US American REACTS - 8 Things That Only Happen in Germany

Hello friends!

What do you think of these 8 things that "only" happen in Germany?

I hope you enjoy!

[trillian]

Salat is a common word for things mixed up. We don't only have edible Salat. We have Kabelsalat (cable salad = a long cable messed up) and older people will remember Bandsalat. When things go wrong we also say: "Da haben wir den Salat."
If you really think about it, "Kann man nicht meckern" (nothing to complain about) is the biggest compliment possible, because if there is really nothing to complain at all, it must be perfect.

[twinmama]

Dear Nate,
Mayo salads are either main dishes with bread or spreads or side dishes to other main dishes. Very popular is Wiener Würstchen or fish both with potato salad.

[margreetanceaux]

Netherlands workplace: if one goes to the lunchroom, and/or the other (at his desk) grabs his lunchbox, we say "eet ze". Very loosely translated to ‘enjoy your meal’, or ‘enjoy your food’.

[schlabunsen]

On Mahlzeit... You don't use it in work context exclusively, it's widely used as some kind of 'Bon appetit'. But there is a restriction at work as you only use it at noon. If you arrive at work and someone greets you with Mahlzeit, they want to tell you that you are quite late (as if it's nearly noon time). I totally agree with you on the Becks topic :)

[JumpmenDe]

Regarding bringing cake to work on your birthday: It seems that, in the past, people would simply bring the leftovers of their birthday cake to share with coworkers, either to get rid of them or as a kind gesture. Nowadays, it has become so expected that people might even go out and buy cake or pastries specifically to bring to the office.

[Arch_Angelus]

Meat Salad is mostly eat as spread. Fresh bread from the bakery is the best.

[RascalFascal]

always good to see nate still going strong. stay safe over there, bro. holla back...peace.

[wittyu]

Your coworkers will bring a present. Mostly they collect money before and someone will go and buy a present and some flours. So we do get something for our birthday. 🙂

[peterdoe]

I lately experienced a "rules" and same time "noise" thing. (Am I a more relaxed german?) Working in front of our house, getting rid of weed (Unkraut) there. A couple, walking down the street greeted me. Up the road comes a Mofa (these little 50ccm thingies, only allowed a 25km/h). Surely swift. And with quite some sound to it. The couple gave the rider dirty looks. I only recongnized: "Oh! Probably 8ties. Shiny paintjob!"
10 minutes later: I hear that thing coming down our street. Reducing speed, before the corner towards our village. Rider stopps in front of me. To say hi.
Our pharmacist! (He lives in our village. The pharmacy is just down our street in town.) His brother runs a motorbike repair shop. He just restored this one for him. An old Piaggio Mofa. He had owned one, when he was a teen. 1st test ride.
What else can I say but: ride safe, brother!
Village life.
Btw: egg salad and meat salad are used as a spread. Potato and noodle salads are used side dishes.
Opening beer bottles: some belt buckles can be helpful LOL

[MDMARaver]

Ventilation in Germany has a lot to do with the fact that we generally have thermal insulation on the walls of our houses. The reason for airing is therefore simply to prevent a concentration of humidity from building up inside the rooms, which could eventually lead to mold growth. This is also the reason why this is specifically mentioned in rental agreements!
And incidentally, there is also nothing wrong with keeping the oxygen content in the air we breathe at a normal level. 😉

[Torfmoos]

f the meeting starts at 9 and you came 10 min late you may be hear "mahlzeit" too even when noon will be far away.

[margreetanceaux]

Having your birthday in the Netherlands = bringing cake, or apple pie etc. for your colleagues. The downtown patisseries know that all too well ;-)

[floriandeutsch]

We (my family) always had Fleischsalat on things like Graubrot. Never really saw anyone eat those kinds of "salads" straight. We are also from Niedersachsen, and not Bayern or Schleswig-Holstein, where food oddities are especially prevalent 😅

[CilentLp]

To open a bottle you can also just use a piece of paper. Just fold it a couple of times, the last one right in the middle to get a stiff corner that use can use to pop the bottle cap.

[svenmueller]

Mahlzeit is something that me and my friends at least also used regularly though mostly only when going to lunch.
Or at the table in place of the "Guten Appetit" that's pretty common. It's use depends on the region though.
In Frisia (at least according to my grandparents and my very limited experience), "moltijd" (I'm not sure about the spelling) which is the suspect version of Mahlzeit is very often used as a replacement for "Guten Tag" during the late morning up to about 1pm.

[philipschulze.]

10:30: In fact, it's the same in private life. I'm 19 and don't know where that comes from, and I think it's more logical the other way around. But you actually bake the cake yourself when you invite people to your birthday. Of course, they bring presents, sometimes it can be cake, but it's not expected. Even though it probably happens often, you can't stand there without cake and expect the guests to contribute enough.

[kittyjohnstone]

Birthday cake in the office - in Scotland, at least when I was working age, ie in historical times, it varied from office to office, and most often not done in the office at all. Of course it’s a long time since I worked in an office.

[Dr.Disco]

We have many people who get their goat if you greet them with "Mahlzeit".

"Salat" comes from Insalata and means "salted" (to preserve). So....everything can be Salat😂

[philipschulze.]

16:24 Of course. "You know that you are not allowed to drive over the pavement" (I was really slow, had my foots on the ground and had more than a meter between people and me. I did not drive on the street because it was not allowed in the direction I wanted to drive. But I just wanted to drive down there because it was the only way to the big long street between trees, only for people on foot or on bike, a good way to get home for me through the whole city without using the street)

[slavvalb]

I ❤️Fa shower products from Germany !!! Also, the Great performance by Swiss actor, Bruno Ganz in Peter Steiner' s 🎭 production of " Faust" !!!