what I learned about GERMANY | living abroad

germany is most known for their cars beer and that one thing but it's much more than that so let's dive right in germany officially the federal republic of germany is a country in central europe it borders denmark on the north poland and czech republic on the east austria switzerland to the south and france luxembourg belgium and the netherlands on the west and it's also situated between baltic and the north sea on the north and the alps on the south germany is divided into 16 constituent states and the largest city is berlin which doubles as the capital people in germany currently germany has over 83 million people making it the second most populated country in europe germans tend to be punctual which means arriving 10 minutes before the appointment they're very thrifty and love a good bargain in many cities anything that they don't need they put it outside in a box for strangers to take for free germans respect the law and the rules of society to an above average degree that is why at the train stations you will notice that there are no gates where you have to scan your ticket to get in because they trust that you will have a ticket otherwise you'll be fined germans believe that if everyone in the community follows the rules and are doing things the right way the neighborhood town city the country will be a nice place for all residents to live therefore they adopted many unusual rules like legally not allowing any loud noise after 10 pm until 6am it is not permissible to kill insects such as wasps bees and hornets without a good reason otherwise you'll be heavily fined or not being able to throw away old glass jars on sunday because it makes too much noise language germans speak german if only it was that easy in school everybody is learning the standard high german or hoch deutsch but the country has over 10 dialects so if a person from the north meets someone from the south there's a high chance that they won't understand each other and don't get me started on numbers to say for example 24 you have to say 4 and 20. so years are confusing to write down i was taught in german class that this is pronounced as ich the only correct way but depending on the dialect it can be pronounced like ish just e then the german language is full of unnecessary necessary words like schadenfreude enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others oh do we have any more ice cream no it's the last one and it's all mine ow my tooth fotanide meaning food jealousy when someone ordered better looking food than you and you wish you ordered that too leben's mood the feeling of being utterly done with it all beat him down and tired of everything feeling gloomy about the whole world kopf kino when you mentally play out an entire scene in your mind as if in a movie theater speaking of movies if you want to go to the cinema you might miss out on a lot of the plot since movies in germany more often than not are translated to german otherwise i would recommend going to an indie cinema instead but the popcorn is not as good traditions germans also love to stick to their traditions some are very sweet and wholesome like coffee and cake while you get together with your friends or family typically on a weekend to get some coffee and some cake but some are more interesting like after presentation instead of clapping everybody knocks on wood and that is why finland does not exist thank you so much for your attention or when you say cheers and clink glasses you need to look into each other's eyes otherwise you'll have seven years of bad woohoo if you get what i mean fifty-four percent of people are christian and forty percent are irreligious and some people are stepping down from their christianity might be because christians have to pay a yearly tax to the church speaking of religiousness you might be confused as to why you're seeing a mathematical equation in front of the door it is actually a christian thing an epiphany tight tradition used to bless one's home and to pay homage to the magi who visited christ in his first home i'm not sure what that means but that's the explanation events with traditions come many important events top events holidays in germany are oktoberfest that actually starts mid-september carnival the season kicks off on the 11th of november at 11 am and 11 minutes and it ends on a thursday preceding ash wednesday but i still don't really understand then easter with many many chocolate bunnies unity day on october 3rd is the largest national holiday in germany it commemorates the 1989 reunification of the east and west germany after the fall of the berlin wall christmas it's a big thing with gluhwein and christmas markets and there are plenty more including many more religious holidays architecture not only is germany known for having the largest homeless population in europe but they are also known for their architecture either be the traditional timber german houses or the many castles cathedrals that they have moreover their big chunk of land and long historical existence gathered many different buildings throughout the ages like these old detailed dirty churches to ruins from the roman ages beautiful renaissance palaces that are now used as government property sports it is estimated that around 27 million germans are members of a sports club whereas an additional 12 million pursue such an activity individually which shows how keen germans are in sports then if there is a live championship going on you'll most likely find them in bars cafes and restaurants watching the game on the big tv and having a beer in their hand otherwise going on walks is a popular activity that they take really seriously either in nature or even in the city what also is considered very german are german shepherds as the name suggests they originate in germany their intelligence speed strength and keen sense of smell made them the perfect choice as sheep herders due to the breed's reputation of being courageous and easy to train german shepherds were welcomed as police dogs and side dogs for the blind and they're cute food to my surprise when it comes to food germany has a lot more to offer than just sausages potatoes and beer every region has something unique and special to offer or it's the same food but it's made a little bit differently but my guilty pleasure are the german bakeries germans love their hearty dense bread they can eat it in the morning with some butter and a topping of their choosing as a sandwich for lunch or as avenport meaning evening bread for dinner which is like a breakfast buffet spread but in the evening something that could easily be mistaken as german are children or kinder but it is beloved by germans and it has many shapes and forms kinder country kinder egging their whites kinder bars kinder shopkins penguins and kinder ice cream even though the first milko was produced in germany it was created by a swiss man named philip but the assortment of milka is also not too shabby nevertheless haribo is german and there