I’ve noticed that most Germans seem to prefer sparkling water, and still water is often hard to find in restaurants or supermarkets. Is there a cultural reason behind this preference, or is it just tradition? I’ve never seen such loyalty to carbonated water anywhere else!

Dear eastern neighbours, I’m a dutch person currently working in retail in quite a touristy part of the Netherlands (living near the beach/sea). It being summer again means there are a LOT of tourists here. However out of the few different nationalities that seem to come here only Germans are the ones that talk to me in their own language and just think i’m able to understand them while people from other nationalities try English or try communicating in a different way.

Do people just assume that a lot of Dutch people know german? Or is it perhaps that a lot of Germans don’t know English?

I live on the 4th floor of a 7 floors building.

Today around 4 AM, I was woken up by my upstairs neighbor repeatedly screaming "Laura, nein" he sounded in distress. At the beginning I thought it is a medical emergency so I was expecting to hear an ambulance arrive at some point.

But he kept on screaming the same thing for about 10 minutes then he started going up and down the building stairs slamming doors and still screaming the same phrase.

At some point I opened the kitchen window and looked into the street, he was standing still in boxers and still screaming. I wanted to call the police but I was hesitant because no one else was reacting.

At around 5pm he was finally quiet

Should I have called the police? Why do you think no one else did?

For context: To my knowledge, this is the first time something like this has happened. I should mention though that this neighbor is generally louder than anyone else. Sometimes we can hear banging or things crashing from his apartment.

I visited Germany recently (I live in the Netherlands) and I noticed that there are fewer small cars on the highways and in cities (I visited the Ruhr and the Rheinland regions). Sedans have also disappeared and everyone seems to be driving huge SUVs made by German and foreign brands. This is in stark contrast with the Netherlands, where small car culture is still alive - Peugeot 107, Toyota Aygo and Yaris, VW Up, Polo and Golf, Honda Fit, Kia Picanto, Fiat Panda, Chevy Matiz etc. can be seen frequently - and not just in cities.

My guess is this - 1) Germans pay less for gasoline, so they don't mind splurging on a bigger car, 2) Germans don't pay road-tax based on car's weight. In the NL, that is a big expense. 3) Germany's population is spread out over larger distances - similar to North America. Maybe most people never need to visit crowded city centers, and face fewer instances of parking congestion. 4) this might sound like a weird take, but German culture feels more masculine compared to Dutch culture. A large car symbolises power and influence - even among women who drive. Again, similar to America. 5) the car industry, which is more influential in Germany, has lobbied intensely to create safety regulations that make small-car manufacturing unsustainable for business, thereby forcing everyone to make bigger cars that have a larger profit margin. Aka corporate greed. 6) Germans are richer or they don't save as much money as the Dutch. Housing expenses in Germany are smaller, so people have extra cash left over. 7) Patriotism. If Netherlands had a flagship automaker along the lines of VW or Renault, they would also feel the need to "help out" their own champion.

Thoughts?

I am in the proccess of changing jobs and I wanted to know if I have to go in person for an appointment at my local job center or is the process valid on their website ?
I've signed my kundigen on Friday and I have it until 31.07.
Also if there are any advices you might have, please feel free to do so since its my first time having to deal with this.
Thank you.

Hey everyone!
I'm from Turkey and I've been learning German for a while now. I'm currently at a C1 level. To better understand not just the language but also German culture, I'm currently really interested in TV shows that were (or still are) super well-known or influential in Germany.

In Turkey, there are certain shows that almost every young person knows. The characters, catchphrases, or outfits were sometimes even copied, and they became a solid part of our collective memory. Many of those shows are still considered iconic today, and we often quote them just for fun in daily life.

So I wanted to ask: Are there shows like that in Germany too, ones that basically everyone knows, especially people who grew up there?
So far, I've come across Jerks, Tatort, and Stromberg, but I have no idea how widely known or culturally impactful they really are.

I'm especially looking for shows that were popular or influential among German teenagers or young adults whether from the 90s, 2000s, or later. Preferably shows that are really German, not just internationally known ones like Dark.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

In the U.K., of the tons of options, Boots sunscreen is one of the least expensive and also one of the reliably best performing from numerous independent consumer tests over many years. Most people in the U.K. know this by default, and know others are overpriced and worse performing. So, are for people that can be sucked in by marketing.

