As a German visiting Canada a couple years ago it was a huge culture shock for me when the cashier started small talk with me while she was scanning my grocery shopping. She asked how I was, how my day had been... I was so unprepared for these questions I couldnt answer.
@Stephan Schlösser I moved from ffm to Berlin last year and I have to disagree. I live in Mitte and the cashier ladies are so unbelievable rude.. Nearly everyone who works in a supermarked or similar seems pretty stressed and unhappy. That’s sad.
@Siegbert Landgraf We Germans are anything but emotionally cold, we just don't like superficial small talk with people we don't even know. Generally we do not like superficial relationships, if we call someone a friend, we mean it. Personally I would never feel better only because strangers behaving like I would be their best friend without this superficial behaviour having any really meaning. By the way, if you have listened carefully, the lady mentioned that in Germany she would regularly see people getting up in public transport to give their place to elderly persons or pregnant women, which she would never see in her hometown NY. So much for that. Who shows more warmth of heart? The one having inconsequential small talk with strangers, whom he is not really interested in and does forget the next minute, or the one offering his own seat to old or disabled people or pregnant women on the bus or train. BTW, please do not insult me by calling me Kraut, thank you.
I have 1 guy in a Billa here in Vienna who does that to everyone, I have to go in there quickly in the morning to buy a few things for our lunch menu i will be making and maybe some energy drinks. and he stands there waffling at everyone. its really awkward, i think most people just assume he is mentally disabled.The Worst is when some old man or lady actually starts talking back and your already on the phone to work apologizing you will be 5 minutes late.
The reason why we tip less in Germany is because we’re greedy af. You don’t earn much as a waiter and you rely on tip as well to make it through the month. (Plus in almost every restaurant you have to pay for your own outfit. Starting with the shoes and ending with you shirts. And you need new clothes almost every month because the wear is so bad.) Tip a good waiter 10% and you made his or her day. Everything below is just for bad performance.
@@smilingbandit4975 I tip pretty generously if you must know, because I know from experience how hard earned money it is. But the initial question was why do people IN GENERAL tip less in Germany than in the states, not if it is fair to do so. And it is a fact, that restaurant personnel in the states rely on Tips much more than in Germany to get by.
@@smilingbandit4975 In America they waitresses earn very less and the tip is needed. In Germany they get a normal salery and can make it better when they do a good job at the guest. If you really enjoyed the service, you can give around 10%. And for waitresses its a bad sign when they get nothing. Then they know they have to skill the service
@@HeinzHaraldF Never. If they smoke in closed-up-places like smoker rooms or smoking areas in yards it might be tolerable. In reality you find their remains (Kippen i.e. the mouth/filter piece of cigarettes) littered all around at public places like bus stops, train stations or the personnel entrance at your workplace. To a non-smoker, it's just plain disgusting. I also experienced several smoking colleagues who would intentionally blow their exhale right into my face to humiliate me as a non-smoker, especially if i had caught a cold and had a rough throat already. They'd do this in the canteen at my employer's while sitting at the table next to or opposite to me, leaning in even closer and let out their exhale, sometimes accompanied by a smirk or even a deragotary remark. They almost never accept that you've been a non-smoker all your life. Same goes if you're a non -drinker. The concept of never drinking alcohol in your entire life is beyond these people. They can never accept that. Ever experienced when they trick you into drinking alcohol by saying. "Oh no, it's not alcohol, it's just orange juice..." The moment when you choose to believe them, you take a sip and you instantly recognize it's alcohol - you're so infuriated! It means that your fellow classmate didn't respect your personality at all on the very last day of that one-year course. Luckily, I 've never seen him again in my life. But trust me, these are the people I can do without. And just for the research, I'm a male German aged 56 and I've been put off by this intolerant behaviour of smokers my entire life. You could voice your disgust but it will be almost ever disrespected. So you just remain silent . . . EDIT: Currently, I don't experience that any more - at least one positive side effect of Corona.
Im currently living in Germany, and yes it’s true: Germans love their rules. The traffic lights waiting it’s respected specially when there are children around. You’re supposed to be setting an example to kids and small children. Recycling is crazy but is great!. They are very environmentally aware and follow the rules by the book. If you do not separate your bins properly, the bin men will not pick it up until you’ve done it properly. Taxes, don’t start me up, extremely complicated specially if you have work abroad and commute to Germany. Driving is great in the motorway, as long as it’s in daylight. Germany does NOT have much, if any, cats eyes on the motorway and so it’s extremely dark. To make matters worse, the middle shoulder that separates the motorway is grey and as you drive it looks more like part of the ground so be warned. Their white lines are more or less faded so you just have be brave to drive at night in the motorway. Yes it’s true supermarkets tills are very fast, specially ALDI, and since they’re environmentally friendly they take their own bags. Germans are not into small talk either, unless they know you of course. Customer Service is appalling, but is getting better. If you go to a chic shop make sure you are well dressed as they will look at you from head to toe to assess if you’re really a customer who will buy or not, otherwise they’ll make you feel uncomfortable with their obvious stares. Since Germans are very honest, they may come across as being very rude but it’s just them being honest and telling you exactly what they think. Data protection is so important that the law will NOT accept you having a camera outside your front door nor a car camera inside your car. What I love about Germany is the great respect they have to pets. You can go to a restaurant or shop, except food stores, with your canine friend. They have dog schools and they are well cared for and have high regards for their best friend. If you have a pet you’ll be required to register and license your dog at the Rathaus. Another important thing, after 22 hrs you are required to be considerate and not make noise!. if you live in a village you may be observed by the neighbours. Of course not everyone does that, but mainly older generations will be the human cameras. In all, Germany is a great safe country they are a very advanced culture, and very respectful of nature and pets.
Quote: "Yes it’s true supermarkets tills are very fast, specially ALDI, and since they’re environmentally friendly they take their own bags. " na, they're fast bc they have to, the pressur of items per minute from management is tough. and - funfact: they found that the cashiers work fastest at a certain cool temperature level, so they kinda work to get warm
I actually agree with you. I am a German and we are for the most part very structured and love our rules. If everyone follows the rules everyone knows what’s happening and things just work. But I can completely see how adapting to that can be challenging at first. As annoying as Germany can be, it makes for safe and a less stressful living
As a German, I can not agree to the statement that we do not cross the streets when there is a red light. in big cities like Berlin, for example, where everything goes a bit faster, we often cross the streets at red lights. This is quite normal here and comparable to New York. But we make sure that we don't do it when children are around, because we don't want to set a bad example that could endanger them
As a pedestrian I have never waited at a red traffic light when the road is clear. I don't pay any attention to it unless there are small children present. As a car driver it's something different, so of course I stop at red. In addition, in many smaller towns or suburbs, the traffic lights are switched off at night if there are no main roads.
Mit den Kindern ist halt wirklich so. Wenn ich zur Straße gehe und ein Kind sehe, denke ich immer "Mist, jetzt muss ich hier warten bis es grün wird" xD
I figured that out as well and it’s 100% functional. At times I find myself gripping the hand of the cashier because we’re both being too fast and I prove to be faster :-D
@@christopherjosef5164 haha. Too bad Goethe didnt know about them. I bet he could have replaced a troublesome rhyme or two with emojis here and there, and got an even better rating from the critics 😁
After 50-some ;-) years I find myself only standing at the crosswalk when there's too much traffic to cross. I pay attention to the traffic lights but I don't follow them blindly. (Hi Chris :D)
lol im german and obviously ive been grocery shopping millions of times and im still soooo stressed out when i go to check out like it gives me anxiety
@@ZoieMarie Yes, if you are slow at the checkout you risk at least angry looks. A cashier at the Aldi pushed all the goods into the car with his elbow, my father never goes there again. An older saleswoman who is alone in the bakery on Sunday told me how she was bullied because customers are not patient. This is the same tension that is in road traffic (sometimes called street war). Is not for sensitive people.
You just need a smart system. Put all the heavy stuff on the counter first and then the not so heavy and then the very fragile stuff. When its your turn you immediately start putting the stuff into your bags in that order. Done. You can also pre-sort it in terms of size and form. Orrr...just throw it back into your cart and sort it out when you have left the check-out.
But isn't that stress mostly self-made? I don't think I've ever seen customers complain about having to wait. Or maybe in once, more than ten years ago, and that man was obviously a stressed out Karen. I know if I see people stressing I just tell them not to hurry themselves. And a lot of cashiers will put stuff into your shopping cart if you're still busy when they're done.
I’m English and lived/worked in Germany for 4 years. It’s a great place and I loved, what were to me, the German eccentricities. I was told off for crossing a small road on red instead of waiting for the green light no traffic on the road. The secret to German supermarket shopping is just put everything in the trolley then find a quiet spot to pack your bags.
Cant stress the "no overtaking on the right side" rule enough. Many Germans more or less blindly trust on this rule when they switch lanes to the right. They don't think they have to check for other cars coming from behind, because that would be in violation of said rule. So, if you don't follow that rule, you live a quite dangerous life on the Autobahn (let alone you endanger others). To give some context why it's forbidden: The concept of the Autobahn isn't a highway with 3-4 equal lanes, but one main-lane (on the right) plus 2 lanes for the exclusive purpose of overtaking (and going back to the right afterwards). Stay safe!
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It is so rare (but it happens!) that… this is one case where the cops, when they see someone doing it (and that's usually people racing themselves or each other (even more dangerous, natch)) they do give chase and stop (or try to stop) that car. Cops rarely do that (unlike the US, where they stop you to give you ticket, instead of just sending it in the mail :D)
@ The US has no "Meldepflicht", so they don't know where people live based on their numberplates, they can just find out where the car is registered and thats pretty much it.
Isn't it the way they do it all over the world? I live in Argentina and it's exactly that way (however here people don't respect laws that much to be fair)
You always give up a seat on the bus or train to someone who is elderly, pregnant or disabled. Not only Germany but also UK, Ireland and New Zealand. Usual rather than odd, doesn't say much for USA.
“Doesn’t say much for the USA”, it well it doesn’t because it’s not true. Why, because one person said it? She’s talking about NYC where the subways and buses are packed. Even there I’ve encountered considerate people. The South and the MidWest are especially nice between people. The rest of the US is NOT NYC.
@@ZoieMarie WOW ? 8-o Really ? 8-/ In THAT rare Case, I´d love to experience it the American Way ! ^__^ "Take your Time and NOT your Life" is what I always say ! =)
I am late to the video and I guess it depends on the supermarket, but I would recommend not bagging your stuff at checkout and rather put it back in your cart or basket and bag it at the designated areas. Almost all supermarkets have them and there you can take as long as you want.
When Lidl came to Finland, it was a shock to Finns shopping there! We normally also have long packing lines. There was always a long queu at every checkout point because we couldn't pack as fast as we should. Well after a few years Lidl renovated their packing lines to be similar to other stores... Finns won! :-D
I'm German and while I do think that recycling is important I'm shocked that your neighbors were checking your trash!! not okay
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Bro, my neighbors do the same... I live in a village on a little mountain. The thing is, if it's not properly recycled, they will not pick up your trash
They would never check it if she was white. I am white and I am Ausländer...but it's different with black people even if they're comming from NYC. It's not even the color (race), it's the assumption they come from Africa, from some god forgotten place and that they have no clue about civilisation. They were 100% sure they will find something, otherwise they wouldn't search through her garbage. They wouldn't dare. And many black people in germany can't speal proper german, so they can't talk back or fight back. Please black Ausländer, learn german so you can fight back the idiots!
You will hardly find any plastic bottles or aluminium cans on the streets, since that law on deposit came. Also good for enviroment. There are no "landfills" in Germany, too.
@@vminisreal3684 Native: 1 : one born or reared in a particular place. 2a : an original or indigenous inhabitant. b : something indigenous to a particular locality. 3 : a local resident especially : a person who has always lived in a place as distinguished from a visitor or a temporary resident.
Me too; if there are people who still need to learn the rules (kids, immigrants), I follow the rules rigorously. But you won't find me waiting for green at 3am with no traffic.
I find these videos really interesting because I have lived here all my life. All my family is German, etc. So it’s fun to see what other people notice that seem so every day to me.
11:20 The reason is that cashiers can get fired if they don't scan enough items in a certain amount of time. Employers refuse to admit that publicly, but it happens.
@@lirumlarum354 Traditionally, it was a rule of gallantery that among people of different gender, it should always be the woman who offers the "Du" first, never the man, unless he is old enough to be her dad. Today, those kinda "sexist" rules of politeness are mostly regarded as outdated and it is generally the older person who should offer the Du first, regardless of gender. If the people involved work together in a hierarchic relation (e.g. worker and boss or student and teacher), the higher ranking should offer the Du.
Listen for hints. First name is almost allways Du, so if someone introduces himself with the first name only its Du. Both names can go either way, only last name is Sie almost certainly. I almost never used Sie or last names in an office in 20 years. Not with coworkers and not with bosses. Others will use it every day or wait for anyone to offer a Du as you say. Its really depending on the Workplace and so on. I would recomend to just ask when in doubt. Do not just use Sie, its almost as bad to use Sie if others use Du than the other way around.
@@chrisrudolf9839 & @Lirum Larum It may also be that some people see an advantage in the formal approach. It is easier to say: "du A ..." than "Sie A ...";) Regarding the job situation: my (originally very conservative employer) has been using "du" for some time. From my point of view, the disadvantage is that this lack of distance between older/ longer on the job/ boss and younger/ newcomers/ worker; can sometimes lead to statements and actions that are very disrespectful.
Tip: When I do big groceries in Lidl I usually park my shopping cart at the end of the cash register and just slam dunk all the scanned products back in there. I do the packing and sorting in the parking lot when I put the stuff in the trunk of my car. That's more relaxing. I always take two or three empty cardboard boxes from inside the store (usually the ones from the oranges). They're big and strong and you can use them for your recycled paper at home. Greetings from Belgium (where the Lidl cashiers also scan fast). Good luck!
This is true! And not only Germany, I’ve experienced this in Spain, Croatia and Russia. 🤷🏽♀️Not our fault that they don’t see our kind of beauty on a regular lol
Germans and starin. oh man dont get me started.I been here 25 years now and I STILL get angry at those staring ass people. Worst thing is,...if you dont constantly stare people in the face, they think YOU are the bad person. Glad I moved to berlin, most people here don't care about that and just do they thang. mostly.
The interesting part: most Germans don´t even notice that - and you correctly observed it´s subconcious. I didn´t really notice this (my) behaviour until I was in the States for the first time. And especially in certain metropolitan areas this could not only be offending but very very dangerous. I had to learn that one fast. And coming back it was rather strange to notice the staring.
@@ronin47-ThorstenFrank Yeah where I grew up, and we were very poor,living in poor places and we don't stare at people. You stare at me that means you want to fuck me or fight me and I generally want neither of those things.
