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You can mow your Lawn on Sunday ;) but you are not allowed to use Gas or Elektric driven lawnmowers ;) therefore you can use a "Spindelmäher (Cylinder Mower)" or a "Scythe" which is driven by Musclepower :D
The anti-sandcastle laws actually have also another very serious reason for the Islands with those laws are mostly out of sand wich got eroded extremely fast in the last years. Many lose big amounts of their area to the sea. Building sandcastles causes this to happen Faster. You shift sand and are giving water and wind more attack area to erode the beaches. One or two sandcastles are no big deal but if hundreds of people do it almost all year around it adds up.
One little anektdote: There a some numberplates that are in some cases forbidden in Germany (de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kfz-Kennzeichen_%28Deutschland%29#Unerw.C3.BCnschte_Erkennungsnummern) while some are always forbidden, you can get others occaionally. For example LM-AA (Meaning: Lick my A..) used to be fobidden but you can get it nowadays. But although you can get it you are not allowed to point at a person and afterwards on your numberplate.
Nope. According to the German street traffic law (StVO) your vehicle must be able to run at least 60 kmh, not 80 kmh to be allowed on the Autobahn. This had been implemented to ban slow moving vehicles like tractors (or bikers etc) to enter the Autobahn. Tractors which are able to move with more than 59 kmh are allowed on the Autobahn. 😊
Technically, nobody prevents you from mowing your lawn on a Sunday in Germany - as long as you're doing it quietly by using a hand mower or a really silent electrical one. As long as the noise is not disturbing anybody, it's just fine. It's not about what you're doing but the noise you're creating.
Well not quite true, there are regulations which prevent you from just doing work visible even quietly can disturb the "Sunday quietness" and would be forbidden if your neighbors take offense. Though e.g. light (quiet) garden work is fine.
@@lal12 You are right. A grumpy neighbor can even report you if you hang out freshly washed laundry to dry in the garden on Sunday because it's work. Just silly.
@@bragiboddason4304 Yes, *those* laws are actually religiously motivated - which presumably means that they will get less over time as more Germans become non-religious.
@@KaiHenningsen Fortunately, the police (and the „Ordnungsamt“) have known such grumpy neighbors as complainers for a long time and treat such reports subordinate. Not to mention the annoyance with which judges react to such notorious complainers who clog the judiciary with their lawsuits. German courts really have better things to do than judge wet laundry (except maybe the courts in Catholic Bavaria ;)).
@@lal12 When we lived in Denmark in the eighties some neighbors complained at the yearly meeting that (some) we did not put our freshly washed underwear to dry discretely. They were laughed at and stopped complaining.
@@andreaheinrich2576 And you need to be careful walking on some beaches. I once did modelplane flying and went a step to the back while looking up and literally falling into one of these holes.
Each year, thousands of € are spent to put sand to the beach. And these excavation activities endanger the beach. The beach is the "frontline" against landloss caused by the sea
It's not really about the dangers to tourists directly. It's the indirect effect. Digging trenches that connect to the sea, especially on the North Sea coast, allows the water to erode the sand much, much quicker. Fehmarn, Amrum, Sylt, and the Halligen are under constant barrage by ocean currents. They loose land to the sea each year that often has to be shored back up artificially, and as you may have guessed, with huuuuge costs. Especially Sylt with its large crowds of tourists is dependent on not growing smaller. It seems that during each winter storm Sylt looses a not insignificant amount of land to the sea. However, the Wattenmeer, the large mudflats along the coast of the North Sea, are a protected world heritage site so there's a limit to how far out protective structures can be built. In essence, this reduces any wave-breakers right to the islands themselves and can't be placed a few hundred meters to a few kilometers ahead of the shore. Btw: a few kilometers in case of Amrum and Föhr would be on the other island, respectively. The more minor aspect is the stereotypical German 'saving a good spot at the beach' prevention. 😃🤣
The Germans are known for digging big holes at the beaches in the Netherlands... maybe the Dutch government should copy this law especially for the Germans and include digging restrictions😁
In Scotland: If a stranger knock on your door and ask to use the toilet, you MUST offer up that 'service without any charge' with no regards to if the toilet is inside the home or outside in the yard, and you must let him or her wash their hands after in water 'supplied by the home owner or resident' but you do NOT need to supply any (toilet) tissue to that person. This is a law from 1849 and was created because people had a habit of stopping their horse drawn carriage and just sit down, leaning towards someones house and 'do their business!'. The law is still on the books, but no one has been taken to court for it since 1899 when a vagrant was turned away from Carberry Tower Mansion in Scotland, and then did his 'business' in the fountain as a revenge. The Laird (Lord) at the mansion took the vagrant to court but was himself fined for not offer 'convenience' to the vagrant in the first place. I LOVE SCOTLAND!
All these "up to" fines are for extreme cases. It most countries in Europe it's also illegal to remove your own large tree on your own land without permission. They want to protect old oak trees and such.
not only the protection of said trees. but more big trees form a risk when they are taken down. So you both need a permission and someone who is allowed to actually do the work. We have them here in the Netherlands as well It is much more about the second part. Not saying the first one does not apply
Freedom of speech: Does it make sense that you are free to say or gesture whatever you want - but you have to beep or blurr it on media? Many videos on youtube sound like morsecode because of that. Therefore I prefer the german regulation, where you have to observe the rules of good behavior by law.
A lot of the times it has more to do with advertising requirements. In the case of this video - we beeped and "quacked" so that it passed TH-cam's rules for the display of ads.
@@dearseall Yes and no. Freedom of speech is with in a public setting. However TH-cam is not owned by the public it is owned by a private company. They and any private company/person can make rules for there property and how you can use it.
@@raudi42 it's more how that constitution has it worded. As in the letter of the law. In most cases it's about how a government has to act to it's people. A company is not a government. If you don't agree you can try and take a company to court over it. But until that point. It's up to said company how you can use there facilities.
I found out the hard way LOL. While stationed in Lahr Swartzwald I decided to wash my car in the driveway on a Sunday. Back then the act of washing the car was not an issue, but working outside on a Sunday was verbotten. I quickly learned that the Burgermiester's (Mayor's) secretary lived across the street and came over and gave me a stern lecture in true German form. I quickly came to appreciate nice quiet Sunday's without noise and to avoid the scorn of my neighbors. 😀
I would guess that the law about insults is due to the "first amendment" in the German General/basic Law: "Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar." (The dignity of the human is untachable) Therefore freedom of speach ends where the dinity of another human begins. In driving it is also to prevent road rage and aggressive driving which could be dangerous.
That is not completely right. Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Basic Law permits restrictions among other things through a legal reservation. In this case the limiting law is the Criminal Code and here specifically the offense of insulting. Today, this offense is a result of the general right of personality which also includes the personal honor. The general right of personality results from Article 1 Paragraph 1 and Article 2 Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law.
I was about to say something similar. In general, German basic law has its focus on human dignity, not on individual freedom (of expression). And along this line, @TheBlackForestFamily, are you sure that "hate speech" is not actually covered by the first amendment of the US constitution and therefore protected as free speech? As far as I know, "hate speech" is not an actual legal term in the first place, and can only be deemed illegal in particular circumstances, on a case by case basis.
"Therefore freedom of speach ends where the dinity of another human begins." I love this phrase, and more so when we apply it to any personal liberty. Unfortunately, speaking as an American, too many people in the USA do not realize or care when their own manifestations of personal liberty encroach on the liberty and dignity of others. "It's my right!" is as far as their brains go. :_( And trumpism has made it worse.
Actually, the roots of the legislation on insults go back to the nineteenth century and developing ideas on honor and defamation and a big wave of libel lawsuits, so they very much predate the Basic Law. If you are interested in more detail on the subject in English, check out the book Honor, Politics and the Law in Imperial Germany, 1871-1914 by Ann Goldberg (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
People often do not realize that it is really, REALLY dangerous to stop on the Autobahn. People die every year on the "Standstreifen" (breakdown lane) because drivers are tired or do not pay attention and drift into that lane. Cars even slam into emergency vehicles with all sorts of flashing lights when they are stopped there. Therefore, it makes sense that stopping on the Autobahn is generally forbidden except in an emergency, and as you said, running out of gas does not count. Whenever people have to stop in case of an emergency, it is best to get out on the right side of the car if possible and get behind the guard rail, then call for assistance.
About "sand castles": It is about the protection of the beaches and the sand. This is because coastal protection is intended to prevent wind and water from carrying away the sand and thus reducing the size of the island. In the past, vacationers used to dig deep holes around their beach chairs to protect them from the strong coastal winds. But with stronger winds and more water, more of the coast ended up being washed away, and the sandcastle ban is now intended to prevent that.
By sand castle, "Sandburg", Germans would not typically mean those sculptures shown in the video but circular walls of sand by which some people stake their territory on the beach.
I didn't even know most of them! I hope next week you're making one about the equivalence in the US, there must be some weird ones too. For example child marriage still being legal in most states and 20 states don't even have a minimum age...I would be so great to get your insight on that because I don't understand it
True, many of those laws might seem strange, but protecting the environment, making sure cars are safe on the street and not having all the noise every time, is actually a good thing. Whilst growing up in Germany, I kind of never thought about these laws as they kind of make sense. However, living 20+ years in the US, I would want those laws here. It often happens that you want to stay in bed a bit longer on Sunday and you hear machine noise all over for the whole day to trim things.....in Las Vegas were nothing grows;-) Sometimes I have the feeling that the neighbors time it in a way that there is a constant noise level throughout the day.
As a German, I expect that most fines you listed are really only for extreme cases, like when you consciously violate this law repentantly, maybe even as part of your business. I would expect that the typical fines for individuals can be up to multiple orders of magnitude lower.
That's why the fines are mostly listed as "up to … €". As far as I know - if and when such cases are brought to court - judges usually construct an extreme model case to gauge the legislators intent for the maximum fine and then scale the fine down for the actual case (factoring in repeated offenses, etc.). Of course that also means there is much leeway for the court.
While it's true that they would be orders of magnitudes lower in most cases, these fines are also only guidelines for the upper end. If it end up infront of a court, the judge can in very extreme cases go far above these fines if the potential harm you caused justify it, or you keep doing it. So if you keep parking on handicaped only parking spots with your car f.e. the sky is the limit for the fine you will get even if the Busgeldkatalog only says 55€.
@@fdsfnicht6533 Ok. I am wondering if this cloud good depend on the source of the fine? Just an idea because some of the fines in the video seemed pretty high, while the fines from the Bußgeldkatalog (i.e. for traffic violations) seem reasonable. So I could imagine that for example that fines from the Bußgeldkatalog are only guidelines, while fines defined in some other materials are actual limits.
