Its becous you have to pay the Pfand frst and than get it back when you return it so you dooing goods for the worlds helth by tricking your people to beleve they can get a bit of money out of it
@@Meridyan so what? Its exactly as i sayed. Doing goods like recycleing plastic but geting no extra money becous you get what you payeded. Its like a piggy bank. Pay Pfand and then return it to get the payed Pfand back.
@@Batista77387 thanks for saying exactly the Same as i did in my First coment but letting Out the fact that it brings you nothing excapt doing goods for the Environment.
I don't know about the UK but in the US they have these little barriers (don't know the exact word) where you can't pass to the underground without a ticket, but in Germany the entrance is possible without a ticket. So tourists might think that they don't need a ticket. But they check in the metro undercover.
About the birthday: It also has to do with the fact that people in Germany believe that early birthday wishes mean bad luck. In the past it was believed that it would bring about death and that one would not live to see one's birthday. But no one actually believes that part anymore.
The no swimming outfits in a sauna is a health based rule. Swimming water has chlorine in it and it's not healthy to breathe it in waporized. Only exception is a certain logo in your swimming outfit only granted for privacy due to medical reasons such as breast cancer, stoma or being transgerder.
little correction on the anthem part, the first two verses (the first one being the deutschland, deutschland über alles) are not supposed to be sung, true (the third one being the current anthem). They were used by the party during their regime but it is older than their existance, so to call it their anthem is a bit wrong, same as to say the swastika is theirs. Yes, they misappropriated both (and more) so people will relate those to the times, which isn't wrong and it is still right not to use them because of the way they were used. Just to clarify, that they did steal it and misused the meaning. Btw, I am a bit vague in my writing, as UA-cam is overly sensitive on this topic and likes to avoid it instead of clarifying stuff (typical american sentiment, better to ignore the bad stuff instead of accepting it and trying to do better). Also a litte tidbit about misusing the first verse of the anthem, "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" means "Germany, Germany above all", which the party used in the way that germans stand above all else, while the original meaning stems from the time Germany was made up of multiple states and not unified. The meaning then was, that a united Germany is more important than the independance of the multiple smaller german states. So yeah, time and context can changes meanings (sadly more often than not in a bad way). Well, enough rambling, nice reaction and I wish you a great weekend (for people reading this in the future, it is Saturday :D )
I agree on almost every point, except the one with the swastika. The swastika wasn't stolen like many people claim, the symbol came up in many cultures, mostly in germanic and indo-germanic cultures.
I totally agree with the swastika but the black swastika turned 45° to the right in a white circle and red background is totally invented by the Nazis. And I think it's a no-go to sing "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles in der Welt" It still means "Germany, Germany over all in the world" that Germany is "the chosen Folk" and it's clearly nationalistic whether the Nazis invented it or not.
Du/Sie both just mean 'you', so you do not have add the name after that. But people who offered you to address them with Du or people your age (if you're younger... people under 25 usually just use 'Du' with each other) you can also address them by their first name. You can say 'Du, Firstname...' if you want to grab their attention. As in 'Du, Diana, kannst du mir das Salz geben?' which basically means 'Hey you, Diana, can you give me the salt?' But you could have just as well only said 'Diana, kannst du mir das Salz geben?' or only 'Kannst du mir das Salz geben?' The first Du in 'Du, Diana...' is really just meant as an attention grabber. Sie and Du just as 'you' are pronouns (literally noun-replacers) so you do not need to add the name after them. If you want to address someone by their last name - because you are on 'Sie' basis - you have to add 'Herr' (Mr.) or 'Frau' (Ms./Mrs.) before their name to make it make sense grammatically. To get back to our passing the salt examples: Herr Schmidt, können Sie mir bitte das Salz geben? (Mr. Schmidt, kann you please hand me the salt) Frau Schmidt, können Sie mir bitte das Salz geben? (Mrs. Schmidt, kann you please hand me the salt) Können Sie mir bitte das Salz geben (Can you please hand me the salt) Diana, kannst du mir bitte das Salz geben (Diana, can you please hand me the salt) Kannst du mir bitte das Salz geben (Can you please hand me the salt) Du, Diana, kannst du mir bitte das Salz geben (Hey you, Diana, kann you please hand me the salt)
I once heard a good sentence in an English course. The English "You" is the German "Sie". It certainly won't be 100% accurate, but it certainly comes close. The "Sie" is extremely important in German as it signals the personal distance to the person you are talking to and at the same time reflects the respect that goes with it. Addressing strangers as "du" is rude and often intended to provoke. There are exceptions to this, however, and this is the case in shops where it is part of the sales strategy to create a better sales climate with a personal form of address. In English, the you is regulated by paying very strict attention to which topics are addressed to the dialogue partner and how. The direct German way does not exist. If I am wrong, please let me know.
Deana and Phil have been often reacted to by US-Americans. I found it very interesting how US-comments differ from yours, espacially when it comes to privacy or nudity. The gossip-thing is a ty
I think they missed one very special thing - the rest on sunday after 12 o'Clock noon . Most people get really mad, if you make loud noises like driling, mow the lawn or something equally. This is a big DON'T ( I kinda understand it since I am a mother, but well, some people exaggerate it)
I live in Germany and in my social circle it is even pretty common to have houseshoes for guests so they don't get cold feet. Or if someone is staying rather often that they have a pair of houseshoes or "Stoppersocken" ( Socks with those stuff under them so you don't slip) at your home for when they are visiting. Even in kindergarten and my primary school we left our shoes outside the classroom and changed into houseshoes before entering. There was like coathängers and a shelf where you can put your stuff. I think it is quite common for kindergartens to do that here in Germany. I don't know if all primary schools do that though. Also pretty common to have separate shoes for gym class and also for the fitness studio. Apparently that's not a thing in America which I find so weird. Like so gross with all the dirt - especially if you have to touch the floor for some exercises in gym class. Some schools even require you to have a different set of gym shoes for when you do sports outside like on the tracks etc.
Yes, the formal calling is "Sie" to "Mr Smith" but if you on a friendly base you would say "du" and the first Name " Paul". And english is teatched very early in some schools from the first Grade to the End. In some schools it s mandotary for your degree.
The shoes in the house thing ... when I grew up (~40 years ago) almost every german house had carpets, which are hard to clean - exspecially if your shoes were wet and/or dirty. Nowadays it's mostly stone or wooden floor and easier to clean. So no big deal! BUT: we have a stone floor which is cool in the summer and warm in the winter, because of our floor heating system. So actually you want to take of your shoes as it feels so good! :)
14:30 I think you could wish a for a fun party, a good day or something, but not the actual Happy-Birthday-line. It's one of those things you just don't say before it happens due to bad luck, along the proverb of "Don't praise the day before its eve."
I think speaking to strangers is more common in rural areas, at least greeting people is. So, if you encounter people in the city, obviously you would not greet them because there are just too many. But if you would encounter someone in a forest, at the country site or on a walkway or something similar, you would greet them. But it also really depends on the city/region. In Cologne for example, people will more likely start a conversation with strangers than in Hamburg.
Yes, it's not allowed to have any clothes on. I learned that my first time in the sauna in germany. It was also my first sauna experience ever. There was a sauna worker that was about to do an "Aufguss" (an infusion, where they out water with a variety of (aromas from natural oils). I didn't understood german that well back then but i undressed in front of everyone in the sauna and learned my lesson 😀
There is no general rule with shoes. Best to ask. It always depends on the weather and the floor covering. With shopping carts, people are conditioned in some ways like Pavlov's dogs. Many cars are no longer locked and people still return them. We once misused one as a mobile beer dispenser. We brought it back after a few days.
To the Birthday thing - there is the superstition that early birtdayh wishes bring bad luck. So it is not common to do that. To Sauna it is for hygenic reasons. - before you go in you have to shower too. If someone goes in with clothes they migh be bring in dirt and bacteria - and bacterias love hot and steamy rooms. It isn't elegal but sauna operators prohibit it. ^^"
The quiet hours are actually a law and the Police will inforce it. There are examtions for stuff like birthday parties and stuff but you would have to inform your neighbors and get their permission. Even than, if it is to loud, so that like a person 2 streets away gets angry about it, the Police will still show up and tell you to turn it down a bit.
We drive on the left side of the road. But on several lanes , the most left is for fast drivers and the most right for slowest (like trucks). Overtaking on the right side is forbidden, so people will close up to you and honk if you block the left lane.
The "free water" thing is the same in Germany: you have to ask for tap water and it might be frowned upon, but it still is a human right to get a glass of water.
