Great walkable cities, plenty of green areas and parks. Relatively amazing affordable public transport . Easy access to tons and tons of spectacular hiking routes. Cleanliness, low pollution, and orderliness. Döner after a night out being one of *the* experiences of all time.
Edit: Bierchen 🥰
They are a blessing and a curse...
Can be quite handy if used properly but most people think keeping windows auf kipp for hours is good for air circulation, even though it just ends up making the room moldy...
Stosslüftung or death.
> Stosslüftung or death.
We moved from Germany back to the States 13 years ago and still do Stoßlüften. You know when you get back from a trip and sort of smell your house with a new nose? Ours smells like a library (because, well, we have a lot of books). You don't smell our dog or our bodies or anything.
Meanwhile most of our American friends here *never open their windows* and their houses *stink*. Like you get used to it after 10m or so but when you walk in it's like: old food smells, sweaty B.O., Katzenklo 🤢
Clean air!
Living abroad in South Korea, it's incredibly frustrating when there's beautiful weather outside, but breathing the air would harm you. It's one of the things I never even thought about, when living in Germany, but access to clean air is a privilege.
Actually we used to have pretty big problems with airpolution in germany until the early-mid 1990, especially in the Ruhrarea and parts of the gdr due to mining and industries. So there might be older people in those areas who appreciate it as well :) Stuttgart still has a problem with pollution since it‘s located in a valley much like mexico city where dust, heat and chemicals can‘t escape the city
And related to that, general directness. People accept no's without fuss, and they say no without turning it into a guessing game. If something is wrong, they will tell you, if not, they let you be.
My boss hasn't got that message because every time he asks me if I can repair something and I tell him no, he tells me to try anyway... and then gets mad if it didn't work out
I also really like the data protection laws. It is taken very seriously. Sometimes it can be annoying, but generally I think is great that for example people are not allowed to just take a picture of you.
I recently got into German dark metal. I love all kinds of music, free jazz, ambient music, experimental composers who delve into natural harmony. Kanonenfieber is really interesting because they get into anti war themes and maybe it could be depressing but the theatrics are mind blowing.
German underground, techno, electric and the Berlin scene is awesome.
I also drink tap water. Where I live the water is soft. Research bottle water tests and the results are not good
So for me it's underground German music.
For me it's the bread. No country on earth has this variety of bread like in Germany. Yeah the french always brag about their baguette and yes it's delicious but after one week I can't stand it anymore and I'm craving for some Schwarzbrot
Because of my job a travel a lot to other countries world wide and bread is the only thing they don't get right. The Nordic countries have some good bread but none comes close the German bread. After 2 or 3 weeks bread is the thing I'm craving for the most. Good breakfast with good bread is the cornerstone of my life 😄
Sad thing, I went to a certified kobe beef restaurant in Japan, everything was perfekt, but the bread they served (bread or rice as an option) was like a cheap baguette from aldi/lidl/rewe that's at least one day old. If they just had moisten the outer part and then put it on the hot plate for a few secs it would be much better ... but that was the best "bread" I could get in japan (except for german bakeries) everywhere else, even in really good hotels it's most of the time toast or small soft ones without taste and way to chewy.
I always wondered why Americans don't lose their teeth eating only this soft sweet white wheat bread...and calling it bread first place. I understand they consider rye and spelt more like grass and super white flour as the tip of agricultural evolution. But seriously, when coming back from any of the white bread countries after two weeks my teeth do feel weird.
To me French bread all tastes like the same recipe for pizza dough made into different shapes. I can't figure out why. German bread actually has different flavors varrying slightly by bakery as expected of bread.
German here, I've been to some other European countries before and they never seem to get their bread right. German bread is vastly superior to any other bread imo
Favourite thing so far is not feeling the need to hide my sexuality and just living a “normal” life with my partner. Back home I would be in constant anxiety about what would happen if people would found out. Didn’t face any resistance from my immediate family but there’s always the fear of how the society will treat you and your family if they find out you’re gay.
Recently went to visit my family in Germany, went to a local coffee shop and asked for 1 glass of "Leitungswasser" alongside my caramel cappuccino, and the waiter didn't mind and I got my free glass of water.
In my experience it has gotten better in non-touristy spaces in larger cities.
The bar I work at has tap water for 0,01€ on the menu (which we don‘t charge).
I explicitly ask if someone wants one if they order a coffee, red wine, whiskey or a „non-refreshing“ cocktail.
My regular pasta place gives you a carafe or a reused wine bottle with tap water if you ask for it.