Interesting video! I totally understand. I lived in Germany for five years and loved it. The culture shock after I moved back to the US, though, was far worse than the one I experienced when I first moved to Germany. Things I am still not used to: 1. Trusting other people to bag my items for me at the grocery store 2. People passing me on the right 3. I miss driving fast and knowing that the other people n the road can handle it - the condition of the roads in the US, the horrible drivers, etc I am not sure I would ever drive fast here 4. The fact that the "going out" culture in the United States is reserved for only young people 5. Places open on Sundays 6. Loudly talking at restaurants - It is NOT relaxing 7. I am still not used to being discreet while drinking. I almost got in trouble once for walking down the street of a local city with a beer in my hand. It was my beer, I had it in my bag, and I walked by a police officer and I don't think he saw me. Close call! - There are more items but those are the main ones.
Grocery shopping recommendation: Put the heavy and hard stuff on the band first and the soft stuff in the end, so you can pack everything quick and tidy. I prefer Aldi over Lidl because they scan / process even faster.
I was in London once and the cashier was so fast, he literally put my stuff into my bag and the money into my wallet because I was too slow for him👀😂😂😂 it's not only Germans!
@@independentthought3390 I wasn't slow (in Germany you have to be fast as well), there were just so many people standing in the row behind me that I think he got a little stressed.😂😂😂 I payed slow tho. I'm not used to the currency so it took a bit longer than usual.
The cashiers in Germany have to scan a special number of products in a minute and their controlling about this. So that’s why they scan so fast at Aldi and lidl
@@MarcoMarcoo161 when i was in brazil in the supermarket i literally got super aggressive waiting in the queue watching the cashiers need 10 sec for every product xD
Ye, it's certainly not everybody, as stated in the video. However, compared to the US it's a lot more, unfortunately. It also depends a bit on where you are, but when you go outside, you will usually always see someone smoking somewhere. Especially that there are even kids smoking at schools is quite sad.
I also didn't notice that people would wait at a red light before they cross the street. That might be the case in smaller towns in Germany but certainly not in Berlin, where I am from. Here everyone walks whenever. And that is also the case in New York but not in other cities in the US. So New York and Berlin are exceptions from the rest of the country.
Well I have moved to US from Czech Republic and both me and my husband after like a week were like "wait a moment - Noone smokes here !?" Really, it was that significant difference, that you really could notice it quite clearly
5:56 I work as a waiter in Germany. It is ture, tipping is not mandatory but still it widely accepted to give at least 10% if everything was fine. We get mostly around minimum wage, which is probably more than in the US but not much overall for the job you are required to do. So please, don't be cheap!
In Finland eating out is quite expensive. And people generally do not tip at all. Trust me: they paid from the food and drinks a LOT more than buying from a grocery shop. The salaries of waiters is included in the price.
As an American and former waiter who worked 5 years in Chicago and now 2 years in Stuttgart, I can say with absolute certainty that American waiters and bartenders make much more usually. If I worked weekends in Chicago I would often make more in one weekend than I do in two weeks in Stuttgart. I really do feel sorry for german bartenders and waiters who have to do this as a career.
@@blubbTee in the USA as a waiter I made no salary but off of tips alone I could sometimes pull in $400- $500 a night. As a bartender I made much more sometimes on busy weekends $600 $700 a night. My coworker who was well liked by consumers (attractive women) would make well over $1000 a night sometimes. (In just tips) this is on top of a $12 an hour I was making as a bartender. It completely depends on the location and the type of customers you commonly serve, lucky I was in a wealthy area.
Everything you said was accurate. As someone who grew up in Germany, when first moving to the U.S 14 years ago, I had a the exact culture shock but reversed lol.
In Germany, a total of 23.8 percent of women and men aged 18 and over smoke. At 27 percent, men smoke more frequently than women, 20.8 percent of whom smoke. There has been a significant decline in the smoking rate among young people. (Source: Bundesgesundheitsministerum / Federal Ministry of Health)
@@jannesfriedrichs1563 According to the Bundeszentrale für Gesundheitliche Aufklärung, a 2018 survey shows that one in ten 12- to 17-year-old adolescents has already used cannabis at least once (10.0%). A good four out of ten young adults aged 18 to 25 have used cannabis at some point (42.5%). In the last 12 months 8.0 % of adolescents and 23.0 % of young adults had used cannabis in the 12 months prior to the survey. Regular cannabis use, i.e. more frequently than ten times in the last 12 months, is present in 1.6% of adolescents and 6.9% of young adults.
As a German, the coupon culture in the US baffles me everytime I think or hear about it. You‘re right, it doesn‘t exist here in Germany. If there are special voucher-based campaigns here, then there is two rules and I‘ve never seen them not applied: 1. Different coupons or several coupons of the same kind cannot be combined for one single checkout. 2. (and this is the mind-blowing one for me when looking at the US system) It is absolutely impossible to pile up so many coupons that the store actually owes you money after checkout. 😅
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Bro, half of the coupons doesn't even work properly here 😂🤷♂️ the only coupons that function very similar like in the US are from the government... when you don't have money for food, so that you get stuff for free basically
Admittedly this one might be slightly constructed, but let's not forget deposit bottles, which can become a kind of universal printed money, when turned into coupons at german supermarkets. Just bring 50 bottles to the store and you *might* end up receiving money back, even after buying a handfull of things =).
In the US companies make money selling stuff even with coupons. It is just calculated into the price for the product. Those who do not use the coupan end up paying too much for the product. Germans expect to pay a fair price for a product without a coupon. Regular prices are lower because of that.
Loved this video, as a German with American dad and many stays in the Midwest - my dad and i used to compare habits and my comment to #13 (pay, pack and run) is the opposite habit at a restaurant, in the US you eat, pay and leave - in Germany we sometimes sit for hours at the restaurant, consuming more drinks (wine 😉) talking and enjoying the time together. Different habit 🤷♂️
In deed that was one of my culture shocks in the U.S... in Germany you go out for dinner and in deed plan to not just eat, but have a nice conversation maybe some dessert later and another drink... In the U.S. steak restauarant we visited first, we literly got complimented out after the last one finished his meal.
Some supermarkets in Germany track how fast the cashiers scan the products, so they are under constant pressure to work fast. That's why it's such a rush for the customers.
almost 24% of us smoke yet only 13% of US Americans smokes. I also think it's a lot more restricted where you're allowed to smoke. It's in the decline in Ger as well yes but in comparison it must feel like lots of people smoke here
Digga ich sag dir wies ist, im vergleich zu den Staaten, hat Europa einfach so viele Raucher mehr. Ich selber bin 19 und habe 50% von meinem gleichaltrigen Freundeskreis dabei erwischt wie sie Kippen rauchen. Ich selber habe schon ein halbes Jahr geraucht bevor ich wieder aufgehört habe. Jeder Ami den ich kenne sagt mir das Zigaretten bei denen keine große Sache mehr ist.
You hit a lot of them, Zoie, that brought back memories: the abbreviated store hours (I recall sleeping in on a Saturday and missing out on stocking up on more stuff, and 12 or 1 I think was the curfew for stores), packing groceries in addition to renting a grocery cart and paying for the bags (I loved the quality cloth bags I bought for re-use), paying what was on the label (I loved this like you), going to the pharmacy or cologne store and seeing only European brands (the pharmacy assistant had no idea what Tylenol was) and finding someone who could cut my growing hair (finally found a Turkish beautician at a salon at the recommendation of an African guy who I thought would be my saving grace. Lol). And one more: making sure I was ready for the undercover, plain-clothes transportation network officials making random checks for monthly or daily passes on the subway. Good old Germany. Send me some Lila Pause bars please. Lol
Oh, never EVER offer the "Du" to a superior! It is for the person who is in a position above you, or in informal settings, the older person to decide the level of "intimacy" or formality and it is for them to offer you the "Du".
In Germany there are many sales on websites (clothes, cosmetics etc). You’ll find almost all the time coupon codes. But for supermarkets there are none, it’s not something frequent in European countries. Germany is known for having cheap prices (for groceries).
It's also because you have to to pay for "Restmüll" (i.e. anything that isn't recyclable in some way), while the disposal of recyclable materials is free.
It's funny the point you made about check-out Iines: I guess it's all about priorities. In Germany we are rushed out of the grocery store and in America we are rushed out of the restaurant. :-)
In America you’re only rushed out of a restaurant in very efficient cities like nyc and it’s mainly the customers who want this. Restaurants in most cities in America are painfully slow...at least to a New Yorker.
In my travels throughout Southern Germany I’ve experienced stares but it was never in a hostile way. At first I’d feel so awkward but after multiple return visits I would give them a wink and keep it moving -sometimes I even get a return wink lol. A little humor helps to make it less uncomfortable. Thankfully, I’m not a shy person
@Eff dees Staring is something literally every US expat in Germany vlogger I saw mentioned, black or white. Which is strange because I'm a non-German European who has been to Germany several times (once for two years) and I don't remember experiencing it.
The staring is just a cultural thing, germans look into the eyey of a stranger a bit longer before averting their gaze. It's just a few milliseconds but it will be felt as staring. This goes especially for americans as they make only very short eye contact with strangers.
@@ArfurFaulkesHake On the other hand they say that Americans talk alot - at the cassiers, in the line, in the street. So: if they look at eachother do they immediately start to talk or what? They speak with strangers but don't look at them?
@@gerdahessel2268 If you are passing a stranger you asses him, and then you decide on a course of action. This just takes milliseconds and happens mostly subconcious. And this assesment is what i am taking about. Germans just take a little more time than americans doing this. And this to americans feels like staring.
most of the people just blank stare while thinking about things others want to see if they maybe know you or you are just a beautiful perons, it's in 99% of the cases not hostile
I visited SW Germany and I love how seriously recycling is taken there and composting! Depends on where you live in the US (like Colorado, California, etc - recycling is done much better and more widely practiced than in other states)..I did notice a lot of people smoking as well and even cigarette "vending machines" on the street in Germany. That was a huge culture shock. (When you are out and about in large US cities, you’ll notice a few more people smoking/vaping as well). Also some (not all) Germans tend to look at you but not to smile or greet you sometimes just want to look. Small talk such as at a check out counter, isn’t as common where I was either, but that’s similar in certain US cities too. In the south, more hospitality is shown typically. I also just loved all the old buildings and architecture that were still standing 💕I noticed bathrooms and certain appliances tended to be smaller in comparison to in the States. I also loved seeing so many people riding bikes (Many people with healthy lifestyles is what I took from it) Lastly, the desserts were never too sweet- most tasted better in my opinion - and from what I experienced 💕
I was raised in a small city, very German area of Wisconsin. And so much of what you said about Germany was how I was raised! Waiting for the light to change, not J-walking, giving your seat to an older person or a pregnant woman, On Sunday almost everything except fast food and grocery stores are closed. Also people are pretty friendly, didn't litter much, were hard working, and help others. When we moved we had about 20 people who came and helped us!
Me - I am from. Germany but I am a Aktivist against smoking... Most Guys from MOROCCO that I know smoke and sipp at their waterpipes... Me-I rather drink their Tea or this delicious Koffee with that cooling spice called Koreander... Greetings from the Sauerland...
Germans always smile on the fact that so many Americans are shocked by closed businesses on Sundays, especially since the USA seem to have become hyper-religious in the previous decades. Sunday is a day of rest and contemplation, even when you do not believe in some God.
@@mats7492 blablabla. Have you lived here in the 1960s and 1970s? I did. Our garbage dumbs were overflowing, all major rivers were biologically dead, stinking, foaming with detergents and chemcals. Now it its safe to swim in them again. So you better stop parroting that nonsense of those who would profit from seeing that again.
@@christiankastorf1427 some God you don't believe in ,why take His rules ,make your own ,you atheists literally can't go a day without hating Christians lol
Sundays were fine but what used to annoy me back in the day was shops closing early on a Saturday. You couldnt stay in bed on a Saturday morning because you'd have to go shopping. Then "langersamstag" was chaos.
As a german, I have some additions to some points, because my experience is quite different. 1. Pedestrians DO ignore the red light, if there is no traffic. Especially when it is in the middle of the night ;-) 2. Smoking is not been accepeted as it was 20 years ago, especially with the new laws for restaurants and other public places became non-smoking areas, also in offices smoking is forbidden. Plus, young people smoking less than the generations before them at the same age. But his of course depending on the area you live. 3. The tip in germany is a bonus for waitresses because they got payed better than in the US, so their income is not related so much on the tip. But it is common sense that you give a tip if you are happy with the service. 4. About drinking wine: it really depends on the area, wine is mostly drunken were it grows ;-) That would be the south western part of Germany: Baden-Württemberg, Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz. In the rest of Germany, beer is more popular (which doesn't mean wine is not drunken there ;-) ) 5. There are coupons in Germany. Of yourse, many stores offer Payback, but stores like Penny, Rewe or Real also offering coupons in their smartphone apps. But this is just a special for the offers of the week so to say, coupons are not such a big thing here as they are in the US. Again, no disrespect, just another experience ;-)
Being German and living in America: I’m pretty sure my fellow Americans must be shocked by the fact that you are charged a lot of money for tiny bottles of water in a German restaurant …
Or a mobile phone app. For example, if you go shopping at Lidl (supermarket) you can download an app called Lidl and there are coupons or discounts. For example, if you have this app you can save 20% on your entire purchase or on various products. The kind of coupons are there for many stores.
@@danielrauer5864 But it is all anonymous. No body knows your name or where you are living, its all a big sum of data and the offers are based on assumptions. I worked there - not anymore and they don't pay me anymore ;) - and I never saw any other company making such a big deal of data security. A customer could literally throw their data on you (e.g. sending his card number and address together with a service request) and we were almost forced to immediately delete the e-mail, inform the data security officer and if possible burn the computer where we received the e-mail ;)
@@danielrauer5864 Exactly! And the funny thing is in Germany everyone is talking all the time about data security and for some lousy percentage they give a shit on it.
A little piece of “little-known” language trivia here: in English, we always use “you” with the equivalent of the German “Sie” In older, modern English we had used “THOU” as the “du” equivalent... we just happen to evolve the language to use the most respectful pronoun. Brazilian Portuguese also does the same for example (different from European Portuguese)
Thanks. I am not an native Speaker and I thought this to be true for long. Now you verified it for me. Interesting that the more respektful you lost its "value" once the informal thou was abandoned..
The remnants of plural "du" is often used informal speech in Britain and Ireland. Ye. In particular to emphasize that you are referring to not just the person you are addressing.
In History of the English Language, I always have a hard time convincing my students that “thou” was the informal form. They’ve encountered it only in church and in Shakespeare- how much more formal can you get? :) Conversely, when I learned English in my German high school and first realized this about English- that they took the formal, the “Sie” pronoun and generalized it- the thought popped into my head, “so kids call their hamsters ‘Sie’!” and it gave me the giggles.
Most European languages have this distinction. Spanish has Usted/tú/vos though the distinction varies depending on the country and dialect and some only use one, others two, others three.
A lot of americans has german roots and since 1945 we germans loves your countrie cause you made us free from the nazis and you helped us 1990 that we could reunion !!! Thank you...germany loves you !!
I found that people who drive at incredibly high speeds have high end cars that can handle those speeds safely. I was surprised that if you are slow in the right lane, nobody pushes you. They just go around you. With the car I was driving, I was always in the very right hand lane lol.
