realised as a German while being in Florida for 4 months. At some point I missed the German honesty so so much. I didn't really like the all happy and nice vibes of Americans since I'm used to blunt confrontation. Thanks for the vid I really enjoyed watching it.
USA and other countries alike dont attract me at all to live there as I absolutely CANNOT STAND HYPOCRISY not even in Germany.
Is it humid over in Germany ? It’s been 37 degrees in Virginia this past week and so humid . I honestly don’t think I could go without an ac because of the humidity . We can’t open windows here at night really because so many bugs . I remember being in England one summer and it was really hot ( not like here hot ) but you can open windows there , so it wasn’t bad .
It can get ridiculously humid close to the coast or large waters. I live right next to the Baltic sea and when we get some hot days in a row I can only hope for a decent wind or thunderstorm to get some breath into me again.
Didn't remember the early bird being such a pretty one. ;-)
Anyway, it is of quite some interest to listen to your personal experience with German habits.
Seems people here are not as bad as some other foreign people think. :-)
Lower Frankonia is as any other region a fairly special one to live in. Sure, they do Fasching there not knowing the true festivals name is Karneval, but they are still friendly people there. :-)
Have a good day and thank you for your interesting videos presented in this calm and understandable way. :-)
Where is the christmasmarket at 5:52?
Wo ist denn der gezeigte Weihnachtsmarkt? Kommt mir so bekannt vor
it's part of the experience of living in a different country to learn the language. I'm a native English speaker and I find my fellow native speakers to be most ignorant and feel they should not learn the language of their host country.
Your videos are really amazing and you really explain many important things about Germany simply. Thank you a lot! Greetings from Egypt! :)
I absolutely love the German culture and have been watching your videos a lot lately! Hopefully one day I will be there as well. Lots of love from South Africa😁🇿🇦
If you make it one day, I hope you'll like it. :) Love from Germany!
As a South African that has lived in the UK and Australia, I find that I'm too brutally honest for those places. I have offended many by pointing out problems so that they can be fixed. I don't recommend either of these places, particularly Australia where they are very thin skinned and the dominant culture is a payback culture for imagined slights.
I must say you are rather extreme.
You are extremely good observing your German life and culture. You are extremely good in communicating your observations in a way that can be useful to others. And as near as I can discern, you are extremely good at responding to your observations in the most productive manner.
I am an American who lived two and half years in Austria, roughly fifty-five years ago. My wife and I are considering moving to Germany now for an expected year-and-a-half stay. As I came across your videos here, I thought these are perfect for my wife to see, and also for me to consider things as they were and things that may be different now after five decades. We both look forward now to watching more of your videos. Thank you!
I wont use any AC because I think its part of the problem. Im thinking like this: my fridge needs a lot of power already and its cooling only this little box. how much energy does a AC need to cool down a room, or apartment.... or a house? and when I think about american crappy houses with no insulation.... omg.....
and btw, I think when a AC is working its producing more heat than its cooling overall right? pls correct me if im wrong
P.S. sry for my bad english
I love your channel and your positive attitude! By the way, your way of bringing up your children bilingually with the one parent - one language method is the only right method. I studied linguistics with the main focus on bilingualism, so I know. :-) I couldn't comment on the video about bilingual children, but I wanted to let you know that you are doing the right thing! Keep up the good work, I really enjoy your videos! You seem like such a nice person! Greetings from Munich!
This must be why I've been described as "brutally honest", coming from a German family.
Funny stuff Antoinette! I started travelling to Germany about 5YRS ago. I'm a naive Texan, but have lived in San Diego for over 25YRS. I went alone to an Industrial/Goth music festival that's held in Cologne every year. It was absolutely the best time ever! I walked around & every single person was super friendly. I picked up very quickly that Germans are totally fascinated by both Texas & California. In fact, most of the time I would look down at my watch & an hour had already passed. I would then have to politely end the conversation & move on of course. Anyway, I met some people that lived in the small village of Schwerte. All the people I met & their families are "salt of the earth", "give you the shirt off their backs" Country German folks! To make a long story short - I consider them my 2nd family, visit twice a year, & they've even visited San Diego once (more after they retire soon). I just really lucked out!!! They all want me to move there (especially my GF of course), but I just can't pull the trigger for various reasons. Ah to be young & just starting your life like you were/are....... ( ;
What do you think about the situation with all the refugees we have now in Germany ?