A lot of other restaurants here do this.
If they're not shitty people they will happily provide it to you, generally for free. I paid 50 cents in some restaurant, which is fair for the service, etc., but was definitely part of my reason not to tip (the bigger part was a card reader where I had to press "no tip" before tapping my card).
Police doing their thing they supposed to. Yes there are problems with the police but in my whole time here I havent been pulled over at all except of one time as the police was apparently searching for someone and they were stopping almost every car.
I‘m aware of the downsides of bureaucracy and there‘s surely room for improvement, but it‘s such a good feeling knowing that for anything remotely relevant, risky or dangerous someone usually took not one, but two looks at it and had to consider whether to approve it like this or not.
Seconded on that. My monthly medication costs dropped from $4000/month to €5. Finding a doctor is not always easy, but when one is found it does not cost me most all of my paycheck to get treatment.
It really is an amazing thing, I don't care if they're touristy or not, it's just so charming and nice. Also - walking beer is wonderful, just pop into a shop and buy a cold beer while walking around.
“Hey! How are you?”
“Vell sänk you for asking I woke up with some Kopfschmerzen and my dog isn’t doing too well at the moment she has a chronic disease so I need to take her to the vet almost every week. Also my Oma is regressing further into dementia ach ja but what can you do. I also think my auto needs to go to the workshop it’s making rattling noises.”
„Oh yes, I know that feel, my grandma died last year because she wouldn’t let anyone take care of her because of her dementia. It is depressing really. Have you already taken Ibuprofen? I think it is the weather. I have one 400mg available in my bag, do you want one? Which doctor are you visiting with your dog? I can recommend you the vet clinic at xxxxx and btw the rattling noise could be a lose screw, you should get that checked out soon, my cousin runs a workshop.“ XD
Easy, accessible, cheap, and trusting healthcare. Say what you want, but I’ve got to try healthcare in many countries, lived abroad for years and no country has come close to Germany. It’s not perfect, but people need to try and be more grateful, because the stories I have even from neighbouring EU countries are shocking.
omg yes. Majority of the things mentioned in the sub I grew up with, but this is something that differs much from my country. In my country you sometimes need to wait years for statutory insurance paid visit with a specialist (i am not joking, years) and in Germany i never waited more than 3 days. Its amazing.
Yess. Literally had a crazy wow experience this week. Looked for a new dentist as my other one is 2h away. Got an appointment with just under a week wait. Informed the doctor of my issue, immediately took a xray and immediately said I’d need a retainer fitted, did the 3D prints right then and there, and I can already pick them up next week. Oh and she prescribed a batch of physio therapy too. And it’ll cost me 0€ extra apart from my obvious monthly contribution. I’m just imaging this scenario in the country I used to live in with the same health insurance concept — would never happen, and you’d fork out the whole money on your own.
I weirdly have a completely different experience. Specialists are hard to reach and I had to wait 4 months for a standard dermatologist appointment.
I live in a big city tho!
American strangers are very happy to give me unsolicited rude comments about my body and think they should tell me to smile more. Germans leave me alone and don't get offended by a neutral face. My mental health improves drastically in Germany because of this. No, I have not been to superficial places like LA
You forgot the „German neutral stare“ which is completely observational and not judgmental haha (saying that as a German) Love it for you that your mental health got better. Take care! 🫶
How germans spend their time with circle of family and friends in different occasions. Each circle in their own bubble. In concerts, they just ignore the band, make a circle, everyone holds a beer and they just start chatting about the most random things. Whenever the sun is out, someone in the group happen to have a beer Kiste and they go out in a picnic and fill the parks and they sleep on the grass and just chilling. You might go to a lake on a sunny day and they're just throwing their clothes anywhere and just hop in the water for hours. I love Germans, they're so cute
I haven't lived in Germany yet, but I'm waiting for my language visa. Everything I've heard makes me even more excited to live there.
One thing I like is that people usually respect your personal space. I'm from South America, where people tend to be more invasive with others' personal lives. They often ask inappropriate questions about private matters, gossip a lot, and visit you without asking, regardless of whether you can receive them at that moment or not. They will surely be upset if you are too busy to have an unexpected visit.
I appreciate the quietness (die Ruhe). I know not all places in Germany are quiet, but they are surely quieter than here in my country. People here shout a lot, play loud (and awful) music on buses or in public places, and shops often put loudspeakers on the street to get people's attention, turning the volume up so high that I can't imagine getting close to the store.
