Oh my gosh! As an avid Seinfeld fan, I can’t believe we didn’t think of including this in the video as an example. 😂😂 Thank you for sharing this perfect illustration of what we are talking about! 😂
It's still easily available, and I've been buying lots of it recently. I make a point of using even more disposable plastic products because I like them and because outlawing them is irrational.
@@xaverlustig3581 auf solche Dinge zu verzichten hat nichts mit grün sein zu tun... 🤦🏼♂️ Und dann nutze sie eben häufiger, sind sie schneller nicht mehr zu haben, ist doch gut!
@@franziskamrak2417 Right, it's still a thing in stricly hierarchical environments. 👍 My perception is that we are culturally shifting away from that, what do you think?
@@CyReVolt I agree with you in terms of the work place but I don't think it's going to change in general too. I can't imagine calling a stranger, my teacher or other ppl I don't see more often Du!
As a german student, it is almost a privilege when adults start talking to you formally because it shows that you are old enough to be considered "worthy". Childs and young teenagers are almost always called by their first name or talked down to even if that isn't the intend (in my opinion). When strangers start to talk formally to you, you know that you have matured quite a bit
true, but you also start feeling old. I lost a lot of my hair and grew a beard early (at around 15) and people on the street started to talk to me formally. My friends liked to mock me about that quite a lot.
Yes! I'm from the Czech Republic and I attended an 8-year secondary school (gymnázium). The teachers were all addressing us formally since day 1 of Prima (the first year, we were 11). Not only do you feel more mature, you even start acting more so.
And guess what? There you can also find German plastic because our politicians concentrate on PR stunts such as prohibiting plastic bags in stores while they merely made up a percent of plastic waste. This whole discussion masked the fact that many or most cities get rid of their plastic waste by employing shady foreign waste disposal services. Outside of Germany the waste is handled poorly and makes its way into rivers and, thus, ultimately the ocean. We should have stopped this practice instead of the inconsequential plastic bags which eventually served in their final application as trash bags which we now have to buy. German plastic gets into the environment and we effectively did nothing about it. At least US citizens know about their issues.
@@sauregurke4209 This is a stupid comment. Of course, seeing a doctor can't always save you from dieing, but not seeing a doctor can easily keep you from surviving when otherwise you very likely would have survived. But I assume that it's about trolling, not about adding anything helpful to the conversation.
I am from Germany and I really like that we differ between "Du" and "Sie" and don't call strangers and older or respectable people by their first names. It shows respect for the others and keeps a certain distance if needed. And nowadays it's a sign if someone was risen right by their parents, at least from what I have experienced.
I'm from germany and the 80 year old stable owner welcomed me and my horse by saying "Hi, I'm (informal) Hansi! Welcome to my stable!" 😂😂 It's normal to use "du" in informal setting like barns. But in supermarket or swimming pool, always "Sie" if it's an adult.
Yeah. I would hate it when employees would be addressed on first name basis. As an employee you just feel more respected when customers address you with your last name.
i mean, i guess. but it's super annoying when you always have to tell others if you want them to say "Sie" or "du" and asking if i can say "du" gives me such horrible anxiety. it's so stuck up :/
@@teenietinytony there is a very simple rule: say “Sie“ to everybody with a higher age or Status then you... it is their place to offer the “Du“, if you are the person of higher Status its your decission to offer the “Du“ This is just basic courtesy in Germany. I think its a shame, that noone bothered to teach you this and you felt insecure because of this.
@@hannajung7512 no, no, no logically i know how i'm supposed to do this, but i'm mostly around people who don't give a shit if they're above rank or older than someone else and often feel weirded out when someone uses "Sie" the thing is that my understanding of respect simply differs from the respectful use of "Sie". it's either every stranger using "Sie" no matter what age or rank or everyone using "du". no one gets more respect for stupid shit like that from me. it just sucks when it gets awkward because i used the wrong word to address someone. i wished we didn't have that tbh
@@teenietinytony me too I'm of age just now and people start calling me "Sie" more frequently :P I don't appreciate it, I'd rather call everyone "du" :T I mean, why does someone older than me deserve more respect than me naturally? Experience? That's unfair. And e.g. with my music teacher, I was not at all sure if to use "Sie" or "du" and completely avoided it out of fear...
When we turned 16 our teachers asked us if it is okay if they still say "du" or is they have to start addressing us with "sie" it goes hand in hand with getting our personalaisweis.
Not really. I only got “Siezt” in school during my “Fach Abi” before that it was always “du” and it made sense a 16 year old is not an adult and therefore shouldn’t be “Siezt” but when I went to “Berufsschule” I was 18. And thus an adult. Wich means the normal way of addressing becomes the “Sie” so in that case if a teacher wanted to use “du” they would have asked. Or at least that was how my Realschule handled that we were using “du” throughout all of it. And I was totally okay with that.
Professionally, I once recorded data of adolescents and young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 who had registered as unemployed job seekers, and informed, advised and supported them. Most of them were already used to the German "Sie" and a form of address with "Herr Surname" or "Frau Surname", but some reacted to it as if I'd just declared their childhood over. With some of them I only recognized this from their shocked look, while others even freaked out and loudly defended themselves against it. Of course, I took their needs into account later and addressed them with the German "Du".
@@mats7492 One of our teacher insisted on using Sie and first names when we started the oberstufe. All other teachers asked us and I never heard any class wanring to be called by Sie.
@@Manie230 I am going to the "Berufsschule" as a 16 year old to do my "Fach Abi" I and the rest of my class got asked how we would like to be addressed I chose Du because it would be weird having a completely formal relationship with my teachers.
Well, avoiding trash and disposable utensils should be quite normal...doesn't have anything to do with being fancy, but having a conscious mind for the environment
What I (as a German) find fancy in the USA is the guy who packs your bags after you pay at the supermarket. That is fancy and at the same time somehow strange 😄
@Rita Roork No Bag boys in Germany or other european countries. We do it by ourself. Its faster and you can pack it how you really want to have it. Heavy stuff on the bottom smaler and soft things on top. Nothing get damaged or you have to be upset about someone who did pack it wrong. Also usually we bring to the shop our own fabric shopping bag. Otherwise we have to pay for plastic bags.
@Rita Roork They do because the items are less expensive than in US. You pay for this service whilst the items are more expensive. If you like it, okay. I will book my next holiday with the saved money. ;)
We had disposable plastic tableware at a big hotel in Canada for breakfast!! I was so shocked. How can a hotel be so lazy. I am pretty sure you would get stoned to death if you would do so in Europe... Absolute NO GO!
I had plastic cutlery and plastic cups made to look like glass in every single hotel and restaurant, from New York down to Atlanta and Austin. Also high-end restaurants, only when steak was served we had real knives. I can't get over it, lol.
In Europe disposable tableware will be banned midyear. Supermarkets around here now started selling plastic knifes and forks as "reusable", writing it is dishwasher safe...We'll see how that ends.
@@alice73333 Ja, aber Plastikteller und -besteck etc. soll verboten werden. Pappteller und Holzpiker/Gabeln wird es weiter geben. Ich bin aber von den Papptellern für Suppen/Eintöpfe noch nicht richtig überzeugt, nach meiner Erfahrung weichen die durch, wenn man nicht schnell genug isst.
I actually really like the fact that we can keep things formal. It kind of gives you the choice to tell people to stay away from you without having to tell them directly.
Especially in retail, I find it extremely unnerving when clerks approach me on a "Du" basis. I don't know them, I don't wanna know them, and their approach is only to sell me more stuff. Don't. Just don't.
I work in an antifoodwaste "bakery" (we collect and sell products from bakeries they couldn't sell the day before, for a reduced price). We have a "policy" to use the du mostly (mostly young customers). Of course we don't have to. I think it's very impolite to use the du for everyone and therefore I adjust. We don't do it to sell more, it's more to be on the same level and the firms image.
@@Leenapanther , wir haben in unserer Sprache bewust und kulturel Gewachsen , den Unterschied zwischen "Du" und "Sie" . Das ungebetene "Du" ist eine Missachtung des Gegenübers , Egal ob es vom Verkäufer oder dem Kunden kommt . Noch schlimmer für mich wenn es von einem Polizisten kommt ! Der Erntet von mir einen bösen Blick mit der Frage ob wir schon mal zusammen Schweine gehütet haben .
I love being formal. Formality is deeply ingrained in the German language and culture and I much prefer it, because it shows respect to other people and keeps a distance between you and the person you’re talking to. I think France, Italy and Germany might be the most formal countries in Europe. Talking to employees with first name seems very strange and way to personal to me.😅
All the German and Swiss-German companies I have worked for, had a policy of addressing each other with first name and Du. It encourages sharing information.
@@eljanrimsa5843 Yes, but that's only inside the company. At our company, it is always "Du" with insiders and always "Sie" with outsiders, except maybe on joint projects, or with close, trusted partners.
I also prefer the formal "Sie" form. It gives you a mental barrier in your choice of words. You're less inclined to use words that might offend someone who's not your friend and can take it. But I also observe a shift in company culture to a more American style of being informal with each other. Of course the distinction is moot once you switch to English where you don't have "Sie" & fight with your limited vocabulary.
@@forchtsengar6071 In Norway the formal pronoune has disappeared. It was normal 50 years ago. Respect is something you show and not just through our word De (Sie). I might use De to an elderly person because that was normal to their generation, but I would always be respectful anyway (unless they are disrespectful back).
You only love it because you're used to it. I grew up in both cultures and I like the english way a lot better. Much simpler. There's a reason Sie is being dropped. And you are assuming incorrectly "you" is informal. It is not. "YOU" Was formal and "Thou" (pronounced "Du", get it?) was informal. English dropped the informal first person several centuries ago.
I eat pizza with knife and fork because it slows down my eating. I've noticed that otherwise I eat pizza way too fast, which isn't really good for me. Eating fries with my hands or with a fork depends on if I have to switch for the other food. A burger and fries? Everything with my hands. Steak and fries? Everything with a fork. Putting down my fork when I need it the whole time for the steak just makes no sense and makes my fingers dirty when they really don't need to.
I do it the same way, and I believe everybody I know does. As far as I can spontaneously recall how people around me eat. If there's at least one item on the plate that requires cutlery, I eat everything with cutlery, if everything on the plate is typical finger food, I eat everything with hands. [Btw, do Americans actually say "finger food" too, or is this just another one of these 'wrong' Germenglish words, that we think is English but actually isn't, like 'handy' (mobile phone) or 'body' (body suit/jump suit) or 'slip' (female underpants)?]
Yes, I would never eat a pizza with my hands especially when I'm in company. I also noticed that Germans don't like to have their hands dirty or sticky with "finger food"/fast food; let's say you pick up French Fries at an "Imbiss" and you just wanna quickly eat it and then wanna continue shopping where you obviously touch everything ;)
As a german woman working in retail, I really appreciate the last name (and "Sie") thing, because it gives you some distance to the more unpleasant customers or the ones that come to close. Regular customers, that I am closer with can call me by my first name, but it is in my control who will.
@J 2 Well, even if. a customer is nice, I like to have a little distance between me and a customer. It is only a business relationship and not a friendship. Money is involved.
for us, the formal Sie is used to show respect, and is prevalent specifically with children addressing adults. In schools, teachers will refer to students as Du and their first name, while students will use last names and Sie. Once the students in a class turn 18 it is common for the teachers to ask their classes if they want to be referred to formally as well, or if they want to drop formalities and refer to teachers by their first name as well
@@cassiehoalaia9179 All fancy restaurants do that. If it's more of a rustical and comfy bistro/ "Imbiss", then you might take a small bottle or can to your table and pay afterwards
@@cassiehoalaia9179 has to be done so that you can see the bottle beforehand to make sure the seal is unbroken. A lot of restaurants used to open a bottle of fancy, expensive water and refill it once or twice with tab water to make a fortune on that stuff alone. To make sure you get what you paid for, they have to bring the bottle to the table before opening it, so that you can either see or hear the seal being opened.
@@OkabexKurisu Except with the "open wines" which are sold per glass and not per bottle. What usually is known even by the temporary substitute server (chef de nappe)😉
Yes, yes!! It never ceases to annoy me that the majority of people of my generation seem to have dispensed with the formal address. I do not wish to be spoken to in a familiar way by perfect strangers in ANY setting ; but in a shop it also comes across as completely unprofessional.
uh yeah, once worked at a "woke" hotel in Stuttgart where they demanded from the staff to use the "formal" du to talk to guests. wierd shit and it felt kinda rude to serve at a table with middle aged people and say:" Möchtest DU gerne Kaffee oder Tee zum Frühstück?" nope never again
as a cashier if you would address me with "du" i will give you a killing glance... that is for customers and strangers... i don't mind my coworkers to address me informally but i still address most of them formally bc i think anything else would be rude
I totally agree! My one professor always wants us to call us by her first name ant tbh, I absolutely hate it. It is so informal and to me feels kinda unprofessional (see, what I did there ;)).
@@haberschnack hat sich kein Gast je beschwert und das 'Sie' verlangt?! ... Also wenn mich ein Hotelangestellter duzt, dann liesse ich das nicht durchgehen.
The two of you together are a perfect combination. You complement each other's excellent communication skills. Your facial expressions, and smiles are charming, and warmly received. The information that you provide can make a huge difference in a well received blending of our cultures. I look forward to your next video. Thank you.
In meiner Firma gibt es jetzt eher die informelle Variante. Dies begann vor ca. 3 Jahren und ist nun "relativ" offiziell l. Bezogen auf unsere Sprache kann man durchaus feststellen: es sagt sich leichter "Du A.....", als "Sie A....". Und in der Überrsetzung wird deutich, dass es im englischen keinen Unterschied macht. :) In my company there is now more of the informal variant. This started about 3 years ago and is now "relatively" official. In relation to our language, one can definitely say that it is easier to say: "You(Du) A ....." than "You(Sie) A ...". And the translation makes it clear that it makes no difference in English. :)
@@manub.3847 But 'Sie A...' has actually a different connotation than with Du. You show, that you are aware that the person in front of you is of a socially higher rank as or has no close connection to you and you respect their position using Sie, but you also show that you condem their action, decisions etc, by calling them an ass. And you show, that their disrespectful behavior didn't stop you from still showing basic respect, while also clearly expressing your opinion, plus it is far more impersonal and cold, implying their actions did not hurt you emotionally, you just find them despicable and that you are emotionally more stable and calm than them. In English this kind of cold, calm but still respectful insult is not possible as easily.
@@buecherdrache1 'Socially higher rank'? Are you tripping? The chance that I would let my boss address me with my first name or 'du' is absolutely zero. Even at school, which admittedly is now some time ago, the teachers had to address us as 'Herr XY' and 'Frau XX' once we reached the gymnasiale Oberstufe and the majority of us was over 16.
@@gustavmeyrink_2.0 'Or has no close (aka personal) connection to you', as I mentioned. So please don't overreact over nothing as most 'Sie' - interactions fall into that category.
@@buecherdrache1 I'm an American, born in 1941 in the Deep South whose parents were from east Texas and south Louisiana. This was exactly the social etiquette [Without the "Sie" of course.] I was taught as a boy which disappeared in the aftermath of WW2. Even though I've know her for 20-plus years, I still address the owner of the dry cleaners I frequent as, "Ms Lopez" and she addresses me as Mr. (Thiteen-ietter German surname.) It has nothing to do with social rank but is a sign of my respect for her as a person and vice-versa. We are "friendly" but we are not "friends." A nuance most of today's Americans find incomprehensible.
So I’m German and when it comes to eating with your hands, it depends quite a lot on the situation. Nobody will eat pizza with cutlery at home, but at a restaurant, you shouldn’t even eat fries with your hands (unless you’re at McDonald’s) So generally, things get a lot less formal when you’re at home or with friends...
Ich ess alles was irgendwie geht mit Besteck oder Stäbchen, immer. Auch Pizza, Pommes, Chips und so, irgendwie. Ich hasse das, wenn irgendwas an meine Hände kommt, ob ich zuhause bin oder nichtXDDD
I live in Belgium. I carbonate my tap water myself by use of a machine. The reason I prefer carbonated water (especially after a meal) is because it lightens the stomach and helps me with my digestion. For me it also seems to remove the "chloric" taste flat water from the tap can have when it stands a night in a glass on my bedside table.
