American Reacts to Feli from Germany - What to Know Before Going to Germany

Thank you so much for watching!! Did I embarrass myself when I went to Germany?? I think I did a pretty good job. haha

Original video and credit to:
13 things you NEED TO KNOW before going to Germany! | Feli from Germany

My Socials:

#reaction #funny #american #europe #germany

[BuzzinsPetRock]

The biggest difference is this: Tips are optional.
The waiter will still get a living wage if you don't.
But, it is seen as a nice gesture to show your appreciation of good service.
So, if they were nice and you got good service, it's normal to tip them.
If they were rude, or the service was bad in any other way, no need to tip.

I don't think you will have offended anyone, they probably just thought that you were unaware of customs here in Europe.
(Dutch perspective btw, but from my understanding it's not much different in Germany)

[Sadlander]

About the tips:
From what I understand, in the US, you tip a specific percentage of the bill. Here, it's more like rounding up the amount.
For example, if the bill is 47€, most people will pay 50€ and say "keep the change". If the bill is something like 59€, most people think that 1€ isn't enough (and kinda offending to tip just 1€ when the whole bill is almost 60 bucks), so they'll tip a little more but I don't know anyone who counts "how much is 15% of...?" to decide how much to tip.

[PotsdamSenior]

No, no closets in normal german houses. Very very (very!) few houses will have walk in closets, but those also have 3 swimming pools, 12 bathrooms and two saunas. A very upscale feature!

[anashiedler]

the no closet thing is more of a "what was the house built of" thing. American houses with studs and drywalls mostly have closets, because its easy to implement them, even after the house is already planned and constructed.
If you have a house made of bricks or concrete or some other dense material, you have to plan the closets in from the beginning, or you will have a very hard time cutting them out later. In addition - prices per m2 are very high in europe (compared to america), so you try to be as versatile as possible with the space, so the one living there can later decide to buy a furnitare as storage, but has another room instead of just a closet

[nordwestbeiwest]

Heidi, in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark we don't worry about tips because it doesn't make a big difference to the employee who serves you since he or she gets a fixed salary.

[daftphil]

Henning Wehn!
A very funny German comic who performs on British funny panel shows.
ie. Would I Lie to You.
And EOOTC does countdown

[pqrstsma]

16:27 _nacht_ = 'night'
_nackt_ = 'naked'
how one letter can make a you gotta hit that 'hch' sound from the bottom of your throat

[kaiv]

don't know why all people say to tip 10%. Normaly I give two or three euros... So, have to pay 62, 20, I'll give 65. But there is no must to do so. For wardrobe, we prefere to have wardrobes in the colour of our bed, and put it in the room where we like to have it.

[LeutnantJoker]

New homes are different in room layout nowadays, and american style biggerfridges are becoming more common, but closets are still very rare and i personally dont expect that to change much.

[yubogolfer]

A 5 to 10% tip is considered normal in Germany, if the service left nothing to complain about.

[RustyDust]

The wardrobe vs closet issue: well, yes, closets do exist in Germany, they're just not as common.

Closets being built into/onto a wall clearly define where you can and can't put additional furniture. For example you can't possibly put a bed directly in front of a closet as that usually prevents you from getting access to it if the doors open outwards, not into the closet. Even with sliding closet doors you'd still be pretty restricted. Same goes for tables or desks.

With Germans moving around three to four times in their lives on average, yet the majority of Germans renting instead of buying a house most landlords don't want to limit their renters in how they use which rooms (bathrooms and kitchens are obviously exempt). Ikea being a huge supplier of easily built and cheap furniture for all purposes wardrobes or dressers are a very good option to personalize the rooms to your taste. A closet with a certain color door or frame does set a certain minimum tone of color for the rest of the room.

Thus closets are usually found in the houses of fairly well off people who have decided on their forever home, with only one layout. Appartments to rent have to offer a lot more leeway in the layout. With roughly 80% of Germans renting that means that those who do build a house often consider the resale value of their houses as well. Future buyers may buy a house to change it into renting space instead of living there themselves.

[leDespicable]

Contrary to what many people from America seem to think, we do actually tip in Europe. The thing is, we just don't tip excessively, and the waiters don't depend on it. Tipping is a way to show you were satisfied with the service, so you might tip a little more if the waiter was really great, or you might just tip a few euros out of decency. The only times you don't tip at all is when you are unsatisfied with the service.
It doesn't mean you offended any waiters, but some were probably not ecstatic, let's put it like that lol

Having closets is not really a thing, even in newer houses. Germans like to be in charge of what goes into their apartment, and where. That's why we also usually don't have built-in kitchens, light fixtures etc. Germans consider those part of the furniture, and they want to put in stuff that fits their taste. Closets limit the amount of possible room layouts, because that one particular wall will always be reserved for the closet. With a wardrobe, you're much more flexible.
Plus, it's also probably more expensive and takes up more space to build closets in homes with brick or concrete walls.

[DirkDreischenkemper]

Gute Nacht / good naked. 😂 You damaged me. Can't stop laughing.

[imcrazedandconfused]

Oh yes, Feli has a great channel especially for Americans to check out. Her videos are very informative and very well-prepared. Sometimes she prepares topics to a degree, that you can rate it as journalistic work (e.g. her Rammstein scandal roundup video, which easily is the best I have seen yet about this in English language for American viewers).
It would be great if you could react to one of her videos every once in a while.
Your community is pretty great in communicating international cultural differences after your "learning spree" on YT about Europe and different cultures in comparison the US, that you started like, eh, 2 years ago(?). And it is totally accurate, that Germans and Danish actually share a lot of similarities in everyday cultural behavior.
I still enjoy your videos very much. Keep up the good work and all the best, Heidi. <3

[heatherlewis]

I was in (West) Germany in 1989, right before the Berlin wall came down. I was there on a German language program in college. I'm familiar with all but #13, but everything seems spot on even from my experience back then. Germans are wonderful people, and if you get to know them a bit, they're incredibly jovial and funny.

[hysterikole]

I've been a bike messenger in various countries for years and for some reason, I just never drank water. Until! I moved to Europe and discovered sparkling water. It's like a party in your mouth and is still healthy. And then! I figured out mixing. Anyone remember Orangina? well, 29cents for 1.5l sparkling water, and 1.49 for a litre of oj, and you got 2.5 litres of Orangina for less than 2 bucks. Works well with most berry and tree fruit juices. Milk mixes well with tropical juices like banana, mango, coconut, (acidic fruits like OJ or grapefruit can curdle the milk, so do it fast if you go that route)

[TheFludevich]

yes, most stores are closed on sundays, still

[BananenbaumEY]

Tipping is not a thing in germany compared to US because we actually pay a salary for waiters.

[PeterSchmidt-lp]

I (german) was a customer at a car repair shop for years, whether it was a small spare part for €10 or a repair for €800, they ONLY accepted cash payment!!!
"Gute Nacht!" (Good night!) vs. "Gute nackt!" (Good naked!) - yes, that could be annoying! 🤣🤣🤣

[Nicholas_Burmeister]

In my six month stay in Germany, I made 7 american friends, 7 Spanish friends 3 British friends and one German friend. Pretty much sums it up.