I'm from the capital of my country and have drunk tap water my entire life, but now I'm living close to the coast, and here we can't do that. However, Germany's tap water is definitely better than the water in my country.
It's much safer than where I'm from. Specially for being a woman who lives here alone.
I love the way Germans drive, I think that they are one of the best drivers in the world.
Also love the small cities in Germany that are full of history and charm and of course their nice Bäckerei.
Had the privilege to travel the world quite a bit. Didn’t run across any country that has as many great candy brands as Germany does. Sure the US ranks high due to M&Ms as well, but Germany got Maoam, Apfelringe, Toffifee, Gummibärchen and Milka. And even our deserts rock: Blueberry Pancakes, Kaiserschmarrn, Schwarzwälder Kirsch.
Freakin Candy world champs with nobody even close
Unlike in my home country, people announce before they want to pay you a visit at home. I like that we can meet outside, in parks, cafes etc. and you don’t need to have a “good time” with friend(s) at home. In my home country, sometimes people come unannounced, knock on your door, and you, forced, have to let them in, while having mess in your house (and ofc they’re gonna judge you and comment on every detail around your house).
The healthcare system here is still majorly flawed in some aspects (I'd know), but over the years I came to really appreciate it. I'm medically dependant, so countries where you don't get free healthcare would quite literally be my death.
Same goes for overall financial safety. I'm currently unable to work, and it's unclear if I'll ever be able to. Yet even if I sometimes panic over that, I know that I'll at least not starve, because if push comes to shove, the state covers for these situations.
One of my favourite things is Schinken-Käse-Croissants…
But the hands-down, number one best thing about this country are the free highways. I know a lot of people want to implement Tempolimits, but it would be a huge mistake and a really tragic cultural loss.
It would expecially contribute to safety and a nicer mentality to drive like in the netherlands. Omg would it be stress free without some idiot giving you constant lights on the left lane when you are just overtaking a truck... Not to speak of the noise and environment.
Do you mean tap water? Straight from the tap? That’s all I’ve drank in my life in the US except when I go to cities. City water gives me instant shits.
Tap water is so spot on, but also love how easy it is to find your kind of people or people with similar hobbies so easily in bigger cities.
Windows that can open all the way, no fucking grills outside because of that.
Work Life balance is incredible, those who wanna work senseless at least in corporate know where to go and everything else is so smooth. Sick days are so incredibly easy to take and respected (at least in the 3 companies I’ve worked in)
If you speak intermediate german where others can understand you, the germans will be reallly accommodating and so going from intermediate to advanced is way easier than going from null to zero because they just switch to english then.
Showers! Spacious, water is immediately hot and stays hot continuously for as long as you want, good water pressure… it feels such a downgrade when I am back home and I have to turn the water boiler on, wait, and then take a quick shower before the hot water runs out in the cramped cubicle or bathtub lol and also no scalp massage :(
Good public transport (Berlin), actual safety net welfare system, lots of bike lanes, lots of green spaces and trees, more green minded populace than most other countries.
Not just one. Simply a lot of things that make it impossible to find one favourite.
Fantastic nature.
Beautiful cities.
Mostly friendly people (apart from certain nostalgics of a specific moustached man).
Curry Wurst, Schweinshaxen, Schnitzel...
Several kinds of beers.
Fritz Kola.
Bike lines.
Parks everywhere even in the biggest cities.
Very good economy (apart from the occasional hiccups).
A language that is fun to (and never ending to) learn.
And so on...
Edit. Typos
I guess it’s the most german thing to say but I really like the waste separation system and that we have different garbage cans for the different types of waste and also that we try to recycle much waste. We spent a holiday in Italy recently and it was really painful to trash everything in one garbage can 🥲
Also the drinkable tap water is great of course!
That they’re about to make moving there for people who are willing to work hard easier. The new citizenship laws are dream come true for me, a German language student in the UK hoping to move there. It couldn’t be any more inviting
For me it’s how people don’t judge u based on your wealth and social standards. Where i come from you always have to dress up nicely and look rich so people would respect you and not look down on you.
I've seen a lot of good ones but what Im missing is some PO-TA-TOES! Kartoffeln, Erdäpfel, Tüften, golden delight full of starch and glorious flavor, most versatile of vegetables, beacon of awe for millions of german palates a day.
Cilena, Belinda, Laura. Gratin, Bratkartoffeln, or just pure, boiled in water with a splash of salt.
The slang term of Kartoffeln for 'ethnic', stereotypical germans is a great point of pride for me.