are too many options to choose from for german drinks the first thing that comes to mind is beer germany has way too many variations of beers hirsna laga biten hellis schwartzbier alt and the list goes on and on they dedicate their gardens to it and they even have a beerpedia then jagermeister that has a party reputation the second most popular meister is waldmeister waldmeister is green it can be either a syrup or a drink and it translates to sweet rood roof other people could also know it as tahun how does it taste like well it tastes like green a bit sweet maybe a little bit herbal as you can tell by my face i'm not a big fan lastly for drinks germans are also known for mixing drinks and calling it their own like metal mix or spazzy fuzzy spazzy spazzy we're spazzy it's pronounced specie but i think from now on i'll call it spizzy as well spazzy but this is basically fanta mixed with coke then we have cherry banana banana juice mixed with cherry juice chole which is sparkling water mixed with some kind of juice last but not least mixing beer or cider with cola or other sodas but more about german food and drinks you can check out the video that i linked on top nonetheless i also want to talk about supermarkets the most well-known discount supermarkets from germany are aldi and little other than that there are many more like etika raeva and kauflan with a wide selection of products and every store has some kind of an assortment of bo products but the biggest assortment you will find in bo stores where everything is slightly overpriced for a reason and most of the stuff has nice design i appreciate that plus more often than not you will see people with baskets pretending to be belle from beauty and the beast frolicking around her village stop stop stop stop stop stop stop fund to encourage more people to recycle when purchasing a refreshing bottle of water or any other beverage you will also have to pay a small deposit called fund it is automatically added to your receipt you can reclaim it by taking the empty bottle to the machine at the supermarket you will be given a little piece of paper which you can bring to the cash register while also buying another bottle and the cycle continues that's why if you want to get rid of your can just put it next to the trash can or on top of it it is also popular to bulk buy drinks so you will often see whole cartons of bottled water or juice to share amongst your family if you still live together and lastly even though healthcare in germany is free don't expect tap water to be free in restaurants transportation cars are a big part of german culture since they were inventors of the modern motor car and the birthplace of aldi volkswagen porsche mercedes-benz and bmw many germans view driving as a relaxing pastime and are very delighted to use the autobahn or motorway it has no cap on the speed limit even though germans love their cars they also somewhat care about their environment therefore all cars are required to have these stickers that indicate that the car is up to date in most cities like this one you will not find a number under three since most likely you're not allowed to be here and you will get humbled by a fine even in their licensing plates germans adhere to structure since they have a large population of cars the number starts with the letters that indicate the city or the district where the car was registered and then come the random two letters with numbers other than buses where you have to press a button in order to stop the bus trains are also available for the common commuter but even though germany claims to be efficient in their ways of work their train system is far from it not saying it's terrible but the trains are more often than not late or just get cancelled because of a thin layer of snow expected every goddamn year and trains are not cheap it also doesn't help that the prices fluctuate depending on when you buy the ticket today or tomorrow nonetheless this summer they decided to introduce a 9 euro ticket that you can take any buses or regional trains which are usually slower but maybe it's worth the price if you're ready to travel with a bunch of people biking in germany is also somewhat popular depending on the city and the weather however biking roads can end abruptly leaving you confused as to where you have to go plus in the netherlands you can easily recognize a german biker if they're wearing a helmet graffiti when arriving in germany you will surprisingly find a lot of graffiti art all over the place under bridges on walls and on sides of walls of the autobahn this art style in germany started with the berlin wall as a protest and expression of freedom in the 1980s plus graffiti is only criminally punishable when it can see your graffiti cause damage to the applied surface and unless it's someone owned property plus many cities have consistent markings around which for example this city has gvs and here is the segment i call only in germany naming interesting and unusual experiences i had in germany if you're looking to buy something secondhand or you're looking for a part-time job ebay client saga is the most popular place to do so it has many categories you can even buy a whole kitchen which you will need if you're moving to an apartment in germany that is unfurnished speaking of apartments you will need to pay a fee for the cable television and radio even if you're not using it plus you will have newspaper delivered to your doorstep even though they immediately end up in the paper trash some days are holy and untouchable therefore supermarkets and other shopping places are closed on that day but some cafes restaurants and gas stations are open so you won't stop to them and except if it's a shopping sunday that occurs once or twice a month germany likes to keep it old-fashioned so having to carry some cash on you is critical there's a high chance you'll stumble upon a restaurant or a coffee machine that does not accept cards plus in some places you'll be required to provide a signature when paying by card german keyboards are arranged differently ever so slightly so you will be struggling finding the z and the at for a couple of minutes oh and education is free not all but many this was a brief deep dive into what is germany the country is so big so there's so much more to explore but i hope you liked the video or learned something new and i hope to see you again bye [Music] you

Channel: hello erika

Views: 111,237

Keywords: learn german, deutsch lernen, learning german, speaking german, german study, elysse speaks, elysse davega, germany travel, german, germany, living in germany, living in europe, berlin, trier, cost of living in germany, german culture, german people, transport in germany, everything you need to know about germany, mistakes in germany, german beer, german schepperd, prezels, german food, studying in germany, german life, deutsch, deutschland, moving to germany

Id: s253pKMYy5M

Length: 14min 52sec (892 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 19 2022