@@JojOatXGME You're completely right. The high fines mentioned in the video are written as "bis zu … €" ("up to … €") in the law. These can only be exceeded in some cases (e.g. § 17 (4) OWiG says that the fine may be increased if the economic benefit for the offender from the offense is higher than the fine). The fines in the Bußgeldkatalog for traffic violations are written as Regelsätze (recommended fine for the "usual" case) and § 24 StVG sets the upper limit for most offenses from the Bußgeldkatalog to 2000 € and for drunken driving to 3000 €.
Cutting down trees and bushes in the summer months after mid March is also not allowed in the UK for exactly the same bird related reasons. No idea what the fines are though.
You can cut down trees in the summer but you have to prove that there are no birds nesting or starting to nest. The person who confirms that there are no birds has to be qualified and don't come cheap. If you are willing to pay someone a few hundred pounds to watch a tree for hours so that they can sign off that no birds are nesting then you can do it. Large trees and woods would be prohibitively expensive to inspect, and you would most likely find birds, so are very unlikely to get cut down after March.
In Germany you can cut down trees in the summer as well, if there is a risk associated with them. One of the big trees in our backyard was ill and unstable and was cut down in the middle of summer, because it was a safety hazard.
@@tombrauey In that case two laws contradict each other and human life comes first. Even more: You have to take action if you must see that your property is a hazard for other people and their property ( a tree that got hit by lightning or got damaged in a storm and shows rot in the wood, lose roof tiles, a rotten balcony...) That comes under the horribly long word of "Verkehrssicherheitspflicht", meaning that you as the owner have the duty to see to it your property is safe. "Verkehr" in this context is not road traffic but all relation and interaction between people.
In Switzerland many mountain roads in Winter force you to at least carry snow chains and if the weather mandates it, also install them. Some, like the road leading up to Davos, will actually have police officers who send away any car that doesn't have them installed if the weather is bad. And for good reasons, as a single car getting stuck can lead to the road being blocked for hours.. Iirc the laws concerning winter tires (and snow chains) in Switzerland are pretty similar. No obligation to install them but if you're on the road in bad conditions without them it can get pretty expensive.
This was SUCH a Fun vlog!👏 I have lived here 27yrs and a couple of these I didn't know!😅 The tree/bush law is true but trimming trees and hedges is allowed in Spring- Summer (just not cutting them down/back to an extreme). You just look up the date from which you can start trimming, which changes each year due to weather affecting the nesting season and which is different for each state. If you have/plant trees there is protection on them when their truck reaches a certain diameter..so always check and get permission if you want to cut a tree down. No washing car law is one ground water protection law that helps keep Germany drinking water the quantity of mineral water! In America I would never trust tap water when you read what industry and farming and people are allowed to do which causes major contamination etc. It took me years to get used to "no noise or noisy jobs with machinery on Sunday" eg no lawn cutting, hedge trimmers, DIY (with machines) or even using washing machines in appartmens. I do my hedge trimming by hand and see it as a work out if i do it on Sunday if that's the day I have time and/or it's not raining😂. Didn't know about the food photo law or the sandcastle law 😱.
Instead of summer and winter tires, you can just use "all year" tires. This is obviously only advantageous, if you live in mild region, where not much snow is expected. I have had them for years now and I like, that I don't need to switch that often.
Well winter tires are not just about snow, but also about temperature. The rubber mixture is different, so winter tires are still soft at low temperatures while summer tires are to hard. At the same time driving a winter tire in summer will lead to a lot of wear and probably a bit more fuel consumption. So a all year tire will always behave worse than dedicated tire. And while there are areas with much less snow, I am not aware of any areas where you don't really encounter winterly temperatures. That being said, there is always better/worse and there is good enough ^^.
@@lal12 of course. "all year" tires are a compromise for either season. But if you don't drive professionally and you don't need your car to get to work (because of public transport or bike or home office), this compromise is absolutely good enough.
As an American running out of Gas is a thing for me and our family and we don’t want to run out of gas when we’re anywhere. Also my dad loves to wash his car at car washes and rarely at home idk it’s just him. We don’t usually show the special finger.
Yepp, Germany has it's fair share of both ridiculous and only ridiculous sounding(!) laws. The maximum fines have to be included due the basic judicial system of Germany: the civil code law, in comparison to the English and American case law system. Judges and juries in the USA especially are given virtual law making powers in case no such case has ever been seen before by establishing precedent cases. In Germany the civil code system requires (!) a law to be present before (!) you are able to punish someone for such a crime, felony, or misdemeanor. In addition the span of fines and other punishment has to be codified into the law. That results in some very weird and ridiculous laws when read out loud for the first time. The conservation laws may sound incredibly ridiculous with its hefty fines, but those are rarely if ever enforced to the full extent. Only in cases of very rare plants under strict endangered listing would such a high fine be invoked. It usually boils down to the seriousness of the infraction as well as the malicious intent of the perpetrator. That applies to virtually all laws in Germany. If you are obviously not of malicious intent, your infraction was minor, you might get a more or less slap on the wrist, a stern warning not to do it again, and use both your brain and potentially google before ripping out a Blauer Enzian from your alpine rock surface mountain bordering on your backyard. However burning down the protected orchard of ancient trees on your own grounds for laughs and giggles WILL get you fined harshly. The same type of reasoning applies to nearly all laws. Honest mistakes = slap on the wrist; malicious intent or real dumb stupidity preventable by using your brain and endangering or harming others = pretty harsh penalties. Sure, in a bureaucratic convoluted mess like Germany's there may be some exceptions to that general rule of thumb, on both sides of the fence, so to speak.
For everyone coming to Austria for holiday, please remember, we have 4mm minimum profile depth for winter tyres (germany has 1,6mm) and for summer tyres it's 1,6mm (in germany 0,8mm).
The typical German mix of makes perfect sense - and guaranteed to make us all get frustrated. I love that you titled the flipping the bird one „free speech“, because that’s how I have always seen it. That poor guy. I instantly thought „ ja, but the Deich!“ when I saw „no sandcastles“! I notice, I‘m quite German these days…! Ashton, I haven’t been around much since October- lovely to see you both looking well in this fun video! Hugs and have a great Sunday 🤗
Well, it all goes back to article 1 of the german constitution: "Die würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. ..." (Human dignity is inviolable.) An insult goes against your human dignity and even free speech doesn't trump that.
Hi Lauren. To be honest, even if this constitutes to "freedom of speech" in the US, I for sure wouldn't flip the bird against an US cop or other official. Depending on the situation or just their mood, they might find other reasons to punish you and to let you regret your decision.
@@Opa_Andre no, I wouldn’t do that to a policeman, either. But I thought he made the gesture not to be seen, just in the direction of the speed control? And if you’re not speeding, no photo- that’s what I thought, I might have got it wrong!
@@andreasvogler1875 Yes, one might joke that Americans have the right of free speech with almost no limits but then the insulted person may draw a gun and pump you full of lead and go free.
The second weird law from the Netherlands is: If you ever get married make sure you get to know the mother in law because you will never get rid of her! Even after you divorced your wife and you both wanted passionately to end the relationship your mother in law will remain your mother in law by law.
That's actually pretty much the case in Germany as well. Even after divorce you have a "Zeugnisverweigerungsrecht", the right to refuse to testify against your then former in-laws.
Thank you for this entertaining insight. I've lived in Germany for around ten years as well and the sand castle prohibition is the only one that caught me off-guard! Since your chapters mention freedom of speech, would you be interested in making a video about corresponding laws in the US compared to Germany's constitution? I find that my right to express myself is safer here in Germany than in the States but that is largely anecdotal. I suspect it's much easier to outright ban works of art or books in the US than it is in Germany. For example, the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders rates Germany much higher than America. If you have any insight as to why and how, I'd love to hear it from you. Thank you so much!
@@TypeAshton I understand that in some places where they have brought in book banning laws to protect the children are now being forced to ban the bible. Not what they intended but they have to treat all books in accordance with their new laws.
About the topic with the Winter Tires. In the black forest, probably you need them. If you live in an urban area in the middle of germany, you could just keep the summer tires and that one day in year where you have snow, you just don't use the car. That's the idea of the law. Especially if you have two cars in the family, you could think of just not to use it on the few snow days.
Thats not fully correct. The idea of the law is to have full function tires. since the gum is effected by temperature, summer tires loosing grip below 7 degree celcius. And bout snow, yes we have not many days with snow in the north BUT we have lot more frosty ones with ice on the roads. Good luck with summer tires when u driving over a spot of ice
@@issel3276 I don't want to. I know that wiinter tires are better in winter but you won't get fined if you use summer tires at 6 degrees. And if you can afford to leave the car in the car park some days, I can understand you don't buy full blown winter tires. When we had 2 cars, we had one of them with all season tires. That's okay for most of the time.
@@andreaseufinger4422 No idea when u checked the last time the law but it changed. You can be fined ! since 2010. Also, all season( MS ) tires are only valid until 09/2024 IF produced by 31/12/2017. All after that must be winter tires. 60 € and 1 Point in Flensburg otherwise, for only driving at Black ice, slippery snow, slush, ice or hoar frost. What we always have some days in the winter, even in the north
2) You actually can trim your hedge in summertime - but only trim it, not cut it down. If some twigs impede users of an adjacent sidewalk you are even obliged to trim them. But you trim only the tips, you do not change the hair-do or form of your hedge. The height of the fine depends on the damage. A 50,000 Euro fine would be imposed only if you cut down e.g. a landmark tree or a centuries old, healthy tree without special permit or a big, healthy tree within a preserve area or protected landscape or holding the nest of a protected species. 3) Any stopped car at the Autobahn is considered to be a traffic hazard, including standing on the shoulder. You're only allowed to stop in case of an emergency, and running out of fuel is no emergency. 4) You are allowed to use all-season tires if you don't use your car to go skiing or to traverse the Alps in wintertime or generally do not drive in snowy conditions. Due to climate change that allows not only people around Frankfurt to do without winter tires, but also people in more and more other regions. 9) Freedom of speech does not include insulting someone, because freedom of speech is not the highest ranking fundamental right. In Germany human dignity is the first of all fundamental rights, and all your freedom rights end where they start to impend the fundamental right of others. Insulting somebody is however not in any case a criminal act in the narrower sense, only if you violate their rights of personality by false and defamatory statements in public (e.g. in TV, in public assemblies or in social media) or if you insult civil servants in the exercise of their duties. The extension to insults in traffic helps to prevent road rage. 10) Generally mowing time starts each weekend around 4pm (to 6pm or 7pm) at Friday and again at Saturday around 10 am until around 6pm. And still most people mow their lawns far too often.
