Five things you allegedly can't do in Germany (but you can)

There are a lot of blogs and other articles out there warning visitors to Germany of all the things they might do wrong, causing accidental offence and making them look like an idiot.

Except that in many cases... it's not true. Or not often true. Here are five examples of things you really can do in Germany.

Chapters:
00:00 Let's debunk something!
00:37 Don't ask for a doggie bag
01:22 Don't wave at people
02:04 Don't eat with your hands
02:46 Don't mention the war
03:29 Don't be late

Music:
"Style Funk" and "Hot Swing"
Creative Commons Attribution licence

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[Sleeping_Insomiac]

If you mention the war, be prepared for an honest, earnest discussion of the topic, the history before and after, and most major parties involved...

[hanshelga]

Up until 1 minute ago I would have definitely been very offended if someone had asked me for a Hundetüte.
Mainly because I had no idea what a doggy bag is.

[reginas.]

Concerning the war: I'm German and I never had problems discussing the war /3. Reich. Only in the UK (where I have been frequently in the 70s/80s in my 20s - YES I'm old!) I experienced quite often people greeting me with "Heil Hitler" or lifted their arm for the "Hitlergruß" and sometimes sang the first verse of the national anthem. I never gave a reason for that behavior except beein German. That kind of scared me then...

[blackraveness]

I'm German and lived in different parts of Germany and made holidays all around Germany. It was NEVER an issue to take left overs from the restaurant to home.
BUT please don't call it doggy bag or Hundepaket.
Just ask politely if they can wrap the left overs for you and they will do it for you.

[elirome]

About being late: To me and most of my friends it matters where you meet. If you meet in public space I already find it quite annoying to wait 10 minutes. If youre meeting at someones home its not such a big deal, because having to wait for people at home is not that inconvenient.

[ronin]

The tip about not mentioning the war probably means that someone took that Fawlty Towers episode too seriously.

[Melissa]

LMAO, eating a pretzel with a knife in fork because you're in Germany! It sounds like something from a Borat movie. 🙂

[fubini_yt]

I agree on every single point.
As two additions to the hand shaking issue: especially during the pandemic, it has become much more common not to shake hands.
And in addition, you might just want to watch what your opposite is doing.

[kruesae]

In my teenage years, 15 years ago in Germany, we always greeted eachother with a handshake calling eachothers by our family names. But it was more a mocking of the adults than anything else.

[franziska]

About being late, I think for some people it might be confusing how late "being late" is and again it depends on the occasion.

Generally anything longer than 15 Minutes is considered noticeable late, if its a very punctual thing more than 5 Minutes even.
At a very relaxed party with many guests at a home where nothing like a proper dinner is planned, turning up half an hour later is also not a big deal.

And in contrast to other countries, when people invite you at 8, they do expect you to be there around 8, none of that "nobody shows up at 8" stuff. And you also don't have to wait in the car or something to be punctual, as long as you don't expect everything to be ready, don't hesitate to come in earlier.

In general, just give the person a heads up via text or a call that you're going to be late and it's usually fine, even in business context (altho it probably still makes a bad impression). Things happen.

(Ofc, thats my personal experience, your mileage may vary)

[Darilon]

I don't mind talking about the war. Just don't give me that "We beat you in the war" nonsense. Neither me nor you were alive back then. On top it's massively disrespectful to treat the war like a f'n football match.

[multisorcery-]

Great video as always. I love the fact that unlike some youtuber creators you always do your research, don't spread wrong information about Germany and aren't "shocked" about many things and you don't use clickbaity titles. I love your channel and watch every video that comes out. In my opinion you deserve at least a million more viewers.

[ErklaerMirDieWelt]

The doggy bag situation has changed over the years. 30 years ago it would still have been perceived as stingy or at least bad manners to take home leftovers. Today, with sustainability being on everyone's mind, it's much more common.

[OnwardMJ]

I really think the punctuality thing is quite a myth. We moved to Leipzig from the US last summer, and I've noticed that arrival times for my German friends are not always on time. Probably better than Americans, but not as punctual as I thought. And I learned that punctuality at a doctor's office only means that you have to be there on time, not that the doctor will see you on time!

[BlackAdder]

When someone is more than 15 mins late to an appointment I would ring and ask if everything was alright. I'd be concerned that they might have had an accident, forgotten the appointment or are lost.
I do expect a call when someone knows they will be more than 15 mins late. I think I'm like the average German that way.

[TheMadSqu]

As a German I absolutely second all the points being made. Except for point 5 I would say, if you know you cannot make it in time, kust call/text someone. It still is a way to show your respect to the host.

[kaworunagisa]

Moral of the story: Germans are human, and nuance is a thing

You can do whatever you like in Germany.
Anything you like.

There's just this thing called "consequences"… :D

[Mynthio]

To the thing about eating with your hands I just want to add that germans really like their bread and buns and whereas you might conceivably be able to eat bread with knife and fork that just isn't possible with a bun and literally every way (there are numerous) to eat a bun requires you to eat it with your hands after preparing your bun/bite with a knife.

[OLBarbok]

As a German I did not even know people thought these things about us, especially the waving/greetings.
It's so extremely common to just say "hello, hey, whats up, yo, the head nod, the list goes on" to complete strangers while on walks or whatever even