A few weeks ago, I heard some english author saying "English are too polite to be honest and Germans are too honest to be polite"

Learning the language is a sign of respect

No matter where you live, you should always learn the language. Otherwise you‘ll never understand the culture.

,,You don't need to spend so much money" Christmas markets: hold my Glühwein

You don't have to go to festivals if you don't want. There are enough Germans who avoid going to festivals.

Most surprising/shocking thing for my wife (American) in Germany was the German aproach on friendships. Almost all her German coworkers seemed to be reserved, no big smalltalk or real bonding. But all of a sudden, a simple "how are you?" to one of her coworkers turned into some sort of a 2 hour therapy session... I belive, this goes along with your point of brutal honesty. First people tend to be very reserved, but if they let you get closer, you can get overwhelmed with how open Germans can be, when it comes to their personal problems. She felt, there is no inbetween, just "mutual respect" that turns into "trustworthy person".

Ahhh, brutal German honesty: We are just like "Why in hell would you ask me a question if you do not want a honest answer?! "🤔🤔🤔 No matter what the question is! Probably even if we are asked "How are you?" Okay if a non German person asks I might respond in the way the anglophone world would in a act of politeness -no matter how I am- but still be pissed that someone makes me lie for the sake of a kind of politeness that feels so wrong to me 😤 So, please do not use that as greeting in Germany, unless you really want to know how the other person is.

We don’t have air conditioning, we have „Stoßlüften“😂

I'm German and I honestly think, the partys in little villages are literally better than the ones in big cities 😅😂

People being brutally honest and telling you what they think is a good thing, unlike Britain where they're super friendly but actually can't stand you.

Being 55 years old, let me tell you: I remember VERY hot days and summers in Germany. We just didn´t EXPECT air condition, we DEALT with it, lol. It never lasts very long.

Regarding the heat, while yes it has gotten hotter in the summer compared to 10 years ago and yes german homes usually don't have airconditioning. Most homes are well enough insulated that as long as you open the windows for a time during cooler times, like early in the morning or late in the evening, the temperature can be kept below 30°C within the apartments. It can become a problem if it's very hot for several weeks since, but it's still managable. Of course that isn't true for every apartment or house, but I think it does for most. A good rule of thumb to avoid this is to make sure to avoid apartments in the uppermost floor of a building. Those tend to heat up the most, but as I said how bad it is depends on the building and some other things, like the direction the apartment windows are facing.

Of course it’s a sign of ignorance to not even attempt to learn the language of a country! I really don’t understand why you would even want to live somewhere for years when you can’t even basic conversations with people.

"They always find an excuse to celebrate" I think you might have mispronounced "get drunk"

Thumbs up. Giving straight forward honest answers may seem weird for some of the more polite people but it really helps getting to the point. Telling my wife that some dress doesn't suit her is just saving her a lot of time figuring out if it really suits her or not.

Having grown up in germany I never felt winter much of an issue.. Until I spend my first winter in Finland. From that experience: vitamin d supplements will help a lot.

"It is a sign of ignorance if you live in Germany without learning the language." - I think that sentence holds true for everybody living in any country around the world, not only in Germany.

I think learning the language of the country you want to live in is a sign of respect. No matter if you come to Germany or any other country in this world. Here in Germany we know that our language is not the easiest one to learn and me personally, I have a lot of respect for everyone who does learn our language. But I have to say, I do not agree with the last point on your list. I don't think that you have a problem if you don't like to celebrate in Germany. Especially if you live in a big city. Noone will care if you go to a festival or not. But even in small villages you are not forced to go to any kind of festival.

Antoinette, I am a German woman, who has lived in America for the last 33 years, where the culture is apparently similar with regard to people never saying what they really mean. Even after 33 years in the USA, I can not get used to people constantly saying things they do not mean. I think it is healthy to be honest with one another, of course, in a tactful way. Glad you like it in my country. Thanks for the video!

reasons to celebrate: 1. first monday this week. 2. first tuesday this week. 3. first wednesday this week. 5. first thursday of the week. 5. first friday of the week. 6. first saturday of the week. 7. first sunday this week. 8. BONUS REASON: I have a birthday this year!

