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When washing you car at home - this waste water will go into the rain water system and directly into the nature - whilst for sewerage there are seperate pipes, So as you mentioned car washers do require a seperator system prior the water hitting the sewerage drain. Hope that makes even more sense.

In Old English there also existed two forms of adressing people. Thou (= du) and You (=Ihr, Sie). "Thou" disappeared over time and everybody is adressed "you" now. So actually in modern English everybody is adressed the formal (plural) way. This is a bit confusing, because "du" and "you" sound so similar

The preference for either carbonated water or tap water is regional thing, I believe. I live in a northern region of Germany and literally everyone I know drinks tap water, orders "Stilles Wasser" in restaurants and uses sparkling water just to mix drinks or to bake certain cakes.

Baking soda is easier to find in Drogerie Markt like Rossmann or DM as it is more used as a cleaning agent. Make sure it is marked as a food purity grade (it is stated on the packaging).

That "Du and Sie" thing has actually changed quite much over the last at least 2 decades. I.e. at the cashiers: beeing 62 now, so many cashiers are using Du, when adressing me, these days. And I'm totally fine with it. Having rather long hair, with only my beard having turned to that sweet graveyard-blonde, some don't consider me that old. Still: it has changed in general. I grew up to follow the old rules. But slowly becoming more relaxed about it, too.

Tip for baking soda: it can also often be found near the cleaning products or the health section. I also sometimes buy bigger boxes at asian supermarkets 😊

I’m Australian, and whenever I go out with groups of friends, we always pay for our own meal. We don’t split the cost equally, for the same reasons you mentioned. That is, some people order much more expensive meals than others.

Compared to still water, sparkling water has the advantage that it doesn't spoil as quickly once you've drunk it from the bottle. The bacteria from the mouth cause still water to spoil within 1 - 2 day at room temperature. The low pH of sparkling water, on the other hand, prevents this rapid germination.

Baking soda is sometimes sold as Speisenatron (or simply natron). German receipts often contain instead "Backpulver" (baking powder), which is baking soda mixed with some acidifier, so no additional acid like vinegar, citric acid or lactic acid is necessary. (Baking soda works only together with something sour.)

you can get baking soda, baking powder and yeast in absolutely every grocery store, its just called natron. The big size Kaiser Natron that you showed, yeah thats usually not in the discount grocery stores like Aldi but the small packets are always somewhere. And why do you need a brand? Its all the same ingredients. Baking powder can be mixed differently but baking soda is one chemical molecule. If grocery stores have a refrigerated section you can even buy fresh yeast in most of them.

Don't worry about "Du" or "Sie" ☺ Every german hears in your accent, it's not your mother language. If someone tries to speak german , we don't lthink : Why he/she don't use the right- grammatic tense? We are always try to think "what does it mean, what he/she said ? I know, learing german is hard job. 🤩 But ith a smile everything works easier( Thank you for your trie to understand my rather bad englisch - sorry I'm a german)

Auto waschen daheim geht nicht wegen der Umwelt. Die Abflüsse an der Straße gehen oft direkt in den nächsten Fluss im Gegensatz zu den Abflüssen aus den Häusern, die erst ins Klärwerk geleitet werden. Dort wird das Abwasser gereinigt

It’s always interesting for me to compare the New Zeeland and German perspective to the situation in Switzerland. 1. Splitting the bill is also common here, but often one person will pay for the whole table and then the others pay them back. But among friends we sometimes split the bill evenly, because we don’t order dishes at vastly different prices. 2. We have similar laws that prohibit washing your car with chemicals outside of designated areas. 3. Our backing section is also similar; backing powder comes in small packs. You can find backing soda in most supermarkets, but not many recipes call for it. I generally like baking powder more because it is more versatile, backing soda needs an acidic ingredient to activate, baking powder does not. 4. I can’t imagine how confusing formal and informal speech must seem to someone who hasn’t grown up with it, but even as a native German speaker there are certain social situations that are unnecessary complicated because of the Du and Sie. It’s not an exact science and there are so many combinations of ages, ranks and degrees of formality. For example, if you are in a big group setting at work, e.g. on a company outing and you didn’t get introduced to all member present or met a ton of new people, you can forget the status of certain people or the status was left unclear. So the next time you meet them can be very awkward, because of have to ask them (it’s like asking someone their name again because you forgot), or you can risk using the wrong address, which is perceived as extremely rude either way. You are also at a disadvantage as a younger person, because you always have to wait for the older person to offer you the DU. My old neighbour once offered me the DU, but had forgotten about it the next time I saw her, so I had to switch back to SIE, because I couldn’t “start” using DU as the younger person. But I like the polite and formal distance of the SIE during business transactions, which is much more prevalent here than in Germany. I always cringe if some stores (that are not specifically selling cheap stuff targeted to young people) have their staff use the DU with customers, it seems less professional and they seem desperate to portray themselves as hip and with the times. 5. Sparkling water is also popular in Switzerland, but not to such an extreme degree as in Germany. I would say that a majority of people drink tap water at home, but at restaurants you have to pay for water and if you are a large group, people usually order both kinds and every person drinks what they prefer.

