I think it's wise to ask the owner if you can pet their dogs because some dogs might be timid or aggressive towards strangers and it's safer to ask than to get bitten :)

What Americans say about German culture shock is exactly what Latinos in the US say about American culture shock. For example, in most Latino culture it's common to just go up and hug people you know and sometimes give then a 'beso' on the cheek, and talk freely about their personal lives. Then they have to get used to shaking hands/ standing farther away (giving people "personal space") and it's just so different for them. So I kind of have an idea of what Germany is like. I'd be pretty funny to see a German in Mexico or Colombia, they would have no idea what to do haha!

As an American I had GOOD culture shock on my first trip to Germany. Gorgeous, clean villages, amazing bakeries, great coffee, fast trains, lots of culture, castles and cathedrals. What's not to like? Customer service could be better, but I knew that before I visited, so no big deal. I like that you don't feel obligated to talk to strangers in Germany. Yay! No small talk!

What? We Germans manufactured windows centuries ahead of Microsoft!

Germans dont stare..we observate, analyse, draw a conclusion..get on with our day. ...oh wait..thats starring

The story about knocking on the table; you only need one hand, so you can keep your beer/cigarette in the other hand. It started in student clubs, in cantusses, and then exported to class rooms. AT least that what's what In was tolled in Belgium.

We had an Erasmus+ meeting in Scotland last year and us Germans started knocking on the table and all the Scottish and Romanian guys looked at us as if we're crazy :')

my room in germany was warm but I was scared to open the window, I though they'll come right off, lol. I wanted to know how much a sandwich cost, "Wie viel das kostet", but he thought I said " can I have it toast". lol I kept saying it in German and he kept speaking English, so he toasted my sandwich. But he was so proud of himself I let it go.

I just got back from a 2 week vacation in Germany, here were a few of my culture shocks... I learned Hochdeutsch in school and luckily didn't have too much trouble understanding people in the different regions (we were in Berlin, Köln, and München). I did notice that if I stumbled over any words, people would reply back to me in English. The radio thing! Although I didn't mind the mix of American and German music (and expected it) on the radio, the biggest difference was that they talked for several minutes in-between songs. It was crazy! In America, a minute is an extremely long time to talk in-between songs. My favorite culture shock was how many dogs were around, but more importantly how well trained all of them were. I would say about half of them were being walked off-leash and didn't go up begging strangers for food or attention. They would just sort of walk within a close radius of their owner, sniff a few things, and keep walking. The other awesome culture shock was driving. It is so much more enjoyable and efficient driving in Germany. People actually followed driving laws too... something that is getting more and more scarce in America. Oh! The cash thing was a huge shock too. We did not bring nearly enough Euros with us, but luckily it was pretty easy to withdraw some at a bank. There were several other differences that I noticed, but those were the biggest ones that hit me. Thanks for the interesting and entertaining videos!

SO much bread and dairy! Everything being closed on Sundays, better quality tissues, spoons that are either too big or too small, cake forks, gorgeous christmas markets, irrational fear of drafts (durchzug), affordable groceries and cost of living in general, being able to afford to see the doctor when I'm sick (still not used to it after almost 3 years), a general dislike of peanut butter, the humongous variety of haribo, having to buy a new kitchen whenever you move, lack of big-box stores (e.g. costco, walmart, target), how unpunctual DB is, and of course my deep, intense love of kasslerbraten. Germany can be weird sometimes, but I really love living here. I have no plans to return to the US permanently.

My culture shock in Germany was the food, best I've ever had. Everything about the place was wonderful.

I am a German living in the States, and the door knobs were one of the hardest things for me to get used to. In Germany, when you have your hands full, you can still open a door with your elbow. In the States, you have to have one hand free to turn the door knob. =D

