@Passport Two; I'm Surprised You didn't mention ANYTHING about the Healthcare. Most Americans are VERY SURPRISED, about Universal health care that's in Europe. As a Canadian, Our Healthcare is the same as most of Europe. It's Good to see that You're expanding Your knowledge about, other Countries over in Europe. Most Canadian cities have a Very Good public transportation system, alot is copied for that in Europe.
For me it's hard rock and metal (some ot its variations more than other). You may wanna check out The Warning! They got me excited about rock again after I thought it was pretty much dead since ... well, the 90s. 😊
To be fair, most women would not care if you, as a man, would go and change the diaper in the womens restroom. After all the cubicles are fully closed.
True. I mean we go to the men's room when the line is too long. So it's only fair. I never understood those movies were the women scream bc a guy is in the ladies room. Omg he sees me wash my hands maybe even brush my hair oh the horror 😂
@@stephjovis3469to be fair in the USA you can see people in the cubicles, because those things are built (on purpose!) worse than an average three year can draw. I‘ve had to use public toilets in Germany last week (again for the first time in over a year, other than my favorite restaurant), and the doors didn’t have a gap, some even had floor to ceiling doors. Very nice compared to my experiences in the USA with gaps between stall doors and walls that were in the centimeter (sometimes thumb width) range.
As an European women I say: waltz right into the women's toilets if changing tables are only situated there. Most women who see you there might be surprised at first, but than accept you. And if somebody complains to you, just send them to the restaurant owner to compain to them about no changing tables in the mens toilet
As a European man I can confirm that no one is going to scream at you if you use the changing table in the women's restroom if there's no alternative. The only reactions I've gotten were all along the lines of "oooh! Aaah! What a sweet baby!"
My community has found a good solution: There is one public restroom where the changing table is simply in the toilet for the physically impaired. Makes sense because there must be enough room in there to move around with a wheelchair, it's not used very often, and it's accessible to all genders. -- I had a look inside once and really was impressed how much space there is, and there are three dispensers, one for soap, one for skin lotion, and one for a disinfectant. Really nice! And unlike many other public restrooms in Germany, it's free.
I also never had bad experiences when entering a woman toilet to change the diapers of my kids. I knocked, I told present women why I want to enter and all were helpful and understanding 😊
Funny enough Ashton from the Black Forest Family just released a video in which she praised the availibility of changing tables in Germany - from dedicated corners in the DM stores to whole rooms for taking care of the little ones at rest stops. So it seems like this point can't be generalized.
It must be bigger locations, like Malls or supermarkets. Sometimes in malls you find childrens toilets, that are free, where you not only find a changing table but also a toilet for kids, which is small enough for a three year old to use it without help. But in many restaurants the space is rare, they have only one changing table, mostly where it had ever been: The restroom with less porcellain at the walls.
@@ClaudiaThurnewer restaurants have it either in both restrooms or „centrally“ located, either in the hallway between restrooms or in a disabled restroom.
When I had to change diapers in Germany or Switzerland -- didn't happen to often with "borrowed" kids -- I went into the ladies room and never had a problem.
@@codelion3496 Nieces, nephews, neighbor's kid, grandchildren... Kids that are not yours and you give them back after a certain time. The reasons are plenty why you have "borrowed" kids.
@@frankbarenbach6044 the card system we use in Germany also works different: The physical card (not just the number) and a truly secret code (at least for payments over 50€) is required.
Bis in die 90er war das auch in Deutschland noch Standard, als es noch keine elektronischen Lesegeräte gab. Damals musste man die Kreditkarte + Beleg in den Imprinter (Ritsch-Ratsch-Gerät) einlegen, der die Nummer und den Namen in den Beleg gepresst hat. Das wurde hinter der Theke erledigt, dann kam der Kellner wieder mit Karte und Beleg zurück, den man unterschrieb, es gab auch noch ein Feld wo man selbst das Trinkgeld reinschreiben konnte. In allen Geschäften und Kaufhäusern wurde auf diese Art mit Kreditkarte bezahlt, dort stand man aber an der Kasse dabei. Für die Kreditkarte gab es auch noch keine PIN, man bezahlte nur mit Karte und Unterschrift.
The phenomenon of city planning in the US/Canada vs in Europe is a big topic of the UA-cam channel Not just bikes, in particular the „Stroads“ system. It is very very bad and motorist focused, with pedestrians totally out of the picture and ignored. It is worthwhile to check out the videos over at their channel! Very solid content!
3:20 is spot on, I think. When I was at university in the US in the mid/late 1990s groceries were in general fairly cheap. BUT "artisanal" sourdough bread or the cheese and stuff that was in the Deli section (not the standard big orange cheddar packs) were surprisingly expensive. And that stuff was of course what Europeans were used to. The French have or used to have the price of bread regulated by the government, trying to avoid that people get TOO angry about expensive bread because telling them to rather eat cake didn't work out so well last time... :D
I have lived here for a very long time. I became a German Citizen in 2009. I spent 2 years back in the US with my Children and could not get back into American way of life. My professional Life has been very satisfying and I know that would never have been the case in the US.
Wir waren letztes Jahr in Kalifornien und haben eine wunderschöne Rundreise mit dem Auto gemacht. Nur auf die Lebensmittel- und Restaurantpreise waren wir nicht gefasst! Schocking!!! Und was den Plastikmüll betrifft … WAHNSINN!! Selbst im Hotel gab es zum Frühstück nur Plastikgeschirr und Besteck. Das war für unser europäisches Gemüt dann doch nur schwer zu ertragen. Ich mag Soul.
Plastikgeschirr und Besteck im Hotel??? Wow 😅. Also im Hotel könnte man eigentlich schon richtiges Gedeck verwenden. Ich würde mich als Betreiber schämen 😅.
Und es wird danach weggeworfen! Selbst in Privathaushalten bekommt man durchaus Wegwerfgeschirr. Ich war mal auf einer christlichen Freizeit im US-Army-Kontext in Bad Dürkheim. Wir waren einem evangelischen Heim mit Vollpension. TROTZDEM brachten die Amis zusätzlich tonnenweise Snacks und Einweggeschirr. Als Mitternachtsüberraschung gab es noch Eis. Das Heim hatte uns die Küche zur Verfügung gestellt und Glasschälchen und Löffel hergerichtet. Wurden nicht angefasst, denn Plastik kann man leichter zusammenwerfen in einen Müllbeutel.
I have one issue with paying with my German credit card in restaurants in the US: The payment usually requires a pin code, which becomes a problem when they're walking away with the card. Some waiters even came back and told me that the card has been declined. Has it actually been declined or is it asking for a pin? Now, whenever I pay I add that it might ask for a pin code, then they go try, come to get me, and I have to get up and go to the little desk to type in the code... It's annoying. Does anyone else experience that?? Also: (Classic) Rock
Since I hate that „take away your card“ system in the USA, I have never tried that. In other countries they either bring you the card reader or ask you to go with them if it’s not portable. But the US system is (used to be?) outdated when it came to credit/debit card technology.
i am with you on applauding family restrooms and mens rooms with changing tables. this is how this should be. And i say this even though this does not affect me in any way at my age :)
In northern Germany, it has been the standard for years. When my daughter was young, seven years ago, that was not the case. But nobody ever complained, when I went to the ladies room to change my baby.
I personally prefer card, but I got no problem with buying too much anyway. And I use a debit card that is limited to a previously topped up money balance, that fills up each month with a fixed amount, if I want to spend more, I would need to use another card or transfer more money onto the card beforehand, which helps to not overspend, besides avoiding to buy stuff you don't need. But I think cash is importent especially for children to learn to better understand, the value of their money, instead of a card with just a digital number linked to it.
"real money" 😒😒 as if printed numbers on paper were more real than digital numbers in a bank. If you pay everything with cash, you have to carry around at lot of money all the time. I don't feel safe and good when having more than 80€ in my pocket. The thing about danger of losing control over the amount of money spended might be right tho.
@@NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair It's more about the feeling of giving away something real, instead of a number on your account changing, that a lot of people don't care to check. Also when you pay with cash, you always see how much is left and since you don't want to carry to much at once, you have a fixed spending limit. As I said, it's especially good for children to learn, for younger children I would go mostly with coins and small bills, so that the number on the bills does not matter much, but the amount they need at once. Children of the age 11 should get around 5€ a week, what would be one 5€ bill a week. And children get the huge difference between spending this one bill or six bills at once way better than just a digital number. According to a study.
I disagree here. For me it makes no difference, if I can’t handle my money and what I can afford it makes no difference if I pay cash or card. And because normally you have your card on you and you can’t control yourself you will still just swipe your card. I believe it’s even better using Card Only because I can see what o bought just from my Smartphone and have a list with anything bought. I don’t have this when paying cash. And tbh it makes no sense for me to carry paper money from A to B 🤷♂️ It is an additional unnecessary route to go to an AtM bevor buying stuff. And it’s also more unsafe carrying cash instead of card.