I am from Finland and we carbonate our tap water, which is fantastic, as well. For me, it is about the taste and texture, I just prefer carbonated water and carbonating tap water saves nature and labour, and perhaps even a little money, though I have not done the maths.
In 1788 Adolph Freiherr Knigge released a book on how to interact with other people in certain situations. It became really famous. After his death his publisher expanded the book and added rules for a good behaviour at the table and other formalites. This book and its rules are shaping german behaviour up to our present times.
@@PassportTwo NOBODY actually follows Knigge rules in daily life. Knigge rules are the kind of stuff I expect the Queen to follow, not ordinary people. Although there is some useful stuff for formal occassions in there, like if you have a business lunch. Stuff like who to greet first, whether to get up from your seat to shake hands, whether it's ok to order alcohol,... But there's also weirder stuff like don't bunch up your paper napkin (you need to fold it neatly), the boss drinks first after raising your glasses to something, sneezing is a "fauxpas" so saying "Gesundheit" and bringing attention to the fact that you just messed up is impolite, you mustn't cut salad, bread is eaten with the left hand only, ....
@@lisamo1013 You’re right, nobody follows Knigge completely. I never even read it. Yet many of its guidelines made it into everyday proper etiquette. (the Gesundheit rule was dropped a few years after it got added, though, that truly was a weird one)
If it's sanitized properly! You never know about how clean cutlery is when you're eating in a restaurant. I've seen my share of dirty looking cutlery in many restaurants, including the ones in Germany! Gross!!
Dude, in India we eat with our hands👍. We would rather trust our own hands than a "cutlery".. moreover eating with hands rather than cutlery makes us more closer to food 🙏
@@toxicologyforever9700 It's not about how clean your hands or cutlery are _before_ you eat, but how clean your hands are while you eat and after!.. Seemingly dirty cutlery isn't dirty in a hygienic way! It comes out of a dishwasher and is sanitized. If there may stick a little crumb to it, it is "dead material" and not infective in any way. But if you eat with your hands, you will grease everything to all things you touch while eating (drinking glas, clothes, salt shaker..), until you go and wash them.. And I mean, even before: No offence, but there is a reason, why in countries where is usually eaten by hands are heavy diseases widespread.. 🤷♀️
@@Bumper6 It really depends on the food. Some things like French Fries are fine to eat with your hands. Anything that's messy, like when it has sauce on it is eaten with cutlery. Basically with any dry foods using your hands is an option, but you wouldn't do that in polite company. I always carry a clean set of cutlery with me in my backpack when I'm out in case I need it.
Pro tip: you can always get free water at a restaurant, you just have to ask for tap water specifically. Some restaurants will even put a lemon wedge in it. And technically, theyre not allowed to deny you tab water. You just have to ask :)
This! It saved me and my Kreislauf several times on hot summer days walking around a big city, I'd just go into a food place and ask for tap water, often I was handed a paper cup with water and it was always free!
Ich würde gern meine Freundin davon überzeugen, stattdessen schleppen wir immernoch Literweise Sprudel in die Wohnung und dann verplembern wir noch die Zeit damit das Pfand zurückzubringen. Sodastream ist die beste Erfindung aus Isreael seit der UZI.
I was actually horrified, that the beverages even sitting inside Cafés where served in plastic or paper cups, when we were in NYC and Washington DC last year. 😱
@@aviancypress5181 even one time use paper cup are bad for the environment, normally the paper cup have some kind plastic coating so it can hold liquids for a longer time This coating makes it almost impossible to recycle so it can only be burned, even without the coating almost everything that you use only once is bad for the enviorment
Tap water isn´t always safe and healthy. The water is only controlled until the pipe reaches the house. Until this point you can drink it. BUT there are old houses which have pipes out of lead, and you shouldn´t drink this. Restaurants in Germany are often in very, very old houses. The renovation of a protected monument can be very expensive. So sometimes it is better not to drink tap water. In my last rental apartment the tapwater was yellow on some days and i never drank it. We now life in our own house, which is 99 years old (big birthday party next year) and it has two kitchens. I had the water of both pipes testedy, by an official laboratory and one of them is a lead pipe, so we don´t use this water for cooking or drinking.
I appreciate the distance of using "Sie" (formal you) or surnames. Whenever a company's marketing has the impression that it would be a good idea to adress customers with "du"(informal you) without permission, it leaves the impression on me that my privacy was intruded by those bad manners. Needless to say that being impolite to customers does not result in raised popularity.
@@elopix234 I still think we shouldn’t get rid of it. Also I have never seen anyone use it in a condescending way or not anymore or less then someone would use the du in a condescending way. If someone wants to be condescending they will find a way. The formal and informal language are important to make it clear what kind of relationship you have. And it creates distance to people who you don’t want be close with. It’s a tool. And a very good one. But when I am working at a job I would find it strange to use sie for every colleague. Especially if I interact with the on a daily bases. I will quickly ask to be per du but if someone refuses I am still happy to use sie.
@@Manie230 When i was younger i liked the informal form much more, nearly felt insulted when somebody used "Sie". However, as i have grown older, i do appreciate the difference between "Sie" and "Du" and do like to use those differences. It is an integral part of our language, and i have to say, i do like it quite a bit. That said, at work we do use the informal address always, but it is of course easier as our working language is english anyway and we have employees from all european countries plus a few more, so the common language usually is english as well. When switching languages it just is easier to stay on "Du", and yes, even in english it is company culture to use the first name basis. However, i can, and sometimes do, choose to use "Sie" instead as i feel it more appropriate or want to express a certain distance and reservation about the other part.
@@Soordhin yeah Thad what I use sie for. If I want to keep a certain distance between me and the other person like a store clerk. Or my boss. Except wen I know them outside of the job. Or if they asked to be per du. Only people who I really don’t like will I refuse to be per du with.
I feel like the German Herr and Frau in retail store helps to give the employees more of an authentic vibe and makes it in my opinion easier for younger people to get situations handled where the customer is not always right.
That’s another huge difference between Germany and USA. In the US the customer IS always right. Especially in the restaurant business. Things must have gone horribly wrong, for an employee not getting into trouble when chastising a nasty customer. Employees in Germany get to have a lot more backbone. Sure, always be polite. But they don’t have to swallow their pride with an impossible customer.
I agree. I think you should address employees by their last name. They are, after all, professionals and deserve respect. If I used first names, I'd feel like talking down on them
It tends to rip me out of my comfort zone when being adressed with an informal "Du" by people I don't know and don't have any inclination of getting to know any closer. This happens a lot in fast food restaurants and smaller clothing shops (Subway/NewYorker/etc.). I prefer a professional and respectful distance and the formal "Sie", combined with "Herr/Frau X" (Mr./Mrs. X), serves exactly that purpose for me.
I totally agree with that. i work in retail in germany and everytime someone has approached me using "du" what followed was some kind of "karen" situation that i could really do without. In my opinion people are much less likely to be rude when they "have to" speak to you formally.
@@undo2613 It really depends where you work at or for which company. I for example work at one as a trainee where I have to stay polite and basically kiss up their ass because money is much more important to the company than the employees. But since I got a new boss who is also younger, she lets me finally have a spine and stop customers from treating me like shit, which is much needed in some situations...
I'm german and #1 me & my boyfriend have been drinking tap water for half a year now because one day we realised how ridiculous it is to buy water at the store, while having good quality tap water for (almost) free :D #2 I ALWAYS use the formal way of adressing people, the only exception are my family, friends and people i know well (like some of my colleagues at work). I live in a small town and i'm not even informal with my neighbors, because I don't know them. #3 I HATE eating with my hands!! :D I rellay enjoyed this video, I never considered all of these things as posh or fancy for americans or other nationalities.
9th grade and higher it's always "Sie" in textbooks but the teachers addressed us as "du". After i graduated school and went into professional school for 3 years, the teachers addressed us with "Sie". For me that was an important part of growing up but it also felt weird ... 😂🤭
12:45 Two misconceptions: 1. The differenciation between "you" and "thou" was dropped in England before the colonisation of North America; otherwhise "thou" would still be in use there, which it isn't except in some dialects. 2. "Thou" was the _informal_ form, it is cognate to German "Du". And "You" was the _formal_ form of address, it is originally a plural and cognate to German "Euch". For some reason 300 years or so ago in England, "thou" fell out of use and the polite form became used even among spouses, close friends, relatives and children. So it's not that English speakers are informal all the time, they're formal all the time. Even though most today are not aware of this fact. Incidentally, because religious texts such as the bible and prayers were translated before this change, "thou" survives mostly there. So oddly enough, the only person English speakers tend to address informally is God. Amonst each other they're formal.
I suppose it would be more accurate to say that "you" used to be formal. Nowadays, it really isn't anymore. After all, it's the speakers of a language that decide how a language works and evolves.
1. Isn’t accurate. Thee/thou came to America. You can read plenty of early Massachusetts (an American province) texts using thee and thou 2. The Quakers are a religious sect famous for extending the thee/thou usage on into the 19th century
Thee and thou were still used in parts of northern england up untill the 1960 i remember some of the older people using it now a day you hear" thus "in replacement" you " .thus too slow = you are too slow . It might be local to me but the west yorkshire area its fairly common
I am from Romania and what you say about Germany in this video happens also in my country. About the disposable cups and stuff- as people already said, it is an European thing. It has to to with the environment (what do you think happens with all those plastic that gets thrown away at US festivals???? however they are discarded, they generate pollution). Europe has very strict rules about stuff that negatively impacts the environment. Another thing, as you said, the area remains much cleaner without all the garbage... Of course, in Europe there are people deciding they dont want to go back to get their deposit for the silverware and let them on a table somewhere, for instance. But there is always someone else happy to take the cups and bring them back and cash those euros. And it is a great way for kids or people that dont have a lot of money to gain some euros (they work gor it, because they actually gather the stuff, clean the tables this way, take the cup and brings it to where it belongs..) So, no matter how you look at it, it is a win-win! The water... The bottled water is MINERAL water, it is not just H20... It means it has different minerals in it - even vitamins sometimes. You can actually see on the label what it contains. And if you try more brands, you will actually notice they taste differently (because of those minerals ). But the minerals quantities are not huge, they do not negatively impact your health. Of course, if you have a health problem and you need to avoid Sodium, for instance, you wii use a water brand with no sodium at all... And so on. About the tap water... I admit, sometimes I drink it too (only when I am at home). The problem with the tap water is when you drink a lot. Because - even if you filter it - there are large quantities of calcium chloride (I hope I am saying it correctly). And if you constantly drink it, this can cause kidney issues (for instance, kidney stones). And stuff like that... The sparkling water - i think it is about taste and how you are used... Using the last name is common in all Europe - I think. It is a way to show respect to others. It is the "polite way". Respecting the others and really showing it is another thing Europeans are into.... Eating with your hands.... Pizza, chicken wings, burgers, fries - it mostly depends where you eat them.... If you are at McDonalds, yeah, you use your hands. You finish your meal in about 15 minutes, you use your wet napkin(s) to clean a bit your hands, you throw away you paper cup then go wash your hands properly (the wet napkins are simply not enough to clean the all the grease). But if you go to a restaurant, for Europeans this is not a 15 minutes thing. It is a social event. You can spend 2 hours easily there... Talking while eating, drinking, eating a desert maybe.... talking .... (i know i said talking twice :P). So if you have fries there, you will use your fork. I cant imagine how I would feel to take a few fries with my hands and than use the glass (made of glass) to drink some water. All the grease on my hands (as I said, some of it stays even if I used the napkin), will transfer to the glass.... And honestly, I dont want to have to go wash my hands every time I eat something... Not to mention you might meet someone you know and you wanna shake hands.... Or your phone rings.... Not to mention the grease that stays on your lips... Using a fork makes everything much easier so I vote for it. Sorry for such a long comment, but you wanted opinions so I gave you mine :)
It's very usual for school or Kindergarten events to bring your own mug for coffee, your plates for food and cutlery. It saves the environment, and parents who volunteer at this kind of events as help, can do better stuff than washing dishes 🙂
For me (19 year old woman from Germany) using the "formal" Herr/Frau is still preferred, since I've been working in discounters for a long time and it automatically creates respect to the workers. It makes interactions easier, especially for younger workers (high school age) to get treated properly.
15:45 in Germany there are a lot of occasions where it is acceptable to eat with your bare hands, but normally in case of pizza or fries, only children eat with their hands because it is seen as unhygenic and easyer to get mouth appropriat peaces in your mouth. In cases like chicken wings, or Hamburgers at fast food restaurants you normally not even get silverware to eat, so it is normal at those occasions. Fries are eaten with silverware as long as it is possible, if they get too hard you can eat them with your hands without hesitation, at kiosks in citys and in public pool areas you even get a disposible wooden mini fork to eat the fries or Bratwurst, or what else you order
In jedem guten Restaurant ist man seine hähnchenkeule-> chicken wings mit den Händen. Solange Pommes nicht in einem sehr formalen Rahmen serviert werden, oder die von oben bis unten voll mit Ketchup sind, ist man die mit der Hand. Pizza ist man ausnahmslos mit der Hand, alles andere geht entgegen jede Kultur, außer sie wurde nicht vorgeschnitten.
@@trueSconox dann muss ich dich leider dazu drängen einige verschiedene Pizzen empfehlen, beispielsweise mit Rucola, da solche Pizzen besser gegessen werden mit Messer und Gabel. Klar kannst du die mit der Hand essen, aber es fällt halt der großteil des Belags runter, des weiteren gibt es mit Besteck eine bessere Verteilung des Velags. Ich weiß nicht wo du mal Pommes essen warst, aber als Etikette im normalen Restaurant, nicht Fast Food Restaurants, wird im allgemeinen mit der Gabel gegessen. Nicht die Pommes in millimeter große Stückchen schneiden, aber die Finger nicht verunreinigen (wegen der Hygiene).
@@trueSconox noch vergessen, natürlich kannst du deine Chicken wings oder die Hähnchenkeule mit der Hand gegessen, in der Regel werden dafür vorab kleine Papierhütchen um den Knochen befestigt (Hähnchenkeule), oder es werden bei gehobeneren Restaurants Möglichkeiten zur Reinigung der Hände gegeben. Als Zitronenfeuchtpapier, oder kleines wasserbecken sind wohl am verbreitetsten. Chicken wings werden eher selten in einem Umfeld ausgegeben, in denen es unhöflich wäre mit der Hand zu essen, da es nur schwer möglich ist. Ich würde in dem Umfeld auch KFC und ähnliches nicht als gutes Restaurant bezeichnen, da es 'nur' eine Fast Food Bude ist und wie gesagt dabei kein Besteck ausgegeben wird.
@@marcusklein227 Ich hab keine Ahnung in was für schlechten Pizzabuden du warst, aber bei mir ist da bisher noch kein einziger Belag runter gefallen, noch nicht mal Brokkoli oder sowas. Wie der Belag verteilt ist, wird vor dem Backen entschieden. Bei den Pommes kommt es drauf an, wie die serviert werden, liegen die zum Schnitzel auf dem Teller esse ich die auch mit der Gabel. Die Hähnchenkeule, sprich der Flügel, also chicken wing, da sind wir uns ja einig.
@@Ikxi which is okay. Especially for toddlers. My kid loves it and so we drink it all the time. Apple juice with water is delicious because it is not overly sweet! 😁
Haha, somewhat on a related note, I heard in the last few weeks there has been a fight over the right to the word “Dubbeglas.” Somebody apparently bought the rights and there are petitions out there to make it so that it isn’t exclusive to just him anymore. Have you heard about this?
@@PassportTwo there are many different forms and companies that make these kind of glasses, many with a brand name, I highly doubt that anyone could buy the right to a dubbeglas or any similar glas.
From what I know, when you go into a German restaurant and you order a bottle of water - you get asked what kind of water you want. And when you are visiting friends, they will also ask you what kind of water you prefer. At least this is how I experienced it. That’s is what I hear/ get asked when I go to a restaurant in Germany oder over to a german friends house.