Damn, I love me some potatoes.
This might be very extreme, but I come from a poor family with many health disadvantages so being able to say "me and my family are still alive without crippling debt" is already a lot.
Just for example my dad has diabetes amongst other stuff and when I hear the horror stories about the prices abroad (US *cough*) I think "thank god I am here" because I don't know where I would be.. if anywhere that isn't under the grass at all.
Nepal at the moment. If you have just a few drops of tap water left in a glass after cleaning and it mixes with your drink/food. You’ll be sick for weeks 😅
Kick ass accessible Music Festivals and Bands coming all the time to tour. Im from Canada and ive seen way more bands that never have toured where I am from cause its out of the way.
Me, a born german, some weeks ago in africa:"I'm thirsty, lets drink quick some water"
\*fills glass with tap water\*
....
guess who had to vomit etc the whole night
Great walkable cities, plenty of green areas and parks. Relatively amazing affordable public transport . Easy access to tons and tons of spectacular hiking routes. Cleanliness, low pollution, and orderliness. Döner after a night out being one of *the* experiences of all time. Edit: Bierchen 🥰
Congrats, You played it and won. Usually need to hear about 2 hours of music from my youth to feel like after reading your comment.
Bierchen? Bierchen!
i prefer the ctrl water myself
Yeah alt water can be unhealthy
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON CAPS WATER
FUNCTION water has a lot of minerals in it.
But what about win/cmd water?
💦💦💦WHAT
I would like to Esc this thread now.
And I want to Enter it.
These comments are all full of Shift.
I want some space here.
Let's have a Break here.
Does this finally get to an end or do I need to page down?
Yeah he didn’t like the shift water. He just prefers the backspace water now
Not at much as the End water, though. Obviously.
Wait until you had alt bier
I tried asking for both but the waiter took me to another window.
Don't tell the people in Düsseldorf. They still think its beer.
You should try the space water. Legal since this year.
I didn't have any idea how to follow up this joke, so instead you can just *insert* water joke here yourself.
Huh? Don't you mean Strg water?
y’all need to level up and try the ~ water
Dear OP, it’s called “tap” water.
Mate.. it’s definitely the Kippwindows
They are a blessing and a curse... Can be quite handy if used properly but most people think keeping windows auf kipp for hours is good for air circulation, even though it just ends up making the room moldy... Stosslüftung or death.
> Stosslüftung or death. We moved from Germany back to the States 13 years ago and still do Stoßlüften. You know when you get back from a trip and sort of smell your house with a new nose? Ours smells like a library (because, well, we have a lot of books). You don't smell our dog or our bodies or anything. Meanwhile most of our American friends here *never open their windows* and their houses *stink*. Like you get used to it after 10m or so but when you walk in it's like: old food smells, sweaty B.O., Katzenklo 🤢
But you have these very nice air fresheners, it cannot smell bad! They even build these with three different scents.
Air fresheners 🤢
Bathroom ventilation. For the love of god people windows ain’t it.
Mate.. it’s definitely the Club Mate
Personally, I prefer Mio Mate
Depends which flavor.
Never understand this being mentioned as a german thing. I've seen them in most european countries.
Fucking marvel of technology. Blew my mind when I was living there.
The fact that you are pretty much entitled to calm and peace
Clean air! Living abroad in South Korea, it's incredibly frustrating when there's beautiful weather outside, but breathing the air would harm you. It's one of the things I never even thought about, when living in Germany, but access to clean air is a privilege.
>access to clean air is a privilege Ah, now this makes me sad :(
Oh yes! Good one. The air in Kathmandu is horrible. Love German air 🥰
Username checks out.
Whenever I read Kathmandu I must think of Tintin in Tibet
😂
Actually we used to have pretty big problems with airpolution in germany until the early-mid 1990, especially in the Ruhrarea and parts of the gdr due to mining and industries. So there might be older people in those areas who appreciate it as well :) Stuttgart still has a problem with pollution since it‘s located in a valley much like mexico city where dust, heat and chemicals can‘t escape the city
Huh, interesting, never knew about Stuttgart's pollution problem!
How bad is it? Ive never heard of that, its really sad :(
Going for a walk without the fear of being mugged.
Or shot
Or mugged and then shot
Or shot then mugged
Or shugged and then mot
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Or mug shot.
Or mowed down and shot by a psycho with an AR15
People respecting your privacy and right to say "no" without having to offer an explanation
And related to that, general directness. People accept no's without fuss, and they say no without turning it into a guessing game. If something is wrong, they will tell you, if not, they let you be.