I once saw a video of a guy (in the US) driving the school route to his sons school and on every little intersection were stop signs in every direction. This would drive me nuts 😅. Love our priority road or right before left rules better to be honest. I dont have to stop completly everytime 😊.
I would just go in the ladys restroom if only there is a changing table. I also have no problem with ladys go to the mens restroom cabins wich is very common at outdoor fairs, concerts etc. because the womans restrooms there are often overfilled because they need to go in the cabin where's men most often just stand at the ,,Rinne,, and need the cabin only for nr 2. It's a nice compromise i think and also fair to the ladys standing in long lines 😊.
I have been in Germany for a bit more than 40 years and the few times i went back to America It was a very big shock for me to see the way I changed in my thought process. It might have to do with the fact that I lived in America from 1960 to 1981 and my first time going back home was in 2012 and America was not thee same as when I left.
Hey Donnie, I watched Type Ashton's video prior to this and she showed that there are sometimes separate baby changing stations (she showed Sanifair as an example). Maybe it is just the region in Germany that is still not having enough stations in men's bathrooms. I personally am a 90s kid, so I love Techno, Trance and Rave the most.
At a hotel in Canada they had a self serve breakfast and the plates and cups were styrofoam. As we were there several times we noticed that they changed it to ceramic plates and cups. The staff told us the change was made because it was cheaper.
In the US, you have to hand over your card to a complete stranger who then walks off with it, out of your sight?!? Ahahaha-hahaha, no, thanks! I'll be paying cash, thankyverymuch!
I do live in Luxembourg and even I am surprised everytime by how many places in germany don't take card. I allways forget to bring cash and then have to appologize to the waiter and run to an ATM. Happens every time.
Yes it's annoying in Germany. But the good thing is that its slowly getting better, more tourist and immigrants cause more demand for credit card payment and also younger german generations are not that cash-obsessed anymore and are preferring stuff like Apple Pay more and more. I'd say at least in large and medium sized cities the number of cash-only-places will go down within this decade. If this happens, just always be vocal about the inconvenience of only offering one payment method. Make your demand visible, thats the only thing that can bring changes.
@@LegioXXIAnd then, banks decide to change the cards, they give out, and suddenly you again have a card, thats not accepted in a store, where you payed with card for years.
It's embarrassing how German people are stuck with their cash only mentality. It has a lot to do with avoiding progress, digitalisation seems a devil to a lot of people. Fax machines are top of art. Big sigh
@@schimmelbaura typical clown comment from another german. People like you are the ones who are embarrising, claiming they know everything better and only talk nonsense!
This shitty convenience of paying with a Card or Smartphone! Cash is and offers a certain Freedom from Big Brother! You really shouldn't be so stupid as to give up your personal privacy when you make the Money! Just on principle!
if I were a dad having to change my toddler´s diapers, and the change facilities were only in the women´s restroom, I would not hesitate for a second to walk in.
My children are 23 and 25 years old now and I can’t believe that there are still no changing tables in men’s bathrooms?!? This seemed already extremely backwards back then!!! I’m honestly shocked. Dear people in charge (in Germany), you won’t believe it, but there are actually fathers who eat out, go shopping or travel alone with their children, and there are even single fathers 😱
What stupid whining, there are separate rooms with changing tables that anyone can use, male or female or whatever... at least for more than 20 years, Not everywhere, but often enough 😏
@j.b.5422 Not every restaurant has a "Babywickelraum" - it obviously depends on the space available. But you see these rooms more and more often on the Autobahn at service stations, in shopping centres, even in public administration buildings, town halls and government offices.
@@thomasleidorf2409 These people do have a toddler now - and still more often than not the Dad cannot change the diaper of his child. But negate his experience by your "superior knowledge"
I'd like to pay with a debit card from my bank like the Dutch do. Until this is possible everywhere I am happy to pay cash. I want the company I'm buying something from to make the profit, not the credit card company.
There are one red traffic light after another in Germany too. Have you ever been to Nuremberg? I only went through there with the Flixbus and we got there like we were in a traffic jam, simply because there was a red light at every intersection.
I think it's very nice that you also had a positive reverse culture shock! ;) Random question of the week: Music is my favorite genre of music. 85% of it rock and heavy metal 15% everything else. Music is so great that I don't want to commit myself to a specific genre, even though I like electric guitar-heavy music best.
One of our favorite Bäckerei here in Kaiserslautern still only takes cash! Can’t leave the house without at least a few Euro (not to mention a few Euro coins for those bathroom stops!)…
I stick with cash, don´t have that much money and don´t want to loose track of my spending because some synchronazition between different payment platforms sucks balls and still might take a couple days to show up when paying digitally at some places. For me money is too tight and I simply can´t afford to loose track of my spendings at any point, I want to know what´s really left at any point.
about the traffic lights - I live in Berlin, but in a remote neighborhood. When it's nice and warm weather (spring, summer, early fall), we go to the office by bike. I always notice that the closer you get to the city center, the nicer cycling roads are, but also you see more and more traffic lights. On another hand, due to our remote neighborhood, we can ride outside of the city on weekends, and I see these circle roads adoption there, works really nice, and feels pretty safe even on a bike.
Cash plus debit card. No apple pay or google pay. Because what when your phone gets lost or broke? No, thanks to that. Favourite Music genre: Metal, especially Symphonic Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Industrial Metal, a bit of Heavy Metal too.
Totally get it, I returned to Germany after 20+ years in the US, it is strange for sure! 😅 Germany is definitely the better place to be. I liked the USA in the late 90s to make mid 2000s, but things got worse and worse. (*cough* Trump fans) And Germans - complain bitterly about things, as always, oblivious to how much better they have it than other places. Even politics: Compared to Murica, things happen here quicker. But then there is also the ridiculous bureaucracy... 😩 and Germans are overly sensitive about Datenschutz, it is such an outrage when you take a picture and someone walks in your view. 🙄 And Google Street view got German panties in a twist. I mean, I can go in person down your street too, what is the friggin diff?!? 😂
For me, any of the three payment methods of cash, debit card (NOT credit card), or PayPal are all ok. However, I detest Apple products with vengeance for their proprietary solutions that don't mesh with ANY other systems on the planet. For that I have embargoed Apple for decades now. For me, the meme of the Android figure standing in front of a WHOLE apple with a smile, and "I fixed it" symbolizes it perfectly. Apple products have a half life till failure of that of an apple with a bite taken out of it. That we are now at the iPhone 15 (or whatever) after a mere 15 (edit, okay, it was 17) years of its inception is a perfect example for me why I would never support Apple in any way, shape, or form. Rqotw: good old hard rock, Rock'n'Roll, all great.
This myth that you can only pay cash in Germany is quite outdated. Nearly 100% of stores accept at least one method of cashless payment. Some require a minimum purchase (10 €) for card payment, but many stores prefer card or app payment. Having the option to pay cash doesn't mean you have to. But I guess the myth will continue to exist while it's repeated on UA-cam over and over again.
I mosten use cash. I'm German and we love to use cash. I also have a better overview of my finances when I pay with cash than when I pay with a card. I can only see the balance on the card at the ATM. And then it's better to pay in cash than not having enough money in the end, because I can't go into the red with my account, my mother has blocked that. And I don't have Apple Pay because I have a Samsung phone. I don't trust Apple. And Android is a better operating system than IOS anyway. To be honest, the only places where I pay with a card are McDonalds and KFC, and that's only because you can do it so easily on the ordering screens.
Heavy Metal, all the way, Bro! 🤘😂🤘 Just last week we went to a concert in Essen of an american band called Visigoth. Greatest show I've seen in a long time. 🎸
I mostly pay cash, unless I buy something expensive unexpectedly, and then I use a card. For me as a German it's a very weird thought the other way around, that people can't buy bus tickets or groceries with cash in some stores in some countries. 😅 I'd only start paying with my phone if the circumstances forced me to, as that option feels very unsafe to me.
"as that option feels very unsafe to me." But it's just a feeling. You can have your preference but it's not objectively justified and it's so annoying that so many stores and restaurants only offer cash payments which, let's be honest, is often a sign of tax fraud.
@@LegioXXI When it's just necessary to hold your phone over something or scan a code, it can in principal more easily happen that someone takes more than intended, than if you have to count bills and coins or insert a card and use your PIN. For the same reason I haven't activated wireless payment on my credit card - there it's even worse as thieves can just hold a scanner over your pocket to take money. Yes: bills can also be stolen, but then it's just a certain amount and not everything you have in your account.