I remember a couple years back it had been raining all week and the Bio-Bin was due to be picked up Monday. I said screw it and mowed with our Electric Mower on Sunday. Not even 10 Minutes after I was done, I heard another Mower going then another one. Sometimes you just need to be the first to do it ;-)
Doing lounder work on a Sunday may be OK, if you clear it with all neighbours beforehand. Like, your moving into the flat and ask, if it would be OK for you and your helpers to put up furniture, pictures etc. Just abide by any requests they make, like not doing it between a certain time because the baby is sleeping. Some may even offer their help! Same with mowing etc. Even parties during quiet hours may be OK, if you talk to everyone first. Most people won't mind too much, because they can relate. Again, just abide by their requests. And if you're a trully nice person, just bring over leftover cake etc. and they'll be over the moon. (in a good neighbourhood, where people like each other, that is.) Just return the favour, if they come asking. - Oh, and if anyone comes over to ask, if you could be a little quieter, because, while they know you celebrate your huge birthday, it would be great if it could just be a notch quieter - just do it. And just turn it down a little more, because they might want to be polite and would enjoy a little more quiet. But really, with talking to each other, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
A really funny video, I didn't know some examples of laws either. It was really nice to hear the German terms said as well. Thank you and have a nice week.
In Denmark we can legally beat a Swede with a stick. But only if they happen to be crossing from Sweden to Denmark over the ice in case Øresund freeze over.
The English up until frighteningly recently used to have the right to shoot me (Welsh 🏴) in a border town! Maybe this is a remnant of Danelaw…?! 😂
@@LaureninGermany Not sure about that, as far as I know only the middle eastern parts of the island was under Danelaw don't think it ever made it all the way to Wales and the southern parts paid Danegeld to keep the norsemen out of their areas. I could be wrong tho.
@ 22:08. In German we call Wednesday “Mittwoch” meaning the mid week so like most everywhere else, Sunday is the 1st day of the week. And I am in America now, we do our gardens in a weekday usually just before rubbish day / garden waste. I don’t want that noise running through my garden on the weekends. Or we’re just not home.
Nice view again. And you even missed "Sonntagsruhe", "Mittagsruhe", "Tanzverbot" (coming up in a few days!). Really love your insights that often teach even me news - and I'm an "indigene". Have a nice time - looking out for the next video already!
The winter tire law has a reason. Decades ago more and more drivers get stuck on the roads in winter only because they tried to drive with summer tires on snow. And they cause many unnecessary traffic jams.
Perhaps the idea is to prevent people from building anything along a beach which prevents others from enjoying the edge of the water & freedom to wander. That has become a big issue that restricts average taxpaying citizens from access as the very wealthy want to own everything natural and beautiful especially in non-abundant locations & resources.
Winter tires in the province of Québec are mandatory from December 1 to March 15 but most Quebeckers have them put on in November and off in April, just to be safe. And scraping the windshield? Haha that's an almost daily occurence here!
For the windows you could just cover them the day before with a blanket. you even have them made for windshields. they cost almost nothing but work like a charm. they only scraping i have to do is for the head and tail lights. (that is more for the other users of the road)
Winter tires or alternatively so called M+S tires also refered to as allweather tires that one can use year-round especially in an area that isn't as mountainous and prone to snow & ice...
One very important detail they dont mention is, that german laws define the maximum fines, which of course are not the common the normal or average fines. Of course nobody gets fined €100.000 for cutting a single bush or tree. But on the other hand a fine a few hundred Euro would not prevent a landowner to cut down half a forrest e.g. if he wants to build a house.
About the winter tires: Back then I had an accident, someone crashed into my car just because he couldn't stop fast enough. And that because he was late and had summer tires mounted whereas I already had my winter. He could have saved the costs following this. So TLDR: mounting winter tires can save a lot of money or maybe life. And after too many people did not think about it and too many accidents happened the government changed the law.
We were visiting with our friends in Germany last year and he told us that it is "technically illegal" to kill a wasp in Germany. He said you could get between a 5,000-50,000 Euro fine. I looked it up and it is true
My state was mentioned with the snow tire/chain law but I've never seen anyone other than out-of-towners who've had snow tires despite the fact that we have officially declared winter emergencies every year. We no longer have vehicle inspections so there are plenty of people driving around on bald tires in those winter emergencies. This is probably why everything basically shuts down entirely- schools, businesses and mail service included, when we have the slightest amount of snow.
It is understandable, that someone wants to mow the lawn on his one day off. But if you are working in a loud factory, it is great that your only quiet day is protected. Having to mow your lawn at an other time is an inconveniance. Having no time to rest is an health issue
I absolutely cannot understand what is so incomprehensible about these legal regulations. The deceased belong in a cemetery and not in the living room. Bird protection is important, so no tree or shrub may be cut down during the breeding season. On a highway where you can drive at 350 kilometers per hour, you should not stop because you are out of gas...not even on the shoulder. And so on and so forth. These laws make perfect sense, they protect me, my health, my neighbors or nature. And if you even look into why there are such laws in Germany at all, it should actually make sense to everyone. After a very long series of really good videos from you, this video is really nonsense.
Funny, I remember thinking it odd that German home owners often fenced their plots completely, including the front yard. In contrast, American fronts yards are rarely fenced. If the back yards are fenced, it is usually because they have pets they wish to restrain. I reluctantly fenced my own back yard because both my neighbors had fenced theirs. This made my backyard a convenient shortcut for all the kids going to school. Sorry, but i didn't appreciate a constant stream of kids walking within feet of me as I relaxed on my back patio! Here in Oregon, a property owner cannot forbid a person from traversing his property along a stream or other body of water.
Loving this channel and the info you share with us. Would love to know how learning German was for you guys and any fun/embarassing mistakes made along the way, should you wish to share those stories 😂 You guys take care!
I wonder how many cases were settled out of court by the Restaurant asking the instagrammer to add the details for the restaurant, so the customers added by that compensate for customers lots by recipe getting out (not always, but sometimes, a recipe can be pretty obvious from the look of the food).
Foodporn is not illegal in most cases. While you said it all right, just to clearify: Food can be subject to copyright, when the food reaches a certain threshold of creativity. Meaning, that the food must be more a piece of art, than something to eat. The food must not only look tasty, it must express the personality of the chef. Even in most expensive restaurants that threshold will not be reached.
1. Same rule in Sweden. The ashes of the loved one has to be dealt with in 3 months. And if ashes are to be spread on the sea, it has to be done at least 3 km (2 miles) from the shore. There's a story about one prominent person in Stockholm "underworld" ( a poet, singer, musician and also a drinker) who died, got cremated. His friends took the ashes and to mourn and memorite their friend they went from bar to bar in Stockholm spilling the ashes here and there at places wellknown to their friend. Winter tyres are mandatory 1 Dec - 31 March IF the conditions requires tyres for winter driving. Spiked tyres only permitted 1 October - 15 April. I would appreciate a general ban of leaf blowers.
In many swiss locations it is also forbidden cut your lawn on sunday. Even if you use a manual (nearly silent) lawn cutter, or even if you do it while the church bells make so much noise that it would be impossible to hear an electrical lawn mower. Sadly some regulations have no logic.
The Sunday mowing the lawn thing is kinda depending on your neighborhood. Lots of people do and mostly nobody complains. You can still do things just not making excessive noise. If neighbor is sitting outside enjoying lunch or whatever it would be nice to not do the lawn at that time. Generally most people don't give a damn at least where I lived
I remember my gamma would smile when she got a ticket for watering her lawn in the city I live in. You could not use city water to water your lawn because of water restrictions. The only exception was if you did not use city water. She uses sprinklers tied to her house water supply. Which because the house was over 100 years old had no connection to city water. It was on a well that they owned. She would use this as an excuse to go and file a complaint at the city. She was a nice old lady who would either get a ride from the neighbors, who happened to be the fire department or if they were on a call would get a rid from the police who were the other neighbors and who would argue on her behalf with the city to the point that there was a notice put up in the city managers office with her address and a picture of her house with 100 point font and they were not to make any fines about water. They were getting complaints form the mayors office, Chief of police, Head of health department, etc. It was kind of comical. She thought it was a riot and she was bothered by the fact that her friends took away all her fun.
my GF and i had to burry 2 kittens that didnt make it. we burried them next to our beloved parrot that died a few years ago. now, we live in a place with a regular garden etc. her parents live on a farm,and their last dog got a proper burrialbetween their barns. her dad spent hours digging a proper resting place for our boy, and we all cried our ass off. when my GFs horse got sick and had to be put down, yea.. obv no space in our garden or between their sheds... but i, dying of allergies, spent the day with that mare and my GF. and when the mare collapsed from the drugs, i cried
Here is the actual regulation: _"Det är krav på att fordon har vinterdäck eller likvärdig utrustning 1 december - 31 mars om vinterväglag råder. Under denna period är minsta tillåtna mönsterdjup för vinterdäck 3 mm."_ _"Dubbade däck är tillåtna 1 oktober - 15 april. De är även tillåtna under annan tid om vinterväglag råder eller förväntas."_ So, technically the _obligation_ from December 1st to March 31st only holds in winter road conditions, but as these are expected to recur, in practise everyone has to have that, and least deepness of the pattern is 3 millimeters. The _permission_ to use this extends from October 1st to April 15 - they are also allowed at other times if winter road conditions are there or expected. I was one Midsummer (St. John's, 24 June) in Kiruna, and you had snow there, and parts of the train journey revealed snow too. I expect those tires were used up to beginning of June up there. It's above the polar circle. Norway reaches even further North than Sweden, but both extend North of the polar circle.
I think this is _one_ reason (along with good busses and local trains where I was) to never get a driving licence, while I lived in Sweden. Nor since, but then the main reason is, it's difficult to take one when you're homeless.
In Germany freedom of speech is guaranteed in Article 5 of the constitution. More important is Article 1: "Human dignity shall be inviolable." So your freedom has boundaries which I think is logical in a society. Personally I'd love to live in a society where everybody was considerate of others - in contrast to just doing what you want and demanding others to tolerate it.
Good morning. Again a great video. About the Friedhofszwang. This only applies if the mortal remains of your relative are to remain in Germany. Here they must be handed over to a licensed funeral home to be buried or cremated. If you decide to transfer the body abroad, for example to the Netherlands, then they can be returned to you there after the cremation. Then you can take the urn back to Germany and put it on the fireplace mantel or somewhere else in the house. Not even the most meticulous Ordnungsamt will search your house for the unburied remains of your relatives. If you are not dealing with a very hard-working official in your city, there should be no more inquiries. If so, you have a document from the Netherlands about the cremation.
Living in North-Germany, my wife generally doesn't change to winter tires. We seldomly have the relevant weather conditions. While my dad lives in Bavaria and has his birthday in the winter, my car usually has winter tires before we travel south for his birthday. So, if my wife needs a car with winter tires, she can take my car. I am already retired and can often refrain from driving in winter conditions in a area where drivers are not used to drive on snow.
