Americans know the superstition of jinxing something by talking about it happening prematurely. That is basically the same with the birthday wishes in Germany. The literal meaning of "Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag" (the most common phrase on a birthday) is not wishing for someone to have a good birthday, but rather congratulating them on having reached another one. So assuming they will make it to their birthday before they actually did, is considered to cause bad luck. If you see someone shortly before their birthday and you want to say something, you could go with a phrase like "Feier schön" (Have a nice celebration).
People in the comments already explained the birthday thing, I just want to add someting. It is the same reason why Baby parties/gender reveal partys are not as common in germany. Celebrating something that hasnt happened yet, brings bad luck.
My Granma was very nervous when we were buying the crib and all the stuff one needs for a newborn a few months prior to birth. Apparently we were tempting fate
Just to clarify things: Smalltalk and being polite/friendly to strangers are two completely different things! And the second one we (or at least I) actually do.
I mean, you can start with telling it’s a beautiful day and end up with the whole history of the person. If you are prepared for this, you can talk to strangers. I do it all the time. For me a weird thing with Americans is, when they start planning something they will never do, I always start wondering if he really wants to do that with me, because we take plans serious 😆
It's not hard to make friends in Germany. There's that cliche: The german exchance student in the US talked to 100 people while he was there and made two friends. Meanwhile the american exchange student in Germany talked to three people and made two friends.
wishing someone a happy birthday early is associated with a superstition. we have the saying here: du sollst den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben which means you should not praise the day before the evening. That means if you wish someone a happy birthday even though it's not their birthday yet, you don't yet know if they are really going to make it to their birthday because something could happen to them before and if you congratulate them earlier, that's bad luck because one basically assumes that he will live until his birthday and that is like a challenge for fate😂😂hope that explained it
The thing with credit cards is, that we have a wide spread debit card (ec-card) and the fee from the card company to the shop owner is extrem higher for credit cards. So the acceptance of credit cards is lower. Due to the fact, that American tourists don't have ec-cards they have to use cash instead.
esp. all the credit card providers are US companies, so in one way, americans are responsible for the lesser usage of credit cards due to the high costs.
@@aerosoul12345 And don't forget that euro bills are colorful and look way nicer than U.S. dollars which are all green. And we have coins which show national symbols but are valid throughout the EU. I love using cash whenever I can, although I mostly pay by card now.
Actually the fee is only high for shops which are trapped in old contracts. Newer contracts make credit card handling actually less expensive than handling cash.
@@DASPRiD This could be the reasion, why the number of shops, that accepts credit cards is higher now than a few years ago. I thought, it was due to the pandemic but lower fees are oconomicly more plausible.
You also have to keep in mind, that most credit card contracts often put the risk of thievery on the shop owners. German and most European debit card contracts won't do that. If you're a shop owner in a touristy spot, who does accept credit card, it's not uncommon, to see somebody claim his credit card to be stolen, the thief made a purchase with that stolen credit card in your shop and the responsible credit card company often just draw their money back from your account. And you're left with the financial damage, even though you're also a victim and not responsible for the damage in the first place. Of course there are insurance contracts to adress this issue, but you'll have to deal with a ton of paperwork and have to wait for many weeks (sometimes months), to actually get your money to cover that damage. This won't happen with debit cards. There you will simply keep the money for that thiefs purchase and the bank will refund the card owner instead.
About the birthday thing: I think if you care enough about the person you'll text them or call them on their actual birthday. You make the effort to remember their actual birthday and contact them then. If you hang out past midnight with the birthday girl/boy, you congratulate then and there. About that making friends thing: Germans are usually not that into casual aquaintances but rather into longlasting friendships. We don't move around that often so many of us still have friends back from school or uni. Since you cannot have an infinite amount of friendships you really tend to, you become picky in your adulthood. It is not uncommon to grab a beer with colleagues after work or have the occasional work bestie. But work-life-separation is a thing in Germany. You are more likely to be friends with your neighbor or someone from your sports club (Germans like joining social clubs). We are not anti-social, we just socialize in different ways. But if you managed to make a German friend it's a lifetime commitment for us. About the cash is king mentality: since COVID it's gottena lot less cash-based. But keep in mind: Germans use debit cards in their daily life and rarely have credit cards (except for travelling). Germans are not fans of being in debt, so the classic credit card business model doesn't work here... the German Word for debt, "Schulden", literally translates to "guilt"... you get the notion ;) Also, credit card fees for shop owners are higher than debit card fees. I pay mostly by card, but debit card.
@@kalleschmitz It's more about medieval believes that demons and bad ghosts are everywhere and whom these satanic beast want to hurt? - The lucky ones! Because hurting a sad depressive person isn't so much fun than hurting Mr. Lucky Guy and make him sad and depressive (More fire-stars by lord Satan, better demon-job etc). And how get the bad guys that someone will be happy - Maybe when they hear (and remind - the devil is everywhere) that a person will have a "Lucky Day" tomorrow. Enough time for the demons to made his Birthday the worst day of his life. Same reason for the weird wishes like "Wish you a broken neck and broken leg bone" (Hals- und Beinbruch) - Demons are stuppid and if they hear that everybody hates you (because they wishes you bad things) hurting these people would be total waste of demon time.
I think the difference is that we don't wish a happy birthday meaning a great day, but we say congratulations to your birthday. So saying it before the actual birthday, is like congratulations on a successfully passed test, that hadn't even take place, yet. Very much bad luck!
Also you can kind of circumvent that by saying something like: „I DON‘t wish you a happy birthday now because that would be bad luck“ - so you don‘t break the rule but still you remembered the day and you care and hope they will have a nice day.
It's not about being unfriendly. Wishing someone a happy birthday is not just a saying, it actually means congratulating them for surviving another 365 days and for being alive on the day of their birth once again. You are congratulating them for seeing the sun rise on their birthday again. So it's more like 'happy birthday, you made it alive to your day once again'. Nobody knows if they will make it to their birthday, so don't congratulate them for making it there in advance. You don't congratulate someone for getting a new job before the interview, only after you are sure that they made it. Also, you don't want to jinx it. You also don't congratulate someone for winning a race, if they are not in the finish yet. Or you don't congratulate someone for having a baby before the birth, you don't know if it will end well. You don't congratulate someone for making 100 squats, if they are only on the number 90. You wait for the achievement and only then congratulate. Same with the birthday. You wait to see them alive on the day of their birth. When you see it like that, wishing someone a happy birthday in advance makes no sense. Loving your reactions! 😊
Imagine you wish me a happy birthday a week before my actual birthday. What if I die? I will have never had my birthday. It's sort of like a jinx. While I think most Germans aren't too serious about it, those of us that are a bit superstitious will
It seems to be the same in Lithuania - a friend wished me a happy birthday too early online and my Lithuanian friend was very annoyed, saying you should never do that for luck, etc.
@@andrewcoogans471 same in Bulgaria, i might get phisical for that, a few years ago a person I know wished me hbday two days in advance, the next day, the day before my bday i got so sick, i spent my bday and the days after in my bed, very, very sick, so yeah....
Regarding a birthday in the near future, you can also just wish the person a nice party or a great day. Without wishing the person a happy birthday beforehand.
2:32 Some fun fact: "You" ist the formal address in English, which threw away its informal address ("thou" or "thee"). "You" was once the plural form, also used as formal form in the singular (like "du" und "Ihr" in medieval German or in Swiss German). 6:49 Most people think it is about data protection, but the main reason were the high fees and commissions by the card issuers (to pay by the vendor), which was a problem especially for bakeries and similar places where most sales are below 3 or 4 Euro. Most of those stories did not even acquire a card reader (which they would have to rent anyway in the past) and some still not have, even if the fees are now much lower and multi-card readers are available. Additionally most credit card companies (except for Mastercard and Visa) did never gain a foothold in Germany, because German banks already had their own established and unified Debit card system (first ec-card, now girocard) and most Germans traditionally prefer those cards over credit cards. Most "girocards" are nowadays combined with Maestro (by Mastercard, now scheduled for deprecation) or V Pay (by Visa, scheduled to be replaced by Visa Debit), mostly for use abroad. Virtually at all bigger stores you can pay now by girocard, but not necessarily with every credit card. About 95% of all Germans have a "girocard", and 75% use them for their daily shopping. In bigger cities you can also find stores accepting ApplePay and similar payment methods, but that's still rather rare in rural regions and smaller towns.
About the quiet hours: no one minds 10 minutes or half an hour, but once I had a neighbour in the appartment above me, who used her washingmachine at 2 am. It was placed in the kitchen above my kitchen. When it started rotating, all my glasses clanked. That was really disturbing in the middle of the night. She stopped it after I explained it to her.
I had a similar encounter, however, my neighbor was a paramedic with impossible working hours and we agreed that she occasionally needed to do turn on the washing machine in the middle of the night.
I really respect how honestly you give your opinion. Many youtubers try to be overly diplomatic or sugarcoat their scepticism. But you're just like "Some of these points make me angry, others are great"😂 I like that
For the smalltalk thingy: I have to say, that it is very different for different regions here in Germany. In the north people are a bit more shy and don't talk too much with strangers. But at the capitals, in Hamburg for expample, people are very open hearted and love smalltalk. And that goes on for every reagion over here. I personally love smalltalk. On top I speak 5 languages and don't miss any opportunity to catch a chat.
By driving on the right lane ( or left in the UK ) you are actively reducing congestion and everybody gets to their destination quicker. I love driving in Germany, its sad when I come back home to the UK and find people hogging the middle lane and sometimes outside lane.
The one thing about that video that annoys me is the anthem thing. You are allowed to sing the full old song including "Deutschland über alles" because its an old song way older than the nazi regime. "Das Lied der deutschen" (Dr. Ludwig has one version with engl translation) is about the unification around 1850. Its really good, worth listening and even if people say that it has nothing to do with nazis besides that they also used it as an anthem. To quote some his text he (dr. Ludwig) wrote under the video: "Deutschland über alles" doesn´t mean that Germany stands above other nations, you have to see it in the context of the time in 1841. Germany wasn´t an united nation, but a collection of many states and an united fatherland was meant to be above any other political goal of that time. If you continue to listen to the next lines you will see, the author doesn´t want war, violence or superiority against other nations. He demands noble deeds, to be proud of the own culture, women and freedom etc.
**grammar nazi mode on** '"Deutschland über alles" doesn´t mean that Germany stands above other nations, you have to see it in the context of the time in 1841.' If you wanted to be real anal about it, you could point out that "über alles" is in the accusative, thus denoting destination. So it's like 'Let's make this our goal'. If you wanted it to mean 'Germany stands above other nations' it would have to be dative (denoting position). In that case it would have to be 'Deutschland über allem'.
@@mcwurscht Sure but if you try to explain it to a english audience I guess that would be a bit too complicated. Maybe for a portion of germans as well by now...
While true there remains the issue that the Nazis very much intended to take the meaning literally, Germany superior to everything else, and hence why it is often still seen as such. It is obviously a wrong perception but nonetheless that's what it is connected to and as such people will react negatively to someone singing this first part of the song...and those reacting positively might also not be the kind of people you want to be associated with.
@@HistoryGameV the part of "..von der Maas bis an die Memel; von der Etsch bis an den Belt" is a pretty wide geography and would include parts from Belgium and Netherlands and reach over until Lithuania and from northern Italy up into Denmark. Nazis of course loved that part
@@rivenoak When the anthem was written, all of those territories were German in one way or another. Nowadays, a lot of them belong to other countries. And that's why we don't use this stanza anymore. It's simply outdated. But neither the first stanza ("Deutschland, Deutschland über alles") nor the second stanza ("Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue") are forbitten (it is discouraged to perform them though). Only the third stanza is considered the National Anthem. Its first verse "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ("Unity and Justice and Freedom"), is considered to be the national motto of Germany, although it has never been officially proclaimed as such.