THIS is the big difference between Germany / France and the UK. In the Uk there are tiny little cars at the rev limiter in the outside lane doing 110mph. In Germany, they are in the inside lane doing 65mph and the 6L W12 Phatons are going past at 160mph. I have actually had the police in France tell me to go faster in a V12 6.0L Merc even though I was doing the speed limit. I later found out from a local that the focus was on stopping inappropriate speed in respect of the car, the weather conditions and the road. As a Brit that was a total shock to me as the policy in the UK is to do everyone for everything 100% of the time. NOTHING is about safety, its about tax revenue.
i bought the whole spedometer imma use the whole speedometer ^^
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You drive on the very right lane, where the trucks and busses drive 80-100 Km/h? Bro that's more dangerous to me😂 I can't drive there!!! 160-180 Km/h on the middle and left lane... Sometimes a fast car with 200-250Km/h comes and I switch back to the middle with 140... technically you always drive on the middle lane and switch to the left if someone is in front of you
@@ralfburon6179 Knigge says, the higher rank has first prio (the 20 year old supervisor/boss can offer it to a 60 year old female employee). male < female next with the exception, if the age difference is obvious. In that case the older person offer it to the younger
I really don't understand why there is no extra space at the cashier here in German supermarkts. Especially at Aldi where you always have to be totally concentrated and prepare for high-speed collecting your stuff unless you want it to directly fall to the ground. I already managed to create a back-stream - think I paid twice for some items ;) No second for searching your purse or arranging the items in your cart.
When Lidl opened in Sweden they had german style checkouts but they had to surrender and rebuild them because customers refused to rush and stalled the queue..
the key to autobahn safety is exactly the rule that it's forbidden to overtake somebody on the right. Well that and that you are forbidden from driving on the left lane except for overtaking somebody. This essentially sorts the lanes by speed. To the right is the slowest lane and the farther left you go the faster the lanes get. And since you can always be sure that you will only be overtaken on the left lane you can always change to the right lane without worrying about somebody that goes much faster than you crashing into you.
I'm German. - Most of the points are correct and I think they are good: recycling, politeness (on the bus), compliance with the law, holy sundays ... - but, not all Germans are smoking. :-) - The stress at the checkout in the supermarkets always annoys me, too. I didn't know it is different in other countries. Thank you - The "Sie" and "Du" are changing. "Sie" is no longer used at work or in your free time. Even in the hardware store (baumarkt), the service staff say "Du" - "Sie" is only used in official affairs, with complete strangers and in official letters. (Arbeitsamt, Einwohnermeldeamt, ...) - In which German city did you live? - Germany is very different. Life in Munich is different than in Berlin. Wine is drunk in the southwest, beer in the north and Bavaria. sorry for mistakes in my text
Zoie-Marie: Many Thanks for your heart. :-) I've been very happy about it. :-) I improved and saved one little thing - now the heart is gone. I am a perfectionist... I didn't know that will happen.
Where i come from in Germany its still totally a thing that you say "sie" to everyone you dont know actually. Like in supermarkets restaurants at work at least with your boss and the same with customers or patients because i worked at a dental surgery.
"You" is actually the formal one, English speakers abandoned the informal "thou" (equivalent of du) a while ago. ;-) The direct equivalent to "you" would be "Ihr" (both derived from 2nd person plural) which is still technically in use but seen as very archaic in German, just like thou is in English.
I wouldn't say the "Ihr" was technically in use in German today, it is plain wrong in contemporary German, unless you adress royalty (The correct adress for a monarch respectively a monarch's offspring are still "Eure Majestät" and "Eure Hoheit"). You only use it if you deliberately want to sound oldfashioned, e.g. when acting in a classic play or posing at a renaissance fair. Also, some German emmigrant dialects like Brazilian German and Texas German have kept the archaic "Ihr".
@@chrisrudolf9839 Using it for royals, deliberately old fashioned speech and, important to mention, ironically, means that it is still in use, just not the way it originally was.
@@Alias_Anybody I agree about the royal adress (which I didn't think of when I postet the first version of my reply and edited in later), although that is a very exotic example, given that noble titles are abolished in Germany. The deliberately old-fashioned speach is just imitating how people spoke in another time period and therefore doesn't count, that is technically speaking 19th (18th, 17th) century German much like a foreign language. The point is: If you use it in everyday language, you'll get weird looks, if you use it in a school essay, it will be marked as false (again except for the royal adress).
@@chrisrudolf9839 Noble titles are abolished in Austria, not in Germany, you just can't create new ones. As I said, as part of dialogue in specific cases it's still correct German, just not as regular polite 3rd person singular.
@@Alias_Anybody Yes they are abolished in Germany since 1919, the difference to Austria is just that people were allowed to keep their titles and/or the "von" as part of their surnames, but there aren't hereditary titles anymore (of course you could tell by lineage who theoretically would be e.g. the Duke of Saxony or the King of Prussia if the title still existed, but there is no person who officially bears that title) and a noble heritage does not entitle you to a special adress.
Just a small thing about the „Du“ and „Sie“. English actually had a formal and an informal word for this too, but around the time of Shakespeares life the informal word disappeared until there was only the formal word left which happens to be “you“. So basically in English you always say „Sie“😊
Random information: the english "you" is actually the polite form, for it means "you" in plural. In old english (as can be read in Shakespeare's works) they would use "thou" for the personal form (as the german "du"), and "you" for the official, more polite, less personal form. And pardon my poor english!
A tip for sundays: If you really need to buy sth. go to the next larger town's railway station. They all have some supermarket which is open during sundays (daytime).
Never actually saw groceries like eggs, butter, or veggies at a petrol station. I guess they'd be full of carcinogens from the fumes. Of course, for small groceries, I would just ask one of my neighbours.
That's not an adventure. I'm German and have visited the U.S. 14 times meanwhile. The differences are not that big, however there are some. There are things that are better in the U.S., others are better in GER. Just come and find out. And most important: Have fun!
Glad to welcome you in Germany. One bit of advice: try to speak some german words. Many people love it that you try to speak our language. Don‘t mind if you are not perfect. If you have questions try to speak to a pedastrian that is 40 or younger. Most of them can speak and understand English. Best wishes for you.
No, she is comparing Germany to New York. Move to Iowa. We give up our seat for older people and women. We bag or box our own groceries at Aldis. Most recycle and return for refund, soda cans. We use Sir and Ma'am. Or Mrs. or Mr. in most cases. Its just where you are living. Actually most of these things are tradition of being how things used to be here. But is lost on generations.
Grocery shopping: you are talking about Aldi and Lidl discounters. Try an Edeka or REWE and they will not push you. Reason is employees at discounters are being tracked and have a minimum scanning speed of items per minute. You will see them relax once they have scanned the last item and hit the sum key.
I found Edeka and Rewe just as bad They start sending the next person's shopping down on top of yours as you frantically try to finish packing but maybe it is just Berlin where grocery shopping is like combat encounters. Such a joy to move to somewhere where shopping is pleasant and entirely stress free. Don't miss that at all.
@@sandraobrien8705 it's good, that "they start sending the next person's shopping down on top of yours" . I mean don't you feel like a dick, when you are letting other people wait? I do and you should too.
Which is especially funny when you know that "you" is actually the English "Sie". The English "Du" used to be "thou", but it fell out of style, and English speakers just use the formal version all the time.
@@dermaniac5205 Once I listened to a video of a guy who made an old english quiz for a panel with a German, Russian, American and him. And I was somehow surprised, that I understood some words better than a native english speaker.
the smoking thing might not just be a European thing i live in China and everyone is always smoking its actually funny that people here don't excuse themselves to go smoke but they offer you cigarettes
Yeah we love rules but still have a strong opinion. When I am in Australia or elsewhere I like having smalltalk. I miss the spontaneous interacting it gives you so much content in our daily life and you can make friendships.. this is what I really miss sometimes here in Germany. But in general I love it here.
Towards the trash: the Garbage disposal will test randomly your garbage and if they find things wrongly disposed the homeowner will get a hefty fine and if it occurs again the garbage disposal will refuse to pick your trash up meaning you have to drive it yourself to the disposal. Hence people in shared appartement buildings will occasionally check, especially when new people have moved in (regardless of origin) to make sure that their home doesn't get taken off the disposal service. Edit: towards supermarkets and coupons: most of us buy regularly small amounts and don't do the huge shopping trips for a week or two in advance common in the usa, hence there is less incentive for supermarkets to lure people in with coupons as most don't buy in a volume that would make this practice profitable. Towards cash registries: you are not supposed to bag your stuff at the cash but put it back into the cart and bag it at the tables provided for that purpose near the exit. For smaller amounts you can keep up with the paste if you already sort your items on the conveyer belt in the order that you want to bag them. Also this is mostly just true for the retailers that sell their products at incredibly low prices by having all processes optimized to need as few personal as possible. (Aldi, Lidl and the like) If you want a more wholesome shopping experience with nice presentation, staff in the aisles to assist you and baggers at the registy to make life easier for you I would recommend going to the more upscale supermarkets like Edeka, which in return of course have overall a bit higher prices (but in return more brand and exotic/ nieche products) Edit to the edit: while we may not have a lot of coupons many places have a "loyalty system" that will give you coupons depending on the amount you spend there (e.g. Lidl has an app for that) and/ or are part of the "payback" system where you have a card were points are given to depending on how much you spend that you can collect and eventually spend on some free stuff
Yes girl! Coming from Jamaica it took me a while to get used to this fast check out in the supermarket. In JA there are usually workers who pack the bags, but they are most times slow. 😄 I’m also in the south of Germany, but I don’t see much drinking of wine. Sie trinken immer Bier 🍺😄
The check out culture shock works in the other direction as well. ^^ I am from germany and my first time shoping in a big super market in Italy was like: "Why do they all need this long at the check out?!" xD And it was impossible for me not to stress myself at the check out, even if everyone else is relaxed. ^^v
i think the trash checking especially when you live in apartment buildings is because it costs extra to get the trash despised of. The costs of that will then show up in the Nebenkosten.
Hello Zoie-Marie. Don't even try to beat the cashier in the packing vs scanning race. Just put your groceries back in your cart and bag them later at a side table or when you are back at your car. The cashier might help you thou when if you are an elderly person or appear to be disabled. Waiters in Germany are payed much better than in the US. Their lives does not depend on tipping because the minimum wage is 9.35€ an hour.
As an American, in Norway, where I married and worked for years, no matter where you are, if you want to cross the street, you just stick out your arm. All traffic must stop and let you cross. This means where there's no crosswalk. Getting a license there is difficult, expensive, and you have to be 18. They too have the personal du, impersonal de. Fun video. Ignore the nasties🤗
Pretty accurate. I’m a German who has lived in California for the last 40 years. I lived in Bavaria for 21 years, my entire family still lives in Germany. I agree with you on everything, except: it’s not true that EVERYBODY smokes. Not sure what city or town you live in, but where my family lives, I barely see anybody smoke, and nobody in my family smokes. As a matter of fact, the ones who do smoke are mainly the foreigners who have moved there.
@Sleipner 33 Görlitzer Park? In Berlin? No thanks, such a filthy place just as the rest of Berlin. I've lived in Berlin for quite some time and was always discusted by the dirt and the insufficient infrastructure. A really horrible place.
@@celinekubicka3775 Well, at first I used to find all that very interesting as well. But after a while it got boring. Everything turned out to be ever so superficial. I suppose everyone has to have their own experiences. Mine were definitly negative on the whole.
@@magmalin it can't get boring if you find the right people and discover lost places, create raves and do some crazy adventures. My friends and me meet so many cool people and every Person is different and every lost place is different and every rave we do is different. I hear it often that people say it gets boring but what if you have crazy, loyal and lovely friends and all of them like to drive to unknown places and create something. I think its up on you and when you do nothing for that, it can get boring. Sometimes i drive alone to secret places and make my own adventure. I live here my whole life and i get Adventures every week.
I was very ashamed when you reported about the old people in your house who checked your trash. But be assured that the compulsion to control the garbage is not a xenophobic or racist thing. My friend is white and German and lives alone in her apartment. The old couple in her house is constantly checking her trash too and she is not at all happy about it.
Besides being a prejudice against possible foreigners or young people not being able/willing to sort their own trash, since the Müllabfuhr will check themselves and then can refuse the collection, some older couples may have run into this problem in the past. But I think this is nothing, that couldn't be solved by some conversation. Perhaps a strange one ("Hello, I'd like to talk to you about my trash ...") but certainly a helpful one.
Yea... The thing is that the garbage disposal guys can and may refuse to take the trash if stuff is in the wrong bin (plastic bags in the organic trash, food leftovers in the plastic recycling can). If you are living in a apartment complex and have shared trashcans one single person not putting the trash in the correct bin can cause the trash to be left untouched and it might get inconvenient for all tenants because the can is full and they can't get rid of their trash just because one person was lazy or didn't care. Usually if you are new and don't know better any neighbor will help you and explain the system... But in my father's apparent complex (a small one with only two other apartments) one family keeps putting stuff in the wrong can despite putting up clear signs. There where cardboard in the plastic recycling bin, diapers in plastic bags in the biodegradables can etc. repeatedly. If neighbors had bad experience with previous tenants or someone else in the house messes up regularly they might be weary. It can be quite inconvenient to wait another week or two for the next garbage day if the disposal guys left a can because stuff was misplaced, especially in the summer when everyone wants their smelly trash out as quickly as possible...
I imagine it to be strange if, as a German in America, I have no speed limit on the highway in certain zones. If German politicians have tried to introduce a speed limit so far, most Germans get angry. What in America as freedom, for example with guns, for us Germans the autobahn has no speed limit is the real freedom 😂
thats half true ;) more than 60% would agree with the general limit of maximum 130 km/h. (saw that in a german documentary about german car manufactures) but the german car companies, with their "little" influence in politics (attention: sarcasm!) got that discussion always cancled right away :D
the "no limit" speed, seems to be a "prank". There's no generic limit.... But there's local limits quite every where : in curves, in supposed dangerous part, in town parts, etc.... so the unlimited autobahn is not long a lot usually, especially if the road isn't well maintained.
Omg I was so laughing at the last point!🤣🤣 I'm German and I hate it so much that we must rush to package our things before/ after paying. I hate this stress😅😅
Es ist doch ganz einfach und ist gar nicht stressig..... entweder du packst deine Ware so aufs Laufband , dass du es gleich in die Einkaufstüte einpacken kannst(also schwere Artikel zuerst und leichte Artikel zum Schluss oder du packst an der Kasse alles wieder in deinen Einkaufswagen , verlässt die Kasse und packst es dann in Ruhe ein. Für mich war es ein grosser Schock als ich auf eine spanische Insel gezogen bin, das war 2008 und ich war ganz erstaunt das der Kassierer/in und der Kunde nach dem abkassieren ersteinmal angefangen haben die Artikel gemeinsam einzupacken um ersteinmal zu plaudern .....das hat sich zum Glück geändert
@@larsdittmann8987 schon klar, was glaubst du denn wie ich meine Lebensmittel einpacke.. 🤣 Ich mache alles ja wie es am effektivsten ist aber gerade das ist ja so nervig, man kann nicht mal ordentlich sein Zeug reinsortieren, am Ende wartet die Kassiererin und die anderen Leute und erwarten dass du sofort bezahlst und abhaust. Dem ist aber nicht so. Und dann bist du gezwungen den Rest mehr oder weniger reinzuschmeißen, dein Geldbeutel aus der Tasche zu holen, der dir beinahe aus der Hand vor lauter Hektik fällt, und in Windeseile zu bezahlen... Man hat genug im Leben und bei der Arbeit Stress, warum dann noch bei so banalen Dingen wie einkaufen???? Mittlerweile mach ich es auf meine Weise (so gut es geht) und die ungeduldigen Leute sollen sich mal daran gewöhnen, dass nicht alle Menschen diese Hektik in ihrer Freizeit mögen.
