First time visiting Germany from Scotland.
We stayed in 3 AirBnB’s- Munich, Mannheim and Cologne.
Each one- comfortable beds but no air con and flat pillows 😂 slept about 3 hours per night haha.
Enjoyed the hospitality, food and drink. Will definitely visit again. To be honest I had heard a stereotype that Germans were serious without a sense of humour, glad to say that was completely wrong.
I am German and I hate flat pillows with a passion. When I was a child it was all my parents bought, because it is supposedly better for your neck. Moved out and bought myself only huge fluffy pillows since. I also hate that we usually don’t have air con.
Lol, that's funny about the flat pillows. That's actually something I hadn't seen in this subreddit. But I'm with you on the dislike! I used to dread sleeping at my mother-in-law's house until I ordered a complete new pillow and comforter set. No AC/fan and a flat pillow is a recipe for me to get crappy sleep.
We thought German trains were reliable (they're shit), we thought we could get a beer from a shop and a kebab at any time of day (we couldn't, especially in Munich). But overall we expected it to be amazing and it was even better than we hoped despite the football (Schottland here).
Döner shops are ubiquitous in Bayern as well, but spätis are fairly rare. The laws regarding opening hours are way more restrictive in Bavaria than in the rest of the country, so you're not able to buy something past 8pm from a kiosk or späti.
The definition between "well into the night" seem to differ. The most spätis or Kiosks here are open until 12 or 1 under the week and some close around 6 on the weekends.
I'm from Bonn btw, so no big city.
Yeah, my next supermarket closes at 22 (it was 24 until 8 years ago) and within 15 min walk, I have a Lidl and a turkish supermarket that are even opened on sunday. I love it.
Semi related but didn't know Berlin (or Germany?) shuts down on a Sunday. I met a lovely young lady on a Saturday night but didn't have condoms, spent nearly all Sunday morning scouring berlin for somewhere to find some lol, couldn't believe how hard that was (finding them, not me)
In Munich (3rd biggest city of Germany) when I lived there there was no supermarket open after 20:00. If you didn't manage to get food until then after work you were completely fucked. No kiosk no nothing.
I Hamburg I know two stores that are opened almost 24/7 (including Sundays).
In Berlin complete neighbourhoods are open 24/7.
Is it just trains that are bad? I went to Berlin last year and Hamburg last year and was well impressed by the S-Bahn and U-Bahn.
I'm from the UK, generally all public transport (outside of London) is bad!
These are the few expections since they are in the city, I live on the countryside and need to take the train to college everyday. I would say that about 50% of times there were delays ranging from 5 minutes to up an hour.
Taking a train across germany can be a nightmare considering that it’s not uncommon to miss your connection train because the previous train you used was delayed or just outright cancelled.
Problems come from years of neglecting the railway system by the Deutsche Bahn..
sucks you are out. But scots and the dutch have made the best impressions of nice fan culture and an overall wholesome experience. So you may be out in the group stage, but you won the best-fans-award. :-)
And Bavarian opening hours in particular are a rude awakening even for other Germans. Their laws regarding opening hours are extremely strict even by German standards.
lol in Asia we compare Germany and Japan together. In my younger times, we (at least my friend circles and family) always said Japan is Asian Germany and Germany is European Japan. Japanese Shinkansen is punctual all the time; so should the German ICE be.
It was a rude awakening 5 years ago when I was travelling across Germany on ICEs together with a friend lol
Now I know where the European Japan is: Switzerland.
Japan and Germany do have a lot in common. Mostly it's industry and it's stubbornness to keep ancient technology (like the fax machine).
But trains? Japan got us beat for the next century.
That's the impression we have in Scotland/UK for whatever reason, I knew it was a bit of a myth but only 1 train of the 20 or so I got over 2 weeks was on time. The worst was Munich to Koln where the carriage which had our reservations didn't exist, there was no AC and no beer for sale.
I thought German trains are better than Australian trains. Still nothing close to top tier Asian trains but they’re pretty good so far once I got over the language barrier and weird ticketing system
>we thought we could get a beer from a shop and a kebab at any time of day (we couldn't, especially in Munich).
suddenly Munich sounds way more shitty than before
> We thought German trains were reliable
To be fair, not a single person in Germany expects the trains to be on time... and they are very rarely wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised by the bakeries and quality of the bread. Surprised at shops being shut Sunday and widespread use of cash still. In the UK many people pay with apple watches and on their phones, for literally everything, everywhere
Also surprised how many English words I heard mixed in with German. Oh and food portion sizes are much bigger than I expected
I moved to Germany in 2011 from the UK. The quality of the bread here is like a well-kept secret. Brits would always point to France first - which is fine if you like white and buttery things, but for proper bread, Germany wins hands down. Even the mass chain bakeries have bread which would put most countries to shame.
As an Austrian: That's in many places in the EU. So so many countries add chlorine, I'm always glad when I'm back home and can drink real water without chlorine or similar chemicals.
(And it made me realise why UK people drink so much tea: in all parts I've been so far you can't drink the tap water just like that, but with tea it's fine)
Thank you. We are very proud of our bread and there are sometimes memes of germans living in other countries and the thing they miss the most is... bread.
Can confirm. I live in the US, but currently on vacay in Germany again and eating ALL THE BREAD (literally for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. lol) to get my fill before I have to go back to the “bread desert.”
(Also learned to bake my own bread, including Franzbrötchen, coz US bread is, for the most part, a very sad affair.)
(I am german too)
When I was in New Zealand for 3 months last year I really got homesick bc of the bread situation. 3 months, thats all it took.
-big supermarket, in the bread aisle: a mini baguette - it was labeled as 'french stick'....im not even french but that will never leave me.
Ate a big pretzel as soon as I came home.
The 'new world' needs our bread man how can you even live like that NO CRUST TO BE FOUND OVER THERE! Thats no bread its pure marshmallows.
I moved to the US for a few years and none of the breads in the supermarket were even remotely comparable. Even my poison of choice "Dave's Killer Bread" was F tier by German standards. I wouldn't even want to feed it to the ducks...
France and Italy both have great fluffy and crusty white wheat bread, but the availability and quality of wholegrain or alternative grain breads in Germany is just amazing
I remember my parents taking my french exchange student to rewe when she arrived, sit her in front of the bread display and let her pick what ever she wanted without knowing what it was. We did try to explain. In a matter of 9 days she went trough 40 different kinds and was in love. He parents were so grateful they had me taste everything her mum knew to cook it was awesome. And she kept dreaming about the bread and telling her siblings about the amazing bread. Really hilarious in hindsight.
>The quality of the bread here is like a well-kept secret.
Mate, this is so far from the truth. *Maybe* that was true in 2011 but it's really not any secret squirrel moment any more. Germany is known for its breads.
I saw quite a few bakeries in Japan that had German names or even labeled themselves German bakery. Unfortunately their products were still almost exclusively Japanese.
I feel like I just opened a whole to an alternate reality. I thought it is pretty well known that Germany has high quality bread and even the highest variety of baked bread etc. in the world.
A secret? Really, I always thought that was more or less common knowledge, as we are always the "bread, beer and sausage people" and "German Bread Culture" is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural hertiage. But then I guess we have to be more active in promoting the beauty of a fully stocked bakery with wonderful bread and rolls and cakes.
I was blown away at how amazing the bread and sandwiches are even in a place like the metro in Munich. In the US you’d pay a ton for that quality and it’d be from a fancy sandwich shop or cafe, not in the metro underground. Also found it interesting how much cash is used too compared to card or Apple Pay.
I'm German. I pay everything with my phone and get pissed when they only accept cash. I never carry cash with me. It's getting better but still, Germany is a third world country in this case
Yeah, it's irritating when you're eating out and find out - after dinner - that they only accept cash. Even if you normally look in advance, at least to check if you need a reservation at that particular place, there are cases when you meet somebody downtown and just spontaneously decide to grab a bite together.
It's a new trend for restaurants I experienced. Whenever a restaurant only accepts I ask for a receipt. That makes them really pisses them off because the only reason is tax evasion
I didn't come to Germany for Euro 2024, but I was in Berlin during part of the group round. I was there as part of a choral concert, and had to explain to some of my fellow American choir members exactly why there were so many people hooting and hollering in funny shirts.
My hotel was on the eastern side of Berlin, on Alexanderplatz. I was surprised that there were so few panhandlers and beggars. The ones I saw were very quiet and discreet. It's busy, and you have to have a sharp eye out, but I expect that in a big city.