"Du" is second person singular and informal. This is used in sport clubs, the family or with people you know. "Sie" is third person plural and you use it with authorities or strngers if you are not in an evironment like a sports club. It is similar like the Old English "You" and "Thou". It is just one way to be polite. Therefore with "du" you use the first name and with "sie" you use the last name. "Klaus, hast du meine Schlüssel gesehen?" "Klaus, did you saw my keys?" "Hr. Müller, wissen Sie wo wir uns treffen?" "Mr. Miller, do you know, where we will meet?" Every German since at least 1991 (in Western Germany even before) learns English, usually as their first foreign language for at least six years, starting with British English and after some years moving on to American English. Small Talk with neigbours is common, but not with strangers. We have spare slippers for guests. Well I saw such wishes in the UK. And I was wondering, as in Germany this brings bad luck. I made a video on birthday with the reason on this. After WW2 in the British occupaid zone, the first nudism clubs were allowed to open. The climate in the UK is warmer in Winter and colder in Summer. When I waited at a red traffic light in Lincoln and other pedastrians passed, one asked me: "You are from Germany, right?"
Sie is not third person plural, it's also second person singular. SIE, third person plural is like THEY in English And you also can use the SIE together with the first name, if you are bit more familiar with somebody
8:00 If you throw a party, it is usually sufficient if you hang a note by the main door as well as adjacent numbers on the street as a warning, and you will likely not have any trouble unless it escalates too much. We also have quiet hours in the day between 1-3pm, however those do not count for construction workers of any kind for their jobs. But you're not supposed to use large drills or hammers and such during those hours. It is not enforced everywhere though. It is more a thing of mutual respect and a golden rule thing. The Sunday-Quiet however... that can get people antsy more quickly.
I as a german am NOT USED to take my shoes off when I visit another House and I do not expect others to tak their shoes off when they visit me. My Frends and relatives act the same way. On the other hand, we all have house shoes. If we come home we turn our shoes off and pull our house shoes on. But we do not expect that from visitors. And wishing happy birtday in advance might lead to bad karma! 😅
7:00 I once gossiped in a club about a man standing far away from me! Suddenly he came to me very angry and complaining about my rude talking.... I learned, that he was deaf and did lip reading.....that was very embarrassing for me....😔😉 It wasn't a german-english thing, but with a kind of foreing communucating. 😅 Greetings from Germany 🙋🏻♀️
When there are pedestrian traffic lights or "zebra crossings" (broad, white stripes -- think of the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album cover) across the street, you're supposed to use them, mainly for safety reasons -- and to set a good example for children, even if you have to make a slight detour. Pedestrians even have right of way over cars at zebra crossings. However, there's no problem at all with crossing a residential street, say, without them, provided you use appropriate caution for traffic.
18:03 Beaches ar rare in germany too but we had nudety areas in local swimming pools. not in every one becous many of them didnt have the room to have a seperate area were kids arent alowed and you have to be naked but some swimingpools have that. espacaly when they are outside and not indor
11:14 min, in Vienna they are free fountain of cold and warm water in some places. Its from the water company of vienna and cost nothing.👍 18:25 min Aldi take in US also coins for the shopping cart. 🙂 The Sauna Thing: There are two basic types of saunas, the dry sauna and the steam sauna. The dry sauna is also called a Finnish sauna. The steam sauna is often called a Roman sauna. The Finnish sauna was mentioned in the video and the fact that you don't wear swimming costumes in the sauna has to do with ensuring hygiene. The clothes could be dirty/full of germs and bacteria. Before going to the sauna, you have to shower with soap/shower gel so that you can then sweat with a clean body. You sit on the sauna towel so that the sweat can be caught there. Naked skin should never touch the wood in the sauna, this is unhygienic. This applies to the Finnish sauna. This is not the case in the Roman sauna, where everything is wet due to the steam. You don't take a towel with you and go into the sauna completely naked. Everything there is tiled, so no wood. The general rule is to shower before and after using the sauna, even if you then go into a cold plunge pool. If you are unsure about the sauna rules, you can ask the staff or sauna guests.
Cash is a psychological thing, to a lot of us. It´s a matter of saving money, subconsciously. You don´t want to give that stuff away, so you buy less. With cards, phone payments and all that, it´s way easier to overspend, cause you´re not physically connected to your currency anymore.
When you Germany not right rycle you get help. My personal experience was how leave home had my first home and the neighbourghs helped me often it was an old lady such a nice person made ever day food for me because i was a bit small and thin and i helped her shopping. But i would say at the end with pfand and where too put the trash is from Bundesland too Bundesland diffrent and sometimes from town too town or even in the city some district want too do it more some some do nothing.
Didn't know it's called "Hamburger Sie". Is there also a "Hamburger Du"? I can remember that a colleague of mine called another by: Frau M. kannst du mal... I was irritated.
3:38 About the name with last name and "Sie". I will give you an example. You wouldn't talk to you teacher in school like: "Hi Paul!" you would say "Hi Mr Wilkins!". Same here. for example: We use the "formal" therm for persons we don't know closer and/or teachers and bosses. But: we use the "informal" version for like friends and family. Because we belong closer. I think you might get the point here.
14:41 my mother told me it's like wishing bad luck upon the person having their birthday. like "Happy birthday in advance" is supposed to bring bad luck. so yeah, it is a superstition/formal/cultural thing
In Danmark gives Pfand for bottles & cans too. their Pfund symbole looka a bit different to ours, but its black-white too. Sometimes i see in our litten Danish Pfand,i collect it too for whenever i will visit denmark again next time, so i not need to change my money , i only buy with danish Pfand ^^ Ps: Sprudelwasser = water with Gas (bubbling water)
About the birthday wishes… We also have the saying: du sollst den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben. You shall not praise the day before the evening - because something could still happen to spoil it. Similarly: der Ball ist rund und das Spiel hat 90 Minuten. The (foot-) ball is round and the game has 90 minutes. If you feel too confident of victory before you could still lose.
About the free tab water in UK: I think that's actually pretty much the same in Germany. It is a human right so you can ask for that and it should be for free. But not many people know that, so that is barely practiced.
In Germany, you'll have had English lessons at least for 4 years in school, typically more and/or additional years in school, while in vocational training or at university. For example, I had regular English lessons for 14 years. Only people who went to school East Germany before the reunion, really old people and some people who immigrated might not understand English. You should expect to be understood well when talking English in Germany.
The too early birthday wish is to avoid because of "bad luck" - but it's treated with a 😉, not taken serious, but also nevertheless not that accepted.....! 😅
Regarding understanding English: Almost all kids in Germany start to learn English quite early, it's usually the first foreign language we learn. And it is usually mandatory until you leave school. So, most kids in Germany learned English for at least 4 yours, and if you are going to the Gymnasium, you will have had 8 or 9 years of Germany. Furthermore, if you are going to University, depending on the field you are studying, there is a good chance that some of your courses are in English. And in some fields, for example, Computer Science, a very high percentage of master theses and PhD thesis will be done in English instead of German.
Hi again. :) A deposit is a small amount on bottles and cans when you return them to the supermarkets. E.g. A reusable bottle is usually 8 or 15 cents, whereas a disposable bottle is uniformly 25 cents. You get these few cents per bottle at the machine or you first get a receipt that you hand in at the checkout. Yes, the Germans get really angry when they drive cars on the roads. Sometimes very entertaining, but often very tiring and unpleasant. Typically German. xD What is meant is the non-name address. So without addressing the person by name. For this we have 2 words Du and Sie. In English you only have the you. The Du is more likely to be used among family and friends, the Sie is more likely to be used among colleagues and strangers you don't know. The Sie is a form of respect or a respectful address. The Sie is equated with the Mr. or Mrs. The Du is friendly or also familial. That Sie (you) don't confuse with Sie (they). Disturbances at night can even lead to serious consequences if you don't stick to it. This can range from warnings to termination of the apartment or even high fines, some of which can reach up to 15 000 €. In Germany, people also congratulate you on your birthday belatedly if you missed it. This is completely normal.
the nazi stuff, its not "like forbiden", it can get you in deep judical shit,... the first verse of the anthem is not used, but not illegal, obnoxious yes but not illegal
About the saune and nakedness: The reason for that rule is hygiene primarily. Saunas are either textile or non textile saunas. There is another hidden reason though. Wearing something in the non-textile saunas would invite perverts (peeping toms). They could get in there and conceal what they are actualy up to.
i met a british guy in my apartment house that moved his business to germany . i asked him why and he said " because the weather is so good in Germany compared to the UK.😳
Actually english is a version of old german, with some influences from french and celtic. So there a lot of similarities in words. Especially word stems.
14:10 Of course you can wish people a Happy Birthday late if you missed it or didn't know it yet. You simply say "Alles Gute nachträglich." - "nachträglich" lit. "after-carriedishly"; it's an inbuilt apology. However, I have never heard of ANYWHERE being okay with giving birthday congratulations beforehand either. It is a bad omen, brings bad luck to do so. Very weird point...