About the water: normal tab water tastes much bette than bottled one - I do drink tab water all the time, but don't like Stilles Wasser. It tastes weird. Next time tell the kid that you only have Leitungswasser, he'll probably be fine with it. And 9:42: No, normally if you say "du" to someone accidentally, they won't correct you (unless it's a police officer ;-) ). Recently cashiers have started to use "du" and I never correct them, but I keep calling them "Sie" - that's the most common way to show them that I'm not happy with it.

I have never split the bill in New Zealand as a Kiwi who has never left we all just pay for our own meals well all my friends do that ! 😅

Sometimes, baking soda (Natron in German) is located in the cleaning supplies section because you can also clean with it (works great to clean drains in combination with vinegar!). According to the package you're not supposed to use it in food because it's sold as a cleaning product and not a food item, so the quality control is not as strict. Chemically, it's the same stuff though, so you can use it at your own risk :)

Even as a native German speaker I struggle with Du/Sie - you can dance around it using „ihr“ 😂. Well, in the southern part of Germany anyways.

yes it's amazing how determined Germans are about drinking regular water. I remember that many years ago, as a student, being in France for an exchange, we all were amazed to see everyone just getting normal tap water for our meals in the cafeteria. It's so fascinating to experience all the differences in cultures across the plant. Thanks for sharing your observations! :-)

I'm a kiwi, lived here my whole life and never ever have we split the bill as you described?! I've never heard of this happening here either. We always just pay for our own meals when going out with friends, makes sense 😊

9:47 There is a famous „English for Runaways“ sentence that makes fun of the formal and informal you: „You can say you to me.“ 😉

1:10 Jeffery Combs telling the Pinkies how not to procrastinate with the help of the Founders and employing the Rules of Acquisition? i'm sold!

Backing soda, AKA Natron is sold in all "Drogerie"-markets (drugstores?), like DM, Rossmann, Müller. And beware, there is also "Aktiv-Natron" in bigger cardboard packages (about 500g), but that is NOT for backing. It is used for cleaning purposes.

Du and Sie is definitely not easy to decide on. Being born in Germany, I think I did not struggle much growing up, going to Uni etc. but after having lived in the UK for a while, I lost the natural ability to be comfortable with this decision and I also lived in Vienna a while and it was even more confusing. Also, I think cultural norms do evolve and this is one of the areas that I think have changed. I have also experienced certain situations, where these rules suddenly go out the window, e.g. at scientific conferences, people seem to be quite comfortable defaulting to du with people they would not do that with when meeting in different circumstances 🤷🏻‍♀️

Baking powder is almost the same as soda. The only difference is, that Soda (Natron) is pure NaHCO3 while baking powder may contain additional acids.

The car washing at home is an interesting example of shifting cultural norms. One of the things that often get mentioned in this comparisons between "overseas" (mainly USA, but also for other parts of the world) and "european/german" is smoking. Especially younger Americans, who grew up with the strict rules against public smoking, are surprised at the amount of smokers in Germany, and how common it seems to be. Well... when I was young, smoking was a lot more prevalent and accepted... and it was massively influenced by American culture. American movies, american TV-series, American advertising... everyone smoked. The USA was, for large parts of the population, and especially the younger population, still the utopia of freedom and adventure... so it was copied in many ways. Then the culture and understanding changed... and the USA implemented different, harsher limits than other countries. Over time, the cultural view and acceptence changed... and completely flipped the perception. Washing your car at home is a similar case. Again, in my teens, it was totally normal to wash your car at home. It was even considered a national pasttime. And again, the perception changed. Enviromental concerns became more prevalent. Strict rules were implemented... and now, a few decades later, people consider it just "normal" and are surprised that not everyone else follows the same rules and views.

Thanks for sharing Antoinette!

You will often be able to buy baking soda (the brand name is Kaiser Natron) at the pharmacy, as it is also used as a medical remedy.

very interesting what you say about Du and Sie. I am living in Ireland for many years now and I notice that in Germany now that they do use Du more often than they used to in the past. I think with so many people living abroad and the influence of especially the American life style and culture this happened over the years. I also noticed that here the way to be more formal is to say Mr/Mrs Surname. Initially it was so weird to just use first names with everyone, even my managers at work.