This is not "Germany" any longer.
I like your videos very much,and I like your personality. I hope you could show more pictures when you explain things. That would be more interesting.^_^
I am german. And I should not live here according to this video. Anyone want to move with me?
yeah new zealand sounds awesome XD
Ich hasse feiern. Vorallem karneval nervt mich und Ich bin berliner😂
@@whosthedena8440 sei froh, dass du dich ausm rheinland kommst. ich bin münchner und hasse die wiesn XD
@@whosthedena8440 ugh! Ich wohne in Köln. Karneval ist der pure Horror!
@@FirleFranzi181 Karnevallll? Wos isn des? Fasching? Hommer net und braungmer aa net. Gell?
Great video! I've been living in Germany for 2 and a half years now and I'm leaving soon, because it's the worst country I've ever been in, hands down. For many people that want to move to Germany, please reconsider and do a lot of research about the country before. A couple of reasons why I'm leaving are that people are rude, not funny, boring and the life here is very boring, the language is not fun to learn at all, I learned it pretty fast but I began to hate it, people judge a lot (they are using the direct approach as Antoinette said in the video).
Yeah, in the 80s/90s it was like max of 2-3 weeks over 30-35 degrees per summer. Nearly 40 degrees were less common than today, at least it’s like that in my memory. It was usually ok to get somehow through that short period of time. On the opposite side, I remember living in Wellington for 4 years and my Kiwi friends complaining about the “unbearable heat” ;-) when the temperature rose over 24 degrees in summer, but it has becomer warmer there too. Well, the starting point is just what people are used to as the “normal” temperature.
I can definitely relate to the winter experience. That struck me hard after returning to Germany and is still noticable. Kiwi expat friends of mine feel the same as you.
I love winter and leave Germany in the summer.
I admire how positive you are about all these things and especially about the first thing you mentioned. I have lived in different cities in Germany for over 7 years but I've only experienced this behavior since I moved to Hamburg about a year ago. I don't think I can put such a positive spin on it. In my experience the people telling others "what they are doing wrong" are simply unable to coexist with other human beings and believe they are more important than others. I wonder if it's a local thing or it's me.
I think I would love Germany. It's my heritage from my paternal grandmother, her family is called Chronister, and my name is Katharina. 💓
if you are interested in how Germany looks, watch this: "this is Germany" from Dr. Ludwig on TH-cam
Any chance of you coming by for a visit maybe? :)
I would love to visit Germany, it's a dream of mine, to see my ancestral land. I must save up money!
@@katibarrett8779 Pls give me an email addy if you consider working as an au-pair for 4-6 weeks next summer in Germany! My then thirteen-year-old son would love to have somebody to talk to in English and show him/her around and you could earn some money.
agnes1510196 Nice and tell your son that listening to BBC radio should help with his pronunciation in English
The picture at 5:54 is from Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Are you living there?
Are you became an ambassador of Germany, Antoinette? What and how you explained things was so lovely and true.
AC: Yes the highest temperature were not so extreme and the period of really hot days were not so long to invest in ACs. Therefore were our winter really really cold. The winter started at mid, latest at the end of November and ended latest at mid of April. The temperatures under -10°C for a longer period were no rareness. Lowest temperature...mmh I remember something about 40°C for a few days. And we always had white Christmas! We children had sooo much fun with the snow, which was often higher than 60cm downhill to northern Germany. In some areas more than 120cm...always!
But not only summer and winter...we had all seasons and we always could define what season we have now. But that is changing more and more. We have not really winter anymore and the summer becomes hotter and hotter.
One famous german word:
Klimawandel
In what time and mysterious part of Germany did you grow up? ;) >>Der Winter weist für die Periode 1761 bis 2017 einen Mittelwert von −0,2 °C (1961-1990: 0,2 °C) auf. [...] Der Winter 1829/30 war der kälteste der Zeitreihe mit einem Mittelwert von −6,6 °C.>Die 1960er-Jahre müssen geradezu ein Weihnachts-Winterwunderland gewesen sein. Rund die Hälfte aller Weihnachtsfeste in diesem Jahrzehnt war weiß: Dichte Schneedecke an allen drei Feiertagen. So muss es doch sein, oder? Leider Nein. Ein absolutes Ausnahme-Jahrzehnt, sagt Jens Oehmichen vom Deutschen Wetterdienst: "Das ist ein relativ seltenes Phänomen, dass es im Tiefland weiße Weihnachten gibt und wenn man mal zurückschaut in die Vergangenheit, da sieht man also, dass man pro zehn Jahre ein bis zweimal weiße Weihnachten hat im Tiefland."