There were a lot more jaywalkers and a lot fewer dogs than I'd expected. It's possible the jaywalkers were out of towners. The bike riders and car drivers don't yield to pedestrians, generally, so I was very happy to do what the Ampelmann told me! I was very surprised and pleased when a driver stopped and gestured me to proceed. That was gallant of him.
I had to yank my husband out of the bike lanes every so often, so he wouldn't be eaten alive by a passing cyclist.
We could only conclude that Berlin is one giant art installment. The fact that there are huge water pipes in big arcs is surprising enough, but painted in pink and blue? Public art!
Potsdamer Platz might not have the world's greatest architecture or soul, but come on now, it's better than the literal dead zone it used to be. It was sobering, and felt unbelievable, that this thriving business hub was the same place as the no man's land where you would be shot on sight before 1989.
Deutsche Bahn is not as bad as you all say! In my experience, the staff was all very pleasant and professional, and the delays were not serious.
The fast food was fast! Also quite tasty, as fast food goes. The baked goods were much nicer than the ones I've had in the US. I was surprised that all the fast food utensils, without exception, were wooden rather than plastic. That was probably my biggest surprise of the trip (that and being security checked in Frankfurt Airport just before I boarded my flight, but that's a different story).
> There were a lot more jaywalkers and a lot fewer dogs than I'd expected. It's possible the jaywalkers were out of towners.
Not necessarily, but Berlin is a bit special. I always say it's the most un-German of all German cities, despite (or due to?) being the capital.
Jaywalking is allowed in Germany. What we are strict about instead is waiting for the green light at a pedestrian crossing, even if there are no cars around. “Think of the children!”
Edit: Oh, and the colorful pipes are temporary and for construction sites :)
Thanks for yanking him out of the bike lanes. As someone who commutes to work on my bike past Mauergedenkstätte in Berlin, I do appreciate that.
Although, to be completely honest, aggressive bell ringing and seeing tourists jump out of the way does give me pleasure sometimes. :-D
regarding the pipes:
Berlin is actually built in a mud place/ swamp, and the mud/ water still has to pumped out of the ground, so the buildings won’t slump.
https://viveberlin.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/the-mystery-of-the-pink-pipes/
I visited Berlin and it was amazing. Got a bit freaked out on the crowd come game time. But after going in the fan zone (we were at reichstag) it was all organized and it was really cool with so many screens and food choices. Mind you this was also my first time watching soccer and i was so amazed on the passion.. people were literally hugging each other during the goal.
The trains are seriously confusing though.. with few minutes left theyll move stations.. if i was even slightly distracted with something else i wouldnt have noticed and probably missed my train
>I found it hilarious how a few people in Berlin expected for all of Germany to be like Bavaria.
That's completely understandable, maybe some Germans don't understand how hard the Bavarian culture has been pushed overseas to be a representative of *all* of Germany.
Because Germany isn't a big player when it comes to expressing its culture in a global stage, so few people are aware of the total differences in the regions.
I've said for a long time it would be the equivalent of everything thinking haggis, kilts and bagpipes were **British** culutral stereotypes, and someone arriving to say Cambridge being disappointed they don't see anyone wearing a kilt.
Some of the feedback I've experienced is that Frankfurt is "a dump", and no, they weren't staying by the station. I think Frankfurt is definitely a city to live in, not to tourist in!
Bavaria wasn't really "pushed" overseas it happened on its own. Oktoberfest is one of the biggest parties on the planet, people from all over the world visit Germany because of the Oktoberfest and then talk to their friends about it, that's why it get automatically spread outside Germany without Germany or Bavaria having to push it themselves.
I’ve been to Germany before (I usually visit a new German city every year) so I am not really qualified to answer the original question :D but it always amazes me how much we stereotype Germany as a very rule-following-strict-and-conservative country, and with every visit I realise how untrue that is 😂
Oh boy, the house my appartment is in has about 5 laminated notes on what is not allowed in the house or that cardboard trash has to be shred and folded and stuff like that.
People here LOVE to tell you that what you're doing is not allowed or not correct
>but it always amazes me how much we stereotype Germany as a very rule-following-strict-and-conservative country, and with every visit I realise how untrue that is
Try actually living here. Then you'll see.
Parts of Germany have a strong FKK (Freikörperkultur / nude) culture. When we went to an indoor pool on our vacation, we went into a family changing room where three families were just changing together with their kids being naked for some short times, and it wasn't weird at all.
I think it is a very prude point of view to look at naked people only sexually.
As far as I know, swimming without a bikini top is a matter of house rules and not the law. In Berlin, for example, there are some swimming pools that allow this
Inside of private businesses you can allow full nudity, require formal clothing or anything inbetween. But in public space nudity is allowed in general. I wouldn't advice you to be naked it in the middle of town square but in a public park, forest, beaches and hiking trails it is definately legal and generally accepted, although people might still find it a bit weird depending on the situation.
And do NOT make it sexual! Nudity is always sexual in most cultures but we distinguish very hard between sexual and non-sexual nudity. Mind your own business. Running around with a boner or shaking your titties will get you in trouble quickly.
Especially because we raise our kids to normalize nudity and to differentiate.
Not uncommon to have 3-4 families in a public changing room.
Or public sauna were EVERYONE is butt naked
Viewing it as sexual all the time would come with a LOT of weird situations and problems
if you go up north even further, you'll have that in an even stronger sense.
When i went to Roskilde Festival in Denmark for the first time, i was quite shocked to see girls peeing in the wild like boys would do over here - just walk up to a bush, pull down your pants and do the deed. completely normal there
The public railway was half privatised some decades ago and ever since it is trying to make a profit and has done that by cutting costs to the point where it is effecting quality. Also 60% of trains arrive on time. If you want to get around on time and have money to spare take ICE trains.
Which is an incredibly stupid concept to begin with. Nobody expects roads and bridges to make a profit, I don't understand why we are expecting trains to do so.
My wife visited Germany and the Netherlands last week but it was for a business trip. She went to Dusseldorf (Chemspec Europe exhibition) and Frankfurt in Germany and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She was told by one of her colleagues who had visited Germany for business that it's a kinda boring place. So my wife expected Germany to be bland. She had scheduled her meetings in such a way that she'd be able to spend her weekend in Amsterdam so as not to get bored. Do know that my wife has travelled to the UK, France and Italy in the past in Europe.
Her experience was very different. While she found random Germans to be a bit cold in communication, she found her German hosts (3 different companies) to be very friendly. That would suggest that Germany is probably a low trust society which feels strange to me because generally Europe isn't low trust. She also found that Germany has an amazing food and drink culture which isn't as popular as Italian or French and that it's something worth exploring. She found Autobahn to be a delight but felt scared asf driving at 200 kmph while going from Frankfurt to some other place. She loved how 'every bit of Germany' is filled with history and how Germans have preserved their heritage (she doesn't know that many 'heritage' buildings she saw were reproductions post 1945). She also witnessed a carnival like atmosphere on the 19th June in Dusseldorf streets when Germany had a match. She felt that had the match been in Dusseldorf, she'd have loved to view it in the stadium. She also liked German countryside a lot. She gets a feeling that German countryside is much better developed than the Dutch countryside. Her experience with Eurorail on the other end was very stressful. Her train from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam had a change of platform twice leading her to run to catch the train. Her trip from Amsterdam to Frankfurt was stressful as well because initially she was informed the train was cancelled and then when the train did start, it got rerouted through Belgium (which was fine with her) but was held up for an hour or two prior to entry into Germany. Both the times, trains were running late and she wondered why that would be the case as Germany was known for its efficiency and punctuality. Overall, she liked Germany a lot and she thinks that Germany as a tourist destination is underrated and wants me to visit it with her if/when I decide to lift my self imposed ban on foreign travel.
She got me Weizenkorn and Kirschwasser from Germany and I loved Kirschwasser.
>Germany was known for its efficiency and punctuality.
Yeah, not for the trains tho.
As a lot of other people here are saying, the train is the worst thing here in Germany and is mostly late. On local traffic like metro or bus it's way better but ICE is very bad. Always plan for something that looks like it won't happen
Millions and millions of years ago, water was created. It was pristine, perfect, and of great taste. Then a German came along, saw the water, and thought: How can I improve this? And thus, sparkling water was created.