2:00 I‘m glad you also showed the reason, why it is not allowed to keep an urn at your house. 😉 I also saw an American documentary about this. If I remember correctly it was called „Two and a Half Men“. 😄
I would be curious to know how the law works with some of the more modern technologies for turning loved ones ashes into other items - like the. company that will turn your ashes into a diamond, for example. I wonder if there is a way in which you could still take the ashes home with you, as long as you planned on doing *something* with them, in order to get around the hygienic concerns.
Switzerland does not know such restrictions for the urn. So some Germans now export it to a Swiss Funeral home, so it's no longer in the German records. The Swiss company then sends it back (or they pick it up) and they do with it as they want. Apparently the German customs does not consider such imports as its area of competence and just does not care.
Switzerland goes a bit further with its laws :-) - 1. The beer pong ban Not a place for those who drink: In the canton of Neuchâtel, it has been illegal to play beer pong in bars and restaurants since 2015. All drinking games are a no-go here to protect the players from their "excessive fighting spirit" and the associated alcohol consumption. 2. The nocturnal flushing ban When a good night's sleep is more important than going to the toilet: if you live in an apartment in Switzerland, you are no longer allowed to flush the toilet after 10 p.m. - after all, this could disturb the sleep of the neighbors. 3. The Higheels ban Speaking of a good night's sleep: wearing heels after 10 p.m. is also prohibited by law in some Swiss municipalities. 4. The law against the loneliness of guinea pigs Attention pet owners: for several years, there have been regulations in Switzerland that certain pets may no longer be kept alone. In particular, sociable small animals such as guinea pigs, goldfish, and budgerigars - but also llamas and alpacas - must live with at least one conspecific. Violators face a hefty fine of several hundred Swiss francs. 5. The law against eating dogs and cats together Only allowed for personal use: If you want to eat a dog or a cat in Switzerland, you can do so - but only within your own household. As soon as another person is invited to eat, this is a serious violation of the law. 6. The angler selfie ban No trophy: anglers who take a selfie with a caught fish risk a hefty fine in Switzerland. The same applies, by the way, if these anglers in the canton of Zurich throw fish that have been caught over a certain length back into the water. 7. The Sunday laundry ban "It just doesn't look good": Swiss people are not allowed to hang out their laundry outside on Sundays and public holidays. According to the homeowners' association, a full washing line at the weekend simply spoils the look, which is why the so-called standard washing regulations were issued. 8. The ban on hiking naked Nudist tourism not desired: nude hiking has been expressly forbidden in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden since 2009. The decree against "indecent behavior" has apparently had an effect: According to the police, not a single nude hiker has been sighted in the wild in the region for ten years. 9. The law against regulated re-parking If the parking space gets expensive: If you want to move your car in Switzerland, you must have driven in the flow of traffic for at least a brief time in between - violating the decree could otherwise result in a fine of 40 Swiss francs.
Hi from Switzerland as well. Re: 2. I live in Switzerland since over 60 year and moved houses several times. Never saw such a rule and always flush. I would be interested in some references so convince me this is not just an internet myth 😉 re: 8: Would be interested what Americans think about it. Maybe the culture shock form them is rather the fact that there was a reason to introduce a law against hiking naked🤣
What is nice to know, is that in Hessia, there still is the death penalty. But on federal level the death penaty is banned and "federal law trumps states law" ("Bundesrecht schlägt Länderrecht"), the death penalty is there banned, too. I think, that is also the reason, the Hessian government doesn't put in work in to change it.
It must be remembered that some of these laws are EU wide and others don't apply outside Germany. Almost every country has local variations and obsolete laws. A couple of examples. In the UK there is a law passed in 1388 requiring every able bodied man to practice archery for 2 hours after church on a Sunday. AFAIK this has never been repealed. Hence in the town where I grew up there was an Archery Road and a street known as The Butts (an archery practice range). When it comes to trees, tree surgeons are loath to work on trees in the spring when the birds are nesting as many species are protected by law. Of course there are exceptions such as dangerous and trees felled in storms. In addition, it is not illegal to fell a tree UNLESS it is the subject of a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). TPO trees are fairly common and are usually particularly fine or old specimens of their type. I've got two mature copper beeches on the boundary with a neighbour and we have to get special permission every time we need to prune them. Many countries in Europe have protected food names (PDO), not just France. Stilton Cheese can only be called "Stilton" if it is made in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire using pasteurised milk and only 6 dairies are licenced to do so. Stichelton is an English blue cheese virtually identical to Blue Stilton, but because it does not use pasteurised milk or factory-produced rennet it cannot legally be called Stilton, due its PDO status. This is doubly so because, although Stichelton (the old Doomsday book name for the village of Stilton) dairy is actually in the village of Stilton, Stilton is NOT in the 3 PDO counties due to boundary changes.
In Finland there is a similar law. You must bury or otherwise permanently lay the ashes to a single place. That can be for example at sea. The courts ruled that the old law did not apply to ashes so the church lobbied a new law as they rent places to store them.
17:50 - I am pretty sure we were breaking some rules (in Austria, though) when we ran a small lab in IAEA building, in a room that was technically a part of elevator shaft (all towers have the same floor plan, but lower ones don't use all elevator shafts, so they have essentially large broom closets there.)
A bit of information about the fine regarding the insult (flipping the bird). The punishment is calculated in "daily rates", meaning it is based on your daily income. 30 daily rates are the same as one month's worth of income. If someone got 5.000 € for flipping the bird, that probably means he had quite the very substantial income, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he went to a higher court to challenge that ruling, as he didn't aim the finger at a person, but a camera or maybe the system itself. In general, the lower courts are more willing to wave these kind of insult complaints from the police through.
It must be added that most of these laws require an impacting consequence following the "illegal" act. When you trim your hedges and cause the death or the destruction of a nest of an endangered bird (listed as endangered), you will not necessarily be fined since your trimming also must be proven "aggressive" or carelessly conducted. The wording of the law clearly requires a proven carelessness. Running out fuel on the autobahn, just causing a standstill of yourself isn't the problem but if your negligence is causing a follow-up accident, you will additionally to be responsible for the caused damage, be fined/punished based on this law. Those laws are put up in order to identify and punish damage causing behaviour. Not to punish some maybe negligent behaviour ultimately not having caused damage.
I like your videos. One small point: the plural of 'Euro' (the currency unit) is 'Euro'. Without a final 's'. I think this is because different (European) languages would form the plural differently, so, for uniformity across the continent, the plural is just 'Euro'. You're welcome.
I am always amazed at how "freedom of speech" is interpreted. It is not about the supposed freedom to insult other people. Freedom of speech protects you if you disagree with the ruling body. Unfortunately, there are still countries where you can't speak out freely against the ruler of the country without dire consequences. Right now, we can observe this in Russia, China and many other totalitarian countries. Freedom of speech is one of the basics of a functioning democracy. Politicians in Germany are even expected by law to take a lot more insults than the average person before they can successfully sue someone. While in Thailand, you even have to be careful not to step on a dropped coin or banknote because all currency bears the monarch's likeness. It would land you in prison. As would criticizing him. Aside from that, thanks for the fun trip into the curiosities of German law!
Hi Ashton, just remember from O to O, from Oktober to Ostern to change your tires in order to avoid issues with your car insurance. Jonathan, whats wrong with you ? No fines yet in a decade ? Statistically once you will be catched in future, the fine will be higher in order to meet the statistic average. Hope this doesnt fear you to much.
I realy like your videos, maybe do one video about landfills. Landfills have been quite spread all around Europe but you will not find it as the "normal way" for getting rid of waste. with friendly regards Chris
@@margreetanceaux3906 No special laws about insulting police officers, except in that case, their boss can also sue, not just the officers themselves. But otherwise, the rules are the same for everybody.
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You can mow your Lawn on Sunday ;) but you are not allowed to use Gas or Elektric driven lawnmowers ;) therefore you can use a "Spindelmäher (Cylinder Mower)" or a "Scythe" which is driven by Musclepower :D
The anti-sandcastle laws actually have also another very serious reason for the Islands with those laws are mostly out of sand wich got eroded extremely fast in the last years. Many lose big amounts of their area to the sea. Building sandcastles causes this to happen Faster. You shift sand and are giving water and wind more attack area to erode the beaches. One or two sandcastles are no big deal but if hundreds of people do it almost all year around it adds up.
One little anektdote: There a some numberplates that are in some cases forbidden in Germany (de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kfz-Kennzeichen_%28Deutschland%29#Unerw.C3.BCnschte_Erkennungsnummern) while some are always forbidden, you can get others occaionally. For example LM-AA (Meaning: Lick my A..) used to be fobidden but you can get it nowadays. But although you can get it you are not allowed to point at a person and afterwards on your numberplate.
Running out of fuel on the highway where people drive 200km/h is extremely dangerous. I would be shocked if there was not such a law.
Even funnier is a law that U arent allowed to Drive too slow .. i think Ur. Car must at least can Drive 80kmh or U arent allowed to use Autobahn
Nope. According to the German street traffic law (StVO) your vehicle must be able to run at least 60 kmh, not 80 kmh to be allowed on the Autobahn. This had been implemented to ban slow moving vehicles like tractors (or bikers etc) to enter the Autobahn. Tractors which are able to move with more than 59 kmh are allowed on the Autobahn. 😊
I often go to Germany. Gew cars drive these high speeds. And the areas with speed limits on the autobahn have multiplied a lot over the last 20 yrs.
Technically, nobody prevents you from mowing your lawn on a Sunday in Germany - as long as you're doing it quietly by using a hand mower or a really silent electrical one. As long as the noise is not disturbing anybody, it's just fine. It's not about what you're doing but the noise you're creating.
Well not quite true, there are regulations which prevent you from just doing work visible even quietly can disturb the "Sunday quietness" and would be forbidden if your neighbors take offense. Though e.g. light (quiet) garden work is fine.
@@lal12 You are right. A grumpy neighbor can even report you if you hang out freshly washed laundry to dry in the garden on Sunday because it's work. Just silly.
@@bragiboddason4304 Yes, *those* laws are actually religiously motivated - which presumably means that they will get less over time as more Germans become non-religious.
@@KaiHenningsen Fortunately, the police (and the „Ordnungsamt“) have known such grumpy neighbors as complainers for a long time and treat such reports subordinate. Not to mention the annoyance with which judges react to such notorious complainers who clog the judiciary with their lawsuits. German courts really have better things to do than judge wet laundry (except maybe the courts in Catholic Bavaria ;)).