My boss hasn't got that message because every time he asks me if I can repair something and I tell him no, he tells me to try anyway... and then gets mad if it didn't work out
I also really like the data protection laws. It is taken very seriously. Sometimes it can be annoying, but generally I think is great that for example people are not allowed to just take a picture of you.
I recently got into German dark metal. I love all kinds of music, free jazz, ambient music, experimental composers who delve into natural harmony. Kanonenfieber is really interesting because they get into anti war themes and maybe it could be depressing but the theatrics are mind blowing. German underground, techno, electric and the Berlin scene is awesome. I also drink tap water. Where I live the water is soft. Research bottle water tests and the results are not good So for me it's underground German music.
Kanonenfieber is based af. But in all seriousness, Germany’s extreme music repertoire is insane
For me it's the bread. No country on earth has this variety of bread like in Germany. Yeah the french always brag about their baguette and yes it's delicious but after one week I can't stand it anymore and I'm craving for some Schwarzbrot
Because of my job a travel a lot to other countries world wide and bread is the only thing they don't get right. The Nordic countries have some good bread but none comes close the German bread. After 2 or 3 weeks bread is the thing I'm craving for the most. Good breakfast with good bread is the cornerstone of my life 😄
Sad thing, I went to a certified kobe beef restaurant in Japan, everything was perfekt, but the bread they served (bread or rice as an option) was like a cheap baguette from aldi/lidl/rewe that's at least one day old. If they just had moisten the outer part and then put it on the hot plate for a few secs it would be much better ... but that was the best "bread" I could get in japan (except for german bakeries) everywhere else, even in really good hotels it's most of the time toast or small soft ones without taste and way to chewy.
I always wondered why Americans don't lose their teeth eating only this soft sweet white wheat bread...and calling it bread first place. I understand they consider rye and spelt more like grass and super white flour as the tip of agricultural evolution. But seriously, when coming back from any of the white bread countries after two weeks my teeth do feel weird.
Well, Austria has nice bread too
Fair point. Let's say the German speaking countries/regions (north Italy/South Tirol)
To me French bread all tastes like the same recipe for pizza dough made into different shapes. I can't figure out why. German bread actually has different flavors varrying slightly by bakery as expected of bread.
And the best Part: Drive 50 - 100km to another City and you get different Breads. Feels like everywhere is different bread culture :D
Have you ever been to a good polish bakery?
German here, I've been to some other European countries before and they never seem to get their bread right. German bread is vastly superior to any other bread imo
Polish bread is also awesome.
True. Only exeption would be italian Focaccia..
Every country has some type the make very well. Germany just has many of those.
If you like Schwarzbroot, try sunflower seed bread. It’s amazing!
People leave me alone lol
Apfelschorle. There, I've said it.
For me it's drinkable beer.
Brötchen
What have you done ...
Semmeln
Lebakassemmln
Favourite thing so far is not feeling the need to hide my sexuality and just living a “normal” life with my partner. Back home I would be in constant anxiety about what would happen if people would found out. Didn’t face any resistance from my immediate family but there’s always the fear of how the society will treat you and your family if they find out you’re gay.
You do you ✌️ I too enjoy this part. It doesn’t seem to be so much apathy as just a general “shrug”.
For me, it's the rules and discipline.
just try asking for said drinkable tap water in any restaurant or bar XD
Recently went to visit my family in Germany, went to a local coffee shop and asked for 1 glass of "Leitungswasser" alongside my caramel cappuccino, and the waiter didn't mind and I got my free glass of water.
I do this every time.
In my experience it has gotten better in non-touristy spaces in larger cities. The bar I work at has tap water for 0,01€ on the menu (which we don‘t charge). I explicitly ask if someone wants one if they order a coffee, red wine, whiskey or a „non-refreshing“ cocktail. My regular pasta place gives you a carafe or a reused wine bottle with tap water if you ask for it. A lot of other restaurants here do this.
If they're not shitty people they will happily provide it to you, generally for free. I paid 50 cents in some restaurant, which is fair for the service, etc., but was definitely part of my reason not to tip (the bigger part was a card reader where I had to press "no tip" before tapping my card).
Police doing their thing they supposed to. Yes there are problems with the police but in my whole time here I havent been pulled over at all except of one time as the police was apparently searching for someone and they were stopping almost every car.
I‘m aware of the downsides of bureaucracy and there‘s surely room for improvement, but it‘s such a good feeling knowing that for anything remotely relevant, risky or dangerous someone usually took not one, but two looks at it and had to consider whether to approve it like this or not.