@@jayna_4snowboard831, dann ist es auch nicht stressig sondern ganz entspannt. Irgendetwas machst du dann nicht ganz richtig. Noch entspannter ist es wenn man an der Kasse alles wieder in den Einkaufswagen packt und bezahlt, danach kann man alles ganz entspannt am Packtisch einpacken oder wenn man mit dem Auto da ist dann gleich alles in den Kofferraum einpacken . Nur ein Tip von mir, denn so geht es ganz einfach
@@jayna_4snowboard831 Ich sehe Einkaufen nicht als Freizeitvergnügen. Die Zeit der Tante Emma Läden, wo man noch gemütlich plaudern konnte, ist lange vorbei. In solchen Läden wie Aldi und Lidl muss alles effizient laufen und die haben auch nicht viel Personal. Wenn du eine exklusivere Bedienung wünschst, musst du in andere Geschäfte gehen, aber dort wird der Einkauf sicher um einiges mehr kosten. Ich hatte anfangs auch meine Schwierigkeiten mit der Schnelligkeit, aber mittlerweile klappt das sehr gut.
As a German living in the U.S., I want to first of all say hi, and secondly, congratulate you to superbly navigating the obvious vagaries of german life. Some of it seems really anal, but in the overall scheme it does work well...
1:37 if you have a driverslicense in germany and you cross the road !walking! when the light is red and the police sees it, they can revoke your driverslicense and you have to take penalty lessons. Even though you werent driving in that moment. Thats why everyone follows this rule 😂
That's 100% wrong. If the police see you, they CAN take 5 € from you (look in the catalog of fines). But that is usually too much effort for police officers, so that they leave it at a verbal warning.
In Portugal it is illegal to show a price and then charge extra. So when I learn that crime is not a crime in the US I was in shock as it seems to be a technique for fooling people and making them pay more than expected
In the US charging a different price at the cash register, than posted on the shelf is called "bait and switch", which is illegal. But the add-on is mostly tax collected for the stat government, and it is so wide spread, that the authorities ignore it. So everybody does it with the exception of gas stations. They post the price that you will actually pay (all taxes included). Worst offenders: Hotels, as they often have much larger add-ons than retail stores - sales tax, resort tax, or other special taxes. If you travel to the USA for the first time, make sure you budget for these add-ons. Most hotels now provide information about the add-ons, ore even quote the final price. Economy travel agents may negotiate package prices that "forget" these extras, leaving a checkout surprise.
Thanks Zoie-Marie, for this fun video, made me smile. :) I've been living here (near Frankfurt) since 2004, coming originally from Boston. I can totally relate to most of what you said (though I was never really a coupon clipper lol). Over the years, I've developed strategies for coping with some of these lapses in logic in the German culture (not dissing Germans! I love living here AND my kids are half German!) For example: there are ways to slow your cashier down and reduce your stress... simply pack everything BEFORE you pay! Do not be tempted to interrupt your packing simply because they're finished ringing it up and have told you the total amount and are waiting for payment. Let them wait. Just keep packing until it's all done, and then pay. If they complain (especially at aldi), just tell them you are simply avoiding that you inadvertantly pack the items bought by the next person in line by mistake. ALSO: tell the cashier NOT TO START ringing up your stuff UNTIL the person before you has finished packing--for the same reason. It has happened to me that my stuff WAS packed by the person ahead of me, and this explanation arms you with an argument that the cashier AND their manager CANNOT dispute with the excuse "i have to go as fast as possible, or I'll lose my job!" ...if you and I ever had a chance to chat, I've love to tell you about my adventures in sticking to my American table etiquette LOL :D ...I'm an online business owner, but have no you-tube channel. Wishing you all the best!
What about putting your staff back into the cart and pack it at your car? Seems less stressful to me for both customer and cashier. I never packed goods which weren't mine bc there are these bars for separating them from the person before and behind me. Seems you are very indifferent to the work situation of Lidl and Aldi employees. If you want a more exclusive treatment you better frequent higher priced supermarkets or stores.
@@ullija it is just a cultural difference--there are a number of pros and cons to both styles of checkout. At Aldi (in my region) there are no bars separating customers' purchases, and you have no choice but to put everything directly into your cart. But when someone is slow for health reasons (as in my case, from time to time) the cashiers do not wait for you, they simply pile things up and push you through. It can feel very inhuman. So, yes I do shop at other places, like tegut, where the service is slightly better (but even they still need to slow down sometimes, too). Germans who don't know it any other way may think I'm being snobby, right? That would be a very uninformed opinion. Yes, I do know it other ways, and not from shopping at posh boutiques. (By the way, do you know how incredibly cheap the average food prices are here in Germany compared to the USA?) I know the difference because I grew up in the States, where at any stink-normal American discount supermarket, there is almost always a friendly person standing there waiting to pack your groceries for you into your bags of choice (paper, plastic or cloth). The baggers are grateful for their jobs, which is usually given to older highschoolers or young college students, and sometimes to persons who are differently abled, who enjoy having the social contact and doing a simple but valued service for others.
Es ist sehr von Vorteil, wenn du die Themen, die behandelt werden, selber kennst. Dadurch kannst du dir viele Dinge aus dem Zusammenhang erschließen und verstehst mehr als du denkst. Es hilft auch Serien, die man sehr gut kennt, noch einmal auf Englisch zu sehen! Man weiß ja eigentlich schon was gesagt wird nur hört man es dann halt mal auf Englisch :)
About the people who looked through your garbage, they also did it because if somebody sees that you put the garbage into the wrong trashcan, you actually have to pay a certain amout of money to the state. They probably wanted to safe you from a fee
in my town in southern Germany it's the black trash bin for the Restmüll, the one in which the "real" trash goes in, that is actually responsible for all trash fees. all the other bin options, like paper, bio and plastic, are technically free from fees for the residents. so when you put too much of e. g. the paper waste into the Restmüll bin, it will too soon be full and you will need a bigger Restmülltonne which means increased costs for all residents of this one terraced house. and: the trash collection workers can, and will, refuse at all your overfilled Restmülltonne when it happens too frequently. this would mean 14 more days with no space already left in the bin, for all residents. nobody would want this situation to occur. therefore i can understand older residents who see a need to teach the newer ones. I'm quite sure that in most of those cases, this teaching will have absolutely nothing to do with a race or colour issue or xenophobia. people would do this with their own family relatives just the same way.
You wait at pedestrian crossings to give no bad example for kids or motivate some people to follow without checking first. Especially as kids are earlier on their own outside than in the US. Often kids go on their own since the first days in elementary school at the age of 5 to 6.
The percentage of people who smoke daily in Germany is 13.82%. That is far from everyone smokes in Germany. Smoking is only allowed in Germany from the age of 16 and you will not be sold cigarettes if you are under 16.
Small town Germany is completely different from cities like Berlin, Hamburg or Frankfurt, just like NYC is different from an Idaho village. In a typical Berlin district you will have a hard time finding someone who waits for the green light on a not so busy street.
No, not everyone is smoking, but the smokers are smoking everywhere. 😅 And this is seen as a huge problem by a lot of non-smokers and people with breathing issues.
Jaywalking ... you recognized that many children walk home on their own. Be a good example to them so they can get home safe not jaywalking themselves and misinterpreting situations on the roads.
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As a German visiting Canada a couple years ago it was a huge culture shock for me when the cashier started small talk with me while she was scanning my grocery shopping. She asked how I was, how my day had been... I was so unprepared for these questions I couldnt answer.
@Siegbert Landgraf its all good, no need to get insulting though!
@Siegbert Landgraf Yea no, I would rather be „emotionally cold“ than to be an asshole.
@Stephan Schlösser I moved from ffm to Berlin last year and I have to disagree. I live in Mitte and the cashier ladies are so unbelievable rude.. Nearly everyone who works in a supermarked or similar seems pretty stressed and unhappy. That’s sad.
@Siegbert Landgraf We Germans are anything but emotionally cold, we just don't like superficial small talk with people we don't even know. Generally we do not like superficial relationships, if we call someone a friend, we mean it. Personally I would never feel better only because strangers behaving like I would be their best friend without this superficial behaviour having any really meaning. By the way, if you have listened carefully, the lady mentioned that in Germany she would regularly see people getting up in public transport to give their place to elderly persons or pregnant women, which she would never see in her hometown NY. So much for that. Who shows more warmth of heart? The one having inconsequential small talk with strangers, whom he is not really interested in and does forget the next minute, or the one offering his own seat to old or disabled people or pregnant women on the bus or train. BTW, please do not insult me by calling me Kraut, thank you.
I have 1 guy in a Billa here in Vienna who does that to everyone, I have to go in there quickly in the morning to buy a few things for our lunch menu i will be making and maybe some energy drinks. and he stands there waffling at everyone. its really awkward, i think most people just assume he is mentally disabled.The Worst is when some old man or lady actually starts talking back and your already on the phone to work apologizing you will be 5 minutes late.
The reason why we tip less in Germany is because the waiters actually get paychecks from the restaurant they work for
The reason why we tip less in Germany is because we’re greedy af. You don’t earn much as a waiter and you rely on tip as well to make it through the month.
(Plus in almost every restaurant you have to pay for your own outfit. Starting with the shoes and ending with you shirts. And you need new clothes almost every month because the wear is so bad.)
Tip a good waiter 10% and you made his or her day. Everything below is just for bad performance.
@@smilingbandit4975 Still more than in the states, plus health insurance , social security benefits...
@@bingobongo9521 And what’s the point of your comment? Is your reason to tip waiters in Germany less because they still earn more than in the states?
@@smilingbandit4975 I tip pretty generously if you must know, because I know from experience how hard earned money it is. But the initial question was why do people IN GENERAL tip less in Germany than in the states, not if it is fair to do so. And it is a fact, that restaurant personnel in the states rely on Tips much more than in Germany to get by.
@@smilingbandit4975 In America they waitresses earn very less and the tip is needed. In Germany they get a normal salery and can make it better when they do a good job at the guest. If you really enjoyed the service, you can give around 10%. And for waitresses its a bad sign when they get nothing. Then they know they have to skill the service
in germany 75% are non-smokers. and it ist not allow to smoke in restaurants, public transportation, public events
In every stadium people are smoking around me.
Let them smoke. Be tolerant.
@@HeinzHaraldF why should we be tolerant of people smoking? Second hand smoking is unhealthy (and unpleasant to most non-smokers)
@@HeinzHaraldF Never. If they smoke in closed-up-places like smoker rooms or smoking areas in yards it might be tolerable. In reality you find their remains (Kippen i.e. the mouth/filter piece of cigarettes) littered all around at public places like bus stops, train stations or the personnel entrance at your workplace. To a non-smoker, it's just plain disgusting. I also experienced several smoking colleagues who would intentionally blow their exhale right into my face to humiliate me as a non-smoker, especially if i had caught a cold and had a rough throat already. They'd do this in the canteen at my employer's while sitting at the table next to or opposite to me, leaning in even closer and let out their exhale, sometimes accompanied by a smirk or even a deragotary remark. They almost never accept that you've been a non-smoker all your life. Same goes if you're a non -drinker. The concept of never drinking alcohol in your entire life is beyond these people. They can never accept that. Ever experienced when they trick you into drinking alcohol by saying. "Oh no, it's not alcohol, it's just orange juice..." The moment when you choose to believe them, you take a sip and you instantly recognize it's alcohol - you're so infuriated! It means that your fellow classmate didn't respect your personality at all on the very last day of that one-year course. Luckily, I 've never seen him again in my life. But trust me, these are the people I can do without. And just for the research, I'm a male German aged 56 and I've been put off by this intolerant behaviour of smokers my entire life. You could voice your disgust but it will be almost ever disrespected. So you just remain silent . . . EDIT: Currently, I don't experience that any more - at least one positive side effect of Corona.
@@zottelhuehs6375 good point - also: why beeing tolerant 2 car drivers?
Im currently living in Germany, and yes it’s true: Germans love their rules.
The traffic lights waiting it’s respected specially when there are children around. You’re supposed to be setting an example to kids and small children.
Recycling is crazy but is great!.
They are very environmentally aware and follow the rules by the book. If you do not separate your bins properly, the bin men will not pick it up until you’ve done it properly.
Taxes, don’t start me up, extremely complicated specially if you have work abroad and commute to Germany.
Driving is great in the motorway, as long as it’s in daylight. Germany does NOT have much, if any, cats eyes on the motorway and so it’s extremely dark. To make matters worse, the middle shoulder that separates the motorway is grey and as you drive it looks more like part of the ground so be warned. Their white lines are more or less faded so you just have be brave to drive at night in the motorway.
Yes it’s true supermarkets tills are very fast, specially ALDI, and since they’re environmentally friendly they take their own bags.
Germans are not into small talk either, unless they know you of course.
Customer Service is appalling, but is getting better. If you go to a chic shop make sure you are well dressed as they will look at you from head to toe to assess if you’re really a customer who will buy or not, otherwise they’ll make you feel uncomfortable with their obvious stares. Since Germans are very honest, they may come across as being very rude but it’s just them being honest and telling you exactly what they think.
Data protection is so important that the law will NOT accept you having a camera outside your front door nor a car camera inside your car.
What I love about Germany is the great respect they have to pets. You can go to a restaurant or shop, except food stores, with your canine friend. They have dog schools and they are well cared for and have high regards for their best friend. If you have a pet you’ll be required to register and license your dog at the Rathaus.
Another important thing, after 22 hrs you are required to be considerate and not make noise!. if you live in a village you may be observed by the neighbours. Of course not everyone does that, but mainly older generations will be the human cameras.
In all, Germany is a great safe country they are a very advanced culture, and very respectful of nature and pets.
I guess you're dreaming 😆 stop your exaggeration about us Germans. Thank you !
Quote: "Yes it’s true supermarkets tills are very fast, specially ALDI, and since they’re environmentally friendly they take their own bags. "
na, they're fast bc they have to, the pressur of items per minute from management is tough. and - funfact: they found that the cashiers work fastest at a certain cool temperature level, so they kinda work to get warm
@@achubxx8487 No one ever claimed that WTF?