16:02 It depends on House rule. If the owner says no clothes and its writen in the house rule than yes its forbiden but if its not writen in the house rule than no one can say anything to you and we also have Saunas where you can go in bathing clothes but they so rare so i cant actualy go to 90% of saunas in germany becous i dont want to get fully nude infront of strangers. If in know he person very good ore its family ore close friends then ok but a person like you i dont know much than absolutly no go
In Germany, no one will call the police if so. enters in their bathing suit, but he will most possibly attract many views from other people.... But unless like in Finland, where nudity in the Sauna is the standard, in Germany many people won't go to the Sauna because they feel ashamed.
"Sie" In German is the same Word as "sie" meaning they or them, plural. So it most possibly stems from the old times when you had to address your landlord or king in plural.
Actually, the "Sie" is from the 18. century. Before that, German used the 2nd person plural ("ihr"), just like English did and does. Only the English dropped the informal 2. person singular totally, and adress everyone with the formal "you".
I work in a big Sauna as a Saunamaster…..in Germany…English People Are always very upset….they don‘t want to be naked….but we have „TextilSaunas“in Germany…there it is allowed to Go to the Sauna in BathingClothes…but they Are rate,always small
Jaywalk in Germany is not the only ridiculous punishment here. I mean it's dangerous to cycle while being drunken but if you have over 1.6‰, your car driving licence can be impounded and you have to make the MPU which is a very hard test to get back your licence.
I really have no idea where this "take your shoes off in the house" thing comes from. We don't do it, our families, friends and neighbors don't do it either. If it's snowy, muddy or very wet outside, you can get asked politely, or you can offer to take your shoes off -- especially if your host has wall-to-wall carpeting or maybe parquet floors that might get dirty or damaged -- but it's generally NOT a requirement. (However, house shoes or slippers are very much A Thing, so many Germans will switch their outdoor shoes for them as a matter of comfort in their own homes.)
19:49 Yes and no. Dont do it if the Police is near you and your 100% fine but if a Policeman/women is near you than they better have a lucky day ore you pay 15-30€
5:16 the fact that he pointed out this, is because we faced (for example) Americans over in Germany doing this type of stuff. And you can get arrested for it. No joke.
Theoretically it is illegal to jaywalk but I have never seen that someone would get a fine for it. I think the official fine is like 5 or 10 Euro maybe.. in big cities it is quite common to jaywalk but not as common as in the UK I think. When I've been to London I recognized that it is way more common there. But I would not say that jaywalking is frowned upon.. maybe by elderly people. But the only rule that Germans take REALLY seriously is to never jaywalk when there is a child that can see you. Because you are a role model and children should learn not to cross the road when there is a red light, even if they think the road is clear. So, it is important that they see adults following this rule.
Hi, German here. Talking about taking off shoes while entering houses/flad. The much worser thing I see quite often in american tv-shows is, that they even wear shoes while lying/jumping on couch/beds with all the dirt from the outside including dog-pee or something else. It's just disgusting.
A good rule of thumb for nudity in Germany is "is it practical/useful?", practical nudity is not sexualized. Meaning advertisements for showers/baths may have undressed women, or you will see men in the parks taking their shirts off in the summer heat to play football together or women to sunbathe (their backs, i have not seen nacked torsos outside of beaches). For saunas there are options for saunas that allow bathing suits, they're called "textil Sauna", you may keep a towel on if you wish, but a lot of older people go fully naked. There are women only saunas, to make women feel safer than in mixed saunas.
Jaywalking actually is NOT a minor thing in Germany. It’s not fined as much because so many people still do it but crossing a red light in German traffic law is the worst crime you can commit, by car or foot doesn’t matter. If a police person has a bad day they could take away your license.
In Germany, you don't just walk across the street during the day because children can see it, but at night it's no problem. You have to be a role model for the children. Imagine everyone just walks across the street, the children see them, and you are Guilt because you didn't wait until the light turned green and a child was hit by a car
13:57 this is kinda funny, you might love it. If I remember correctly, it's a "bad luck" thing. So in modern times the very most of us will not be "offended" or so. But every culture has their superstition, right?
I think the Pfand thing will be soon mandatory in the whole EU. You pay a deposit even in romania since jan 2024. You get it back after bringing back the bottle.
6:05 He's not entirely correct on this. The song is still the same, the "Deutschlandlied" (Germany-Song / more appropriately "Song of the Germans"), it's just that we only sing one stanza of it. It is not "The Nazi Anthem" either, it was adopted in the Weimar Republic (A very Red Socialist time). The "Deutschland Deutschland über alles" is the first stanza and because to the thin skinned it can be described as nationalistic instead of patriotic plus the fact that it describes Germany's borders four rivers that are not within or at its borders anymore. Why the 2nd stanza is omitted I do not understand, because every good anthem sings about the nice things its people are proud of "German Women, German Loyalty, German Wine and German Song shall retain in the world (existence) their old beautiful sound. (And) Inspire us to noble deeds as long as we live." - The wikipedia translations claims to be literal, but literally is not; this here is way more literal. The 3rd stanza goes "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" which is also wrongly translated on wikipedia as "Unity and Justice and Freedom", but it is "Law" and not "Justice" that the song invokes. Which... in modern days sounds kind of scary like Judge Dredd. Justice is to Law what Gerechtigkeit is to Recht (Gesetz). Not every Law is just, and Law doesn't always make Justice... a good Law seeks to approximate Justice as good as it can. A bad law, well, humanity has a few more of those. . . So why this horrid choice of words for a combination that sounds like a Fascist dictatorship that somehow gives you Freedom after those first two? Because this area of the continent was the literal Brother's Grimm ("Disney") fairytale kingdoms around every corner. Walk an hour in that direction, new castle, new fiefdom, new ruler, new law, still all Germans. The Unity speaks of bringing all that together under one banner, ending the ludicrous tariff system (there were jokes above throwing a piece of wood into a river, and by evening it would have drifted so far that the tariffs on it from crossing so many borders would cost enough to build a castle), as well as bring "One Law for All" - hence "Law" and not "Justice." Then it makes sense why you could get Freedom out of that at the end. You would have more freedom because travel and trade is easier. But putting those words up without context... honestly sounds a bit scary, the more you know about politics. And while the Socialist East German Anthem "Risen from Ruins" has a nice ring to it, I would never ever want to elevate anything that came out of that hellhole to something memorable. That ideology, whether red (Weimar, East Germany) or brown (Hitler), or now in Green (Green Parties are Maoist Parties at their core), this ideology has brought nothing but death and misery about us - and not just us, but every people that has had to deal with it. I know you surely don't want this to become a political channel, yet with this topic, and the history and politics associated with that, it is a bit inevitable in the moment. I hope this comment could help unravel a part of German history that is seldom gone into, especially by foreigners.
The correct English term for the Pfand-machines is actually "reverse vending machine" - which I, as a German, find absolutely GREAT! Du, Paul - Sie, Mr. Müller And hey, I have subscribed! - to YOUR channel 😉 Germany, too, is becoming more and more cash-less. But there are still places where you can only pay cash. In Germany, it really is illegal to wear clothes in a Sauna - and that is in the whole Sauna area! You are, of course, allowed to drape a towel around your gender-significant body parts. But yes, I've seen people been thrown out because they refused to get rid of their clothes. I think there is a thought of "either everyone or no one" behind that. So if you go to the Sauna to see naked people, you're at least forced to expose yourself. Or even: If you cannot see other people naked without getting visibly aroused (especially men), the public Sauna is not for you. On Sunday mornings, I am a Jaywalker. But not in Rush hours. That's my commentary on this one. Have a good one!
so you would say "ich respektiere sie"/"i respect you" "herr müller können sie das nochmal erklären?"/"mr müller could you explain that again" or "kennst du die serie"/"you know that show?" "hey alex gib mal die fernbedienung"/"hey alex hand over the remote"
Germans are more likely to follow the rules if there is a kid across the street so even people that often jaywalk don't want to be the bad example to not lead them to imitate. Kids have to learn how fast cars approach and if theres enough time to cross the street. So by imitating jaywalkers would result in way more accidents where kids are involved.