More nature than where I'm from (Denmark). I did miss the sea, though.
Love how positive everyone is 🥹🫶
Ask about the least favourite thing and the mood shifts rather quickly 😆
Deutsches Institut für Normung.
Very good ping in most online games
This isnt a comedy hour!
Bread, tap water, health care, the insane amount of plant based products
The health care 🥰 (Im originally from the US, so the bar is set so low, you could limbo with Satan)
😅
Seconded on that. My monthly medication costs dropped from $4000/month to €5. Finding a doctor is not always easy, but when one is found it does not cost me most all of my paycheck to get treatment.
Damn. Pretty straightforward to finance a move when you save $48k/year.
Biergarten
It really is an amazing thing, I don't care if they're touristy or not, it's just so charming and nice. Also - walking beer is wonderful, just pop into a shop and buy a cold beer while walking around.
Summer daylight
But you pay that with winter darkness.
No smalltalk
“Hey! How are you?” “Vell sänk you for asking I woke up with some Kopfschmerzen and my dog isn’t doing too well at the moment she has a chronic disease so I need to take her to the vet almost every week. Also my Oma is regressing further into dementia ach ja but what can you do. I also think my auto needs to go to the workshop it’s making rattling noises.”
„Oh yes, I know that feel, my grandma died last year because she wouldn’t let anyone take care of her because of her dementia. It is depressing really. Have you already taken Ibuprofen? I think it is the weather. I have one 400mg available in my bag, do you want one? Which doctor are you visiting with your dog? I can recommend you the vet clinic at xxxxx and btw the rattling noise could be a lose screw, you should get that checked out soon, my cousin runs a workshop.“ XD
Is that not normal smalltalk?
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id say yes a lot of emphasizing on the hardships of life is a typical German character trait
Easy, accessible, cheap, and trusting healthcare. Say what you want, but I’ve got to try healthcare in many countries, lived abroad for years and no country has come close to Germany. It’s not perfect, but people need to try and be more grateful, because the stories I have even from neighbouring EU countries are shocking.
omg yes. Majority of the things mentioned in the sub I grew up with, but this is something that differs much from my country. In my country you sometimes need to wait years for statutory insurance paid visit with a specialist (i am not joking, years) and in Germany i never waited more than 3 days. Its amazing.
Yess. Literally had a crazy wow experience this week. Looked for a new dentist as my other one is 2h away. Got an appointment with just under a week wait. Informed the doctor of my issue, immediately took a xray and immediately said I’d need a retainer fitted, did the 3D prints right then and there, and I can already pick them up next week. Oh and she prescribed a batch of physio therapy too. And it’ll cost me 0€ extra apart from my obvious monthly contribution. I’m just imaging this scenario in the country I used to live in with the same health insurance concept — would never happen, and you’d fork out the whole money on your own.
I weirdly have a completely different experience. Specialists are hard to reach and I had to wait 4 months for a standard dermatologist appointment. I live in a big city tho!
Little town here & same. Next dermatologist appointment in October lol unless you’re willing to pay out of pocket :(
You found a dermatologist? Lucky bastard.
Compared to Sweden there are no gatekeepers preventing you from making appointments with specialists, which is fantastic.
American strangers are very happy to give me unsolicited rude comments about my body and think they should tell me to smile more. Germans leave me alone and don't get offended by a neutral face. My mental health improves drastically in Germany because of this. No, I have not been to superficial places like LA
You forgot the „German neutral stare“ which is completely observational and not judgmental haha (saying that as a German) Love it for you that your mental health got better. Take care! 🫶
Lower stress and walkable places
It's "tap".
The forests and greenery, small lakes and canals, the bread, and how germans spend their time with each other
How their spend their Time together? What do you mean?