I am german and i like to watch this kind of Videos👌 its interesting to hear whats special in germany what we not realy recognize ( hope my english is not too bad 😂)

Air conditioning is really bad for the environnement too because it cools inside but warms the air outside. An endless circle.

these videos always make me happy I'm German :) being proud of our nationality is not very popular I feel like, but I think it should be. It's a great country!

Na, wenn einer eine Frage stellt, dann muss er schon damit rechnen, dass er eine Antwort kriegt. Wer damit nicht klarkommt, soll halt nix fragen.

I always thought it's normal and actually a good thing, when people are honest. Instead I found that many American people appear kind of unauthentic. Not in a very bad way, but just a bit too friendly.

Here's one that everyone who's lived in Germany will know but that will shock every foreigner when moving here: Medical details in small talk.

This is the most accurate video about Germany I’ve seen so far :D Really good job ;-)

Such a true video. Yes, it was hardly ever over 30 degrees when I grew up. 26 were the warm days. If someone does not like Fasching, they should move to Niedersachsen. It often happened that I only remembered it is Fasching when suddenly seeing 3 dressed up elementary school children, as where I grew up, Fasching was not celebrated that much. You have to search for an event. But we have Schuetzenfest, Jazz Festival and all the other things that feel like straight out of GIlmore Girls

5 reasonable points that are easy to agree with! And you delivered them in an entertaining way... Love your vids :-)

I recently discovered your channel and I love your videos. I’ve learned so much. Thank you. 🤗 Lots of Love from Japan 🇯🇵❤️

Always clicking on the videos because I enjoy listening to your kiwi accent while getting ready or cooking It reminds me of my time in NZ :)

Vielen Dank für dieses schöne Video! Ich bin erfreut und überrascht, wie positiv du von Deutschland sprichst 🤩

3:10 i though she said ‘.. who can not handle hate’ and i was like what? 🤣🤣

Oh my gosh i was searching for a Video like this for years! Thank you so much❤

Living in Germany and I think, this summer is not that bad. Yes, there are some days with the temperature above 30° C, but at least only for a few days. And you can let in some cool air around sunset. Last year, the hot weather started back in mid to late April and stayed that way until September, if I remember correct. And even the nights were so hot, that you coudnt sleep.

That’s true, in Germany we absolutely LOVE to celebrate and also to get crazy and drunk. Especially in the little villages, everyone celebrates on Saturdays and Fridays, every weekend! Almost no one is at home in the evening at the weekend which I think is great bc I love to celebrate :). I‘m german and I think your facts are true! Lots of love from the Northcoast

I love these reflections of things that seem absolutely normal to me ...and yes, I get the winter-blues, too :)

I really love your videos I have seen many of them. I am a Norwegian that try too learn German 😀

"jaywalking is a huge no-no" really only when theres kids around. you can really just go if youre in a hurry and if someone goes up to you ignore them theyre being rude tbh. but dont jaywalk if there are children watching, especially very young children.

I was born in Bamberg and raised up in the region you were living right now, so I love your Videos. The photos remind me so much on my youth, were I loved to spend time on winefests ;)

Feeling depressed in winter? Get a Krapfen for immediate happyness.

When a dark and grey and long Winterseason is bad for your mood, don't go futher to the north. Like Sweden for example. It's even darker, and longer there. Nice Video by the way.

Love this straightforward video. Not every country is everyone’s cup of tea. But if you can embrace the culture it’s so much better

Many things totally depend on the regions in germany

It's so kind of you share with us these tips. I've heard the same advices from people who live in Germany too. Wheater, language, german's behavior all of them must be considered to someone has the dream to live in Germany.

I find in the little village I live in most people don’t speak English. I’m ok with that because I’m trying to learn the language. I think it’s beautiful. I was surprised on how many holidays they have here. My husbands like oh I have a three day weekend and then like the next week like a have four day weekend. I asked him what was the holiday and we both didn’t know. I love that Germans respect family time.