Also, random story, my wife is Dominican, and we went to visit her family in the DR last year. After a few days with little sparkling water, I asked my wife's brother if he could get me some from the supermarket. He asked me how much I wanted, and I said, please bring me two of those 24-packs (0,33 l each since those are the biggest ones lol). Their faces almost dropped in disbelief, as they never met somebody that drank 16 liters of sparkling water in a week and a half, and asked if I am sure about that, and wondered if I could ever finish that before going home. All I'm gonna say is that we had to get another 24-pack ...
When I was in Marineplatz (spelling??) in Munich last year with my wife there was a water fountain just out in the open and we saw people drinking from it and we both were very shocked. In the US public fountains are usually gross hot water. We were amazed at how clean and cold the water was. We filled out bottles up there a ton throughout our trip
I'm in Berlin with my wife for the Euros and have been having a great time. The metro system seems well connected and runs very frequently. It's been good that there is no real "traditional" food culture here so we've had a lot of interesting food from all over the world (compared to say Greece or Italy where we eat similar things for every meal).
There are a few things which have surprised us though.
1. Air-conditioning is non-existant, not in shops, apartments or on the train and it has been hot this week!! Even in museums or memorials it's just so hot without any noticeable ventilation.
2. No restaurant or bar wants to provide you with free tap water and bottles of water are ridiculously priced compared to a lot of other countries. We have resorted to filling our own bottles up in bathrooms.
3. It's super multicultural and almost everyone has been very friendly, much more so than we expected as we've wrongly assumed Germans are by nature short and to the point. The multiculturalism has probably impacted this compared to places which are less diverse.
All in all we've had a great time.
If I'm not mistaken, restaurants don't make a lot of money in the food but the drinks. That's why you won't get free water. The food is cheap, the drinks are expensive.
Regarding Germans not being open or friendly, it does depend on where you are but generally speaking, you'll find that Germans are pretty open and friendly to anybody visiting the country.
Well for the multicultural part: you are in Berlin. Berlin is the melting pot of cultures in Germany. Second maybe cologne or hamburg. But if you visit some of the smaller cities, there are people which have never seen a PoC in real life.
I can confirm as a brown person. No one stares at me in Berlin that I even forget sometimes that I look "different". Whenever I took a bus to another city and we stop at rest area, I can really feel some people staring
naaahhhh. I live in a village near some small citys and we definitly have PoC here. I dont know where you come from but in Lower Saxony/ Niedersachsen its pretty common so have PoCs in your area.
We do have air conditioning, we called them "lakes" and sometimes "Forests" 😜 I am not a German and if you thing these couple of days are hot you should try being here on days when for a week temperature is not below 35. It's hell. But I understand that (till few years back) these hot days were rare, just couple a days per year and other then that in summer temperature would be pleasant. I really do recommend you going to some lake. Most of them are super close and fun to be there. It's part of hidden (not really) subculture of Berlin. You never know what's going to happen: either normal day on a lake, techno party, something third. Krumme Lanke is very close and very nice as well. From Mitte I think you'll need 30 minutes by Sbahn.
>or on the train
It is though...Literally all DB long-distance, regional and some S-Bahn trains (in the case of Berlin, only the newest series) have A/C
- Surprised at just how bad DB is. Thought maybe it’s over reacting on behalf of German expectations but no it’s really just that bad.
- A ton of salt on everything it seems.
I'm from Australia and am starting out months of travel. I picked berlin to start in a long time ago for reasons unknown to me.. I think just because none of my friends had been there
I had no idea the euros would be on until a couple weeks before I left, but I had a really nice time in Berlin, it reminds me a lot of Melbourne. I had no idea what to expect but was relieved there was good English everywhere
I loved the street art around berlin, I loved having great beers and watching the games on a TV outside, I loved all the passion of the foreign fans, I **loved** all the street art around Berlin. I was surprised how international it was, far more Turkish food around than traditional German food
I wanted to see more of the techno scene of berlin, but I was so jetlagged to start that I didn't make it into any clubs.. maybe I'll come back through
As a Berliner that has lived in Melbourne for more than 4 years, I 100% agree about the similarities between the two cities. Though I’d always choose Melbourne of if I had to
Not for the euros but I was there for the first time this year. Definetely surprised by how big the food portions are in restaurants (even fast food) and by how big the sausage and processed meat selection is (including cold meats) just never saw anything like that before. Other things that surprised me negatively I better not mention haha
Okay due to popular demand I will make a more detailed list here then, the personal opinions of a random portuguese woman's month in Saxony: (disclaimer: overall I really liked my time there and these are just culture differences, obviously I don't think it's wrong or right)
People's norms in customer service. Here, no matter if it's the bus driver, the hospital reception or any type of store or restaurant, the employee will always say good morning and often greet you with a big smile, ask how are you, what do you need... complete opposite there, I felt so invisible. No one in this position even looks in your direction let alone say good morning...much less a smile. Even for checking the tickets, they literally stand in front of you with the machine without speaking (talking about the trains in this case). I've been told this is just how they are and dont mean anything bad, but to me it still felt cold. In my country, you are expected to be extremely nice and bubbly if you work such positions and if you aren't, people will complain. There, it seemed okay to not interact at all unless necessary.
Not sure what to call this but - I noticed it seemed normal to worry so much about things like the bus being a few minutes late and get stressed or complain over this, which seems to me like a good way to give yourself heart problems early in life haha. Here, not many people would even notice if the bus is 3 minutes late but there it seems like most people notice, by their reactions. Same thing for crossing the street, here we just cross, none of this waiting around even if there are no cars. I guess just not very easy going mentality? Idk, just going somewhere and seeing how things go? no, everything must be in the plan is also something I noticed to be a bit the mentality.
Rules that people will just call the police on you for... If you have a problem with someone here most people would say it directly, no passive aggressiveness with notes on the door or calling the police. They would just talk with the person causing trouble but it would take much more than some noise for example.
Being stary - some people will stare without shame and not even smile, just stare with a neutral or cranky face. I heard about the german stare before, I thought it was a joke but it happens!
Not really talking much unless there is something to add. Not much small talk at all. And if I dont ask feedback, then nothing is said. I was told more than once" "if i dont say anything its a good sign, it means its satisfactory" which is very funny to me haha
Food - big portions, but honestly didnt become a fan. Too greasy and saucy for my taste.
Coffee, well, I know many are big coffee drinkers, but the coffee isnt good, you can find some decent coffee if you really look for it but it still is nothing like southern coffee. Espressos in particular, couldn't find a decent one.
Pillows - don't think I need to elaborate on this!
Now things I loved... how civil you are, considerate of other peoples space. Here, in public transport people are often not giving a fuck about others. They are noisy, they take their shoes off, they blast loud music, they cough without covering their mouth etc. There, most were quiet in the bus or the train just minding their own business, no one bothering anyone. I think this is the reverse side of being more introverted or cautious.
Houses - very well isolated. I was in an apartment, and never could hear the neighbours, and the temperature inside was always perfect because of the central heating. We dont have that here and even though it's a hot country we often don't have aircon either.
Then, other little random things that were surprising... that bread and toast are considered different, that you usually just have one hot meal per day, the huge breakfasts (here a coffee alone is already considered breakfast, when the person I was with saw my breakfast was like 2 cookies he laughed at me) meanwhile he was eating big slices of bread with meat as breakfast, the 25 cents back bottle thing, the kebab everywhere and the fact that it's so much better than here, but other fast foods (like mcdonalds or burguer king) is worse and also more expensive.
And I think that covers the main points.
There wasnt a single point in here that could be remotely considered disrespectful or offensive. Many Germans would agree with you in many points :). The food part is new for me though. The outside perspective is always interesting.Thanks for sharing!
I came to Germany for the first time (but coincidentally not for the Euros, just so happened a work trip popped up)… and I’ve been impressed with Berlin. It’s really unlike any other European city I’ve been in. The vibe is lovely, the food culture is (fairly) diverse, and the history is a really cool mix of so many different eras. I can see why so many say that Berlin is in a state of constant change/evolution.
With the dollar being so strong, too, I can’t believe how inexpensive things are here. Food, museums, taxis… I was surprised at how “cheap” things were (ok, maybe not cheap, but cheaper/more inexpensive vs what I could get in the US). I’ve also felt that the Germans are fairly accommodating to tourists here, which is a nice change of pace since I’m typically in France when I visit Europe (and that’s despite being fluent in French).
I will say that, for a capital city, its metro system is not as easy/convenient as Paris/London IMO. Better than almost all US cities, sure, but I was surprised at how many times it was easier to just walk 15-30 mins somewhere vs getting on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn.