I've not had this "problem" in Germany when travelling on the train (a few years ago now) - once travelling on the train from Geneva to Munich I got into conversation with a very nice German lady and on another trip a little later from Munich to Hamburg got into conversation with another lady - both very helpful and pleasant. In fact in many other countries when travelling by train (Russia, China, Spain, Greeece, Turkey) I've always managed to have enjoyable conversations with both local nationals and other foreigners on the train - even if I didn't speak much of the local languages, I had enough of a "smattering" of other common languages and some not so common languages to allow some kind of communication - I learned a long time ago not to be embarrassed about making mistakes when speaking or attempting to speak foreign languages, nor to make a fuss when non-English speakers make mistakes when doing their best to speak English - good will forgives a lot in both directions - as does a lack of judgmentalism in both directions for different customs. I'm not the most outgoing person, but I've never had much difficulty in making social contact with people anywhere I've ever travelled - whether in a shared taxi in Jordan, or on buses in France, or in other English-speaking countries like the US or Australia (I'm British, by the way). Most people are nice everywhere, if you're natural with them and open and friendly, most people will reciprocate; it's not "rocket science" :)

How do Germans make friends in the first place? Well. It all starts in a pub...

Lol ... The German doorknobs are so much more practical than the American ones. If you have your hands full with bags for example, or they are full of dirt, you can still open the door with the elbow. Besides, the dogs really appreciate that. I have already experienced many who open the door for themselves, which can be helpful sometimes. This is technically not possible with the American version ...

There are so many others not mentioned!! Like the difference in pillows/blankets, the small washers and the lack of dryers, the amount of bread people eat and the small bread plate they eat off of, weird traditional things like a kohl fahrt, the amount of mineral water people drink, how there is no over the counter medicine unless you go to an actual pharmacist first, the different sticks of deodrant, etc... I could go on lol

im a german dude who has been in international schools since i was 8. have lived in the middle east, canada, US, and the netherlands n grew up internationally. that being siad, i love ur videos cause despite my nationality im more on the foreigner side of these vids without the language issue. thanks for your guys videos, cause it lets me understand my own culture from a different angle. southern germany has a crazy dialect n i can barely understand it. PS. Rammstein has amazing songs

I think we do the starring because we hear an unfamiliar language, listen to it and try to understand it. Like we are so focused on following the words that we may not realize that we are staring at you guys, but are just secretly happy that we can understand. Or as for me, if I don't understand the language I would try guessing what kind of language it could be, why they are here, and what they may talk about, not because of mistrust but more like the start of a book. Also, I wouldn't approach (if not necessary) a group of foreigner talking, even if I could contribute something interesting about their conversation, I would only do that if absolutly necessary like stopping them from entering the wrong train or going into the wrong direction, but I would do that with the possible least amount of words necessary out of embarrassment and fear to mispronounce words or being bad in English in general or simply having a blackout.

I remember being shocked how they recycle everything and how eco-friendly they were compared to Americans.

One thing I noticed while in Germany was the lack of normal popcorn (salt and butter type), i.e. not kettle corn (Süß popcorn) or Caramel corn (Karamell popcorn). Every single store I went to didn't have it and it drove me absolutely insane, haha. I never thought about how much popcorn I ate until I went to Germany.

I'm German but have lived in London for the last 5 years which is probably one of the most culturally diverse cities on earth. I very rarely speak German in my daily life and have become a lot more outgoing since I moved here (even though I wasn't too German to begin with). Every time I go back home I get sort of a culture shock almost and am slightly perplexed at how reserved people are and how awkward they are at making small talk. I also really noticed the staring thing which I never noticed before I moved to the UK. Honestly, I would have a really hard time re-integrating if I ever were to move back to Germany....

Applause while writing. That's the point.

Hallo 😊 I am Canadian, and I love Germany!! I appreciate how direct Germans are (not all, but many), because I hate when people waste my time.

I'm German, and I learned from a young age that you just do not pet dogs that you do not know. They might not be as friendly as they look and bite you.

For me, what was strange was that there were no police in the U-bahn. In DC, there are police and security guards everywhere. Also, there seem to be a lot of beggars on the U-bahn, and with no police/guards to stop this, it was someone who cleaning/sweeping the train station who told the beggar to "stop hassling the people" when one approached me. Then, there are those who try to sell newspapers, and everyone on the train avoids eye contact and looks down. I made the mistake of looking at a lady who was doing this, and she came up to me with a hostile voice and talked at me for a long time. Everyone else was staring at their laps, and I just looked at her, not having a clue of what she was saying. I only understood her last sentence: "Danke for diese Gespräch."

The Deadpool dress is the best!

