10 WEIRD things GERMANS do 😝🤷🏽‍♀️

#expats #germany #expatsingermany #lifeingermany

Life in Germany seen from the perspective of an expat or foreigner can be weird sometimes. In this video, I share my top 10 weird things Germans do (from a Latino perspective).

📼 RELATED VIDEOS:
My top 10 German CULTURE SHOCKS as a LATINA!

⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:02 - Weird thing#1
01:55 - Weird thing#2
03:55 - Weird thing#3
05:06 - Weird thing#4
08:43 - Weird thing #5
10:05 - Weird thing#6
11:20 - Weird thing #7
12:41 - Weird thing #8
15:16 - Weird thing #9
16:40 - Weird thing #10

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Simple Germany provides tips & information in English about living in Germany as an expat. We talk about services that are friendly and easy to use to beat German bureaucracy. We also cover the cultural aspects of living in Germany. All of this brought to you from the eyes of an expat and a German duo. We want to help you settle in Germany more smoothly. 🍻

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[cdnest]

Das Klopfen kommt aus den Hörsälen der Universitäten. In einer Hand hat man noch den Stift mit dem man Notizen während der Vorlesung gemacht hat, mit der anderen Hand klopft man Beifall.

[tomtomtom]

The Brits don't even know "Dinner for one" ! The movie was produced in Germany with english actors !

[leobm]

The TÜV tests many things, e. g. children's playgrounds, roller coasters in amusement parks, sports equipment, etc. Mainly where safety is concerned. But the fact that certain websites are tested by the TÜV (which of course costs the operator something) makes sense too. They test, for example, whether payment is secure or whether there are any security gaps, etc.

[m.h.]

I think the "explaining by saying it louder and slower" comes from the German dialects... Other Germans do understand most words, but might not have understood it the first time due to dialect difference. So we tend to repeat the word slowly, as this usually clears it up - but that obviously doesn't help in all situations.

[angelajackel]

It's Sunday afternoon in Australia and I've just come across your shows. Enjoying each video and find that I'm still very familiar with it all, although as a young child, we left Germany 57 years ago. Traditions and sayings haven't changed. Although my daily language is english, your videos bring back sweet memories. Best wishes to both of you.

[jorgbecker]

The story behind 'looking in the eyes while saying cheers' is from the medieval times.
Back then the knights invited each other to their castles to declare peace but sometimes it was a trap and they tried to poison their enemy. So it became a habit that they banged their goblets so hard that some of the wine from each spilled over to the other one's. In addition they looked into each other's eyes because even for the most evil guys it was a taboo to betray someone while looking in the eyes.

[angiekimalthoff]

dinner for one ist einfach eine Sylvester-Tradition - ich freu mich jedes Jahr wie blöd darauf ;-)

[solaccursio]

"Birkenstock" and "fashionable" aren't to be used in the same sentence :D

[marvinasas]

Haha the bear opening thing is funny. I was traveling a lot and I had this situation a couple of times already that I just casually opened a beer with some random item or another bottle or something without even thinking about it and people were just staring at me like I was a wizard or something 😂😂 that's realy kind of a German superpower 😂

[m.mueller]

English people are totally unaware of Dinner for One. They started to show it in the last two years but only like one time on that evening. It was produced or ordered, I don't totally remember by the NDR (a German TV channel). So although the whole show is in English, it is a German thing through and through.

[kilsestoffel]

Fathers day is at Ascension Day. When I was a kid in the seventies, it was more a family day, in my area a lot of families did a tour in their bycicles, which were often decorated with birch branches. In the late 70s, early 80 more and more mobile drinking booths poped up and slowly the young men became more and the more drunk people were at the streets, the less families were seen. And almost suddenly the day was named "fathers day", though most of these men aren't fathers

[ryderhook]

The TÜV stands for Technical Monitoring Association, actually originated from testing steam engines. At that time they had the tendency to explode ^^ From there it became a business and they checked everything. For example, the manufacturer of the belt says that holds up to x kilograms that tests the TÜV and confirms that. Its actual task, however, is the safety of devices; in passenger lifts, for example, you will always find a sticker with a date that has been checked.

[ulfljung]

Miss Sophie has been a tradition in Sweden at new year as well. Not so weird after all?

[jhdix]

I can totally relate to the "Nacken" story.
Reminds me of something I witnessed at the Costa Brava a couple of years ago:
A German family of five, huddling in front of a market stall, discussing which spanish expression to use to get the meat they wanted.
Discussion heated up a bit, until at some point the oldest member of the group boldly took the initiative, and ordered in broadest Rheinhessian-Spanish "Uno kilo von denne da ovve da" (while pointing at it).

[anni]

My dad gets a present for Father’s Day. And the guys with the Bollerwagen mostly aren’t a father.

[ingokueper]

I stumbled upon this video and loved it! As a German who used to travel a lot, I can relate to most of the "weird things". I love the vibes in this video keep it up!

[dettmardencker]

Hi you simple germans,
thats a lovely video! Here a short comment to the knocking on the table-thing:
Knocking on on the table is simply an approving signal, depending on the situation. It can be an applause (e.g. after a good lecture in university) but it can be also a greeting as well. Example: I´m going to a meet some friends in a pub. Some of them are already there. So I don´t interrupt their conversations by greeting them verbally, instead I knock one, two or three times on the table, wich means "greet you all at the table". They would knock back. If possible, I make a short eye contact with all of them when knocking. BTW making eye contact (also when raising the glasses) is a question of respect by paying attentiion to a person.
This knocking is short and convenient. It´s just an informal greeting of friends. Sometimes I enter a pub and knock on the bar counter to greet the bar keeper - if I know him.
Also: knocking on wood brings luck, so sometimes I knock on my head :). I´m used to knock on these occasions and I´m now a almost 70 years old grumpy and cold german.
Please go on vlogging!
Dettmar

[zwaryboy]

I really enjoyed your video guys 🎉 you seem like very cool people and I really enjoyed the conversation and laughed a lot with you 😁 keep it up and keep posting 🙌🏽

[lisbethfrost]

Fun video. One more thing that many foreigners find weird: Mettbrötchen 😋
BTW: Knocking on the table is an academic way of showing appreciation and respect in universities. It has spilled over into business life.
I’m surprised that you think the rest of the world is unable to open a beer. My Danish husband can open a beer with a wet newspaper 😂
And in Denmark people always look each other in the eyes when toasting, bring cake to work on their birthday and watch “Dinner for One” on New Year’s Eve 🥳

[nessy]

I found Jen when I was looking for "right for left" driving rule and now I subscribed and binge watching all of your videos. You both rock! 👏