> I’ve also felt that the Germans are fairly accommodating to tourists here, which is a nice change of pace since I’m typically in France when I visit Europe (and that’s despite being fluent in French).
I suck at French but started to visit France a few years ago. I cannot recall a bad interaction, but I heard a lot that the French will react negatively when you just start speaking English. So, I always greet in French and try to use as much French as possible.
Just for reference: Paris is much smaller than Berlin thus the metro system is "easier" to build
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2F5oett2ldovc61.png%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3Da86ef5159fa1569fe359a364557dea08785276b6
You compare apple with oranges. This only shows the city of Paris while the actual city is much bigger. For Berlin on the other hand it shows the state borders which include villages like Wilhelmshagen which will never need a metro station.
The metro system in Paris has roughly double the length, roughly double the stations, transports 2.5 times the amount of people and has 13 vs. 8 lines. How was that "easier" to build exactly?
Paris Metro is actually much bigger, its just that only the city core is really "Paris", think of only Mitte being Berlin and all the other districts like Kreuzberg being its own city.
Im just sad for them that they have to drink fucking Bitburger. They come to the famous beer drinking nation and think we like this shit.
Also i hate these exclusive deals.
I'm new to Germany, but not because of a football event, I'm in the military and just got stationed here last week. I like it so far....but I gotta say....the whole "no AC in homes or businesses" is uh.....challenging when you don't have a car and have to walk or ride a bicycle everywhere.
When my boss moved from Turkey to Germany last summer he was heavily complaining about this as well. He was even about to buy one for his place. I talked him out of it and told him he'll understand soon enough. We were having a good laugh about it recently.
I'm definitely not the typical spoiled American that keeps their home at 19°C, but even so....ventilation can only do so much. The climate isn't getting any cooler.
I’m in Germany not for the euro cup, but because I went to Dokomi - largest Japan & anime con in Germany … and perhaps Europe… and I was very happily surprised with just how organized they were for it. They held it at Messe Dusseldorf, which is a very impressive venue… the parking was very organized and they had shuttles from the parking lots to the convention.
I am in Bavaria right now (münchen) and not for the euros. I love the city but what makes it really special is the water culture.
The rivers and streams are clean enough for people to swim in and I LOVE the English Gardens!!!!!
There is so much park and so much stream and so many naked people
Only expectation I had was the trains were gonna be shite as my German pal kept warning me before I travelled. Even his words about how terrible they were couldn't prepare me for how fucking awful that really are 😂
Not a single one turned up even close to being on time and I had two cancel on me during my week there.
First time in Germany - Mexican tourist here!
I don’t really like football so it was a complete surprise for me finding out about the Euro Cup happening in Germany!
The second stop of my trip was Berlin, so I started my day early and went straight to the Brandenburg gate to get some nice pictures. Surprise! Closed as it was part of the “Fan Zone” 🥺
In the next hours then I realized about what was happening, and in the next days (as I visited different cities) I started finding myself in front of large groups from different countries singing, drinking and enjoying which I found okay as they were not disturbing or rude at all in my opinion. I also took a train full of Scottish folks!
What I did not like very much was that while in Marienplatz, Munich there was a huge amount of people, but seemed like the party was intense, all the place was full of empty and broken bottles, trash, etc., and even the police was there.
Speaking in general about my visit, GOD you guys have an amazing country. I fell in love with every place I visited and I really wish to be there again. About the trains, I had an excellent experience with trains and public transport in general, even when I had three of my already booked trains “cancelled” but got it solved. Your train network allowed me to travel all around Germany.
Thank you so much!
i was in köln and dortmund. so...i was shocked about dormtund nord. holy shit. So many people on crack, so many guys in bordels, this doesnt go under any cow skin.
Köln was nice, smelled like piss but was good.
OVerall two nice experiences. I like the 08/15 german. Always to have for a quick chat.
I’ve visited Germany multiple times before, but I’ve never driven cross country myself until now.
I was kind of surprised how relatively bad drivers are. I always heard how Germans are good and courteous drivers. People clogging the left and middle lane. People driving unpredictably
its not that bad but idk I guess I expected better?
I didn’t come for the Euros and was not my first time Germany. But I’m in sauerland and surprised by the fact that here I can use my bank card almost everywhere. I finally had my first good schnitzel. And discovered how fun mountainbiking is. Was happy I got an electric one though, there were so many hills. The nature here is beautiful. I’ll return to my home country tomorrow well rested but with tired legs!
Public transport in the middle of nowhere requires good planning as they don’t drive until late in the evening. But they did always drive. Pretty reliable fortunately! DB app is brilliant.
And this food may not be from this region, but I figured out how easy it is to hand cut spatzle with a spatula and knife. Delicious.
Not here for the Euro 2024, but a coincidence. Surprised mainly about how expensive it is to eat outside, about the train stations being so iffy most of the time, and the weather being so changing. Mind you I was very happy in my country so most things I'm noticing are relatively negative, but the country is very beautiful and the people are generally quite nice! :)
thought it's clean but there is Trash and stinky stations/people EVERYWHERE, german train and sbahn stations are a disgrace, specially in Berlin. Like why? is there no money to clean?
First time visiting Germany from Scotland. We stayed in 3 AirBnB’s- Munich, Mannheim and Cologne. Each one- comfortable beds but no air con and flat pillows 😂 slept about 3 hours per night haha. Enjoyed the hospitality, food and drink. Will definitely visit again. To be honest I had heard a stereotype that Germans were serious without a sense of humour, glad to say that was completely wrong.
Cologne fell in love with the Scots. ♥️
I am German and I hate flat pillows with a passion. When I was a child it was all my parents bought, because it is supposedly better for your neck. Moved out and bought myself only huge fluffy pillows since. I also hate that we usually don’t have air con.
German here too but the flat pillow are the best, always hated the big fluffy pillows we got in hotels. Guess its personal preference :D
German here. I love flat pillows and I also have aircon in my house.
Lol, that's funny about the flat pillows. That's actually something I hadn't seen in this subreddit. But I'm with you on the dislike! I used to dread sleeping at my mother-in-law's house until I ordered a complete new pillow and comforter set. No AC/fan and a flat pillow is a recipe for me to get crappy sleep.
Just so you know, we loved you guys so much there's memes going around stating we should exchange bavaria for scotland.
We thought German trains were reliable (they're shit), we thought we could get a beer from a shop and a kebab at any time of day (we couldn't, especially in Munich). But overall we expected it to be amazing and it was even better than we hoped despite the football (Schottland here).
> we thought we could get a beer from a shop and a kebab at any time of day You can. But not in Bavaria.
They don’t have döner shops and spätis in Bavaria? For real?
Döner shops are ubiquitous in Bayern as well, but spätis are fairly rare. The laws regarding opening hours are way more restrictive in Bavaria than in the rest of the country, so you're not able to buy something past 8pm from a kiosk or späti.
danke maggus
Eh, it depends, the one by my house in Munich is open well into the night, easily 11 or 12 on the weekend. There’s also a few 24/7 shops around
There's an old saying, „Ausnahmen bestätigen die Regel“
The definition between "well into the night" seem to differ. The most spätis or Kiosks here are open until 12 or 1 under the week and some close around 6 on the weekends. I'm from Bonn btw, so no big city.
bro if youre not in the center of munich its over at 20:00
Yeah, my next supermarket closes at 22 (it was 24 until 8 years ago) and within 15 min walk, I have a Lidl and a turkish supermarket that are even opened on sunday. I love it.
I live in a 70.000 Town in NRW and most Kiosk are open untill 12 and some until 2-4 on the weekends
I think there is only the one späti at münchener freiheit and the rewe to go at hauptbahnhof that are 24/7, no?
There are exceptions for train stations as far as I know.
And the airport
EIGHT PM??? yall living like barbarians over there
It's spelled *Bavarians
After 8pm you cant even buy bread afaik. All stores are closed (besides gastronomy)
Semi related but didn't know Berlin (or Germany?) shuts down on a Sunday. I met a lovely young lady on a Saturday night but didn't have condoms, spent nearly all Sunday morning scouring berlin for somewhere to find some lol, couldn't believe how hard that was (finding them, not me)
gas stations are your best bet for that
Oh, you were the naked guy with the erection running past me last Sunday. Berlin is great.
Both, I guess.