I've explained several times why water in Germany isn't free. 1. We pay fair salaries to the waiters, i.e. the Inn or restaurant owner has to make sales. He only makes a win when people consume and pay; 2. we don't eat out as often as Americans; when we go out in a restaurant, we treat ourselves to something special to eat and drink, not just plain tap water, we can have at home; 3. most pubs and restaurants are co-financed by drink retailers; they participate in the establishment and therefore sales have to be made; 4. there are building regulations for premises. It is still mandatory in most regions that a restaurant, in order to be able to offer tap water at all, has to have 3 separate lines - not just 3 separate water taps, but 3 separate lines (1 for cleaning water, 1 for service water for cooking, coffee/tea and rinsing glasses, 1 for fresh tap water only very few customers want). The 3rd line costs money but brings nothing. 5. Our water in Germany is very hard, with several minerals, it doesn't have a neutral taste like the US water, where all minerals are filtered out. This means that an innkeeper or restaurant owner in cerstain regions would also have to deal with complaints because the water is too acidic, too sulphurous, too bitter or too salty for the customers taste. Evian or Apollinaris taste the same everywhere. 6. That's why many bars actually serve plastic bottled water from ALDI or LIDL as tap water instead of real tap water.
Meiner Meinung nach ist der erste Punkt der wichtigste von allen und stellt gleichzeitig die Verbindung zum "Tipping" her: Entweder man zahlt mehr oder zusätzlich für das Wasser oder für den Service. Das Zahlen für das Wasser ist in meinen Augen fairer. Natürlich sind z.B. € 8 für eine 0,7 Liter-Flasche viel Geld, aber davon muss der Gastronom ja auch viel abgeben an Personal, Vermieter, Staat etc. Er braucht seine Einnahmen, und wie die sich zusammensetzen, ist doch letztendlich egal.
About Point 5. Have you been to the US before ? Depending which city and restaurant you are, the water tastes strongly like chlorin. I would drink any water from the tap in Germany over this swimming pool water. The Tap water quality throughout Germany differs as well.
You've really overcomplicated this. I would go with: 1. You shouldn't have to pay for water when already paying for a meal and other drinks 2. Refer to 1
Why would you be annoyed or angry with someone else's customs and rules? I thought the purpose of these videos was to LEARN about others ways. These rules are NOT meant for Americans but Europeans. BTW. we share most of these rules such as multiple recycling bins and not hogging the outside and central lanes etc here in Ireland too.
Morning Joel, here in Merrie England, I jaywalk where it is safe. I always return my shopping trolley, and I always take my coat and shoes off in the porch.
Hi Joel! I served in Germany in the UK military, the Germans are Black or White with laws and regulations, very few grey areas! It’s the way it is and it works!
@@grahamhill2267 Too bad, because it would have been a really small world. I missed by one day a family friend Graham Hill, who was Queen's Royal Lancers in Bosnia. He was rotating out and I was rotating in at Banja Luka. John
Joel, i still think you see everything through very young eyes, maybe one day you will see thing different, every country has their own customs, and they need to be respected in my opinion...
I agree, especialy on the second comment. For example: in Japan it is consideret rude, to clean your nose in public. Better hold it :/ In much other countrys its the opposit. Or if you meet someone in Asia, allways in buisness and in privat very often, it is the better and politer way to introduce yourself by hand over your card with a two hand gesture and a lil bow. In Europe you just shake hands. Etc.. There are so many sorts of such things all over the world.
You can say „i wish you have a good birthday tomorrow“ but you can’t congratulate them on the say before the birthday. Since its not the birthday yet it is considered bad luck
About the quite hours.. some people really take this very serious.. I was living in a appartment when i was younger and i had to leave the house at 5 am to go to work.. One day my elderly neighbour shouted at me for beeing to loud in the stairway and also the stairway light, which i obviously turned on because i dont want to fall down the stairs in a complete darkness, disturbs his sleeping routine.. Its not that i was like singing, dancing and stomping my way down the stairway, i just walked in a normal pace..
That was rude of him. But it is no common behaviour. Most of the time complaints are made because of the music being too loud late in the evening, when others want to sleep.
It is a bit strange though - I am originally from the UK and late at night the police, ambulances etc should not use their sirens unless completely necessary. In Germany I live near a fire and police station and the emergency vehicles simply switch on the sirens when going straight down the empty road at 2am! But if I slam the door to my apartment then it breaks the "Quiet Hour" rules 🙂
I am sorry for your experience. But there are somewhere those "kind" of people, lurking around a corner whole time, just to tell you, what you did wrong --- in their opinion. You will find those kind of people everywhere and most the time they are just stucked somewhere in time. That's a pitty, of course, cause also most of them are grumpy by nature or feel forgotten anywhere in the world. For example - here in Graz (Austria) it's now half past one am and we have some visitors above us... playing music, singing and having a party looks like... "Normally" it should be quiet, cause some others in our house will have to go to work even today - saturday - at 6am ... but no one will go up and mess up that sure cool evening. It's not every friday and so ... here in Austria we say "jo mei, sollns ihr Spass haben, sind ja jung" - meaning "why not, should have fun, they are young"... Seriousness of live will come very soon for them... But you are right... some people are just overusing some "orders"...
Yeah, we are allegedly old-fashioned for still using cash in tiny mom 'n dad shops and street markets, but you Americans are still using checks and wireless money transfer from bank account to bank account is almost unheard of - so, who is old-fashioned?
Nice react. Just a short Info to the jwalking: it's also consideret as a bad example, for the Kids who might see you cross the street, during the red phase. As adults we should do it the right way 😉
We live in Berlin and it is possible to pay by card almost everywhere. Card payment is sometimes not offered, but for these cases there is an ATM every 500 meters in all major cities in Germany.
It is really annoying hearing in so many videos we do not small talk. It is just wrong I live in Northern Germany and yes we might be way more quiet than others, but I always have a chat while shopping with strangers. Often it ends in joking. I am always friendly to others and wishing them a good day. It really depends on where you live. Big cities are different to smaller. When I go on a walk in my hometown. All are saying hello or have a good day. It is normal. My french husband was irritated by that. Altough french, also especially country side people, show more warmth towards a stranger. Germans might be more timed but surely it is not true they are unfriendly. "How you shout into a forest, it will come back to you" is a German saying. So when you are friendly others will be too. When Germans say they don't like small talk it is more meant. Why shall I talk to everyone about the weather. We all can see it and it won't change when we talk about it. But that doesn't mean no one does it. More other topics. Or just joking about something. The cash thing is based on protecting our privacy. And a generation thing. Old people are used to their cash. It will completely change in the next years for sure. The birthday greeting is an old superstition, like the black cat or breaking a mirror means seven years bad luck, so it is a more meant funny thing. You only hear how people describe it what you not see is the face. How we smile answering that way. No one really takes that serious. It is just "such a thing" we are used to. But when people talk in vids about that it always sounds like someone will react bad about that. No! It is a joke nothing more or less. I needed to write this comment since I saw it a few times that you take it more serious than it really is.
I agree with you in our village in northern Germany the people are also very friendly and greet each other. After shopping they wish you a nice day etc.
I think many people are just too afraid to actually initiate it (which is even amplified due to these stupid clichés). I bet the two in the video never actually tried without making an awkward study about it. Once you simply casually try it, you will find that most people are absolutely fine with small talk (or even crave it, but are maybe too shy to initiate themselves).
I agree. I'm also someone who has no problem joking with strangers or exchanging a few pleasantries. There are a few people who look at you askance, but so what? I'm also from northern Germany, but I've found it's more common in smaller places. But I don't like to talk about things that go without saying, like the weather, that's too stupid for me. At the most, I'll hear people say: "Who ordered the bad weather?"
I don't agree with the small talk and the no-friendship-with-co-workers stuff. Well, it's not quite interesting to talk with strangers about the weather out of nowhere, but if there is an opportunity to chat about a commone theme (nice flowers in a park, experiences while waiting in a queue at Aldi or Edeka 🙃) - why not? Perhaps these 2 in the videos are speaking about not to tell your entire life history to a perfect stranger ... 😉 And who should prevent you from trying to make friends with your co-workers? Perhaps you shouldn't expect that it will work, but it might! Viele Grüße! And btw don't take all that stuff too seriously, like the birthday thing. There is more than one way to be "nice", you see, and such things have to do with superstition, you might know that, like Friday the 13th and others, just don't question it ... 😊
The birthday wishing thing is mainly a superstition (as Phil said, "Bad luck" 😊) but yeah, I gotta say, it also doesn't make sense to me, to wish someone a happy birthday (and celebrate the he/she is a year older) if it's not their birthday yet. (Why do we even have birth days then??) After is totally fine in Germany.
10:33 I think that the logic is to do with the fact a birthday wish in advance means it’s a cop out. 10:51 You can wish them on their birthday instead. It doesn’t have to be a face to face thing.
Smalltalk is fine, just not about stupid things like the weather, lol. If there is nothing to say than there is nothing to say. To gratulate someone to something that hasnt happend yet, tempts fate and brings bad luck. Thats ofcs just old german superstition - still, most germans think its rude and inattentive.
Hi, Austrian here. I understand you concerns about the cash, but most people just feel a little more safe with cash-money, because you know how much you got when you hold it in your hands, and people care a little more about money, when they see, how much there's left in there wallet. I hope that makes more sense to you. And the birthday-thing is treated like when someone is having a child. you don't congratulate before the child is born, or do you? greez
@@peterpritzl3354 I agree on that, truly. The "big money" (a house, or a car) is still transfered digitally, but for small amounts, like groceries or just having a beer with a buddy, cash seems to be the more "personal" way to pay. Therefore, you get in some small-talk with the cashier at the gas station etc. A little more conversation please ;) you know what I mean?
@@metallicaOFFrock Well, here's from a Restaurant near FRA: "Wir gehen mit der Zeit! Ab sofort sind wir ein bargeldloser Betrieb und akzeptieren daher ausschließlich Kartenzahlungen."
It is normal that you have be nacked in a sauna, because of the sweat. There are some sauna days in Germany that are only special for women or men, but also for both together. At every beach on the North or Baltic Sea there is a beach section which is extra only for nudism, who likes it. Some people also go naked swimming in remote lakes where there are no children and few people in the summer.
Having worked in a bank I’d rather pay cash where possible, they know so much about you when you use a card, to the point you can predict where someone is. It’s scary,
6:45 I also pay with Google pay a lot BUT I feel bad because of it. The shop owners have to pay quite steep fees for that. Many smaller shops employees will give me uneasy looks because of it. So I get why cash is still preferred
Smalltalk and making friends in Germany: I would say it really depends on the person. Especially the younger generation in Germany (your age) is much more open to smalltalk and it's also easier to make them friends. Just make your own experiences and don't feel put off. Oh and by the way: Merry Christmas, if we don't see each other before... 😅
Dear Joel, I have been following your TH-cam channels for some time and am a low-tier Patreon. I want to thank you for creating this peaceful, interesting and fun place on the internet. I am Swiss and live very close to the border with Germany. I am in Germany almost every week and I can tell you that Germans are much more relaxed than you can get from these TH-cam videos. Crossing the street on red is quite normal as long as there are no children around (role model function of the adults). Most of the other points in the video are correct but please take them with a large portion of salt. What is annoying in Germany is the low internet speed and the cash payment mania. Sorry for the bumpy english
Hiya, I have to say that after going to Germany several times (school and my career) that all Germans are extremely proper and demand that from you. Luckily I speak German fairly well, and I think that they appreciate you even trying to speak even the basics, especially in shops. I won 5 awards from my international organisation’s Annual Awards and conferences. In front of my peers from all member countries, they asked if I would give an acceptance speech and how my career had evolved at such a youngish age? I said of course,then they said can you present the speech in German to honour this year’s host country 😮 MY knees actually shook with fear 😂
Interesting fact about "jaywalking" (I hate that term) in Germany: It is only forbidden to cross a road when there is a pedestrian light within 50m distance. Thus when you are somewhere where there is no traffic light in sight, you are free to cross the road… Of course, check for traffic before crossing :)
7:27 I’m Team Small Talk too! Although as an Indian, I’m aware of the aversion to small talk. 8:59 A lot of Asian households do this too. Also, the slippers for specific purposes in some households.