I actually agree with you. I am a German and we are for the most part very structured and love our rules. If everyone follows the rules everyone knows what’s happening and things just work. But I can completely see how adapting to that can be challenging at first. As annoying as Germany can be, it makes for safe and a less stressful living
@@mackie911 German here aswell and I have to disagree :)
As a German, I can not agree to the statement that we do not cross the streets when there is a red light. in big cities like Berlin, for example, where everything goes a bit faster, we often cross the streets at red lights. This is quite normal here and comparable to New York. But we make sure that we don't do it when children are around, because we don't want to set a bad example that could endanger them
Stimmt:)
yup, came here to say exactly that :)
As a pedestrian I have never waited at a red traffic light when the road is clear. I don't pay any attention to it unless there are small children present. As a car driver it's something different, so of course I stop at red. In addition, in many smaller towns or suburbs, the traffic lights are switched off at night if there are no main roads.
Mit den Kindern ist halt wirklich so. Wenn ich zur Straße gehe und ein Kind sehe, denke ich immer "Mist, jetzt muss ich hier warten bis es grün wird" xD
The german way of saving money is to not spend any lol my stepfather used to say: "if we you don't buy it, you save 100%"
Omg my dad literally always says the same
Grüße aus Bonn
I live in Germany and I decided to keep all my money in my Bank. I dont like geman culture, so I'm looking for sunny place now.
Lolllll so true! Sparen, sparen, sparen 😁
"NO!" - every german mom in a supermarket with their kid
He seems Julius Lol (by everybody hate Chris)
Tip for grocery shopping: just put everything back in the cart and pack your bags in peace somewhere on the side, problem solved.
I figured that out as well and it’s 100% functional. At times I find myself gripping the hand of the cashier because we’re both being too fast and I prove to be faster :-D
@@christopherjosef5164 do you then share a glance filled with tender love? 😎 just kidding
@@vadimkokielov2173 with heart emojis flying all over the place.
@@christopherjosef5164 haha. Too bad Goethe didnt know about them. I bet he could have replaced a troublesome rhyme or two with emojis here and there, and got an even better rating from the critics 😁
Only works if its a store that is not in the City /is spacious
THe Crosswalk thing always got me! after about 6 months i found myself standing at the crosswalk at 4am by myself 😂
Why does she have a German accent if she's from NYC? 🤔
@@realtruth3762 because she moved from NYC to Germany ??
In Berlin no one cares about traffic lights 😄
After 50-some ;-) years I find myself only standing at the crosswalk when there's too much traffic to cross. I pay attention to the traffic lights but I don't follow them blindly. (Hi Chris :D)
It depends were you at... in bigger city’s normally nobody gives a shit about traffic lights as a pedestrian
lol im german and obviously ive been grocery shopping millions of times and im still soooo stressed out when i go to check out like it gives me anxiety
😭 Yeah I’m still anxious too
@@ZoieMarie Yes, if you are slow at the checkout you risk at least angry looks. A cashier at the Aldi pushed all the goods into the car with his elbow, my father never goes there again. An older saleswoman who is alone in the bakery on Sunday told me how she was bullied because customers are not patient. This is the same tension that is in road traffic (sometimes called street war). Is not for sensitive people.
You just need a smart system. Put all the heavy stuff on the counter first and then the not so heavy and then the very fragile stuff. When its your turn you immediately start putting the stuff into your bags in that order. Done. You can also pre-sort it in terms of size and form. Orrr...just throw it back into your cart and sort it out when you have left the check-out.
But isn't that stress mostly self-made? I don't think I've ever seen customers complain about having to wait. Or maybe in once, more than ten years ago, and that man was obviously a stressed out Karen.
I know if I see people stressing I just tell them not to hurry themselves. And a lot of cashiers will put stuff into your shopping cart if you're still busy when they're done.
I‘m so stressed when people are slow because I hate shopping and want to get out
I’m English and lived/worked in Germany for 4 years. It’s a great place and I loved, what were to me, the German eccentricities. I was told off for crossing a small road on red instead of waiting for the green light no traffic on the road. The secret to German supermarket shopping is just put everything in the trolley then find a quiet spot to pack your bags.
100% true. I also put items straight back in the trolly then load in my bags afterwards. It avoids unnecessary waiting for the other shoppers.
Cant stress the "no overtaking on the right side" rule enough. Many Germans more or less blindly trust on this rule when they switch lanes to the right. They don't think they have to check for other cars coming from behind, because that would be in violation of said rule. So, if you don't follow that rule, you live a quite dangerous life on the Autobahn (let alone you endanger others). To give some context why it's forbidden: The concept of the Autobahn isn't a highway with 3-4 equal lanes, but one main-lane (on the right) plus 2 lanes for the exclusive purpose of overtaking (and going back to the right afterwards). Stay safe!
It is so rare (but it happens!) that… this is one case where the cops, when they see someone doing it (and that's usually people racing themselves or each other (even more dangerous, natch)) they do give chase and stop (or try to stop) that car. Cops rarely do that (unlike the US, where they stop you to give you ticket, instead of just sending it in the mail :D)
I check anyway for the one American driving.
@ The US has no "Meldepflicht", so they don't know where people live based on their numberplates, they can just find out where the car is registered and thats pretty much it.
You are wrong. You still have to check when changing lanes.
But people just don't expect this that you are passing on the right.
Isn't it the way they do it all over the world? I live in Argentina and it's exactly that way (however here people don't respect laws that much to be fair)
You always give up a seat on the bus or train to someone who is elderly, pregnant or disabled. Not only Germany but also UK, Ireland and New Zealand. Usual rather than odd, doesn't say much for USA.
Its the same for the US as well. Well, in the south of the states actually. I'm from Georgia, by the way.
You should do that anywhere tbh ... jeez USA
I guess in USA not so much people take the Bus, so there is a open seat at anytime?
“Doesn’t say much for the USA”, it well it doesn’t because it’s not true. Why, because one person said it? She’s talking about NYC where the subways and buses are packed. Even there I’ve encountered considerate people. The South and the MidWest are especially nice between people. The rest of the US is NOT NYC.
I experienced this over most of Europe... Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Spain... but not in France or Austria 😅
The race at the supermarket is real.
😭 so real!
@@ZoieMarie WOW ? 8-o Really ? 8-/ In THAT rare Case, I´d love to experience it the American Way ! ^__^ "Take your Time and NOT your Life" is what I always say ! =)
I am late to the video and I guess it depends on the supermarket, but I would recommend not bagging your stuff at checkout and rather put it back in your cart or basket and bag it at the designated areas. Almost all supermarkets have them and there you can take as long as you want.
When Lidl came to Finland, it was a shock to Finns shopping there! We normally also have long packing lines. There was always a long queu at every checkout point because we couldn't pack as fast as we should. Well after a few years Lidl renovated their packing lines to be similar to other stores... Finns won! :-D
I as a German hate that, too. I always take my time, no matter what the people in the queue think about me.
I'm German and while I do think that recycling is important I'm shocked that your neighbors were checking your trash!! not okay
Bro, my neighbors do the same... I live in a village on a little mountain. The thing is, if it's not properly recycled, they will not pick up your trash
Stasi mentality!
@@tancreddehauteville764 LOL true.
They would never check it if she was white. I am white and I am Ausländer...but it's different with black people even if they're comming from NYC. It's not even the color (race), it's the assumption they come from Africa, from some god forgotten place and that they have no clue about civilisation. They were 100% sure they will find something, otherwise they wouldn't search through her garbage. They wouldn't dare. And many black people in germany can't speal proper german, so they can't talk back or fight back. Please black Ausländer, learn german so you can fight back the idiots!
Lol if you think recycling is taken serious in germny you should check out switzerland
I love the "Pfand" where you return your plastic bottle for money, like a saving for a hard day
🤣🤣👌
Better for the nature
Or else you leave it next to a bin and the poor come to collect it.
You will hardly find any plastic bottles or aluminium cans on the streets, since that law on deposit came.
Also good for enviroment.
There are no "landfills" in Germany, too.
8, 15 or 25 cent
As a native German this is really interesting.
Wym native german
@@vminisreal3684 Somebody who is native to Germany? Ethnically German? North/Western european? What else would they mean?
@@Lde790 Native means something else though
@@vminisreal3684 Native: 1 : one born or reared in a particular place. 2a : an original or indigenous inhabitant. b : something indigenous to a particular locality. 3 : a local resident especially : a person who has always lived in a place as distinguished from a visitor or a temporary resident.
@@vminisreal3684 What else does it mean
Hi, I'm german. I also stop walking when there's redlight. Always when children are watching and when I'm not in hurry, so I can relax a little bit.
Me too; if there are people who still need to learn the rules (kids, immigrants), I follow the rules rigorously. But you won't find me waiting for green at 3am with no traffic.
I was in China. At late night on a red light. I was waiting. Another guy comes over me. And was asking me: Are you german, too?
@@ericminch You compare adult immigrant to children? Wooow dude!!
@@dissdad8744 He listed examples. Phrased like 'people new to the country' would have sounded better. But clearly, he is German.
@@dissdad8744 why are you so offended? He's right.
I find these videos really interesting because I have lived here all my life. All my family is German, etc. So it’s fun to see what other people notice that seem so every day to me.
11:20 The reason is that cashiers can get fired if they don't scan enough items in a certain amount of time. Employers refuse to admit that publicly, but it happens.
About the "Sie" and "You"....a kind of a rule is , that the older person offers the "Du"
@@lirumlarum354 Traditionally, it was a rule of gallantery that among people of different gender, it should always be the woman who offers the "Du" first, never the man, unless he is old enough to be her dad. Today, those kinda "sexist" rules of politeness are mostly regarded as outdated and it is generally the older person who should offer the Du first, regardless of gender. If the people involved work together in a hierarchic relation (e.g. worker and boss or student and teacher), the higher ranking should offer the Du.
Listen for hints. First name is almost allways Du, so if someone introduces himself with the first name only its Du. Both names can go either way, only last name is Sie almost certainly.
I almost never used Sie or last names in an office in 20 years. Not with coworkers and not with bosses. Others will use it every day or wait for anyone to offer a Du as you say. Its really depending on the Workplace and so on.
I would recomend to just ask when in doubt. Do not just use Sie, its almost as bad to use Sie if others use Du than the other way around.
@@chrisrudolf9839 & @Lirum Larum It may also be that some people see an advantage in the formal approach.
It is easier to say: "du A ..." than "Sie A ...";) Regarding the job situation: my (originally very conservative employer) has been using "du" for some time. From my point of view, the disadvantage is that this lack of distance between older/ longer on the job/ boss and younger/ newcomers/ worker; can sometimes lead to statements and actions that are very disrespectful.
@@lirumlarum354 i have never heard that rule I am a Hamburger
Or the boss to the employees
Tip: When I do big groceries in Lidl I usually park my shopping cart at the end of the cash register and just slam dunk all the scanned products back in there. I do the packing and sorting in the parking lot when I put the stuff in the trunk of my car. That's more relaxing. I always take two or three empty cardboard boxes from inside the store (usually the ones from the oranges). They're big and strong and you can use them for your recycled paper at home. Greetings from Belgium (where the Lidl cashiers also scan fast). Good luck!
I always get a cart but I like to pack with precision 😂 I hate sorting in the parking lot because at that point I just want to be home
I pack my cart like my life depends on it. So nothing get crushed. I hate crushed bread and joghurts 🤣
Hahaha that’s what you are supposed to be doing. That’s why they have that little spot, shaped like the cart after the cashier point.
@@ZoieMarie no use for the parking lot. you can pack it from the cart into your bags or cardboards still inside, just a bit away from the cashier
@@ZoieMarie Not all are cultural shocks but some are improvements, like standing for old people on public transport.
The “German stare” is a big one for me as a fellow New Yorker! I just had to learn to accept that they stare at everyone subconsciously 😂
This is true! And not only Germany, I’ve experienced this in Spain, Croatia and Russia. 🤷🏽♀️Not our fault that they don’t see our kind of beauty on a regular lol
Germans and starin. oh man dont get me started.I been here 25 years now and I STILL get angry at those staring ass people. Worst thing is,...if you dont constantly stare people in the face, they think YOU are the bad person. Glad I moved to berlin, most people here don't care about that and just do they thang. mostly.
The interesting part: most Germans don´t even notice that - and you correctly observed it´s subconcious. I didn´t really notice this (my) behaviour until I was in the States for the first time. And especially in certain metropolitan areas this could not only be offending but very very dangerous. I had to learn that one fast. And coming back it was rather strange to notice the staring.
@@ronin47-ThorstenFrank Yeah where I grew up, and we were very poor,living in poor places and we don't stare at people. You stare at me that means you want to fuck me or fight me and I generally want neither of those things.
@@jockjammer3443 Exactly. In NYC it means we have a problem and we need to solve it quickly...
Interesting video! I totally understand. I lived in Germany for five years and loved it. The culture shock after I moved back to the US, though, was far worse than the one I experienced when I first moved to Germany. Things I am still not used to: 1. Trusting other people to bag my items for me at the grocery store 2. People passing me on the right 3. I miss driving fast and knowing that the other people n the road can handle it - the condition of the roads in the US, the horrible drivers, etc I am not sure I would ever drive fast here 4. The fact that the "going out" culture in the United States is reserved for only young people 5. Places open on Sundays 6. Loudly talking at restaurants - It is NOT relaxing 7. I am still not used to being discreet while drinking. I almost got in trouble once for walking down the street of a local city with a beer in my hand. It was my beer, I had it in my bag, and I walked by a police officer and I don't think he saw me. Close call! - There are more items but those are the main ones.
Grocery shopping recommendation:
Put the heavy and hard stuff on the band first and the soft stuff in the end, so you can pack everything quick and tidy. I prefer Aldi over Lidl because they scan / process even faster.
I was in London once and the cashier was so fast, he literally put my stuff into my bag and the money into my wallet because I was too slow for him👀😂😂😂 it's not only Germans!
That sounds very interesting :-D. I’d have loved to see that.
But he packed the bag for you. in Germany you pack it yourself
@@caciliawhy5195 I don't think that is customary in the UK. I think she was so slow that the cashier "had to step in".
🤣🤣🤣🤣 only LIDL and ALDI do that in UK and I think they are Germans or close. The cashier was surely being rude!!!!
@@independentthought3390 I wasn't slow (in Germany you have to be fast as well), there were just so many people standing in the row behind me that I think he got a little stressed.😂😂😂 I payed slow tho. I'm not used to the currency so it took a bit longer than usual.
The cashiers in Germany have to scan a special number of products in a minute and their controlling about this. So that’s why they scan so fast at Aldi and lidl
34 scans per minute at Netto.
@@MarcoMarcoo161 when i was in brazil in the supermarket i literally got super aggressive waiting in the queue watching the cashiers need 10 sec for every product xD
A German: I take my time to pack my bag. No matter how fast the cashier is. It is a humilation to hurry customers, I do not play this game.
I have the feeling, that before ALDI implemented scanners in the 90s they were faster.
But maybe that feeling isn't correct.
@@cccccc9929 they seemed to be faster because they have known every price and every article-number without a computer.