Pfand, in the end, is at least halfway a scam. It does make sense for beverage-markets so the bottles can just instantly get reused by the factories, but on plastic and even cans it doesn't. Modern recycling plants can filter this stuff out properly and easily in automated fashion. Effectively this just holds your trash hostage, especially when you are sick at home longterm, as I was for a couple years. I just didn't have quite a lot of variety in drinks because I didn't want piles of Pfand standing around. And I am certainly not leaving that out on the street for allegedly homeless people. That's my money, I paid for it, and I get as little as they do. We get the same money, and there is no way you need to be homeless in Germany unless you really want to. If you think you need more because you blow it all on booze and drugs, that's a you-problem, and I am not supporting that either. There are people made a living out of collecting Pfand on specific routes on the street and on trains, to the point they made 2000-3000 € a month. The term "Pfand-Baron" was around for a while. The Left Wing Parties insisted on adding "Pfand-Holders" to trashcans (of which are there too few nowadays imho), for those poor homeless people (see above). They spent extra tax Euros to make us give our money to those people out of laziness. They're not used much by the way, but I'm sure those Parties feel good about having done something totally helpful, instead of something actually useful, as always. Of course I profited from this system too once. I mainly drink tea, so I don't create "Pfand", but my flatmate was drowning in the piles of cheap orange soda bottles. When I offered to bring them away he was fine with it, and even said by himself that I could keep the money, he was just happy it was gone. That made me about 17€ every month. Or was it two weeks? He drank a lot of that stuff... I'd say the only argument it makes for plastic bottles is that they'd otherwise clog up too much volume in trashcans, but that's kinda it. It's really annoying when you're on a trip, just want to get some small refreshment, and then have to carry your trash around with you, because you can't just throw it away.
btw: 8 cents for small glass bottles you can argue for. but 25 cents for large plastic bottles and cans? That's just insane. The Greens wanted to raise that even further. Imagine paying 1 buck for your drink and then another 50 cents to keep hostage. There's a point you can argue, and a point where it gets silly.
Refund for plastic bottles: They have it in Denmark too. Imagine you are the stranger Paul Miller: I would approach you with: guten Tag, Herr Miller, Sie (you/they) haben etwas vergessen... Of which the "you" means "they"... I hate people paying with cash and counting their coins. Which Germans do even at the supermarket!! Small talk: yes we do to the neighbors.
15:18 well, the norm is like that. But: there are also "Textilsaunas" - in those people have swimsuits and stuff. For the naked ones, if you feel uncomfortable to go in full naked, nobody will care if you having the towel around you. It's ok if you are a bit shy here. But getting in a naked sauna with swim suit feels kinda sus to every other in there. Like: "Is he/she only in here to peek at naked people? Creepy". You get it. And you're absolutely correct here. We (as people who goes into saunas) don't see it in a sexual way. It's kinda the same level as practicing sport training. It's healthy for your body and soul. You wouldn't automatically think in a sexual way, when you see people playing football, right?
There is no law prohibiting you from wearing clothes in saunas in Germany. But it is some kind of common rule or rule you (have) to adhere when you go there.
The thing about water at german restaurants is pretty simple to explain: people running restaurants are nutorious on skipping every tax they can and having both tap and bottled water on the menue at once would make it so freaking easy for restaurant owners to scam gouvernments out of taxes: you´re making your money selling a 9€ bottle of water but the waiter isn´t tabbing "bottle" at the machine but "tap", you can screw over gouvernment on taxes by millions with just water, that´s why you won´t get it in Europe as long as your gouvernment isn´t all corrupted.
@@arnodobler1096 No it´s not and working in the industry isns´t making the laws for the industry dude. One of my former bosses had millions of € just sitting on his office floor made due to unregistred sales (events) at the end of evey year, so don´t act like you know what´s going on, working isn´t owning a business in that industry either. The NRA can´t track how much tap water was used for washing/ cleaning and what was sold, but they can way easier track the water bottles you buy and sale, not hard to understand man.
it´s not the way that we´ll tell you : NO don´t do this! my bday is tomorrow! it´s just not... the way you said. why should i? it´s just nothing that makes sense in our minds.
19:00 YOU the foreigner should not jaywalk, because you are not familiar with the streets. I don't jaywalk in a foreign city unless in obvious places. The claim that you shouldn't in general is nonsense, and it is a very state/city-different issue. In my homestate of Brandenburg, jaywalking is the norm. It is quite rural and even the cities are simple to navigate. We teach our children to always look both ways on a street, even at a traffic light, and that eventually leads to the kids figuring out when it is safest to walk, and that it is nonsensical to wait for the green light when it is THEN that some right-turning car gets green at the same time. So you just cross at another section of the road earlier on your way, when you know your way. Especially with one-way-roads it is utterly silly to wait for a green light when you can see no car for a hundred meters. When I was in Brunswick however, the people were just glued to the lights and only walked then. They didn't think at all. The accident rate in that city is also much higher - for various reasons. However, there's major one-way-streets and they are so badly redesigned that even these thoughtless robot-people are starting to ignore the lights and just cross those roads wherever. When you see the next car is 200m or more away and is still stuck at its own red light, why by all that is good and reasonable should you wait for it for minutes to get green, come closer to you, just so that it can stop right in front of you when you get your next green? Also, in Berlin there are various spots where it makes sense to cross even the busy roads and use the central stripes/islands as stops. You're not going to get anywhere in any time otherwise. Even old people do it. The important thing is to keep a steady predictable pace. There are also crossings made in some places in some cities that are really just renovated or built little middle-of-the-road-islands without any zebra-crossings or traffic lights, to quasi-split the road into two one-way-roads that are easy to cross where people where doing that for decades (if not centuries) anyway. No brainrotting lights needed. I believe, a smart culture pays attention to the road no matter what it uses its surroundings to get around in a balance of safety and speed to achieve best convenience, instead of just waiting when the authoritarian law-light from big brother tells you what to do. Listening to that light got me almost run over twice in Brunswick. I had green. I should have been safe, but the old man who couldn't look past his wheel also had green, and so did the racer dude a year later. The light does not protect you, it does not mean safety.
Saunas in Germany: if you enter the sauna area: there is a sign, telling you "textile free area". You got to have no swim suits on! You may have your towel around. Nudity has no link to sexuality
3:55 "Du" (2nd person singular - eng "You") when you speak with people on a first name basis or with children. "Sie" (3rd person plural - eng "they") when on a last name basis. Like Mr/Mrs Baker. It is a form of the "royal plural" for politeness and professional distance. When you say "your honour" to a judge, you speak in the royal plural, as do we "Euer Ehren." It is not the full foyal plural, just this in the middle kind of version. The Left Wing Parties have always tried to do away with this and address everyone with the informal "Du" as they try to fake cameraderie, and that we're somehow all friends with each other. It is not just rude, but at worst seen as infantilising as well as manipulative when someone "Duzt" the wrong person. It is like the crossing of a personal boundary reserved for friends and family that is violated. People can tolerate this more in many situations, but when someone one finds repulsive or you want to recreate distance towards because you noticed the slimy manipulative way of that person trying to act all buddybuddy with you, a harsh "Für Sie immer noch Sie!" escapes people. Meaning something like "For thou still thou!"
5:56 The first two verses of the anthem are not forbidden (that's a rumour) - they are simply no longer relevant, contemporary and also geograhically incorrect, for example because of the rivers Maas, Etsch, Belt and Memel..... And of course - "Germany above all"....😏 😉 That's not really appropriate in general....
In Sweden Pfand (Pant in Swedish) has been around since 1984, so 40 years next year! It is strange that many countries are still not doing it.
Its becous you have to pay the Pfand frst and than get it back when you return it so you dooing goods for the worlds helth by tricking your people to beleve they can get a bit of money out of it
@@theon__ Ha? This means the plastic is recycled
@@Meridyan so what? Its exactly as i sayed. Doing goods like recycleing plastic but geting no extra money becous you get what you payeded. Its like a piggy bank. Pay Pfand and then return it to get the payed Pfand back.
@@theon__ well you get returned the worth of the plastic which you wouldnt if you trash it
@@Batista77387 thanks for saying exactly the Same as i did in my First coment but letting Out the fact that it brings you nothing excapt doing goods for the Environment.
I don't know about the UK but in the US they have these little barriers (don't know the exact word) where you can't pass to the underground without a ticket, but in Germany the entrance is possible without a ticket. So tourists might think that they don't need a ticket. But they check in the metro undercover.
also busses and trains
About the birthday: It also has to do with the fact that people in Germany believe that early birthday wishes mean bad luck. In the past it was believed that it would bring about death and that one would not live to see one's birthday. But no one actually believes that part anymore.
The no swimming outfits in a sauna is a health based rule. Swimming water has chlorine in it and it's not healthy to breathe it in waporized. Only exception is a certain logo in your swimming outfit only granted for privacy due to medical reasons such as breast cancer, stoma or being transgerder.