If a dog comes sniffing at me I'll decide for myself to pat it or not. If the owner doesn't want that he's invited to keep the dog from making contact with passers-by in the first place. If he let's his dog out of his or her reach the owner has no right to complain afterwards.

You are pretty straight forward when it gets to getting to know people, I wish I could be like that. But I'm a shy potato. Teach me master :'D

Get Germanized Could you do a video on the different states of Germany? How they are and if they would be a nice place to live. :)

2 important rules in Germany: Don't touch my car Don't touch my pet xD

The thing is, in germany we like to contribute to a conversation, and if there´s nothing to say because the topic is unfamiliar we listen. We don´t talk just to hear noises coming out of our mouths or make the one talking feel better. Also most of us hate smalltalk.

Amarican people speak to strangers in trains? That's weird!

the staring thing is freaking me out, and even when i caught them, they keep on staring. that's weird and a little bit rude.. and what really shocked me was the amount of beer that people drink.. they drink it every where and even put a bottle of beer in their poket

I was in the military 38 years ago stationed in Hahn Air Base (now a part of Frankfurt Airport) not too far the Mosel River . At that time Germans were friendly towards me, being Hispanic, as I tried to communicate in their language and learn their culture . They helped me learn. Sometimes you just gotta get in their faces and be polite, that's all I did. "Entschuldige mich bitte!" I made them look at me...lol... I was there for 4 years and had a fantastic time in Europe as a whole, but Germany in particular. In every country I visited, It was a nice experience. Germans kept me at arms length until they knew me. Then I was a part of them afterwards. I was family where I lived. I used get up at 3am to shovel cow shit with the landlord and help him with his farm. That was a cool experience because I'm from NYC, the 'hood. I learned there's more to life than the 'hood even though I saw it on tv, you have to live it to embody it and see 'how the other side lives'. Germany is a beautiful country. The culture is rich. If you never been, go for Octoberfest. Rent an place for a month, rent a car and drive all over the country. Each area you visit is different. They have for instance their own local beer which you won't see in another part of Germany and not just the ones we know in America from over there. You gotta go there. It's as simple as that. Once you adjust, you'll be fine. To show you how much of an impact Germany had on me, I moved to a part of Pennsylvania because, to me it looks just like Germany.....

Great video Dominik! I thought that 'knocking on the table' thing was super interesting!! Lots in there I didn't know! *thumbs up*

Knocking on the table has a long old history. In the 18th century fraternities determined the ways of behavior for all the students. Fraternities showed their professors if they liked the lecture or not by knocking on the ground with their canes. Nowadays nobody uses a cane and also the fraternities haven't any influences, but some traditions still exist. So students show if they liked a lesson trough knocking on the table with their fists to simulate the noise of canes knocking on the ground. It is also a sign of respect and appretiation for the lecturers work.

I would really like to visit Germany. Everyone always says German is such a harsh language but I feel people over exaggerate. It really isn't that bad. Nice video btw! 😋

I'm German and I love talking to EVERYONE! I'll always find a willing victim to entertain me 😂😂 therefore my friends always use me as an Icebreaker 🙈

American here! It's considered good manners to ask before petting someone's dog here, though it sounds like the whole practice of petting other people's dogs is more common here than in Germany. It really bothers me when people just run up and pet my dogs, because while they're nice and well socialized, all dogs have the capacity to bite if a stranger runs up and grabs them, and I certainly don't want that to happen. I would never just walk up and pet a strange dog; they might be sick or injured and more prone to biting because they feel bad, or they might not be socialized, or they might have problems being protective of their owner. I really wish people would grasp that over here; I explain it as gently as I can, but some people are convinced that dogs are basically mobile teddy bears, as opposed to actual animals that bite when they feel threatened.

one of the biggest things for me was dining out. in America you feel almost rushed out of the restaurants where as in Germany it is typically a much longer experience