I am German and I love small talk as well. I frequently talk to random strangers (e.g. at the checkout lane in the supermarket) - most of the time people are ok with it and join in but sometimes I really get the "who's that weirdo"-look :)
2:45 It also depends a bit on the context: When I was a student, I addressed every young person (who looked like they could be a student) in the university campus with "du" - even if I met them the first time. If I meet a friend and there's another friend of him whom I don't know yet, I surely also say "du" to him directly. And also e.g. when I see someone in church for the first time and talk to them before or after the service, I usually say "du " directly and introduce myself with my First name, because we usually use our First Names there. So there are quite a number of situations where I would address also a stranger by first name and "du". So, usually in an environment where we would most likely switch from "Sie" to "du" anyway after the first greeting and introduction.
True, in certain situations a "Du" can be almost automatic these days. In others, however - I mean, you would not have addressed your professor like that, right? Also, I have to admit - if a waiter I've never seen before addresses me as "Du", it's an inner struggle between being nice and letting it slide, and blurting out "I do not think we have been formally introduced, good sir/madam!". Well, I always let it slide, but I soooo want to say it. I can't help it, I'm from the 80s, even having to call my bosses all the way up to CEO "Du" instead of "Herr ..." by company policy just feels wrong to me before at least once getting semi-drunk together on a company outing.
Celebrating someones birthday 3 days in advance is like opening the Christmas presents 3 days before Christmas or to celebrate an athlete 3 days before the tournament. Don't celebrate something they have not achieved yet.
Can’t speak for the Germans, but in the Netherlands (their next door neighbors) it’s not about cash or creditcard - it’s that we use adebet card. And that’s used a lot, even for ice cream. Although I do have a credit card, I do only use it for international online purchses.
Actually the whole "You can't pay with your card here" - situation really changed when Covid came along. Suddenly paying with cash wasn't allowed anymore (there was a transition period but it was still rather sudden) because cash transactions could spread the virus. So even little stores transitioned to a cashless system ... it's still very unreliable though. Often my card won't work for some reason and I have to rush to a nearby atm. But in normal supermarkets and stores I'm usually fine.
About free refills: Often restaurants offer cheap meals and make most of their earnings with the drinks. So that makes sense that they don´t give it out for free. The thing with not congratulate before the birthday day falls in the same category as you should look in the eye of each other while toasting with a drink - otherwise you will have bad sex for the next xyz years.
The thing with the anthem is rubbish. It's not forbidden to sing the Lied der Deutschen with all 3 verses. Actually in my country, in Hesse, it's mandatory to learn all 3 verses in school and to know, that only the 3rd verse is our national anthem. It's wrong to call it "the Nazi-Anthem." The anthem during the Nazi time was the 1st verse of the Lied der Deutschen TOGETHER with the Horst Wessel Lied. The Horst Wessel Lied (Die Fahne hoch) is forbidden.
I'm glad that they mentioned the FKK (naturist/nudist) beaches and the appropriate way to use the saunas! I've had to field a number of questions from my North American guests on the subject after we encounter clothesfree people in a park or at the beach. As luck would have it, a lot of municipal and district governments are [re-]adopting topless swimming for their swimming pools and tanning areas. One local government actually argued that there are "equal rights" for both sexes guaranteed under the German constitution, therefore women should be allowed to be topless in areas in which "male toplessness" can be expected. Well done, Germany! 👣
Regarding small talk - it's not that no one does it (I, (German) for example often engage in small talk with strangers), so it's always worth a try. Just don't be disappointed if the other doesn't react the way you hoped. It's not meant as rude.And if you won't see your friend on his birthday the next day, you can always tell him, "Have a nice Birthday tomorrow!". That doesn't fall under the bad-luck rule, cause it's not congratulations ☺
Sie Simpson, great video, very informative. No shoes on in the house here either. None of these customs bugs me, even the birthday one. Lots of fun!! Du John in Canada
Correction: Deutschland Deutschland [...] is NOT the "old anthem" it is the 2nd verse of the anthem that is plainly left out. The nazis did not invent it. Also the quiet hours can be circumvented if you ask your neighbours.. you are allowed to party into your birthday a bit louder.. just notify your neighbours and maybe even invite them. Of course this is different if children are next door - respect their sleep and turn it down a notch. The birthday part: cause its considdered bad luck.. most wont care yet it is still not considdered normal in germany. You can CALL your friends at their birthday and congratulate them that way.. its what most do. It is considdered as personal as a personal congratulation.
I always have to smile a bit when you ask ,,why (we do things as we do them),, because i could do the same and ask ,,why ( are you doing things as you do them),, the world is very different you know? For example i only live 18km away from austria (Airline) and even that we are very similar things are different now imagine the whole world. 😅
about the small talk: we germany usually have a zone of reserved privacy around us. its not always a good thing, but we like it that way. maybe you can say we're all a bit introverted (of course of varying degree). there is always a border to cross for us to talk to a random stranger. we feel its not apropriate to disturb another for just a random hunch of making smalltalk.
Cash: Yesterday I saw a video of apps commonly used in US restaurants "How much do you tip? 15, 20, 25%? And the commenters (a US YT channel) thought that was a bad development because it increases the psychological pressure to tip more. Let me put it this way: This mechanism does not exist for cash payments....
11:00 You can still wish them a good birthday party, just not wish them happy birthday in advance directly lol. I'm not religious or superstitious at all but I don't wanna wish someone a happy birthday before they actually had it 😄
The part about smalltalk isn't actually true, so don't worry. Just initiate it and you will get great results most of the time. Doesn't even matter much which generation, it's just situational of course.
Don’t drive in the left lane unnecessarily - and there’s a rule to mirror that: overtaking right of another vehicle is strictly prohibited (at least in the Netherlands, it is).
7:06 In my experience (as a German), the issue of small talk varies greatly in Germany, depending on the region. While in the South / West it can be quite easy to make contact through small talk and thereby meet new people (especially in student cities), it is more difficult in the North / East because there are no small talk traditions in these regions.
Where I live (Thuringia, so pretty central) these things are mostly true. You do not see a lot of people that engage in small talk. I think it's because we do not see the reason behind talking to a stranger about the weather, when we can clearly see it, especially since we don't know them. I myself would gladly answer if you try to talk to me, but I'd never initiate it, because a lot of people would answer with clear discomfort or won't answer at all (at least where I live). For me I think this is because shopping and riding the train to work is more like "business" time, as I'm there to complete a specific "task/errand" and do not see it as a time to be casual. This means I'd probably be more open to talk when I'm riding the train home or when I'm just outside for a walk/hike. As for the birthday thing, I think it has some accuracy, but it's not wholly true. While many wouldn't really wish someone a happy birthday before their actual birthday, it definitely is not "taboo" and you probably wouldn't receive backlash for it. I think it really has to do with what you are trying to say. When you want to wish them a happy birthday party or want to tell them to have fun you can definitely say that, but when we say "Happy birthday" we usually mean it as a celebration of their day of birth. Look at it like this: So on one hand there is wishing for someone to get a good grade on a test (or in our case wishing them a good time on their birthday -> "happy birthday"). On the other hand there is congratulating someone for a good grade on their test (in our case celebrating their day of birth -> still " Happy birthday"), even though they haven't written it yet (i.o.c. even though it's not their date of birth). So while I haven't really seen anyone that believes it will "bring bad luck", they will probably not say it because it doesn't really makes sense to them. In the end all these things always differentiate from person to person. It depends on where you live (whether it's North and South or in a big city and a small village), how you were raised and what you personally like and dislike. So don't be afraid to ask the people around you or at least try it out before you come to a conclusion.
In Germany, many craftsmen who come to your house or apartment bring overshoes with them. But police officers would never take off their shoes or bring overshoes.
Yeah and the credit card think here is... We don't have a credit score that we "need" to build up for buying a car or house loans. In Germany there is the thing called Schufa. Where you get registered if you take out a loan or buying something on credit and don't pay it back you get registered with the Schufa. So if you want to buy a car or house with a loan the bank can ask the Schufa if you got an entry at Schufa. If yes it's gonna be hard to take out future loans or buying something on credit
The lyrics of the national anthem are not prohibited. The song has three stanzas. Only the third verse is sung. It is a criminal offense to display Nazi symbols (Hitler salute, swastika, etc.). Even if you just wanted to make a (bad) joke with it, you can get into real trouble with the police and the judiciary. We Germans know our history. Yes, in Germany you never say congratulations before birthday. This is probably a superstition and means bad luck. Yes, small talk, like in the US, Germans don't like it. They see that as rude as you're wasting people's time with unimportant stories. Nevertheless, Germans are polite and nice, but also very honest and direct. You also get into conversation with them because they are open-minded. Just give Germans some time, wait for questions that will certainly come quickly. Germans usually judge people by their actions, not their words. When they see you're polite, you're nice, they approach you and take an interest in you. If they like you, they will quickly invite you to activities together (sports, going out for a drink together). If a German doesn't like you, he'll let you feel it too. Joel, you don't have to worry.
On the quiet hours: it's also common to warn adjacent neighbours if you're planning to have a party that may go well into the night. Most people are cool with it as long as you don't do do it all the time (and keep the noise to a not too annoying volume), plus you usually exchange phone numbers so that if your party gets too loud they can give you a quick call to tone it down instead of calling the police for a noise complaint. It's also customary to reward your neighbours goodwill with such stuff with a little gift (like a bottle of wine) after the party just to thank them for their understanding. Obviously it's imperative that your neighbours are cool with you doing that. If you show up saying "yo, we're gonna have a party and it may get loud", it's their prerogative to say no and then you best keep to the quiet hours or chances are you will get a visit by the police for a noise complaint and you end up on the shitlist of said neighbour. As for smalltalk: there's not a german word for it, we literally use the english term smalltalk for it. The closest german term of equivalent meaning I can think of is "Geschwätz" which means meaningless chatter, with a negative connotation. it also comes hand in hand with the more often than not somewhat accurate stereotype of german directness and honesty ... if you ask someone how they are and they actually feel like talking, you best be prepared to get a comprehensive answer on how their day was (and how they hated X and Y that happened today, urgh) rather than getting a generic platitude back. Which also makes it easier to understand why smalltalk isn't particularily popular because what sort of stranger would just come up and ask me how my days has been!? Of course there's plenty people who would just as easily enjoy just chatting with a stranger, especially younger of a demographic you're trying to talk to. As for not making friends with Germans at work: that's a misconception. Germans have a very strict divide between work and life. That means that just because we're friendly as we work together, doesn't mean we want to invite you to my house. This is the usual error that people who work "with" Germans fall into, whereas it's pretty easy to make friends if you work "together" with Germans at the same workplace. Afterall at nearly every place you should be able to get along well with some of your coworkers. However it should also be noted that friendship is often defined differently by Germans, with most people falling under the umbrella of acquaintances rather than friends, the latter of which tends to be a much smaller group of close individuals. I for one can work amicably with everyone I work with, joke around, etc. but I wouldn't invite most of them out to go for a drink together. That's reserved for the kind of people that would bury a corpse for me.