Use a shower before Sauna should rinse out
little correction on the anthem part, the first two verses (the first one being the deutschland, deutschland über alles) are not supposed to be sung, true (the third one being the current anthem). They were used by the party during their regime but it is older than their existance, so to call it their anthem is a bit wrong, same as to say the swastika is theirs. Yes, they misappropriated both (and more) so people will relate those to the times, which isn't wrong and it is still right not to use them because of the way they were used. Just to clarify, that they did steal it and misused the meaning.
Btw, I am a bit vague in my writing, as UA-cam is overly sensitive on this topic and likes to avoid it instead of clarifying stuff (typical american sentiment, better to ignore the bad stuff instead of accepting it and trying to do better).
Also a litte tidbit about misusing the first verse of the anthem, "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" means "Germany, Germany above all", which the party used in the way that germans stand above all else, while the original meaning stems from the time Germany was made up of multiple states and not unified. The meaning then was, that a united Germany is more important than the independance of the multiple smaller german states. So yeah, time and context can changes meanings (sadly more often than not in a bad way).
Well, enough rambling, nice reaction and I wish you a great weekend (for people reading this in the future, it is Saturday :D )
Thanks for the clarification, and being a German myself I can underline your words.
I agree on almost every point, except the one with the swastika. The swastika wasn't stolen like many people claim, the symbol came up in many cultures, mostly in germanic and indo-germanic cultures.
I totally agree with the swastika but the black swastika turned 45° to the right in a white circle and red background is totally invented by the Nazis. And I think it's a no-go to sing "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles in der Welt" It still means "Germany, Germany over all in the world" that Germany is "the chosen Folk" and it's clearly nationalistic whether the Nazis invented it or not.
If you want to know more about the two languages,react to the brilliant video:how anyone,including you,can read german.it's so well made.😊
Apfelkuchen 😉
Du/Sie both just mean 'you', so you do not have add the name after that. But people who offered you to address them with Du or people your age (if you're younger... people under 25 usually just use 'Du' with each other) you can also address them by their first name.
You can say 'Du, Firstname...' if you want to grab their attention. As in 'Du, Diana, kannst du mir das Salz geben?' which basically means 'Hey you, Diana, can you give me the salt?' But you could have just as well only said 'Diana, kannst du mir das Salz geben?' or only 'Kannst du mir das Salz geben?' The first Du in 'Du, Diana...' is really just meant as an attention grabber.
Sie and Du just as 'you' are pronouns (literally noun-replacers) so you do not need to add the name after them.
If you want to address someone by their last name - because you are on 'Sie' basis - you have to add 'Herr' (Mr.) or 'Frau' (Ms./Mrs.) before their name to make it make sense grammatically.
To get back to our passing the salt examples:
Herr Schmidt, können Sie mir bitte das Salz geben? (Mr. Schmidt, kann you please hand me the salt)
Frau Schmidt, können Sie mir bitte das Salz geben? (Mrs. Schmidt, kann you please hand me the salt)
Können Sie mir bitte das Salz geben (Can you please hand me the salt)
Diana, kannst du mir bitte das Salz geben (Diana, can you please hand me the salt)
Kannst du mir bitte das Salz geben (Can you please hand me the salt)
Du, Diana, kannst du mir bitte das Salz geben (Hey you, Diana, kann you please hand me the salt)
I once heard a good sentence in an English course. The English "You" is the German "Sie".
It certainly won't be 100% accurate, but it certainly comes close.
The "Sie" is extremely important in German as it signals the personal distance to the person you are talking to and at the same time reflects the respect that goes with it. Addressing strangers as "du" is rude and often intended to provoke. There are exceptions to this, however, and this is the case in shops where it is part of the sales strategy to create a better sales climate with a personal form of address.
In English, the you is regulated by paying very strict attention to which topics are addressed to the dialogue partner and how. The direct German way does not exist. If I am wrong, please let me know.
This was VERY detailed!!!😂 Hope, the Brit now understands. No, sorry, I was just kidding....
Deana and Phil have been often reacted to by US-Americans. I found it very interesting how US-comments differ from yours, espacially when it comes to privacy or nudity. The gossip-thing is a ty
He isn't from the US but from Great Brittain, that's why his views can be a lot different than most US People
I think they missed one very special thing - the rest on sunday after 12 o'Clock noon . Most people get really mad, if you make loud noises like driling, mow the lawn or something equally. This is a big DON'T ( I kinda understand it since I am a mother, but well, some people exaggerate it)
I live in Germany and in my social circle it is even pretty common to have houseshoes for guests so they don't get cold feet. Or if someone is staying rather often that they have a pair of houseshoes or "Stoppersocken" ( Socks with those stuff under them so you don't slip) at your home for when they are visiting. Even in kindergarten and my primary school we left our shoes outside the classroom and changed into houseshoes before entering. There was like coathängers and a shelf where you can put your stuff. I think it is quite common for kindergartens to do that here in Germany. I don't know if all primary schools do that though. Also pretty common to have separate shoes for gym class and also for the fitness studio. Apparently that's not a thing in America which I find so weird. Like so gross with all the dirt - especially if you have to touch the floor for some exercises in gym class. Some schools even require you to have a different set of gym shoes for when you do sports outside like on the tracks etc.
Yes, the formal calling is "Sie" to "Mr Smith" but if you on a friendly base you would say "du" and the first Name " Paul". And english is teatched very early in some schools from the first Grade to the End. In some schools it s mandotary for your degree.
The shoes in the house thing ... when I grew up (~40 years ago) almost every german house had carpets, which are hard to clean - exspecially if your shoes were wet and/or dirty. Nowadays it's mostly stone or wooden floor and easier to clean. So no big deal! BUT: we have a stone floor which is cool in the summer and warm in the winter, because of our floor heating system. So actually you want to take of your shoes as it feels so good! :)
14:30 I think you could wish a for a fun party, a good day or something, but not the actual Happy-Birthday-line. It's one of those things you just don't say before it happens due to bad luck, along the proverb of "Don't praise the day before its eve."
man kann auch sagen zum geburtstag viel glück auf deutsch aber bringt unglück
I think speaking to strangers is more common in rural areas, at least greeting people is. So, if you encounter people in the city, obviously you would not greet them because there are just too many. But if you would encounter someone in a forest, at the country site or on a walkway or something similar, you would greet them. But it also really depends on the city/region. In Cologne for example, people will more likely start a conversation with strangers than in Hamburg.
All da best!😊
Yes, it's not allowed to have any clothes on. I learned that my first time in the sauna in germany. It was also my first sauna experience ever. There was a sauna worker that was about to do an "Aufguss" (an infusion, where they out water with a variety of (aromas from natural oils). I didn't understood german that well back then but i undressed in front of everyone in the sauna and learned my lesson 😀
There is no general rule with shoes. Best to ask. It always depends on the weather and the floor covering.
With shopping carts, people are conditioned in some ways like Pavlov's dogs. Many cars are no longer locked and people still return them. We once misused one as a mobile beer dispenser. We brought it back after a few days.
To the Birthday thing - there is the superstition that early birtdayh wishes bring bad luck. So it is not common to do that. To Sauna it is for hygenic reasons. - before you go in you have to shower too. If someone goes in with clothes they migh be bring in dirt and bacteria - and bacterias love hot and steamy rooms. It isn't elegal but sauna operators prohibit it. ^^"
hahaa mate, i love your videos :D Go on. greetings from a german
same here in Germany with tab water :D
Him saying “should I be concerned?” was sooo German 😅
The quiet hours are actually a law and the Police will inforce it. There are examtions for stuff like birthday parties and stuff but you would have to inform your neighbors and get their permission. Even than, if it is to loud, so that like a person 2 streets away gets angry about it, the Police will still show up and tell you to turn it down a bit.
Fun fact, the German "Du" is a cognate to the English "thou".
We drive on the left side of the road. But on several lanes , the most left is for fast drivers and the most right for slowest (like trucks). Overtaking on the right side is forbidden, so people will close up to you and honk if you block the left lane.
I think only Brits and former british colonies drive on the right side.
The "free water" thing is the same in Germany: you have to ask for tap water and it might be frowned upon, but it still is a human right to get a glass of water.
"Du" is second person singular and informal. This is used in sport clubs, the family or with people you know.
"Sie" is third person plural and you use it with authorities or strngers if you are not in an evironment like a sports club.
It is similar like the Old English "You" and "Thou".
It is just one way to be polite. Therefore with "du" you use the first name and with "sie" you use the last name.
"Klaus, hast du meine Schlüssel gesehen?" "Klaus, did you saw my keys?"
"Hr. Müller, wissen Sie wo wir uns treffen?" "Mr. Miller, do you know, where we will meet?"
Every German since at least 1991 (in Western Germany even before) learns English, usually as their first foreign language for at least six years, starting with British English and after some years moving on to American English.
Small Talk with neigbours is common, but not with strangers.
