German CULTURE SHOCKS as an American Student | AMERICAN COUPLE REACTION

German CULTURE SHOCKS as an American Student | AMERICAN COUPLE REACTION

Hey EVERYONE! If this is your first time watching, please give us a quick subscribe to stay up to date. We come out with videos every single day!

Check us out on Patreon!

Follow us on social media:

OFFICIAL TK TOP TUNES MERCH NOW AVAILABLE!!!

For sponsorships and networking, email us at:

[veryincognito]

American ALDI belongs to German ALDI South, Trader Joes belongs to ALDI North. Both are German supermarket chains.

[TukikoTroy]

If you want to be able to shop 24/7 then you have to remember that someone has to work to allow you to do so. Germany, and Europe in general, prefers a better work/life balance over profit and minimum wage employment. As for scanning items too fast for you; the idea is that you put the items straight back into your cart, then move away from the checkout to bag them up. Coins. In Europe you have higher denomination coinage (typically 1 & 2 Euro coins) so coins are not just small change. In general, European tap water is higher quality than in the US and in most countries restaurants etc have to be able to provide free tap water. In Germany, sparkling water is very popular, but you must pay for it. In Germany and Europe people don't dress 'nice'' they just dress normally and not like slobs. Regarding the library thing. I remember even as a child (11 and up) it would literally be a race from school to the town library to be first to get the required reference books to complete your homework. You soon learned exactly where whatever books were located on the shelves so that you didn't have to waste time searching. You would arrive in a group and had a plan to collect books to cover all subjects for the group for that evening.

[robertsf]

Why is it a big thing for Americans, if ONE day a week the shop's are closed? With all your huge fridges and deep freezers and instant food. And even if really, really nothing's left to eat at home. You don't starve to death in one day. The only thing you have to do is thinking and planning for more than a few ours in the future an enjoying your day of. Go for a walk in the park or nature and enjoy your weekend.

[nelerhabarber]

I`ll never undertstand the stress of americans at the grocery checkout. If you have only a few things you can put them in your bag, if you have more, you use the shopping cart and throw it in. There are many old people, nolt beeing fast without having problems, but ALL (young) americans are stressed?!🤔😂

[HH-hdnd]

3:15 No, shops are not packed on Saturdays. There might be a few people more compared to the other days, but not by much - at least not the grocery stores. There are however more people (mostly younger people and mostly girls/young women) who tend to do their shopping sprees on Saturdays, so it is somewhat true for shops selling clothes and lifestyle stuff - the "trendy" shops if you will.

Regarding groceries - I'm pretty sure you buy for more than just one day when you do your grocery shopping. Now think about it as simply plan ahead when shopping, that's it. Many people buy stuff for the entire week anyway when they go shopping, so it doesn't really matter all that much. The only thing that might happen is if you planned on cooking something fancy and then, while standing in the kitchen on Sunday, you realize you forgot to buy an ingrediant and now you cannot get it because the shop is closed. All in all it only requires a slight adjustment in planning, that's all.

That said - shops at gas stations are open on Sundays (even though they are usually way more expensive) so you can get a frozen pizza or stuff like that. Bakeries are usually open for a few hours in the morning (like 9-11 am or something like that). And more or less everything that has to do with free time activities and restaurants is open (the reason for that should be obvious - this is the day where everyone is off work so it is naturally the most busy day for cinemas, theatres, restaurants, leisure parks etc).

Fun fact: Trader Joe's is actually Aldi. There are two different companies, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. What you know as Aldi (NOT Aldi's!) in the USA is Aldi Süd. Aldi Nord however owns and operates the Trader Joe's shops which means that both companies operate in the USA.

4:50 No. Bring your own re-usable bags. Most people here use backpacks and bags made of cloth, and if you really miscalculated and didn#t bring enough bags you can still buy a paper bag or two at the store.

5:20 That's why many people don't bag their groceries at the counter, they put them back into the wagon, then roll off to their car and put the stuff in the bags there. Sometimes shops also have additional desks specifically for the purpose of allowing you to bag your stuff.
The buttons you recognized are for cigaretts - smoking is unfortunately still a huge thing here in Germany (and in other European countries as well).

9:29 She's actually wrong about that - she puts other people at risk, for example the driver of the car that might hit her. However the main reason why people don't want others to do that is because it is a really bad example for kids that might watch it. Small children learn through observation - if they see adults cross the street while the light is red this automatically wires children's brains with "walking by red is ok". And yes, adults might be capable of assessing the situation and if it is dangerous to walk or not - however small children cannot. They function on the visual connection of "Green/red light is safe/unsafe", they don't make the connection with the traffic. This obviously changes when kids grew older and learn, but you can get small children killed by setting bad examples like jaywalking.

Bib is short for Bibliothek which is the german word for a library.

[favoritevids]

The jay walking thing is very serious here. It stems from the idea of setting a good example for younger children. In Germany most children walk to school by themselves (or with classmates/friends). This includes crossing the street by themselves. So it’s important to set a good example and not encourage jay walking in children.

[jancleve]

3:40 What could you possible need so desparate that it can`t wait 24 hours max.? Pharmacys have always one emergency store open at sundays. So if I exclude meds, is there anything else so important that you have to get it right at that moment?

[KardoganLR]

Yes, Sundays are closed and I think that's a good thing. Everyone deserves a quiet weekend with their family. It should be possible for everyone to plan their shopping in advance and always have some supplies at home (shopping lists help).