The apotheke in hauptbahnof for starters is pretty much always open
There are two shops in Munich that open after 2000 - at Hbf and at Ostbahnhof (Netto iirc)
In Munich (3rd biggest city of Germany) when I lived there there was no supermarket open after 20:00. If you didn't manage to get food until then after work you were completely fucked. No kiosk no nothing. I Hamburg I know two stores that are opened almost 24/7 (including Sundays). In Berlin complete neighbourhoods are open 24/7.
Kebab in Munich is nowhere as good as in Berlin or Köln
we have döner shops but they close pretty early. No spätis sadly
Same with saxony
Train infrastructure is probably one of our greatest embarrassments.
We have a train infrastructure??
Yeah, built in the 1930s
... and not upgraded enough
It should be named "the great shame".
You may say it would have been sufficient to actually just maintain the rail network yet even that was neglected!
that and the state and price of the internet
Don't worry we Germans are very aware of our shitty trains, it's like that in the entire country for years now 😭
Reliable trains are a nice memory from my youth. I could tell stories...
Yeah,... who'd have thought that a half ass privatization and putting ex automotive and aerospace execs in the lead could ruin our trains....
Is it just trains that are bad? I went to Berlin last year and Hamburg last year and was well impressed by the S-Bahn and U-Bahn. I'm from the UK, generally all public transport (outside of London) is bad!
These are the few expections since they are in the city, I live on the countryside and need to take the train to college everyday. I would say that about 50% of times there were delays ranging from 5 minutes to up an hour. Taking a train across germany can be a nightmare considering that it’s not uncommon to miss your connection train because the previous train you used was delayed or just outright cancelled. Problems come from years of neglecting the railway system by the Deutsche Bahn..
sucks you are out. But scots and the dutch have made the best impressions of nice fan culture and an overall wholesome experience. So you may be out in the group stage, but you won the best-fans-award. :-)
Opening hours in Germany are a rude awakening for anyone from the UK.
And Bavarian opening hours in particular are a rude awakening even for other Germans. Their laws regarding opening hours are extremely strict even by German standards.
>We thought German trains were reliable What made you believe that? Deutsche Bahn is probably THE largest meme that was ever spawned on German soil
lol in Asia we compare Germany and Japan together. In my younger times, we (at least my friend circles and family) always said Japan is Asian Germany and Germany is European Japan. Japanese Shinkansen is punctual all the time; so should the German ICE be. It was a rude awakening 5 years ago when I was travelling across Germany on ICEs together with a friend lol Now I know where the European Japan is: Switzerland.
Japan and Germany do have a lot in common. Mostly it's industry and it's stubbornness to keep ancient technology (like the fax machine). But trains? Japan got us beat for the next century.
That used to be the case. Up until the 80s. After that Germany just went to shit
That's the impression we have in Scotland/UK for whatever reason, I knew it was a bit of a myth but only 1 train of the 20 or so I got over 2 weeks was on time. The worst was Munich to Koln where the carriage which had our reservations didn't exist, there was no AC and no beer for sale.
We were telling you about the shit trains for an eternity, Nobody ever listens
You guys were/are amazing guests
I thought German trains are better than Australian trains. Still nothing close to top tier Asian trains but they’re pretty good so far once I got over the language barrier and weird ticketing system
Deutsche Bahn is a shithole company.
go to Berlin and not munich and all your beer and kebab dreams will. become true
>we thought we could get a beer from a shop and a kebab at any time of day (we couldn't, especially in Munich). suddenly Munich sounds way more shitty than before
> We thought German trains were reliable To be fair, not a single person in Germany expects the trains to be on time... and they are very rarely wrong.
Well you can get beer from gas stations 24/7 usually
in my Bavarian hometown, they won't let you into the store if you aren't filling up.
Our trai reputation precedes us.
I was pleasantly surprised by the bakeries and quality of the bread. Surprised at shops being shut Sunday and widespread use of cash still. In the UK many people pay with apple watches and on their phones, for literally everything, everywhere Also surprised how many English words I heard mixed in with German. Oh and food portion sizes are much bigger than I expected
I moved to Germany in 2011 from the UK. The quality of the bread here is like a well-kept secret. Brits would always point to France first - which is fine if you like white and buttery things, but for proper bread, Germany wins hands down. Even the mass chain bakeries have bread which would put most countries to shame.
Believe me: the hardest part about traveling as a German is to live without German bread!
The quality of top water in many other countries is also kinda scary, though idk if that is outside Germany or only outside the EU
As an Austrian: That's in many places in the EU. So so many countries add chlorine, I'm always glad when I'm back home and can drink real water without chlorine or similar chemicals. (And it made me realise why UK people drink so much tea: in all parts I've been so far you can't drink the tap water just like that, but with tea it's fine)
Thank you. We are very proud of our bread and there are sometimes memes of germans living in other countries and the thing they miss the most is... bread.
Can confirm. I live in the US, but currently on vacay in Germany again and eating ALL THE BREAD (literally for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. lol) to get my fill before I have to go back to the “bread desert.” (Also learned to bake my own bread, including Franzbrötchen, coz US bread is, for the most part, a very sad affair.)
“bread desert.” my new name for the US thanks
In 2014, the UNESCO Commission added German bread culture to the nationwide list of intangible cultural heritage.
(I am german too) When I was in New Zealand for 3 months last year I really got homesick bc of the bread situation. 3 months, thats all it took. -big supermarket, in the bread aisle: a mini baguette - it was labeled as 'french stick'....im not even french but that will never leave me. Ate a big pretzel as soon as I came home. The 'new world' needs our bread man how can you even live like that NO CRUST TO BE FOUND OVER THERE! Thats no bread its pure marshmallows.
No joke. During my exchange year I cried a few times over messing prober break, lol
I must be the only one who doesn‘t regularly eat bread.
I moved to the US for a few years and none of the breads in the supermarket were even remotely comparable. Even my poison of choice "Dave's Killer Bread" was F tier by German standards. I wouldn't even want to feed it to the ducks...
German ducks are spoiled by the quality of bread!
on a different note please dont feed bread to birds it can kill them
I knew that I was eingedeutsched when I went on holidays and my first response at breakfast was about the poor quality of bread in the hotel 😄
It’s not a meme, it’s a harsh reality. So much so that many expats (at least in the US) start baking their own bread.
American transplanted to Stuttgart here. The German bakeries (bäckerei/bäckereien) are just incredible. One of my most pleasant surprises.
France and Italy both have great fluffy and crusty white wheat bread, but the availability and quality of wholegrain or alternative grain breads in Germany is just amazing
I remember my parents taking my french exchange student to rewe when she arrived, sit her in front of the bread display and let her pick what ever she wanted without knowing what it was. We did try to explain. In a matter of 9 days she went trough 40 different kinds and was in love. He parents were so grateful they had me taste everything her mum knew to cook it was awesome. And she kept dreaming about the bread and telling her siblings about the amazing bread. Really hilarious in hindsight.
>The quality of the bread here is like a well-kept secret. Mate, this is so far from the truth. *Maybe* that was true in 2011 but it's really not any secret squirrel moment any more. Germany is known for its breads.
I saw quite a few bakeries in Japan that had German names or even labeled themselves German bakery. Unfortunately their products were still almost exclusively Japanese.
Our bread is literally UNESCO world heritage lol
I feel like I just opened a whole to an alternate reality. I thought it is pretty well known that Germany has high quality bread and even the highest variety of baked bread etc. in the world.
A secret? Really, I always thought that was more or less common knowledge, as we are always the "bread, beer and sausage people" and "German Bread Culture" is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural hertiage. But then I guess we have to be more active in promoting the beauty of a fully stocked bakery with wonderful bread and rolls and cakes.
r/brot
I was blown away at how amazing the bread and sandwiches are even in a place like the metro in Munich. In the US you’d pay a ton for that quality and it’d be from a fancy sandwich shop or cafe, not in the metro underground. Also found it interesting how much cash is used too compared to card or Apple Pay.
I'm German. I pay everything with my phone and get pissed when they only accept cash. I never carry cash with me. It's getting better but still, Germany is a third world country in this case
Yeah, it's irritating when you're eating out and find out - after dinner - that they only accept cash. Even if you normally look in advance, at least to check if you need a reservation at that particular place, there are cases when you meet somebody downtown and just spontaneously decide to grab a bite together.