We have spare slippers for guests.
Well I saw such wishes in the UK. And I was wondering, as in Germany this brings bad luck.
I made a video on birthday with the reason on this.
After WW2 in the British occupaid zone, the first nudism clubs were allowed to open.
The climate in the UK is warmer in Winter and colder in Summer.
When I waited at a red traffic light in Lincoln and other pedastrians passed, one asked me: "You are from Germany, right?"
Sie is not third person plural, it's also second person singular. SIE, third person plural is like THEY in English
And you also can use the SIE together with the first name, if you are bit more familiar with somebody
About the beaches: It means a beach at a lake. And it's a bit warmer in Germany than in UK.
8:00 If you throw a party, it is usually sufficient if you hang a note by the main door as well as adjacent numbers on the street as a warning, and you will likely not have any trouble unless it escalates too much.
We also have quiet hours in the day between 1-3pm, however those do not count for construction workers of any kind for their jobs. But you're not supposed to use large drills or hammers and such during those hours. It is not enforced everywhere though. It is more a thing of mutual respect and a golden rule thing. The Sunday-Quiet however... that can get people antsy more quickly.
I as a german am NOT USED to take my shoes off when I visit another House and I do not expect others to tak their shoes off when they visit me. My Frends and relatives act the same way.
On the other hand, we all have house shoes. If we come home we turn our shoes off and pull our house shoes on. But we do not expect that from visitors.
And wishing happy birtday in advance might lead to bad karma! 😅
7:00 I once gossiped in a club about a man standing far away from me! Suddenly he came to me very angry and complaining about my rude talking....
I learned, that he was deaf and did lip reading.....that was very embarrassing for me....😔😉
It wasn't a german-english thing, but with a kind of foreing communucating. 😅
Greetings from Germany 🙋🏻♀️
Usually we learn some English at school,it depends on which school you go, how much Englisch you learn.
When there are pedestrian traffic lights or "zebra crossings" (broad, white stripes -- think of the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album cover) across the street, you're supposed to use them, mainly for safety reasons -- and to set a good example for children, even if you have to make a slight detour. Pedestrians even have right of way over cars at zebra crossings. However, there's no problem at all with crossing a residential street, say, without them, provided you use appropriate caution for traffic.
18:03 Beaches ar rare in germany too but we had nudety areas in local swimming pools. not in every one becous many of them didnt have the room to have a seperate area were kids arent alowed and you have to be naked but some swimingpools have that. espacaly when they are outside and not indor
11:14 min, in Vienna they are free fountain of cold and warm water in some places. Its from the water company of vienna and cost nothing.👍
18:25 min Aldi take in US also coins for the shopping cart. 🙂
The Sauna Thing:
There are two basic types of saunas, the dry sauna and the steam sauna. The dry sauna is also called a Finnish sauna. The steam sauna is often called a Roman sauna.
The Finnish sauna was mentioned in the video and the fact that you don't wear swimming costumes in the sauna has to do with ensuring hygiene. The clothes could be dirty/full of germs and bacteria. Before going to the sauna, you have to shower with soap/shower gel so that you can then sweat with a clean body. You sit on the sauna towel so that the sweat can be caught there. Naked skin should never touch the wood in the sauna, this is unhygienic. This applies to the Finnish sauna.
This is not the case in the Roman sauna, where everything is wet due to the steam. You don't take a towel with you and go into the sauna completely naked. Everything there is tiled, so no wood. The general rule is to shower before and after using the sauna, even if you then go into a cold plunge pool.
If you are unsure about the sauna rules, you can ask the staff or sauna guests.
Cash is a psychological thing, to a lot of us. It´s a matter of saving money, subconsciously. You don´t want to give that stuff away, so you buy less.
With cards, phone payments and all that, it´s way easier to overspend, cause you´re not physically connected to your currency anymore.
When you Germany not right rycle you get help. My personal experience was how leave home had my first home and the neighbourghs helped me often it was an old lady such a nice person made ever day food for me because i was a bit small and thin and i helped her shopping. But i would say at the end with pfand and where too put the trash is from Bundesland too Bundesland diffrent and sometimes from town too town or even in the city some district want too do it more some some do nothing.
And then there is the "Hamburger Sie". Means: Addressing someone with the polite version of "you" ("Sie") and the first Name of the Person.
Didn't know it's called "Hamburger Sie". Is there also a "Hamburger Du"? I can remember that a colleague of mine called another by: Frau M. kannst du mal... I was irritated.
3:38 About the name with last name and "Sie".
I will give you an example.
You wouldn't talk to you teacher in school like: "Hi Paul!" you would say "Hi Mr Wilkins!". Same here.
for example: We use the "formal" therm for persons we don't know closer and/or teachers and bosses.
But: we use the "informal" version for like friends and family. Because we belong closer. I think you might get the point here.
14:41 my mother told me it's like wishing bad luck upon the person having their birthday. like "Happy birthday in advance" is supposed to bring bad luck. so yeah, it is a superstition/formal/cultural thing
In Danmark gives Pfand for bottles & cans too. their Pfund symbole looka a bit different to ours, but its black-white too. Sometimes i see in our litten Danish Pfand,i collect it too for whenever i will visit denmark again next time, so i not need to change my money , i only buy with danish Pfand ^^
Ps:
Sprudelwasser = water with Gas (bubbling water)
You can determine the level of a Civilization by the amount of shopping carts being put back vs littered.
About the birthday wishes…
We also have the saying: du sollst den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben.
You shall not praise the day before the evening - because something could still happen to spoil it.
Similarly: der Ball ist rund und das Spiel hat 90 Minuten.
The (foot-) ball is round and the game has 90 minutes.
If you feel too confident of victory before you could still lose.
About the free tab water in UK: I think that's actually pretty much the same in Germany. It is a human right so you can ask for that and it should be for free. But not many people know that, so that is barely practiced.
In Germany, you'll have had English lessons at least for 4 years in school, typically more and/or additional years in school, while in vocational training or at university. For example, I had regular English lessons for 14 years. Only people who went to school East Germany before the reunion, really old people and some people who immigrated might not understand English. You should expect to be understood well when talking English in Germany.
15:56 not illegal by law, but people will frown upon it hard, or the bath itself will disallow it on a sales contract basis.
The too early birthday wish is to avoid because of "bad luck" - but it's treated with a 😉, not taken serious, but also nevertheless not that accepted.....! 😅
Regarding understanding English: Almost all kids in Germany start to learn English quite early, it's usually the first foreign language we learn. And it is usually mandatory until you leave school. So, most kids in Germany learned English for at least 4 yours, and if you are going to the Gymnasium, you will have had 8 or 9 years of Germany. Furthermore, if you are going to University, depending on the field you are studying, there is a good chance that some of your courses are in English. And in some fields, for example, Computer Science, a very high percentage of master theses and PhD thesis will be done in English instead of German.
Hi again. :)
A deposit is a small amount on bottles and cans when you return them to the supermarkets.
E.g. A reusable bottle is usually 8 or 15 cents, whereas a disposable bottle is uniformly 25 cents. You get these few cents per bottle at the machine or you first get a receipt that you hand in at the checkout.
Yes, the Germans get really angry when they drive cars on the roads. Sometimes very entertaining, but often very tiring and unpleasant. Typically German. xD
What is meant is the non-name address. So without addressing the person by name. For this we have 2 words Du and Sie. In English you only have the you.
The Du is more likely to be used among family and friends, the Sie is more likely to be used among colleagues and strangers you don't know. The Sie is a form of respect or a respectful address. The Sie is equated with the Mr. or Mrs. The Du is friendly or also familial. That Sie (you) don't confuse with Sie (they).
Disturbances at night can even lead to serious consequences if you don't stick to it. This can range from warnings to termination of the apartment or even high fines, some of which can reach up to 15 000 €.
In Germany, people also congratulate you on your birthday belatedly if you missed it. This is completely normal.
You guys rarely go to Germany. Sad. I would like to have more of you Brits over here. Nice going to Cologne, Bremen or Berlin!
the nazi stuff, its not "like forbiden", it can get you in deep judical shit,...
the first verse of the anthem is not used, but not illegal, obnoxious yes but not illegal
About the saune and nakedness: The reason for that rule is hygiene primarily. Saunas are either textile or non textile saunas. There is another hidden reason though. Wearing something in the non-textile saunas would invite perverts (peeping toms). They could get in there and conceal what they are actualy up to.
i met a british guy in my apartment house that moved his business to germany . i asked him why and he said " because the weather is so good in Germany compared to the UK.😳
Actually english is a version of old german, with some influences from french and celtic. So there a lot of similarities in words. Especially word stems.