As a Mediterranean living in Germany for more than 8 years now, there are certain things that I found different from the culture I grew up in. 1) Some I loved immediately, 2) some I still can't accept even now, 3) some I was quite against at the beginning but realize now that they make more sense and 4) some I'm still trying to accept as such and adapt and 5) some where I try to change Germans on.:D:D
Examples for 1) Their directness. Oh God, I love it. I don't have to think about what they might actually be meaning. I'm also a direct person and was probably an outsider in my culture.:) I don't mind criticism as long as it's not personal.
2) I still can't get used to being told off by people working in the service sector. A shop owner or waiter can easily shout at you. If this would happen in my country, that shop wouldn't continue business for more than a month and that waiter would right away be fired. After all, I can't stand impoliteness. There can always be a way to state something most negative in a polite way.
3) The fact that they aren't always available, that the shops or certain government offices are open at given days only. Everybody has a life outside of work and they are entitled to it. The only country I can imagine myself opening a coffee shop is Germany because it can be closed at 6pm and nobody would think it's crazy. Whenever I see shops open on Sundays, I start questioning if the boss is paying the employees extra money for this.
4) Their slowness. I have a hot blood as a Mediterranean, I can't wait.:D I try to detain myself to make the time pass for me while waiting for a German prepare something for me. :) I practice being a patient person thanks to Germans.:D
5) Their lack of solutions in cases of crisis. Because Germans do everything slowly, carefully and thoroughly, things work most of the time and in a very efficient way. But unfortunately not always.:D Because it's a rare event, they don't know how to think practically when things don't work. In such cases, I try to push them, start giving ideas in a very kind and careful way. And to my surprise, they mostly get surprised by the idea and its practicality. I'm surprised because they can't even think about it.:D Being grown up in a culture where people mostly disobey rules and create trouble, we develop our ways of solving problems, I guess. I believe Germans should be able to adapt this 'thinking out of box' thing easily because I call them an 'engineer' folk. They just need to put some risk analysis in their infamous regulations and rules books. :D
Liebe Grüße an alle, die es bis hier gemacht haben! Ich mag Ihr Land so sehr!
Really? The last part is actually quite unusual from my experience. I would say it is the opposite. I'm not sure which country you are from but as a German I would consider most Mediterranean Countries super slow and inefficient. That's why there is more chaos. We do have an issue with bureaucracy tho. Everything takes super long and there are papers for everything.
I think the issue in Germany might be that they want thinks to be done "the old fashion way". For sure not an entrepreneur country (these times are long over). But yeah when it comes to working things need to be done quick and proper. We hate quick solutions that don't look professional ;)
Great video, great tips! :)
I drove a bike to work every day in heavy traffic and I never got hit,I wouldn't do that in the States.
Antionette. Just recently subscribed, and am enjoying your videos. As a person who has lived in Germany in the small town of Lemgo for four years, agree with you 100%. Numbers 3/4 & 5 are very true. I enjoyed my time in Germany, and would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you for doing these videos. You're a star. Greetings from Belfast, Northern Ireland. 🇬🇧🇩🇪🇳🇿
I'm German and I'm really annoyed by people who tell you what you've done wrong. Especially elderly (bitter) people do that A LOT even though there's nothing really to complain.... they complain.. 🙄 That never happend when I spent some time in the US and Australia. People are more chilled there.
Ich lebe jetzt schon seit fast 10 Jahren in Australien und hab als Teenager ein Austauschjahr in den USA gemacht. Ich versteh gar nicht mehr, wo diese Idee herkommt, dass Aussies oder gar Amerikaner "chilled" oder "laid back" sind. In beiden Ländern sind die meisten Leute stockkonservativ und oft rassistisch. Die regen sich über viele Sachen auf.
I think "mostly" people don't complain about what you doing wrong... they just don't want that you get in trouble...