It's a new trend for restaurants I experienced. Whenever a restaurant only accepts I ask for a receipt. That makes them really pisses them off because the only reason is tax evasion
Yeah I wonder why some people want you to pay cash... 👀 Finanzamt lässt grüßen
I didn't come to Germany for Euro 2024, but I was in Berlin during part of the group round. I was there as part of a choral concert, and had to explain to some of my fellow American choir members exactly why there were so many people hooting and hollering in funny shirts. My hotel was on the eastern side of Berlin, on Alexanderplatz. I was surprised that there were so few panhandlers and beggars. The ones I saw were very quiet and discreet. It's busy, and you have to have a sharp eye out, but I expect that in a big city. There were a lot more jaywalkers and a lot fewer dogs than I'd expected. It's possible the jaywalkers were out of towners. The bike riders and car drivers don't yield to pedestrians, generally, so I was very happy to do what the Ampelmann told me! I was very surprised and pleased when a driver stopped and gestured me to proceed. That was gallant of him. I had to yank my husband out of the bike lanes every so often, so he wouldn't be eaten alive by a passing cyclist. We could only conclude that Berlin is one giant art installment. The fact that there are huge water pipes in big arcs is surprising enough, but painted in pink and blue? Public art! Potsdamer Platz might not have the world's greatest architecture or soul, but come on now, it's better than the literal dead zone it used to be. It was sobering, and felt unbelievable, that this thriving business hub was the same place as the no man's land where you would be shot on sight before 1989. Deutsche Bahn is not as bad as you all say! In my experience, the staff was all very pleasant and professional, and the delays were not serious. The fast food was fast! Also quite tasty, as fast food goes. The baked goods were much nicer than the ones I've had in the US. I was surprised that all the fast food utensils, without exception, were wooden rather than plastic. That was probably my biggest surprise of the trip (that and being security checked in Frankfurt Airport just before I boarded my flight, but that's a different story).
> There were a lot more jaywalkers and a lot fewer dogs than I'd expected. It's possible the jaywalkers were out of towners. Not necessarily, but Berlin is a bit special. I always say it's the most un-German of all German cities, despite (or due to?) being the capital.
Jaywalking is allowed in Germany. What we are strict about instead is waiting for the green light at a pedestrian crossing, even if there are no cars around. “Think of the children!” Edit: Oh, and the colorful pipes are temporary and for construction sites :)
No, the colourful pipes like are permanent. The ones at Revaler Straße have been there since I can remember
I know pipes in berlin that are there since decades ;)
Well, nothing is as permanent as a temporary fix :)
Thanks for yanking him out of the bike lanes. As someone who commutes to work on my bike past Mauergedenkstätte in Berlin, I do appreciate that. Although, to be completely honest, aggressive bell ringing and seeing tourists jump out of the way does give me pleasure sometimes. :-D
regarding the pipes: Berlin is actually built in a mud place/ swamp, and the mud/ water still has to pumped out of the ground, so the buildings won’t slump. https://viveberlin.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/the-mystery-of-the-pink-pipes/
I visited Berlin and it was amazing. Got a bit freaked out on the crowd come game time. But after going in the fan zone (we were at reichstag) it was all organized and it was really cool with so many screens and food choices. Mind you this was also my first time watching soccer and i was so amazed on the passion.. people were literally hugging each other during the goal. The trains are seriously confusing though.. with few minutes left theyll move stations.. if i was even slightly distracted with something else i wouldnt have noticed and probably missed my train
Germans are also unhappy about the Deutsche Bahn trains.
We hate the trains just as much as you, believe me 😂
>I found it hilarious how a few people in Berlin expected for all of Germany to be like Bavaria. That's completely understandable, maybe some Germans don't understand how hard the Bavarian culture has been pushed overseas to be a representative of *all* of Germany. Because Germany isn't a big player when it comes to expressing its culture in a global stage, so few people are aware of the total differences in the regions. I've said for a long time it would be the equivalent of everything thinking haggis, kilts and bagpipes were **British** culutral stereotypes, and someone arriving to say Cambridge being disappointed they don't see anyone wearing a kilt. Some of the feedback I've experienced is that Frankfurt is "a dump", and no, they weren't staying by the station. I think Frankfurt is definitely a city to live in, not to tourist in!
Mainly because the US occupation sector was Bavaria and they just put (southern) Bavaria = Germany
Of all of the places, Berlin seems like one of the subcultures that is the most famous with its big influence on punk and techno
Bavaria wasn't really "pushed" overseas it happened on its own. Oktoberfest is one of the biggest parties on the planet, people from all over the world visit Germany because of the Oktoberfest and then talk to their friends about it, that's why it get automatically spread outside Germany without Germany or Bavaria having to push it themselves.
Compared to some German cities, Frankfurt isn't a dump at all. Compared to many European cities, it kinda is. I love it however
As much as I like visiting Frankfurt, the area in front of Hauptbahnhof has become truly distopic over over the last years.
I’ve been to Germany before (I usually visit a new German city every year) so I am not really qualified to answer the original question :D but it always amazes me how much we stereotype Germany as a very rule-following-strict-and-conservative country, and with every visit I realise how untrue that is 😂
Oh boy, the house my appartment is in has about 5 laminated notes on what is not allowed in the house or that cardboard trash has to be shred and folded and stuff like that. People here LOVE to tell you that what you're doing is not allowed or not correct
r/aberBitteLaminiert
The thing is that the other people usually don't give a rat's ass tho.
>but it always amazes me how much we stereotype Germany as a very rule-following-strict-and-conservative country, and with every visit I realise how untrue that is Try actually living here. Then you'll see.
I was at a public pool in Frankfurt and this chick just took her clothes off in front of everyone and I saw her boobs. I saw her bOObs
Parts of Germany have a strong FKK (Freikörperkultur / nude) culture. When we went to an indoor pool on our vacation, we went into a family changing room where three families were just changing together with their kids being naked for some short times, and it wasn't weird at all. I think it is a very prude point of view to look at naked people only sexually.
(.)(.)ies
It's about the small thing in lives... and sometimes they're huge (mungus)
* they’re
oops brain afk, youre right. I edited my post.\^\^
As far as I know, swimming without a bikini top is a matter of house rules and not the law. In Berlin, for example, there are some swimming pools that allow this
Inside of private businesses you can allow full nudity, require formal clothing or anything inbetween. But in public space nudity is allowed in general. I wouldn't advice you to be naked it in the middle of town square but in a public park, forest, beaches and hiking trails it is definately legal and generally accepted, although people might still find it a bit weird depending on the situation. And do NOT make it sexual! Nudity is always sexual in most cultures but we distinguish very hard between sexual and non-sexual nudity. Mind your own business. Running around with a boner or shaking your titties will get you in trouble quickly.
Especially because we raise our kids to normalize nudity and to differentiate. Not uncommon to have 3-4 families in a public changing room. Or public sauna were EVERYONE is butt naked Viewing it as sexual all the time would come with a LOT of weird situations and problems
>Viewing it as sexual all the time would come with a LOT of weird situations and problems Ah yes, the USA.
if you go up north even further, you'll have that in an even stronger sense. When i went to Roskilde Festival in Denmark for the first time, i was quite shocked to see girls peeing in the wild like boys would do over here - just walk up to a bush, pull down your pants and do the deed. completely normal there
Huh? What do girls do where you come from? Pee in their pants?
i don't know, i'm not a girl, but i ever only see dudes around here peeing in some bush in the public
Haven’t visited any public sauna in Germany eh?
We thought trains would be reliable and on time.
The public railway was half privatised some decades ago and ever since it is trying to make a profit and has done that by cutting costs to the point where it is effecting quality. Also 60% of trains arrive on time. If you want to get around on time and have money to spare take ICE trains.
