Top 5 German Culture Shocks | Expat Life in Germany

Here some more content about life in Germany! Let me know about some of the things that surprised you the most 🇩🇪

#germany #cultureshock #lifeingermany

[rosshart]

Churches ARE open on sundays! Also museums, restaurants and cafes, zoos and amusement parks, castles and palaces, clubs and bars and brothels. Walmart is closed in Germany 7/24.

[Muck]

"No pharmacies are open on sunday" is FALSE ... there are EMERGENCY PHARMACIES that are staffed and you can get medicine by ringing a bell. Every pharmacy will have a sign which one is the nearest emergency pharmacy/when they are on duty.

[williamgeardener]

For an American it is hard to believe that family values are prioritized over making money. They can't fathom the idea that they can't buy a vital thing like a jackhammer or toaster on Sunday.

[wkaemena]

It is not intended to PACK your stuff at the cash register! Therefore there are packing tables near the checkout where you have all all time to pile your stuff neatly in your bags. At the cash register throw your stuff as fast as you possible back into your shopping cart!

[peterloschmann]

Tip1 : lay your heavy/Big Items first on the "Laufband" than the Vegetables (mostly he has to tip the price manualy, that take a bit of time) .This way you pack the Items as they come, no need to sort on the fly. Tip2 : Pack your Items back in the Cart, and sort them later on a mostly available Table in the Area behind the Cashier

[eaglede]

I never do shopping on Saturdays and also not for an entire week. Supermarkets are so widespread here that you can easily purchase your stuff on a daily basis.
And as ever: Checkouts in Germany are not meant nor designed for you to pack your stuff. Put it back in the cart and bag it elsewhere !!!
Fun fact: EC Cards are debit cards. You may only have an issue if the payment provider is foreign or sometimes when using credit cards (because of the fees)

[iPhonesuechtler]

There is always an open pharmacy, 24/7 365. It’s just on Sundays and holidays where they work in rotation, so you’ll need to Google which one is open right now in your town/city.
Please upvote, some might think we savage otherwise.

[morvil]

What you describe as culture shocks, we call “Luxusprobleme” ;-)

[carolinekofahl]

You can't walk in the bike lane? No, and you can also not walk among the cars 🤭 I shall never understand why that is a problem 🤣

[ja_u]

2:30 idk how exactly you do it but as an avid Aldi shopper this is how my parents always did it and I do too: You lay everything on the conveyer belt and then after its scanned put everything in the cart. Just plain like you did in the store.
You keep your bags in the trunk of your car, push the cart to your car and then pack the bags in peace. That way I only have to keep up by putting the stuff randomly back into the cart, not actually pack bags. From what Ive seen I think many foreigners think you need to pack your bags at the checkout. Instead, throw everything in the cart and pack at your car.

Alternatively, if you dont have a car, there is always space behind the checkout with these ledges for you to pack your bags with all the stuff from the cart.

This was way to complicated to simply say: pack after paying not right after the cashier scans it, if thats what youre doing

[berninator]

2:30 Step 1: when you enter the building, you either grab one of the shopping Baskets or a shopping cart, wich usually is available there.
Step 2: Go Shopping. Fill your basket with the Items you want to buy.
Step 3: put your stuff on the counter. once it is your turn, you move to the exit of the counter with your basket/shopping cart ready to be filled with your items again. (Dont even try to put them directly into your personal bag or backpack, because the others dont want to wait all day)
Step 4: Put the scanned items into your basket, once the cashier sends them down the slope.
Step 5: Now you pay.
Step 6: once you have paid, you leave the counter and move to the battery return table wich can be found in pretty much every german grocery store.
Step 7: Now it is time for your personal game of Tetris. Have fun! In case you came by car AND you are using a shopping cart, you obviously go to your car instead and play a much more boring version of Tertris.

Sidenote: If you REALLY want to use a personal bag all the way, make sure its a very big one, where you can just throw your stuff in.

[Balligat]

The secret to be able to match the speed of the cashier is to use a cart until you are beyond the checkout, then bag your groceries and bring the cart back to the cart storage booth(-s), grab your goods packed in your own (non-plastic) bags and carry them home ....

[Herzschreiber]

The bike well! Can you imagine what will happen when a bicycle and a pedestrian have an accident? The separation between the cycle path and the sidewalk ensures that this does not happen, as it can lead to serious injuries. So a cyclist will shout if you are in the wrong lane to save you both from a collision. And yes, he might not just shout, he might yell. He can't know that the system is new to you. And imho it's much more pleasant than finding yourself in hospital, eh?

[YukiTheOkami]

Shopping tipp from a german.

Take a shopping cart if u dont hsve just 3 items
Get something the cashier has to type in manualy like bun roles or fruit/vegetables thst arent pre packed
When u are at the check out place the items on the belt in a way where the cashier has to slow down inbetween becouse the bun roles and cucumbers or mango.😅
Then dont panic and put the stuff in ur back put it back into the cart and usualy there are packing tables if not just pack from the csrt into ur back after ubpayed and u are done with the check out 😅

If tvere are no packing tsbles this might be becouse of berlin
Personaly i never was in a store without any packing oportunity 😅

[MagnificentGermanywithDarion]

Hello, I enjoyed hearing your top 5 culture shocks. I am an American and I visit Berlin and of course other cities often. I have a YouTube channel myself and I love to vlog my travels. I am now your 406th subscriber :). Thanks for your video.

[patrickschindler]

Switzerland looked at the deposit machines for physical items. At that time, I think it was around the 80s, they had a can machine that took the cans and pressed them together.

[makapan]

You forgot to tell everyone where you are from...the most important thing!

[liosscip]

berlin ist the most "not german" german city there is :P

[jensbaranek]

Recycling: There is a deposit system ("Pfand") on bottles and cans - and this is the reason, why You will not see these as trash on our streets or in our nature. And if someone just throw it away, there will be soon someone to pick it up. And yes: Meanwhile it is regarded as some kind of good manner to suppress it besides a trash can in public instead of throwing it inside ... someone who needs it, will pick it up soon.
Recycling may be uncomfortable for some comtemporaries, but it is necessary, because in the end there is no way of "throwing away" of non-decomposing materials. Esp. in such a rich country with its high population density as Germany.
And even if You manage only the simpliest way of trash separation (bio, glass, metal, plastic, paper), You will realize soon: The amount of the resting trash is very, very small.

[Muck]

There is no bad weather ... only bad / inappropriate clothing. Stop living your life for convenience / fun.