I love your channel and your positive attitude! By the way, your way of bringing up your children bilingually with the one parent - one language method is the only right method. I studied linguistics with the main focus on bilingualism, so I know. :-) I couldn't comment on the video about bilingual children, but I wanted to let you know that you are doing the right thing! Keep up the good work, I really enjoy your videos! You seem like such a nice person! Greetings from Munich!

Very kind and decent comments to the point. Well done

Tolles Video. Ich bin deutsche und erst seit deinem video fällt mir auf das deutsche so viele Feste feiern..in unsere Stadt sind zwischen April und oktober bestimmt 5-8 Feste 🙈. Man muss ja nicht zu allen Festen hin aber es ist eine schöne Abwechslung.👍

Loved this video!!! I've been living in Ireland for the last 2.5 years and am originally from the states, I've been struggling with coming up with videos that showcase difference in cultures/norms and life in general.... So thank you not only for entertaining and informative videos but also for ideas! ❤️❤️❤️

Your videos are really amazing and you really explain many important things about Germany simply. Thank you a lot! Greetings from Egypt! :)

Antionette. Just recently subscribed, and am enjoying your videos. As a person who has lived in Germany in the small town of Lemgo for four years, agree with you 100%. Numbers 3/4 & 5 are very true. I enjoyed my time in Germany, and would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you for doing these videos. You're a star. Greetings from Belfast, Northern Ireland. 🇬🇧🇩🇪🇳🇿

Didn't remember the early bird being such a pretty one. ;-) Anyway, it is of quite some interest to listen to your personal experience with German habits. Seems people here are not as bad as some other foreign people think. :-) Lower Frankonia is as any other region a fairly special one to live in. Sure, they do Fasching there not knowing the true festivals name is Karneval, but they are still friendly people there. :-) Have a good day and thank you for your interesting videos presented in this calm and understandable way. :-)

Yeah, in the 80s/90s it was like max of 2-3 weeks over 30-35 degrees per summer. Nearly 40 degrees were less common than today, at least it’s like that in my memory. It was usually ok to get somehow through that short period of time. On the opposite side, I remember living in Wellington for 4 years and my Kiwi friends complaining about the “unbearable heat” ;-) when the temperature rose over 24 degrees in summer, but it has becomer warmer there too. Well, the starting point is just what people are used to as the “normal” temperature. I can definitely relate to the winter experience. That struck me hard after returning to Germany and is still noticable. Kiwi expat friends of mine feel the same as you.

Love your videos so much! 💜🌼

I actually did not noticed that I am not subscribed... only when you mention it at the end! 😅 sorry about that! ♥️ thank you for your videos

I live in Germany for many years now, well I'm German so nothing special about that xD The funny thing about it is, that some of those points you had are actually things I don't like. The worst of them is heat. I'm melting the last couple of days.😭 But I love Autumn und winter doesn't bother me at all. I love snow😍❄ What you said about learning German is totally true. When we see that someone is trying to learn German we appreciate that a lot. But you should prepare yourself for a few giggles. Personally I think every person who tries to learn German has my respect. It's a really difficult language (I think I could have never learnt it when I weren't born here😂). But every time I hear someone attempt to speak German I need to laugh or giggle, not because we think it's bad, but it sounds way to cute. ❤😂. You should definitely prepare for that. I actually didn't notice, that we party a lot, but now that you mention it🤔 we even have specific music genres just for partying 😂 so yeah apparently we party a lot 💃😂

Moin Antoinette, sehr wahre Worte, sehr gutes Video!

I have to agree with every point you raised. I lived in Germany for 6 years back in the early 1990's and loved every minute of it. ii - The heat... I was lucky enough to live in a house with a cellar, so if it got too hot overnight we used to sleep down there. During daylight hours we lived in the garden. We set-up a garden sprinkler and paddling pool to cool off. iii - Winters... I remember on my first winter living there looking outside in the morning and it looked like we had overnight rain - it wasn't rain, it was black ice. I suffered for many days after when I walked out 'normally' and ended up on my backside. iiii - Language... learning is a must for any Country you visit/live in. I learnt very basic German at school. My stock phrases when I first arrived were : Alles klar, Entschuldigung, wo ist and Guten Tag - my most used first phrase was Pommes ohne Mayo. I learnt the language as I went along and locals appreciated that I was trying, even if it resulted in many having a laugh at my expense.