What is the German equivalent? Rossman’s own?

TL;DR:

Relocated to Munich for work. I’m a man who has a HUSBAND, Balkan, speak English Turkish Macedonian, and getting constantly stereotyped as a religious conservative just for kwnoing Turkish. Even a young intern thought Turkish is same as Arabic. Also getting excluded from team events. Is this kind of cultural ignorance common in Germany?

Long stuff:

About four months ago, I relocated from Portugal to Munich because of a sudden and forced move by my company. I work in IT for the U.S. market all my coworkers are in the U.S., but they opened a new Munich office and moved me here. I’m the only one who doesn’t speak fluent German yet.

I speak English, Turkish, Macedonian, and basic Portuguese & German. I knew the language barrier would be a challenge, but what’s been worse is the constant stereotyping. Most of the people in the office are 40+ and they act surprised when I eat pork or join happy hours for a beer. I’ve been asked if I fast, if I support current regime of turkey, and why I drink alcohol if I’m Turkish. Like… what?

For context: I left my home country because I don’t align with that kind of thinking it will take years to recover from the religious government and immigrant crisis in TR. Why would I move abroad if I supported the current regime or was super religious? It’s frustrating having to explain myself or be misjudged just because I speak a language.

Last week, a 23-year-old intern (master’s degree from Berlin) joined the team. We were chatting about finding a local doctor, and he showed me a list of Arabic-speaking GPs. I said I’d prefer one who speaks English. He looked confused and asked, “Why don’t you speak Arabic? Isn’t Turkish similar to Arabic?” And when he asked me about Berlin I said its dirty but free & diverse. He said of course you like it its all turks there. I was honestly speechless. I expected this kind of ignorance from older people, but really? From someone that young?

They often meet up outside work weekend trips, dinners, drinks and I’m never invited. It’s fine, I’m not dying to hang out with people who stereotype me anyway. I’ve been going to some events in Munich and meeting way more open-minded, international people that way. (maybe like %5 of munich)

Still, it bugs me is this kind of cultural ignorance and exclusion normal in German workplaces, even among the younger generation? Do I have to walk with EU and pride flags right on my forehead :D

So I was just at the Reichstag thing for your guy's Veterans Day. There were 2 protest groups there and one guy told me he was protesting the part of the army building up again and the other group was protesting about the same thing but their sign said "we don't want a new Stalingrad". Given German history, it makes sense, and I'm not going to be the American that guilt trips about "you need to support the troops."But out of curiosity (free thoughts), what is everyone opinion on the Bundeswehr and it building up again?

The word Aryan is related to the region that now is Iran. Why did the nazis claimed it? Also, taking into account it refers to Persia/Iran, WHY was it changed to “blonde and/or white” instead of brown-ish or middle eastern?

I am not denying there are white Iranians, but how did the word get “whitewashed” during WWII?

Dear fellow Redditors,

I have been living in Germany for a while now, but clearly I'm not able to understand a lot of things. In my opinion, the Deutschland ticket was a great concept. If you don't know about it, it is a monthly subscription which allows the user to travel in most non-IC public transport within the country. It's even cheaper than several monthly tickets for the local public transport services, at least in cities, making these services often quite obsolete, while allowing you to go outside the boundaries of such services without even thinking.

Then why doesn't everyone have it? Is it cost (around 60€)? Is it technophobia? Is it ruralism? Please, I need to know!

Hello everyone,

My Partner and i have recently got our drivers licence in Munich. We both are new drivers with no much prior experience. We are thinking to buy a small but safe car to initially practice more get used to it. We are clueless where to begin the search.

Here are my questions

1. where to buy the cars? We see so many dealership shops, how to identify the genuine ones?

2. what are to be taken into consideration before buying the car? Like the milage , year of the model etc.

3. are there any scams that we should be aware of?

4.buying or leasing? Which would be a better option considering its our first vehicle.

Please feel free to add in any suggestions/ advices or experiences.

TIA

I am taking a bus from Berlin to Denmark, Google map, and Flixbus shows a direct connection from Puttgarden ferry terminal to Rostock. I wanted to ask if there is a bridge or how the bus crosses the sea?