I never will understand whats the problem with cash for foreigners is! We have so many markets (fresh food from the country), takeaways, ice cream shops...... where you pay 2, 3, 4... dollars for your stuff. For the owners its a a big effort and expensive to have credit card machines! And another thing for me is, that people have no overview of their expenses if they pay every tiny shit with the card. In Europe also kids buy sweets, ice cream, a sandwich, an apple... while going to school, to friends, its absolutely CRAZY for me, to give them (at the age of 6, 7...) a CREDIT CARD to buy something!!!
it depends on the people visiting me. If a friend visits me and i know he has stinky feet i would tell him right away.... "normally everyone has to take his shoes of, but you're the exception. Your feet are so stinky, you better keep your shoes on". Then we both laugh and have some beer and a great evening together....
It's quite interesting that some things on their list is Identical to Sweden (never shoes inside, pretty advanced recycling, no clothes in the Sauna...) and others are diametrically different (most shops and Restaurants here don't accept cash, free tap water everywhere, the formal way of saying "you" exists but is only used by young people who don't know that it's actually a historically rude form...)
I think the thing about not congratulating before birthday in Germany fits with the small talk thing. If you are serious about a contact, you take the time to see each other or at least call or write a message. Wishing a birthday in advance is somehow small talk, it's a phrase, not a genuine interest.
I'm noticing that the fines are very small compared to Australia. Them Germans are sticklers for rules (generally), so I guess the deterrents don't need to be as severe. For example, not having a ticket on a train is an AUD$277 fine.
Some people prefer paying in cash for the simple reason, that it can't be tracked by whomever. Card payments can be monitored by the bank and if push comes to shove by the government, and theoretically your card can be disabled with a single transaction, while the money in your pocket can not. "Cash is minted (or printed) freedom" is a popular saying. There is something to it.
In România we love small talks 😊😊😊 we don' t have refill, the water is expensive also & the shooes go off just like them😊 we say happy birthday in advance or even if your birthday was 2- 3 days ago 😂😊
I'm a native german and living here in morthern germany since 1984. Well yes, the northern people are sometimes not very talkative than other people but when seeing each other more sometimes than we are more open for small talks like at the bakery or at the kiosk or at the turkish butcher or turkish green grocer or even at the supermarkets cashier. We do love small talks, too. A lot of busy people don't want small talks but older people who are retired from their jobs are mostly like to do small talks and it is more friendly to go with a smile onto the face than being unfriendly at all. Here in northern germany even not all people can talk or undrrstand US english, they did learned the more compöicated and different british oxford english at school over 30 years ago and very rarely used it there after in most causes. Some of the people thinking it will be sometimes better to say nothing than ro say anything in humbling spoken foreighn language the wrong things. The german Denglish = Deutsch plus English is a special own language and very different from british or northern american english. A Backshop is here not a Railroad Repair Shoppe it is a bakery shop by wrong translation. Back comes from backen = to bake, so a Backshop is a bakery shop or a bigger kiosk selling self baked rolls. A Tankshop does not sell amoured Vehicles with machine guns or canons onto it it is the shop of a gas or petrol station...the german word Tank = fuel canister are the shorten of tanken = to tank fuel or petrol it is comnined with the english shop as Tankshop. A body bag is not a bag to cover died bodies into a big sack or bag in german language a body bag is a little bigger beltpocket bag worn ahead the belly onto a belt, here known as body bag
Thanks for finding this video. I was just in Germany and I'm pretty glad I avoided these types of things anyway. I've hardly used cash in the UK in the past three years so it is pretty odd to have to take my wallet on travels for some countries.
You mustnt have lots of cash. Usually, if you have 50 Euros, that will do. Tinyer shops often dont have the appliances for card reading, bakeries for example. But you can pay with your card in every supermarket.
One thing, In some places especially if there are a lot of old people, respect the "Mittagsruhe" it's from 14 to 15 (at least where i'm from) and you have to be quiet like in the night. It's not as common anymore i think, but if you have old neighbors it can help keep unnecessary stress away. You know you are doing things right if they do small talk. Small talk for germans is like a sign of approval XD
-Thing about the cash is, that the shop-owners have to pay a quite high price each month for the machines reading the cards. For small shops, that really would hurt. -Early Birthday-wishes are better than none! No big deal for sure! -Whenever I asked for tapwater, I got it (except the fast-food-chains). -I hate taking my shoes off! I don't expect others to do it either. That has nothing to do with disrespect for me...
3:57; That the first two stanzas/vers of the song of the Germans are forbidden, is absolutely wrong. It is still allowed to sing these lines. The anthem of the Federal Republic was the complete song with all 3 stanzas/vers. However, until the GDR joined the Basic Law, it was common practice in the FRG to only play the third stanza/vers. It was only with the announcement of November 19, 1991 by the Federal Minister of the Interior that it was determined, that only the third stanza/vers of the Deutschlandlied represents the official german national anthem, which Federal President von Weizsäcker and Chancellor Kohl had decided (see Federal Law Gazette 1991 Part I page 2135)
Here in Austria, they have bike lanes. They also have bike/pedestrian lanes. They also have sidewalks for people and foot-powered scooters, but often you will get run over by bikes or electric scooters. I much prefer in the states where pedestrians have the right of way and you don't always have to look over your back and shoulders to see who is going to be running you over. Another thing, about the formal/informal forms, one aspect of that has to do with things like my husband referring to me in a sentence with something like, "Meine Frau (My wife)....." when talking to a mutual friend of ours, instead of calling me by name. It sounds really weird to me, but he tells me that is the polite way to say it. Still sounds weird...like talking about me as if I'm not there, when I am standing right next to them. Oh, those quiet hours...that reminds me that I forgot to get the laundry in 1/2 an hour ago. It takes *over* TWO HOURS for the machine to run, so is now too late to start it. Also, here in Vienna, in the summer when people have their windows open, you can hear everything from the street, and likewise, you can hear everything that's being said in apartments from even several floors up.
i wanna stick with cash because it is the ONLY state garanteed currency banks are private companies as are creditcard firms, paypal, bitcoin etc. none of their values are garanteed like cash and yes i know most people wont see it this way but to me it is completely idiotic to want to get rid of cash
About number 4: There is also a mixed version which is a little bit more up to date than the oldfashioned "Sie + last name". its pretty common in companies or even some schools that u still use the formal "Sie" in combination with the first name. this is especially used by many CEOs if they talk to their employees. it feels more connected while also maintaining a little bit of formal distance to your boss than the "Sie" + last name like you would talk to strangers. about the nazi stuff and the anthem: the nazi salute and certain "jokes" are not just offensive to germans, they are highly illegal. the nazi salute results in either a very heavy fine or even up to 3 years of jail. - the first and second part of the anthem arent forbidden or illegal tho, they are simply frowned upon. just the third part is the official german anthem. about "cash is king": i agree with you. technology is going really fast, the problem is that our government isnt. angela merkel, our previous chancellor said in like 2016 the infamous words "Das Internet ist für uns alle Neuland" which translate into "the internet is very new to all of us". thats what you get if 80% of the government is made of old, white people. the statement that most places require cash is simply not true for a couple of years already. maybe if you are somewhere in a little village in germany this might be the case or if youre at some tourist sight seeing spots which usually collect money on the go, but everywhere else you can easily pay by debit card. im living in a city with about 150k people and i havent encountered a single situation within the last like 10 years where i wasnt able to pay with my card. the last 5 to 6 years i dont even carry cash anymore aside from like 10 euros in case my phone runs out of battery and i have to buy a bus ticket. thats actually one of the few things where u either have ur cell phone with the appropiate app to buy a ticket or u need cash if you buy the ticket on the bus. just the big stations here do have some machines where u can buy a ticket with card.
Btw .. Jaywalking is _not_ actually a thing in germany. You are basically free to cross a street wherever you like. BUT you are responsible for your safety and the safety of any other passenger or driver nearby while doing so if it comes to an accident(!). On top of that, _WAY_ more important is the point, that you should _ALWAYS_ look out for children nearby.. That's so much more important if you're standing at a traffic light. It is considered to be really bad when you fail to give children and kids a good example how to behave. (Because in germany you can see school kids walking from home to school and back on their own, which is pretty normal over here. ;)) So ... in those cases, chances that you may get fined are actually pretty real... But otherwise it's usually a non issue. ;)
No Nazi symbols may be openly displayed or worn on clothing. In Germany, the following numbers and letters are prohibited for license plates: 88 = the 8 letter from the front = H (means Heil Hitler) or 88 = SS = (Schutz Staffel) the 8 letter from the back = S
Want to address a couple of things here, as a fellow german. In regards to the payment methods, depending on where you are within germany it's a bit of a mixed situation. A lot and really a lot of germans do like their cash, but we are in a changing time and more and more start to use payment with credit cards and the like's. That being sayed there are some good arguements to keep both options and just let everyone decide for themself anyway moving on. The small talk thing is also very regional based, if you are for example in Hamburg you wont get a lot of small talk, maybe here and there, but it is mostly true, but in berlin for example, your chances are a lot higher to have small talk, ppl from berlin are more "open minded" i feel like from my experience. So it depends i guess where you visit. Paying for water in restaurants, i do get it, they wanna sell product's, not have ppl sitting around blocking table's while consuming something "free", also at the end of the day, its a lot more balanced? You dont just pay for the water, you pay for service, electricity, staff in general and every other extra costs the etablissement might have, so i do get it. But i also work within the field and if a customer asks me for tap water, i will give him/her tap water, i am not evil. And lastly the birthday wishes in advance is simply a super stition like you already mentioned. It's supposed to bring bad luck, so in your example, we do actually take time to give that person a quick call (most ppl do anyway) to wish them happy birthday, or write a quick msg, or something really, but yes, generally we dont wish happy birthday early...
I think that small talk in America has its roots with the American settlers. for them it was essential to have good contacts while moving west and so they tried to talk to as many people as possible.
actually when ur best friends birthday is tomorrow and u cant make it there.. its true u shouldt say happy birthday.. but u could say smt like i HOPE ull have a great birthday day tomorrow or smt like that
Americans know the superstition of jinxing something by talking about it happening prematurely. That is basically the same with the birthday wishes in Germany. The literal meaning of "Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag" (the most common phrase on a birthday) is not wishing for someone to have a good birthday, but rather congratulating them on having reached another one. So assuming they will make it to their birthday before they actually did, is considered to cause bad luck.
If you see someone shortly before their birthday and you want to say something, you could go with a phrase like "Feier schön" (Have a nice celebration).
This! 💯
People in the comments already explained the birthday thing, I just want to add someting. It is the same reason why Baby parties/gender reveal partys are not as common in germany. Celebrating something that hasnt happened yet, brings bad luck.
Richtig. Was, wenn bei der Geburt etwas schief läuft oder es eine Fehlgeburt gibt? Definitiv kein Grund, zu feiern!
Baby parties after the Baby is Born. Mostly on the birthday Mom and Baby are in the Hospital and Dad celebrate with Friends and Family. :D
same in eastern europe
My Granma was very nervous when we were buying the crib and all the stuff one needs for a newborn a few months prior to birth.
Apparently we were tempting fate
Just to clarify things: Smalltalk and being polite/friendly to strangers are two completely different things!
And the second one we (or at least I) actually do.
And you can talk to Germans, but don't expect small talk.
I mean, you can start with telling it’s a beautiful day and end up with the whole history of the person. If you are prepared for this, you can talk to strangers. I do it all the time. For me a weird thing with Americans is, when they start planning something they will never do, I always start wondering if he really wants to do that with me, because we take plans serious 😆
It's not hard to make friends in Germany.
There's that cliche:
The german exchance student in the US talked to 100 people while he was there and made two friends.
Meanwhile the american exchange student in Germany talked to three people and made two friends.
wishing someone a happy birthday early is associated with a superstition. we have the saying here: du sollst den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben which means you should not praise the day before the evening. That means if you wish someone a happy birthday even though it's not their birthday yet, you don't yet know if they are really going to make it to their birthday because something could happen to them before and if you congratulate them earlier, that's bad luck because one basically assumes that he will live until his birthday and that is like a challenge for fate😂😂hope that explained it
basically youre jinxing it! lmao
for real tho: if you want to be nice you can wish them a fun time at their upcoming birthday celebration instead
Correct explained
The thing with credit cards is, that we have a wide spread debit card (ec-card) and the fee from the card company to the shop owner is extrem higher for credit cards. So the acceptance of credit cards is lower. Due to the fact, that American tourists don't have ec-cards they have to use cash instead.
esp. all the credit card providers are US companies, so in one way, americans are responsible for the lesser usage of credit cards due to the high costs.