I remember times when shops closed at 6pm during the week (at most until 8pm, but that was rare) and on Saturdays they closed at 1pm. Those were the days when there were many more mothers who stayed at home all day. Many families can no longer afford this because costs have risen much faster than salaries.

I also like the fact that bags are not free. This is also to avoid unnecessary waste (personally, I would also tackle the often unnecessary or unnecessarily large packaging). In Germany, you should always have 1-2 bags with you when you go shopping. It saves money and is more environmentally friendly.

Yes, public toilets cost money. This pays for the cleaners, etc. who keep the toilets clean.

You are occasionally reprimanded by others at red lights when you cross on red, often with the words: "Hey, there are children standing here! Don't be such a sh... role model!" Understandable, because children then tend to run after you, because: If an adult crosses at a red light, I'm allowed to do that too, aren't I?

[jancleve]

7:10 Yes, germany is still a cash cultur.
You use water, working time for cleaning, cleaning materials, electicity, heating, toilet paper and I hope soap so why should it be free?

[BrianEscobar]

I crosswalk almost all the time here in Germany and you will see it alot
But we don't do it if we see children because we know kids don't really look and just walk so we show them to stay and to wait
If i get hit by a car it's my fault but if i do it infront of a child and the child think it's ok and maybe he/she get hit it's bad

[Idkwtf]

From norway on sunday everything is closed just a smal store open. I think thats a good thing you have to think about what too get and its only one day that everything is closed so that the people that work in the stores also get a day of

[combatduckie]

the trick with big grocery shopping in supermarkets is NOT to put the purchased goods from the conveyor belt directly into your bag but to put them back into your emptied store shopper trolley as soon as they re scanned and then take your time to put them properly into your bag after you paid at a few meters away from the cashier....The ALDI I go to in Munich even has a designated area for this bagging your goods a few meters away from the cashier s area...

[perjohansen]

people that works at stores needs their weekend to, dont they

[kevanwillis]

Shops close on Sunday because staff in Europe are given free time to spend with their family.
You are encouraged to take your own bags and not keep using more and more free plastic bags.

[DJoneone]

It is actually quite normal to pay to use the toilet in public areas such as train stations or service areas. Because they are privatised. They are supervised and cleaned by cleaners.
That costs money. The buildings cost rent, electricity and heating. All that has to be paid for.

The same goes for the water in the restaurants that you want to drink.
Assuming you let 100 customers drink a glass (250 ml) of still water from the tap every day, that's €136.80 a month in water costs for the restaurant alone, based on an example price (€2.28/1m³ water). And we know that more than 2400 customers visit a restaurant per month.

[matthewrandom]

5:30 Yes you're right - these buttons are for cigarettes. Push the button of your choice and 5 seconds later a package of cigarettes comes shot out of the machine. In a supermarket. In every supermarket. Here in Germany. 13:40 Paying for public bathrooms. You think 50 ct to 1 Euro is too expensive for public bathrooms? How much would you pay for a clean public bathroom? No piss on the toilet seat, no poo on the ground, no used tissues all over the place. How much is it worth for you? And how much should the person get who keeps it clean for you?

[Humpelstilzchen]

Keep in mind that service personal here get paid at least minimum wage. That also means that the restaurant owner have high costs. He also is responsible to pay half of the health insurance of his employers, half of retirement plan, nursery insurance, unemployment insurance (normal in Germany, every employer have to do this) plus 12€/hour wage. It is possible to work on a 450 or meanwhile 500€ Basis per month without paying taxes and insurance next to your regular Job (often done in service) BUT only for i think 10h week. So you don't pay for tap water but for the service.

[althelas]

4:51 if you have a huge shopping spree in the Grocery stores, most people bring foldable boxes if they have driven to the store by car, if you came with a bicycle we have baskets on the back of the bikes, and backpacks. We bring our own bags and only need to buy a new bag if we forget our own. Well, our cashiers are fawst, but you do not need to stuff everything in your bags directly at the register. just put it back in your cart and go to a packing area where you can pack up your stuff in peace. 5:13 those buttons are for cigarettes, you chose the brand you want and it comes out of the chute on the right. 9:38 you can cross the street at a red light but be prepared to be reprimanded, not because something might happen to you but you set a bad example for children who might watch what you do and think it is okay to do it too. Children don't see as far as adults and there is a reason that the saying "It needs a village to raise kids" exists. Your carelessness could kill a child.
Regarding no shopping on Sunday, well even grocery shop emploees do want to have some time off of work and the closed shops is a remnant of the time the catholic church made the laws regarding when and when not can be be worked according to the holy days. If you live in Israel everything is closed on Saturday for Sabbat. honestly, you don't need to shop on sundays with a little bit of planning. There is nothing you might need to buy on Sunday what you can't get during the week. I you run out of sugar, flour, egg, milk etc you notice this days earlier, so write it down. It is not witchcraft and if by any chance you need something basic urgently, you can ask a neighbour.

[jancleve]

12:24 True. One big reason for this is that our education is free, so a conisderable part of our population studies.
But the buildings were the university is in is 300 years old.... so most unis build more and newer buildings while still using the old parts to the max. Plan ahead it is free but final week is pandemonium.

[kho]

Whether in a car, on a bicycle or as a pedestrian, adults and especially parents are seen by children as role models in road traffic, whom they use for orientation and whose behavior they imitate...