@@hypatian9093 Yeah... it's already far from ideal that you need an app for the Deutschlandticket, but "app only" for everything is a very bad development. "Your phone fell to floor? The battery's empty? No phone, no service." 😅
@@MaskedBishopPlease make yourself familiar with the process. A) The transaction is immediately confirmed with a message send to your phone (or Apple Watch) that you paid X amount at Y store. And that is the case for EVERY transaction. B) Most bank accounts/credit or debit cards allow a daily limit or even a limit for every transaction. Inhaber it always set to 100€ - in case I need to I increase that to the twirled amount, and reset the limit back to 100€ afterwards. Any Online-Shopping transaction is nowadays only possible by the 3D Secure procedure. Without the TAN generated in-app of your payment provider/bank a transaction is not possible. So seriously, what is unsafe about that? You can even set up wallets completely different from your main account, depending on the credit card/bank account. Bottom line being: you always are informed immediately of every transaction, fraud is far more difficult and the customer always has complete control over all payments!
The baby changing table almost always only being in the women's restroom is absolutely outdated and many people would agree. However it's also not like a father isn't allowed to enter with his clearly visible child to use the changing table in there. Hell more than once I've encountered a father entering a women's restroom with his young daughter to assist her on the toilet too, and most people won't bat an eye.
I refuse to pay more then 0.50 Euro per Baguette. It's easy to buy it at LIDL with a 50% discount when it's two days old (just 5min in the oven and it's delicious again). It's all not based on product cost anymore but perceived value, that changed radical in this end-stage capitalism we are living in.
I prefer cash. So no card company or any other financial institution knows what i was buying and where i have been at a certain time. My data belongs to me. We already give away far too much through cell phones and the internet.
RQOTW: Rockabilly, 50s Rock'n Roll, Swing, Country, 80's synthpop, new wave, Neue Deutsche Welle, Electro-Swing. I use cash, cash, and cash. I hate paying with cards. All transactions with cards can be monitored by the state and big companies. I prefer my cash anonymity.
ABout the Diaper situation, those tables aint in the toilet direct and i never heard something bad when i was there with my kid ... Even when the kids where older, and they started to know that they had to go on the females bathroom, but you aint sure if they get the cabin open again or they will wash there hands for 30 minutes straight without parenting. The diaper cahnging place is unisex, because everybody can understand your needs ;) When they started to go to the female bath room, there where mostly a discussion which one we take and i didnt win all but also there when you are there with a 2 year old, you hear oh she is cute instead what a creep.
Both the last place I worked at and the place where I'm currently employed have the baby changing station in the bathroom for wheelchair users, which is unisex. No baby changing station in either the men's or the ladies'.
I don't want to use Apple products and I certainly don't want to let them run my money. Since people in Germany would like to make payment of money at the POS as safe as possible, the payment system has developed differently than in the USA. There are simply different technical safety regulations. There is also a simple safety rule that banks like to say - never give your card away. Since we in Germany largely process payments at the POS via girocard and not via VISA/MASTER credit card, a PIN was usually required to pay. With contactless payment, the need for PIN confirmation for smaller amounts (usually less than 50 Euro) has been typicaly abolished. That's why mobile POS terminals are much more common in our restaurants. However, due to the higher fees for the shops, credit cards are still not as widely accepted as the girocard. In areas where there are more tourists it is of course not that big of a difference - you can usually pay with a credit card. However, the purchase always costs a tiny bit more. There, the higher fees are simply offset by slightly higher prices for the customer.
Well, regarding payment there is another field where i doubt that the US are as advanced as the european payment zone, and that is cheap and fast money transfer between bank accounts. Here, since the SEPA was launched, it is enforced that such transfers have to be the same price no matter where the destination account is, and it has to reach there within one banking day. Also, the transparency of a card-system based on an online bank account is probably unmatched by any credit card system.🙂 Oh, being a boomer my favorites are rock and pop from the late 70s and early 80s. 😀
the easiest way to solve the changing table problem, is to not have it in the bathrooms at all,.. but have a room for it. edit: hmm favorite genre... thats a hard one..id go with metal... just because i listen to it for over 30years. but its really close with mandopop and kpop
Actually there are separate rooms with changing tables that anyone can use, male or female or whatever... at least for more than 20 years now, Not everywhere, but often enough 😏
Ich liebe es, mehr über das Leben in den USA zu hören und möchte jetzt auch unbedingt mal dort hin reisen. Vielen Dank an euch! Ich finde euch, wie immer, sehr sympathisch! :)
I hear all kind of music. Due to my musical kids, who play several instruments, a lot of classic, but also Spanish pop from the 90s (I come from Spain and that's "my time") and at the moment I'm obsessed with Hamilton 😂
I only pay with Apple Pay since the Pandemic and won't buy in a shop where I need cash. I even don't take my wallet to grocery shopping anymore, only my phone 😅
I pay with state money and private money. I would like to have the opportunity to decide for myself whether I pass on my private data or whether I remain anonymous.
I just returned from 3 months California ... it was nice, I have family there ... HOWEVER - the PRICES are crazy - everything is 3 times more expensive than in most countries in Europe .. also I found peoples attitude extremely focused on "money "... I love visiting the US - but am always relieved to be able to return to Europe - which I simply love ... for its diversity - everything.
Yes, everything else is just a privacy nightmare. Smartphones are the worst... And most other payment methods are kinda inconvenient, too. Like, if i want to give someone some money, what am i gonna do? Drive home, open my banking app and wire him some? or search for an online payment method we both can use, figure out his contact and then pay the service provider 10% of the five bucks i wanted to hand him? It is a huge downside for just a teeny-tiny bit of convenience... sometimes. I even paid for one guy because his fancy payment method 3000 didn't work and it would have been way more hustle to wait for them to figure out some payment method then to just pay the few bucks for him... In cash.
I'm more of a card payer rather than app user or cash. I used Google pay for quite a while until I wanted to get cash from an ATM and it took me 10 minutes to remember my pin after only having to use my thumb to authenticate everything. Favourite music: If I had to pick something probably metal and hardstyle. That's why Electric Callboy has been one of my farvourite bands for a while now.
Well, as someone who has both a droid and an iPhone, definitely want my google or Apple Pay to work on it, for it offers you so much more versatility in life and u are not screwed when you find yourself having nothing but your phone on you. Generally I pay digitally at least 90% of the time and in terms of frequent use, I’d say it’s about even. I use my phone and my card interchangeably. When I use cash it’s usually when buying something from a food stand or on a flea market, you know things of that nature. Ow, and my favourite style of music is (post) Grundge. Have a lovely weekend. :)
Yes, when it comes to changing tables, there is still a lot to do here in Germany. It's funny that I see so many fathers with their children out and about where I live (East-Germany). I wonder, what they do when they have to change the diapers and there is no extra room for that, that everyone can use. I prefer cards to pay. Genre of music: good old Rock
i would never use a apple product or service. i use my normal bank card or use my mobile to to pay via banking app.or even cash. if really required i have a debit card also but its used rare.
Music: I like new wave and electronic music, also some 80s punk. Driving: In the US, I'm only familiar with driving in the SF Bay Area. Yes, driving there is very different than here in southwest Germany, but I don't favor one over the other. For example, I personally like "all-way stop" intersections and right turn permissions at red lights in CA, but I'll probably never get used to the "keep your lane" highway system, getting passed left and right is pretty scary😅 I know from visiting American colleagues here that they were quite appalled by the curvy and "extremely narrow" streets in old German towns😂 Cash/card: I actually had more trouble paying with my smartphone in CA than here in Germany, at least in the last few years. But on the other hand, I always have 10 or 20 euros with me here too, you never know 😉
An Oklahoman eating escargot, unheard of!! Very much agree with the astronomical increase in the price of staples in the US versus Deutschland. I will limit the comparison to Deutschland as I did not find vegetables to be inexpensive in France, however they were very good. In another time when I lived in France as a kid the standard baguette was 20 centimes, about 5-cents at the time. I was responsible for purchasing the nightly baguette by walking across the street to the boulangère. Even McDonalds in Deutschland serves coffee to stay in "non-disposable vessels". The Deutsch drivers are not "significantly better", but several magnitudes better than American drivers. One thing you missed is the preponderance of STOP signs in the US versus the number of YIELD signs. In the US I find that ~90% Stop versus 10% Yield signs exist; in Europa it is the opposite with ~90% Yield and 10% Stop signs. The people of Europa cooperate much better between themselves than Americans do, thus I believe the use of the Yield is appropriate. Oh, also the zipper merge is a very good feature of Deutsch driving. I don't use Apple Pay in the US; did find it nice to use on the Underground in London though. I've been gone from Europa since 2020. Things may have changed.