Great video, great tips! :)

Are you became an ambassador of Germany, Antoinette? What and how you explained things was so lovely and true. AC: Yes the highest temperature were not so extreme and the period of really hot days were not so long to invest in ACs. Therefore were our winter really really cold. The winter started at mid, latest at the end of November and ended latest at mid of April. The temperatures under -10°C for a longer period were no rareness. Lowest temperature...mmh I remember something about 40°C for a few days. And we always had white Christmas! We children had sooo much fun with the snow, which was often higher than 60cm downhill to northern Germany. In some areas more than 120cm...always! But not only summer and winter...we had all seasons and we always could define what season we have now. But that is changing more and more. We have not really winter anymore and the summer becomes hotter and hotter. One famous german word: Klimawandel

Whenever I see your videos I have to think of my mother, who came from Ireland to Germany with my father at the age of 21 years. At the beginning the German language was very difficult for my mother but now after 56 years in German today she speaks accent-free German and I am really proud of my mother because German is a difficult language. everything you said about Germany and us Germans is so true no matter what it is. Germany has great people and we have a beautiful country. I am German and Irish myself and have lived in Australia for 2 years and had a lot of New Zealand friends there. I found New Zealanders incredibly nice and you can be proud of your country and the New Zealanders speak much better English than Australians.By the way, your German is really good. I wish you and your family good luck here in Germany and a lot of blessing. Seàn

I live in Düsseldorf and have MS, so the heat is not my friend. During the heatwave I hid in the air conditioned movie theater until I bought an AC unit. They do sell them at Bauhaus, home improvement stores, and online .

When we were stationed in Schweinfurt we used to go to Fasching in Wurzburg. :-). We also loved the Federweisser festival in a small village near us, and the Schweinfurt town festival with the Ferris Wheel. And of course the Weinachtsmarkts in Salzburg, Nuremberg, and Schweinfurt. We miss going to the Wurzburger Hofbraukeller!!! We miss pretty much everything about Germany (Except the heat in the extra hot summers).

As a Mediterranean living in Germany for more than 8 years now, there are certain things that I found different from the culture I grew up in. 1) Some I loved immediately, 2) some I still can't accept even now, 3) some I was quite against at the beginning but realize now that they make more sense and 4) some I'm still trying to accept as such and adapt and 5) some where I try to change Germans on.:D:D Examples for 1) Their directness. Oh God, I love it. I don't have to think about what they might actually be meaning. I'm also a direct person and was probably an outsider in my culture.:) I don't mind criticism as long as it's not personal. 2) I still can't get used to being told off by people working in the service sector. A shop owner or waiter can easily shout at you. If this would happen in my country, that shop wouldn't continue business for more than a month and that waiter would right away be fired. After all, I can't stand impoliteness. There can always be a way to state something most negative in a polite way. 3) The fact that they aren't always available, that the shops or certain government offices are open at given days only. Everybody has a life outside of work and they are entitled to it. The only country I can imagine myself opening a coffee shop is Germany because it can be closed at 6pm and nobody would think it's crazy. Whenever I see shops open on Sundays, I start questioning if the boss is paying the employees extra money for this. 4) Their slowness. I have a hot blood as a Mediterranean, I can't wait.:D I try to detain myself to make the time pass for me while waiting for a German prepare something for me. :) I practice being a patient person thanks to Germans.:D 5) Their lack of solutions in cases of crisis. Because Germans do everything slowly, carefully and thoroughly, things work most of the time and in a very efficient way. But unfortunately not always.:D Because it's a rare event, they don't know how to think practically when things don't work. In such cases, I try to push them, start giving ideas in a very kind and careful way. And to my surprise, they mostly get surprised by the idea and its practicality. I'm surprised because they can't even think about it.:D Being grown up in a culture where people mostly disobey rules and create trouble, we develop our ways of solving problems, I guess. I believe Germans should be able to adapt this 'thinking out of box' thing easily because I call them an 'engineer' folk. They just need to put some risk analysis in their infamous regulations and rules books. :D Liebe Grüße an alle, die es bis hier gemacht haben! Ich mag Ihr Land so sehr!