@@aerosoul12345 And don't forget that euro bills are colorful and look way nicer than U.S. dollars which are all green. And we have coins which show national symbols but are valid throughout the EU. I love using cash whenever I can, although I mostly pay by card now.
Actually the fee is only high for shops which are trapped in old contracts. Newer contracts make credit card handling actually less expensive than handling cash.
@@DASPRiD This could be the reasion, why the number of shops, that accepts credit cards is higher now than a few years ago. I thought, it was due to the pandemic but lower fees are oconomicly more plausible.
You also have to keep in mind, that most credit card contracts often put the risk of thievery on the shop owners. German and most European debit card contracts won't do that. If you're a shop owner in a touristy spot, who does accept credit card, it's not uncommon, to see somebody claim his credit card to be stolen, the thief made a purchase with that stolen credit card in your shop and the responsible credit card company often just draw their money back from your account. And you're left with the financial damage, even though you're also a victim and not responsible for the damage in the first place. Of course there are insurance contracts to adress this issue, but you'll have to deal with a ton of paperwork and have to wait for many weeks (sometimes months), to actually get your money to cover that damage. This won't happen with debit cards. There you will simply keep the money for that thiefs purchase and the bank will refund the card owner instead.
12:46 Moral of the Story: Either Joel is annoyed or he wants something to be international law. There’s no in between.
About the birthday thing: I think if you care enough about the person you'll text them or call them on their actual birthday. You make the effort to remember their actual birthday and contact them then. If you hang out past midnight with the birthday girl/boy, you congratulate then and there.
About that making friends thing: Germans are usually not that into casual aquaintances but rather into longlasting friendships. We don't move around that often so many of us still have friends back from school or uni. Since you cannot have an infinite amount of friendships you really tend to, you become picky in your adulthood. It is not uncommon to grab a beer with colleagues after work or have the occasional work bestie. But work-life-separation is a thing in Germany. You are more likely to be friends with your neighbor or someone from your sports club (Germans like joining social clubs). We are not anti-social, we just socialize in different ways. But if you managed to make a German friend it's a lifetime commitment for us.
About the cash is king mentality: since COVID it's gottena lot less cash-based. But keep in mind: Germans use debit cards in their daily life and rarely have credit cards (except for travelling). Germans are not fans of being in debt, so the classic credit card business model doesn't work here... the German Word for debt, "Schulden", literally translates to "guilt"... you get the notion ;) Also, credit card fees for shop owners are higher than debit card fees. I pay mostly by card, but debit card.
Nah, the birthday thing is because by giving advanced birthday wishes you are expecting that the person will definitely live until this day
@@kalleschmitz It's more about medieval believes that demons and bad ghosts are everywhere and whom these satanic beast want to hurt? - The lucky ones! Because hurting a sad depressive person isn't so much fun than hurting Mr. Lucky Guy and make him sad and depressive (More fire-stars by lord Satan, better demon-job etc).
And how get the bad guys that someone will be happy - Maybe when they hear (and remind - the devil is everywhere) that a person will have a "Lucky Day" tomorrow. Enough time for the demons to made his Birthday the worst day of his life.
Same reason for the weird wishes like "Wish you a broken neck and broken leg bone" (Hals- und Beinbruch) - Demons are stuppid and if they hear that everybody hates you (because they wishes you bad things) hurting these people would be total waste of demon time.
Charlene, I totally agree with you 😁
@@kalleschmitz genau,unerhört sowas...
You can wish a nice birthday party or so...
I think the difference is that we don't wish a happy birthday meaning a great day, but we say congratulations to your birthday. So saying it before the actual birthday, is like congratulations on a successfully passed test, that hadn't even take place, yet. Very much bad luck!
Also you can kind of circumvent that by saying something like: „I DON‘t wish you a happy birthday now because that would be bad luck“ - so you don‘t break the rule but still you remembered the day and you care and hope they will have a nice day.
Also if you actually care about the person you could still take off 1 minute for a short call or at least a text message ON their birthday.
And you still can tell them to have a great day and/or party.
It's not about being unfriendly. Wishing someone a happy birthday is not just a saying, it actually means congratulating them for surviving another 365 days and for being alive on the day of their birth once again. You are congratulating them for seeing the sun rise on their birthday again. So it's more like 'happy birthday, you made it alive to your day once again'. Nobody knows if they will make it to their birthday, so don't congratulate them for making it there in advance.
You don't congratulate someone for getting a new job before the interview, only after you are sure that they made it. Also, you don't want to jinx it. You also don't congratulate someone for winning a race, if they are not in the finish yet. Or you don't congratulate someone for having a baby before the birth, you don't know if it will end well. You don't congratulate someone for making 100 squats, if they are only on the number 90. You wait for the achievement and only then congratulate.
Same with the birthday. You wait to see them alive on the day of their birth. When you see it like that, wishing someone a happy birthday in advance makes no sense. Loving your reactions! 😊
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Imagine you wish me a happy birthday a week before my actual birthday. What if I die? I will have never had my birthday. It's sort of like a jinx. While I think most Germans aren't too serious about it, those of us that are a bit superstitious will
It seems to be the same in Lithuania - a friend wished me a happy birthday too early online and my Lithuanian friend was very annoyed, saying you should never do that for luck, etc.
@@andrewcoogans471 same in Bulgaria, i might get phisical for that, a few years ago a person I know wished me hbday two days in advance, the next day, the day before my bday i got so sick, i spent my bday and the days after in my bed, very, very sick, so yeah....
Regarding a birthday in the near future, you can also just wish the person a nice party or a great day. Without wishing the person a happy birthday beforehand.
2:32 Some fun fact: "You" ist the formal address in English, which threw away its informal address ("thou" or "thee"). "You" was once the plural form, also used as formal form in the singular (like "du" und "Ihr" in medieval German or in Swiss German).
6:49 Most people think it is about data protection, but the main reason were the high fees and commissions by the card issuers (to pay by the vendor), which was a problem especially for bakeries and similar places where most sales are below 3 or 4 Euro. Most of those stories did not even acquire a card reader (which they would have to rent anyway in the past) and some still not have, even if the fees are now much lower and multi-card readers are available. Additionally most credit card companies (except for Mastercard and Visa) did never gain a foothold in Germany, because German banks already had their own established and unified Debit card system (first ec-card, now girocard) and most Germans traditionally prefer those cards over credit cards. Most "girocards" are nowadays combined with Maestro (by Mastercard, now scheduled for deprecation) or V Pay (by Visa, scheduled to be replaced by Visa Debit), mostly for use abroad. Virtually at all bigger stores you can pay now by girocard, but not necessarily with every credit card. About 95% of all Germans have a "girocard", and 75% use them for their daily shopping. In bigger cities you can also find stores accepting ApplePay and similar payment methods, but that's still rather rare in rural regions and smaller towns.
About the quiet hours: no one minds 10 minutes or half an hour, but once I had a neighbour in the appartment above me, who used her washingmachine at 2 am. It was placed in the kitchen above my kitchen. When it started rotating, all my glasses clanked. That was really disturbing in the middle of the night.
She stopped it after I explained it to her.
I had a similar encounter, however, my neighbor was a paramedic with impossible working hours and we agreed that she occasionally needed to do turn on the washing machine in the middle of the night.
I really respect how honestly you give your opinion. Many youtubers try to be overly diplomatic or sugarcoat their scepticism. But you're just like "Some of these points make me angry, others are great"😂
I like that
For the smalltalk thingy:
I have to say, that it is very different for different regions here in Germany.
In the north people are a bit more shy and don't talk too much with strangers. But at the capitals, in Hamburg for expample, people are very open hearted and love smalltalk.
And that goes on for every reagion over here.
I personally love smalltalk.
On top I speak 5 languages and don't miss any opportunity to catch a chat.
Yeah I don't believe the smalltalk thing.
If you think small talk is difficult in Germany, you should look at the nordics...
I really like the European method of disposing bottles.
By driving on the right lane ( or left in the UK ) you are actively reducing congestion and everybody gets to their destination quicker. I love driving in Germany, its sad when I come back home to the UK and find people hogging the middle lane and sometimes outside lane.
The one thing about that video that annoys me is the anthem thing. You are allowed to sing the full old song including "Deutschland über alles" because its an old song way older than the nazi regime. "Das Lied der deutschen" (Dr. Ludwig has one version with engl translation) is about the unification around 1850. Its really good, worth listening and even if people say that it has nothing to do with nazis besides that they also used it as an anthem.
To quote some his text he (dr. Ludwig) wrote under the video:
"Deutschland über alles" doesn´t mean that Germany stands above other nations, you have to see it in the context of the time in 1841.
Germany wasn´t an united nation, but a collection of many states and an united fatherland was meant to be above any other political goal of that time. If you continue to listen to the next lines you will see, the author doesn´t want war, violence or superiority against other nations. He demands noble deeds, to be proud of the own culture, women and freedom etc.
**grammar nazi mode on**
'"Deutschland über alles" doesn´t mean that Germany stands above other nations, you have to see it in the context of the time in 1841.'
If you wanted to be real anal about it, you could point out that "über alles" is in the accusative, thus denoting destination. So it's like 'Let's make this our goal'.
If you wanted it to mean 'Germany stands above other nations' it would have to be dative (denoting position). In that case it would have to be 'Deutschland über allem'.
@@mcwurscht Sure but if you try to explain it to a english audience I guess that would be a bit too complicated. Maybe for a portion of germans as well by now...
While true there remains the issue that the Nazis very much intended to take the meaning literally, Germany superior to everything else, and hence why it is often still seen as such. It is obviously a wrong perception but nonetheless that's what it is connected to and as such people will react negatively to someone singing this first part of the song...and those reacting positively might also not be the kind of people you want to be associated with.
@@HistoryGameV the part of "..von der Maas bis an die Memel; von der Etsch bis an den Belt" is a pretty wide geography and would include parts from Belgium and Netherlands and reach over until Lithuania and from northern Italy up into Denmark. Nazis of course loved that part
@@rivenoak When the anthem was written, all of those territories were German in one way or another. Nowadays, a lot of them belong to other countries. And that's why we don't use this stanza anymore. It's simply outdated.
But neither the first stanza ("Deutschland, Deutschland über alles") nor the second stanza ("Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue") are forbitten (it is discouraged to perform them though).
Only the third stanza is considered the National Anthem. Its first verse "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ("Unity and Justice and Freedom"), is considered to be the national motto of Germany, although it has never been officially proclaimed as such.
I've explained several times why water in Germany isn't free.
1. We pay fair salaries to the waiters, i.e. the Inn or restaurant owner has to make sales. He only makes a win when people consume and pay;
2. we don't eat out as often as Americans; when we go out in a restaurant, we treat ourselves to something special to eat and drink, not just plain tap water, we can have at home;
3. most pubs and restaurants are co-financed by drink retailers; they participate in the establishment and therefore sales have to be made;
4. there are building regulations for premises. It is still mandatory in most regions that a restaurant, in order to be able to offer tap water at all, has to have 3 separate lines - not just 3 separate water taps, but 3 separate lines (1 for cleaning water, 1 for service water for cooking, coffee/tea and rinsing glasses, 1 for fresh tap water only very few customers want). The 3rd line costs money but brings nothing.
5. Our water in Germany is very hard, with several minerals, it doesn't have a neutral taste like the US water, where all minerals are filtered out.