Apart from the "smoking", which is far from true, our culture has been carefully recognized here :)
Ye, it's certainly not everybody, as stated in the video. However, compared to the US it's a lot more, unfortunately. It also depends a bit on where you are, but when you go outside, you will usually always see someone smoking somewhere. Especially that there are even kids smoking at schools is quite sad.
I also didn't notice that people would wait at a red light before they cross the street.
That might be the case in smaller towns in Germany but certainly not in Berlin, where I am from.
Here everyone walks whenever.
And that is also the case in New York but not in other cities in the US.
So New York and Berlin are exceptions from the rest of the country.
Simple maths thing, but no one will round the sum up to 26€ 😉
Plenty of people have stopped smoking or at least cut down. Because of more and better health and the high prices.
Well I have moved to US from Czech Republic and both me and my husband after like a week were like "wait a moment - Noone smokes here !?" Really, it was that significant difference, that you really could notice it quite clearly
5:56 I work as a waiter in Germany. It is ture, tipping is not mandatory but still it widely accepted to give at least 10% if everything was fine. We get mostly around minimum wage, which is probably more than in the US but not much overall for the job you are required to do. So please, don't be cheap!
I always tip at least ten percent, but also more if it's necessary to round up. I don't like coins.
In Finland eating out is quite expensive. And people generally do not tip at all. Trust me: they paid from the food and drinks a LOT more than buying from a grocery shop. The salaries of waiters is included in the price.
😮😮😮
The tipping? Yeah, we tip less because our restaurants (usually) pay living wages...
As an American and former waiter who worked 5 years in Chicago and now 2 years in Stuttgart, I can say with absolute certainty that American waiters and bartenders make much more usually. If I worked weekends in Chicago I would often make more in one weekend than I do in two weeks in Stuttgart. I really do feel sorry for german bartenders and waiters who have to do this as a career.
@@MiguelGarcia-ef9dg Thanx for clearing that up, you learn something everyday!
10% des Rechnungsbetrages immer xD
@@MiguelGarcia-ef9dg does this wage comparison include tips? If so, how does it look like without? Just curious
@@blubbTee in the USA as a waiter I made no salary but off of tips alone I could sometimes pull in $400- $500 a night. As a bartender I made much more sometimes on busy weekends $600 $700 a night. My coworker who was well liked by consumers (attractive women) would make well over $1000 a night sometimes. (In just tips) this is on top of a $12 an hour I was making as a bartender. It completely depends on the location and the type of customers you commonly serve, lucky I was in a wealthy area.
Everything you said was accurate. As someone who grew up in Germany, when first moving to the U.S 14 years ago, I had a the exact culture shock but reversed lol.
Not everybody is smoking in Germany !
almost everyone
In Germany, a total of 23.8 percent of women and men aged 18 and over smoke. At 27 percent, men smoke more frequently than women, 20.8 percent of whom smoke. There has been a significant decline in the smoking rate among young people. (Source: Bundesgesundheitsministerum / Federal Ministry of Health)
*smokes
@@ChrisTian-rm7zm and 50 % of the under 18 smoke weed
@@jannesfriedrichs1563 According to the Bundeszentrale für Gesundheitliche Aufklärung, a 2018 survey shows that one in ten 12- to 17-year-old adolescents has already
used cannabis at least once (10.0%). A good four out of ten young adults aged 18 to 25 have used cannabis at some point (42.5%). In the last 12 months
8.0 % of adolescents and 23.0 % of young adults had used cannabis in the 12 months prior to the survey. Regular cannabis use, i.e. more frequently than ten times in the last 12
months, is present in 1.6% of adolescents and 6.9% of young adults.
This video is right on time, just moved to Germany, literally got here last night.
Good luck on your transition and congratulations!
@@wayfaringstraanger Thank Youu!
Congratulations on your move!!!
Welcome. I love living here.
@@phyllismburu6864 Thanks much 😊
As a German, the coupon culture in the US baffles me everytime I think or hear about it. You‘re right, it doesn‘t exist here in Germany. If there are special voucher-based campaigns here, then there is two rules and I‘ve never seen them not applied: 1. Different coupons or several coupons of the same kind cannot be combined for one single checkout. 2. (and this is the mind-blowing one for me when looking at the US system) It is absolutely impossible to pile up so many coupons that the store actually owes you money after checkout. 😅
Bro, half of the coupons doesn't even work properly here 😂🤷♂️ the only coupons that function very similar like in the US are from the government... when you don't have money for food, so that you get stuff for free basically
Admittedly this one might be slightly constructed, but let's not forget deposit bottles, which can become a kind of universal printed money, when turned into coupons at german supermarkets. Just bring 50 bottles to the store and you *might* end up receiving money back, even after buying a handfull of things =).
It makes sense to me how shopping culture is big in the US.
In the US companies make money selling stuff even with coupons. It is just calculated into the price for the product. Those who do not use the coupan end up paying too much for the product. Germans expect to pay a fair price for a product without a coupon. Regular prices are lower because of that.
Loved this video, as a German with American dad and many stays in the Midwest - my dad and i used to compare habits and my comment to #13 (pay, pack and run) is the opposite habit at a restaurant, in the US you eat, pay and leave - in Germany we sometimes sit for hours at the restaurant, consuming more drinks (wine 😉) talking and enjoying the time together. Different habit 🤷♂️
PS: my dad liked that a lot
In deed that was one of my culture shocks in the U.S... in Germany you go out for dinner and in deed plan to not just eat, but have a nice conversation maybe some dessert later and another drink... In the U.S. steak restauarant we visited first, we literly got complimented out after the last one finished his meal.
Some supermarkets in Germany track how fast the cashiers scan the products, so they are under constant pressure to work fast. That's why it's such a rush for the customers.
Especially LIDL.
I didn't know that, but you have to be very very slow to get in trouble :D i know a lot of cashiers that are medium speed
Wut, a few people are smoking, but by far not everyone and imo it's on the decline
almost 24% of us smoke yet only 13% of US Americans smokes. I also think it's a lot more restricted where you're allowed to smoke. It's in the decline in Ger as well yes but in comparison it must feel like lots of people smoke here
probably depends on where you live then. i'm pretty sure 90% of my friends and family smoke and not just occasionally
Someone just told me ist come back into fashion Herr haha
Digga ich sag dir wies ist, im vergleich zu den Staaten, hat Europa einfach so viele Raucher mehr. Ich selber bin 19 und habe 50% von meinem gleichaltrigen Freundeskreis dabei erwischt wie sie Kippen rauchen. Ich selber habe schon ein halbes Jahr geraucht bevor ich wieder aufgehört habe. Jeder Ami den ich kenne sagt mir das Zigaretten bei denen keine große Sache mehr ist.
I am a French woman living/ working in Germany for 3 years. Most of my colleagues and friends don't smoke. So I don't agree with this video.
You hit a lot of them, Zoie, that brought back memories: the abbreviated store hours (I recall sleeping in on a Saturday and missing out on stocking up on more stuff, and 12 or 1 I think was the curfew for stores), packing groceries in addition to renting a grocery cart and paying for the bags (I loved the quality cloth bags I bought for re-use), paying what was on the label (I loved this like you), going to the pharmacy or cologne store and seeing only European brands (the pharmacy assistant had no idea what Tylenol was) and finding someone who could cut my growing hair (finally found a Turkish beautician at a salon at the recommendation of an African guy who I thought would be my saving grace. Lol). And one more: making sure I was ready for the undercover, plain-clothes transportation network officials making random checks for monthly or daily passes on the subway. Good old Germany. Send me some Lila Pause bars please. Lol
Oh, never EVER offer the "Du" to a superior! It is for the person who is in a position above you, or in informal settings, the older person to decide the level of "intimacy" or formality and it is for them to offer you the "Du".
In Germany there are many sales on websites (clothes, cosmetics etc). You’ll find almost all the time coupon codes. But for supermarkets there are none, it’s not something frequent in European countries. Germany is known for having cheap prices (for groceries).
I confirm that Germans follow the rules in recycling 👍👍👍 I have lived as Italian Erasmus student for six months 💙 I love German culture
It's also because you have to to pay for "Restmüll" (i.e. anything that isn't recyclable in some way), while the disposal of recyclable materials is free.
you can also can get an strike or fee when you are not recylce correct.
@@DIko-lk5pp nothing is "for free".
It's funny the point you made about check-out Iines: I guess it's all about priorities. In Germany we are rushed out of the grocery store and in America we are rushed out of the restaurant. :-)
America.......
What a curious country!
In America you’re only rushed out of a restaurant in very efficient cities like nyc and it’s mainly the customers who want this. Restaurants in most cities in America are painfully slow...at least to a New Yorker.
In my travels throughout Southern Germany I’ve experienced stares but it was never in a hostile way. At first I’d feel so awkward but after multiple return visits I would give them a wink and keep it moving -sometimes I even get a return wink lol. A little humor helps to make it less uncomfortable. Thankfully, I’m not a shy person
@Eff dees Staring is something literally every US expat in Germany vlogger I saw mentioned, black or white. Which is strange because I'm a non-German European who has been to Germany several times (once for two years) and I don't remember experiencing it.
The staring is just a cultural thing, germans look into the eyey of a stranger a bit longer before averting their gaze.
It's just a few milliseconds but it will be felt as staring. This goes especially for americans as they make only very short eye contact with strangers.
@@ArfurFaulkesHake On the other hand they say that Americans talk alot - at the cassiers, in the line, in the street. So: if they look at eachother do they immediately start to talk or what? They speak with strangers but don't look at them?
@@gerdahessel2268 If you are passing a stranger you asses him, and then you decide on a course of action. This just takes milliseconds and happens mostly subconcious. And this assesment is what i am taking about. Germans just take a little more time than americans doing this. And this to americans feels like staring.
most of the people just blank stare while thinking about things others want to see if they maybe know you or you are just a beautiful perons, it's in 99% of the cases not hostile
I visited SW Germany and I love how seriously recycling is taken there and composting! Depends on where you live in the US (like Colorado, California, etc - recycling is done much better and more widely practiced than in other states)..I did notice a lot of people smoking as well and even cigarette "vending machines" on the street in Germany. That was a huge culture shock. (When you are out and about in large US cities, you’ll notice a few more people smoking/vaping as well). Also some (not all) Germans tend to look at you but not to smile or greet you sometimes just want to look. Small talk such as at a check out counter, isn’t as common where I was either, but that’s similar in certain US cities too. In the south, more hospitality is shown typically. I also just loved all the old buildings and architecture that were still standing 💕I noticed bathrooms and certain appliances tended to be smaller in comparison to in the States. I also loved seeing so many people riding bikes (Many people with healthy lifestyles is what I took from it) Lastly, the desserts were never too sweet- most tasted better in my opinion - and from what I experienced 💕
I was raised in a small city, very German area of Wisconsin. And so much of what you said about Germany was how I was raised! Waiting for the light to change, not J-walking, giving your seat to an older person or a pregnant woman, On Sunday almost everything except fast food and grocery stores are closed. Also people are pretty friendly, didn't litter much, were hard working, and help others. When we moved we had about 20 people who came and helped us!
As Moroccan I found German smoke a lot , beside that German culture is almost perfect great country, great culture
Me - I am from. Germany but I am a Aktivist against smoking... Most Guys from MOROCCO that I know smoke and sipp at their waterpipes... Me-I rather drink their Tea or this delicious Koffee with that cooling spice called Koreander...
Greetings from the Sauerland...
@dr. Will J. Rosenblatt What's wrong with you?
@dr. Will J. Rosenblatt Oh no, you're calling me a potato, now I feel really mad...
That funny because German love morocan food but I prefere German food over morocan
@dr. Will J. Rosenblatt or he is doctor . athlete smart.......
Germans always smile on the fact that so many Americans are shocked by closed businesses on Sundays, especially since the USA seem to have become hyper-religious in the previous decades. Sunday is a day of rest and contemplation, even when you do not believe in some God.
The green bill has turned into the new religion
@@mats7492 blablabla. Have you lived here in the 1960s and 1970s? I did. Our garbage dumbs were overflowing, all major rivers were biologically dead, stinking, foaming with detergents and chemcals. Now it its safe to swim in them again. So you better stop parroting that nonsense of those who would profit from seeing that again.
@@christiankastorf1427 some God you don't believe in ,why take His rules ,make your own ,you atheists literally can't go a day without hating Christians lol
@@Србомбоница86 and they do that only with Christians. I can't remember an atheist talking bad about any other religion.
Sundays were fine but what used to annoy me back in the day was shops closing early on a Saturday. You couldnt stay in bed on a Saturday morning because you'd have to go shopping.
Then "langersamstag" was chaos.
UNO reverse card!: I was so shocked when I visited the US and everything went in the same bin! I was confused and had to adjust to that as well😂
As a german, I have some additions to some points, because my experience is quite different.
1. Pedestrians DO ignore the red light, if there is no traffic. Especially when it is in the middle of the night ;-)
2. Smoking is not been accepeted as it was 20 years ago, especially with the new laws for restaurants and other public places became non-smoking areas, also in offices smoking is forbidden. Plus, young people smoking less than the generations before them at the same age. But his of course depending on the area you live.
3. The tip in germany is a bonus for waitresses because they got payed better than in the US, so their income is not related so much on the tip. But it is common sense that you give a tip if you are happy with the service.
4. About drinking wine: it really depends on the area, wine is mostly drunken were it grows ;-) That would be the south western part of Germany: Baden-Württemberg, Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz. In the rest of Germany, beer is more popular (which doesn't mean wine is not drunken there ;-) )
5. There are coupons in Germany. Of yourse, many stores offer Payback, but stores like Penny, Rewe or Real also offering coupons in their smartphone apps. But this is just a special for the offers of the week so to say, coupons are not such a big thing here as they are in the US.
Again, no disrespect, just another experience ;-)
Being German and living in America: I’m pretty sure my fellow Americans must be shocked by the fact that you are charged a lot of money for tiny bottles of water in a German restaurant …
Everybody is smoking? Naaaa that aint true 😂
Way more than in other countries
ca. 75% sind Nichtraucher, deshalb glaube ich auch, daß in anderen Ländern mehr geraucht wird.
Coupons isn‘t a thing anymore we use Payback cards
Or a mobile phone app. For example, if you go shopping at Lidl (supermarket) you can download an app called Lidl and there are coupons or discounts. For example, if you have this app you can save 20% on your entire purchase or on various products. The kind of coupons are there for many stores.
Yep. I`ve been using the Payback card for years and have already managed to save up hundreds of euros.
Yeah, but you pay with all your data. Payback knows everything about your shopping, what where and when. Would not even use it if I would save 50%.
@@danielrauer5864 But it is all anonymous. No body knows your name or where you are living, its all a big sum of data and the offers are based on assumptions. I worked there - not anymore and they don't pay me anymore ;) - and I never saw any other company making such a big deal of data security. A customer could literally throw their data on you (e.g. sending his card number and address together with a service request) and we were almost forced to immediately delete the e-mail, inform the data security officer and if possible burn the computer where we received the e-mail ;)
@@danielrauer5864 Exactly! And the funny thing is in Germany everyone is talking all the time about data security and for some lousy percentage they give a shit on it.