Ein anderes gutes Beispiel ist das Konzept von : Kleidung für Zuhause und für Draußen. Also zum Beispiel Leggings gegen Jeans tauschen um spazieren zu gehen. 😀
Jetzt, wo Du es sagst...mit den Schluffiklamotten für Zuhause gehe ich nicht in Einkaufen, dafür ziehe ich mir mindestens eine ordentliche Jeans und ein sauberes T-Shirt an. In Zeiten von Homeoffice ziehe ich mich dadurch besser für Aldi an als für meine Arbeit 😄
I feel the embarassing stares of everyone 😥Ich Kann einfach nicht rausgehen ohne mich richtig anzuziehen Meine familie ist richtig streng wenn es sich um Manieren geht
I am German and when I was visiting a friend abroad, his girlfriend re-filled my water bottle with tap-water, so I didn't have to buy another one on the way. I tried the water, but just couldn't drink it. It tasted like water from a Swimmingpool
@@thehighground3630 I am from Germany and I had a school trip to France in 2019 so when we vent to a restaurant we were very impressed to get free water but it tasted like you said so horrible 🥲
Never ever drink that water in the US, you get diarrhea from that because it's chlorinated as f*ck. That's why you can buy water in big canisters in the supermarket.
I’m originally from the state of Missouri und viele Grüße aus Frankfurt am Main ! Im now a supermarket manager here in Germany and the customers love and respect my friendliness and helpfulness that they normally do not receive here in Germany.
Me, casually drinking my carbonated water straight from the bottle while watching this video in my room..... Well, I guess I'm fancier than I thought...
I am from Austria, but our culture is very similar to german culture. Many people are very obsessed with carbonated water, even though I am not a fan myself. I think it's pretty split. You can also get free water in most places when you specifically order tap water ("Leitungswasser").
I live in Vienna and tap water here beats almost all bottled water, it comes directly from mountain wells. At home, we do not drink carbonated water but when I buy bottled water, I prefer carbonated water because it stays fresh longer.
The americans are obsessed with ice in their drinks, sometimes there is more ice then real drink in the glass. I hate it. When I was in the USA the waitresses looked at me like I'm crazy when I told them I gon't want ice.
Carbonating water feels to me like an upgrade: it's not only the boring flat water but the carbon gives it a depth and a multi layered flavour. I'm a fan, although sometimes I also drink tap water
These days I mostly eat pizza, bugers, fries etc. with my hands. But I remember growing up it was considered rude to do that at restaurants or family gatherings. Even when having pizza with teenage friends it wasnt uncommon to just ask the group "is it okay if I use my hands?" to make sure noone is offended. In retrospect that seems weird, but I have to admit I still feel like an uncultured rebell when I eat fries without cutterly at a medium priced restaurant.
It does seem like times are changing and maybe America is having our influence on this behavior as well as people start to be more comfortable eating with their hands 😅
@@PassportTwo ordered pizza in the box on my lap, no silverware. Pizza is not food for silverware unless it's full of topic that yiu can't lift a slice
I remember my grandmother trying to eat a Big Mac with knife and fork because she felt eating with her hands was inappropriate. That was back in the 1980s and the last time she saw the inside of an American themed fast food restaurant.
As a German, having tap water in New Jersey while attending Au Pair initiation felt like drinking water from a swimming pool, chlorinated to making me feel nauseous. I was so glad, that it was not the case with the tap water in Vermont, where I spent my year abroad. I like the carbonation because it changes the taste towards sour. In my region, the carbonated water is called Sauer Sprudel.
When I was a kid, my Grandparents always had "Selters" and that was really sour these days. I loved it and mineral water in my family is still called "Selter" nowadays.
And the only right way to mix in a Apfelwein (Stöffche) is carbonated water, making it a "Sauergespritzter". The also often offered "Süßgespritzter", which can be made with Zitronen- oder Orangenlimo instead, is just blasphemy. 🤗
Fun fact in Germany or Switzerland there is no landfill, we burn all the trash if it is not recycable. With the heat from the burning we generat heat and electricity 😉
Ich esse, wenn möglich, gern mit Besteck. Aber nicht weil es so fancy ist, sondern einfach, weil meine Hände sauber bleiben. Grade unterwegs, ohne Möglichkeit zum Händewaschen, finde ich es immer ziemlich ekelig, wenn sich Fett, Ketchup oder Soße am Ende von meinen Händen auf die Kleidung, auf meine Geldbörse oder mein Smartphone verteilen.
Sehe ich genauso. Ich würde mir auch nie etwas bestellen, was ich nicht einfach mit Messer und Gabel essen kann. So etwas wie Hähnchenflügel esse ich nur zu Hause, denn da kann man sich hinterher einfach die Hände waschen und gut ist. Und vorher natürlich auch.
Ja und auch vorher im Restaurant die Hände zu waschen ist auch unnötig umständlich. Bis man am Tisch ist hat man schon Türklinke, Lichtschalter und sonst was angefasst. Ich mein wozu hat man Besteck erfunden?!
Schonmal was von Servietten oder Tüchern gehört? Ich ess immer mit Händen und werde nie krank und meine Kleidung nie schmutzig, weil ich in der Lage bin sie zu säubern oder abzulecken und ein paar Keime fördern die Abwehrkräfte.
@@vomm wenn ich in Restaurants Spare-Ribs oder Chicken Wings bestelle gibts normalerweise Tücher zum Hände abwischen mit dazu. Sowas mit Messer und Gabel zu essen ist mMn einfach nur eine Qual. Und ich meine das selbst z.B. Gordon Ramsay Rippchen mit den Händen isst, wenn ich die Episode Kitchen Nightmares mit Momma Cherri's richtig im Kopf habe.
if someone introduced themselves with their first name in a formal situation i would feel very weirded out. like don’t pretend to be all friendly and casual with me when i just asked where i can find the woman’s section. that’s so uncomfortable and somewhat invasive.
Grüssi! I used to feel like that until a patient reminded me that my first name is my baptismal one, while my last is my familial one. So if Adam is the name by which God knows me, why should I be anything but honoured to called it by a mere human?! 😇 Servus, Adam.
That wouldn't be considered a "formal situation" in the states. That's very casual. Formal here would be more along the lines of outside of everyday activities/communicating functions.
Yeah, I look quite a bit younger than my actual age (22) and people mostly say „du“ when talking to me, and I hate it. It makes me feel like the person I’m talking to thinks that I’m an idiot
@@eleanorrigby7914 I really don't get that, why should u fucking care if someone says "du" or "sie". I for example hate being called "sie" and I always say right at the beginning that you can "duzen" me because sometimes Germans take life to serious
@@kosmodome47 guess that really depends on how you've grown up or what you're used to. To me it just feels really impolite if the cashier, who doesn't know me, just casually says "du", but I don't mind at all being introduced or introducing myself to work colleagues (that are not the boss) "per du". When I was younger though, around 20, I also didn't really identify myself as a "Sie" yet - funny thing, recalling now, I had to get used to it by and by... :) I recently heard someone in his 60ies saying he feels weird, staying "per Sie" over a longer period with ppl, because he's worked "simple jobs" all his life, where people just said "du", so the "Sie" is not something he identifies with much, unless among complete strangers or with a person obviously higher in hierarchy ...
I really appreciate that throwaway cups and plates are frowned upon nowadays. When I grew up they were quite common in Germany, but it's one area where we think it's worth the extra effort to produce less waste.
From the Netherlands: I only drink tap water, in restaurants I ask for some to take my medicine 😁, no problem. I eat my pizza with knife and fork, fries sometimes with or without. Nametags in stores; why would I want to know their firstname, that person is not someone I know, so....
I drink tap water at home, at a restaurant I prefer other drinks. Sometimes my friends and I order one pizza for everyone which is served cut up into tranches, just as a snack. Then we would eat it with our hands. If we ordered an individual pizza for each person, we would eat it with a knife and fork. I wouldn't want to eat greasy chips with tomato sauce with my fingers.
I never saw a Dutch person in the Netherlands eat pizza with knife&fork, normally you eat pizza with your hands. Nametags at AH, Jumbo, Plus, Intratuin, Praxis, Hema, Mediamarkt etc all have first names on Nametags, all those stores are in the Netherlands
The utensils thing depends on how fancy the place is. For pizza, there is a simple trick: If it comes pre-sliced, you can pick it up with your hands. If it comes as one whole pizza, you're supposed to use utensils. For fries: If they come on a paper plate or in a bag - use your hands. If they come on a real plate with cutlery, use a fork.
Hi, very simple, hambugers and chicken wings or drums, you use your hands, on pizza and fries, normally it is with utensils, but that actually depends on the setting (eating at table or not, social context)
At home and in restaurants I eat pizza with a knife and fork. However when I'm in the US and they don't hand me a knife and fork I'll take the hint and eat like a barbarian.
Hands vs Utensils I am from german (Wiesbaden, Hessen to be more precisley) and i have to say it strongly depends on 1) where you are eating and 2) what you are eating or rather in which "combination". If you eat in a restaurant (fast food excluded) you almost always eat with utensils, unless it's a cultural thing or just how you eat that specific food. For example in a regular restaurant you would eat a buerger with utensils. Also, the combination (this regards at home and fast food restaurants) you would usually eat things like nuggets/burgers and fries with your hands. But if other parts are eaten with utensils (i.e. Schnitzel, Bratwurst, etc.) you usually eat the whole thing with utensils.
Perrier and S. Pellegrino aren’t just French an Italian sounding names, they are bottled in France and Italy, respectively, and shipped across the pond to the U.S..
I think S. Pellegrino was one of the waters that is considered fancy, but has a raised arsenic content after German standards. ^^ I’m drinking mostly tap water at home, but with more or less apple juice in it, for having at least a bit of flavour. :)
@@alice73333 Ich erinnere mich leider nicht. Es kam in einer Reportage im TV vor und betraf glaube ich Appolinaris uns S. Pellegrino. Ich denke mal, da es in D verkauft werden darf, kannst Du es beruhigt trinken, nur zur Herstellung von Babynahrung sind die Wässer dann wohl weniger geeignet. :)
We invented the "Pommespieker" to not eat fries with our bare hands. Google it, if you don't know what it is! Another fancy thing in Germany: Everybody drives fancy German cars.
@@christianwasweissdennich8056 in the US there are low taxes, but the average family spends more in healthcare in a year than you'll ever do in your lifetime... you get what you pay for
@@silmuffin86 I spend for me alone more then 600 Euro a month on healthcares-insurance, I would get that much cheaper in other countries so not really cheap, but healtcare-pricing in US is usually just to expensive
I like the formal addressing because you can set your boundaries and pay respect only through a small word and establish privacy and distance from someone you don’t want a close personal relationship with. I don’t want people to assume that they can just speak to me however they want only because I am on first name basis so it is really practical to make clear who can call you what and how to communicate with them. And that doesn‘t mean we can’t be nice but we don’t have to worry if they want to be our friend or not. And if they do want that than they can just ask to address me as ‚du‘ and if I allow it that basically means that I am willing to get closer to that person. And all that subtext and information only through how you address people.
I am German and have an American GF and she was absolutely amazed by my face when a waiter just came to our table and filled our glass up . First I said „no thanks“ in fact to the waiter , because I thought I would be charged ( like it’s sometimes the case in Italy with bread )
Yup,when we visited Italy as germans and we sat down in a cocktailbar at a lake, we were amazed that every half hour or so they would bring us snacks, first so chips then a complete plate with bread sausage ham... different sorts of cheese and later even more.Sadly the girls wanted to go home, we were confident that if we drank a few rounds more they would have served steaks.At that bar it was free, and the next day in a restaurant, it did cost extra. Was it because in the bar we paid every round directly and at the restaurant paid at the end.
I was the same when I was in the US with my husband and they refilled my fountain soda. I was worried it would cost more.I'm used to saving my drink so I have some left at the end of the meal.
I'm in the UK and would never dream of calling a customer by their first name, that's so weird to me. I'm always called Mr then my surname and rarely called by my first name unless I know the person and it's not a company.
Weird. I'm German, living in Germany and most of my customers are British. They never used my lastname and signed their emails only with their first name, too. Even my british sales rep has only his first name in his signature. I thought that's normal in UK.
@@thegoodlydragon7452 That's because Sir is only really used with men who have a knighthood. Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Elton John, Sir Tom Jones etc. I've only ever heard customers called Sir at one hotel which was way too posh for my liking so I didn't work there very long also the fact I refused to call anyone Sir didn't help matters, the customers didn't mind but for some reason the managers really cared about it. I believe the military uses it but I haven't anything to do with the miltary in 20 years so not sure if they still used it or not but I'm assuming they probably do which is probably the most common places to hear the word Sir.
I have to comment on this because of the part about eating with hands. I live in OK too but I really dislike eating with my hands and always choose utensils first or a wrapper of some kind. Anything to keep hands from touching the food. It is because I assume my hands harbor microbes I do not want on my food and no matter how much I wash them, a utensil is far less likely to have microbes on it. I know it really sounds phobic but whatever is on my hands causes a stomach flu-type illness not colds or anything. Always seems to affect the stomach. I notice when I eat with a fork or spoon, i do not get them so I always use them or at the very least, make sure I have a barrier of some kind between my hands and the food. People can look at me funny all they want but I have a real reason to eat pizza and sandwiches with a fork and knife and I prefer it. It is just easier.
Yes it feels rude. That's it. I don' t want to be called by my first name. Just friends and family are allowed to use my first name. It is absolutly private. Nobody else is allowed to use it that's really rude and unpolite. I think you can geht really in trouble if you use the first name for a stranger. You can be sued. It is a crime if you do this in public. Never ever call a police officer by the first name. This is going to be very expensive. The use of the first Name suggests that you don't respect a person. Never do it to a Person that is working in the service. They would think you will show them how little they are worth and that you are much better than they are. It is really extremly unpolite. Just don't do it.
Dinge, über die man oft nicht nachdenkt... Sehr schön zusammengefasst! Ich trinke am liebsten Sprudelwasser und habe auch einen Sodastream, um das zu Hause selbst zu machen 😄
@@PassportTwo It is not generally true that tap water has excellent quality in every German state. It can differ: Lower Saxony for example has an excellent water quality, their water directly comes from the big Talsperren (dams) in Harz (Okertalsperre, Granestalsperre, Eckertalsperre etc.) But here in Hamburg I would be a bit careful with the tap water. Some years ago the waterworks found legionella in my tap water (they claimed, they fixed it by cleaning the tubes, but I am not so sure about that!). Since that happened I only drink mineral water in bottles...
German here. I prefer flat tap water myself, but most households have "sodastream" which is a brand of an appliance you can use to carbonate water. You only have to change the CO2 tank like every month or so, which you can exchange for a new one at the grocery store since they simply get refilled
When I was growing up in Germany, fries were always served with a special fry fork, a Pommesgabel. It's a mini plastic fork with only 2 prongs. Just so you wouldn't have to eat with your hands :). Not sure if that's still a thing....
@@PassportTwo In every German McDonalds restaurant you can get these tiny wooden forks for free... 🙂 and I always used them to eat my fries...for hygenic reasons (e.g. my hands might be not clean enough when going to a McDonalds restaurant after a shopping trip). For the same reason I would never touch a burger with my bare hands but use an unfolded paper tissue to hold the burger.
When I was growing up in the eighties in germany, the plastic forks had three prongs but one usually broke off and got lost in the fries. So I always took the blue or green forks and never the yellow so I won't accidently swallow a prong.
We still have the three pronged plastic versions (or at least had, i guess they are banned now) and the 2 pronged wooden versions. Do Americans simply don't pour ketchup and majonaise over their fries or how can they eat them with their fingers?
I think there are some unwritten rules for eating with your hands in Germany. Some examples that came to my mind: - I would eat my pizza with my hands if my boyfriend and I ordered it home and ate it while watching a movie. - I would probably use cutlery if a friend made pizza and invited us for diner, I would at least ask if it is ok to use my hands. - I would definetly use cutlery at a restaurant with my boyfriends parents. But then burgers are a whole different thing: - If my boyfriend's parents invited us to a place where they have burgers we would probably eat it with our hands after quickly checking that everybody agrees on that. - But if it is a fancy restaurant we would use cutlery again. And then the german barbecue: - if we are meeting our friends in their backyard or a public place where it feels more like a picnic, it would be okay to eat a sausage with my hands or even a steak if it is put in a bun. - if someone brought plates and cutlery and there are also side dishes like Kartoffelsalat we would probably eat everything with cutlery. Same for barbecue with family when we are sitting around a table. So yes its complicated 😄 but I think you can say that eating with your hands is considered very informal.