This means that an innkeeper or restaurant owner in cerstain regions would also have to deal with complaints because the water is too acidic, too sulphurous, too bitter or too salty for the customers taste. Evian or Apollinaris taste the same everywhere.
6. That's why many bars actually serve plastic bottled water from ALDI or LIDL as tap water instead of real tap water.
7. Most restaurants dont make much money with the food, they make money with the drinks and thats why they dont like to give free water
Thanks for the lengthy explanation 😊
Meiner Meinung nach ist der erste Punkt der wichtigste von allen und stellt gleichzeitig die Verbindung zum "Tipping" her: Entweder man zahlt mehr oder zusätzlich für das Wasser oder für den Service. Das Zahlen für das Wasser ist in meinen Augen fairer. Natürlich sind z.B. € 8 für eine 0,7 Liter-Flasche viel Geld, aber davon muss der Gastronom ja auch viel abgeben an Personal, Vermieter, Staat etc. Er braucht seine Einnahmen, und wie die sich zusammensetzen, ist doch letztendlich egal.
About Point 5. Have you been to the US before ? Depending which city and restaurant you are, the water tastes strongly like chlorin.
I would drink any water from the tap in Germany over this swimming pool water.
The Tap water quality throughout Germany differs as well.
You've really overcomplicated this. I would go with:
1. You shouldn't have to pay for water when already paying for a meal and other drinks
2. Refer to 1
Why would you be annoyed or angry with someone else's customs and rules? I thought the purpose of these videos was to LEARN about others ways. These rules are NOT meant for Americans but Europeans. BTW. we share most of these rules such as multiple recycling bins and not hogging the outside and central lanes etc here in Ireland too.
Morning Joel, here in Merrie England, I jaywalk where it is safe. I always return my shopping trolley, and I always take my coat and shoes off in the porch.
Hi Joel! I served in Germany in the UK military, the Germans are Black or White with laws and regulations, very few grey areas! It’s the way it is and it works!
Graham, with the Lancers? John
And i would say it works very well
@@johnfisher9816 no mate, I was in the RAF
@@grahamhill2267 Too bad, because it would have been a really small world. I missed by one day a family friend Graham Hill, who was Queen's Royal Lancers in Bosnia. He was rotating out and I was rotating in at Banja Luka. John
That´s just a stupid cliché
Joel, i still think you see everything through very young eyes, maybe one day you will see thing different, every country has their own customs, and they need to be respected in my opinion...
Correct. What is considered polite in one country may be an insult in another. Tips for example.
I agree, especialy on the second comment.
For example: in Japan it is consideret rude, to clean your nose in public. Better hold it :/
In much other countrys its the opposit.
Or if you meet someone in Asia, allways in buisness and in privat very often, it is the better and politer way to introduce yourself by hand over your card with a two hand gesture and a lil bow. In Europe you just shake hands. Etc..
There are so many sorts of such things all over the world.
Agreed. He's very naive but at least he's showing the willingness to get out and explore the world.
You put this nicely, i have harsher words in mind... 😅
You put this nicely, i have harsher words in mind... 😅
You can say „i wish you have a good birthday tomorrow“ but you can’t congratulate them on the say before the birthday. Since its not the birthday yet it is considered bad luck
About the quite hours.. some people really take this very serious.. I was living in a appartment when i was younger and i had to leave the house at 5 am to go to work.. One day my elderly neighbour shouted at me for beeing to loud in the stairway and also the stairway light, which i obviously turned on because i dont want to fall down the stairs in a complete darkness, disturbs his sleeping routine.. Its not that i was like singing, dancing and stomping my way down the stairway, i just walked in a normal pace..
That was rude of him. But it is no common behaviour.
Most of the time complaints are made because of the music being too loud late in the evening, when others want to sleep.
It is a bit strange though - I am originally from the UK and late at night the police, ambulances etc should not use their sirens unless completely necessary. In Germany I live near a fire and police station and the emergency vehicles simply switch on the sirens when going straight down the empty road at 2am! But if I slam the door to my apartment then it breaks the "Quiet Hour" rules 🙂
I am sorry for your experience. But there are somewhere those "kind" of people, lurking around a corner whole time, just to tell you, what you did wrong --- in their opinion. You will find those kind of people everywhere and most the time they are just stucked somewhere in time. That's a pitty, of course, cause also most of them are grumpy by nature or feel forgotten anywhere in the world.
For example - here in Graz (Austria) it's now half past one am and we have some visitors above us... playing music, singing and having a party looks like... "Normally" it should be quiet, cause some others in our house will have to go to work even today - saturday - at 6am ... but no one will go up and mess up that sure cool evening. It's not every friday and so ... here in Austria we say "jo mei, sollns ihr Spass haben, sind ja jung" - meaning "why not, should have fun, they are young"...
Seriousness of live will come very soon for them...
But you are right... some people are just overusing some "orders"...
@@GerhardJThier Idioten gibt's überall.. zum Glück wohn ich jetzt aufm Dorf, die sind hier ganz gechillt
@@GerhardJThier when there is a party we usually inform our neighbors up front or leave a note about it. A few times a year everyone can tolerate it.
In Türkiye people usually have flip-flops that they keep near the entrance for visitors to put on.
Yeah, we are allegedly old-fashioned for still using cash in tiny mom 'n dad shops and street markets, but you Americans are still using checks and wireless money transfer from bank account to bank account is almost unheard of - so, who is old-fashioned?
Rot, Grün Weiß ein Leben lang😊
Nice react. Just a short Info to the jwalking: it's also consideret as a bad example, for the Kids who might see you cross the street, during the red phase. As adults we should do it the right way 😉
We live in Berlin and it is possible to pay by card almost everywhere. Card payment is sometimes not offered, but for these cases there is an ATM every 500 meters in all major cities in Germany.
It is really annoying hearing in so many videos we do not small talk. It is just wrong I live in Northern Germany and yes we might be way more quiet than others, but I always have a chat while shopping with strangers. Often it ends in joking. I am always friendly to others and wishing them a good day. It really depends on where you live. Big cities are different to smaller. When I go on a walk in my hometown. All are saying hello or have a good day. It is normal. My french husband was irritated by that. Altough french, also especially country side people, show more warmth towards a stranger. Germans might be more timed but surely it is not true they are unfriendly. "How you shout into a forest, it will come back to you" is a German saying. So when you are friendly others will be too. When Germans say they don't like small talk it is more meant. Why shall I talk to everyone about the weather. We all can see it and it won't change when we talk about it. But that doesn't mean no one does it. More other topics. Or just joking about something.
The cash thing is based on protecting our privacy. And a generation thing. Old people are used to their cash. It will completely change in the next years for sure.
The birthday greeting is an old superstition, like the black cat or breaking a mirror means seven years bad luck, so it is a more meant funny thing. You only hear how people describe it what you not see is the face. How we smile answering that way. No one really takes that serious. It is just "such a thing" we are used to. But when people talk in vids about that it always sounds like someone will react bad about that. No! It is a joke nothing more or less.
I needed to write this comment since I saw it a few times that you take it more serious than it really is.
Well that is a you thing then xD in 40 years i never ever talked to a stranger shopping ... Never ever xD
I agree with you in our village in northern Germany the people are also very friendly and greet each other. After shopping they wish you a nice day etc.
I think many people are just too afraid to actually initiate it (which is even amplified due to these stupid clichés). I bet the two in the video never actually tried without making an awkward study about it. Once you simply casually try it, you will find that most people are absolutely fine with small talk (or even crave it, but are maybe too shy to initiate themselves).
I agree. I'm also someone who has no problem joking with strangers or exchanging a few pleasantries. There are a few people who look at you askance, but so what? I'm also from northern Germany, but I've found it's more common in smaller places.
But I don't like to talk about things that go without saying, like the weather, that's too stupid for me. At the most, I'll hear people say: "Who ordered the bad weather?"
what are you on about..
people certainly do NOT talk to strangers during shopping in germany..
I don't agree with the small talk and the no-friendship-with-co-workers stuff. Well, it's not quite interesting to talk with strangers about the weather out of nowhere, but if there is an opportunity to chat about a commone theme (nice flowers in a park, experiences while waiting in a queue at Aldi or Edeka 🙃) - why not? Perhaps these 2 in the videos are speaking about not to tell your entire life history to a perfect stranger ... 😉 And who should prevent you from trying to make friends with your co-workers? Perhaps you shouldn't expect that it will work, but it might! Viele Grüße! And btw don't take all that stuff too seriously, like the birthday thing. There is more than one way to be "nice", you see, and such things have to do with superstition, you might know that, like Friday the 13th and others, just don't question it ... 😊
The birthday wishing thing is mainly a superstition (as Phil said, "Bad luck" 😊) but yeah, I gotta say, it also doesn't make sense to me, to wish someone a happy birthday (and celebrate the he/she is a year older) if it's not their birthday yet. (Why do we even have birth days then??) After is totally fine in Germany.
10:33 I think that the logic is to do with the fact a birthday wish in advance means it’s a cop out.
10:51 You can wish them on their birthday instead. It doesn’t have to be a face to face thing.
Smalltalk is fine, just not about stupid things like the weather, lol. If there is nothing to say than there is nothing to say.
To gratulate someone to something that hasnt happend yet, tempts fate and brings bad luck. Thats ofcs just old german superstition - still, most germans think its rude and inattentive.
Hi, Austrian here. I understand you concerns about the cash, but most people just feel a little more safe with cash-money, because you know how much you got when you hold it in your hands, and people care a little more about money, when they see, how much there's left in there wallet. I hope that makes more sense to you.
And the birthday-thing is treated like when someone is having a child. you don't congratulate before the child is born, or do you? greez
Doesn't make any sense if you have discipline and you are aware of your spending habits and limits.
@@peterpritzl3354 I agree on that, truly. The "big money" (a house, or a car) is still transfered digitally, but for small amounts, like groceries or just having a beer with a buddy, cash seems to be the more "personal" way to pay. Therefore, you get in some small-talk with the cashier at the gas station etc. A little more conversation please ;) you know what I mean?
@@metallicaOFFrock Well, here's from a Restaurant near FRA: "Wir gehen mit der Zeit! Ab sofort sind wir ein bargeldloser Betrieb und akzeptieren daher ausschließlich Kartenzahlungen."
@@peterpritzl3354 Passt ja auch. Sagte nie, dass Bargeldloses bezahlen kacke sei ;)
@@metallicaOFFrock Und ich krieg ja auch Meilen fur jeden $/EUR, den ich per Karte bezahle, und damit flieg ich ganz gut.
It is normal that you have be nacked in a sauna, because of the sweat. There are some sauna days in Germany that are only special for women or men, but also for both together. At every beach on the North or Baltic Sea there is a beach section which is extra only for nudism, who likes it. Some people also go naked swimming in remote lakes where there are no children and few people in the summer.
Having worked in a bank I’d rather pay cash where possible, they know so much about you when you use a card, to the point you can predict where someone is. It’s scary,
6:45 I also pay with Google pay a lot BUT I feel bad because of it. The shop owners have to pay quite steep fees for that. Many smaller shops employees will give me uneasy looks because of it. So I get why cash is still preferred
Smalltalk and making friends in Germany: I would say it really depends on the person. Especially the younger generation in Germany (your age) is much more open to smalltalk and it's also easier to make them friends. Just make your own experiences and don't feel put off.
Oh and by the way: Merry Christmas, if we don't see each other before... 😅
Smalltalk is very subjective. I think they shouldn't have used that in the video as a rule.
Dear Joel, I have been following your TH-cam channels for some time and am a low-tier Patreon. I want to thank you for creating this peaceful, interesting and fun place on the internet.
I am Swiss and live very close to the border with Germany. I am in Germany almost every week and I can tell you that Germans are much more relaxed than you can get from these TH-cam videos. Crossing the street on red is quite normal as long as there are no children around (role model function of the adults). Most of the other points in the video are correct but please take them with a large portion of salt.