I use my phone for payments whenever possible (also more secure than using the card itself). I go for weeks without going to an ATM because I almost never use cash. Almost all my music listening now is at concerts (35 to 40 a year). Almost exclusively what is known as „classical“ (I don‘t like the terms „classical“ and „pop“ really, but people understand what you mean). Our home states (you OK, me TX) have gone off the rails! The Texas governor wants to build a wall between Texas and New Mexico (that‘s right, NEW Mexico!) to stop women from going from Texas to NM for legal abortions. And a state senator from OK recently referred to LGBTQ+ people as „filth“ - and he used the word several times!
Regarding changing Tables, first off, most women are not heartless enough to not let you do that, and second, at least the publicly aceassible restrooms outfittet with changing tables have those on the special restroom for disabled people, which is unisex, so unless you are very unlucky, they are usually not frequently used
I prefer card (ApplePay) too i just don’t like to carry cash at all. I don’t want to go to an ATM before going to buy something. And I also believe it’s more unsafe carrying cash instead of card. It’s sad that Germany needed an pandemic to make card payments more usual 🙈 Nowadays if they don’t offer card payment i don’t go there 🤷♂️ Last time i was holding cash is 2-3y back 🤔
I'd never have thought that Apple Pay is more commonly accepted in germany than in the US. Germans are very sensitive to data protection topics and Apple pay is a nightmare in that field. But yes, it's been the pandemic that changed much in how you pay. Before the pandemic, I had always paid in csh only and only once had used my card for something different than withdrawing cash at the ATM. Nowadays I pay by card in roughly a third of the cases and the rest in cash. I don't use phone apps to pay, as they are, as said, a nightmare for data protection. Google does know more than enough about me, they do not need to know what I buy offline. And I don't touch Apple because I don't like them at all. Oh, I like Metal, Industiral, Folk Rock/Metal, sometimes a little Punk Rock...
If U feel things R close together in Germany, France or Spain, then better don't go to any of the small countries @ all. 😂 I'm proud of Germans cash addiction! 😎 I hate cellphone-payment as well. BTW: Intersections also work without traffic light, without chsnging them 2 roundabouts. 😂
A funny thing I suppose is that when I moved here (Regensburg) just how little culture shock there was for me. I was warned about it, but what I found is that for those of us who are X-er and Boomer age, Germany has many cultural things that the US once had that really started to die out in the 80s and are gone now. Was getting my car inspected and speaking to the mechanic about it, and I told him I would not go back to the US because Germany is much like the US I knew growing up. Everything from how Sunday functions to the cash economy to even minor things that Easter Egg trees in Bavaria, I remember very well growing up in late 70's and early 80s US. Even the taste of certain foods both cultures have in common I recognized from childhood tastes having them in Germany, the spicing such are just gone from most areas of the US now. I do think I would have a lot reverse culture shock going back to the modern US than staying in Germany.
There are already so many comments that I can't tell if anyone's covered this already, BUT ... One of the residual effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been price-gouging in the US. When there were supply-chain issues, this might have been justifiable, but it's been a couple of years now since things started to calm down, and prices haven't followed suit. Hmmmmmm ...
I can't even use Apple-Pay, because I don't have an iPhone. I also can't use other stuff like that (can Google-Pay be used like that?), because my phone doesn't have NFC. So, I just use my plastic card.
I live in Cochem RLP. I pay almost everywhere with my Apple Watch, even for a few Brötchen in a bakery. I‘m often in the USA and allways wonder why the still take your credit cards and run away with it to some office or kiosk. Prices for for bread in the USA are ridiculous high. And kitchen apppliances in the USA are huge and energy inefficient. The houses in the USA are of ridiculous poor quality. But the most important differences between USA and Germany are costs for medical treatments, costs for education and payed free time for vacation.
I definitely prefer paying cash. On the one hand you have more control over how much you spend - on the other hand it' for data protection. You never know what happens to your data, especially if it is via apple pay or others hosted in foreign countries with not so strict data protection agreements. In Germany we have the Datenschutz-Grundabkommen (DSGVO) (General Data Protection Regulation), which is, as the name says, just the lowest common denominator as more was not possible with the government in charge. In other countries there is often even less. I'm into metal.
Well I'm Austrian not German. But I saw the extreme change since covid. Before very few restaurants had card payment now most of them do. And I don't use apple overpriced nonsense. Google pay works well tough. Almost too well you hold it close and it works. Kinda scary but well I only have NFC on during payment
Intrresting how you singled out Apple Pay there. Since Apple's market share in Europe is not as big as in the US, Google Pay might be used more in Europe than Apple Pay. Though it really doesnt matter, since in Europe contactless payments are the same regardless if you use a card or any brand of phone/watch that supports contactless payments. What really has annoyed me about payments in Germany, besides a lot of places being cash only, is that many places still accepted local EC card only and not Visa or Mastercard. In our tiny corner of Europe, card payments are accepted virtually everywhere and I really don't remember when I last used cash. it has been years for sure. Also I would never give my card to an employee and let them walk away with it. Thats something that just doesn't happen in Europe.
I do prefer using Digital payments (Apple / Google Pay) since these payment methods use a secure card number that changes over a set period. But as you mentioned most restaurants in the US the waiter has to take the card to a central terminal digital payment methods will not work. I am happy many chain restaurants now have a Kiosk on the table or a QR code to scan and pay your bill. And my favorite music genre is Jazz..
It's not gender roles confirming... having a changing station in female restrooms is just 99% more likely to be used. A young child is 100x more likely to be with their mother. Especially the breast feeding age. Yes, both parents can be out and share the responsibility, but the woman can also do it while outside and the man can change diapers at home. It's just like we have parking lots for women, while men can be robbed and assaulted instead. But it's just more likely to happen to women, so men don't get the same luxury.
You won't find any bread in the USA that is baked in the same way as in Germany or Europe, and above all so different in its variety (over 3200 types of bread alone (estimated)). Can you find that in the USA? I don't think so, and certainly not in terms of the cost factor.
Of course I do NOT use Apple or google payment. There is no need for my phone manufacturer and professional data collector to know about my expenses. Although I have a digital copy of my bank card on my phone to pay with, I am totally fine with my bank knowing about my expenses.
One big difference between German and American restrooms might be that in Germany, it would be tolerated that a man enters a female restroom to change diapers of a baby or even accompany his female toddler to the toilet. In the USA, this would be unthinkable. About my preferred music genre, I can't pin that down. Rock, Pop, Punk, I like so many styles.
My favorite is hard to pin down...but probably, 90's punk? 🤔
Depeche Mode.
@Passport Two; I'm Surprised You didn't mention ANYTHING about the Healthcare. Most Americans are VERY SURPRISED, about Universal health care that's in Europe. As a Canadian, Our Healthcare is the same as most of Europe. It's Good to see that You're expanding Your knowledge about, other Countries over in Europe. Most Canadian cities have a Very Good public transportation system, alot is copied for that in Europe.
Dubstep, Drum'n'Bass. 😎
For me it's hard rock and metal (some ot its variations more than other).
You may wanna check out The Warning! They got me excited about rock again after I thought it was pretty much dead since ... well, the 90s. 😊
Here's three things I DON'T like Eiffel 65, The Weeknd + Taylor Swift. 😁
To be fair, most women would not care if you, as a man, would go and change the diaper in the womens restroom. After all the cubicles are fully closed.
Try that in the US. You'd probably get arrested. 😅
@@nicolebrunzel6608 Not, if you are identify as a woman 😜
True. I mean we go to the men's room when the line is too long. So it's only fair. I never understood those movies were the women scream bc a guy is in the ladies room. Omg he sees me wash my hands maybe even brush my hair oh the horror 😂
@@RoyalDudenesswhat's the joke? Women getting assaulted for using the restroom?
@@stephjovis3469to be fair in the USA you can see people in the cubicles, because those things are built (on purpose!) worse than an average three year can draw.
I‘ve had to use public toilets in Germany last week (again for the first time in over a year, other than my favorite restaurant), and the doors didn’t have a gap, some even had floor to ceiling doors.
Very nice compared to my experiences in the USA with gaps between stall doors and walls that were in the centimeter (sometimes thumb width) range.
As an European women I say: waltz right into the women's toilets if changing tables are only situated there. Most women who see you there might be surprised at first, but than accept you. And if somebody complains to you, just send them to the restaurant owner to compain to them about no changing tables in the mens toilet
As a European man I can confirm that no one is going to scream at you if you use the changing table in the women's restroom if there's no alternative. The only reactions I've gotten were all along the lines of "oooh! Aaah! What a sweet baby!"
My community has found a good solution: There is one public restroom where the changing table is simply in the toilet for the physically impaired. Makes sense because there must be enough room in there to move around with a wheelchair, it's not used very often, and it's accessible to all genders. -- I had a look inside once and really was impressed how much space there is, and there are three dispensers, one for soap, one for skin lotion, and one for a disinfectant. Really nice! And unlike many other public restrooms in Germany, it's free.