I'm German and I usually just do what everyone else is doing or anticipate whether or not I can clean my hands easily afterwards, that works most of the time :)
For me eating with my hands is an all or nothing type situation, for example if i eat a Burger and fries I would eat both with my hands but if I eat a Schnitzel and fries then both with utensils.
Yesterday, I was shopping at Rewe, and an automated band was telling people to mind social distancing in the informal you form. I am a young german, 28 years old, and I absolutely hated it because I personally associate being talked to with the informal you by strangers like being treated as a child. I do not enjoy it at all.
@@faultier1158 politely disagree on that one. I do not enjoy this, and I expect people, even my age, to properly adress me. An instant "du" is really not an option for me.
We also have something called the "Hamburger Sie", which is using Sie and the first name. For example one of my university professors used it for her students. I like it because it feels a bit less distanced, but still professional.
@@Hamusutaru yeah, same for me but most teachers had too many classes to remember wich one asked for „du“ or „sie“ so they just played it safe with „sie“ I got used to it by the end
i have only enocuntered this at university because one of the students had a very complicated croation last name so she was the only one to be called by her first name while still using the Sie :D
It depends on the circumstances rather than the food itself. When eating out, there is sometimes that awkward spiel about „are we eating with hands now, even though we are in a restaurant?“ With friends at home, I eat pizza, burger and fries with hands. But with my grandpa, I would try to eat all of those with utilities - no matter where we are
Since this year the sale of certain types of disposable plastic wares has been banned at least i Germany, if not in the whole EU. This has been done to reduce the amount of plastics ending up in the environment. Disposable dishes and cutlery are on the list as are plastic drinking straws and cotton buds with plastic sticks.
I prefer the formal address, because I think respect is important- especially in a work environment. If a Karen comes in yelling "Hey you! I have a complaint!" and I tell her "My name is not 'Hey you'! I am still MISTER (X) to you! How can I help you?" it might immediately take some wind out of her sails.
Well here in north Germany it is kinda weird to eat stuff with your hands. Like the only things that come to mind is Pizza when you are at home, chicken wings and maybe some streetfood like crepes and stuff that won´t make your hands dirty when eating them.
Well I don't get it, do germans have some kind if dirty hands or soap phobia! I mean there are napkins and bathrooms and soap for the dirty hands. What's the big deal?
@@megibrace1336 It's manners going all the way back to Erasmus von Rotterdam (15rh century). You get that drilled into you from a very young age and don't even think about it, especially when in public. When Germans joke about Knigge they are referring to famous conduct books.
Note from a German: Young adults among themselves also generally use "du" and I personally would feel VERY weird addressing anyone under, like, 30 with "Sie" except in a professional context (I'm 22, for those wondering). That said, do not address a young adult informally if you're outside that age group unless you've allowed them to do the same with you. Among strangers, only kids and teens are addressed informally, so especially to a young person it can come across like you're mistaking them for a kid. Or treating them as one. In any case, don't. (Although I have to note that there are regional differences here too. I live in the east of Germany where random strangers will sometimes even address my dad with "du", to his chagrin because he grew up in a place where that's NOT part of the culture.)
Just curious, but when do people switch from "Sie" to "du"? Like acquaintances slowly become close friends, at what point do you think "okay, we call each other "du" now" ? Also, if someone calls you "du" when you don't want them to, what do you do?
@@isabelleteh5655 Generally someone has to suggest the switch, I've never seen people go from one to the other without bringing it up first. And, well…you're asking the wrong person with the second question, I'm so non-confrontational I just kinda ignore it…I guess you could ask them to please not do that, but I've never seen anyone pull that off without being rude themselves so. Yeah. You just grin and bear it, I guess???
If someone calls you by your first name+Du and you do not want that it should usually be sufficient to just address the other one formally by last name and Sie. Most people will get the hint and switch.
I think you are right with the people who are siezing less in East Germany. It seems to me that especially older persons (maybe 40-55) prefer to use du, even in more professional contexts (e.g. my car-school teacher), whereas maybe 30 year old use sie more often and younger people in formal settings. However, as a 18 year old, I really hate being siezed. I still feel like a child and don't understand why people think I should be siezed. It is just weird... I think I would prefer if we just got rid of the sie like in English or Scandinavian languages... it creates so many weird and unclear situations when you used sie to adress someone for a long time and then have to switch or when you start being an adult...
@@isabelleteh5655 that depends on the situation. In Germany we have a book called "Knigge" that has all the unwritten rules of our socitey. Theres a whole chapter on how to address people and how to handle Duzen and Siezen. Even for us Germans it can be complicated.
I was working in retail for some time and as people mentioned before, it is more respectful and creates a distance, which makes you less vulnerable. Also a thing I have learned early in my life is: even if you know the person, if you are being harassed outside, always address the person as "Sie". People are more willing to help you if they assume you are being harassed by a stranger. To the tap water: we definitely have great water qualities in Germany for the most part. BUT the water pipes changes the taste a lot. I lived in 7 different districts in northern Germany and in some it was tasty and in others it simply wasn't.
Sometimes the "silverware" at festivals is actually "woodenware" - in this cases it is disposable but thought to be more environment-friendly as plastic (at least it is compostable even it takes its time). And some festivals organize even central return points - all stands use the same mugs and plates. In this cases you get mostly a token for your deposit (a tin coin or similar) to return with your plate at the central point. This started in the 1980s first with smaller festivals. The trend to drink carbonated water started as early as the 18th and 19th century, in a time as tap water was not everywhere available and not so thoroughly controlled. So water from wells and springs known to be clean was bottled, but since it was not sterilized it often get green with algae or got bacterial contamination. In 1783 a German watchmaker living in Geneva named Jacob Schweppe patented a process to carbonate bottled water. In 1790 he opened a factory in Geneva, 1792 in London. In the 1800s many mineral water wells followed - the carbonisation allowed them to sell their bottled water over major distances, and mineral water was considered to be healthier than simple water from the next well. Since there are many, many spas and even more mineral water wells in Germany, and since many spring water bottler followed suit, it became a kind of standard to drink bottled, carbonated water at least on voyage or at restaurants. Personally I prefer tap water, but I'll regularly buy a box of (regional) carbonated water for mixing "schorle" drinks with different juices.
I maybe have an example the other way around. My impression is that Germans are way more casual when it comes to bars or clubbing compared to a lot of other countries.
eating pizza and fries with utensils is not fancy at all. You just avoid getting your handy full of fat and sauce. Also it depends on the setting - if I eat fries or pizza "on the go" without sitting down, it´s just easier to use yout hands, but if I sit down to a proper meal at a table of course I will use a fork and a knive.
I’m an American. With European parents. Scandinavian to be exact. I grew up with European table rules , Mr and Mrs and Miss were normal. I personally love the formalities. I am not my children friends buddies, I’m Mrs Emerson or Mrs. E . It sets a boundary. Same with my students when I was teaching .
Funnily enough the Scandinavian countries are probably the least formal countries in Europe when it comes to addressing people. Herr / fru / frøken are just not used anymore, or at least very rarely.
So, your Scandinavian parents probably left before the "DU-reform" in the 60's and 70's. Younger people in some business and service situation have started to use "Ni", the Scandinavian formal equivalent of "Sie", again and it drives old hippies and socialists nuts!
I work in German customer service and I really appreciate our formality in the way we adresse each other alot. Although not gonna lie, there is this issue when it comes to around 16/17 year olds because they aren't adults yet so the formal "Sie" and surname isn't the default yet but they are old enough where it definitely can feel disrespectful to use the informal "Du" and first name.
13:40 And there is also the "Hamburger Du" (sometimes used, you guessed it, in Hamburg) where you address someone by first name but sill use the formal Sie.
12:50 the "thou/thee/thy" used to be the singular and "you/ye" plural only. So strictly speaking, English didn't drop the formal address, but the informal one, using the previously more formal "you" on everyone. It is as if Germans would go over to the "Sie" with everybody including close family.
Apparently German was close to that several times, with children addressing their parents and even husband and wife addressing each other formally. But "Du" never vanished completely and always rebounded.
“To the German viewers: tap, bottled or carbonated water?” Me: Two out of three! I carbonate my tap water 🤣 It’s true, German tap water has the best quality, but I still need my bubbles 🤷🏻♀️
Our office has switched from bottled carbonated water to special machines under the sink made by Grohe. Taps in the office kitchens now have three positions: off, regular tap water, chilled carbonated water. I love that :-) Every few weeks a company exchanges the large CO2 cylinders but now you have the option to rinse your coffee cup with sparkling water, surprised some people two years back...
For the disposable stuff at events. I think it was in the late 90s when they put in laws that did forbid selling disposables at big events. A similar law did forbid the selling of booze in cans later on. The difference for the festivals was huge. You can as a private person of course buy disposables
Even within a single city. Larger cities would get their water from multiple locations, and as the districts are served more or less independently, the water quality might vary. I used to live in a city covering the whole range of water hardness.
Oh yes, I used to have friends living in a another part of my city (they moved since then) and whenever I went to visit them, I'd fill up my water bottle with their tap water, because it tasted so much better.
I do not like the tap water of our own Tap so I drink about 3-4 l carbonated water a day. Also because I am to lazy to actually get the water from the tap
I live in west yorkshire its a soft water area tap water and bottle water taste the same but if i vist my daughter on the east coast we have to use filter jugs for tea and drink bottle water .the water comes from aquifers and taste slightly salty and leaves a scum on the top of tea
I barely comment anywhere but I just want to take a quick second to tell u guys that I have noticed the hard work you put into your videos. The editing, special effects, etc., this must take hours and hours to make and I appreciate that. I hope that others will see that too and make your channel grow 🙏🏼
Drinking tap water or filtered water is pretty normal for my family but we do use soda machines to make our own carbonated water sometimes xD Carbonated water lessens the feeling of being thirsty better in my opinion And on the food topic:it really depends on the food and situation tbh. Do whatever people around you do is usually a good way
14:33 this seinfeld scene comes into my mind ..instantly =D ua-cam.com/video/UxB-H6f3crY/v-deo.html
Oh my gosh! As an avid Seinfeld fan, I can’t believe we didn’t think of including this in the video as an example. 😂😂 Thank you for sharing this perfect illustration of what we are talking about! 😂
@@PassportTwo i watched seinfeld to many times i guess =D i cant get this show out of my head
omg i laughed so hard i cried - thank you so much!
What a hilarious scene!
haha very good! But it raises another qustion for me as a german. Who the heck eats candybars at restaurants and consider it a dessert? ;-)
Disposable plastic tableware is forbidden in Germany from this year on.
Isn't just forbidden to sell it/give for free to consumers. You can still use it if you have it
It's still easily available, and I've been buying lots of it recently. I make a point of using even more disposable plastic products because I like them and because outlawing them is irrational.
@@xaverlustig3581 you forgot to mention the main reason: because your parents are siblings.
@@hape3862 Grüne werden schnell beleidigend wenn einer was macht was nicht in ihre Ideologiei passt.
@@xaverlustig3581 auf solche Dinge zu verzichten hat nichts mit grün sein zu tun... 🤦🏼♂️ Und dann nutze sie eben häufiger, sind sie schneller nicht mehr zu haben, ist doch gut!
Saying "Sie" is not only distance, but first and foremost respect and politeness. ;-)
It's also (getting) quite controversial in many places / with many people.
I use Sie for people I don't know or are higher up then me and haven't said that I can call them du.
@@franziskamrak2417 Right, it's still a thing in stricly hierarchical environments. 👍 My perception is that we are culturally shifting away from that, what do you think?
@@CyReVolt I agree with you in terms of the work place but I don't think it's going to change in general too. I can't imagine calling a stranger, my teacher or other ppl I don't see more often Du!
I hate when people who I don’t know say “du” to me.
As a german student, it is almost a privilege when adults start talking to you formally because it shows that you are old enough to be considered "worthy". Childs and young teenagers are almost always called by their first name or talked down to even if that isn't the intend (in my opinion). When strangers start to talk formally to you, you know that you have matured quite a bit
true, but you also start feeling old. I lost a lot of my hair and grew a beard early (at around 15) and people on the street started to talk to me formally. My friends liked to mock me about that quite a lot.
Yes! I'm from the Czech Republic and I attended an 8-year secondary school (gymnázium). The teachers were all addressing us formally since day 1 of Prima (the first year, we were 11). Not only do you feel more mature, you even start acting more so.
@@wombataldebaran9686man your friends are such dicks
And guess where you can also find your Red plastic cups? In the ocean.
Exactly
Actually they're sturdy enough to be washed and reused.
@@caciliawhy5195 like anybody does that
@@rohrverlegervonnebenan2221 my sister still has a Starbucks cup from America from 3 years ago
Yes there are ppl like that
And guess what? There you can also find German plastic because our politicians concentrate on PR stunts such as prohibiting plastic bags in stores while they merely made up a percent of plastic waste. This whole discussion masked the fact that many or most cities get rid of their plastic waste by employing shady foreign waste disposal services. Outside of Germany the waste is handled poorly and makes its way into rivers and, thus, ultimately the ocean. We should have stopped this practice instead of the inconsequential plastic bags which eventually served in their final application as trash bags which we now have to buy. German plastic gets into the environment and we effectively did nothing about it. At least US citizens know about their issues.
Normal for Germans but fancy for Americans:
Healthcare system and not to worry to die because you can't pay the doctor
Ja Herr Doktor bitte Herr Doktor don't let me died
@@sauregurke4209 that's messed up
Yes! I hope we can get medicare for all soon
@@sauregurke4209 This is a stupid comment. Of course, seeing a doctor can't always save you from dieing, but not seeing a doctor can easily keep you from surviving when otherwise you very likely would have survived.
But I assume that it's about trolling, not about adding anything helpful to the conversation.
@@fiesehexe8133 Ever heard of exaggeration? And yes, your medical system is fucked up
I am from Germany and I really like that we differ between "Du" and "Sie" and don't call strangers and older or respectable people by their first names. It shows respect for the others and keeps a certain distance if needed. And nowadays it's a sign if someone was risen right by their parents, at least from what I have experienced.
I'm from germany and the 80 year old stable owner welcomed me and my horse by saying "Hi, I'm (informal) Hansi! Welcome to my stable!" 😂😂
It's normal to use "du" in informal setting like barns. But in supermarket or swimming pool, always "Sie" if it's an adult.
@@annoyingbananana Or, as we say in Germany:
"You can say you to me." 🤗
When I was young, I didn't like the "Sie" and "Du" in Germany, but now I really like it, cause it gives you personal space from strangers.
Yeah. I would hate it when employees would be addressed on first name basis. As an employee you just feel more respected when customers address you with your last name.
i mean, i guess. but it's super annoying when you always have to tell others if you want them to say "Sie" or "du"
and asking if i can say "du" gives me such horrible anxiety. it's so stuck up :/
@@teenietinytony there is a very simple rule: say “Sie“ to everybody with a higher age or Status then you... it is their place to offer the “Du“, if you are the person of higher Status its your decission to offer the “Du“
This is just basic courtesy in Germany. I think its a shame, that noone bothered to teach you this and you felt insecure because of this.
@@hannajung7512 no, no, no logically i know how i'm supposed to do this, but i'm mostly around people who don't give a shit if they're above rank or older than someone else and often feel weirded out when someone uses "Sie"
the thing is that my understanding of respect simply differs from the respectful use of "Sie". it's either every stranger using "Sie" no matter what age or rank or everyone using "du". no one gets more respect for stupid shit like that from me. it just sucks when it gets awkward because i used the wrong word to address someone. i wished we didn't have that tbh
@@teenietinytony me too
I'm of age just now and people start calling me "Sie" more frequently :P I don't appreciate it, I'd rather call everyone "du" :T I mean, why does someone older than me deserve more respect than me naturally? Experience? That's unfair. And e.g. with my music teacher, I was not at all sure if to use "Sie" or "du" and completely avoided it out of fear...
When we turned 16 our teachers asked us if it is okay if they still say "du" or is they have to start addressing us with "sie" it goes hand in hand with getting our personalaisweis.