Part I: Making friends in Germany is easy . . if you know how to . . . Just find something you have in common. Then talk about it. Basic Scenarios: 1. Party . . . drink . . . et voilá! (That's why there are so many Festivals in Germany! Oktoberfest, Bierfest, Schützenfest, Stadtfest, Dorffest, Karneval, Weihnachten, Sylvester, Geburtstag, Namenstag, Feierabend!, Wochende, Gründungsfest, Jahrestag, Hochzeit, Mittsommer, Wintersonnwende, Nikolaus, Fasching, Libori,...) 2. Be at the same place at the same time . . . Bingo! (It's easy to find something to complain about.) Extreme Version of 2.: When catastrophies happen you can help each other. (For reference: watch any Action- or Catastrophy-Movie (The Hero get's the Woman in the End.)) And then you can complain about it because you are in the Fuckup together. --- Part II: Staring is just a way of recognizing your environment - with interest - not an obvious sign for wanting interaction. Starting a verbal approach is the direct method of interaction (or giving an Effenberg). P.S.: Es wär schon sehr interessant ein ausführliches Video über Unterschiede kultureller Art von persönlichen Räumen (personal space) zu machen. Have a nice day! Prost

As a German when I walk past someone with a dog and the dog tries to sniff at me, I'll always will pet it (but I talk to the owner while doing) Gotta love all the Doggos

German grocery check outs get super stressful for me.

is that a Deadpool dress? that's so cool .... also when I got back from the US I kind of had a reverse culture shock. Everyone was so nice there and when I got off the plane in Hamburg suddenly everyone seemed to be so rude bc no one did smalltalk.

Don't touch my Animal!! Ich hab fast die Cola ausgespuckt XD haha

Das wusste ich gar nicht mit dem Klatschen 😮 Wieder was gelernt^^

Great video and discussion, your friend was helpful, your dog is adorable, and thanks for linking to the other video topics!

Haha definitely staring and some germans talk about you in german thinking you don’t understand german because you are a foreigner. The staring thing makes me so self conscious because I keep thinking “omg do I look funny, did I do something wrong, is there something on my face?” But sometimes I just stare back for fun. 😎 Other culture shocks - Ruhezeit and the fact that in Germany when you try on clothes you have to fold it and put it back yourself. That’s completely unheard of where I come from.

Nice video. Even though I´m German I really like English Channels on Germany or of Germans explaining. So, nicely done. Very good English, kinda typical German accent, which doesn´t matter at all. I always stumble over my tongue trying to get a better accent. But, most importantly: is Manon wearing a Deadpool dress and beltbuckle? THATS IS SO COOL!

I have been in germany for a few days, and I am from the Midwest. The things I have noticed so far are: 1. Crazy driving in Berlin and Munich 2. The door handles are so trippy 3.The baristas at coffee places are snobby 4. The water pressure from focets is immaculate 5. Free water is difficult to find when traveling 6. I have yet to see a public bathroom completly free of charge or suggested donations, except for the airport ones 7. Everyone speaks German!!! And everything is in German!!! 8. All the dogs are well trained and the kids are very polite 9. The starring is so bizarre

The Roman writer and historian Tacitus makes mention that German tribal representatives at council meetings would knock their chairs or stamp their feet if they agreed/were happy with what a speaker had said. If unhappy a muttering or booing would take place.

The knocking on the table thing started in early European parliaments. It was deemed more dignified and less distracting to knock the table than to clap your hands in agreement with a statement.

Dominik, you really hold your own against the haters in the comments, props to you bro.

Staring is so constant in Germany that it doesn´t even bother me anymore.

the knocking on table is a left-over-tradition from german fraternities from the early 19th century, where new members were greeted by knocking on the floor with wooden canes, sometimes this was also used to show discontent with with professor, showing him "you are bad, just like new members" and just shifted over the years to a tradition of just knocking when the lecture is finished

Great videos, funny and very informative. I am moving to Germany soon on an assignment, so learning as much as possible before I leave.

Love the dead pool outfit 👍

I was surprised to see how Germans get to their seats in a crowded theater or sporting arena. In America most people walk down the row facing the stage and presenting their backside to people who are already seated, and in Germany they apparently walk facing the person they are trying to pass.

When I visited Germany, the windows in the room I was staying in had a handle, and depending on if it was vertical or horizontal, it would change the way the window opened. And of course it also had no screen. That is certainly some crazy tech as opposed to over here.