I also never had bad experiences when entering a woman toilet to change the diapers of my kids.
I knocked, I told present women why I want to enter and all were helpful and understanding 😊
Funny enough Ashton from the Black Forest Family just released a video in which she praised the availibility of changing tables in Germany - from dedicated corners in the DM stores to whole rooms for taking care of the little ones at rest stops. So it seems like this point can't be generalized.
It must be bigger locations, like Malls or supermarkets. Sometimes in malls you find childrens toilets, that are free, where you not only find a changing table but also a toilet for kids, which is small enough for a three year old to use it without help. But in many restaurants the space is rare, they have only one changing table, mostly where it had ever been: The restroom with less porcellain at the walls.
@@ClaudiaThurnewer restaurants have it either in both restrooms or „centrally“ located, either in the hallway between restrooms or in a disabled restroom.
Every Ikea in Germany has changing tables in the mens restrooms and also every MC Donalds. Also every DM has a hidden corner to change diapers.
Even on roads with several consecutive traffic lights in Germany they are usually programmed to turn green in sequence (Grüne Welle)
When I had to change diapers in Germany or Switzerland -- didn't happen to often with "borrowed" kids -- I went into the ladies room and never had a problem.
german here, ive got a question.... what is a borrowed kid ?
and do you need to return it in mint ?
@@codelion3496 Nieces, nephews, neighbor's kid, grandchildren... Kids that are not yours and you give them back after a certain time. The reasons are plenty why you have "borrowed" kids.
@@McGhinch oh thank you :)
As a german I would feel uncomfortable entrusting my credit card to a server, especially if I can't see what is being charged.
It takes just a second to take a picture of front and back side with the CVC number.
@@frankbarenbach6044 the card system we use in Germany also works different: The physical card (not just the number) and a truly secret code (at least for payments over 50€) is required.
@kailahmann1823 not for online orders. Some websites require confirmation via banking app, some don't.
Bis in die 90er war das auch in Deutschland noch Standard, als es noch keine elektronischen Lesegeräte gab. Damals musste man die Kreditkarte + Beleg in den Imprinter (Ritsch-Ratsch-Gerät) einlegen, der die Nummer und den Namen in den Beleg gepresst hat. Das wurde hinter der Theke erledigt, dann kam der Kellner wieder mit Karte und Beleg zurück, den man unterschrieb, es gab auch noch ein Feld wo man selbst das Trinkgeld reinschreiben konnte. In allen Geschäften und Kaufhäusern wurde auf diese Art mit Kreditkarte bezahlt, dort stand man aber an der Kasse dabei. Für die Kreditkarte gab es auch noch keine PIN, man bezahlte nur mit Karte und Unterschrift.
The phenomenon of city planning in the US/Canada vs in Europe is a big topic of the UA-cam channel Not just bikes, in particular the „Stroads“ system. It is very very bad and motorist focused, with pedestrians totally out of the picture and ignored. It is worthwhile to check out the videos over at their channel! Very solid content!
I am a German Cash-user. Not averse to card payments but I like the cash thing more!
Also: Irish or rather Celtic Folk.
3:20 is spot on, I think. When I was at university in the US in the mid/late 1990s groceries were in general fairly cheap. BUT "artisanal" sourdough bread or the cheese and stuff that was in the Deli section (not the standard big orange cheddar packs) were surprisingly expensive. And that stuff was of course what Europeans were used to.
The French have or used to have the price of bread regulated by the government, trying to avoid that people get TOO angry about expensive bread because telling them to rather eat cake didn't work out so well last time... :D
I have lived here for a very long time. I became a German Citizen in 2009. I spent 2 years back in the US with my Children and could not get back into American way of life. My professional Life has been very satisfying and I know that would never have been the case in the US.
What is your career ?
Wir waren letztes Jahr in Kalifornien und haben eine wunderschöne Rundreise mit dem Auto gemacht. Nur auf die Lebensmittel- und Restaurantpreise waren wir nicht gefasst! Schocking!!! Und was den Plastikmüll betrifft … WAHNSINN!! Selbst im Hotel gab es zum Frühstück nur Plastikgeschirr und Besteck. Das war für unser europäisches Gemüt dann doch nur schwer zu ertragen.
Ich mag Soul.
Plastikgeschirr und Besteck im Hotel??? Wow 😅. Also im Hotel könnte man eigentlich schon richtiges Gedeck verwenden. Ich würde mich als Betreiber schämen 😅.
@@Humpelstilzchen Ja, das hat uns auch wirklich sprachlos gemacht. Aber genau so war es. Zwei Mal. Und die Hotels waren keine Absteigen.
Und es wird danach weggeworfen! Selbst in Privathaushalten bekommt man durchaus Wegwerfgeschirr. Ich war mal auf einer christlichen Freizeit im US-Army-Kontext in Bad Dürkheim. Wir waren einem evangelischen Heim mit Vollpension. TROTZDEM brachten die Amis zusätzlich tonnenweise Snacks und Einweggeschirr. Als Mitternachtsüberraschung gab es noch Eis. Das Heim hatte uns die Küche zur Verfügung gestellt und Glasschälchen und Löffel hergerichtet. Wurden nicht angefasst, denn Plastik kann man leichter zusammenwerfen in einen Müllbeutel.
Denglisch
What? @@neutralasswitz
I have one issue with paying with my German credit card in restaurants in the US: The payment usually requires a pin code, which becomes a problem when they're walking away with the card. Some waiters even came back and told me that the card has been declined. Has it actually been declined or is it asking for a pin? Now, whenever I pay I add that it might ask for a pin code, then they go try, come to get me, and I have to get up and go to the little desk to type in the code... It's annoying. Does anyone else experience that??
Also: (Classic) Rock
Since I hate that „take away your card“ system in the USA, I have never tried that. In other countries they either bring you the card reader or ask you to go with them if it’s not portable.
But the US system is (used to be?) outdated when it came to credit/debit card technology.
i am with you on applauding family restrooms and mens rooms with changing tables. this is how this should be. And i say this even though this does not affect me in any way at my age :)
In northern Germany, it has been the standard for years. When my daughter was young, seven years ago, that was not the case. But nobody ever complained, when I went to the ladies room to change my baby.
I prefer to pay with real money. Cash. By the way, scientists found out that the danger of buying too much stuff is smaller when you always pay cash.
I personally prefer card, but I got no problem with buying too much anyway. And I use a debit card that is limited to a previously topped up money balance, that fills up each month with a fixed amount, if I want to spend more, I would need to use another card or transfer more money onto the card beforehand, which helps to not overspend, besides avoiding to buy stuff you don't need.
But I think cash is importent especially for children to learn to better understand, the value of their money, instead of a card with just a digital number linked to it.
"real money" 😒😒 as if printed numbers on paper were more real than digital numbers in a bank.
If you pay everything with cash, you have to carry around at lot of money all the time. I don't feel safe and good when having more than 80€ in my pocket.
The thing about danger of losing control over the amount of money spended might be right tho.
@@NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair It's more about the feeling of giving away something real, instead of a number on your account changing, that a lot of people don't care to check.
Also when you pay with cash, you always see how much is left and since you don't want to carry to much at once, you have a fixed spending limit.
As I said, it's especially good for children to learn, for younger children I would go mostly with coins and small bills, so that the number on the bills does not matter much, but the amount they need at once.
Children of the age 11 should get around 5€ a week, what would be one 5€ bill a week. And children get the huge difference between spending this one bill or six bills at once way better than just a digital number.
According to a study.
I disagree here.
For me it makes no difference, if I can’t handle my money and what I can afford it makes no difference if I pay cash or card.
And because normally you have your card on you and you can’t control yourself you will still just swipe your card.
I believe it’s even better using Card Only because I can see what o bought just from my Smartphone and have a list with anything bought.
I don’t have this when paying cash.
And tbh it makes no sense for me to carry paper money from A to B 🤷♂️
It is an additional unnecessary route to go to an AtM bevor buying stuff. And it’s also more unsafe carrying cash instead of card.
So it is you blocking the checkout queue all the time at my preferred supermarket 😮
I once saw a video of a guy (in the US) driving the school route to his sons school and on every little intersection were stop signs in every direction. This would drive me nuts 😅. Love our priority road or right before left rules better to be honest. I dont have to stop completly everytime 😊.
I recommend Not Just Bike's Video "Why Stop Signs are stupid" :)
I would just go in the ladys restroom if only there is a changing table. I also have no problem with ladys go to the mens restroom cabins wich is very common at outdoor fairs, concerts etc. because the womans restrooms there are often overfilled because they need to go in the cabin where's men most often just stand at the ,,Rinne,, and need the cabin only for nr 2. It's a nice compromise i think and also fair to the ladys standing in long lines 😊.