Not really. I only got “Siezt” in school during my “Fach Abi” before that it was always “du” and it made sense a 16 year old is not an adult and therefore shouldn’t be “Siezt” but when I went to “Berufsschule” I was 18. And thus an adult. Wich means the normal way of addressing becomes the “Sie” so in that case if a teacher wanted to use “du” they would have asked.
Or at least that was how my Realschule handled that we were using “du” throughout all of it.
And I was totally okay with that.
Professionally, I once recorded data of adolescents and young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 who had registered as unemployed job seekers, and informed, advised and supported them. Most of them were already used to the German "Sie" and a form of address with "Herr Surname" or "Frau Surname", but some reacted to it as if I'd just declared their childhood over. With some of them I only recognized this from their shocked look, while others even freaked out and loudly defended themselves against it. Of course, I took their needs into account later and addressed them with the German "Du".
My teacher used Sie and first names.. hella weird..
@@mats7492 One of our teacher insisted on using Sie and first names when we started the oberstufe. All other teachers asked us and I never heard any class wanring to be called by Sie.
@@Manie230 I am going to the "Berufsschule" as a 16 year old to do my "Fach Abi" I and the rest of my class got asked how we would like to be addressed I chose Du because it would be weird having a completely formal relationship with my teachers.
Well, avoiding trash and disposable utensils should be quite normal...doesn't have anything to do with being fancy, but having a conscious mind for the environment
What I (as a German) find fancy in the USA is the guy who packs your bags after you pay at the supermarket. That is fancy and at the same time somehow strange 😄
@Rita Roork No Bag boys in Germany or other european countries. We do it by ourself. Its faster and you can pack it how you really want to have it. Heavy stuff on the bottom smaler and soft things on top. Nothing get damaged or you have to be upset about someone who did pack it wrong.
Also usually we bring to the shop our own fabric shopping bag. Otherwise we have to pay for plastic bags.
@Rita Roork I dont agree. I wouldnt want that someone else is touching my stuff and is packing it. I guess that stands for almost all europeans.
@Rita Roork They do because the items are less expensive than in US. You pay for this service whilst the items are more expensive.
If you like it, okay. I will book my next holiday with the saved money. ;)
@Rita Roork So you've never been to one of the more than a thousand Aldi stores in the US...
@Rita Roork Yet another adventure in life still waiting for you 🤪
We had disposable plastic tableware at a big hotel in Canada for breakfast!! I was so shocked. How can a hotel be so lazy. I am pretty sure you would get stoned to death if you would do so in Europe... Absolute NO GO!
I had plastic cutlery and plastic cups made to look like
glass in every single hotel and restaurant, from New York down to Atlanta and Austin. Also high-end restaurants, only when steak was served we had real knives.
I can't get over it, lol.
In Europe disposable tableware will be banned midyear. Supermarkets around here now started selling plastic knifes and forks as "reusable", writing it is dishwasher safe...We'll see how that ends.
@@kuebbisch Hab jetzt schon in paar Imbissbuden Pappteller und Bambusbesteck auch Schale bekommen.
@@alice73333 geht fit, bei Pommes sind so Papiertüten Schmutz weil so Ketchup etc durchgeht
@@alice73333 Ja, aber Plastikteller und -besteck etc. soll verboten werden. Pappteller und Holzpiker/Gabeln wird es weiter geben. Ich bin aber von den Papptellern für Suppen/Eintöpfe noch nicht richtig überzeugt, nach meiner Erfahrung weichen die durch, wenn man nicht schnell genug isst.
I actually really like the fact that we can keep things formal. It kind of gives you the choice to tell people to stay away from you without having to tell them directly.
Fun fact: Plastic cups, that can be used only once, are banned in the whole EU 😉
As well as these plastic forks, knives, and spoons!
Or plastic drinking straws
They're not banned yet in Germany. Single use plastics are forbidden to be sold after the 30.06.2021 (written at 30.05.2021)
Good!
I’m not aware of cups that be used only once. We use them many times before they’re thrown away.
Especially in retail, I find it extremely unnerving when clerks approach me on a "Du" basis. I don't know them, I don't wanna know them, and their approach is only to sell me more stuff. Don't. Just don't.
I work in an antifoodwaste "bakery" (we collect and sell products from bakeries they couldn't sell the day before, for a reduced price). We have a "policy" to use the du mostly (mostly young customers). Of course we don't have to. I think it's very impolite to use the du for everyone and therefore I adjust. We don't do it to sell more, it's more to be on the same level and the firms image.
@@Leenapanther Ich empfinde das als Anwanzen, und ich bin da nicht alleine. Lasst den Mist. "Sie" heißt nicht umsonst "Höflichkeitsanrede".
....I don’t wann know them....😇true
I hate it when advertisements do it. You supermarket you should call your customers Sie with a capital S.
@@Leenapanther , wir haben in unserer Sprache bewust und kulturel Gewachsen , den Unterschied zwischen "Du" und "Sie" . Das ungebetene "Du" ist eine Missachtung des Gegenübers , Egal ob es vom Verkäufer oder dem Kunden kommt . Noch schlimmer für mich wenn es von einem Polizisten kommt ! Der Erntet von mir einen bösen Blick mit der Frage ob wir schon mal zusammen Schweine gehütet haben .
I love being formal. Formality is deeply ingrained in the German language and culture and I much prefer it, because it shows respect to other people and keeps a distance between you and the person you’re talking to. I think France, Italy and Germany might be the most formal countries in Europe.
Talking to employees with first name seems very strange and way to personal to me.😅
All the German and Swiss-German companies I have worked for, had a policy of addressing each other with first name and Du. It encourages sharing information.
@@eljanrimsa5843 Yes, but that's only inside the company. At our company, it is always "Du" with insiders and always "Sie" with outsiders, except maybe on joint projects, or with close, trusted partners.
I also prefer the formal "Sie" form. It gives you a mental barrier in your choice of words. You're less inclined to use words that might offend someone who's not your friend and can take it. But I also observe a shift in company culture to a more American style of being informal with each other. Of course the distinction is moot once you switch to English where you don't have "Sie" & fight with your limited vocabulary.
@@forchtsengar6071 In Norway the formal pronoune has disappeared. It was normal 50 years ago.
Respect is something you show and not just through our word De (Sie).
I might use De to an elderly person because that was normal to their generation, but I would always be respectful anyway (unless they are disrespectful back).
You only love it because you're used to it. I grew up in both cultures and I like the english way a lot better. Much simpler. There's a reason Sie is being dropped. And you are assuming incorrectly "you" is informal. It is not. "YOU" Was formal and "Thou" (pronounced "Du", get it?) was informal. English dropped the informal first person several centuries ago.
I eat pizza with knife and fork because it slows down my eating. I've noticed that otherwise I eat pizza way too fast, which isn't really good for me.
Eating fries with my hands or with a fork depends on if I have to switch for the other food. A burger and fries? Everything with my hands. Steak and fries? Everything with a fork. Putting down my fork when I need it the whole time for the steak just makes no sense and makes my fingers dirty when they really don't need to.
Very methodical and interesting 😃
I do it the same way, and I believe everybody I know does. As far as I can spontaneously recall how people around me eat. If there's at least one item on the plate that requires cutlery, I eat everything with cutlery, if everything on the plate is typical finger food, I eat everything with hands.
[Btw, do Americans actually say "finger food" too, or is this just another one of these 'wrong' Germenglish words, that we think is English but actually isn't, like 'handy' (mobile phone) or 'body' (body suit/jump suit) or 'slip' (female underpants)?]
We use finger food very regular to refer to food you eat with your fingers that typically aren’t messy 😊
Yes, I would never eat a pizza with my hands especially when I'm in company. I also noticed that Germans don't like to have their hands dirty or sticky with "finger food"/fast food; let's say you pick up French Fries at an "Imbiss" and you just wanna quickly eat it and then wanna continue shopping where you obviously touch everything ;)
Pizza, with knife and fork ruins it
As a german woman working in retail, I really appreciate the last name (and "Sie") thing, because it gives you some distance to the more unpleasant customers or the ones that come to close. Regular customers, that I am closer with can call me by my first name, but it is in my control who will.
@J 2 Yeah, there are no 'Karens' in the US, sure :P
@J 2 Well, even if. a customer is nice, I like to have a little distance between me and a customer. It is only a business relationship and not a friendship. Money is involved.
Oh, I’m with you. I hated the policy of using first names as employees in the US.
also it is easier to stay polite if you have an unpleasant customer/retail worker
@J 2 yeah sure 🤣 try working on a customer service hotline and not wanting to kill yourself.
for us, the formal Sie is used to show respect, and is prevalent specifically with children addressing adults. In schools, teachers will refer to students as Du and their first name, while students will use last names and Sie. Once the students in a class turn 18 it is common for the teachers to ask their classes if they want to be referred to formally as well, or if they want to drop formalities and refer to teachers by their first name as well
In my school in Northern Germany it was common that the teachers started addressing us students as "Sie" as soon as we reached 10th grade
There is a rule in Germany. The waterbottle has to be brought to the table and opend up in front of the customer...
For real? Never heard of that.
@@cassiehoalaia9179 All fancy restaurants do that.
If it's more of a rustical and comfy bistro/ "Imbiss", then you might take a small bottle or can to your table and pay afterwards
@@cassiehoalaia9179 has to be done so that you can see the bottle beforehand to make sure the seal is unbroken. A lot of restaurants used to open a bottle of fancy, expensive water and refill it once or twice with tab water to make a fortune on that stuff alone. To make sure you get what you paid for, they have to bring the bottle to the table before opening it, so that you can either see or hear the seal being opened.
@@cassiehoalaia9179 goes for wine aswell. All learned workers in the gastronomy know this.
@@OkabexKurisu Except with the "open wines" which are sold per glass and not per bottle.
What usually is known even by the temporary substitute server (chef de nappe)😉
To be honest, a store where the employees only go by their first names would feel like a store that is run by children to me.
Yes, yes!! It never ceases to annoy me that the majority of people of my generation seem to have dispensed with the formal address. I do not wish to be spoken to in a familiar way by perfect strangers in ANY setting ; but in a shop it also comes across as completely unprofessional.
uh yeah, once worked at a "woke" hotel in Stuttgart where they demanded from the staff to use the "formal" du to talk to guests. wierd shit and it felt kinda rude to serve at a table with middle aged people and say:" Möchtest DU gerne Kaffee oder Tee zum Frühstück?"
nope never again
as a cashier if you would address me with "du" i will give you a killing glance... that is for customers and strangers... i don't mind my coworkers to address me informally but i still address most of them formally bc i think anything else would be rude
I totally agree! My one professor always wants us to call us by her first name ant tbh, I absolutely hate it. It is so informal and to me feels kinda unprofessional (see, what I did there ;)).
@@haberschnack hat sich kein Gast je beschwert und das 'Sie' verlangt?! ... Also wenn mich ein Hotelangestellter duzt, dann liesse ich das nicht durchgehen.
The two of you together are a perfect combination. You complement each other's excellent communication skills. Your facial expressions, and smiles are charming, and warmly received. The information that you provide can make a huge difference in a well received blending of our cultures. I look forward to your next video. Thank you.
being formal is ingrained in our language so it's normal for us and I wouldn't want to change that.
In meiner Firma gibt es jetzt eher die informelle Variante. Dies begann vor ca. 3 Jahren und ist nun "relativ" offiziell l. Bezogen auf unsere Sprache kann man durchaus feststellen: es sagt sich leichter "Du A.....", als "Sie A....". Und in der Überrsetzung wird deutich, dass es im englischen keinen Unterschied macht. :)
In my company there is now more of the informal variant. This started about 3 years ago and is now "relatively" official. In relation to our language, one can definitely say that it is easier to say: "You(Du) A ....." than "You(Sie) A ...". And the translation makes it clear that it makes no difference in English. :)
@@manub.3847 But 'Sie A...' has actually a different connotation than with Du. You show, that you are aware that the person in front of you is of a socially higher rank as or has no close connection to you and you respect their position using Sie, but you also show that you condem their action, decisions etc, by calling them an ass. And you show, that their disrespectful behavior didn't stop you from still showing basic respect, while also clearly expressing your opinion, plus it is far more impersonal and cold, implying their actions did not hurt you emotionally, you just find them despicable and that you are emotionally more stable and calm than them.
In English this kind of cold, calm but still respectful insult is not possible as easily.
@@buecherdrache1 'Socially higher rank'? Are you tripping?
The chance that I would let my boss address me with my first name or 'du' is absolutely zero. Even at school, which admittedly is now some time ago, the teachers had to address us as 'Herr XY' and 'Frau XX' once we reached the gymnasiale Oberstufe and the majority of us was over 16.
@@gustavmeyrink_2.0 'Or has no close (aka personal) connection to you', as I mentioned. So please don't overreact over nothing as most 'Sie' - interactions fall into that category.
@@buecherdrache1 I'm an American, born in 1941 in the Deep South whose parents were from east Texas and south Louisiana. This was exactly the social etiquette [Without the "Sie" of course.] I was taught as a boy which disappeared in the aftermath of WW2. Even though I've know her for 20-plus years, I still address the owner of the dry cleaners I frequent as, "Ms Lopez" and she addresses me as Mr. (Thiteen-ietter German surname.) It has nothing to do with social rank but is a sign of my respect for her as a person and vice-versa. We are "friendly" but we are not "friends." A nuance most of today's Americans find incomprehensible.
So I’m German and when it comes to eating with your hands, it depends quite a lot on the situation. Nobody will eat pizza with cutlery at home, but at a restaurant, you shouldn’t even eat fries with your hands (unless you’re at McDonald’s)
So generally, things get a lot less formal when you’re at home or with friends...
Ich ess alles was irgendwie geht mit Besteck oder Stäbchen, immer.
Auch Pizza, Pommes, Chips und so, irgendwie. Ich hasse das, wenn irgendwas an meine Hände kommt, ob ich zuhause bin oder nichtXDDD
And McDonald's isn't considered a "real" restaurant.
Es ist trotzdem Knigge Pizza und ähnliches mit hand zu essen.
Do Germans eat Shawarmas with a knife and fork asking for a friend?
@@ThePhantom712 well you could, but they look pretty easy to eat with hands so noone would yell at you if you eat them by hand.
I live in Belgium. I carbonate my tap water myself by use of a machine. The reason I prefer carbonated water (especially after a meal) is because it lightens the stomach and helps me with my digestion. For me it also seems to remove the "chloric" taste flat water from the tap can have when it stands a night in a glass on my bedside table.
I am from Finland and we carbonate our tap water, which is fantastic, as well. For me, it is about the taste and texture, I just prefer carbonated water and carbonating tap water saves nature and labour, and perhaps even a little money, though I have not done the maths.
In 1788 Adolph Freiherr Knigge released a book on how to interact with other people in certain situations. It became really famous. After his death his publisher expanded the book and added rules for a good behaviour at the table and other formalites. This book and its rules are shaping german behaviour up to our present times.
I’ll have to look that book up! Thanks for the info 😃
@@PassportTwo www.projekt-gutenberg.org/autoren/namen/knigge.html probably it is www.projekt-gutenberg.org/knigge/umgang/umgang.html
Das ist ja total Knigge 😂😬
@@PassportTwo NOBODY actually follows Knigge rules in daily life. Knigge rules are the kind of stuff I expect the Queen to follow, not ordinary people. Although there is some useful stuff for formal occassions in there, like if you have a business lunch. Stuff like who to greet first, whether to get up from your seat to shake hands, whether it's ok to order alcohol,...
But there's also weirder stuff like don't bunch up your paper napkin (you need to fold it neatly), the boss drinks first after raising your glasses to something, sneezing is a "fauxpas" so saying "Gesundheit" and bringing attention to the fact that you just messed up is impolite, you mustn't cut salad, bread is eaten with the left hand only, ....
@@lisamo1013 You’re right, nobody follows Knigge completely. I never even read it. Yet many of its guidelines made it into everyday proper etiquette.
(the Gesundheit rule was dropped a few years after it got added, though, that truly was a weird one)
Eating with cutlery isn't fancy, it's clean!
If it's sanitized properly! You never know about how clean cutlery is when you're eating in a restaurant. I've seen my share of dirty looking cutlery in many restaurants, including the ones in Germany! Gross!!