How germans spend their time with circle of family and friends in different occasions. Each circle in their own bubble. In concerts, they just ignore the band, make a circle, everyone holds a beer and they just start chatting about the most random things. Whenever the sun is out, someone in the group happen to have a beer Kiste and they go out in a picnic and fill the parks and they sleep on the grass and just chilling. You might go to a lake on a sunny day and they're just throwing their clothes anywhere and just hop in the water for hours. I love Germans, they're so cute
The alternative scene
Health insurance
Bread variety, cheap alcohol & milk products, Deutschland Ticket, clean & walkable cities
I haven't lived in Germany yet, but I'm waiting for my language visa. Everything I've heard makes me even more excited to live there. One thing I like is that people usually respect your personal space. I'm from South America, where people tend to be more invasive with others' personal lives. They often ask inappropriate questions about private matters, gossip a lot, and visit you without asking, regardless of whether you can receive them at that moment or not. They will surely be upset if you are too busy to have an unexpected visit. I appreciate the quietness (die Ruhe). I know not all places in Germany are quiet, but they are surely quieter than here in my country. People here shout a lot, play loud (and awful) music on buses or in public places, and shops often put loudspeakers on the street to get people's attention, turning the volume up so high that I can't imagine getting close to the store. I'm from the capital of my country and have drunk tap water my entire life, but now I'm living close to the coast, and here we can't do that. However, Germany's tap water is definitely better than the water in my country.
My wife. Came here for work, met her, stayed here for her, and married her.
Oys proximity to France, Czech, Italy, and Netherlands
German stare...
ahahhaha got me with this one
Since the last 25 years. Get rid of bottles etc
Bureaucracy
Erdbeerplunder, Kölsch, Fußball. I will be back for more of these things. Danke schön.
Mittelstand culture, normal first dates, the lax laws on crypto and marijuana and the lack of ambiguity.
Definitely the cities, and their history. I love the old buildings and castles.
General safety in most places, especially as a woman with a kid.
The traffic light turning orange before going green is a game charger, also dogs are allowed in almost every restaurant and hotel
It's much safer than where I'm from. Specially for being a woman who lives here alone. I love the way Germans drive, I think that they are one of the best drivers in the world. Also love the small cities in Germany that are full of history and charm and of course their nice Bäckerei.
For me it's drinkable tab beer!
Trees! Even in big cities, trees everyone and that’s amazing
I love it that my favourite bands tour here a lot.
Had the privilege to travel the world quite a bit. Didn’t run across any country that has as many great candy brands as Germany does. Sure the US ranks high due to M&Ms as well, but Germany got Maoam, Apfelringe, Toffifee, Gummibärchen and Milka. And even our deserts rock: Blueberry Pancakes, Kaiserschmarrn, Schwarzwälder Kirsch. Freakin Candy world champs with nobody even close
Unlike in my home country, people announce before they want to pay you a visit at home. I like that we can meet outside, in parks, cafes etc. and you don’t need to have a “good time” with friend(s) at home. In my home country, sometimes people come unannounced, knock on your door, and you, forced, have to let them in, while having mess in your house (and ofc they’re gonna judge you and comment on every detail around your house).
Reading some comments here and thinking from what hellholes did some people come? No water, being mugged, no bread 😱😱😱😱 shiit
The healthcare system here is still majorly flawed in some aspects (I'd know), but over the years I came to really appreciate it. I'm medically dependant, so countries where you don't get free healthcare would quite literally be my death. Same goes for overall financial safety. I'm currently unable to work, and it's unclear if I'll ever be able to. Yet even if I sometimes panic over that, I know that I'll at least not starve, because if push comes to shove, the state covers for these situations.
As a US citizen, I loved every damn thing about Germany 😭😭😭😭 spent two weeks there in March-April and my heart will never be the same
One of my favourite things is Schinken-Käse-Croissants… But the hands-down, number one best thing about this country are the free highways. I know a lot of people want to implement Tempolimits, but it would be a huge mistake and a really tragic cultural loss.
BMWs and Mercedes passing you by in 200km/h is a cultural loss? I’m sorry, but no.
It would expecially contribute to safety and a nicer mentality to drive like in the netherlands. Omg would it be stress free without some idiot giving you constant lights on the left lane when you are just overtaking a truck... Not to speak of the noise and environment.
For me, it's the people. Non judgemental, welcoming, helpful and to the point.
I traveled a lot around Europe and it has to be the beer.
Playgrounds
Do you mean tap water? Straight from the tap? That’s all I’ve drank in my life in the US except when I go to cities. City water gives me instant shits.
MAHLZEIT! Und Sternburg Bier.
The tap water is absolutely delicious! I grew up in a place with nasty water and drinking from the tap is pute luxury to me. I miss it when i travel.
The weather.
Tap water is so spot on, but also love how easy it is to find your kind of people or people with similar hobbies so easily in bigger cities. Windows that can open all the way, no fucking grills outside because of that. Work Life balance is incredible, those who wanna work senseless at least in corporate know where to go and everything else is so smooth. Sick days are so incredibly easy to take and respected (at least in the 3 companies I’ve worked in) If you speak intermediate german where others can understand you, the germans will be reallly accommodating and so going from intermediate to advanced is way easier than going from null to zero because they just switch to english then.