@@lal12 When we lived in Denmark in the eighties some neighbors complained at the yearly meeting that (some) we did not put our freshly washed underwear to dry discretely. They were laughed at and stopped complaining.
Sand castles: They don't mean the little castles built by kids, but huge craters dug by people as a protection against wind.
Exactly. A German Sandburg is more excavation than construction!
@@andreaheinrich2576 And you need to be careful walking on some beaches. I once did modelplane flying and went a step to the back while looking up and literally falling into one of these holes.
Each year, thousands of € are spent to put sand to the beach. And these excavation activities endanger the beach. The beach is the "frontline" against landloss caused by the sea
It's not really about the dangers to tourists directly. It's the indirect effect. Digging trenches that connect to the sea, especially on the North Sea coast, allows the water to erode the sand much, much quicker. Fehmarn, Amrum, Sylt, and the Halligen are under constant barrage by ocean currents. They loose land to the sea each year that often has to be shored back up artificially, and as you may have guessed, with huuuuge costs.
Especially Sylt with its large crowds of tourists is dependent on not growing smaller. It seems that during each winter storm Sylt looses a not insignificant amount of land to the sea. However, the Wattenmeer, the large mudflats along the coast of the North Sea, are a protected world heritage site so there's a limit to how far out protective structures can be built. In essence, this reduces any wave-breakers right to the islands themselves and can't be placed a few hundred meters to a few kilometers ahead of the shore.
Btw: a few kilometers in case of Amrum and Föhr would be on the other island, respectively.
The more minor aspect is the stereotypical German 'saving a good spot at the beach' prevention. 😃🤣
The Germans are known for digging big holes at the beaches in the Netherlands... maybe the Dutch government should copy this law especially for the Germans and include digging restrictions😁
In Scotland: If a stranger knock on your door and ask to use the toilet, you MUST offer up that 'service without any charge' with no regards to if the toilet is inside the home or outside in the yard, and you must let him or her wash their hands after in water 'supplied by the home owner or resident' but you do NOT need to supply any (toilet) tissue to that person. This is a law from 1849 and was created because people had a habit of stopping their horse drawn carriage and just sit down, leaning towards someones house and 'do their business!'. The law is still on the books, but no one has been taken to court for it since 1899 when a vagrant was turned away from Carberry Tower Mansion in Scotland, and then did his 'business' in the fountain as a revenge. The Laird (Lord) at the mansion took the vagrant to court but was himself fined for not offer 'convenience' to the vagrant in the first place. I LOVE SCOTLAND!
All these "up to" fines are for extreme cases. It most countries in Europe it's also illegal to remove your own large tree on your own land without permission. They want to protect old oak trees and such.
not only the protection of said trees. but more big trees form a risk when they are taken down. So you both need a permission and someone who is allowed to actually do the work.
We have them here in the Netherlands as well It is much more about the second part. Not saying the first one does not apply
Freedom of speech: Does it make sense that you are free to say or gesture whatever you want - but you have to beep or blurr it on media? Many videos on youtube sound like morsecode because of that.
Therefore I prefer the german regulation, where you have to observe the rules of good behavior by law.
A lot of the times it has more to do with advertising requirements. In the case of this video - we beeped and "quacked" so that it passed TH-cam's rules for the display of ads.
@@TypeAshton Well: Isnt the outcome pretty much the same?
@@dearseall Yes and no. Freedom of speech is with in a public setting. However TH-cam is not owned by the public it is owned by a private company.
They and any private company/person can make rules for there property and how you can use it.
@@sirBrouwer So that means: Private regulations overrule the constitution?
@@raudi42 it's more how that constitution has it worded. As in the letter of the law. In most cases it's about how a government has to act to it's people. A company is not a government. If you don't agree you can try and take a company to court over it. But until that point. It's up to said company how you can use there facilities.
I found out the hard way LOL. While stationed in Lahr Swartzwald I decided to wash my car in the driveway on a Sunday. Back then the act of washing the car was not an issue, but working outside on a Sunday was verbotten. I quickly learned that the Burgermiester's (Mayor's) secretary lived across the street and came over and gave me a stern lecture in true German form. I quickly came to appreciate nice quiet Sunday's without noise and to avoid the scorn of my neighbors. 😀
we germans do like to point out the error in your ways in person :) Here to help.....
I would guess that the law about insults is due to the "first amendment" in the German General/basic Law: "Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar." (The dignity of the human is untachable) Therefore freedom of speach ends where the dinity of another human begins.
In driving it is also to prevent road rage and aggressive driving which could be dangerous.
Personally, I really like this. I think it seems extremely reasonable and kind.
That is not completely right. Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Basic Law permits restrictions among other things through a legal reservation. In this case the limiting law is the Criminal Code and here specifically the offense of insulting. Today, this offense is a result of the general right of personality which also includes the personal honor. The general right of personality results from Article 1 Paragraph 1 and Article 2 Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law.
I was about to say something similar. In general, German basic law has its focus on human dignity, not on individual freedom (of expression).
And along this line, @TheBlackForestFamily, are you sure that "hate speech" is not actually covered by the first amendment of the US constitution and therefore protected as free speech? As far as I know, "hate speech" is not an actual legal term in the first place, and can only be deemed illegal in particular circumstances, on a case by case basis.
"Therefore freedom of speach ends where the dinity of another human begins." I love this phrase, and more so when we apply it to any personal liberty. Unfortunately, speaking as an American, too many people in the USA do not realize or care when their own manifestations of personal liberty encroach on the liberty and dignity of others. "It's my right!" is as far as their brains go. :_( And trumpism has made it worse.
Actually, the roots of the legislation on insults go back to the nineteenth century and developing ideas on honor and defamation and a big wave of libel lawsuits, so they very much predate the Basic Law. If you are interested in more detail on the subject in English, check out the book Honor, Politics and the Law in Imperial Germany, 1871-1914 by Ann Goldberg (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
People often do not realize that it is really, REALLY dangerous to stop on the Autobahn. People die every year on the "Standstreifen" (breakdown lane) because drivers are tired or do not pay attention and drift into that lane. Cars even slam into emergency vehicles with all sorts of flashing lights when they are stopped there. Therefore, it makes sense that stopping on the Autobahn is generally forbidden except in an emergency, and as you said, running out of gas does not count. Whenever people have to stop in case of an emergency, it is best to get out on the right side of the car if possible and get behind the guard rail, then call for assistance.
Actually, it's just as dangerous on US highways and interstates, and people crash into emergency vehicles there, as well.
About "sand castles": It is about the protection of the beaches and the sand. This is because coastal protection is intended to prevent wind and water from carrying away the sand and thus reducing the size of the island. In the past, vacationers used to dig deep holes around their beach chairs to protect them from the strong coastal winds. But with stronger winds and more water, more of the coast ended up being washed away, and the sandcastle ban is now intended to prevent that.
Stop defending these dumb laws.
They still do, they just now come to the netherlands. Germans here have quite a reputation for digging at beaches.
@@proman9849 they learned from their grandfathers how to.
By sand castle, "Sandburg", Germans would not typically mean those sculptures shown in the video but circular walls of sand by which some people stake their territory on the beach.
I didn't even know most of them! I hope next week you're making one about the equivalence in the US, there must be some weird ones too. For example child marriage still being legal in most states and 20 states don't even have a minimum age...I would be so great to get your insight on that because I don't understand it
Us Americans don't understand it either.
True, many of those laws might seem strange, but protecting the environment, making sure cars are safe on the street and not having all the noise every time, is actually a good thing. Whilst growing up in Germany, I kind of never thought about these laws as they kind of make sense. However, living 20+ years in the US, I would want those laws here. It often happens that you want to stay in bed a bit longer on Sunday and you hear machine noise all over for the whole day to trim things.....in Las Vegas were nothing grows;-)
Sometimes I have the feeling that the neighbors time it in a way that there is a constant noise level throughout the day.
Love the film clips you choose!😂
hahaha thanks! This was a fun video to edit. 😂😂😂
@@TypeAshton I'm a bit disappointed you cut short the laugh from "the money pit"....
Winter tires - colloquially it's called: O to O - October to Easter(Ostern)
As a German, I expect that most fines you listed are really only for extreme cases, like when you consciously violate this law repentantly, maybe even as part of your business. I would expect that the typical fines for individuals can be up to multiple orders of magnitude lower.
That's why the fines are mostly listed as "up to … €". As far as I know - if and when such cases are brought to court - judges usually construct an extreme model case to gauge the legislators intent for the maximum fine and then scale the fine down for the actual case (factoring in repeated offenses, etc.). Of course that also means there is much leeway for the court.
While it's true that they would be orders of magnitudes lower in most cases, these fines are also only guidelines for the upper end. If it end up infront of a court, the judge can in very extreme cases go far above these fines if the potential harm you caused justify it, or you keep doing it. So if you keep parking on handicaped only parking spots with your car f.e. the sky is the limit for the fine you will get even if the Busgeldkatalog only says 55€.
@@fdsfnicht6533 Ok. I am wondering if this cloud good depend on the source of the fine? Just an idea because some of the fines in the video seemed pretty high, while the fines from the Bußgeldkatalog (i.e. for traffic violations) seem reasonable. So I could imagine that for example that fines from the Bußgeldkatalog are only guidelines, while fines defined in some other materials are actual limits.
@@JojOatXGME You're completely right. The high fines mentioned in the video are written as "bis zu … €" ("up to … €") in the law. These can only be exceeded in some cases (e.g. § 17 (4) OWiG says that the fine may be increased if the economic benefit for the offender from the offense is higher than the fine).
The fines in the Bußgeldkatalog for traffic violations are written as Regelsätze (recommended fine for the "usual" case) and § 24 StVG sets the upper limit for most offenses from the Bußgeldkatalog to 2000 € and for drunken driving to 3000 €.
Ok... 50k€ for mowing the lawn sounded a little much even for Germany
Cutting down trees and bushes in the summer months after mid March is also not allowed in the UK for exactly the same bird related reasons. No idea what the fines are though.
You can cut down trees in the summer but you have to prove that there are no birds nesting or starting to nest. The person who confirms that there are no birds has to be qualified and don't come cheap. If you are willing to pay someone a few hundred pounds to watch a tree for hours so that they can sign off that no birds are nesting then you can do it. Large trees and woods would be prohibitively expensive to inspect, and you would most likely find birds, so are very unlikely to get cut down after March.
In Germany you can cut down trees in the summer as well, if there is a risk associated with them. One of the big trees in our backyard was ill and unstable and was cut down in the middle of summer, because it was a safety hazard.
@@tombrauey In that case two laws contradict each other and human life comes first. Even more: You have to take action if you must see that your property is a hazard for other people and their property ( a tree that got hit by lightning or got damaged in a storm and shows rot in the wood, lose roof tiles, a rotten balcony...) That comes under the horribly long word of "Verkehrssicherheitspflicht", meaning that you as the owner have the duty to see to it your property is safe. "Verkehr" in this context is not road traffic but all relation and interaction between people.