Dude, in India we eat with our hands👍.
We would rather trust our own hands than a "cutlery".. moreover eating with hands rather than cutlery makes us more closer to food 🙏
@@toxicologyforever9700
It's not about how clean your hands or cutlery are _before_ you eat, but how clean your hands are while you eat and after!..
Seemingly dirty cutlery isn't dirty in a hygienic way! It comes out of a dishwasher and is sanitized. If there may stick a little crumb to it, it is "dead material" and not infective in any way.
But if you eat with your hands, you will grease everything to all things you touch while eating (drinking glas, clothes, salt shaker..), until you go and wash them..
And I mean, even before: No offence, but there is a reason, why in countries where is usually eaten by hands are heavy diseases widespread..
🤷♀️
@@Bumper6 see above
@@Bumper6 It really depends on the food. Some things like French Fries are fine to eat with your hands. Anything that's messy, like when it has sauce on it is eaten with cutlery.
Basically with any dry foods using your hands is an option, but you wouldn't do that in polite company.
I always carry a clean set of cutlery with me in my backpack when I'm out in case I need it.
Pro tip: you can always get free water at a restaurant, you just have to ask for tap water specifically. Some restaurants will even put a lemon wedge in it. And technically, theyre not allowed to deny you tab water. You just have to ask :)
This! It saved me and my Kreislauf several times on hot summer days walking around a big city, I'd just go into a food place and ask for tap water, often I was handed a paper cup with water and it was always free!
I drink tap water at home but we use a "Sodastream" to make it sparkling, already pretty popular
I was about to write the same thing. :) Sodastream is great!
Same here.
Ich würde gern meine Freundin davon überzeugen, stattdessen schleppen wir immernoch Literweise Sprudel in die Wohnung und dann verplembern wir noch die Zeit damit das Pfand zurückzubringen. Sodastream ist die beste Erfindung aus Isreael seit der UZI.
Wir schleppen immer noch GLASFLASCHEN
Costs about the same compared to bottle water, tastes better, you have to carry less weight and save plastic. Classic win-win-win.
I was actually horrified, that the beverages even sitting inside Cafés where served in plastic or paper cups, when we were in NYC and Washington DC last year. 😱
My sister worked at a high class golf club near NYC and even there they used plastic. It's unthinkable here
@@jenniferw758 "cosi fan tutte"
@@jenniferw758 horrified by the ecological implications is not a bit extreme
@@Lego4KilIer plastic I understand, how are u horrified from paper cups?
@@aviancypress5181 even one time use paper cup are bad for the environment, normally the paper cup have some kind plastic coating so it can hold liquids for a longer time
This coating makes it almost impossible to recycle so it can only be burned, even without the coating almost everything that you use only once is bad for the enviorment
Tap water isn´t always safe and healthy. The water is only controlled until the pipe reaches the house. Until this point you can drink it. BUT there are old houses which have pipes out of lead, and you shouldn´t drink this. Restaurants in Germany are often in very, very old houses. The renovation of a protected monument can be very expensive. So sometimes it is better not to drink tap water.
In my last rental apartment the tapwater was yellow on some days and i never drank it. We now life in our own house, which is 99 years old (big birthday party next year) and it has two kitchens. I had the water of both pipes testedy, by an official laboratory and one of them is a lead pipe, so we don´t use this water for cooking or drinking.
I appreciate the distance of using "Sie" (formal you) or surnames. Whenever a company's marketing has the impression that it would be a good idea to adress customers with "du"(informal you) without permission, it leaves the impression on me that my privacy was intruded by those bad manners. Needless to say that being impolite to customers does not result in raised popularity.
Interesting I hate being “Siezt”. I don’t know why but for myself I don’t like it. It’s just not how I wanted to be addressed.
@@Manie230 me too. I consider it quite rude. It doesn’t have anything to do with respect anymore. On the contrary it’s condescending.
@@elopix234 I still think we shouldn’t get rid of it. Also I have never seen anyone use it in a condescending way or not anymore or less then someone would use the du in a condescending way.
If someone wants to be condescending they will find a way.
The formal and informal language are important to make it clear what kind of relationship you have. And it creates distance to people who you don’t want be close with.
It’s a tool. And a very good one.
But when I am working at a job I would find it strange to use sie for every colleague. Especially if I interact with the on a daily bases.
I will quickly ask to be per du but if someone refuses I am still happy to use sie.
@@Manie230 When i was younger i liked the informal form much more, nearly felt insulted when somebody used "Sie". However, as i have grown older, i do appreciate the difference between "Sie" and "Du" and do like to use those differences.
It is an integral part of our language, and i have to say, i do like it quite a bit.
That said, at work we do use the informal address always, but it is of course easier as our working language is english anyway and we have employees from all european countries plus a few more, so the common language usually is english as well. When switching languages it just is easier to stay on "Du", and yes, even in english it is company culture to use the first name basis. However, i can, and sometimes do, choose to use "Sie" instead as i feel it more appropriate or want to express a certain distance and reservation about the other part.
@@Soordhin yeah Thad what I use sie for. If I want to keep a certain distance between me and the other person like a store clerk. Or my boss. Except wen I know them outside of the job. Or if they asked to be per du.
Only people who I really don’t like will I refuse to be per du with.
I feel like the German Herr and Frau in retail store helps to give the employees more of an authentic vibe and makes it in my opinion easier for younger people to get situations handled where the customer is not always right.
That’s another huge difference between Germany and USA. In the US the customer IS always right. Especially in the restaurant business.
Things must have gone horribly wrong, for an employee not getting into trouble when chastising a nasty customer.
Employees in Germany get to have a lot more backbone. Sure, always be polite. But they don’t have to swallow their pride with an impossible customer.
I agree. I think you should address employees by their last name. They are, after all, professionals and deserve respect. If I used first names, I'd feel like talking down on them
It tends to rip me out of my comfort zone when being adressed with an informal "Du" by people I don't know and don't have any inclination of getting to know any closer. This happens a lot in fast food restaurants and smaller clothing shops (Subway/NewYorker/etc.).
I prefer a professional and respectful distance and the formal "Sie", combined with "Herr/Frau X" (Mr./Mrs. X), serves exactly that purpose for me.
I totally agree with that. i work in retail in germany and everytime someone has approached me using "du" what followed was some kind of "karen" situation that i could really do without. In my opinion people are much less likely to be rude when they "have to" speak to you formally.
@@undo2613 It really depends where you work at or for which company. I for example work at one as a trainee where I have to stay polite and basically kiss up their ass because money is much more important to the company than the employees. But since I got a new boss who is also younger, she lets me finally have a spine and stop customers from treating me like shit, which is much needed in some situations...
I'm german and #1 me & my boyfriend have been drinking tap water for half a year now because one day we realised how ridiculous it is to buy water at the store, while having good quality tap water for (almost) free :D #2 I ALWAYS use the formal way of adressing people, the only exception are my family, friends and people i know well (like some of my colleagues at work). I live in a small town and i'm not even informal with my neighbors, because I don't know them. #3 I HATE eating with my hands!! :D I rellay enjoyed this video, I never considered all of these things as posh or fancy for americans or other nationalities.
Even some of teachers at school adress us with "Sie" ( in the "Oberstufe" )
I only got comfortable with that in Uni, in the Oberstufe it felt super weird.
If they don‘t know you from classes before, they are obliged to do it. They should do it anyway, even if they know you for a longer time.
9th grade and higher it's always "Sie" in textbooks but the teachers addressed us as "du". After i graduated school and went into professional school for 3 years, the teachers addressed us with "Sie".
For me that was an important part of growing up but it also felt weird ... 😂🤭
12:45 Two misconceptions:
1. The differenciation between "you" and "thou" was dropped in England before the colonisation of North America; otherwhise "thou" would still be in use there, which it isn't except in some dialects.
2. "Thou" was the _informal_ form, it is cognate to German "Du". And "You" was the _formal_ form of address, it is originally a plural and cognate to German "Euch". For some reason 300 years or so ago in England, "thou" fell out of use and the polite form became used even among spouses, close friends, relatives and children. So it's not that English speakers are informal all the time, they're formal all the time. Even though most today are not aware of this fact.
Incidentally, because religious texts such as the bible and prayers were translated before this change, "thou" survives mostly there. So oddly enough, the only person English speakers tend to address informally is God. Amonst each other they're formal.
I suppose it would be more accurate to say that "you" used to be formal. Nowadays, it really isn't anymore. After all, it's the speakers of a language that decide how a language works and evolves.
1. Isn’t accurate. Thee/thou came to America. You can read plenty of early Massachusetts (an American province) texts using thee and thou
2. The Quakers are a religious sect famous for extending the thee/thou usage on into the 19th century
@@namedrop721 OK 🙂
Thee and thou were still used in parts of northern england up untill the 1960 i remember some of the older people using it now a day you hear" thus "in replacement" you " .thus too slow = you are too slow . It might be local to me but the west yorkshire area its fairly common
@@geoffpriestley7001 Also, Diana Ross used "thee" in "Upside Down". Admittedly just for the rhime, and it's some years ago 😉
I am from Romania and what you say about Germany in this video happens also in my country.
About the disposable cups and stuff- as people already said, it is an European thing. It has to to with the environment (what do you think happens with all those plastic that gets thrown away at US festivals???? however they are discarded, they generate pollution). Europe has very strict rules about stuff that negatively impacts the environment. Another thing, as you said, the area remains much cleaner without all the garbage... Of course, in Europe there are people deciding they dont want to go back to get their deposit for the silverware and let them on a table somewhere, for instance. But there is always someone else happy to take the cups and bring them back and cash those euros. And it is a great way for kids or people that dont have a lot of money to gain some euros (they work gor it, because they actually gather the stuff, clean the tables this way, take the cup and brings it to where it belongs..) So, no matter how you look at it, it is a win-win!
The water... The bottled water is MINERAL water, it is not just H20... It means it has different minerals in it - even vitamins sometimes. You can actually see on the label what it contains. And if you try more brands, you will actually notice they taste differently (because of those minerals ). But the minerals quantities are not huge, they do not negatively impact your health. Of course, if you have a health problem and you need to avoid Sodium, for instance, you wii use a water brand with no sodium at all... And so on.
About the tap water... I admit, sometimes I drink it too (only when I am at home). The problem with the tap water is when you drink a lot. Because - even if you filter it - there are large quantities of calcium chloride (I hope I am saying it correctly). And if you constantly drink it, this can cause kidney issues (for instance, kidney stones). And stuff like that...
The sparkling water - i think it is about taste and how you are used...
Using the last name is common in all Europe - I think. It is a way to show respect to others. It is the "polite way". Respecting the others and really showing it is another thing Europeans are into....
Eating with your hands.... Pizza, chicken wings, burgers, fries - it mostly depends where you eat them.... If you are at McDonalds, yeah, you use your hands. You finish your meal in about 15 minutes, you use your wet napkin(s) to clean a bit your hands, you throw away you paper cup then go wash your hands properly (the wet napkins are simply not enough to clean the all the grease). But if you go to a restaurant, for Europeans this is not a 15 minutes thing. It is a social event. You can spend 2 hours easily there... Talking while eating, drinking, eating a desert maybe.... talking .... (i know i said talking twice :P). So if you have fries there, you will use your fork. I cant imagine how I would feel to take a few fries with my hands and than use the glass (made of glass) to drink some water. All the grease on my hands (as I said, some of it stays even if I used the napkin), will transfer to the glass.... And honestly, I dont want to have to go wash my hands every time I eat something... Not to mention you might meet someone you know and you wanna shake hands.... Or your phone rings.... Not to mention the grease that stays on your lips... Using a fork makes everything much easier so I vote for it.
Sorry for such a long comment, but you wanted opinions so I gave you mine :)
It's very usual for school or Kindergarten events to bring your own mug for coffee, your plates for food and cutlery. It saves the environment, and parents who volunteer at this kind of events as help, can do better stuff than washing dishes 🙂
For me (19 year old woman from Germany) using the "formal" Herr/Frau is still preferred, since I've been working in discounters for a long time and it automatically creates respect to the workers. It makes interactions easier, especially for younger workers (high school age) to get treated properly.
15:45 in Germany there are a lot of occasions where it is acceptable to eat with your bare hands, but normally in case of pizza or fries, only children eat with their hands because it is seen as unhygenic and easyer to get mouth appropriat peaces in your mouth.
In cases like chicken wings, or Hamburgers at fast food restaurants you normally not even get silverware to eat, so it is normal at those occasions. Fries are eaten with silverware as long as it is possible, if they get too hard you can eat them with your hands without hesitation, at kiosks in citys and in public pool areas you even get a disposible wooden mini fork to eat the fries or Bratwurst, or what else you order
Du hast vergessen zu schreiben, dass leite, die eine hähnchenkeule mit Besteck essen schiefe Blicke erhalten
In jedem guten Restaurant ist man seine hähnchenkeule-> chicken wings mit den Händen.
Solange Pommes nicht in einem sehr formalen Rahmen serviert werden, oder die von oben bis unten voll mit Ketchup sind, ist man die mit der Hand.
Pizza ist man ausnahmslos mit der Hand, alles andere geht entgegen jede Kultur, außer sie wurde nicht vorgeschnitten.
@@trueSconox dann muss ich dich leider dazu drängen einige verschiedene Pizzen empfehlen, beispielsweise mit Rucola, da solche Pizzen besser gegessen werden mit Messer und Gabel. Klar kannst du die mit der Hand essen, aber es fällt halt der großteil des Belags runter, des weiteren gibt es mit Besteck eine bessere Verteilung des Velags.
Ich weiß nicht wo du mal Pommes essen warst, aber als Etikette im normalen Restaurant, nicht Fast Food Restaurants, wird im allgemeinen mit der Gabel gegessen. Nicht die Pommes in millimeter große Stückchen schneiden, aber die Finger nicht verunreinigen (wegen der Hygiene).
@@trueSconox noch vergessen, natürlich kannst du deine Chicken wings oder die Hähnchenkeule mit der Hand gegessen, in der Regel werden dafür vorab kleine Papierhütchen um den Knochen befestigt (Hähnchenkeule), oder es werden bei gehobeneren Restaurants Möglichkeiten zur Reinigung der Hände gegeben. Als Zitronenfeuchtpapier, oder kleines wasserbecken sind wohl am verbreitetsten. Chicken wings werden eher selten in einem Umfeld ausgegeben, in denen es unhöflich wäre mit der Hand zu essen, da es nur schwer möglich ist. Ich würde in dem Umfeld auch KFC und ähnliches nicht als gutes Restaurant bezeichnen, da es 'nur' eine Fast Food Bude ist und wie gesagt dabei kein Besteck ausgegeben wird.
@@marcusklein227 Ich hab keine Ahnung in was für schlechten Pizzabuden du warst, aber bei mir ist da bisher noch kein einziger Belag runter gefallen, noch nicht mal Brokkoli oder sowas. Wie der Belag verteilt ist, wird vor dem Backen entschieden.
Bei den Pommes kommt es drauf an, wie die serviert werden, liegen die zum Schnitzel auf dem Teller esse ich die auch mit der Gabel.
Die Hähnchenkeule, sprich der Flügel, also chicken wing, da sind wir uns ja einig.
You cant have "Schorle" without carbonated water! 😁
you are right! Imagine Apfelschorle with tap water...
@@MrsFreckletone that's forbidden by law 😉
@@MrsFreckletone I always explicitely order my "Obi g'spritzt" with tap water. Indeed, here in Austria many waiters will ask if you don't specify.
@@MrsFreckletone That's just watered down apple juice
@@Ikxi which is okay. Especially for toddlers. My kid loves it and so we drink it all the time. Apple juice with water is delicious because it is not overly sweet! 😁
Imagine getting your Pfälzer Schoppen served in a disposable soda cup, instead of a Dubbeglas... A sacrilege!
Haha, somewhat on a related note, I heard in the last few weeks there has been a fight over the right to the word “Dubbeglas.” Somebody apparently bought the rights and there are petitions out there to make it so that it isn’t exclusive to just him anymore. Have you heard about this?
or think about a good Äbbelvoi served in anything else but a "Gripptes" ewwww would that even taste?