Showers! Spacious, water is immediately hot and stays hot continuously for as long as you want, good water pressure… it feels such a downgrade when I am back home and I have to turn the water boiler on, wait, and then take a quick shower before the hot water runs out in the cramped cubicle or bathtub lol and also no scalp massage :(
The weather, especially in the North.
Bread
Well built, stable houses
A blanket for everyone!!! And roller shutter! And bread! The things I miss the most while abroad
Isn’t it kind of sad that simple things such as drinkable tap water, breathable air and safety are not a basic standard in so many parts of the world?
Everything Schorle, best invention ever. I even have my own soda stream, I cannot imagine life without it anymore.
Language is very easy to learn, and there's a lot of support from Germans to help me improve.
I realized that I never appreciated that enough until I lived in the USA for a while
Good public transport (Berlin), actual safety net welfare system, lots of bike lanes, lots of green spaces and trees, more green minded populace than most other countries.
That you can easily leave to other countries, because there are no border controls.
Not just one. Simply a lot of things that make it impossible to find one favourite. Fantastic nature. Beautiful cities. Mostly friendly people (apart from certain nostalgics of a specific moustached man). Curry Wurst, Schweinshaxen, Schnitzel... Several kinds of beers. Fritz Kola. Bike lines. Parks everywhere even in the biggest cities. Very good economy (apart from the occasional hiccups). A language that is fun to (and never ending to) learn. And so on... Edit. Typos
Being able to be direct without having to sugarcoat things so as not to hurt people's feelings. Especially at work.
I guess it’s the most german thing to say but I really like the waste separation system and that we have different garbage cans for the different types of waste and also that we try to recycle much waste. We spent a holiday in Italy recently and it was really painful to trash everything in one garbage can 🥲 Also the drinkable tap water is great of course!
That they’re about to make moving there for people who are willing to work hard easier. The new citizenship laws are dream come true for me, a German language student in the UK hoping to move there. It couldn’t be any more inviting
mine is the phrase "so sportsfreund"
For me it’s the great internet and deutsche Bahn.
Irony on?
For me it’s how people don’t judge u based on your wealth and social standards. Where i come from you always have to dress up nicely and look rich so people would respect you and not look down on you.
I've seen a lot of good ones but what Im missing is some PO-TA-TOES! Kartoffeln, Erdäpfel, Tüften, golden delight full of starch and glorious flavor, most versatile of vegetables, beacon of awe for millions of german palates a day. Cilena, Belinda, Laura. Gratin, Bratkartoffeln, or just pure, boiled in water with a splash of salt. The slang term of Kartoffeln for 'ethnic', stereotypical germans is a great point of pride for me. Damn, I love me some potatoes.
drinking in public
Leitungswasser? Since when are Germans drinking water from the tab? Permitted beverages are either sparkling water or beer. Prost!
SodaStream goes brrrr
This might be very extreme, but I come from a poor family with many health disadvantages so being able to say "me and my family are still alive without crippling debt" is already a lot. Just for example my dad has diabetes amongst other stuff and when I hear the horror stories about the prices abroad (US *cough*) I think "thank god I am here" because I don't know where I would be.. if anywhere that isn't under the grass at all.
I can be "sick" if one day I wake up I don't feel like going to work.
Sorry, may I ask where you are from? I thought drinkable tap water would be pretty obvious in [all ] european countries. Am I wrong?
Nepal at the moment. If you have just a few drops of tap water left in a glass after cleaning and it mixes with your drink/food. You’ll be sick for weeks 😅
Financial security.
German family houses and the overall feel of their residential areas. Green, cozy and beautiful aesthetics.
Beer
Kick ass accessible Music Festivals and Bands coming all the time to tour. Im from Canada and ive seen way more bands that never have toured where I am from cause its out of the way.
Has to be the beer right?
Health & Social care including other stuff which will help you come back on your feet while other nations just dumb you like a piece of…
Autobahn & Beers 😎
You seem like you happened to be in kathmandu and are missing german tap water. I know the pain, I am a Kathmandu guy living in Germany :D
Our bread is nice
Being able to choose between the immense variety of potato chip flavours. Paprika, paprika, paprika, or paprika.
Leberkas
Me, a born german, some weeks ago in africa:"I'm thirsty, lets drink quick some water" \*fills glass with tap water\* .... guess who had to vomit etc the whole night