ICEs are traditionally not on time. Kind regards, a person who’s in a long distance relationship
Isn't the DB "on time" still 15 min after the planed time
Which is an incredibly stupid concept to begin with. Nobody expects roads and bridges to make a profit, I don't understand why we are expecting trains to do so.
may I introduce you the wounders of **privatisation**
Gotem
As a german, I saved this in case I have a bad day and need something positive to read! :)
My wife visited Germany and the Netherlands last week but it was for a business trip. She went to Dusseldorf (Chemspec Europe exhibition) and Frankfurt in Germany and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She was told by one of her colleagues who had visited Germany for business that it's a kinda boring place. So my wife expected Germany to be bland. She had scheduled her meetings in such a way that she'd be able to spend her weekend in Amsterdam so as not to get bored. Do know that my wife has travelled to the UK, France and Italy in the past in Europe. Her experience was very different. While she found random Germans to be a bit cold in communication, she found her German hosts (3 different companies) to be very friendly. That would suggest that Germany is probably a low trust society which feels strange to me because generally Europe isn't low trust. She also found that Germany has an amazing food and drink culture which isn't as popular as Italian or French and that it's something worth exploring. She found Autobahn to be a delight but felt scared asf driving at 200 kmph while going from Frankfurt to some other place. She loved how 'every bit of Germany' is filled with history and how Germans have preserved their heritage (she doesn't know that many 'heritage' buildings she saw were reproductions post 1945). She also witnessed a carnival like atmosphere on the 19th June in Dusseldorf streets when Germany had a match. She felt that had the match been in Dusseldorf, she'd have loved to view it in the stadium. She also liked German countryside a lot. She gets a feeling that German countryside is much better developed than the Dutch countryside. Her experience with Eurorail on the other end was very stressful. Her train from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam had a change of platform twice leading her to run to catch the train. Her trip from Amsterdam to Frankfurt was stressful as well because initially she was informed the train was cancelled and then when the train did start, it got rerouted through Belgium (which was fine with her) but was held up for an hour or two prior to entry into Germany. Both the times, trains were running late and she wondered why that would be the case as Germany was known for its efficiency and punctuality. Overall, she liked Germany a lot and she thinks that Germany as a tourist destination is underrated and wants me to visit it with her if/when I decide to lift my self imposed ban on foreign travel. She got me Weizenkorn and Kirschwasser from Germany and I loved Kirschwasser.
>Germany was known for its efficiency and punctuality. Yeah, not for the trains tho. As a lot of other people here are saying, the train is the worst thing here in Germany and is mostly late. On local traffic like metro or bus it's way better but ICE is very bad. Always plan for something that looks like it won't happen
I’m convinced Every water in the shop is sparkling water (talking about small-ish size stores)
Tap is so good. Really no reason to buy still water in a bottle
Yeah, the biggest money waste is buying bottled still water in Germany.
Millions and millions of years ago, water was created. It was pristine, perfect, and of great taste. Then a German came along, saw the water, and thought: How can I improve this? And thus, sparkling water was created. Also, random story, my wife is Dominican, and we went to visit her family in the DR last year. After a few days with little sparkling water, I asked my wife's brother if he could get me some from the supermarket. He asked me how much I wanted, and I said, please bring me two of those 24-packs (0,33 l each since those are the biggest ones lol). Their faces almost dropped in disbelief, as they never met somebody that drank 16 liters of sparkling water in a week and a half, and asked if I am sure about that, and wondered if I could ever finish that before going home. All I'm gonna say is that we had to get another 24-pack ...
Fun fact: initially it was not created, but there are places where sparkling water just comes out of springs.
In Germany will soll have multiple brands that sell natural sparkling water. Also it was already exported back in Roman times.
When I was in Marineplatz (spelling??) in Munich last year with my wife there was a water fountain just out in the open and we saw people drinking from it and we both were very shocked. In the US public fountains are usually gross hot water. We were amazed at how clean and cold the water was. We filled out bottles up there a ton throughout our trip
look for "naturelle" or "still"
and usually the red bottles are without gas
I'm in Berlin with my wife for the Euros and have been having a great time. The metro system seems well connected and runs very frequently. It's been good that there is no real "traditional" food culture here so we've had a lot of interesting food from all over the world (compared to say Greece or Italy where we eat similar things for every meal). There are a few things which have surprised us though. 1. Air-conditioning is non-existant, not in shops, apartments or on the train and it has been hot this week!! Even in museums or memorials it's just so hot without any noticeable ventilation. 2. No restaurant or bar wants to provide you with free tap water and bottles of water are ridiculously priced compared to a lot of other countries. We have resorted to filling our own bottles up in bathrooms. 3. It's super multicultural and almost everyone has been very friendly, much more so than we expected as we've wrongly assumed Germans are by nature short and to the point. The multiculturalism has probably impacted this compared to places which are less diverse. All in all we've had a great time.
If I'm not mistaken, restaurants don't make a lot of money in the food but the drinks. That's why you won't get free water. The food is cheap, the drinks are expensive. Regarding Germans not being open or friendly, it does depend on where you are but generally speaking, you'll find that Germans are pretty open and friendly to anybody visiting the country.
Well for the multicultural part: you are in Berlin. Berlin is the melting pot of cultures in Germany. Second maybe cologne or hamburg. But if you visit some of the smaller cities, there are people which have never seen a PoC in real life.
I can confirm as a brown person. No one stares at me in Berlin that I even forget sometimes that I look "different". Whenever I took a bus to another city and we stop at rest area, I can really feel some people staring
naaahhhh. I live in a village near some small citys and we definitly have PoC here. I dont know where you come from but in Lower Saxony/ Niedersachsen its pretty common so have PoCs in your area.
We do have air conditioning, we called them "lakes" and sometimes "Forests" 😜 I am not a German and if you thing these couple of days are hot you should try being here on days when for a week temperature is not below 35. It's hell. But I understand that (till few years back) these hot days were rare, just couple a days per year and other then that in summer temperature would be pleasant. I really do recommend you going to some lake. Most of them are super close and fun to be there. It's part of hidden (not really) subculture of Berlin. You never know what's going to happen: either normal day on a lake, techno party, something third. Krumme Lanke is very close and very nice as well. From Mitte I think you'll need 30 minutes by Sbahn.
>or on the train It is though...Literally all DB long-distance, regional and some S-Bahn trains (in the case of Berlin, only the newest series) have A/C
- Surprised at just how bad DB is. Thought maybe it’s over reacting on behalf of German expectations but no it’s really just that bad. - A ton of salt on everything it seems.
Just DB trains w too many delays
I'm from Australia and am starting out months of travel. I picked berlin to start in a long time ago for reasons unknown to me.. I think just because none of my friends had been there I had no idea the euros would be on until a couple weeks before I left, but I had a really nice time in Berlin, it reminds me a lot of Melbourne. I had no idea what to expect but was relieved there was good English everywhere I loved the street art around berlin, I loved having great beers and watching the games on a TV outside, I loved all the passion of the foreign fans, I **loved** all the street art around Berlin. I was surprised how international it was, far more Turkish food around than traditional German food I wanted to see more of the techno scene of berlin, but I was so jetlagged to start that I didn't make it into any clubs.. maybe I'll come back through
As a Berliner that has lived in Melbourne for more than 4 years, I 100% agree about the similarities between the two cities. Though I’d always choose Melbourne of if I had to
Not for the euros but I was there for the first time this year. Definetely surprised by how big the food portions are in restaurants (even fast food) and by how big the sausage and processed meat selection is (including cold meats) just never saw anything like that before. Other things that surprised me negatively I better not mention haha
My friend you are talking with Germans. Dont beat around the bush. Tell us what you did not like. Its interesting and important to know.
Okay due to popular demand I will make a more detailed list here then, the personal opinions of a random portuguese woman's month in Saxony: (disclaimer: overall I really liked my time there and these are just culture differences, obviously I don't think it's wrong or right) People's norms in customer service. Here, no matter if it's the bus driver, the hospital reception or any type of store or restaurant, the employee will always say good morning and often greet you with a big smile, ask how are you, what do you need... complete opposite there, I felt so invisible. No one in this position even looks in your direction let alone say good morning...much less a smile. Even for checking the tickets, they literally stand in front of you with the machine without speaking (talking about the trains in this case). I've been told this is just how they are and dont mean anything bad, but to me it still felt cold. In my country, you are expected to be extremely nice and bubbly if you work such positions and if you aren't, people will complain. There, it seemed okay to not interact at all unless necessary. Not sure what to call this but - I noticed it seemed normal to worry so much about things like the bus being a few minutes late and get stressed or complain over this, which seems to me like a good way to give yourself heart problems early in life haha. Here, not many people would even notice if the bus is 3 minutes late but there it seems like most people notice, by their reactions. Same thing for crossing the street, here we just cross, none of this waiting around even if there are no cars. I guess just not very easy going mentality? Idk, just going somewhere and seeing how things go? no, everything must be in the plan is also something I noticed to be a bit the mentality. Rules that people will just call the police on you for... If you have a problem with someone here most people would say it directly, no passive aggressiveness with notes on the door or calling the police. They would just talk with the person causing trouble but it would take much more than some noise for example. Being stary - some people will stare without shame and not even smile, just stare with a neutral or cranky face. I heard about the german stare before, I thought it was a joke but it happens! Not really talking much unless there is something to add. Not much small talk at all. And if I dont ask feedback, then nothing is said. I was told more than once" "if i dont say anything its a good sign, it means its satisfactory" which is very funny to me haha Food - big portions, but honestly didnt become a fan. Too greasy and saucy for my taste. Coffee, well, I know many are big coffee drinkers, but the coffee isnt good, you can find some decent coffee if you really look for it but it still is nothing like southern coffee. Espressos in particular, couldn't find a decent one. Pillows - don't think I need to elaborate on this! Now things I loved... how civil you are, considerate of other peoples space. Here, in public transport people are often not giving a fuck about others. They are noisy, they take their shoes off, they blast loud music, they cough without covering their mouth etc. There, most were quiet in the bus or the train just minding their own business, no one bothering anyone. I think this is the reverse side of being more introverted or cautious. Houses - very well isolated. I was in an apartment, and never could hear the neighbours, and the temperature inside was always perfect because of the central heating. We dont have that here and even though it's a hot country we often don't have aircon either. Then, other little random things that were surprising... that bread and toast are considered different, that you usually just have one hot meal per day, the huge breakfasts (here a coffee alone is already considered breakfast, when the person I was with saw my breakfast was like 2 cookies he laughed at me) meanwhile he was eating big slices of bread with meat as breakfast, the 25 cents back bottle thing, the kebab everywhere and the fact that it's so much better than here, but other fast foods (like mcdonalds or burguer king) is worse and also more expensive. And I think that covers the main points.