@@PassportTwo As Donnie would say: "This is a total offence to my culture!" I already signed that petition some weeks ago.
@@PassportTwo there are many different forms and companies that make these kind of glasses, many with a brand name, I highly doubt that anyone could buy the right to a dubbeglas or any similar glas.
@@Markus-zb5zd Dubbeglas is just a term like Tempo, Lego, Jeep or Pampers ;-) Greetings go out to Der Held der Steine and the lawyers of Lego Juris
From what I know, when you go into a German restaurant and you order a bottle of water - you get asked what kind of water you want.
And when you are visiting friends, they will also ask you what kind of water you prefer.
At least this is how I experienced it.
That’s is what I hear/ get asked when I go to a restaurant in Germany oder over to a german friends house.
Ein anderes gutes Beispiel ist das Konzept von : Kleidung für Zuhause und für Draußen. Also zum Beispiel Leggings gegen Jeans tauschen um spazieren zu gehen. 😀
Jetzt, wo Du es sagst...mit den Schluffiklamotten für Zuhause gehe ich nicht in Einkaufen, dafür ziehe ich mir mindestens eine ordentliche Jeans und ein sauberes T-Shirt an.
In Zeiten von Homeoffice ziehe ich mich dadurch besser für Aldi an als für meine Arbeit 😄
I feel the embarassing stares of everyone 😥Ich Kann einfach nicht rausgehen ohne mich richtig anzuziehen Meine familie ist richtig streng wenn es sich um Manieren geht
stimmt. in England gehen sie auch gern im Schlafanzug einkaufen...
@@alexanderbraun9469 Echt jetzt?
@@ladybundlebrent3562 wäre für mich auch undenkbar
I am German and when I was visiting a friend abroad, his girlfriend re-filled my water bottle with tap-water, so I didn't have to buy another one on the way. I tried the water, but just couldn't drink it. It tasted like water from a Swimmingpool
relatable... I tried polish water last week
Better don't try french water.
@@thehighground3630 I am from Germany and I had a school trip to France in 2019 so when we vent to a restaurant we were very impressed to get free water but it tasted like you said so horrible 🥲
@@thehighground3630 it tasted like pool water 😂
Never ever drink that water in the US, you get diarrhea from that because it's chlorinated as f*ck.
That's why you can buy water in big canisters in the supermarket.
I’m originally from the state of Missouri und viele Grüße aus Frankfurt am Main ! Im now a supermarket manager here in Germany and the customers love and respect my friendliness and helpfulness that they normally do not receive here in Germany.
Me, casually drinking my carbonated water straight from the bottle while watching this video in my room..... Well, I guess I'm fancier than I thought...
So fancy
@@yoshinoyoshinon3597 why I am laughing about your response XD
me too
I am from Austria, but our culture is very similar to german culture. Many people are very obsessed with carbonated water, even though I am not a fan myself. I think it's pretty split. You can also get free water in most places when you specifically order tap water ("Leitungswasser").
I live in Vienna and tap water here beats almost all bottled water, it comes directly from mountain wells. At home, we do not drink carbonated water but when I buy bottled water, I prefer carbonated water because it stays fresh longer.
The americans are obsessed with ice in their drinks, sometimes there is more ice then real drink in the glass. I hate it. When I was in the USA the waitresses looked at me like I'm crazy when I told them I gon't want ice.
Seriously! I was cold the whole time and had a throat ache afterwords.
Österreicher sind Deutsche mit eigenem Staat.
@@landserkorps796 net wirklich, da gibts schon a paar Unterschiede
Carbonating water feels to me like an upgrade: it's not only the boring flat water but the carbon gives it a depth and a multi layered flavour. I'm a fan, although sometimes I also drink tap water
These days I mostly eat pizza, bugers, fries etc. with my hands. But I remember growing up it was considered rude to do that at restaurants or family gatherings. Even when having pizza with teenage friends it wasnt uncommon to just ask the group "is it okay if I use my hands?" to make sure noone is offended. In retrospect that seems weird, but I have to admit I still feel like an uncultured rebell when I eat fries without cutterly at a medium priced restaurant.
It does seem like times are changing and maybe America is having our influence on this behavior as well as people start to be more comfortable eating with their hands 😅
I use knifes and forks most of the time, the only exception is at street stalls or american fast food chains like Mecces or BK.
@@PassportTwo ordered pizza in the box on my lap, no silverware. Pizza is not food for silverware unless it's full of topic that yiu can't lift a slice
I remember my grandmother trying to eat a Big Mac with knife and fork because she felt eating with her hands was inappropriate. That was back in the 1980s and the last time she saw the inside of an American themed fast food restaurant.
@Passport Two Maybe we're just more adapting to how Italian pizza was originally eaten... with hands. Many German people go on vacation in Italy.
As a German, having tap water in New Jersey while attending Au Pair initiation felt like drinking water from a swimming pool, chlorinated to making me feel nauseous. I was so glad, that it was not the case with the tap water in Vermont, where I spent my year abroad.
I like the carbonation because it changes the taste towards sour. In my region, the carbonated water is called Sauer Sprudel.
When I was a kid, my Grandparents always had "Selters" and that was really sour these days. I loved it and mineral water in my family is still called "Selter" nowadays.
And the only right way to mix in a Apfelwein (Stöffche) is carbonated water, making it a "Sauergespritzter". The also often offered "Süßgespritzter", which can be made with Zitronen- oder Orangenlimo instead, is just blasphemy. 🤗
Fun fact in Germany or Switzerland there is no landfill, we burn all the trash if it is not recycable. With the heat from the burning we generat heat and electricity 😉
Ich esse, wenn möglich, gern mit Besteck. Aber nicht weil es so fancy ist, sondern einfach, weil meine Hände sauber bleiben. Grade unterwegs, ohne Möglichkeit zum Händewaschen, finde ich es immer ziemlich ekelig, wenn sich Fett, Ketchup oder Soße am Ende von meinen Händen auf die Kleidung, auf meine Geldbörse oder mein Smartphone verteilen.
Sehe ich genauso. Ich würde mir auch nie etwas bestellen, was ich nicht einfach mit Messer und Gabel essen kann. So etwas wie Hähnchenflügel esse ich nur zu Hause, denn da kann man sich hinterher einfach die Hände waschen und gut ist. Und vorher natürlich auch.
Ja und auch vorher im Restaurant die Hände zu waschen ist auch unnötig umständlich. Bis man am Tisch ist hat man schon Türklinke, Lichtschalter und sonst was angefasst. Ich mein wozu hat man Besteck erfunden?!
Schonmal was von Servietten oder Tüchern gehört? Ich ess immer mit Händen und werde nie krank und meine Kleidung nie schmutzig, weil ich in der Lage bin sie zu säubern oder abzulecken und ein paar Keime fördern die Abwehrkräfte.
@@vomm wenn ich in Restaurants Spare-Ribs oder Chicken Wings bestelle gibts normalerweise Tücher zum Hände abwischen mit dazu. Sowas mit Messer und Gabel zu essen ist mMn einfach nur eine Qual. Und ich meine das selbst z.B. Gordon Ramsay Rippchen mit den Händen isst, wenn ich die Episode Kitchen Nightmares mit Momma Cherri's richtig im Kopf habe.
Now get this: I drink my delicious german tap water AND if I feel like it I carbonate it myself with a soda stream. Win win!
Awesome and informative video. Thank you!
Blessings from Texas. 🇺🇲
if someone introduced themselves with their first name in a formal situation i would feel very weirded out. like don’t pretend to be all friendly and casual with me when i just asked where i can find the woman’s section. that’s so uncomfortable and somewhat invasive.
🤦♂️🤣🤣🤣
Grüssi! I used to feel like that until a patient reminded me that my first name is my baptismal one, while my last is my familial one. So if Adam is the name by which God knows me, why should I be anything but honoured to called it by a mere human?! 😇 Servus, Adam.
i didnt even know my bosses first name for quite some time.
That wouldn't be considered a "formal situation" in the states. That's very casual. Formal here would be more along the lines of outside of everyday activities/communicating functions.
There are some „hip“ cafes and retail stores that use first names but I don’t like it at all because they aren’t my friends and it seems disrespectful
They (and others) have whole videos on this topic.
Yeah, I look quite a bit younger than my actual age (22) and people mostly say „du“ when talking to me, and I hate it. It makes me feel like the person I’m talking to thinks that I’m an idiot
@@eleanorrigby7914 I really don't get that, why should u fucking care if someone says "du" or "sie". I for example hate being called "sie" and I always say right at the beginning that you can "duzen" me because sometimes Germans take life to serious
@@kosmodome47 guess that really depends on how you've grown up or what you're used to. To me it just feels really impolite if the cashier, who doesn't know me, just casually says "du", but I don't mind at all being introduced or introducing myself to work colleagues (that are not the boss) "per du". When I was younger though, around 20, I also didn't really identify myself as a "Sie" yet - funny thing, recalling now, I had to get used to it by and by... :)
I recently heard someone in his 60ies saying he feels weird, staying "per Sie" over a longer period with ppl, because he's worked "simple jobs" all his life, where people just said "du", so the "Sie" is not something he identifies with much, unless among complete strangers or with a person obviously higher in hierarchy ...
I really appreciate that throwaway cups and plates are frowned upon nowadays. When I grew up they were quite common in Germany, but it's one area where we think it's worth the extra effort to produce less waste.
From the Netherlands: I only drink tap water, in restaurants I ask for some to take my medicine 😁, no problem. I eat my pizza with knife and fork, fries sometimes with or without. Nametags in stores; why would I want to know their firstname, that person is not someone I know, so....
Weird to pizza with knife and fork, fries only with a fork if it is some sauce is on it like if speciaal
I drink tap water at home, at a restaurant I prefer other drinks. Sometimes my friends and I order one pizza for everyone which is served cut up into tranches, just as a snack. Then we would eat it with our hands. If we ordered an individual pizza for each person, we would eat it with a knife and fork. I wouldn't want to eat greasy chips with tomato sauce with my fingers.
I never saw a Dutch person in the Netherlands eat pizza with knife&fork, normally you eat pizza with your hands.
Nametags at AH, Jumbo, Plus, Intratuin, Praxis, Hema, Mediamarkt etc all have first names on Nametags, all those stores are in the Netherlands
@Rita Roork so do most Dutch people, dunno why Greetje doesn't, maybe he wants to feel special
@@dutchgamer842 I am a she, and I don't feel special, just do not like to eat pizza with my hands!
The utensils thing depends on how fancy the place is. For pizza, there is a simple trick: If it comes pre-sliced, you can pick it up with your hands. If it comes as one whole pizza, you're supposed to use utensils. For fries: If they come on a paper plate or in a bag - use your hands. If they come on a real plate with cutlery, use a fork.
Hi, very simple, hambugers and chicken wings or drums, you use your hands, on pizza and fries, normally it is with utensils, but that actually depends on the setting (eating at table or not, social context)
I’d prefer to stick with the formal way of addressing people. I don’t need complete strangers to call me by my first name as if they know me
At home and in restaurants I eat pizza with a knife and fork. However when I'm in the US and they don't hand me a knife and fork I'll take the hint and eat like a barbarian.
Hands vs Utensils I am from german (Wiesbaden, Hessen to be more precisley) and i have to say it strongly depends on 1) where you are eating and 2) what you are eating or rather in which "combination".
If you eat in a restaurant (fast food excluded) you almost always eat with utensils, unless it's a cultural thing or just how you eat that specific food. For example in a regular restaurant you would eat a buerger with utensils.
Also, the combination (this regards at home and fast food restaurants) you would usually eat things like nuggets/burgers and fries with your hands. But if other parts are eaten with utensils (i.e. Schnitzel, Bratwurst, etc.) you usually eat the whole thing with utensils.
Perrier and S. Pellegrino aren’t just French an Italian sounding names, they are bottled in France and Italy, respectively, and shipped across the pond to the U.S..
I think S. Pellegrino was one of the waters that is considered fancy, but has a raised arsenic content after German standards. ^^
I’m drinking mostly tap water at home, but with more or less apple juice in it, for having at least a bit of flavour. :)
@@3.k , the High Quality of German Tap Water is the Reason why "Sodastream" is so Popular in Germany !
@@henrybruhns4800 i would even say, it’s utilisable because the water quality is high. ^^
@@3.k Warte gilt das für alle S. Pellegrino Produkte? Ich liebe die Soda Limos 😅
@@alice73333
Ich erinnere mich leider nicht. Es kam in einer Reportage im TV vor und betraf glaube ich Appolinaris uns S. Pellegrino.
Ich denke mal, da es in D verkauft werden darf, kannst Du es beruhigt trinken, nur zur Herstellung von Babynahrung sind die Wässer dann wohl weniger geeignet. :)
We invented the "Pommespieker" to not eat fries with our bare hands. Google it, if you don't know what it is!
Another fancy thing in Germany: Everybody drives fancy German cars.
Yeah, sure. Everyone drives fancy cars😹
*cries in Kia
we although invented the "give most of your income to the country" rule - mainly that's why most germans can't even afford a fancy car
@@christianwasweissdennich8056 in the US there are low taxes, but the average family spends more in healthcare in a year than you'll ever do in your lifetime... you get what you pay for
@@silmuffin86 I spend for me alone more then 600 Euro a month on healthcares-insurance, I would get that much cheaper in other countries so not really cheap, but healtcare-pricing in US is usually just to expensive
I like the formal addressing because you can set your boundaries and pay respect only through a small word and establish privacy and distance from someone you don’t want a close personal relationship with. I don’t want people to assume that they can just speak to me however they want only because I am on first name basis so it is really practical to make clear who can call you what and how to communicate with them. And that doesn‘t mean we can’t be nice but we don’t have to worry if they want to be our friend or not. And if they do want that than they can just ask to address me as ‚du‘ and if I allow it that basically means that I am willing to get closer to that person. And all that subtext and information only through how you address people.
I am German and have an American GF and she was absolutely amazed by my face when a waiter just came to our table and filled our glass up . First I said „no thanks“ in fact to the waiter , because I thought I would be charged ( like it’s sometimes the case in Italy with bread )
Yup,when we visited Italy as germans and we sat down in a cocktailbar at a lake, we were amazed that every half hour or so they would bring us snacks, first so chips then a complete plate with bread sausage ham... different sorts of cheese and later even more.Sadly the girls wanted to go home, we were confident that if we drank a few rounds more they would have served steaks.At that bar it was free, and the next day in a restaurant, it did cost extra. Was it because in the bar we paid every round directly and at the restaurant paid at the end.
I was the same when I was in the US with my husband and they refilled my fountain soda. I was worried it would cost more.I'm used to saving my drink so I have some left at the end of the meal.
I'm in the UK and would never dream of calling a customer by their first name, that's so weird to me. I'm always called Mr then my surname and rarely called by my first name unless I know the person and it's not a company.
Where do you work? I'll be straight round. Last week I was addressed by my first name in a very formal situation.
Weird. I'm German, living in Germany and most of my customers are British. They never used my lastname and signed their emails only with their first name, too. Even my british sales rep has only his first name in his signature. I thought that's normal in UK.
That's weird because most Brits are taken back by the American habit of calling clients sir.
@@thegoodlydragon7452 That's because Sir is only really used with men who have a knighthood. Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Elton John, Sir Tom Jones etc. I've only ever heard customers called Sir at one hotel which was way too posh for my liking so I didn't work there very long also the fact I refused to call anyone Sir didn't help matters, the customers didn't mind but for some reason the managers really cared about it. I believe the military uses it but I haven't anything to do with the miltary in 20 years so not sure if they still used it or not but I'm assuming they probably do which is probably the most common places to hear the word Sir.
I have to comment on this because of the part about eating with hands. I live in OK too but I really dislike eating with my hands and always choose utensils first or a wrapper of some kind. Anything to keep hands from touching the food. It is because I assume my hands harbor microbes I do not want on my food and no matter how much I wash them, a utensil is far less likely to have microbes on it. I know it really sounds phobic but whatever is on my hands causes a stomach flu-type illness not colds or anything. Always seems to affect the stomach. I notice when I eat with a fork or spoon, i do not get them so I always use them or at the very least, make sure I have a barrier of some kind between my hands and the food.