Oder eher Nummer 3 inzwischen....
I loved the credit card skit with your wife! As to your question, anything that isn't Schlager! :D
Schlager is the worst thing about modern Germany. ^^
I have been in Germany for a bit more than 40 years and the few times i went back to America It was a very big shock for me to see the way I changed in my thought process. It might have to do with the fact that I lived in America from 1960 to 1981 and my first time going back home was in 2012 and America was not thee same as when I left.
Hey Donnie, I watched Type Ashton's video prior to this and she showed that there are sometimes separate baby changing stations (she showed Sanifair as an example). Maybe it is just the region in Germany that is still not having enough stations in men's bathrooms.
I personally am a 90s kid, so I love Techno, Trance and Rave the most.
At a hotel in Canada they had a self serve breakfast and the plates and cups were styrofoam. As we were there several times we noticed that they changed it to ceramic plates and cups. The staff told us the change was made because it was cheaper.
In the US, you have to hand over your card to a complete stranger who then walks off with it, out of your sight?!? Ahahaha-hahaha, no, thanks! I'll be paying cash, thankyverymuch!
I do live in Luxembourg and even I am surprised everytime by how many places in germany don't take card. I allways forget to bring cash and then have to appologize to the waiter and run to an ATM. Happens every time.
Yes it's annoying in Germany. But the good thing is that its slowly getting better, more tourist and immigrants cause more demand for credit card payment and also younger german generations are not that cash-obsessed anymore and are preferring stuff like Apple Pay more and more. I'd say at least in large and medium sized cities the number of cash-only-places will go down within this decade.
If this happens, just always be vocal about the inconvenience of only offering one payment method.
Make your demand visible, thats the only thing that can bring changes.
@@LegioXXIAnd then, banks decide to change the cards, they give out, and suddenly you again have a card, thats not accepted in a store, where you payed with card for years.
cash is king. its a mindset more people should embrace and not cry about it!
It's embarrassing how German people are stuck with their cash only mentality. It has a lot to do with avoiding progress, digitalisation seems a devil to a lot of people. Fax machines are top of art. Big sigh
@@schimmelbaura typical clown comment from another german.
People like you are the ones who are embarrising, claiming they know everything better and only talk nonsense!
This shitty convenience of paying with a Card or Smartphone!
Cash is and offers a certain Freedom from Big Brother!
You really shouldn't be so stupid as to give up your personal privacy when you make the Money!
Just on principle!
if I were a dad having to change my toddler´s diapers, and the change facilities were only in the women´s restroom, I would not hesitate for a second to walk in.
If bread costs too much in Europe there will be a revolution. Just ask the French 😅
Ah, come on… If the people don‘t have bread, they just shall eat cake.
My children are 23 and 25 years old now and I can’t believe that there are still no changing tables in men’s bathrooms?!? This seemed already extremely backwards back then!!!
I’m honestly shocked.
Dear people in charge (in Germany), you won’t believe it, but there are actually fathers who eat out, go shopping or travel alone with their children, and there are even single fathers 😱
These days there are even families who only consist out of fathers and children. Another dang good reason to change this!
I also think it's extremly backwards, but to be fair, I dont think anyone would care if a man changed his babys diapers in the womens bathrooms.
What stupid whining, there are separate rooms with changing tables that anyone can use, male or female or whatever... at least for more than 20 years, Not everywhere, but often enough 😏
@j.b.5422 Not every restaurant has a "Babywickelraum" - it obviously depends on the space available.
But you see these rooms more and more often on the Autobahn at service stations, in shopping centres, even in public administration buildings, town halls and government offices.
@@thomasleidorf2409 These people do have a toddler now - and still more often than not the Dad cannot change the diaper of his child. But negate his experience by your "superior knowledge"
I'd like to pay with a debit card from my bank like the Dutch do. Until this is possible everywhere I am happy to pay cash. I want the company I'm buying something from to make the profit, not the credit card company.
There are one red traffic light after another in Germany too. Have you ever been to Nuremberg? I only went through there with the Flixbus and we got there like we were in a traffic jam, simply because there was a red light at every intersection.
Post-Punk / New Wave! Sounds still more advanced than today's music.
I think it's very nice that you also had a positive reverse culture shock! ;)
Random question of the week: Music is my favorite genre of music. 85% of it rock and heavy metal 15% everything else. Music is so great that I don't want to commit myself to a specific genre, even though I like electric guitar-heavy music best.
🤘
One of our favorite Bäckerei here in Kaiserslautern still only takes cash! Can’t leave the house without at least a few Euro (not to mention a few Euro coins for those bathroom stops!)…
I stick with cash, don´t have that much money and don´t want to loose track of my spending because some synchronazition between different payment platforms sucks balls and still might take a couple days to show up when paying digitally at some places. For me money is too tight and I simply can´t afford to loose track of my spendings at any point, I want to know what´s really left at any point.
Usually tables for changing diapers are located in the wheelchair toilet. Which is unisex... 🤷♂️
It’s nice when that is the case! But there isn’t always a wheelchair toilet in our experience 🤷🏻♂️
@@PassportTwo true, restaurants don't usually have them. The hotels I worked at so far (I'm a receptionist) did though. 😊
about the traffic lights - I live in Berlin, but in a remote neighborhood. When it's nice and warm weather (spring, summer, early fall), we go to the office by bike. I always notice that the closer you get to the city center, the nicer cycling roads are, but also you see more and more traffic lights.
On another hand, due to our remote neighborhood, we can ride outside of the city on weekends, and I see these circle roads adoption there, works really nice, and feels pretty safe even on a bike.
Absolutely a token cash german here - classic rock btw
Classic rock is right up there for me as well!
Cash plus debit card. No apple pay or google pay. Because what when your phone gets lost or broke? No, thanks to that.
Favourite Music genre: Metal, especially Symphonic Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Industrial Metal, a bit of Heavy Metal too.
My favorite genre is good music. :)
Totally get it, I returned to Germany after 20+ years in the US, it is strange for sure! 😅
Germany is definitely the better place to be. I liked the USA in the late 90s to make mid 2000s, but things got worse and worse. (*cough* Trump fans)
And Germans - complain bitterly about things, as always, oblivious to how much better they have it than other places. Even politics: Compared to Murica, things happen here quicker. But then there is also the ridiculous bureaucracy... 😩 and Germans are overly sensitive about Datenschutz, it is such an outrage when you take a picture and someone walks in your view. 🙄 And Google Street view got German panties in a twist. I mean, I can go in person down your street too, what is the friggin diff?!? 😂
For me, any of the three payment methods of cash, debit card (NOT credit card), or PayPal are all ok. However, I detest Apple products with vengeance for their proprietary solutions that don't mesh with ANY other systems on the planet. For that I have embargoed Apple for decades now. For me, the meme of the Android figure standing in front of a WHOLE apple with a smile, and "I fixed it" symbolizes it perfectly. Apple products have a half life till failure of that of an apple with a bite taken out of it. That we are now at the iPhone 15 (or whatever) after a mere 15 (edit, okay, it was 17) years of its inception is a perfect example for me why I would never support Apple in any way, shape, or form.
Rqotw: good old hard rock, Rock'n'Roll, all great.
This myth that you can only pay cash in Germany is quite outdated. Nearly 100% of stores accept at least one method of cashless payment. Some require a minimum purchase (10 €) for card payment, but many stores prefer card or app payment. Having the option to pay cash doesn't mean you have to.
But I guess the myth will continue to exist while it's repeated on UA-cam over and over again.
I mosten use cash. I'm German and we love to use cash. I also have a better overview of my finances when I pay with cash than when I pay with a card. I can only see the balance on the card at the ATM. And then it's better to pay in cash than not having enough money in the end, because I can't go into the red with my account, my mother has blocked that. And I don't have Apple Pay because I have a Samsung phone. I don't trust Apple. And Android is a better operating system than IOS anyway. To be honest, the only places where I pay with a card are McDonalds and KFC, and that's only because you can do it so easily on the ordering screens.
Heavy Metal, all the way, Bro! 🤘😂🤘
Just last week we went to a concert in Essen of an american band called Visigoth.
Greatest show I've seen in a long time. 🎸
🤘
I think that most women would not complain if a father changes his baby in the womens restroom. I wouldn't. Only if he is very creepy.😂 7:33
I mostly pay cash, unless I buy something expensive unexpectedly, and then I use a card. For me as a German it's a very weird thought the other way around, that people can't buy bus tickets or groceries with cash in some stores in some countries. 😅
I'd only start paying with my phone if the circumstances forced me to, as that option feels very unsafe to me.
In Hamburg, bus tickets etc. can only be bought via an app now.
"as that option feels very unsafe to me."
But it's just a feeling. You can have your preference but it's not objectively justified and it's so annoying that so many stores and restaurants only offer cash payments which, let's be honest, is often a sign of tax fraud.