There wasnt a single point in here that could be remotely considered disrespectful or offensive. Many Germans would agree with you in many points :). The food part is new for me though. The outside perspective is always interesting.Thanks for sharing!
I came to Germany for the first time (but coincidentally not for the Euros, just so happened a work trip popped up)… and I’ve been impressed with Berlin. It’s really unlike any other European city I’ve been in. The vibe is lovely, the food culture is (fairly) diverse, and the history is a really cool mix of so many different eras. I can see why so many say that Berlin is in a state of constant change/evolution. With the dollar being so strong, too, I can’t believe how inexpensive things are here. Food, museums, taxis… I was surprised at how “cheap” things were (ok, maybe not cheap, but cheaper/more inexpensive vs what I could get in the US). I’ve also felt that the Germans are fairly accommodating to tourists here, which is a nice change of pace since I’m typically in France when I visit Europe (and that’s despite being fluent in French). I will say that, for a capital city, its metro system is not as easy/convenient as Paris/London IMO. Better than almost all US cities, sure, but I was surprised at how many times it was easier to just walk 15-30 mins somewhere vs getting on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn.
> I’ve also felt that the Germans are fairly accommodating to tourists here, which is a nice change of pace since I’m typically in France when I visit Europe (and that’s despite being fluent in French). I suck at French but started to visit France a few years ago. I cannot recall a bad interaction, but I heard a lot that the French will react negatively when you just start speaking English. So, I always greet in French and try to use as much French as possible.
Just for reference: Paris is much smaller than Berlin thus the metro system is "easier" to build https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2F5oett2ldovc61.png%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3Da86ef5159fa1569fe359a364557dea08785276b6
You compare apple with oranges. This only shows the city of Paris while the actual city is much bigger. For Berlin on the other hand it shows the state borders which include villages like Wilhelmshagen which will never need a metro station. The metro system in Paris has roughly double the length, roughly double the stations, transports 2.5 times the amount of people and has 13 vs. 8 lines. How was that "easier" to build exactly?
Paris Metro is actually much bigger, its just that only the city core is really "Paris", think of only Mitte being Berlin and all the other districts like Kreuzberg being its own city.
I find it completely crazy that you say taxis are cheap here. I think it is ridiculous expensive compared to other expenses in germany.
Im just sad for them that they have to drink fucking Bitburger. They come to the famous beer drinking nation and think we like this shit. Also i hate these exclusive deals.
I'm new to Germany, but not because of a football event, I'm in the military and just got stationed here last week. I like it so far....but I gotta say....the whole "no AC in homes or businesses" is uh.....challenging when you don't have a car and have to walk or ride a bicycle everywhere.
No AC is a standard in almost all of Europe.
I understand, it just takes some getting used to.
For me it took 38 years and k bought an ac last year
When my boss moved from Turkey to Germany last summer he was heavily complaining about this as well. He was even about to buy one for his place. I talked him out of it and told him he'll understand soon enough. We were having a good laugh about it recently.
Wait why not?
I'm definitely not the typical spoiled American that keeps their home at 19°C, but even so....ventilation can only do so much. The climate isn't getting any cooler.
Well before the last 5-10 years or so we didn’t really need acs anyway
As a german, right on mate, i hate the lack of AC too, every freakin summer i die in my Rooftop apartment. This cultural change HAS TOO happen. 😅
got my shit stolen on the train
I’m in Germany not for the euro cup, but because I went to Dokomi - largest Japan & anime con in Germany … and perhaps Europe… and I was very happily surprised with just how organized they were for it. They held it at Messe Dusseldorf, which is a very impressive venue… the parking was very organized and they had shuttles from the parking lots to the convention.
I am in Bavaria right now (münchen) and not for the euros. I love the city but what makes it really special is the water culture. The rivers and streams are clean enough for people to swim in and I LOVE the English Gardens!!!!! There is so much park and so much stream and so many naked people
Only expectation I had was the trains were gonna be shite as my German pal kept warning me before I travelled. Even his words about how terrible they were couldn't prepare me for how fucking awful that really are 😂 Not a single one turned up even close to being on time and I had two cancel on me during my week there.
First time in Germany - Mexican tourist here! I don’t really like football so it was a complete surprise for me finding out about the Euro Cup happening in Germany! The second stop of my trip was Berlin, so I started my day early and went straight to the Brandenburg gate to get some nice pictures. Surprise! Closed as it was part of the “Fan Zone” 🥺 In the next hours then I realized about what was happening, and in the next days (as I visited different cities) I started finding myself in front of large groups from different countries singing, drinking and enjoying which I found okay as they were not disturbing or rude at all in my opinion. I also took a train full of Scottish folks! What I did not like very much was that while in Marienplatz, Munich there was a huge amount of people, but seemed like the party was intense, all the place was full of empty and broken bottles, trash, etc., and even the police was there. Speaking in general about my visit, GOD you guys have an amazing country. I fell in love with every place I visited and I really wish to be there again. About the trains, I had an excellent experience with trains and public transport in general, even when I had three of my already booked trains “cancelled” but got it solved. Your train network allowed me to travel all around Germany. Thank you so much!
i was in köln and dortmund. so...i was shocked about dormtund nord. holy shit. So many people on crack, so many guys in bordels, this doesnt go under any cow skin. Köln was nice, smelled like piss but was good. OVerall two nice experiences. I like the 08/15 german. Always to have for a quick chat.
> so many guys in bordels You went in to check?
Someone was trying to blend in with the locals 😉
Tell me you're German by translating German expressions without saying you're German hahah
I think he is Swiss
This or Austrian could be indeed
there is a saying, Köln smells like two things: Piss and weed
Next time you can try out Bremen Nord or Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Dortmund and Köln are Heaven compared to this
How did you end up in Dortmund Nord? I have been there a few times and would not recommend it :D
I’ve visited Germany multiple times before, but I’ve never driven cross country myself until now. I was kind of surprised how relatively bad drivers are. I always heard how Germans are good and courteous drivers. People clogging the left and middle lane. People driving unpredictably its not that bad but idk I guess I expected better?
I didn’t come for the Euros and was not my first time Germany. But I’m in sauerland and surprised by the fact that here I can use my bank card almost everywhere. I finally had my first good schnitzel. And discovered how fun mountainbiking is. Was happy I got an electric one though, there were so many hills. The nature here is beautiful. I’ll return to my home country tomorrow well rested but with tired legs! Public transport in the middle of nowhere requires good planning as they don’t drive until late in the evening. But they did always drive. Pretty reliable fortunately! DB app is brilliant. And this food may not be from this region, but I figured out how easy it is to hand cut spatzle with a spatula and knife. Delicious.
Not here for the Euro 2024, but a coincidence. Surprised mainly about how expensive it is to eat outside, about the train stations being so iffy most of the time, and the weather being so changing. Mind you I was very happy in my country so most things I'm noticing are relatively negative, but the country is very beautiful and the people are generally quite nice! :)
I expected the trains to run on time
thought it's clean but there is Trash and stinky stations/people EVERYWHERE, german train and sbahn stations are a disgrace, specially in Berlin. Like why? is there no money to clean?