14:10 Of course you can wish people a Happy Birthday late if you missed it or didn't know it yet. You simply say "Alles Gute nachträglich." - "nachträglich" lit. "after-carriedishly"; it's an inbuilt apology.
However, I have never heard of ANYWHERE being okay with giving birthday congratulations beforehand either. It is a bad omen, brings bad luck to do so. Very weird point...
The birthday thing is a superstition. Basically, demons could hear the wishes and then you may not live long enough to reach said birthday.
Jaywalking: you mostly get taught by the people not to do that...😮!
16:02 It depends on House rule. If the owner says no clothes and its writen in the house rule than yes its forbiden but if its not writen in the house rule than no one can say anything to you and we also have Saunas where you can go in bathing clothes but they so rare so i cant actualy go to 90% of saunas in germany becous i dont want to get fully nude infront of strangers. If in know he person very good ore its family ore close friends then ok but a person like you i dont know much than absolutly no go
In Germany, no one will call the police if so. enters in their bathing suit, but he will most possibly attract many views from other people.... But unless like in Finland, where nudity in the Sauna is the standard, in Germany many people won't go to the Sauna because they feel ashamed.
"Sie" In German is the same Word as "sie" meaning they or them, plural. So it most possibly stems from the old times when you had to address your landlord or king in plural.
Actually, the "Sie" is from the 18. century. Before that, German used the 2nd person plural ("ihr"), just like English did and does. Only the English dropped the informal 2. person singular totally, and adress everyone with the formal "you".
Happy birthday in advance brings you bad luck. Its an ancient superstition that goes way back to the days before christianity
I work in a big Sauna as a Saunamaster…..in Germany…English People Are always very upset….they don‘t want to be naked….but we have „TextilSaunas“in Germany…there it is allowed to Go to the Sauna in BathingClothes…but they Are rate,always small
Jaywalk in Germany is not the only ridiculous punishment here. I mean it's dangerous to cycle while being drunken but if you have over 1.6‰, your car driving licence can be impounded and you have to make the MPU which is a very hard test to get back your licence.
I really have no idea where this "take your shoes off in the house" thing comes from. We don't do it, our families, friends and neighbors don't do it either. If it's snowy, muddy or very wet outside, you can get asked politely, or you can offer to take your shoes off -- especially if your host has wall-to-wall carpeting or maybe parquet floors that might get dirty or damaged -- but it's generally NOT a requirement. (However, house shoes or slippers are very much A Thing, so many Germans will switch their outdoor shoes for them as a matter of comfort in their own homes.)
19:49 Yes and no. Dont do it if the Police is near you and your 100% fine but if a Policeman/women is near you than they better have a lucky day ore you pay 15-30€
Birthday wishes in advance: Yes, that's superstition. Supposedly it brings bad luck.
I thouht the good old Pfandsystem was invented by King Friedrich II. in 1642?
5:16 the fact that he pointed out this, is because we faced (for example) Americans over in Germany doing this type of stuff. And you can get arrested for it. No joke.
Finland is no 1 recyclin of botteles and cans
Nude-Beach in England? Yes, England have them... Brighton Naturist Beach for example is one of the more known ones.
Theoretically it is illegal to jaywalk but I have never seen that someone would get a fine for it. I think the official fine is like 5 or 10 Euro maybe.. in big cities it is quite common to jaywalk but not as common as in the UK I think. When I've been to London I recognized that it is way more common there. But I would not say that jaywalking is frowned upon.. maybe by elderly people. But the only rule that Germans take REALLY seriously is to never jaywalk when there is a child that can see you. Because you are a role model and children should learn not to cross the road when there is a red light, even if they think the road is clear. So, it is important that they see adults following this rule.
Hi, German here. Talking about taking off shoes while entering houses/flad. The much worser thing I see quite often in american tv-shows is, that they even wear shoes while lying/jumping on couch/beds with all the dirt from the outside including dog-pee or something else. It's just disgusting.
A good rule of thumb for nudity in Germany is "is it practical/useful?", practical nudity is not sexualized. Meaning advertisements for showers/baths may have undressed women, or you will see men in the parks taking their shirts off in the summer heat to play football together or women to sunbathe (their backs, i have not seen nacked torsos outside of beaches). For saunas there are options for saunas that allow bathing suits, they're called "textil Sauna", you may keep a towel on if you wish, but a lot of older people go fully naked. There are women only saunas, to make women feel safer than in mixed saunas.
Jaywalking actually is NOT a minor thing in Germany. It’s not fined as much because so many people still do it but crossing a red light in German traffic law is the worst crime you can commit, by car or foot doesn’t matter. If a police person has a bad day they could take away your license.
In Germany, you don't just walk across the street during the day because children can see it, but at night it's no problem. You have to be a role model for the children. Imagine everyone just walks across the street, the children see them, and you are Guilt because you didn't wait until the light turned green and a child was hit by a car
If you wish "Happy Birthday" in advance in Germany,we belive it creates bad luck.
Who wears clothes in the Sauna!?
I am honestly shocked to hear anyone would even want to...
13:57 this is kinda funny, you might love it. If I remember correctly, it's a "bad luck" thing. So in modern times the very most of us will not be "offended" or so. But every culture has their superstition, right?
I think the Pfand thing will be soon mandatory in the whole EU. You pay a deposit even in romania since jan 2024. You get it back after bringing back the bottle.
Luv y
6:05 He's not entirely correct on this. The song is still the same, the "Deutschlandlied" (Germany-Song / more appropriately "Song of the Germans"), it's just that we only sing one stanza of it. It is not "The Nazi Anthem" either, it was adopted in the Weimar Republic (A very Red Socialist time). The "Deutschland Deutschland über alles" is the first stanza and because to the thin skinned it can be described as nationalistic instead of patriotic plus the fact that it describes Germany's borders four rivers that are not within or at its borders anymore. Why the 2nd stanza is omitted I do not understand, because every good anthem sings about the nice things its people are proud of "German Women, German Loyalty, German Wine and German Song shall retain in the world (existence) their old beautiful sound. (And) Inspire us to noble deeds as long as we live." - The wikipedia translations claims to be literal, but literally is not; this here is way more literal.
The 3rd stanza goes "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" which is also wrongly translated on wikipedia as "Unity and Justice and Freedom", but it is "Law" and not "Justice" that the song invokes.
Which... in modern days sounds kind of scary like Judge Dredd. Justice is to Law what Gerechtigkeit is to Recht (Gesetz). Not every Law is just, and Law doesn't always make Justice... a good Law seeks to approximate Justice as good as it can. A bad law, well, humanity has a few more of those. . .
So why this horrid choice of words for a combination that sounds like a Fascist dictatorship that somehow gives you Freedom after those first two?
Because this area of the continent was the literal Brother's Grimm ("Disney") fairytale kingdoms around every corner. Walk an hour in that direction, new castle, new fiefdom, new ruler, new law, still all Germans.
The Unity speaks of bringing all that together under one banner, ending the ludicrous tariff system (there were jokes above throwing a piece of wood into a river, and by evening it would have drifted so far that the tariffs on it from crossing so many borders would cost enough to build a castle), as well as bring "One Law for All" - hence "Law" and not "Justice." Then it makes sense why you could get Freedom out of that at the end. You would have more freedom because travel and trade is easier. But putting those words up without context... honestly sounds a bit scary, the more you know about politics.
And while the Socialist East German Anthem "Risen from Ruins" has a nice ring to it, I would never ever want to elevate anything that came out of that hellhole to something memorable.
That ideology, whether red (Weimar, East Germany) or brown (Hitler), or now in Green (Green Parties are Maoist Parties at their core), this ideology has brought nothing but death and misery about us - and not just us, but every people that has had to deal with it.
I know you surely don't want this to become a political channel, yet with this topic, and the history and politics associated with that, it is a bit inevitable in the moment.
I hope this comment could help unravel a part of German history that is seldom gone into, especially by foreigners.
The correct English term for the Pfand-machines is actually "reverse vending machine" - which I, as a German, find absolutely GREAT!
Du, Paul - Sie, Mr. Müller
And hey, I have subscribed! - to YOUR channel 😉
Germany, too, is becoming more and more cash-less. But there are still places where you can only pay cash.
In Germany, it really is illegal to wear clothes in a Sauna - and that is in the whole Sauna area! You are, of course, allowed to drape a towel around your gender-significant body parts. But yes, I've seen people been thrown out because they refused to get rid of their clothes. I think there is a thought of "either everyone or no one" behind that. So if you go to the Sauna to see naked people, you're at least forced to expose yourself. Or even: If you cannot see other people naked without getting visibly aroused (especially men), the public Sauna is not for you.
On Sunday mornings, I am a Jaywalker. But not in Rush hours.
That's my commentary on this one. Have a good one!
