My American Boyfriend’s First Impressions of Germany | Feli from Germany

Ever since I introduced you guys to my boyfriend Ben, the question that I get by far the most is: Has Ben been to Germany with you yet? What did he think? So today, he's going to share his first impressions of Germany with you and talk about the things that he liked and disliked! :) ++Timestamps/chapters below!++

Mentioned videos:
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0:00 Intro
3:12 German learning update + pronunciation challenge (w/Kleo)
17:28 First impressions: visual differences
21:14 Price differences
22:04 Distances
24:01 German food
27:24 Not knowing the language (Do people speak English?)
28:45 German customer service
29:40 Driving on the Autobahn
31:13 Proximity to other countries
33:49 German beer
34:29 Paying for bathrooms
36:53 Amazing coffee
39:13 Experiencing history
41:13 Are Germans really cold/rude/reserved?
43:50 Ask us your question!
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Cincinnati, OH 45219
USA
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ABOUT ME: Hallo, Servus, and welcome to my channel! My name is Felicia (Feli), I'm 28, and I'm a German living in the USA! I was born and raised in Munich, Germany but have been living in Cincinnati, Ohio off and on since 2016. I first came here for an exchange semester during my undergrad at LMU Munich, then I returned for an internship, and then I got my master's degree in Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to win the Green Card lottery and have been a permanent resident since 2019! In my videos, I talk about cultural differences between America and Germany, things I like and dislike about living here, and other topics I come across in my everyday life in the States. Let me know what YOU would like to hear about in the comments below. DANKE :)
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[FelifromGermany]

++Timestamps/chapters in the info box/YouTube timeline! / The German content in Kleo starts on JULY 7th of course, not June! 😅++ Have you ever been to Germany/the US? What were YOUR first impressions? :)

[nicolaheider]

Just googled it. Germany has more castles (25000) than the US has MCDONALD'S (14000)!😂

[charlesronk]

Why is a 56 year old man so entertained listening to you two. I think that it is your youthful exuberance. Brings back what it was like to be young. Whatever the reason I just want to say I enjoy your videos.

[judithbader]

I love how your face lights up when he talks so enthusiastically about Germany and how much he enjoyed it. Ben, your German skills are impressive after this short time! Love the videos and the podcast

[richardsteagall]

It is obvious that they really care for each other. Their faces light up when the other talks

[HollyGabrielle]

these videos are making me so excited to travel around Germany this summer 🤩🤩🤩

[scottwhitehead]

Feli is great, and I am sure 99% of people love her. But, I am also betting that 100% of people love Ben. He seems like the nicest, most thoughtful, and chill dude of of all time. Very fun videos.

[allenminer]

I just want to say that you 2 are inspiring. Open minds, free assessments, and a bond, between yourselves that feels genuine. Rare! Exciting! Sheesh! Enjoy!

[earlewhitcher]

One hundred percent agree with Ben's comment about the "history" immersion that happens in Germany. The realization that you are in an area that can present a thousand years - or more - of existence can be both mind boggling and overwhelming at the same time. It brought the history lessons from school to life in a face to face way. Great experience.

[ericostlie]

As a non native German speaker, who learned the language through TV and speaking with others, your boyfriend is doing great. Keep it up.

[timgerber]

Fun story about Aldi in Germany here: At Aldi there is no area behind the cashier where the goods can be pushed into which other supermarkets have. And with the speed that Aldi cashiers scan the products is often really hard to keep up. I at one point in time decided not to get hurried by the cashier and that if goods fall down because they are being pushed it’s not my fault. The Aldi cashier’s reaction: „Jetz machen se aba ma hin, junga Mann! Wir sind hia imma noch bei Aldi und nich bei Edeka und sie sind noch keene 60!“ 😂 Typical Berlin humor! Absolutely cracked me up!