There is healing water Mineral water Table water and tap water When you order water in restaurants in Germany, it is usually carbonated mineral water. There are even stricter requirements for mineral water than for tap water

As for the Du/Sie, rules changed over the years and even I (as a 58 years old German) am sometimes confused. I was raised to do a curtsy when meeting grownups, unmarried teachers were called Miss Miller, and the kindergarten teachers were called aunt. Much more people nowadays say Du than in the past. I usually start with the formal Sie and when it feels right, I suggest a Du. In social fields/groups where it's about honest sharing, where people go in depth or when it's about therapy or spirituality, almost everyone says Du from the beginning, because it feels like we're leaving the conservative world of professionalism, job, rank, age and more, and it's more about human to human heart connections. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, even Germans often don't know how to address others. As for the bubbly water, I was raised with lemonades and sparkling waters and I never digested them well. I felt that when I'm thirsty I want something liquid and not fill my stomach with gas and bubbles. But I had no chance to get a drink without bubbles, as for my mother this was a status symbol (only poor people drink cold herb tea or water without sparkles). Also, tap water at the time wasn't safe to drink. At least that's what I've been told, nobody I knew drank tap water. I only started to drink water without bubbles at the age of 34 and I hardly ever had bubbly drinks since then, apart from some lemon soda or orangina from time to time.

In ireland it depends on your friends if you split the bill by the actual items you had or if they split it by the total. To get out of splitting the total it is easy to not drink any alcohol and then the friends already think they you should only pay for what you have

Regarding baking: as an American who previously lived in Germany, our German neighbors used to ask me to buy Cream of Tartar from the Air Base. It’s used mainly to strengthen meringue on top of pies. Apparently, it’s difficult to find in the German grocery stores. I was happy to oblige. 😊

As an Australian who has lived in France, I used to think informal vs formal "you" was a case of native speakers instinctively knowing which one to use but then I learned that native speakers sometimes stress about it as well. Using an unexpected "you" is also a good way of insulting someone ;)

Whenever we visited as kids our aunt in Cologne we have been told, not to drink the tabwater due to the poor quality and the high amount of calc in it.

I love this regular water and this is the only one my son drinks. And at work in the Kita all of my kids love thos natural water. All of them hate these bubbly water.

The baking soda issue is not so easy, because there are multiple kinds of soda. There is Natriumkarbonat and there is Natriumbicarbonat. I guess Backing soda is Backpulver? Well, i need to check the Backzutaten in my Supermarket , I never-ever searched for it. My mother had it always in the kitchen.

Baking Soda comes as Kaisers Natron in a green retro package, or you order online

Baking soda or natron: You get it more often now, try DM or Rossmann . It is good for nearly everything, baking, cleaning, etc Du or Sie: I am of the old fashioned generation, people I don' t know well,are "Sie". Except of course in sports, would be strange to ask or better, to order " Holen Sie das Segel dicht "or " Machen Sie eine Wende." At school I think, it was already in the ninth grade at the Gymnasium, that the teachers started to say Sie and the first name. At university, students use Du for each other, for profs Sie. Colleagues: still starting with Siezen, if unknown, later it may be "Du". For years I have taught German in integration courses, I strictly used " Sie, Ihre etc. plus first name. A compromise to show respect to refugees, and the first name were easily to pronounce. And they learned a bit of how to communicate in Germany. Sprudelwasser: I hate it and it makes me sick. May be, the years in France have taught me to drink just water, not the bubbling thing Germans prefer.

Sie and du exist also in english speaking countries. It is when you are using the First Name. In Thais case Du and First Name…

There's also another reason why washing your car in carwash or self-carwash, the water gets collected and recycled. In Belgium I think you are still allowed to wash you car at home, except during dry periods in summer. In France you also have Formal and Informal forms. When I was in France I always ignored it, I think it's absurd to adress some people in a formal way even if you don't know them or if they are older. I had no idea sparkling water was such a big thing in Germany. My grandmother married a German man from Iserlohn after she was widowed in the 80's and I never saw him drink sparkling water. Maybe he was an exception, or maybe it's a more recent trend? Here in Belgium you can find sparkling water everywhere but it isn't that popular. Most people will go for non sparkling water.

The car wash ban is not directly because of the soaps and chemical detergents. In principle you use those at home as well: in the shower or when cleaning your house. However, there is always break dust on the car (from the brake pads), residues of fuel and especially residues of oil; maybe its also because of waxes and other stuff you might have used on the car. Those are extremely bad for the environment. AFAIK they are also extremely bad for the bacteria used in sewage treatment plants. The 'allowed' places for car washing have special sewage systems that remove those oils and fuel components from the waste water before it goes to the public sewage. Without such a filtering system, you are not allowed to wash the car at home. At least, this is the 'official' reason for this ban.