My husband and I are thinking about moving to New Zealand. We absolutly hate the grey and cold weather in German Winter.

Funny stuff Antoinette! I started travelling to Germany about 5YRS ago. I'm a naive Texan, but have lived in San Diego for over 25YRS. I went alone to an Industrial/Goth music festival that's held in Cologne every year. It was absolutely the best time ever! I walked around & every single person was super friendly. I picked up very quickly that Germans are totally fascinated by both Texas & California. In fact, most of the time I would look down at my watch & an hour had already passed. I would then have to politely end the conversation & move on of course. Anyway, I met some people that lived in the small village of Schwerte. All the people I met & their families are "salt of the earth", "give you the shirt off their backs" Country German folks! To make a long story short - I consider them my 2nd family, visit twice a year, & they've even visited San Diego once (more after they retire soon). I just really lucked out!!! They all want me to move there (especially my GF of course), but I just can't pull the trigger for various reasons. Ah to be young & just starting your life like you were/are....... ( ;

Great videos. Thank you!

I think I would love Germany. It's my heritage from my paternal grandmother, her family is called Chronister, and my name is Katharina. 💓

Can you go over the schools in Germany Compared to qiwi

Hallo Antoinette, true words and great video.

Hello ^^ I'm a bit late for this video, because I just stumbled across your channel xD I am a German and I thought it might be worth mentioning, that the more rural you get, the less people will know English, or lets say the less people are willing to speak English. It's our first foreign Language and from my experience I can say, that a lot of people are scared to have to speak English, because they don't have good grades in the Language and don't want to screw up. At least it was like this in my case (I'm 30, so maybe it's different now, but it was like this for me). I had always failing grades in English classes and whenever I heard someone speak English, I was scared I would need to talk to them and embarrass myself. It got better after I helped working on an international festival and I HAD to speak English and it helped me a lot to get over that fear. By now I actually enjoy speaking English with others and I'm not scared any more, but I still see a lot of students and such, that don't want to speak English. (I have some friends, that can't understand even basic words as well)

I absolutely love the German culture and have been watching your videos a lot lately! Hopefully one day I will be there as well. Lots of love from South Africa😁🇿🇦

Haha, is that Kiwi dialect? Me hearing: "Don't come to Germany if you don't stand the hate".... Me: "Whatwassat?" --"...because it can get really hot here..." 😅

Thanks for your kind review on our habits. One can get mad about some mind-defying opinions and decisions of people and politicians. So it is quite rejoicing to hear about our pleasant „quirks“. 😅🧡

Tip for summer close the shutters three quarters it keeps the cold in.

Ahhh this feels good to hear someone else pointing out the things I realised as a German while being in Florida for 4 months. At some point I missed the German honesty so so much. I didn't really like the all happy and nice vibes of Americans since I'm used to blunt confrontation. Thanks for the vid I really enjoyed watching it.

Oh, there are so many other reasons, for me, even after 3 years here, I still can't get used to these things: - slow internet - bureaucracy - communication via post (are we in the middle ages!?) - superficial approach from Germans in a lot of situations

I'm a German German teacher. So it's always very interesting to listen to people talking about my country and culture so fondly. Thank you for your input! And good luck with learning our language. It's hard but also a beautiful language full of humor and pictures :)

I admire how positive you are about all these things and especially about the first thing you mentioned. I have lived in different cities in Germany for over 7 years but I've only experienced this behavior since I moved to Hamburg about a year ago. I don't think I can put such a positive spin on it. In my experience the people telling others "what they are doing wrong" are simply unable to coexist with other human beings and believe they are more important than others. I wonder if it's a local thing or it's me.

I'm a native German, living in Germany, and I don't particularly like to celebrate anything. I guess I shouldn't live here according to Antoinette's criteria :-)

it's part of the experience of living in a different country to learn the language. I'm a native English speaker and I find my fellow native speakers to be most ignorant and feel they should not learn the language of their host country.

Winter time is the best time for indoor pools, sauna, spa. Try a solarium once a week. It'll change your mood extremely :) Greetings from lower frankonia aswell. Didn't knew there was an english name for that region aswell.