A little piece of “little-known” language trivia here: in English, we always use “you” with the equivalent of the German “Sie” In older, modern English we had used “THOU” as the “du” equivalent... we just happen to evolve the language to use the most respectful pronoun. Brazilian Portuguese also does the same for example (different from European Portuguese)
Thanks. I am not an native Speaker and I thought this to be true for long. Now you verified it for me. Interesting that the more respektful you lost its "value" once the informal thou was abandoned..
The remnants of plural "du" is often used informal speech in Britain and Ireland.
Ye. In particular to emphasize that you are referring to not just the person you are addressing.
In History of the English Language, I always have a hard time convincing my students that “thou” was the informal form. They’ve encountered it only in church and in Shakespeare- how much more formal can you get? :) Conversely, when I learned English in my German high school and first realized this about English- that they took the formal, the “Sie” pronoun and generalized it- the thought popped into my head, “so kids call their hamsters ‘Sie’!” and it gave me the giggles.
Most European languages have this distinction. Spanish has Usted/tú/vos though the distinction varies depending on the country and dialect and some only use one, others two, others three.
"it's a calming leisure activity"
said no German about (grocery) shopping ever. ;)
I do find grocery shopping in Germany to be an extremely calming leisure activity, but I`m from Czech Republic so the point still stands :-)
I call it an Olympic sport.
It's war
No time for chit-chat. When I go shopping I expect maximum efficiency.
good, no shopping ever on Sundays.
A lot of americans has german roots and since 1945 we germans loves your countrie cause you made us free from the nazis and you helped us 1990 that we could reunion !!! Thank you...germany loves you !!
I found that people who drive at incredibly high speeds have high end cars that can handle those speeds safely. I was surprised that if you are slow in the right lane, nobody pushes you. They just go around you. With the car I was driving, I was always in the very right hand lane lol.
THIS is the big difference between Germany / France and the UK. In the Uk there are tiny little cars at the rev limiter in the outside lane doing 110mph.
In Germany, they are in the inside lane doing 65mph and the 6L W12 Phatons are going past at 160mph. I have actually had the police in France tell me to go faster in a V12 6.0L Merc even though I was doing the speed limit. I later found out from a local that the focus was on stopping inappropriate speed in respect of the car, the weather conditions and the road.
As a Brit that was a total shock to me as the policy in the UK is to do everyone for everything 100% of the time. NOTHING is about safety, its about tax revenue.
i bought the whole spedometer imma use the whole speedometer ^^
You drive on the very right lane, where the trucks and busses drive 80-100 Km/h? Bro that's more dangerous to me😂 I can't drive there!!! 160-180 Km/h on the middle and left lane... Sometimes a fast car with 200-250Km/h comes and I switch back to the middle with 140... technically you always drive on the middle lane and switch to the left if someone is in front of you
Usually you don't ask for the "Du". It's up to the more senior person to propose the "Du".
It's either the older person or the higher rank at the office
And a woman offers the "du" to a man, never the other way round.
@@tomasbraun7270 must be another Germany than mine. In over 60 years it was only the older one who offers the „Du“
@@ralfburon6179 Knigge says, the higher rank has first prio (the 20 year old supervisor/boss can offer it to a 60 year old female employee). male < female next with the exception, if the age difference is obvious. In that case the older person offer it to the younger
Oh my god, I'm German and the last point about grocery shopping is sooo true!! I always leave the grocery store stressed out af
Use a basket for Shopping. Dann kannst Du alles schnell in den Korb werfen. Und der steht bei mir im Einkaufswagen !
I know right. It is the one thing about living in Germany that most got me down.
I really don't understand why there is no extra space at the cashier here in German supermarkts. Especially at Aldi where you always have to be totally concentrated and prepare for high-speed collecting your stuff unless you want it to directly fall to the ground. I already managed to create a back-stream - think I paid twice for some items ;) No second for searching your purse or arranging the items in your cart.
When Lidl opened in Sweden they had german style checkouts but they had to surrender and rebuild them because customers refused to rush and stalled the queue..
Americans first time in a german supermarket at the cash registry: "Why do I hear boss music?" xD
Kunde ist König, aber der Kaiser sitzt an der Kasse🤣 ist ein harter job
the key to autobahn safety is exactly the rule that it's forbidden to overtake somebody on the right. Well that and that you are forbidden from driving on the left lane except for overtaking somebody. This essentially sorts the lanes by speed. To the right is the slowest lane and the farther left you go the faster the lanes get. And since you can always be sure that you will only be overtaken on the left lane you can always change to the right lane without worrying about somebody that goes much faster than you crashing into you.
I'm German.
- Most of the points are correct and I think they are good: recycling, politeness (on the bus), compliance with the law, holy sundays ...
- but, not all Germans are smoking. :-)
- The stress at the checkout in the supermarkets always annoys me, too. I didn't know it is different in other countries. Thank you
- The "Sie" and "Du" are changing. "Sie" is no longer used at work or in your free time. Even in the hardware store (baumarkt), the service staff say "Du"
- "Sie" is only used in official affairs, with complete strangers and in official letters. (Arbeitsamt, Einwohnermeldeamt, ...)
- In which German city did you live?
- Germany is very different. Life in Munich is different than in Berlin. Wine is drunk in the southwest, beer in the north and Bavaria.
sorry for mistakes in my text
Zoie-Marie: Many Thanks for your heart. :-) I've been very happy about it. :-)
I improved and saved one little thing - now the heart is gone. I am a perfectionist...
I didn't know that will happen.
Where i come from in Germany its still totally a thing that you say "sie" to everyone you dont know actually. Like in supermarkets restaurants at work at least with your boss and the same with customers or patients because i worked at a dental surgery.
@@nataliiinal5294 really? At the dentist we also say "Du"
O.K. I was once at a dental surgery, there was "Sie"
Where do you live? Bavaria? 😳
@@anna-tabeab.2615 No Rhineland palatine and as is said everyone there did it but maybe it changed i left 2 and a half years ago
@@anna-tabeab.2615 Auf meiner Arbeit ist es standard sich mit "Sie" anzusprechen.
Edit: Ich wohne in Köln und arbeite im Theater.
"You" is actually the formal one, English speakers abandoned the informal "thou" (equivalent of du) a while ago. ;-) The direct equivalent to "you" would be "Ihr" (both derived from 2nd person plural) which is still technically in use but seen as very archaic in German, just like thou is in English.
I wouldn't say the "Ihr" was technically in use in German today, it is plain wrong in contemporary German, unless you adress royalty (The correct adress for a monarch respectively a monarch's offspring are still "Eure Majestät" and "Eure Hoheit"). You only use it if you deliberately want to sound oldfashioned, e.g. when acting in a classic play or posing at a renaissance fair. Also, some German emmigrant dialects like Brazilian German and Texas German have kept the archaic "Ihr".
@@chrisrudolf9839
Using it for royals, deliberately old fashioned speech and, important to mention, ironically, means that it is still in use, just not the way it originally was.
@@Alias_Anybody I agree about the royal adress (which I didn't think of when I postet the first version of my reply and edited in later), although that is a very exotic example, given that noble titles are abolished in Germany. The deliberately old-fashioned speach is just imitating how people spoke in another time period and therefore doesn't count, that is technically speaking 19th (18th, 17th) century German much like a foreign language. The point is: If you use it in everyday language, you'll get weird looks, if you use it in a school essay, it will be marked as false (again except for the royal adress).
@@chrisrudolf9839
Noble titles are abolished in Austria, not in Germany, you just can't create new ones.
As I said, as part of dialogue in specific cases it's still correct German, just not as regular polite 3rd person singular.
@@Alias_Anybody Yes they are abolished in Germany since 1919, the difference to Austria is just that people were allowed to keep their titles and/or the "von" as part of their surnames, but there aren't hereditary titles anymore (of course you could tell by lineage who theoretically would be e.g. the Duke of Saxony or the King of Prussia if the title still existed, but there is no person who officially bears that title) and a noble heritage does not entitle you to a special adress.
When I studied abroad in Spain, the packing groceries thing was true for me as well! I was always stressed when grocery shopping lol
Just a small thing about the „Du“ and „Sie“.
English actually had a formal and an informal word for this too, but around the time of Shakespeares life the informal word disappeared until there was only the formal word left which happens to be “you“. So basically in English you always say „Sie“😊
You corresponds to Ihr, not to Sie.
Yep thee and thou were the original informal versions.
As a native German I can say most Germans go grocery shopping on Saturday. So there is no need to get groceries on Sunday.
Random information: the english "you" is actually the polite form, for it means "you" in plural. In old english (as can be read in Shakespeare's works) they would use "thou" for the personal form (as the german "du"), and "you" for the official, more polite, less personal form.
And pardon my poor english!
A tip for sundays: If you really need to buy sth. go to the next larger town's railway station. They all have some supermarket which is open during sundays (daytime).
In the (good old?) former years there was the 48-hour-week, stores and all shops closed on Saturdays at 2 p.m.
Most of the time, it's shorter to just walk to the nearest gas station.
Yes. Gas station, that is what you do nowadays.
Never actually saw groceries like eggs, butter, or veggies at a petrol station. I guess they'd be full of carcinogens from the fumes.
Of course, for small groceries, I would just ask one of my neighbours.
Moving to Germany next year and trying to get my mind right lol Im excited for the adventure!
I wish you a good start!
That's not an adventure. I'm German and have visited the U.S. 14 times meanwhile. The differences are not that big, however there are some. There are things that are better in the U.S., others are better in GER. Just come and find out. And most important: Have fun!
Good luck and have fun!
Glad to welcome you in Germany. One bit of advice: try to speak some german words. Many people love it that you try to speak our language. Don‘t mind if you are not perfect. If you have questions try to speak to a pedastrian that is 40 or younger. Most of them can speak and understand English. Best wishes for you.
Which part of Germany will you be moving to?
Coupons are a thing in germany ... stuff like "payback" etc. Is used by a lot of people.. but they are working a littel bit different✌🏼
I don't like Payback though, they're in it for your data, whereas coupons have no downside.
What a shocker germany is better than the us in almost any way
No, she is comparing Germany to New York. Move to Iowa. We give up our seat for older people and women. We bag or box our own groceries at Aldis. Most recycle and return for refund, soda cans. We use Sir and Ma'am. Or Mrs. or Mr. in most cases. Its just where you are living. Actually most of these things are tradition of being how things used to be here. But is lost on generations.
As a German I can just say ON POINT, your impressions are so true 😂
Grocery shopping: you are talking about Aldi and Lidl discounters. Try an Edeka or REWE and they will not push you.
Reason is employees at discounters are being tracked and have a minimum scanning speed of items per minute. You will see them relax once they have scanned the last item and hit the sum key.
I found Edeka and Rewe just as bad They start sending the next person's shopping down on top of yours as you frantically try to finish packing but maybe it is just Berlin where grocery shopping is like combat encounters. Such a joy to move to somewhere where shopping is pleasant and entirely stress free. Don't miss that at all.
@@sandraobrien8705 it's good, that "they start sending the next person's shopping down on top of yours" . I mean don't you feel like a dick, when you are letting other people wait? I do and you should too.
Funny english phrase to express the acceptance of the casual „Du“ made up by Germans is: „You can say you to me!“ 😉
Which is especially funny when you know that "you" is actually the English "Sie". The English "Du" used to be "thou", but it fell out of style, and English speakers just use the formal version all the time.
@@dermaniac5205 Once I listened to a video of a guy who made an old english quiz for a panel with a German, Russian, American and him. And I was somehow surprised, that I understood some words better than a native english speaker.
@@MarcAndreRuppert „I‘m sorry“, „I‘m sorry, too“, German: „I‘m sorry three!“ 😉
the smoking thing might not just be a European thing i live in China and everyone is always smoking its actually funny that people here don't excuse themselves to go smoke but they offer you cigarettes
And are sometimes offended when you reject it. Especially the older generation.
Where in China have you been/or are you?
@@TrangDB9 Qingdao, Shandong
@@TrangDB9 are you in China?
@@misscidella I'm in Thailand now since a while. A couple of years ago I was in Nanjing for a year.
@@TrangDB9 I have always wanted to go to Thailand. I hope I will go there soon
Yeah we love rules but still have a strong opinion.
When I am in Australia or elsewhere I like having smalltalk. I miss the spontaneous interacting it gives you so much content in our daily life and you can make friendships.. this is what I really miss sometimes here in Germany. But in general I love it here.
Towards the trash: the Garbage disposal will test randomly your garbage and if they find things wrongly disposed the homeowner will get a hefty fine and if it occurs again the garbage disposal will refuse to pick your trash up meaning you have to drive it yourself to the disposal. Hence people in shared appartement buildings will occasionally check, especially when new people have moved in (regardless of origin) to make sure that their home doesn't get taken off the disposal service.
Edit: towards supermarkets and coupons: most of us buy regularly small amounts and don't do the huge shopping trips for a week or two in advance common in the usa, hence there is less incentive for supermarkets to lure people in with coupons as most don't buy in a volume that would make this practice profitable.
Towards cash registries: you are not supposed to bag your stuff at the cash but put it back into the cart and bag it at the tables provided for that purpose near the exit. For smaller amounts you can keep up with the paste if you already sort your items on the conveyer belt in the order that you want to bag them.
Also this is mostly just true for the retailers that sell their products at incredibly low prices by having all processes optimized to need as few personal as possible. (Aldi, Lidl and the like) If you want a more wholesome shopping experience with nice presentation, staff in the aisles to assist you and baggers at the registy to make life easier for you I would recommend going to the more upscale supermarkets like Edeka, which in return of course have overall a bit higher prices (but in return more brand and exotic/ nieche products)
Edit to the edit: while we may not have a lot of coupons many places have a "loyalty system" that will give you coupons depending on the amount you spend there (e.g. Lidl has an app for that) and/ or are part of the "payback" system where you have a card were points are given to depending on how much you spend that you can collect and eventually spend on some free stuff
Yes girl! Coming from Jamaica it took me a while to get used to this fast check out in the supermarket. In JA there are usually workers who pack the bags, but they are most times slow. 😄 I’m also in the south of Germany, but I don’t see much drinking of wine. Sie trinken immer Bier 🍺😄
Omg..im a jamaican living in Berlin ❤❤
I guess maybe in my area there's a lot of wine 🤷🏾♀️ And yeah the fast checkout still gives me anxiety but I'm quite good at it now lol
The wine areas are mostly the Southwest (Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland and parts of Baden-Württemberg)
The check out culture shock works in the other direction as well. ^^ I am from germany and my first time shoping in a big super market in Italy was like: "Why do they all need this long at the check out?!" xD And it was impossible for me not to stress myself at the check out, even if everyone else is relaxed. ^^v
@@chrisrudolf9839 what about Franconia? You can find wine all over Germany, but sometimes the regions are very small. Even Berlin has a spot for it :)
i think the trash checking especially when you live in apartment buildings is because it costs extra to get the trash despised of. The costs of that will then show up in the Nebenkosten.
Hello Zoie-Marie. Don't even try to beat the cashier in the packing vs scanning race. Just put your groceries back in your cart and bag them later at a side table or when you are back at your car.