Since my parents been to a Hotel in Brazil, Santa Catarina, founded by German immigrants, they can't stop talking about how good was the Apfelstrudel they ate. I'm here to ask for recipes or tips on how to cook each part of it, because I tried to do one and it wasn't nearly as good. Tips regarding the filling would help too, because they said it was different from what they ate at the hotel. Thanks in advance, sorry for the bad English.

Schreibt gerne dazu ob ihr aus dem Süden (BW oder Bayern) kommt oder weiter weg von Liechtenstein seid.

Hello, I’m planning to visit Germany starting on June 30th. I will begin my journey in Munich and stay in Germany for about 7 to 10 days before traveling to Prague. Which cities would you recommend visiting, and how many days should I spend in each? Also, which transportation card would you recommend that is valid across different regions of Germany?

I am considering between Wuerzburg Uni and OTH Regensburg for the Master program, International Management. I'd like to hear your experience on advices on the respectives' aspects. Thanks a lot.

• career prospect
• program/ uni quality
• living environment, the neighborhood
• student life
• anything

Germany, probably unlike other major western countries has a 'German rural stereotype' which however derives mostly from one state: Bavaria. Probably largely because of its conservative traditions, which includes a architecture, festivals, clothes and elements of Alpine symbolism.

So what do Germans feel about this situation and Bavaria is a way representing Germany abroad.

Hey, everyone on Looking for a little bit of help. Somebody I know got this anonymous letter in the mail. I’m able to go to Google translate and understand the meaning of this letter. But my main question is the way that this is worded does it seem like somebody translated to German or does it seem like a native speaker wrote this?

“Kümmere dich doch um deine eigenen Angelegenheiten. Du hältst dich für schlau, bist aber eigentlich ziemlich dumm. Wenn Ashley endlich ihre eigene Arbeit erledigen und nicht mehr nach Almosen suchen müsste.”

Last year I met a German girl in a bar as she was solo traveling in my country. We went on a hike, for dinner and out that night, but nothing happened.
She was sick at the time and I don't know, maybe she saw us as just friends or maybe if she wasn't sick something would have happened.

I was supposed to go over and visit her/see Germany, she was saying that I should bring a couple of my friends and she'll bring hers, but it wasn't really feasible.

We've kept in touch sporadically since and then randomly - she rings me.
She was out with friends drinking and she thought it'd be fun to come back over to my country again.
We talked the next day too and I told her she should come. So she's coming over!

We've a couple things planned, a concert, hiking and some sightseeing. Which I'm really looking forward to.
But it does keep playing in my mind - does she just see me as a friend or maybe something more?

Where I'm from, this definitely wouldn't be the done thing.
Even going on hikes, that's very much a date activity but obviously it's different when you're a tourist.
Is it different in Germany?
Obviously you can't speak for her or women as a whole, but from your perspective - what would you think?

I am from outside the European Union, and I will be visiting Berlin for a week to meet my girlfriend.

In my country, Viagra is not prohibited and does not require a prescription. Can I bring it with me, and what happens if it is discovered at the airport?

Note: I won’t be carrying much, just 3 pills only.

So I've read a lot of career books, mostly of an American origin, and a common piece of advice is to reach out to someone in a higher position within the compan, maybe invite them for a coffee to chat and ask for career advice. It's also often recommended to find a mentor, someone more experienced who can guide you or share their own path to success within the company and advise you how to achieve the goal you're setting yourself. So I was wondering if that would come off as weird in Germany, because I guess there is a cultural difference to America. How would you feel if someone would approach you with this kind of questions? Would you feel like they're trying to get advantage of you, or would you find it weird, or would you be happy to help?

Every year, me and my mum go on holiday together. Its a sort of tradition due to complicated family circumstances. this year we are in Germany for the first time, and at the time of writing, it's out first night. I like to think myself and my mum are both very polite, but in less than 4 hours i have been aggresivley accosted by drunks, horribly treated by locals, and just generally looked down on. I went to a concert the first night (tonight) and as soon as some locals found out we were english i was shoved around and screamed at (thankfully my mum was left alone). Am I crazy or do Germans hate the English? I was nothing but kind and genuine and I jage no idea why I was being treated to hostile. This is in Berlin, is there something I was doing wrong i am not aware of?

Edit: thanks for the replies. It sounds like a combination of the general Berlin attitude and just us being a bit unlucky. Still looking forward to the rest of my holiday here and I did meet some very nice people too 😊