With the window thing: in Townsville, Australia, we have fly screens or security screens over every window. I live in a crime-riddled neighborhood, so my bedroom windows have steel security screens.

waaaaat. you can totally lift the screens in the windows haha

the people are not really openly social 😐 like for instance we gon sit next to each other on a damn bus for 30mins and breath each others air but still wont say a simple hie....I find Germans to be socially reserved. (except on carnival)

There is one medieval custom that some germans have - not recommended for foreign people though, since it indicates you are german and if they find out you are not they might be wondering... If you go into a bar (german: Kneipe) where the locals hang out, and you are first time there, you approach the counter and knock on it. It must be a wooden counter, if not - dont do it. I am intrigued that even older german people who do it dont know where this customs origins are, but it is a kind of creepy: In medieval times it was bad luck to shake the hangmans hand. So - not knowing the locals - you couldnt shake everybodies hands, because the hangman might be in the room also. Thats why you knock on the counter - it is just a way of saying "Hi" to everybody without getting bad luck. How this may have evolved into a "clap hand" gesture, I dont know. It may not even be the cause, but it is interesting to know anyways so I thought I should share this.

I'm a German exchange student in Italy and even though Italians are generally more opened than Germans it's soo much easier to make friends with foreigners :) I think it's always everywhere like this that exchange students just love each other😂

Haha my German teacher told us about the knocking on the table :D

What I hate in Germany is, that people are staring at you,,like straight forward looking a you and they saw that you noticed, but they are still staring. This really freaks me out, especially if kids or older woman do that.

One worth mentioning, having to bring your own kitchen to an apartment. I had a co-worker recently move to Essen, and finding an apartment with included kitchen was one of their biggest issues with finding a place to live. In the US, it's almost unheard of to rent an apartment without the kitchen as part of the package.

Sounds like behaviour here in Toronto, Canada. It seems very cold compared to my New Zealand upbringing. I studied in Ostfriesland for two years, and people are very friendly there!

What's really confusing is when Germans don't just talk but also write their dialect

I took two semesters of German in high school, but the only people I knew who could speak it were my grandparents, who unfortunately spoke one of the dialects you mentioned (I can't recall which- but I think it's interesting that they spoke that dialect in Wisconsin- lots of German descent people here) so I never got to use it and have forgotten most of it. Aside from your / Dave's channels, can you recommend other fun channels like yours that might help me brush up on my German?

CULTURE SHOCK! I went on an exchange trip to Berlin when I was in high school and these are some of the things I noticed. 1. House shoes - a lot of Germans seem to have shoes/slippers solely for wearing inside their house. Where I live in America people either wear the same shoes that they wear for the outside or they go barefoot. 2. People literally take their dogs everywhere, there were multiple times I saw dogs tied up outside of supermarkets just patiently waiting for there owners (a few places even had doggy water fountains). In most places in America dogs stay almost solely on their owners property unless they are being taken for a walk (and even then you rarely leave your neighborhood). 3. Solar panels - I swear almost every apartment building or house had at least a few solar panels on the roof. 4. Gardens - For the houses (not apartments) that I went to every single one seemed to have an absolutely beautifully kept garden. 5. Every time I went to school/any social event with my host sister all of her friends would hug me/each other, even if it was my first time meeting them. 6. Recycling - In Germany certain plastic bottles can be recycled at grocery stores and YOU get money back for doing it, in a lot of parts of the US you have to pay extra money to be able to recycle anything at all. 7. Deodorant - This one is a little weird but it seemed to me that spray deodorant is more popular than stick deodorant is. 8. Teachers and schools in general are much more trusting of their students than American schools are.

The knocking on the table was started by students. When walking sticks where normal for students on University they knocked with it on the ground. When there where less walking sticks they started to knock on the table because it sounds quite similar.

By culture shock, do they mean reaching the 21st century?

You know, eavesdropping is one thing (especially when you can not avoid it) but why on earth should I join a conversation if i'm not invited. Maybe they do not want to hear my opinion. Regarding eye contact, I do not know which part of Germany you are from, but most places I've been they always say at least 'Hallo' (in trains, trams, elevator, queue...). Especially older people. Young ones are sometimes (often?) quite uncultured.

In Berlin; In Adenauerplatz and Ku'Dam, you can find several of us students of the German University in Cairo (Egypt) for accommodation. near us there was a grocery shop Edeka and Gemuse the turkish Doner shop (the best I've tasted) . Also, the campus is behind the police station at Am Bursigturm station. In Addition, GUC also partners with other universities like in Ulm.