Lol
@@oli8717 no
@@gulliverthegullible6667 die Australier, die ich erlebt habe, waren cool drauf. Okay, die alten Farmer im Outback waren etwas knöchern, aber ich hatte keine Probleme. (Wie mit den Ureinwohnern umgegangen wird, ist nochmal n anderes Thema, aber da darf sich sicherlich keine Nation aus dem Fenster lehnen.) In England habe ich 4 Jahre gewohnt und um mich kurz zu fassen... da will ich nie wieder hin. (Ja, ich hab da auch nette Freunde gefunden, aber trotzdem.) Und mit den Amis hatte ich auch nicht so viele Probleme. Die sind halt bissl dumm, aber ansonsten bin ich mit denen klargekommen. (Thema Ureinwohner/Schwarze, siehe Australien.) Fest steht aber, dass der Begriff "Deutsche Meckerkultur" durchaus seine Berechtigung hat!
I thought of you when I saw that Rosie had moved back to New Zealand. How is the house building going?
I'm so happy for Rosie! House is coming along well, I need to make an update video soon.
Ironic that you complain about the lack of air conditioning while attributing the high temperatures to global warming...... 😆
I don't think ac is the cause of global warming... it is actually a combination of many bad human habits. If energy is produced green (solar, wind, ...), then why is ac so bad? (asking seriously, not sarcastically)
@@JBru1978 AC creates heat. It takes energy to cool something, and it creates warmth. Plus we don't have 100% renewable energy, which means AC adds to the general output of problematic substances.
@@Ninchennase I thought it mostly just "displaced" heat (from the inside to the outside, so not generating extra heat). Thx for the answer.
She has just mentioned, that there is no air conditioning in Germany, which is true...where is your problem? Surely you are aware that air condition is very common in other countries?
Manche Leute müssen sich einfach immer wichtig machen....🙄
Hello ^^ I'm a bit late for this video, because I just stumbled across your channel xD
I am a German and I thought it might be worth mentioning, that the more rural you get, the less people will know English, or lets say the less people are willing to speak English. It's our first foreign Language and from my experience I can say, that a lot of people are scared to have to speak English, because they don't have good grades in the Language and don't want to screw up.
At least it was like this in my case (I'm 30, so maybe it's different now, but it was like this for me). I had always failing grades in English classes and whenever I heard someone speak English, I was scared I would need to talk to them and embarrass myself.
It got better after I helped working on an international festival and I HAD to speak English and it helped me a lot to get over that fear.
By now I actually enjoy speaking English with others and I'm not scared any more, but I still see a lot of students and such, that don't want to speak English. (I have some friends, that can't understand even basic words as well)
Interesting video it is always fun to see oneself through someone else's glasses but I don't agree with those Germans who told you that it was not that hot when they grew up. I was born in 1961 and there has always been heatwaves throughout my childhood. I don't recall a single summer without temperatures above 30. Summer 1976 was extremely hot and dry with temperatures of 37 C e.g.... so it might be that we beat some records the recent years but to say that it was not hot, seems to be wishful thinking of some..
Ulrich Lehnhardt I would say last year and 2003 it was exceptionally hot for a long period of time.
@@berndhoffmann7703 it is not exceptional that some years have longer summers than others. This May e.g. was exceptionally cold and rainy. The next two weeks we will have 20 degrees in Berlin which is exceptionally cold for july. Whenever the temperatures rise above 30 nowadays people think that this is abnormal. it is not. In 1473 there was an extremely hot summer which lasted 4 months. People could cross the Danube by foot because it had dried out completely. If this happened today people would panic.
Also the days with high temperatures above 30 C in 1976 were not many. Most was in Rheinstetten with 17 days. Don't trust memories, it's always better to look at real statistics.
Statistics are 100% in agreement that the past 20 years have been hotter than any decades before.
Although I prefer the Winters to the Summers in Germany, I use my Christmas lights to brighten the short days. I'm not allowed to put them up before Totensonntag, which is really late for me as an American, but I leave them up through January which I'd never do back home. I swear some people keep them up til March to endure the short days at latitude 51!
Loved this video!!!
I've been living in Ireland for the last 2.5 years and am originally from the states, I've been struggling with coming up with videos that showcase difference in cultures/norms and life in general.... So thank you not only for entertaining and informative videos but also for ideas! ❤️❤️❤️
hows life in Ireland?
Love your videos so much! 💜🌼