@@LegioXXI When it's just necessary to hold your phone over something or scan a code, it can in principal more easily happen that someone takes more than intended, than if you have to count bills and coins or insert a card and use your PIN. For the same reason I haven't activated wireless payment on my credit card - there it's even worse as thieves can just hold a scanner over your pocket to take money.
Yes: bills can also be stolen, but then it's just a certain amount and not everything you have in your account.
@@hypatian9093 Yeah... it's already far from ideal that you need an app for the Deutschlandticket, but "app only" for everything is a very bad development. "Your phone fell to floor? The battery's empty? No phone, no service." 😅
@@MaskedBishopPlease make yourself familiar with the process. A) The transaction is immediately confirmed with a message send to your phone (or Apple Watch) that you paid X amount at Y store. And that is the case for EVERY transaction. B) Most bank accounts/credit or debit cards allow a daily limit or even a limit for every transaction. Inhaber it always set to 100€ - in case I need to I increase that to the twirled amount, and reset the limit back to 100€ afterwards. Any Online-Shopping transaction is nowadays only possible by the 3D Secure procedure. Without the TAN generated in-app of your payment provider/bank a transaction is not possible. So seriously, what is unsafe about that? You can even set up wallets completely different from your main account, depending on the credit card/bank account. Bottom line being: you always are informed immediately of every transaction, fraud is far more difficult and the customer always has complete control over all payments!
The baby changing table almost always only being in the women's restroom is absolutely outdated and many people would agree. However it's also not like a father isn't allowed to enter with his clearly visible child to use the changing table in there. Hell more than once I've encountered a father entering a women's restroom with his young daughter to assist her on the toilet too, and most people won't bat an eye.
I refuse to pay more then 0.50 Euro per Baguette. It's easy to buy it at LIDL with a 50% discount when it's two days old (just 5min in the oven and it's delicious again). It's all not based on product cost anymore but perceived value, that changed radical in this end-stage capitalism we are living in.
Nur, dass es kein Baguette ist, sondern ein verklebtes Weißbrot. Richtige Baguettes sind komplex in der Herstellung.
@@bigshitty7190 Es ist eh alles heute dieselbe Backmischung bei fast allen.
Mir egal, ich esse eigentlich gar kein Brot mehr. Das ist mir zu ungesund.
I prefer cash. So no card company or any other financial institution knows what i was buying and where i have been at a certain time. My data belongs to me. We already give away far too much through cell phones and the internet.
RQOTW: Rockabilly, 50s Rock'n Roll, Swing, Country, 80's synthpop, new wave, Neue Deutsche Welle, Electro-Swing.
I use cash, cash, and cash. I hate paying with cards. All transactions with cards can be monitored by the state and big companies. I prefer my cash anonymity.
Only cash is real money. Very German. But I am afraid this about to change in Germany.
ABout the Diaper situation, those tables aint in the toilet direct and i never heard something bad when i was there with my kid ... Even when the kids where older, and they started to know that they had to go on the females bathroom, but you aint sure if they get the cabin open again or they will wash there hands for 30 minutes straight without parenting.
The diaper cahnging place is unisex, because everybody can understand your needs ;) When they started to go to the female bath room, there where mostly a discussion which one we take and i didnt win all but also there when you are there with a 2 year old, you hear oh she is cute instead what a creep.
I don’t understand how you can pay in bars with credit card when you are drunk that’s the most silly thing
Both the last place I worked at and the place where I'm currently employed have the baby changing station in the bathroom for wheelchair users, which is unisex. No baby changing station in either the men's or the ladies'.
I don't want to use Apple products and I certainly don't want to let them run my money.
Since people in Germany would like to make payment of money at the POS as safe as possible, the payment system has developed differently than in the USA. There are simply different technical safety regulations. There is also a simple safety rule that banks like to say - never give your card away.
Since we in Germany largely process payments at the POS via girocard and not via VISA/MASTER credit card, a PIN was usually required to pay. With contactless payment, the need for PIN confirmation for smaller amounts (usually less than 50 Euro) has been typicaly abolished. That's why mobile POS terminals are much more common in our restaurants.
However, due to the higher fees for the shops, credit cards are still not as widely accepted as the girocard. In areas where there are more tourists it is of course not that big of a difference - you can usually pay with a credit card. However, the purchase always costs a tiny bit more. There, the higher fees are simply offset by slightly higher prices for the customer.
Well, regarding payment there is another field where i doubt that the US are as advanced as the european payment zone, and that is cheap and fast money transfer between bank accounts. Here, since the SEPA was launched, it is enforced that such transfers have to be the same price no matter where the destination account is, and it has to reach there within one banking day. Also, the transparency of a card-system based on an online bank account is probably unmatched by any credit card system.🙂
Oh, being a boomer my favorites are rock and pop from the late 70s and early 80s. 😀
As an Oklahoman I can agree with all the stop lights 😫 9:51
the easiest way to solve the changing table problem, is to not have it in the bathrooms at all,.. but have a room for it.
edit: hmm favorite genre... thats a hard one..id go with metal... just because i listen to it for over 30years. but its really close with mandopop and kpop
Actually there are separate rooms with changing tables that anyone can use, male or female or whatever... at least for more than 20 years now,
Not everywhere, but often enough 😏
Ich liebe es, mehr über das Leben in den USA zu hören und möchte jetzt auch unbedingt mal dort hin reisen. Vielen Dank an euch! Ich finde euch, wie immer, sehr sympathisch! :)
Eine Reise ist es wert. Ein Leben nicht.
I hear all kind of music. Due to my musical kids, who play several instruments, a lot of classic, but also Spanish pop from the 90s (I come from Spain and that's "my time") and at the moment I'm obsessed with Hamilton 😂
Cash is freedom. Think about it, it's important!
Any kind of Rock/Metal especially from the 70s/80s
my favourite genre of music... Cash only!
Heavy Metal and classic rock.
I prefer cash over card.
Having Diaper Chanign Stations in Men's and Women's Restrooms sounds really nice. Something that really bothers me as a German (Father) as well.
cash is cash is cash
I only pay with Apple Pay since the Pandemic and won't buy in a shop where I need cash. I even don't take my wallet to grocery shopping anymore, only my phone 😅
Same! Rarely take my wallet anymore. I love that we (California) now have e-driver’s licenses so you don’t need a wallet for ID.
I pay with state money and private money. I would like to have the opportunity to decide for myself whether I pass on my private data or whether I remain anonymous.
I just returned from 3 months California ... it was nice, I have family there ... HOWEVER - the PRICES are crazy - everything is 3 times more expensive than in most countries in Europe .. also I found peoples attitude extremely focused on "money "... I love visiting the US - but am always relieved to be able to return to Europe - which I simply love ... for its diversity - everything.
Same for me with culture shock going back to the USA. exMichigan in Spain 🇪🇸🇪🇺🌹👍
Left the dream in 2000...
Cash is King
Yes, everything else is just a privacy nightmare. Smartphones are the worst...
And most other payment methods are kinda inconvenient, too. Like, if i want to give someone some money, what am i gonna do? Drive home, open my banking app and wire him some? or search for an online payment method we both can use, figure out his contact and then pay the service provider 10% of the five bucks i wanted to hand him?
It is a huge downside for just a teeny-tiny bit of convenience... sometimes.
I even paid for one guy because his fancy payment method 3000 didn't work and it would have been way more hustle to wait for them to figure out some payment method then to just pay the few bucks for him... In cash.
ApplePay works everywhere here in my area (Bavaria), even in small bakeries and on every ticketmaschine :D
I'm more of a card payer rather than app user or cash. I used Google pay for quite a while until I wanted to get cash from an ATM and it took me 10 minutes to remember my pin after only having to use my thumb to authenticate everything.
Favourite music: If I had to pick something probably metal and hardstyle. That's why Electric Callboy has been one of my farvourite bands for a while now.
It's also fine to go into the women's restroom to change a diaper. Most people in Europe won't mind.
Well, as someone who has both a droid and an iPhone, definitely want my google or Apple Pay to work on it, for it offers you so much more versatility in life and u are not screwed when you find yourself having nothing but your phone on you.
Generally I pay digitally at least 90% of the time and in terms of frequent use, I’d say it’s about even. I use my phone and my card interchangeably. When I use cash it’s usually when buying something from a food stand or on a flea market, you know things of that nature.
Ow, and my favourite style of music is (post) Grundge.
Have a lovely weekend. :)
Fav music? Definitly DnB/Jungle, Big Beat, sometimes UK Garage/2Step
Yes, when it comes to changing tables, there is still a lot to do here in Germany. It's funny that I see so many fathers with their children out and about where I live (East-Germany). I wonder, what they do when they have to change the diapers and there is no extra room for that, that everyone can use. I prefer cards to pay. Genre of music: good old Rock
Classic rock. Sabaton.ptx.