What is annoying in Germany is the low internet speed and the cash payment mania.
Sorry for the bumpy english
8. Observing quiet times is an expression of respect for the rights and freedoms of the neighbour, after all we do not live alone.
Hiya, I have to say that after going to Germany several times (school and my career) that all Germans are extremely proper and demand that from you. Luckily I speak German fairly well, and I think that they appreciate you even trying to speak even the basics, especially in shops. I won 5 awards from my international organisation’s Annual Awards and conferences. In front of my peers from all member countries, they asked if I would give an acceptance speech and how my career had evolved at such a youngish age? I said of course,then they said can you present the speech in German to honour this year’s host country 😮 MY knees actually shook with fear 😂
Interesting fact about "jaywalking" (I hate that term) in Germany: It is only forbidden to cross a road when there is a pedestrian light within 50m distance. Thus when you are somewhere where there is no traffic light in sight, you are free to cross the road… Of course, check for traffic before crossing :)
7:27 I’m Team Small Talk too! Although as an Indian, I’m aware of the aversion to small talk.
8:59 A lot of Asian households do this too. Also, the slippers for specific purposes in some households.
I am German and I love small talk as well. I frequently talk to random strangers (e.g. at the checkout lane in the supermarket) - most of the time people are ok with it and join in but sometimes I really get the "who's that weirdo"-look :)
2:45 It also depends a bit on the context: When I was a student, I addressed every young person (who looked like they could be a student) in the university campus with "du" - even if I met them the first time. If I meet a friend and there's another friend of him whom I don't know yet, I surely also say "du" to him directly. And also e.g. when I see someone in church for the first time and talk to them before or after the service, I usually say "du " directly and introduce myself with my First name, because we usually use our First Names there. So there are quite a number of situations where I would address also a stranger by first name and "du". So, usually in an environment where we would most likely switch from "Sie" to "du" anyway after the first greeting and introduction.
True, in certain situations a "Du" can be almost automatic these days. In others, however - I mean, you would not have addressed your professor like that, right?
Also, I have to admit - if a waiter I've never seen before addresses me as "Du", it's an inner struggle between being nice and letting it slide, and blurting out "I do not think we have been formally introduced, good sir/madam!". Well, I always let it slide, but I soooo want to say it. I can't help it, I'm from the 80s, even having to call my bosses all the way up to CEO "Du" instead of "Herr ..." by company policy just feels wrong to me before at least once getting semi-drunk together on a company outing.
Celebrating someones birthday 3 days in advance is like opening the Christmas presents 3 days before Christmas or to celebrate an athlete 3 days before the tournament. Don't celebrate something they have not achieved yet.
Can’t speak for the Germans, but in the Netherlands (their next door neighbors) it’s not about cash or creditcard - it’s that we use adebet card. And that’s used a lot, even for ice cream. Although I do have a credit card, I do only use it for international online purchses.
Actually the whole "You can't pay with your card here" - situation really changed when Covid came along. Suddenly paying with cash wasn't allowed anymore (there was a transition period but it was still rather sudden) because cash transactions could spread the virus. So even little stores transitioned to a cashless system ... it's still very unreliable though. Often my card won't work for some reason and I have to rush to a nearby atm. But in normal supermarkets and stores I'm usually fine.
About free refills: Often restaurants offer cheap meals and make most of their earnings with the drinks. So that makes sense that they don´t give it out for free.
The thing with not congratulate before the birthday day falls in the same category as you should look in the eye of each other while toasting with a drink - otherwise you will have bad sex for the next xyz years.
The thing with the anthem is rubbish.
It's not forbidden to sing the Lied der Deutschen with all 3 verses. Actually in my country, in Hesse, it's mandatory to learn all 3 verses in school and to know, that only the 3rd verse is our national anthem.
It's wrong to call it "the Nazi-Anthem." The anthem during the Nazi time was the 1st verse of the Lied der Deutschen TOGETHER with the Horst Wessel Lied. The Horst Wessel Lied (Die Fahne hoch) is forbidden.
I'm glad that they mentioned the FKK (naturist/nudist) beaches and the appropriate way to use the saunas! I've had to field a number of questions from my North American guests on the subject after we encounter clothesfree people in a park or at the beach.
As luck would have it, a lot of municipal and district governments are [re-]adopting topless swimming for their swimming pools and tanning areas. One local government actually argued that there are "equal rights" for both sexes guaranteed under the German constitution, therefore women should be allowed to be topless in areas in which "male toplessness" can be expected.
Well done, Germany! 👣
Regarding small talk - it's not that no one does it (I, (German) for example often engage in small talk with strangers), so it's always worth a try. Just don't be disappointed if the other doesn't react the way you hoped. It's not meant as rude.And if you won't see your friend on his birthday the next day, you can always tell him, "Have a nice Birthday tomorrow!". That doesn't fall under the bad-luck rule, cause it's not congratulations ☺
Sie Simpson, great video, very informative. No shoes on in the house here either. None of these customs bugs me, even the birthday one. Lots of fun!! Du John in Canada
When in doubt, switch to Bengali for me. Although I’m sure there are Germans who are aware of Indian languages now.
Correction: Deutschland Deutschland [...] is NOT the "old anthem" it is the 2nd verse of the anthem that is plainly left out.
The nazis did not invent it.
Also the quiet hours can be circumvented if you ask your neighbours.. you are allowed to party into your birthday a bit louder.. just notify your neighbours and maybe even invite them. Of course this is different if children are next door - respect their sleep and turn it down a notch.
The birthday part: cause its considdered bad luck.. most wont care yet it is still not considdered normal in germany. You can CALL your friends at their birthday and congratulate them that way.. its what most do. It is considdered as personal as a personal congratulation.
I always have to smile a bit when you ask ,,why (we do things as we do them),, because i could do the same and ask ,,why ( are you doing things as you do them),, the world is very different you know? For example i only live 18km away from austria (Airline) and even that we are very similar things are different now imagine the whole world. 😅
About the Birthday....I think it's a Kind of Honor the Person by Take the Time to congrat at the correct time.
Small talk is in berlin normal like Jay walking
about the small talk: we germany usually have a zone of reserved privacy around us. its not always a good thing, but we like it that way. maybe you can say we're all a bit introverted (of course of varying degree). there is always a border to cross for us to talk to a random stranger. we feel its not apropriate to disturb another for just a random hunch of making smalltalk.
Cash:
Yesterday I saw a video of apps commonly used in US restaurants "How much do you tip? 15, 20, 25%?
And the commenters (a US YT channel) thought that was a bad development because it increases the psychological pressure to tip more.
Let me put it this way: This mechanism does not exist for cash payments....
11:00 You can still wish them a good birthday party, just not wish them happy birthday in advance directly lol. I'm not religious or superstitious at all but I don't wanna wish someone a happy birthday before they actually had it 😄
The part about smalltalk isn't actually true, so don't worry. Just initiate it and you will get great results most of the time. Doesn't even matter much which generation, it's just situational of course.
Don’t drive in the left lane unnecessarily - and there’s a rule to mirror that: overtaking right of another vehicle is strictly prohibited (at least in the Netherlands, it is).
7:06 In my experience (as a German), the issue of small talk varies greatly in Germany, depending on the region. While in the South / West it can be quite easy to make contact through small talk and thereby meet new people (especially in student cities), it is more difficult in the North / East because there are no small talk traditions in these regions.
Where I live (Thuringia, so pretty central) these things are mostly true.
You do not see a lot of people that engage in small talk. I think it's because we do not see the reason behind talking to a stranger about the weather, when we can clearly see it, especially since we don't know them. I myself would gladly answer if you try to talk to me, but I'd never initiate it, because a lot of people would answer with clear discomfort or won't answer at all (at least where I live).
For me I think this is because shopping and riding the train to work is more like "business" time, as I'm there to complete a specific "task/errand" and do not see it as a time to be casual. This means I'd probably be more open to talk when I'm riding the train home or when I'm just outside for a walk/hike.
As for the birthday thing, I think it has some accuracy, but it's not wholly true. While many wouldn't really wish someone a happy birthday before their actual birthday, it definitely is not "taboo" and you probably wouldn't receive backlash for it. I think it really has to do with what you are trying to say. When you want to wish them a happy birthday party or want to tell them to have fun you can definitely say that, but when we say "Happy birthday" we usually mean it as a celebration of their day of birth. Look at it like this:
So on one hand there is wishing for someone to get a good grade on a test (or in our case wishing them a good time on their birthday -> "happy birthday").
On the other hand there is congratulating someone for a good grade on their test (in our case celebrating their day of birth -> still " Happy birthday"), even though they haven't written it yet (i.o.c. even though it's not their date of birth).
So while I haven't really seen anyone that believes it will "bring bad luck", they will probably not say it because it doesn't really makes sense to them.
In the end all these things always differentiate from person to person. It depends on where you live (whether it's North and South or in a big city and a small village), how you were raised and what you personally like and dislike. So don't be afraid to ask the people around you or at least try it out before you come to a conclusion.
We have the bottle rerun system in NSW australia too. We get 10c per bottle/can etc. since it’s come in we have gotten about $5000 back
I'm not superstitious,but birthday wishes in advance will lead to certain death,everybody knows.
Well not certain death, but maybe some serious misfortune, such as getting sick or losing money.
In Germany, many craftsmen who come to your house or apartment bring overshoes with them. But police officers would never take off their shoes or bring overshoes.
Yeah and the credit card think here is... We don't have a credit score that we "need" to build up for buying a car or house loans. In Germany there is the thing called Schufa. Where you get registered if you take out a loan or buying something on credit and don't pay it back you get registered with the Schufa. So if you want to buy a car or house with a loan the bank can ask the Schufa if you got an entry at Schufa. If yes it's gonna be hard to take out future loans or buying something on credit
The lyrics of the national anthem are not prohibited. The song has three stanzas. Only the third verse is sung.
It is a criminal offense to display Nazi symbols (Hitler salute, swastika, etc.). Even if you just wanted to make a (bad) joke with it, you can get into real trouble with the police and the judiciary. We Germans know our history.
Yes, in Germany you never say congratulations before birthday. This is probably a superstition and means bad luck.
Yes, small talk, like in the US, Germans don't like it. They see that as rude as you're wasting people's time with unimportant stories. Nevertheless, Germans are polite and nice, but also very honest and direct.
You also get into conversation with them because they are open-minded. Just give Germans some time, wait for questions that will certainly come quickly. Germans usually judge people by their actions, not their words. When they see you're polite, you're nice, they approach you and take an interest in you. If they like you, they will quickly invite you to activities together (sports, going out for a drink together). If a German doesn't like you, he'll let you feel it too. Joel, you don't have to worry.
On the quiet hours: it's also common to warn adjacent neighbours if you're planning to have a party that may go well into the night. Most people are cool with it as long as you don't do do it all the time (and keep the noise to a not too annoying volume), plus you usually exchange phone numbers so that if your party gets too loud they can give you a quick call to tone it down instead of calling the police for a noise complaint. It's also customary to reward your neighbours goodwill with such stuff with a little gift (like a bottle of wine) after the party just to thank them for their understanding.
Obviously it's imperative that your neighbours are cool with you doing that. If you show up saying "yo, we're gonna have a party and it may get loud", it's their prerogative to say no and then you best keep to the quiet hours or chances are you will get a visit by the police for a noise complaint and you end up on the shitlist of said neighbour.
As for smalltalk: there's not a german word for it, we literally use the english term smalltalk for it. The closest german term of equivalent meaning I can think of is "Geschwätz" which means meaningless chatter, with a negative connotation. it also comes hand in hand with the more often than not somewhat accurate stereotype of german directness and honesty ... if you ask someone how they are and they actually feel like talking, you best be prepared to get a comprehensive answer on how their day was (and how they hated X and Y that happened today, urgh) rather than getting a generic platitude back. Which also makes it easier to understand why smalltalk isn't particularily popular because what sort of stranger would just come up and ask me how my days has been!?