The cashier might help you thou when if you are an elderly person or appear to be disabled.
Waiters in Germany are payed much better than in the US. Their lives does not depend on tipping because the minimum wage is 9.35€ an hour.
As an American, in Norway, where I married and worked for years, no matter where you are, if you want to cross the street, you just stick out your arm. All traffic must stop and let you cross. This means where there's no crosswalk. Getting a license there is difficult, expensive, and you have to be 18. They too have the personal du, impersonal de. Fun video. Ignore the nasties🤗
Pretty accurate. I’m a German who has lived in California for the last 40 years. I lived in Bavaria for 21 years, my entire family still lives in Germany. I agree with you on everything, except: it’s not true that EVERYBODY smokes. Not sure what city or town you live in, but where my family lives, I barely see anybody smoke, and nobody in my family smokes. As a matter of fact, the ones who do smoke are mainly the foreigners who have moved there.
I like that. Germany sounds like a really nice place to live. Thanks for the insight.🤗
@Sleipner 33 If you wanna get stoned ;)
@Sleipner 33 Görlitzer Park? In Berlin? No thanks, such a filthy place just as the rest of Berlin. I've lived in Berlin for quite some time and was always discusted by the dirt and the insufficient infrastructure. A really horrible place.
@@magmalin i love Berlin, there are so many adventures and i love the techno underground Szene here. I see so many secret places
@@celinekubicka3775 Well, at first I used to find all that very interesting as well. But after a while it got boring. Everything turned out to be ever so superficial. I suppose everyone has to have their own experiences. Mine were definitly negative on the whole.
@@magmalin it can't get boring if you find the right people and discover lost places, create raves and do some crazy adventures. My friends and me meet so many cool people and every Person is different and every lost place is different and every rave we do is different. I hear it often that people say it gets boring but what if you have crazy, loyal and lovely friends and all of them like to drive to unknown places and create something. I think its up on you and when you do nothing for that, it can get boring. Sometimes i drive alone to secret places and make my own adventure. I live here my whole life and i get Adventures every week.
I was very ashamed when you reported about the old people in your house who checked your trash. But be assured that the compulsion to control the garbage is not a xenophobic or racist thing. My friend is white and German and lives alone in her apartment. The old couple in her house is constantly checking her trash too and she is not at all happy about it.
Besides being a prejudice against possible foreigners or young people not being able/willing to sort their own trash, since the Müllabfuhr will check themselves and then can refuse the collection, some older couples may have run into this problem in the past. But I think this is nothing, that couldn't be solved by some conversation. Perhaps a strange one ("Hello, I'd like to talk to you about my trash ...") but certainly a helpful one.
@@unvillage ya that´s correct. By the way.... if u still keep ignoring "Trash-Rules" it can result in a expansive bill / ticket.
Yea... The thing is that the garbage disposal guys can and may refuse to take the trash if stuff is in the wrong bin (plastic bags in the organic trash, food leftovers in the plastic recycling can).
If you are living in a apartment complex and have shared trashcans one single person not putting the trash in the correct bin can cause the trash to be left untouched and it might get inconvenient for all tenants because the can is full and they can't get rid of their trash just because one person was lazy or didn't care. Usually if you are new and don't know better any neighbor will help you and explain the system... But in my father's apparent complex (a small one with only two other apartments) one family keeps putting stuff in the wrong can despite putting up clear signs. There where cardboard in the plastic recycling bin, diapers in plastic bags in the biodegradables can etc. repeatedly. If neighbors had bad experience with previous tenants or someone else in the house messes up regularly they might be weary. It can be quite inconvenient to wait another week or two for the next garbage day if the disposal guys left a can because stuff was misplaced, especially in the summer when everyone wants their smelly trash out as quickly as possible...
I imagine it to be strange if, as a German in America, I have no speed limit on the highway in certain zones. If German politicians have tried to introduce a speed limit so far, most Germans get angry. What in America as freedom, for example with guns, for us Germans the autobahn has no speed limit is the real freedom 😂
thats half true ;)
more than 60% would agree with the general limit of maximum 130 km/h. (saw that in a german documentary about german car manufactures)
but the german car companies, with their "little" influence in politics (attention: sarcasm!) got that discussion always cancled right away :D
@@somersaultcurse Exactly.
the "no limit" speed, seems to be a "prank". There's no generic limit.... But there's local limits quite every where : in curves, in supposed dangerous part, in town parts, etc.... so the unlimited autobahn is not long a lot usually, especially if the road isn't well maintained.
Omg I was so laughing at the last point!🤣🤣 I'm German and I hate it so much that we must rush to package our things before/ after paying. I hate this stress😅😅
I don't even know who invented this... It's horrible
Es ist doch ganz einfach und ist gar nicht stressig..... entweder du packst deine Ware so aufs Laufband , dass du es gleich in die Einkaufstüte einpacken kannst(also schwere Artikel zuerst und leichte Artikel zum Schluss oder du packst an der Kasse alles wieder in deinen Einkaufswagen , verlässt die Kasse und packst es dann in Ruhe ein. Für mich war es ein grosser Schock als ich auf eine spanische Insel gezogen bin, das war 2008 und ich war ganz erstaunt das der Kassierer/in und der Kunde nach dem abkassieren ersteinmal angefangen haben die Artikel gemeinsam einzupacken um ersteinmal zu plaudern .....das hat sich zum Glück geändert
@@larsdittmann8987 schon klar, was glaubst du denn wie ich meine Lebensmittel einpacke.. 🤣 Ich mache alles ja wie es am effektivsten ist aber gerade das ist ja so nervig, man kann nicht mal ordentlich sein Zeug reinsortieren, am Ende wartet die Kassiererin und die anderen Leute und erwarten dass du sofort bezahlst und abhaust. Dem ist aber nicht so. Und dann bist du gezwungen den Rest mehr oder weniger reinzuschmeißen, dein Geldbeutel aus der Tasche zu holen, der dir beinahe aus der Hand vor lauter Hektik fällt, und in Windeseile zu bezahlen... Man hat genug im Leben und bei der Arbeit Stress, warum dann noch bei so banalen Dingen wie einkaufen???? Mittlerweile mach ich es auf meine Weise (so gut es geht) und die ungeduldigen Leute sollen sich mal daran gewöhnen, dass nicht alle Menschen diese Hektik in ihrer Freizeit mögen.
@@jayna_4snowboard831, dann ist es auch nicht stressig sondern ganz entspannt. Irgendetwas machst du dann nicht ganz richtig. Noch entspannter ist es wenn man an der Kasse alles wieder in den Einkaufswagen packt und bezahlt, danach kann man alles ganz entspannt am Packtisch einpacken oder wenn man mit dem Auto da ist dann gleich alles in den Kofferraum einpacken . Nur ein Tip von mir, denn so geht es ganz einfach
@@jayna_4snowboard831 Ich sehe Einkaufen nicht als Freizeitvergnügen. Die Zeit der Tante Emma Läden, wo man noch gemütlich plaudern konnte, ist lange vorbei. In solchen Läden wie Aldi und Lidl muss alles effizient laufen und die haben auch nicht viel Personal. Wenn du eine exklusivere Bedienung wünschst, musst du in andere Geschäfte gehen, aber dort wird der Einkauf sicher um einiges mehr kosten. Ich hatte anfangs auch meine Schwierigkeiten mit der Schnelligkeit, aber mittlerweile klappt das sehr gut.
Routine, structure, and clarity. Sometimes I feel like I live in the wrong country
We are just perfectionist
As a German living in the U.S., I want to first of all say hi, and secondly, congratulate you to superbly navigating the obvious vagaries of german life. Some of it seems really anal, but in the overall scheme it does work well...
1:37 if you have a driverslicense in germany and you cross the road !walking! when the light is red and the police sees it, they can revoke your driverslicense and you have to take penalty lessons. Even though you werent driving in that moment. Thats why everyone follows this rule 😂
Everyone follows this rule? Not in the places where I lived. Especially when no one‘s around.
That's 100% wrong. If the police see you, they CAN take 5 € from you (look in the catalog of fines). But that is usually too much effort for police officers, so that they leave it at a verbal warning.
@@theodorebagwell141 Its not do your research.
Futur3 this is true shit!
German police will NEVER take cash from you because they are not allowed to. And what Futur3 said is true, they do this type of things here.
In Portugal it is illegal to show a price and then charge extra. So when I learn that crime is not a crime in the US I was in shock as it seems to be a technique for fooling people and making them pay more than expected
I think it is illegal anywhere in the EU
In the US charging a different price at the cash register, than posted on the shelf is called "bait and switch", which is illegal. But the add-on is mostly tax collected for the stat government, and it is so wide spread, that the authorities ignore it. So everybody does it with the exception of gas stations. They post the price that you will actually pay (all taxes included). Worst offenders: Hotels, as they often have much larger add-ons than retail stores - sales tax, resort tax, or other special taxes.
If you travel to the USA for the first time, make sure you budget for these add-ons. Most hotels now provide information about the add-ons, ore even quote the final price. Economy travel agents may negotiate package prices that "forget" these extras, leaving a checkout surprise.
Thanks Zoie-Marie, for this fun video, made me smile. :) I've been living here (near Frankfurt) since 2004, coming originally from Boston. I can totally relate to most of what you said (though I was never really a coupon clipper lol). Over the years, I've developed strategies for coping with some of these lapses in logic in the German culture (not dissing Germans! I love living here AND my kids are half German!) For example: there are ways to slow your cashier down and reduce your stress... simply pack everything BEFORE you pay! Do not be tempted to interrupt your packing simply because they're finished ringing it up and have told you the total amount and are waiting for payment. Let them wait. Just keep packing until it's all done, and then pay. If they complain (especially at aldi), just tell them you are simply avoiding that you inadvertantly pack the items bought by the next person in line by mistake. ALSO: tell the cashier NOT TO START ringing up your stuff UNTIL the person before you has finished packing--for the same reason. It has happened to me that my stuff WAS packed by the person ahead of me, and this explanation arms you with an argument that the cashier AND their manager CANNOT dispute with the excuse "i have to go as fast as possible, or I'll lose my job!" ...if you and I ever had a chance to chat, I've love to tell you about my adventures in sticking to my American table etiquette LOL :D ...I'm an online business owner, but have no you-tube channel. Wishing you all the best!
What about putting your staff back into the cart and pack it at your car? Seems less stressful to me for both customer and cashier. I never packed goods which weren't mine bc there are these bars for separating them from the person before and behind me. Seems you are very indifferent to the work situation of Lidl and Aldi employees. If you want a more exclusive treatment you better frequent higher priced supermarkets or stores.
@@ullija it is just a cultural difference--there are a number of pros and cons to both styles of checkout. At Aldi (in my region) there are no bars separating customers' purchases, and you have no choice but to put everything directly into your cart. But when someone is slow for health reasons (as in my case, from time to time) the cashiers do not wait for you, they simply pile things up and push you through. It can feel very inhuman. So, yes I do shop at other places, like tegut, where the service is slightly better (but even they still need to slow down sometimes, too). Germans who don't know it any other way may think I'm being snobby, right? That would be a very uninformed opinion. Yes, I do know it other ways, and not from shopping at posh boutiques. (By the way, do you know how incredibly cheap the average food prices are here in Germany compared to the USA?) I know the difference because I grew up in the States, where at any stink-normal American discount supermarket, there is almost always a friendly person standing there waiting to pack your groceries for you into your bags of choice (paper, plastic or cloth). The baggers are grateful for their jobs, which is usually given to older highschoolers or young college students, and sometimes to persons who are differently abled, who enjoy having the social contact and doing a simple but valued service for others.
@@christinetaylor267 Dear Christine, I hope you didn't get me wrong. It wasn't my intention being rude. Liebe Grüsse aus Wien 🙋♀️🇦🇹
Irgendwie finde ich es gerade voll krass wie viel ich verstanden habe, ich bin doch nich soo schlecht in Englisch
Hast wohl heimlich die Untertitel aktiviert.😂
sie spricht ein sehr schönes einfaches und deutliches Englisch :)
Wenn jeder so reden würde...
Es ist sehr von Vorteil, wenn du die Themen, die behandelt werden, selber kennst. Dadurch kannst du dir viele Dinge aus dem Zusammenhang erschließen und verstehst mehr als du denkst. Es hilft auch Serien, die man sehr gut kennt, noch einmal auf Englisch zu sehen! Man weiß ja eigentlich schon was gesagt wird nur hört man es dann halt mal auf Englisch :)
@@alflerran3536 ja, wahre standard Englisch.
Irish living in Germany. Can confirm there is always an unofficial neighbourhood trash-checker.
:) so true!
😂😂👍🏾
About the people who looked through your garbage, they also did it because if somebody sees that you put the garbage into the wrong trashcan, you actually have to pay a certain amout of money to the state. They probably wanted to safe you from a fee
in my town in southern Germany it's the black trash bin for the Restmüll, the one in which the "real" trash goes in, that is actually responsible for all trash fees. all the other bin options, like paper, bio and plastic, are technically free from fees for the residents.
so when you put too much of e. g. the paper waste into the Restmüll bin, it will too soon be full and you will need a bigger Restmülltonne which means increased costs for all residents of this one terraced house.
and: the trash collection workers can, and will, refuse at all your overfilled Restmülltonne when it happens too frequently. this would mean 14 more days with no space already left in the bin, for all residents. nobody would want this situation to occur. therefore i can understand older residents who see a need to teach the newer ones.
I'm quite sure that in most of those cases, this teaching will have absolutely nothing to do with a race or colour issue or xenophobia. people would do this with their own family relatives just the same way.
You wait at pedestrian crossings to give no bad example for kids or motivate some people to follow without checking first. Especially as kids are earlier on their own outside than in the US. Often kids go on their own since the first days in elementary school at the age of 5 to 6.
The percentage of people who smoke daily in Germany is 13.82%. That is far from everyone smokes in Germany. Smoking is only allowed in Germany from the age of 16 and you will not be sold cigarettes if you are under 16.
Danke Zoei-Marie, dass Sie uns Ihre Sicht auf Deutschland in Ihren Videos zeigen !
Small town Germany is completely different from cities like Berlin, Hamburg or Frankfurt, just like NYC is different from an Idaho village. In a typical Berlin district you will have a hard time finding someone who waits for the green light on a not so busy street.
Berlin is not Germany but a failed state surrounded by Germany.
@@Beethoven80 I guess that's the Bavarian perspective?
@@dissdad8744 No, it‘s the Southern Germany’s/Swiss perspective as well.
Berlin 🤝 Austria
West Deutschland 🧐😳
@@Beethoven80 Germany is the unappealing appendix of Berlin.
No, not everyone is smoking, but the smokers are smoking everywhere. 😅
And this is seen as a huge problem by a lot of non-smokers and people with breathing issues.
Jaywalking ... you recognized that many children walk home on their own. Be a good example to them so they can get home safe not jaywalking themselves and misinterpreting situations on the roads.
as a german i can say that i cant agree with 2. because i've barely seen someone wait on a red sign while there were no cars coming