[thebunnydiaries]

We have just come back from Germany, (we are from the UK) I try and go twice a year, I love it! We go to the koblenz area, stayed in an apartment in Nuremberg. I absolutely love it! Everything Ben said is true. So clean, Germans are so polite and accommodating, my German is awful so people were more than happy to speak to me in English if needed. Schnitzel is amazing, me and my partner always get it when we are there. There are soooo many castles and everything is so beautiful. The food is great. The autobahn is a little scary, my partner always drives when we are there and we learnt quickly how differently Germans drive, you do get used to it. We have only ever been in the summer and it was hot! I would love to go in the winter. Thanks for this video, I love hearing other peoples opinions. Edit: also love the German coffee and we found that why Germans heard us talking English they were really interested and wanted to have a conversation which was nice xx

[KronosIV]

I remember clearly the first time I was sitting on the S-Bahn in Frankfurt, after first entering Germany. I saw a guy wearing a D&D shirt, proudly, and the train was spotless, very different to the trains I rode in Cleveland. After a few meals and a few drinks, I didn't particularly want to go back to the United States. Obviously, i didn't speak the language, and had just finished my BS, but it kind of seemed like a dream land for tech-minded, dark humored, chemistry nerds like me.

I love germany. I love every time I get to go back, especially Bavaria. I would love to live there someday.

[zorrothebug]

Watching the video was a lot of fun. I was caught sitting in front of the screen grinning stupidly and was asked several times what I was watching because I kept laughing.
I think you two are totally adorable together. I really like Ben. I love his calm and friendly nature, his humor, his curiosity, his open-mindedness. Thanks for sharing.
I'm looking forward to more videos.

[timalverson]

Feli, you are AWESOME. My wife and I lived in Germany when we were children, and we LOVE what you do. Keep up the good work.

[timothyodonnell]

You two are an adorable couple. I especially like how chill you are with each other.

[bronco]

Your video makes me “home sick” for Germany. I lived there for 6 years (1998 - 2002 and 2009 - 2011) and have visited a number of times since. Ben’s impressions were very memorable to me.

[noname-dyci]

Respekt, unglaublich gute Betonung!
Mein Mann, Mexikaner, lebt mit mir seit 11 Jahren in Deutschland und hat hier Deutsch gelernt. Seine Betonung ist nicht so gut wie Ben's.

[jimih]

The two of you are so incredible together! What a great couple! So cool! It is so refreshing to see such a young couple so full of energy so enlightened so intelligent! I wish you guys the best of everything!

[nobodyknows]

This makes me sad, because between 2010 and 2019 I got to go to Germany seven times. I had a job where I told them, my passion is for travel and every year I go to Germany for about 5 weeks a year, I don't care about your paid leave policies, you can keep your vacation pay, I will just let you know a couple of months ahead of time what my vacation window will be, and if you can't handle that, don't hire me. They hired me. Every year I would ramp up my overtime hours like crazy, and just be stacking the dough. You save the most money when traveling to Europe in three ways: 1) Book your airline tickets as far in advance as possible (2-3 months is fine, 1 week why bother), 2) Instead of traveling endlessly and staying in relatively expensive hotels, consider staying in one place by booking a "holiday apartment" - rates vary but you can often get better deals by booking for several weeks - then use local transit to see the local sites, use regional transit to see what is further afield, 3) instead of eating every meal in some restaurant or cafe, shop the local grocery stores and cook your food in your holiday apartment. Occasionally have a meal in some restaurant to enjoy the local fare. Also, if you have an American debit card, it is usable in most places in Europe, you don't have to go to a bank or exchange and 'buy Euros' to have in hand as soon as you arrive, and ATM machines will dispense Euros off your debit card (just make sure you have given your US bank a travel notification.

ALSO: Have some idea of what you want to see while you are in any given location, and see if you can book tickets ONLINE in advance. In our first year we went to Paris, went to nearby Versailles Palace, and got stuck standing in a HUGE line for three hours, while people who had booked online walked right in. Same deal at Neuschwanstein Castle too, but that time we knew to book online in advance.