5 Things Germans Do That You Just Have to Accept 🙈

If you want to learn about German culture... don´t go to Berlin. Berlin is too international and even the Germans in Berlin are ..... special 🙂

Ringing on a friend's door and ask for them to come out to play was normal in the 90s in Germany ;).

For me as a German it makes absolutely no sense to say yes when it is not true. If someone asked me if I can fly a plane I would say NO. What use does it have for the person who asked if I say Yes? I can not flay a plane. So he can look for someone else without losing time.

I remember i had a collegue from South Africa who also always said "yes. no problem at all" and in the end he never really finished what he should do, while i always said rather "no .. maybe .. but it would take time" and even though my bosses prefered the answer of the other guy, i was in the end the one who finished the work, and at some point even took over most of the projects of the other guy and made them much better, running more stable (it was programming stuff). So personally i don't like these "yes sayers" that in the end don't get anything done beside pleasing the bosses at that moment when they are asked.

10:54 Oh no! Beeing on time means on time. Beeing 10min early at a private invitation is a big no no! At work it is ok.

Please don't generalize. I live in a village in a "Siedlung" (settlement) with lots of neighbouring houses. When you are partying, nobody would call the authorities (Police, Ordnungsamt). If any they would call you or knock on your door. What I do then? I invite them over so they are part of the noise.😉 But actually nobody complains. Showing up early at a party is a no go as @XynxNet wrote. The hosts are on the home stretch for preparing everything and you would disturb their preparations. Because we feel embarassed when we are not ready when the guests arrive.

As i (a german) see it, friendship is a 3 tiered construct. The first level you can reach is "Bekannter" - of the top of my head i don't know if there is a englisch translation. These can be colleagues, neighbors, teammates from the sportsclub you visit and so on. To reach the second level of friendship it takes time and hard work, especially if you are older. Most friendships are forged in the great halls of your local kindergarten and schools at a younger age. Those are the chosen ones i would call friends. And then there is the last level, a level only few people can reach. I would go as far and say that this level is reserved for one, maybe two people tops. Thats what i call "Bester Freund/in" - your BFF I prefer it this way. Calling everyone friend who you meet in a bar, have a few drinks and exchange a few words is like having 1500 Facebook Friends - it means nothing. If it comes to friendship i prefer quality over quantity.

I appreciate that video very much. As a German it told me that a lot of things that seem completely selbstverständlich to me aren't actualy. I love to learn about your outside view on our habits. Thanks for that one!

I think in every culture on earth we all do the same, showing respect to the other to tell them we’re friendly and don’t want to start a fight. The way we show our respect however is very different in societies. In a lot of societies people smile a lot, or they are very forthcoming and jovial, or they apologise often. I think what foreigners experience as brutally honest and the well known “German stare” is a way to tell your counterpart that you don’t hide anything from them, that you look them straight in the eye because you don’t want to deceit them. It’s just another way to show respect I guess.

Imagine a stranger walks by and start to chat and touch your kids 😮. Our dogs are our children as well.

One thing you did not mention is the "staring", which actually is a kind of communication. If a go for a walk and a stranger comes my way, I will stare at him/her, once she looks my way I will smile or nod and so will she/he. It is just another way of saying 'hello'. Next time our ways cross the same thing will happen. The third time a few words might be exchanged or we may si on the same bench for a bit of smalltalk. And just 20 years later we may even consider us to be friends ...

While Freund or Freundin may be the correct translation for friend, it's not exactly the same. A Freund in German is someone you don't hesitate to call at 2am on Sunday morning after you totalled your car 100kms away from home and need someone to drive you home right now. The somewhat awkward English word of "acquaintances" (in German: Bekannter/Bekannte) is closer to describe the relationship you may have with a lot of people you may consider to be already your friends. I think you say in English "Friends are the Family you choose" (or similar), while in Germany we say "Family is something you have, but friends you can choose". And we don't mean that one bit tongue-in-cheek. (Caveat: Family in this context will usually mean the "rest of the family", and not your own spouse and own kids.)

As to dogs: lately I had an appointment for a lengthy Dental surgical session. My dog sitter did not appear and so I went to see the doctor and asked what I should do about it. After some discussion with the staff I was to keep my dog on my lap for the 2 hour procedure, on that horrible dentist‘s bed. Everything is possible, even in Germany 🤗

It would be good to know that you shouldn't take it personally if someone says no, i think that's the main "problem" that foreigners take it peronally and feel rejected and it would be better if you could appreciate it that Germany are honest, they do not lie at you and it should give you a feeling of safety and there is no second guess and you can rely on what they say. But to receive a present and say that I do not like it is very impolite and considered bad manners- even in Germany

"FELLKINDER"❤😂 Oh my god, she knows better than me!!!!!😅 What a nice word.

Some years ago I was in Berlin with a friend and my dog ​​in a pub on Hackescher Markt. A woman came to our table and said to my dog: Is he cute, can I pet him? My friend said: Go ahead. She sat on my lap and then started to pet me. It was a joke from his new girlfriend, who I didn't know yet

Regarding saying "no" at first: I think the reason is, if you say "yes" you accept the situation/task and full responsibility. There is no backing out later, if it turns out to be harder/more complicated than expected. So Germans will think more before saying "yes", but then it is "fix".

People with dogs are a bit cautious when strangers approach their dogs because they don't know how near correctly. I had a Doberman some years ago. He was a soul of a dog, not a dangerous one at all. He loved to hug with me and my family. One day when I was one a walk with him a child on a bike (parents had been 100 meters behind) came close to us. I waited on one side for letting the child pass. Suddenly the child lost a bit control and headed directly towards my dog. He got scared and snapped at the child. That really wasn't his fault but the parents were angry and I had a verbal dispute with them.

I think even in Germany saying you dont like a present is considered as rude 🙈 Or is it just my perspective? I've never experienced that someone does that. Maybe if you get the same thing every year, then you could say in a really really nice way that you dont like it. But otherwise why would you?? 😳 Its still nice, someone wanted to do a nice thing. If you dont like it, just give it to someone who does and everyone is happy.

"a lot of people smoke in Germay" Some years ago there were much more smokers. When I was in school (I am 57 now) me and approx. 5 others in my class were the only ones who did not smoke and it was not easy to stay firm.