In Switzerland many mountain roads in Winter force you to at least carry snow chains and if the weather mandates it, also install them. Some, like the road leading up to Davos, will actually have police officers who send away any car that doesn't have them installed if the weather is bad. And for good reasons, as a single car getting stuck can lead to the road being blocked for hours..
Iirc the laws concerning winter tires (and snow chains) in Switzerland are pretty similar. No obligation to install them but if you're on the road in bad conditions without them it can get pretty expensive.
This was SUCH a Fun vlog!👏 I have lived here 27yrs and a couple of these I didn't know!😅
The tree/bush law is true but trimming trees and hedges is allowed in Spring- Summer (just not cutting them down/back to an extreme). You just look up the date from which you can start trimming, which changes each year due to weather affecting the nesting season and which is different for each state. If you have/plant trees there is protection on them when their truck reaches a certain diameter..so always check and get permission if you want to cut a tree down.
No washing car law is one ground water protection law that helps keep Germany drinking water the quantity of mineral water! In America I would never trust tap water when you read what industry and farming and people are allowed to do which causes major contamination etc.
It took me years to get used to "no noise or noisy jobs with machinery on Sunday" eg no lawn cutting, hedge trimmers, DIY (with machines) or even using washing machines in appartmens. I do my hedge trimming by hand and see it as a work out if i do it on Sunday if that's the day I have time and/or it's not raining😂.
Didn't know about the food photo law or the sandcastle law 😱.
Instead of summer and winter tires, you can just use "all year" tires. This is obviously only advantageous, if you live in mild region, where not much snow is expected. I have had them for years now and I like, that I don't need to switch that often.
Well winter tires are not just about snow, but also about temperature. The rubber mixture is different, so winter tires are still soft at low temperatures while summer tires are to hard. At the same time driving a winter tire in summer will lead to a lot of wear and probably a bit more fuel consumption. So a all year tire will always behave worse than dedicated tire. And while there are areas with much less snow, I am not aware of any areas where you don't really encounter winterly temperatures. That being said, there is always better/worse and there is good enough ^^.
@@lal12 of course. "all year" tires are a compromise for either season. But if you don't drive professionally and you don't need your car to get to work (because of public transport or bike or home office), this compromise is absolutely good enough.
As an American running out of Gas is a thing for me and our family and we don’t want to run out of gas when we’re anywhere. Also my dad loves to wash his car at car washes and rarely at home idk it’s just him. We don’t usually show the special finger.
Yepp, Germany has it's fair share of both ridiculous and only ridiculous sounding(!) laws. The maximum fines have to be included due the basic judicial system of Germany: the civil code law, in comparison to the English and American case law system. Judges and juries in the USA especially are given virtual law making powers in case no such case has ever been seen before by establishing precedent cases.
In Germany the civil code system requires (!) a law to be present before (!) you are able to punish someone for such a crime, felony, or misdemeanor. In addition the span of fines and other punishment has to be codified into the law.
That results in some very weird and ridiculous laws when read out loud for the first time.
The conservation laws may sound incredibly ridiculous with its hefty fines, but those are rarely if ever enforced to the full extent. Only in cases of very rare plants under strict endangered listing would such a high fine be invoked.
It usually boils down to the seriousness of the infraction as well as the malicious intent of the perpetrator. That applies to virtually all laws in Germany. If you are obviously not of malicious intent, your infraction was minor, you might get a more or less slap on the wrist, a stern warning not to do it again, and use both your brain and potentially google before ripping out a Blauer Enzian from your alpine rock surface mountain bordering on your backyard. However burning down the protected orchard of ancient trees on your own grounds for laughs and giggles WILL get you fined harshly.
The same type of reasoning applies to nearly all laws. Honest mistakes = slap on the wrist; malicious intent or real dumb stupidity preventable by using your brain and endangering or harming others = pretty harsh penalties.
Sure, in a bureaucratic convoluted mess like Germany's there may be some exceptions to that general rule of thumb, on both sides of the fence, so to speak.
Yeah, winter tires from O to O here in the south of Germany. From October to Ostern ( Easter)....
For everyone coming to Austria for holiday, please remember, we have 4mm minimum profile depth for winter tyres (germany has 1,6mm) and for summer tyres it's 1,6mm (in germany 0,8mm).
The typical German mix of makes perfect sense - and guaranteed to make us all get frustrated. I love that you titled the flipping the bird one „free speech“, because that’s how I have always seen it. That poor guy.
I instantly thought „ ja, but the Deich!“ when I saw „no sandcastles“! I notice, I‘m quite German these days…!
Ashton, I haven’t been around much since October- lovely to see you both looking well in this fun video! Hugs and have a great Sunday 🤗
Well, it all goes back to article 1 of the german constitution: "Die würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. ..." (Human dignity is inviolable.) An insult goes against your human dignity and even free speech doesn't trump that.
@@andreasvogler1875 ah, I didn’t know that, thank you. I think it’s a mixed blessing, this rule.
Hi Lauren. To be honest, even if this constitutes to "freedom of speech" in the US, I for sure wouldn't flip the bird against an US cop or other official. Depending on the situation or just their mood, they might find other reasons to punish you and to let you regret your decision.
@@Opa_Andre no, I wouldn’t do that to a policeman, either. But I thought he made the gesture not to be seen, just in the direction of the speed control? And if you’re not speeding, no photo- that’s what I thought, I might have got it wrong!
@@andreasvogler1875 Yes, one might joke that Americans have the right of free speech with almost no limits but then the insulted person may draw a gun and pump you full of lead and go free.
The second weird law from the Netherlands is: If you ever get married make sure you get to know the mother in law because you will never get rid of her! Even after you divorced your wife and you both wanted passionately to end the relationship your mother in law will remain your mother in law by law.
That's actually pretty much the case in Germany as well. Even after divorce you have a "Zeugnisverweigerungsrecht", the right to refuse to testify against your then former in-laws.
So there is no way for your newly acquired relative to become an outlaw?
Thank you for this entertaining insight. I've lived in Germany for around ten years as well and the sand castle prohibition is the only one that caught me off-guard!
Since your chapters mention freedom of speech, would you be interested in making a video about corresponding laws in the US compared to Germany's constitution? I find that my right to express myself is safer here in Germany than in the States but that is largely anecdotal. I suspect it's much easier to outright ban works of art or books in the US than it is in Germany. For example, the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders rates Germany much higher than America. If you have any insight as to why and how, I'd love to hear it from you. Thank you so much!
Ah this is a GREAT idea for a future video. I'll add it to our list and do more research on it.
Yes, please, that sounds really interesting.
@@TypeAshton Really looking forward to that discussion
@@TypeAshton I understand that in some places where they have brought in book banning laws to protect the children are now being forced to ban the bible. Not what they intended but they have to treat all books in accordance with their new laws.
Great topic suggestion!
11:08 Not everyone have to change tires, some use "all-weather tires" on their car, I for example do that!
About the topic with the Winter Tires. In the black forest, probably you need them. If you live in an urban area in the middle of germany, you could just keep the summer tires and that one day in year where you have snow, you just don't use the car. That's the idea of the law. Especially if you have two cars in the family, you could think of just not to use it on the few snow days.
Thats not fully correct.
The idea of the law is to have full function tires. since the gum is effected by temperature, summer tires loosing grip below 7 degree celcius.
And bout snow, yes we have not many days with snow in the north BUT we have lot more frosty ones with ice on the roads.
Good luck with summer tires when u driving over a spot of ice
@@issel3276 I don't want to. I know that wiinter tires are better in winter but you won't get fined if you use summer tires at 6 degrees. And if you can afford to leave the car in the car park some days, I can understand you don't buy full blown winter tires. When we had 2 cars, we had one of them with all season tires. That's okay for most of the time.
@@andreaseufinger4422 No idea when u checked the last time the law but it changed.
You can be fined ! since 2010. Also, all season( MS ) tires are only valid until 09/2024 IF produced by 31/12/2017.
All after that must be winter tires. 60 € and 1 Point in Flensburg otherwise, for only driving at Black ice, slippery snow, slush, ice or hoar frost.
What we always have some days in the winter, even in the north
Beside all this. The major differences: the Police will not shoot you on a traffic stop.
2) You actually can trim your hedge in summertime - but only trim it, not cut it down. If some twigs impede users of an adjacent sidewalk you are even obliged to trim them. But you trim only the tips, you do not change the hair-do or form of your hedge. The height of the fine depends on the damage. A 50,000 Euro fine would be imposed only if you cut down e.g. a landmark tree or a centuries old, healthy tree without special permit or a big, healthy tree within a preserve area or protected landscape or holding the nest of a protected species.
3) Any stopped car at the Autobahn is considered to be a traffic hazard, including standing on the shoulder. You're only allowed to stop in case of an emergency, and running out of fuel is no emergency.
4) You are allowed to use all-season tires if you don't use your car to go skiing or to traverse the Alps in wintertime or generally do not drive in snowy conditions. Due to climate change that allows not only people around Frankfurt to do without winter tires, but also people in more and more other regions.
9) Freedom of speech does not include insulting someone, because freedom of speech is not the highest ranking fundamental right. In Germany human dignity is the first of all fundamental rights, and all your freedom rights end where they start to impend the fundamental right of others. Insulting somebody is however not in any case a criminal act in the narrower sense, only if you violate their rights of personality by false and defamatory statements in public (e.g. in TV, in public assemblies or in social media) or if you insult civil servants in the exercise of their duties. The extension to insults in traffic helps to prevent road rage.
10) Generally mowing time starts each weekend around 4pm (to 6pm or 7pm) at Friday and again at Saturday around 10 am until around 6pm. And still most people mow their lawns far too often.
Thanks for 4), saves me the effort.
I remember a couple years back it had been raining all week and the Bio-Bin was due to be picked up Monday. I said screw it and mowed with our Electric Mower on Sunday. Not even 10 Minutes after I was done, I heard another Mower going then another one. Sometimes you just need to be the first to do it ;-)
Doing lounder work on a Sunday may be OK, if you clear it with all neighbours beforehand. Like, your moving into the flat and ask, if it would be OK for you and your helpers to put up furniture, pictures etc. Just abide by any requests they make, like not doing it between a certain time because the baby is sleeping. Some may even offer their help! Same with mowing etc. Even parties during quiet hours may be OK, if you talk to everyone first. Most people won't mind too much, because they can relate. Again, just abide by their requests. And if you're a trully nice person, just bring over leftover cake etc. and they'll be over the moon. (in a good neighbourhood, where people like each other, that is.) Just return the favour, if they come asking. - Oh, and if anyone comes over to ask, if you could be a little quieter, because, while they know you celebrate your huge birthday, it would be great if it could just be a notch quieter - just do it. And just turn it down a little more, because they might want to be polite and would enjoy a little more quiet.