People can look at me funny all they want but I have a real reason to eat pizza and sandwiches with a fork and knife and I prefer it. It is just easier.
to me it would feel so rude to call a stranger by their first name... I'd think it's really unrespectful 😳🤣
I'd be so uncomfortable to be called by my surname.
Yes it feels rude. That's it. I don' t want to be called by my first name. Just friends and family are allowed to use my first name. It is absolutly private. Nobody else is allowed to use it that's really rude and unpolite. I think you can geht really in trouble if you use the first name for a stranger. You can be sued. It is a crime if you do this in public. Never ever call a police officer by the first name. This is going to be very expensive. The use of the first Name suggests that you don't respect a person. Never do it to a Person that is working in the service. They would think you will show them how little they are worth and that you are much better than they are. It is really extremly unpolite. Just don't do it.
Especially at a store. It would feel like "Oy! Boy! Come here!".
Dinge, über die man oft nicht nachdenkt... Sehr schön zusammengefasst!
Ich trinke am liebsten Sprudelwasser und habe auch einen Sodastream, um das zu Hause selbst zu machen 😄
Du bist typischer deutsch 😉😊
Sodastream macht genau das Gegenteil von dem was ich will: KEIN Leitungswasser sondern Mineralwasser, aber OHNE Kohlensäuer.
@@PassportTwo It is not generally true that tap water has excellent quality in every German state. It can differ: Lower Saxony for example has an excellent water quality, their water directly comes from the big Talsperren (dams) in Harz (Okertalsperre, Granestalsperre, Eckertalsperre etc.) But here in Hamburg I would be a bit careful with the tap water. Some years ago the waterworks found legionella in my tap water (they claimed, they fixed it by cleaning the tubes, but I am not so sure about that!). Since that happened I only drink mineral water in bottles...
Team Sodastream. Oder Medium Selter wenn ich mal kaufe
Früher mochte ich gar kein Wasser, weil mit Sprudel immer so sauer schmeckt dafür trinke ich jetzt sehr gerne „LeiStungswasser“ 😉
German here. I prefer flat tap water myself, but most households have "sodastream" which is a brand of an appliance you can use to carbonate water. You only have to change the CO2 tank like every month or so, which you can exchange for a new one at the grocery store since they simply get refilled
When I was growing up in Germany, fries were always served with a special fry fork, a Pommesgabel. It's a mini plastic fork with only 2 prongs. Just so you wouldn't have to eat with your hands :). Not sure if that's still a thing....
I’ve seen them served with tiny wooden forks whichever’s has me worried about splinters 😉😂
@@PassportTwo In every German McDonalds restaurant you can get these tiny wooden forks for free... 🙂 and I always used them to eat my fries...for hygenic reasons (e.g. my hands might be not clean enough when going to a McDonalds restaurant after a shopping trip). For the same reason I would never touch a burger with my bare hands but use an unfolded paper tissue to hold the burger.
When I was growing up in the eighties in germany, the plastic forks had three prongs but one usually broke off and got lost in the fries. So I always took the blue or green forks and never the yellow so I won't accidently swallow a prong.
We still have the three pronged plastic versions (or at least had, i guess they are banned now) and the 2 pronged wooden versions. Do Americans simply don't pour ketchup and majonaise over their fries or how can they eat them with their fingers?
@@0ldFrittenfett jaaaa! Ich erinnere mich. Eine Zinke ist immer abgebrochen. Das hatte ich total vergessen
I think there are some unwritten rules for eating with your hands in Germany. Some examples that came to my mind:
- I would eat my pizza with my hands if my boyfriend and I ordered it home and ate it while watching a movie.
- I would probably use cutlery if a friend made pizza and invited us for diner, I would at least ask if it is ok to use my hands.
- I would definetly use cutlery at a restaurant with my boyfriends parents.
But then burgers are a whole different thing:
- If my boyfriend's parents invited us to a place where they have burgers we would probably eat it with our hands after quickly checking that everybody agrees on that.
- But if it is a fancy restaurant we would use cutlery again.
And then the german barbecue:
- if we are meeting our friends in their backyard or a public place where it feels more like a picnic, it would be okay to eat a sausage with my hands or even a steak if it is put in a bun.
- if someone brought plates and cutlery and there are also side dishes like Kartoffelsalat we would probably eat everything with cutlery. Same for barbecue with family when we are sitting around a table.
So yes its complicated 😄 but I think you can say that eating with your hands is considered very informal.
I'm German and I usually just do what everyone else is doing or anticipate whether or not I can clean my hands easily afterwards, that works most of the time :)
I totally agree
Even tough eating burger's with knife and fork can be very very challenging...
What are you talking about? Why don’t you eat your Kartoffelsalat or Nudelsalat with your bare hands like an animal? 🙃
For me eating with my hands is an all or nothing type situation, for example if i eat a Burger and fries I would eat both with my hands but if I eat a Schnitzel and fries then both with utensils.
"Thou"/"Thee" was actually the INformal one (and still is in a few northern English dialects). "You" was plural and formal.
"Tap, bottled or carbonated water?" "Beer." ;-)
Thats a man of culture!
Well beer actually is carbonated..😂
I believe the formal way of addressing ppl and doing things simply shows respect for others and self
Yesterday, I was shopping at Rewe, and an automated band was telling people to mind social distancing in the informal you form. I am a young german, 28 years old, and I absolutely hated it because I personally associate being talked to with the informal you by strangers like being treated as a child. I do not enjoy it at all.
I am 29 and I hope the formal form goes extinct. Most people in my age group by default use "du" on each other, even if they're strangers.
@@faultier1158 politely disagree on that one. I do not enjoy this, and I expect people, even my age, to properly adress me. An instant "du" is really not an option for me.
I agree with you. I always feel like they think that I'm a child when they directly adress me with "du".
I agree so much. I'm 25 and whenever someone in customer services uses the informal version, I actually feel as if they see me as a child.
@@faultier1158 I'm 20, most of the time I always use "Sie" when talking to strangers, because I feel weird otherwise.
We also have something called the "Hamburger Sie", which is using Sie and the first name. For example one of my university professors used it for her students. I like it because it feels a bit less distanced, but still professional.
Usually from the 8th grade on teachers will use it towards their students and parents towards their children's classmates and friends.
Echt? A la "Peter, wischen Sie bitte die Tafel"?
Ya we've been given the choice of continuing the DU or transition to SIE and the first name in 8th grade. (that was back in 2000)
@@Hamusutaru yeah, same for me but most teachers had too many classes to remember wich one asked for „du“ or „sie“ so they just played it safe with „sie“
I got used to it by the end
i have only enocuntered this at university because one of the students had a very complicated croation last name so she was the only one to be called by her first name while still using the Sie :D
It depends on the circumstances rather than the food itself.
When eating out, there is sometimes that awkward spiel about „are we eating with hands now, even though we are in a restaurant?“
With friends at home, I eat pizza, burger and fries with hands. But with my grandpa, I would try to eat all of those with utilities - no matter where we are
Since this year the sale of certain types of disposable plastic wares has been banned at least i Germany, if not in the whole EU. This has been done to reduce the amount of plastics ending up in the environment. Disposable dishes and cutlery are on the list as are plastic drinking straws and cotton buds with plastic sticks.
I prefer the formal address, because I think respect is important- especially in a work environment.
If a Karen comes in yelling "Hey you! I have a complaint!" and I tell her
"My name is not 'Hey you'! I am still MISTER (X) to you! How can I help you?"
it might immediately take some wind out of her sails.
I hate carbonated water😖. Everytime I visit some of my friends houses they wonder why I drink tab water, but it just tastes so good here🥰
Well here in north Germany it is kinda weird to eat stuff with your hands. Like the only things that come to mind is Pizza when you are at home, chicken wings and maybe some streetfood like crepes and stuff that won´t make your hands dirty when eating them.
Even our hühnerkeule, you learn in Knigge how to use knife and fork for it.
Well I don't get it, do germans have some kind if dirty hands or soap phobia! I mean there are napkins and bathrooms and soap for the dirty hands. What's the big deal?
@@megibrace1336 It's manners going all the way back to Erasmus von Rotterdam (15rh century). You get that drilled into you from a very young age and don't even think about it, especially when in public.
When Germans joke about Knigge they are referring to famous conduct books.
@@megibrace1336 Well, i personally absolutely hate, if my hands get dirty. So it is normal for me, to eat nearly everything with Knife and Fork
Note from a German: Young adults among themselves also generally use "du" and I personally would feel VERY weird addressing anyone under, like, 30 with "Sie" except in a professional context (I'm 22, for those wondering). That said, do not address a young adult informally if you're outside that age group unless you've allowed them to do the same with you. Among strangers, only kids and teens are addressed informally, so especially to a young person it can come across like you're mistaking them for a kid. Or treating them as one. In any case, don't.
(Although I have to note that there are regional differences here too. I live in the east of Germany where random strangers will sometimes even address my dad with "du", to his chagrin because he grew up in a place where that's NOT part of the culture.)
Just curious, but when do people switch from "Sie" to "du"? Like acquaintances slowly become close friends, at what point do you think "okay, we call each other "du" now" ? Also, if someone calls you "du" when you don't want them to, what do you do?
@@isabelleteh5655 Generally someone has to suggest the switch, I've never seen people go from one to the other without bringing it up first. And, well…you're asking the wrong person with the second question, I'm so non-confrontational I just kinda ignore it…I guess you could ask them to please not do that, but I've never seen anyone pull that off without being rude themselves so. Yeah. You just grin and bear it, I guess???
If someone calls you by your first name+Du and you do not want that it should usually be sufficient to just address the other one formally by last name and Sie. Most people will get the hint and switch.
I think you are right with the people who are siezing less in East Germany. It seems to me that especially older persons (maybe 40-55) prefer to use du, even in more professional contexts (e.g. my car-school teacher), whereas maybe 30 year old use sie more often and younger people in formal settings. However, as a 18 year old, I really hate being siezed. I still feel like a child and don't understand why people think I should be siezed. It is just weird... I think I would prefer if we just got rid of the sie like in English or Scandinavian languages... it creates so many weird and unclear situations when you used sie to adress someone for a long time and then have to switch or when you start being an adult...
@@isabelleteh5655 that depends on the situation. In Germany we have a book called "Knigge" that has all the unwritten rules of our socitey. Theres a whole chapter on how to address people and how to handle Duzen and Siezen. Even for us Germans it can be complicated.
I was working in retail for some time and as people mentioned before, it is more respectful and creates a distance, which makes you less vulnerable. Also a thing I have learned early in my life is: even if you know the person, if you are being harassed outside, always address the person as "Sie". People are more willing to help you if they assume you are being harassed by a stranger.
To the tap water: we definitely have great water qualities in Germany for the most part. BUT the water pipes changes the taste a lot. I lived in 7 different districts in northern Germany and in some it was tasty and in others it simply wasn't.
Sometimes the "silverware" at festivals is actually "woodenware" - in this cases it is disposable but thought to be more environment-friendly as plastic (at least it is compostable even it takes its time). And some festivals organize even central return points - all stands use the same mugs and plates. In this cases you get mostly a token for your deposit (a tin coin or similar) to return with your plate at the central point. This started in the 1980s first with smaller festivals.
The trend to drink carbonated water started as early as the 18th and 19th century, in a time as tap water was not everywhere available and not so thoroughly controlled. So water from wells and springs known to be clean was bottled, but since it was not sterilized it often get green with algae or got bacterial contamination. In 1783 a German watchmaker living in Geneva named Jacob Schweppe patented a process to carbonate bottled water. In 1790 he opened a factory in Geneva, 1792 in London. In the 1800s many mineral water wells followed - the carbonisation allowed them to sell their bottled water over major distances, and mineral water was considered to be healthier than simple water from the next well. Since there are many, many spas and even more mineral water wells in Germany, and since many spring water bottler followed suit, it became a kind of standard to drink bottled, carbonated water at least on voyage or at restaurants. Personally I prefer tap water, but I'll regularly buy a box of (regional) carbonated water for mixing "schorle" drinks with different juices.
I maybe have an example the other way around. My impression is that Germans are way more casual when it comes to bars or clubbing compared to a lot of other countries.
Clubbing is something I do to have fun why would I make that such a formal thing? If I want to go formally I would visit a wedding.
eating pizza and fries with utensils is not fancy at all. You just avoid getting your handy full of fat and sauce. Also it depends on the setting - if I eat fries or pizza "on the go" without sitting down, it´s just easier to use yout hands, but if I sit down to a proper meal at a table of course I will use a fork and a knive.
I’m an American. With European parents. Scandinavian to be exact. I grew up with European table rules , Mr and Mrs and Miss were normal. I personally love the formalities. I am not my children friends buddies, I’m Mrs Emerson or Mrs. E . It sets a boundary. Same with my students when I was teaching .
Do students call the teachers by their surname in the US?
@@lily-td5vq yes . It’s Mr. Mrs. or Miss. and then the surname.
@@KoriEmerson ah ok thanks, I think there are not many countries where they use the first name
Funnily enough the Scandinavian countries are probably the least formal countries in Europe when it comes to addressing people. Herr / fru / frøken are just not used anymore, or at least very rarely.
So, your Scandinavian parents probably left before the "DU-reform" in the 60's and 70's. Younger people in some business and service situation have started to use "Ni", the Scandinavian formal equivalent of "Sie", again and it drives old hippies and socialists nuts!
I work in German customer service and I really appreciate our formality in the way we adresse each other alot. Although not gonna lie, there is this issue when it comes to around 16/17 year olds because they aren't adults yet so the formal "Sie" and surname isn't the default yet but they are old enough where it definitely can feel disrespectful to use the informal "Du" and first name.
13:40 And there is also the "Hamburger Du" (sometimes used, you guessed it, in Hamburg) where you address someone by first name but sill use the formal Sie.
12:50 the "thou/thee/thy" used to be the singular and "you/ye" plural only. So strictly speaking, English didn't drop the formal address, but the informal one, using the previously more formal "you" on everyone. It is as if Germans would go over to the "Sie" with everybody including close family.
Apparently German was close to that several times, with children addressing their parents and even husband and wife addressing each other formally. But "Du" never vanished completely and always rebounded.
“To the German viewers: tap, bottled or carbonated water?”
Me: Two out of three! I carbonate my tap water 🤣
It’s true, German tap water has the best quality, but I still need my bubbles 🤷🏻♀️
Sodastream. Gives your tabwater bubbles :)
Indeed 😊
I need bubbles. I can not drink tab water. It just does not taste.
Our office has switched from bottled carbonated water to special machines under the sink made by Grohe. Taps in the office kitchens now have three positions: off, regular tap water, chilled carbonated water. I love that :-) Every few weeks a company exchanges the large CO2 cylinders but now you have the option to rinse your coffee cup with sparkling water, surprised some people two years back...
@@kuebbisch Oh, I heard of those! I want that, too 😄
For the disposable stuff at events. I think it was in the late 90s when they put in laws that did forbid selling disposables at big events. A similar law did forbid the selling of booze in cans later on. The difference for the festivals was huge. You can as a private person of course buy disposables
The taste of tap water depends heavily on where you live.
Even within a single city. Larger cities would get their water from multiple locations, and as the districts are served more or less independently, the water quality might vary.
I used to live in a city covering the whole range of water hardness.
Oh yes, I used to have friends living in a another part of my city (they moved since then) and whenever I went to visit them, I'd fill up my water bottle with their tap water, because it tasted so much better.
I do not like the tap water of our own Tap so I drink about 3-4 l carbonated water a day. Also because I am to lazy to actually get the water from the tap
I live in west yorkshire its a soft water area tap water and bottle water taste the same but if i vist my daughter on the east coast we have to use filter jugs for tea and drink bottle water .the water comes from aquifers and taste slightly salty and leaves a scum on the top of tea
I barely comment anywhere but I just want to take a quick second to tell u guys that I have noticed the hard work you put into your videos. The editing, special effects, etc., this must take hours and hours to make and I appreciate that. I hope that others will see that too and make your channel grow 🙏🏼
Drinking tap water or filtered water is pretty normal for my family but we do use soda machines to make our own carbonated water sometimes xD
Carbonated water lessens the feeling of being thirsty better in my opinion
And on the food topic:it really depends on the food and situation tbh. Do whatever people around you do is usually a good way