Danke schoen fur de excellent video! I watch a lot of international programs/movies so I've learned a bit of German. Florian David Fitz is my favorite German actor so I just watched 100 Dinge (Things) and it was so good!

I drove a bike to work every day in heavy traffic and I never got hit,I wouldn't do that in the States.

I'm German and I'm really annoyed by people who tell you what you've done wrong. Especially elderly (bitter) people do that A LOT even though there's nothing really to complain.... they complain.. 🙄 That never happend when I spent some time in the US and Australia. People are more chilled there.

I think as a foreigner working in another country we need to be openminded and take the challenges. Of course be prepared to all those negative things and survive. Good insights, very informative.

Very insightful video and great perspective. I lived in Germany for awhile, back in 93, and a festival EVERY week was a reality! The weather didn't affect me much because I'm from Washington State which is very similar to Germany that way. The honesty is real... I'm actually part German by heritage so I can relate to this really, but I recall one festival we went to, a woman stopped me because I was wearing sunglasses with reflective lenses and she couldn't see my eyes. She actually grabbed me by the arm and said "I can't see your eyes!" in German of course. It made them uneasy because they are so open and those sunglasses made it so I wasn't. at least by appearances. Of course we wanted to speak German so you are spot on that as well. Funny story. When we first came to Germany we thought Ausfahrt was some huge city because there were signs for it everywhere! haha!

I am german. And I should not live here according to this video. Anyone want to move with me?

Interesting video it is always fun to see oneself through someone else's glasses but I don't agree with those Germans who told you that it was not that hot when they grew up. I was born in 1961 and there has always been heatwaves throughout my childhood. I don't recall a single summer without temperatures above 30. Summer 1976 was extremely hot and dry with temperatures of 37 C e.g.... so it might be that we beat some records the recent years but to say that it was not hot, seems to be wishful thinking of some..

I simply love your accent. Even as a brazilian I can tell that the way you pronounce "e" in even, is quite different from the way American English sounds to me . It is more like "ee" or in Portuguese,"i". So cute! Reminds me of British English but the words seem to be " singed". I 've never heard so much a New Zealand accent but since I follow your channel I am getting used to it. Thank you for your tips. This Monday I'll travel to Germany for the first time. I speak a little English and I've been studying German for a year. Well, now I am able to order Ei,.Wasser und Schokolade...lol

Some some towns even have public swimming pool parties. Its crazy. like the whole town is coming together to swim, drink beer and wine, listen to good music and just sit together. Thats a beautiful tradition in germany! Everyone should have such stuff.

The best Party 🎉 is the Schützenfest ❤️

This must be why I've been described as "brutally honest", coming from a German family.

So right about the heat. When I grew up, we had some summer days with 25-28°C, that was it. Now I go into a darkened cellar room to escape the heat and sun (I suffer from summer depressions for quite some time; not as a child though). And the last summers were devastating for animals and nature 🙁.

I live in The Netherlands and I’m born in the sixtees. Summer in the west of Europe is always a surprise. But I do remember the hot summers very well. With heatwaves too. And also the summers full of rain and cold temperatures. There isn’t that much change in the weather. But what did change is that there ate more large city’s and all the bricks keep the heat so much longer than when you live in the country. And when I was younger weathermen were very happy and excited to tell about warm weather and now they bring the news about the same weather as problematic hot. Also in The Netherlands most homes don’t have AC. In The Netherlands people don’t tell often when you broke a rule (most of them are not fond of rules) but in my experience Dutch people are a lot more blunt than German people.

What do you think about the situation with all the refugees we have now in Germany ?

Brutal honesty, weather, have to learn german, crazy partys. No need for longer explanations... because that is not efficient ;-) the content was correct, though.

I like your videos very much,and I like your personality. I hope you could show more pictures when you explain things. That would be more interesting.^_^

Although I prefer the Winters to the Summers in Germany, I use my Christmas lights to brighten the short days. I'm not allowed to put them up before Totensonntag, which is really late for me as an American, but I leave them up through January which I'd never do back home. I swear some people keep them up til March to endure the short days at latitude 51!