But really, with talking to each other, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
I was raised by a darling German mom,. This is such an explanation of my mom's requirements. So very entertaining. Thanks.😅😅
A really funny video, I didn't know some examples of laws either. It was really nice to hear the German terms said as well. Thank you and have a nice week.
Mega das ihr das so lüstig 😂 erzellen tu . Auf Deutsch wehr mega 😊. Schön das ihr hier seid ❤❤❤
In Denmark we can legally beat a Swede with a stick. But only if they happen to be crossing from Sweden to Denmark over the ice in case Øresund freeze over.
The English up until frighteningly recently used to have the right to shoot me (Welsh 🏴) in a border town! Maybe this is a remnant of Danelaw…?! 😂
@@LaureninGermany Not sure about that, as far as I know only the middle eastern parts of the island was under Danelaw don't think it ever made it all the way to Wales and the southern parts paid Danegeld to keep the norsemen out of their areas. I could be wrong tho.
@ 22:08. In German we call Wednesday “Mittwoch” meaning the mid week so like most everywhere else, Sunday is the 1st day of the week. And I am in America now, we do our gardens in a weekday usually just before rubbish day / garden waste. I don’t want that noise running through my garden on the weekends. Or we’re just not home.
Nice view again. And you even missed "Sonntagsruhe", "Mittagsruhe", "Tanzverbot" (coming up in a few days!). Really love your insights that often teach even me news - and I'm an "indigene". Have a nice time - looking out for the next video already!
The winter tire law has a reason. Decades ago more and more drivers get stuck on the roads in winter only because they tried to drive with summer tires on snow. And they cause many unnecessary traffic jams.
Perhaps the idea is to prevent people from building anything along a beach which prevents others from enjoying the edge of the water & freedom to wander. That has become a big issue that restricts average taxpaying citizens from access as the very wealthy want to own everything natural and beautiful especially in non-abundant locations & resources.
Winter tires in the province of Québec are mandatory from December 1 to March 15 but most Quebeckers have them put on in November and off in April, just to be safe. And scraping the windshield? Haha that's an almost daily occurence here!
For the windows you could just cover them the day before with a blanket. you even have them made for windshields. they cost almost nothing but work like a charm.
they only scraping i have to do is for the head and tail lights. (that is more for the other users of the road)
The worst fines are for insulting police and other enforcement officials aka Beamtenbeleidigung which can range in 1000s of €.
Winter tires or alternatively so called M+S tires also refered to as allweather tires that one can use year-round especially in an area that isn't as mountainous and prone to snow & ice...
One very important detail they dont mention is, that german laws define the maximum fines, which of course are not the common the normal or average fines. Of course nobody gets fined €100.000 for cutting a single bush or tree. But on the other hand a fine a few hundred Euro would not prevent a landowner to cut down half a forrest e.g. if he wants to build a house.
About the winter tires: Back then I had an accident, someone crashed into my car just because he couldn't stop fast enough. And that because he was late and had summer tires mounted whereas I already had my winter. He could have saved the costs following this.
So TLDR: mounting winter tires can save a lot of money or maybe life. And after too many people did not think about it and too many accidents happened the government changed the law.
We were visiting with our friends in Germany last year and he told us that it is "technically illegal" to kill a wasp in Germany. He said you could get between a 5,000-50,000 Euro fine. I looked it up and it is true
My state was mentioned with the snow tire/chain law but I've never seen anyone other than out-of-towners who've had snow tires despite the fact that we have officially declared winter emergencies every year. We no longer have vehicle inspections so there are plenty of people driving around on bald tires in those winter emergencies. This is probably why everything basically shuts down entirely- schools, businesses and mail service included, when we have the slightest amount of snow.
I loved the Bussgeld Katalog, did not know that existed : )
It is understandable, that someone wants to mow the lawn on his one day off. But if you are working in a loud factory, it is great that your only quiet day is protected. Having to mow your lawn at an other time is an inconveniance. Having no time to rest is an health issue
I absolutely cannot understand what is so incomprehensible about these legal regulations.
The deceased belong in a cemetery and not in the living room.
Bird protection is important, so no tree or shrub may be cut down during the breeding season.
On a highway where you can drive at 350 kilometers per hour, you should not stop because you are out of gas...not even on the shoulder. And so on and so forth.
These laws make perfect sense, they protect me, my health, my neighbors or nature. And if you even look into why there are such laws in Germany at all, it should actually make sense to everyone.
After a very long series of really good videos from you, this video is really nonsense.
Flensburg has a great points collection system. If you manage to collect 8 points you get a bike
I'm definitely in favor of the law against trimming trees and bushes in the summer since the best time to trim them is fall or winter.
Funny, I remember thinking it odd that German home owners often fenced their plots completely, including the front yard. In contrast, American fronts yards are rarely fenced. If the back yards are fenced, it is usually because they have pets they wish to restrain. I reluctantly fenced my own back yard because both my neighbors had fenced theirs. This made my backyard a convenient shortcut for all the kids going to school. Sorry, but i didn't appreciate a constant stream of kids walking within feet of me as I relaxed on my back patio!
Here in Oregon, a property owner cannot forbid a person from traversing his property along a stream or other body of water.
"Geschenkt ist noch zu teuer" (The Moneey Pit) jaaaaa! So a beautifull film.
It is really a great movie and one I haven't watched for some time. I may need to add it to our weekend movie list with the long weekend coming up.
Technically, mowing the lawn is not forbidden on Sunday. Being too loud is. So it all depends on the noise level of your lawnmower.
We buried our cat in our backyard here in Germany. She even has her own little granite gravestone with her name carved in it.
Loving this channel and the info you share with us.
Would love to know how learning German was for you guys and any fun/embarassing mistakes made along the way, should you wish to share those stories 😂
You guys take care!
TREE LAW in the USA is dealing with HUGE fines (because large trees are valuable and it is triple(?) damages).
10 year anniversary?this warrants a special episode for sure
Its crazy that it will be 10 years this May for Jonathan. Time really does seem to fly.
@@TypeAshton I'm interested in overall bike mileage thoughout the Black Forest and recommended routes 😉
17:40 Watch out for the two dots. KLÄGER is pronounced like [claygur], not [clahgur.]
I wonder how many cases were settled out of court by the Restaurant asking the instagrammer to add the details for the restaurant, so the customers added by that compensate for customers lots by recipe getting out (not always, but sometimes, a recipe can be pretty obvious from the look of the food).
I have yet to find a restaurant that forbids posting "tasted good, come here" free advertising :D
Foodporn is not illegal in most cases. While you said it all right, just to clearify: Food can be subject to copyright, when the food reaches a certain threshold of creativity. Meaning, that the food must be more a piece of art, than something to eat. The food must not only look tasty, it must express the personality of the chef. Even in most expensive restaurants that threshold will not be reached.
true its your right to insult somebody,.. no one is stopping you.... but its the right of the insulted person to sue you.
1. Same rule in Sweden. The ashes of the loved one has to be dealt with in 3 months. And if ashes are to be spread on the sea, it has to be done at least 3 km (2 miles) from the shore.
There's a story about one prominent person in Stockholm "underworld" ( a poet, singer, musician and also a drinker) who died, got cremated. His friends took the ashes and to mourn and memorite their friend they went from bar to bar in Stockholm spilling the ashes here and there at places wellknown to their friend.
Winter tyres are mandatory 1 Dec - 31 March IF the conditions requires tyres for winter driving. Spiked tyres only permitted 1 October - 15 April.
I would appreciate a general ban of leaf blowers.
In many swiss locations it is also forbidden cut your lawn on sunday. Even if you use a manual (nearly silent) lawn cutter, or even if you do it while the church bells make so much noise that it would be impossible to hear an electrical lawn mower. Sadly some regulations have no logic.
Lawn mowing on Sunday is allowed if the mower is very quiet. So there is nothing to be said against a hand push mower.
Killing a wasp might cost you up to 50k, which sounds somewhat unfair during hot summers, when they breed excessively.
The Sunday mowing the lawn thing is kinda depending on your neighborhood. Lots of people do and mostly nobody complains. You can still do things just not making excessive noise. If neighbor is sitting outside enjoying lunch or whatever it would be nice to not do the lawn at that time. Generally most people don't give a damn at least where I lived
Florida has forbidden washing cars on certain days whwn there is a drought. Its also forbidden to water plants on certain days when theres a drought.
I hope you were going add that a traffic violation is not a crime and doesn’t make you a criminal.
I remember my gamma would smile when she got a ticket for watering her lawn in the city I live in. You could not use city water to water your lawn because of water restrictions. The only exception was if you did not use city water. She uses sprinklers tied to her house water supply. Which because the house was over 100 years old had no connection to city water. It was on a well that they owned. She would use this as an excuse to go and file a complaint at the city. She was a nice old lady who would either get a ride from the neighbors, who happened to be the fire department or if they were on a call would get a rid from the police who were the other neighbors and who would argue on her behalf with the city to the point that there was a notice put up in the city managers office with her address and a picture of her house with 100 point font and they were not to make any fines about water. They were getting complaints form the mayors office, Chief of police, Head of health department, etc. It was kind of comical. She thought it was a riot and she was bothered by the fact that her friends took away all her fun.
my GF and i had to burry 2 kittens that didnt make it. we burried them next to our beloved parrot that died a few years ago. now, we live in a place with a regular garden etc. her parents live on a farm,and their last dog got a proper burrialbetween their barns. her dad spent hours digging a proper resting place for our boy, and we all cried our ass off.
when my GFs horse got sick and had to be put down, yea.. obv no space in our garden or between their sheds... but i, dying of allergies, spent the day with that mare and my GF. and when the mare collapsed from the drugs, i cried
If you want to see more bizarre stories from living in Germany, I recommend watching the format "Realer Irrsinn" from extra 3. It's hilarious 🙈
9:46 - Same in Sweden. Winter tires are an obligation, I think.
Here is the actual regulation:
_"Det är krav på att fordon har vinterdäck eller likvärdig utrustning 1 december - 31 mars om vinterväglag råder. Under denna period är minsta tillåtna mönsterdjup för vinterdäck 3 mm."_
_"Dubbade däck är tillåtna 1 oktober - 15 april. De är även tillåtna under annan tid om vinterväglag råder eller förväntas."_
So, technically the _obligation_ from December 1st to March 31st only holds in winter road conditions, but as these are expected to recur, in practise everyone has to have that, and least deepness of the pattern is 3 millimeters.