Love classic rock as well 😃
i would never use a apple product or service. i use my normal bank card or use my mobile to to pay via banking app.or even cash. if really required i have a debit card also but its used rare.
Cash and classic Rock.
Music: I like new wave and electronic music, also some 80s punk.
Driving: In the US, I'm only familiar with driving in the SF Bay Area. Yes, driving there is very different than here in southwest Germany, but I don't favor one over the other. For example, I personally like "all-way stop" intersections and right turn permissions at red lights in CA, but I'll probably never get used to the "keep your lane" highway system, getting passed left and right is pretty scary😅 I know from visiting American colleagues here that they were quite appalled by the curvy and "extremely narrow" streets in old German towns😂
Cash/card: I actually had more trouble paying with my smartphone in CA than here in Germany, at least in the last few years. But on the other hand, I always have 10 or 20 euros with me here too, you never know 😉
An Oklahoman eating escargot, unheard of!!
Very much agree with the astronomical increase in the price of staples in the US versus Deutschland. I will limit the comparison to Deutschland as I did not find vegetables to be inexpensive in France, however they were very good. In another time when I lived in France as a kid the standard baguette was 20 centimes, about 5-cents at the time. I was responsible for purchasing the nightly baguette by walking across the street to the boulangère.
Even McDonalds in Deutschland serves coffee to stay in "non-disposable vessels".
The Deutsch drivers are not "significantly better", but several magnitudes better than American drivers. One thing you missed is the preponderance of STOP signs in the US versus the number of YIELD signs. In the US I find that ~90% Stop versus 10% Yield signs exist; in Europa it is the opposite with ~90% Yield and 10% Stop signs. The people of Europa cooperate much better between themselves than Americans do, thus I believe the use of the Yield is appropriate. Oh, also the zipper merge is a very good feature of Deutsch driving.
I don't use Apple Pay in the US; did find it nice to use on the Underground in London though.
I've been gone from Europa since 2020. Things may have changed.
I use my phone for payments whenever possible (also more secure than using the card itself). I go for weeks without going to an ATM because I almost never use cash.
Almost all my music listening now is at concerts (35 to 40 a year). Almost exclusively what is known as „classical“ (I don‘t like the terms „classical“ and „pop“ really, but people understand what you mean).
Our home states (you OK, me TX) have gone off the rails! The Texas governor wants to build a wall between Texas and New Mexico (that‘s right, NEW Mexico!) to stop women from going from Texas to NM for legal abortions. And a state senator from OK recently referred to LGBTQ+ people as „filth“ - and he used the word several times!
Regarding changing Tables, first off, most women are not heartless enough to not let you do that, and second, at least the publicly aceassible restrooms outfittet with changing tables have those on the special restroom for disabled people, which is unisex, so unless you are very unlucky, they are usually not frequently used
I prefer card (ApplePay) too i just don’t like to carry cash at all. I don’t want to go to an ATM before going to buy something. And I also believe it’s more unsafe carrying cash instead of card.
It’s sad that Germany needed an pandemic to make card payments more usual 🙈
Nowadays if they don’t offer card payment i don’t go there 🤷♂️
Last time i was holding cash is 2-3y back 🤔
I'd never have thought that Apple Pay is more commonly accepted in germany than in the US. Germans are very sensitive to data protection topics and Apple pay is a nightmare in that field. But yes, it's been the pandemic that changed much in how you pay. Before the pandemic, I had always paid in csh only and only once had used my card for something different than withdrawing cash at the ATM. Nowadays I pay by card in roughly a third of the cases and the rest in cash. I don't use phone apps to pay, as they are, as said, a nightmare for data protection. Google does know more than enough about me, they do not need to know what I buy offline. And I don't touch Apple because I don't like them at all.
Oh, I like Metal, Industiral, Folk Rock/Metal, sometimes a little Punk Rock...
If U feel things R close together in Germany, France or Spain, then better don't go to any of the small countries @ all. 😂
I'm proud of Germans cash addiction! 😎 I hate cellphone-payment as well.
BTW: Intersections also work without traffic light, without chsnging them 2 roundabouts. 😂
A funny thing I suppose is that when I moved here (Regensburg) just how little culture shock there was for me. I was warned about it, but what I found is that for those of us who are X-er and Boomer age, Germany has many cultural things that the US once had that really started to die out in the 80s and are gone now. Was getting my car inspected and speaking to the mechanic about it, and I told him I would not go back to the US because Germany is much like the US I knew growing up. Everything from how Sunday functions to the cash economy to even minor things that Easter Egg trees in Bavaria, I remember very well growing up in late 70's and early 80s US. Even the taste of certain foods both cultures have in common I recognized from childhood tastes having them in Germany, the spicing such are just gone from most areas of the US now.
I do think I would have a lot reverse culture shock going back to the modern US than staying in Germany.
There are already so many comments that I can't tell if anyone's covered this already, BUT ... One of the residual effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been price-gouging in the US. When there were supply-chain issues, this might have been justifiable, but it's been a couple of years now since things started to calm down, and prices haven't followed suit. Hmmmmmm ...
I can't even use Apple-Pay, because I don't have an iPhone. I also can't use other stuff like that (can Google-Pay be used like that?), because my phone doesn't have NFC. So, I just use my plastic card.
2.50 umust ve a fancy baguette. In Austria, the inventors of baguettes cost 1 euro something per baguette.
I live in Cochem RLP. I pay almost everywhere with my Apple Watch, even for a few Brötchen in a bakery. I‘m often in the USA and allways wonder why the still take your credit cards and run away with it to some office or kiosk. Prices for for bread in the USA are ridiculous high. And kitchen apppliances in the USA are huge and energy inefficient. The houses in the USA are of ridiculous poor quality. But the most important differences between USA and Germany are costs for medical treatments, costs for education and payed free time for vacation.
I definitely prefer paying cash. On the one hand you have more control over how much you spend - on the other hand it' for data protection. You never know what happens to your data, especially if it is via apple pay or others hosted in foreign countries with not so strict data protection agreements. In Germany we have the Datenschutz-Grundabkommen (DSGVO) (General Data Protection Regulation), which is, as the name says, just the lowest common denominator as more was not possible with the government in charge. In other countries there is often even less.
I'm into metal.
Well I'm Austrian not German. But I saw the extreme change since covid. Before very few restaurants had card payment now most of them do. And I don't use apple overpriced nonsense. Google pay works well tough. Almost too well you hold it close and it works. Kinda scary but well I only have NFC on during payment
Intrresting how you singled out Apple Pay there. Since Apple's market share in Europe is not as big as in the US, Google Pay might be used more in Europe than Apple Pay. Though it really doesnt matter, since in Europe contactless payments are the same regardless if you use a card or any brand of phone/watch that supports contactless payments.
What really has annoyed me about payments in Germany, besides a lot of places being cash only, is that many places still accepted local EC card only and not Visa or Mastercard.
In our tiny corner of Europe, card payments are accepted virtually everywhere and I really don't remember when I last used cash. it has been years for sure.
Also I would never give my card to an employee and let them walk away with it. Thats something that just doesn't happen in Europe.
I'm a 90's kid, so eurodance and other electronic music from early 90's to early 00's.
I like Italodisco from the 90's !
I do prefer using Digital payments (Apple / Google Pay) since these payment methods use a secure card number that changes over a set period. But as you mentioned most restaurants in the US the waiter has to take the card to a central terminal digital payment methods will not work. I am happy many chain restaurants now have a Kiosk on the table or a QR code to scan and pay your bill. And my favorite music genre is Jazz..
It's not gender roles confirming... having a changing station in female restrooms is just 99% more likely to be used. A young child is 100x more likely to be with their mother. Especially the breast feeding age. Yes, both parents can be out and share the responsibility, but the woman can also do it while outside and the man can change diapers at home. It's just like we have parking lots for women, while men can be robbed and assaulted instead. But it's just more likely to happen to women, so men don't get the same luxury.
You won't find any bread in the USA that is baked in the same way as in Germany or Europe, and above all so different in its variety (over 3200 types of bread alone (estimated)).
Can you find that in the USA? I don't think so, and certainly not in terms of the cost factor.
Of course I do NOT use Apple or google payment. There is no need for my phone manufacturer and professional data collector to know about my expenses. Although I have a digital copy of my bank card on my phone to pay with, I am totally fine with my bank knowing about my expenses.
One big difference between German and American restrooms might be that in Germany, it would be tolerated that a man enters a female restroom to change diapers of a baby or even accompany his female toddler to the toilet. In the USA, this would be unthinkable. About my preferred music genre, I can't pin that down. Rock, Pop, Punk, I like so many styles.