Of course there's plenty people who would just as easily enjoy just chatting with a stranger, especially younger of a demographic you're trying to talk to.
As for not making friends with Germans at work: that's a misconception. Germans have a very strict divide between work and life. That means that just because we're friendly as we work together, doesn't mean we want to invite you to my house. This is the usual error that people who work "with" Germans fall into, whereas it's pretty easy to make friends if you work "together" with Germans at the same workplace. Afterall at nearly every place you should be able to get along well with some of your coworkers.
However it should also be noted that friendship is often defined differently by Germans, with most people falling under the umbrella of acquaintances rather than friends, the latter of which tends to be a much smaller group of close individuals. I for one can work amicably with everyone I work with, joke around, etc. but I wouldn't invite most of them out to go for a drink together. That's reserved for the kind of people that would bury a corpse for me.
I never will understand whats the problem with cash for foreigners is! We have so many markets (fresh food from the country), takeaways, ice cream shops...... where you pay 2, 3, 4... dollars for your stuff. For the owners its a a big effort and expensive to have credit card machines! And another thing for me is, that people have no overview of their expenses if they pay every tiny shit with the card. In Europe also kids buy sweets, ice cream, a sandwich, an apple... while going to school, to friends, its absolutely CRAZY for me, to give them (at the age of 6, 7...) a CREDIT CARD to buy something!!!
it depends on the people visiting me. If a friend visits me and i know he has stinky feet i would tell him right away.... "normally everyone has to take his shoes of, but you're the exception. Your feet are so stinky, you better keep your shoes on".
Then we both laugh and have some beer and a great evening together....
Its a lot more nicer to think of your friends birthday on the day of his birthday
It's quite interesting that some things on their list is Identical to Sweden (never shoes inside, pretty advanced recycling, no clothes in the Sauna...) and others are diametrically different (most shops and Restaurants here don't accept cash, free tap water everywhere, the formal way of saying "you" exists but is only used by young people who don't know that it's actually a historically rude form...)
I think the thing about not congratulating before birthday in Germany fits with the small talk thing. If you are serious about a contact, you take the time to see each other or at least call or write a message. Wishing a birthday in advance is somehow small talk, it's a phrase, not a genuine interest.
I think taking off your shoes when you visit somebody is also varying from region to region and also between big cities and small towns.
I'm noticing that the fines are very small compared to Australia.
Them Germans are sticklers for rules (generally), so I guess the deterrents don't need to be as severe.
For example, not having a ticket on a train is an AUD$277 fine.
Some people prefer paying in cash for the simple reason, that it can't be tracked by whomever. Card payments can be monitored by the bank and if push comes to shove by the government, and theoretically your card can be disabled with a single transaction, while the money in your pocket can not. "Cash is minted (or printed) freedom" is a popular saying. There is something to it.
In România we love small talks 😊😊😊 we don' t have refill, the water is expensive also & the shooes go off just like them😊 we say happy birthday in advance or even if your birthday was 2- 3 days ago 😂😊
I'm a native german and living here in morthern germany since 1984.
Well yes, the northern people are sometimes not very talkative than other people but when seeing each other more sometimes than we are more open for small talks like at the bakery or at the kiosk or at the turkish butcher or turkish green grocer or even at the supermarkets cashier.
We do love small talks, too.
A lot of busy people don't want small talks but older people who are retired from their jobs are mostly like to do small talks and it is more friendly to go with a smile onto the face than being unfriendly at all.
Here in northern germany even not all people can talk or undrrstand US english, they did learned the more compöicated and different british oxford english at school over 30 years ago and very rarely used it there after in most causes.
Some of the people thinking it will be sometimes better to say nothing than ro say anything in humbling spoken foreighn language the wrong things.
The german Denglish = Deutsch plus English is a special own language and very different from british or northern american english.
A Backshop is here not a Railroad Repair Shoppe it is a bakery shop by wrong translation.
Back comes from backen = to bake, so a Backshop is a bakery shop or a bigger kiosk selling self baked rolls.
A Tankshop does not sell amoured Vehicles with machine guns or canons onto it it is the shop of a gas or petrol station...the german word Tank = fuel canister are the shorten of tanken = to tank fuel or petrol it is comnined with the english shop as Tankshop.
A body bag is not a bag to cover died bodies into a big sack or bag in german language a body bag is a little bigger beltpocket bag worn ahead the belly onto a belt, here known as body bag
Thanks for finding this video. I was just in Germany and I'm pretty glad I avoided these types of things anyway. I've hardly used cash in the UK in the past three years so it is pretty odd to have to take my wallet on travels for some countries.
You mustnt have lots of cash. Usually, if you have 50 Euros, that will do. Tinyer shops often dont have the appliances for card reading, bakeries for example. But you can pay with your card in every supermarket.
One thing, In some places especially if there are a lot of old people, respect the "Mittagsruhe" it's from 14 to 15 (at least where i'm from) and you have to be quiet like in the night. It's not as common anymore i think, but if you have old neighbors it can help keep unnecessary stress away.
You know you are doing things right if they do small talk. Small talk for germans is like a sign of approval XD
-Thing about the cash is, that the shop-owners have to pay a quite high price each month for the machines reading the cards. For small shops, that really would hurt.
-Early Birthday-wishes are better than none! No big deal for sure!
-Whenever I asked for tapwater, I got it (except the fast-food-chains).
-I hate taking my shoes off! I don't expect others to do it either. That has nothing to do with disrespect for me...
3:57; That the first two stanzas/vers of the song of the Germans are forbidden, is absolutely wrong. It is still allowed to sing these lines. The anthem of the Federal Republic was the complete song with all 3 stanzas/vers. However, until the GDR joined the Basic Law, it was common practice in the FRG to only play the third stanza/vers.
It was only with the announcement of November 19, 1991 by the Federal Minister of the Interior that it was determined, that only the third stanza/vers of the Deutschlandlied represents the official german national anthem, which Federal President von Weizsäcker and Chancellor Kohl had decided (see Federal Law Gazette 1991 Part I page 2135)
Danke! Nach diesem Kommentar habe ich gesucht. 😊
Sonst hätte ich das geschrieben. 😁
Here in Austria, they have bike lanes. They also have bike/pedestrian lanes. They also have sidewalks for people and foot-powered scooters, but often you will get run over by bikes or electric scooters. I much prefer in the states where pedestrians have the right of way and you don't always have to look over your back and shoulders to see who is going to be running you over.
Another thing, about the formal/informal forms, one aspect of that has to do with things like my husband referring to me in a sentence with something like, "Meine Frau (My wife)....." when talking to a mutual friend of ours, instead of calling me by name. It sounds really weird to me, but he tells me that is the polite way to say it. Still sounds weird...like talking about me as if I'm not there, when I am standing right next to them.
Oh, those quiet hours...that reminds me that I forgot to get the laundry in 1/2 an hour ago. It takes *over* TWO HOURS for the machine to run, so is now too late to start it. Also, here in Vienna, in the summer when people have their windows open, you can hear everything from the street, and likewise, you can hear everything that's being said in apartments from even several floors up.
i wanna stick with cash because it is the ONLY state garanteed currency
banks are private companies as are creditcard firms, paypal, bitcoin etc. none of their values are garanteed like cash
and yes i know most people wont see it this way but to me it is completely idiotic to want to get rid of cash
I usually spend the month of July with friends in a small town in Bavaria. Last year I paid EVERYTHING with my US credit card.
About number 4: There is also a mixed version which is a little bit more up to date than the oldfashioned "Sie + last name". its pretty common in companies or even some schools that u still use the formal "Sie" in combination with the first name. this is especially used by many CEOs if they talk to their employees. it feels more connected while also maintaining a little bit of formal distance to your boss than the "Sie" + last name like you would talk to strangers.
about the nazi stuff and the anthem: the nazi salute and certain "jokes" are not just offensive to germans, they are highly illegal. the nazi salute results in either a very heavy fine or even up to 3 years of jail. - the first and second part of the anthem arent forbidden or illegal tho, they are simply frowned upon. just the third part is the official german anthem.
about "cash is king": i agree with you. technology is going really fast, the problem is that our government isnt. angela merkel, our previous chancellor said in like 2016 the infamous words "Das Internet ist für uns alle Neuland" which translate into "the internet is very new to all of us". thats what you get if 80% of the government is made of old, white people. the statement that most places require cash is simply not true for a couple of years already. maybe if you are somewhere in a little village in germany this might be the case or if youre at some tourist sight seeing spots which usually collect money on the go, but everywhere else you can easily pay by debit card. im living in a city with about 150k people and i havent encountered a single situation within the last like 10 years where i wasnt able to pay with my card. the last 5 to 6 years i dont even carry cash anymore aside from like 10 euros in case my phone runs out of battery and i have to buy a bus ticket. thats actually one of the few things where u either have ur cell phone with the appropiate app to buy a ticket or u need cash if you buy the ticket on the bus. just the big stations here do have some machines where u can buy a ticket with card.
6:55 We just like our privacy... Paying in cash means that this transaction doesn't necessarily need to get recorded anywhere. ;)
Btw .. Jaywalking is _not_ actually a thing in germany.
You are basically free to cross a street wherever you like. BUT you are responsible for your safety and the safety of any other passenger or driver nearby while doing so if it comes to an accident(!).
On top of that, _WAY_ more important is the point, that you should _ALWAYS_ look out for children nearby.. That's so much more important if you're standing at a traffic light.
It is considered to be really bad when you fail to give children and kids a good example how to behave. (Because in germany you can see school kids walking from home to school and back on their own, which is pretty normal over here. ;))
So ... in those cases, chances that you may get fined are actually pretty real... But otherwise it's usually a non issue. ;)
you can both sing one only gets you a visit to the blue-grey one and pretty strange looks
No Nazi symbols may be openly displayed or worn on clothing. In Germany, the following numbers and letters are prohibited for license plates: 88 = the 8 letter from the front = H (means Heil Hitler) or 88 = SS = (Schutz Staffel) the 8 letter from the back = S
In Britain, we have the Water Acts. If you ask someone for water, and they have it, they must give it to you, free, with a drinking container.
Want to address a couple of things here, as a fellow german. In regards to the payment methods, depending on where you are within germany it's a bit of a mixed situation. A lot and really a lot of germans do like their cash, but we are in a changing time and more and more start to use payment with credit cards and the like's. That being sayed there are some good arguements to keep both options and just let everyone decide for themself anyway moving on. The small talk thing is also very regional based, if you are for example in Hamburg you wont get a lot of small talk, maybe here and there, but it is mostly true, but in berlin for example, your chances are a lot higher to have small talk, ppl from berlin are more "open minded" i feel like from my experience. So it depends i guess where you visit. Paying for water in restaurants, i do get it, they wanna sell product's, not have ppl sitting around blocking table's while consuming something "free", also at the end of the day, its a lot more balanced? You dont just pay for the water, you pay for service, electricity, staff in general and every other extra costs the etablissement might have, so i do get it. But i also work within the field and if a customer asks me for tap water, i will give him/her tap water, i am not evil. And lastly the birthday wishes in advance is simply a super stition like you already mentioned. It's supposed to bring bad luck, so in your example, we do actually take time to give that person a quick call (most ppl do anyway) to wish them happy birthday, or write a quick msg, or something really, but yes, generally we dont wish happy birthday early...
I think that small talk in America has its roots with the American settlers. for them it was essential to have good contacts while moving west and so they tried to talk to as many people as possible.
Hey Joel you should do vids on sports & the sports you play & like bro!
actually when ur best friends birthday is tomorrow and u cant make it there.. its true u shouldt say happy birthday.. but u could say smt like i HOPE ull have a great birthday day tomorrow or smt like that