The _permission_ to use this extends from October 1st to April 15 - they are also allowed at other times if winter road conditions are there or expected.
I was one Midsummer (St. John's, 24 June) in Kiruna, and you had snow there, and parts of the train journey revealed snow too.
I expect those tires were used up to beginning of June up there. It's above the polar circle. Norway reaches even further North than Sweden, but both extend North of the polar circle.
The term "dubbdäck" (relevant for the permission) translates as snow tires with studs.
I think this is _one_ reason (along with good busses and local trains where I was) to never get a driving licence, while I lived in Sweden. Nor since, but then the main reason is, it's difficult to take one when you're homeless.
congratulations, your german improved rapidly!
In Germany freedom of speech is guaranteed in Article 5 of the constitution.
More important is Article 1: "Human dignity shall be inviolable." So your freedom has boundaries which I think is logical in a society.
Personally I'd love to live in a society where everybody was considerate of others - in contrast to just doing what you want and demanding others to tolerate it.
Good morning. Again a great video. About the Friedhofszwang. This only applies if the mortal remains of your relative are to remain in Germany. Here they must be handed over to a licensed funeral home to be buried or cremated. If you decide to transfer the body abroad, for example to the Netherlands, then they can be returned to you there after the cremation. Then you can take the urn back to Germany and put it on the fireplace mantel or somewhere else in the house. Not even the most meticulous Ordnungsamt will search your house for the unburied remains of your relatives. If you are not dealing with a very hard-working official in your city, there should be no more inquiries. If so, you have a document from the Netherlands about the cremation.
I live in the Netherlands and I thought the rules in Germany would be kinda similar, but these laws are way out there.
Living in North-Germany, my wife generally doesn't change to winter tires. We seldomly have the relevant weather conditions. While my dad lives in Bavaria and has his birthday in the winter, my car usually has winter tires before we travel south for his birthday. So, if my wife needs a car with winter tires, she can take my car. I am already retired and can often refrain from driving in winter conditions in a area where drivers are not used to drive on snow.
2:00 I‘m glad you also showed the reason, why it is not allowed to keep an urn at your house. 😉 I also saw an American documentary about this. If I remember correctly it was called „Two and a Half Men“. 😄
I would be curious to know how the law works with some of the more modern technologies for turning loved ones ashes into other items - like the. company that will turn your ashes into a diamond, for example. I wonder if there is a way in which you could still take the ashes home with you, as long as you planned on doing *something* with them, in order to get around the hygienic concerns.
Switzerland does not know such restrictions for the urn. So some Germans now export it to a Swiss Funeral home, so it's no longer in the German records. The Swiss company then sends it back (or they pick it up) and they do with it as they want. Apparently the German customs does not consider such imports as its area of competence and just does not care.
Restaurants. I do not think they can prevent *taking* a picture. They can prevent *publishing* it, though (or come after you if you do).
The urns, my first thought, Two and a half Men. The ashes of Charlie Sheen
Switzerland goes a bit further with its laws :-) - 1. The beer pong ban
Not a place for those who drink: In the canton of Neuchâtel, it has been illegal to play beer pong in bars and restaurants since 2015. All drinking games are a no-go here to protect the players from their "excessive fighting spirit" and the associated alcohol consumption.
2. The nocturnal flushing ban
When a good night's sleep is more important than going to the toilet: if you live in an apartment in Switzerland, you are no longer allowed to flush the toilet after 10 p.m. - after all, this could disturb the sleep of the neighbors.
3. The Higheels ban
Speaking of a good night's sleep: wearing heels after 10 p.m. is also prohibited by law in some Swiss municipalities.
4. The law against the loneliness of guinea pigs
Attention pet owners: for several years, there have been regulations in Switzerland that certain pets may no longer be kept alone. In particular, sociable small animals such as guinea pigs, goldfish, and budgerigars - but also llamas and alpacas - must live with at least one conspecific. Violators face a hefty fine of several hundred Swiss francs.
5. The law against eating dogs and cats together
Only allowed for personal use: If you want to eat a dog or a cat in Switzerland, you can do so - but only within your own household. As soon as another person is invited to eat, this is a serious violation of the law.
6. The angler selfie ban
No trophy: anglers who take a selfie with a caught fish risk a hefty fine in Switzerland. The same applies, by the way, if these anglers in the canton of Zurich throw fish that have been caught over a certain length back into the water.
7. The Sunday laundry ban
"It just doesn't look good": Swiss people are not allowed to hang out their laundry outside on Sundays and public holidays. According to the homeowners' association, a full washing line at the weekend simply spoils the look, which is why the so-called standard washing regulations were issued.
8. The ban on hiking naked
Nudist tourism not desired: nude hiking has been expressly forbidden in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden since 2009. The decree against "indecent behavior" has apparently had an effect: According to the police, not a single nude hiker has been sighted in the wild in the region for ten years.
9. The law against regulated re-parking
If the parking space gets expensive: If you want to move your car in Switzerland, you must have driven in the flow of traffic for at least a brief time in between - violating the decree could otherwise result in a fine of 40 Swiss francs.
Hi from Switzerland as well.
Re: 2. I live in Switzerland since over 60 year and moved houses several times. Never saw such a rule and always flush. I would be interested in some references so convince me this is not just an internet myth 😉
re: 8: Would be interested what Americans think about it. Maybe the culture shock form them is rather the fact that there was a reason to introduce a law against hiking naked🤣
What is nice to know, is that in Hessia, there still is the death penalty. But on federal level the death penaty is banned and "federal law trumps states law" ("Bundesrecht schlägt Länderrecht"), the death penalty is there banned, too. I think, that is also the reason, the Hessian government doesn't put in work in to change it.
Das ist nicht mehr aktuell. Die hessische Verfassung wurde 2018 geändert. Dabei wurde auch die Todesstrafe rausgeworfen.
Find interesting the use of auxiliary verbs “may” and “can” - I can easily insult others but may not.
From O to O, ist the rule in Germany Oktober bis Ostern for winter tires
It must be remembered that some of these laws are EU wide and others don't apply outside Germany. Almost every country has local variations and obsolete laws. A couple of examples.
In the UK there is a law passed in 1388 requiring every able bodied man to practice archery for 2 hours after church on a Sunday. AFAIK this has never been repealed. Hence in the town where I grew up there was an Archery Road and a street known as The Butts (an archery practice range).
When it comes to trees, tree surgeons are loath to work on trees in the spring when the birds are nesting as many species are protected by law. Of course there are exceptions such as dangerous and trees felled in storms. In addition, it is not illegal to fell a tree UNLESS it is the subject of a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). TPO trees are fairly common and are usually particularly fine or old specimens of their type. I've got two mature copper beeches on the boundary with a neighbour and we have to get special permission every time we need to prune them.
Many countries in Europe have protected food names (PDO), not just France. Stilton Cheese can only be called "Stilton" if it is made in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire using pasteurised milk and only 6 dairies are licenced to do so.
Stichelton is an English blue cheese virtually identical to Blue Stilton, but because it does not use pasteurised milk or factory-produced rennet it cannot legally be called Stilton, due its PDO status. This is doubly so because, although Stichelton (the old Doomsday book name for the village of Stilton) dairy is actually in the village of Stilton, Stilton is NOT in the 3 PDO counties due to boundary changes.
In Finland there is a similar law. You must bury or otherwise permanently lay the ashes to a single place. That can be for example at sea.
The courts ruled that the old law did not apply to ashes so the church lobbied a new law as they rent places to store them.
How crazy we Germans are, thinking that there is anything wrong with damaging the environment and insulting each other. 😉
17:50 - I am pretty sure we were breaking some rules (in Austria, though) when we ran a small lab in IAEA building, in a room that was technically a part of elevator shaft (all towers have the same floor plan, but lower ones don't use all elevator shafts, so they have essentially large broom closets there.)
In Austria in the city of Salzburg feeding ducks is illegal
A bit of information about the fine regarding the insult (flipping the bird). The punishment is calculated in "daily rates", meaning it is based on your daily income. 30 daily rates are the same as one month's worth of income. If someone got 5.000 € for flipping the bird, that probably means he had quite the very substantial income, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he went to a higher court to challenge that ruling, as he didn't aim the finger at a person, but a camera or maybe the system itself. In general, the lower courts are more willing to wave these kind of insult complaints from the police through.
It must be added that most of these laws require an impacting consequence following the "illegal" act. When you trim your hedges and cause the death or the destruction of a nest of an endangered bird (listed as endangered), you will not necessarily be fined since your trimming also must be proven "aggressive" or carelessly conducted. The wording of the law clearly requires a proven carelessness.
Running out fuel on the autobahn, just causing a standstill of yourself isn't the problem but if your negligence is causing a follow-up accident, you will additionally to be responsible for the caused damage, be fined/punished based on this law.
Those laws are put up in order to identify and punish damage causing behaviour. Not to punish some maybe negligent behaviour ultimately not having caused damage.
I like your videos. One small point: the plural of 'Euro' (the currency unit) is 'Euro'. Without a final 's'. I think this is because different (European) languages would form the plural differently, so, for uniformity across the continent, the plural is just 'Euro'. You're welcome.
I am always amazed at how "freedom of speech" is interpreted. It is not about the supposed freedom to insult other people. Freedom of speech protects you if you disagree with the ruling body. Unfortunately, there are still countries where you can't speak out freely against the ruler of the country without dire consequences. Right now, we can observe this in Russia, China and many other totalitarian countries. Freedom of speech is one of the basics of a functioning democracy. Politicians in Germany are even expected by law to take a lot more insults than the average person before they can successfully sue someone. While in Thailand, you even have to be careful not to step on a dropped coin or banknote because all currency bears the monarch's likeness. It would land you in prison. As would criticizing him. Aside from that, thanks for the fun trip into the curiosities of German law!
Hi Ashton, just remember from O to O, from Oktober to Ostern to change your tires in order to avoid issues with your car insurance. Jonathan, whats wrong with you ? No fines yet in a decade ? Statistically once you will be catched in future, the fine will be higher in order to meet the statistic average. Hope this doesnt fear you to much.
I realy like your videos, maybe do one video about landfills. Landfills have been quite spread all around Europe but you will not find it as the "normal way" for getting rid of waste. with friendly regards Chris
Ooooh I can already see a title with something along the lines of "trash talk" - great idea! Thanks for the suggestion. We will add it to the list.
1. The clips are hilarious! And 2., I’m amazed at the differences with the neighbouring Netherlands!
Oh and btw, you can’t insult the police officers, but I’m not sure if it counts, when the insult has to pass through a camera 😉
@@margreetanceaux3906 No special laws about insulting police officers, except in that case, their boss can also sue, not just the officers themselves. But otherwise, the rules are the same for everybody.