A lot is typically Europe, but still new for Americans.
so you would say "ich respektiere sie"/"i respect you" "herr müller können sie das nochmal erklären?"/"mr müller could you explain that again" or "kennst du die serie"/"you know that show?" "hey alex gib mal die fernbedienung"/"hey alex hand over the remote"
Germans are more likely to follow the rules if there is a kid across the street so even people that often jaywalk don't want to be the bad example to not lead them to imitate. Kids have to learn how fast cars approach and if theres enough time to cross the street. So by imitating jaywalkers would result in way more accidents where kids are involved.
Correct, it's you Paul and Sie Mr/Mrs Schmidt
I also wouldn't mind if someone would wish me a happy birthday in advance. Am german but not superstitious.
Pfand, in the end, is at least halfway a scam.
It does make sense for beverage-markets so the bottles can just instantly get reused by the factories, but on plastic and even cans it doesn't. Modern recycling plants can filter this stuff out properly and easily in automated fashion. Effectively this just holds your trash hostage, especially when you are sick at home longterm, as I was for a couple years. I just didn't have quite a lot of variety in drinks because I didn't want piles of Pfand standing around. And I am certainly not leaving that out on the street for allegedly homeless people. That's my money, I paid for it, and I get as little as they do. We get the same money, and there is no way you need to be homeless in Germany unless you really want to. If you think you need more because you blow it all on booze and drugs, that's a you-problem, and I am not supporting that either.
There are people made a living out of collecting Pfand on specific routes on the street and on trains, to the point they made 2000-3000 € a month. The term "Pfand-Baron" was around for a while. The Left Wing Parties insisted on adding "Pfand-Holders" to trashcans (of which are there too few nowadays imho), for those poor homeless people (see above). They spent extra tax Euros to make us give our money to those people out of laziness. They're not used much by the way, but I'm sure those Parties feel good about having done something totally helpful, instead of something actually useful, as always.
Of course I profited from this system too once. I mainly drink tea, so I don't create "Pfand", but my flatmate was drowning in the piles of cheap orange soda bottles. When I offered to bring them away he was fine with it, and even said by himself that I could keep the money, he was just happy it was gone. That made me about 17€ every month. Or was it two weeks? He drank a lot of that stuff... I'd say the only argument it makes for plastic bottles is that they'd otherwise clog up too much volume in trashcans, but that's kinda it.
It's really annoying when you're on a trip, just want to get some small refreshment, and then have to carry your trash around with you, because you can't just throw it away.
btw: 8 cents for small glass bottles you can argue for. but 25 cents for large plastic bottles and cans? That's just insane.
The Greens wanted to raise that even further.
Imagine paying 1 buck for your drink and then another 50 cents to keep hostage. There's a point you can argue, and a point where it gets silly.
Refund for plastic bottles: They have it in Denmark too. Imagine you are the stranger Paul Miller: I would approach you with: guten Tag, Herr Miller, Sie (you/they) haben etwas vergessen... Of which the "you" means "they"... I hate people paying with cash and counting their coins. Which Germans do even at the supermarket!! Small talk: yes we do to the neighbors.
Its not ILLEGAL to go into a Sauna with clothes😂. That would be wild!!
15:18 well, the norm is like that. But: there are also "Textilsaunas" - in those people have swimsuits and stuff. For the naked ones, if you feel uncomfortable to go in full naked, nobody will care if you having the towel around you. It's ok if you are a bit shy here. But getting in a naked sauna with swim suit feels kinda sus to every other in there. Like: "Is he/she only in here to peek at naked people? Creepy". You get it.
And you're absolutely correct here. We (as people who goes into saunas) don't see it in a sexual way. It's kinda the same level as practicing sport training. It's healthy for your body and soul. You wouldn't automatically think in a sexual way, when you see people playing football, right?
There is no law prohibiting you from wearing clothes in saunas in Germany. But it is some kind of common rule or rule you (have) to adhere when you go there.
I'm not sure about FKK beaches. It might be more than just a rule there.
This Shoe of IS Not normal in Germany.
The thing about water at german restaurants is pretty simple to explain: people running restaurants are nutorious on skipping every tax they can and having both tap and bottled water on the menue at once would make it so freaking easy for restaurant owners to scam gouvernments out of taxes: you´re making your money selling a 9€ bottle of water but the waiter isn´t tabbing "bottle" at the machine but "tap", you can screw over gouvernment on taxes by millions with just water, that´s why you won´t get it in Europe as long as your gouvernment isn´t all corrupted.
I have worked in the industry in Germany all my life. This is nonsense.
@@arnodobler1096 No it´s not and working in the industry isns´t making the laws for the industry dude. One of my former bosses had millions of € just sitting on his office floor made due to unregistred sales (events) at the end of evey year, so don´t act like you know what´s going on, working isn´t owning a business in that industry either. The NRA can´t track how much tap water was used for washing/ cleaning and what was sold, but they can way easier track the water bottles you buy and sale, not hard to understand man.
@@gedeuchnixan3830 BS
it´s not the way that we´ll tell you : NO don´t do this! my bday is tomorrow! it´s just not... the way you said. why should i? it´s just nothing that makes sense in our minds.
19:00 YOU the foreigner should not jaywalk, because you are not familiar with the streets. I don't jaywalk in a foreign city unless in obvious places.
The claim that you shouldn't in general is nonsense, and it is a very state/city-different issue. In my homestate of Brandenburg, jaywalking is the norm. It is quite rural and even the cities are simple to navigate. We teach our children to always look both ways on a street, even at a traffic light, and that eventually leads to the kids figuring out when it is safest to walk, and that it is nonsensical to wait for the green light when it is THEN that some right-turning car gets green at the same time. So you just cross at another section of the road earlier on your way, when you know your way. Especially with one-way-roads it is utterly silly to wait for a green light when you can see no car for a hundred meters.
When I was in Brunswick however, the people were just glued to the lights and only walked then. They didn't think at all. The accident rate in that city is also much higher - for various reasons.
However, there's major one-way-streets and they are so badly redesigned that even these thoughtless robot-people are starting to ignore the lights and just cross those roads wherever. When you see the next car is 200m or more away and is still stuck at its own red light, why by all that is good and reasonable should you wait for it for minutes to get green, come closer to you, just so that it can stop right in front of you when you get your next green?
Also, in Berlin there are various spots where it makes sense to cross even the busy roads and use the central stripes/islands as stops. You're not going to get anywhere in any time otherwise. Even old people do it. The important thing is to keep a steady predictable pace.
There are also crossings made in some places in some cities that are really just renovated or built little middle-of-the-road-islands without any zebra-crossings or traffic lights, to quasi-split the road into two one-way-roads that are easy to cross where people where doing that for decades (if not centuries) anyway.
No brainrotting lights needed.
I believe, a smart culture pays attention to the road no matter what it uses its surroundings to get around in a balance of safety and speed to achieve best convenience, instead of just waiting when the authoritarian law-light from big brother tells you what to do. Listening to that light got me almost run over twice in Brunswick. I had green. I should have been safe, but the old man who couldn't look past his wheel also had green, and so did the racer dude a year later. The light does not protect you, it does not mean safety.
If you go to the sauna, no sex , only heat.... ok mit Weßwein, geht was.
If you pay by card, everything is saved. They create a profile about you and it takes away your freedom to save money at home
Saunas in Germany: if you enter the sauna area: there is a sign, telling you "textile free area". You got to have no swim suits on! You may have your towel around. Nudity has no link to sexuality
3:55 "Du" (2nd person singular - eng "You") when you speak with people on a first name basis or with children. "Sie" (3rd person plural - eng "they") when on a last name basis. Like Mr/Mrs Baker.
It is a form of the "royal plural" for politeness and professional distance. When you say "your honour" to a judge, you speak in the royal plural, as do we "Euer Ehren."
It is not the full foyal plural, just this in the middle kind of version.
The Left Wing Parties have always tried to do away with this and address everyone with the informal "Du" as they try to fake cameraderie, and that we're somehow all friends with each other. It is not just rude, but at worst seen as infantilising as well as manipulative when someone "Duzt" the wrong person. It is like the crossing of a personal boundary reserved for friends and family that is violated. People can tolerate this more in many situations, but when someone one finds repulsive or you want to recreate distance towards because you noticed the slimy manipulative way of that person trying to act all buddybuddy with you, a harsh "Für Sie immer noch Sie!" escapes people. Meaning something like "For thou still thou!"
5:56 The first two verses of the anthem are not forbidden (that's a rumour) - they are simply no longer relevant, contemporary and also geograhically incorrect, for example because of the rivers Maas, Etsch, Belt and Memel.....
And of course - "Germany above all"....😏 😉 That's not really appropriate in general....