I'm German, when I was a kid I'd always run to ANY dog I saw and would hug it. even if I was half it's size. my mom nearly got a heart attack when I would suddenly run to a Dobermann and hang onto it XD that's why she told me to always ask if I could pet the dog first, cause some might not be as friendly as I had assumed (I was never bitten though ;-D ) also, if I talk to a foreigner I always talk German, but that's because I love learning languages and when I talk to an englischer speaker in English, or a Japanese in Japanese, I want to be answered in that language as well :-)

It calls Schwobaländle

Es lebe die Bürokratie!

I know I'm late to the party, but here are a couple I experienced: drinking beer in public/at a university, going out to clubs WAY later than usual (getting back around 4-6 am), traveling everywhere in the state for "free" via regional train/local transportation (i was a student), all the guys had a pair of jean shorts, kids changing/people changing in public at the beach, red light districts, kiosks (i love kiosks), being passed by a car on the autobahn going 2X my speed (this was all in Lower Saxony by the way)

So I'm also a current American exchange student in Germany and my first day in my flat I accidentally opened my window and while I was gone the wind blew it wide open and someone could have climbed in to steal my stuff so yeah culture shock... I mean people can still break through screens but I think screens offer like comfort more than protection......

I recently watched a video about things that are different in Germany, and the windows were mentioned. This is something that I completely forgot about because I haven't been to Germany since I was a kid. It actually made me cry! I miss Deutschland so much!

How do Germans make friends? hahahah 6:48

My shock was that in Berlin, at least, the subway (U-Bahn) stations were not self-contained, but have several separate sections that you had to go out to the main street (and around the corner) to access with no signs.

not sure if anyone has already addressed this, but the knocking on tables thing originates from the medieval university tradition of a professor or university lecturer "professing" or reading out knowledge from a book (books were expensive then, not everyone could have them) to be poured forth to the students. The whole time of the lecture, students are feverishly writing stuff down with one hand, so they can catch everything the professor was saying. At the end of the lecture, for full efficiency to keep writing if they needed to still write, the practice of knocking on the table emerged instead of clapping.

I know I m showing my age but how about "Kraftwerk"?? for favorite German band.

Ach! Your Dog is very handsome!

Oh lord the table thing! We did that in my German class after people did presentations and things like that and no mater how hard I tired I always started clapping regularly.

I heard that the knocking-on-tables is meant to be done with one hand so you can keep/finish taking notes with the other.

Hi! My name is Gytis, I'm from Lithuania, I've been watching you for a long time and you gave me alot of information! I appreciate that you're helping so many people with your videos! And I'm thinking of moving to Germany for a better life. And I don't really know hoe to start. I'm 15 now, I think I will finish my school, and I will be 18 then and then I will move. But I really don't know kow. Maybe you could give me some advice? Thank you! Keep up the great work!

the most guys i've met were shocked by the nudenes here in germany

4:00 - I'm going to start knocking on my table after lectures now LOL

I love your channel and I want to Get Germanized! You're fun and informative, Thank you.

total stranger addressing me by my first name?? what the hell, I didn't know that o_O ...maybe that's the german me speaking, but: NO THANKS! that would be way too weird and actually uncomfortable

Most likely I feel like it would be all the Nudity.

I love the channel and watch all your videos. You have a great personality for this type of entertainment. Going to Germany in June this year for two weeks to see family.

The toilet bowl. Like, idk, if you shit it will stay in the bowl before it goes to the water. Idk how to describe properly 😂

just come to saxony... great german. very understandable

Im an American and i think German music is better than most American music. 2 of my favorite aritst are Rammstein and the 257ers.

Door knobs and window operation are not consistent throughout the US. Round knobs and levers are both common and usually indicate when a door was installed. Levers are more common in newer construction. In Florida, exterior doors often open out while most other places have doors that swing into a space from outside. Windows are different across the US as well. The windows that the American describes are double hung windows that mimic the window style that dates back to colonial times. In the west, windows tend to be sliders, not double hung.

One thing I'd never heard of but found to be totally delicious is Mett, which friends in Berlin referred to as Hackepeter(?). Took me a few minutes of watching them heartily devour it before I could get myself to try it. I was so glad I did.