The "Du/Sie" system is still complicated for Germans as well. We maybe have a better intuition about it, but it can still be awkward. When I started my first job, I noticed, that all of my colleagues were addressing the boss with "du", as they had been working with him for a while. So one day I just went ahead and asked, when it is appropriate to switch. He thought for a moment and then just said "Let's wait till the Christmas party". Suddenly it wasn't awkward any more. We both knew, where we stand. And at the Christmas party he greeted me with "du"...

On point! And I also think it's really weird when people don't drink water. Am German and my kids are growing up with just normal tap water. Don't want spoiled kids who behave like that. They like other drunks too. But water is the normal every day stuff.

I have never split the bill in the US. We say to the waiter, “Separate checks please” before ordering. In Berlin I find Arm and Hammer baking soda at the Chinese shop! And also other brands on Amazon.

To me if someone says "Du" to me I'll say du back. If I get to know someone about the same age as me in a more formal situation it is kinda weird cause you never know whether you're supposed to say du or Sie.

Because of washing the car...you are allowed to do that if you have an oil separator installed on the house.

In USA, we usually split the bill but the drinkers will usually offer to pay for their own drinks or know to add money for the tip which can be quite large if there are drinkers.

I do recall going out and "splitting the bill" but… not like you apparently do. The bill was paid by one person, but everyone gave his/her cost to this person, so we "split it" but we didn't split it evenly. Evenly makes *no sense at all.* It's really beyond nonsensical.

I'm 56 now, until I was 20, you did not find any still water in the normal commerce. You had to go to the pharmacy. Why ? Because still water is only for sick people. About 35 years ago, some french brands started selling still water, it has changed somehow, but it's still weird for me to drink still water.

Man darf seine Fahrzeuge zu Hause waschen, wenn man Abwasser-Abscheider hat. Diese trennen Wasser vom Schmutz, wie z.B. Öl. Aber diese zu installieren ist aber ein zu großer technischer und finanzieller Aufwand. Daher ist es günstiger zu einer Waschanlage zu fahren und dort die Reinigung durchzuführen

It is easy, if a person is new start with Sie, if they want an informal aderess they will tell you. "Du kannst du sagen."

On the topic of speech. Anyone under the age of 20 can be addressed as "Du". Anything over 20 basically with "Sie". If the "you" is offered, that's perfectly fine. That's how I was raised.

In France kids often still adress their parents with "sie".

When we split the bill in Oz we adjust for people who do get drink alcohol or only order a n entrees size and no dessert par example . The point is iy doesn't hold up the restaurant or Cafe staff listing off each item... bill goes to table and a mathematically competent member of the party scans it and says . X AND Y would you be happy to pay $x that leaves $ y for everyone else .

I love it when being on vacation in France (like for the moment) that you first get a jug of water for your table 👍🏻 In Germany or Belgium (where I grew up) you always have to order drinks with your meals in the restaurant and I hate it to pay 4€ for a "stilles Wasser" that tastes just like ordinary tap water 🫣🙈

Miss ur German version of grocery hauls

If you accidentally say "du" to a person and they make you understand that it's ok, don't think twice, a German says what he thinks. However, if he doesn't elaborate on your apology and just goes "business as normal," switch to the more formal "sie." At least that's how I handle it from my German point of view.

I am German, and since childhood I drink mainly tapwater, when I have guests, I offer them the same tapwater. I had never any complain about my water. First time, that I hear, that Germans wouldn’t like tapwater.

I'm a native German speaker and there are still some situations where I don't really know if it's better to say "du" or "Sie". But yes, when in doubt it's probably better to say "Sie".

We talk formal to people we don't know, except: you are actually - in the same sports club - the same political party - it is common in your company With this, this is 95% correct. And as said, better be informal, as it is not offending to be more formal, than beeing informal to a person, that would like to start formal.

In the U.S. we do it the German way I have never split the bill for a group dinner. Just adding this since it is a native english speaking country. I enjoyed your video.

??? You'll find several brands of baking Soda/ Backpulver in every German Supermarket.

In Franconia: When in doubt rather use the "Du"! Original Franconians are very chilled about that...

I never use Backpulver - I hate the feel of it on my teeth. I make sure I get baking powder with cream of tartar : Weinstein-Backpulver" Most non-Germans will NOT find the formal/informal forms of address difficult. English is about the only language that does not differentiate! Some languages have even more categories.

So great posted another video

Technically, English speakers are always using the formal form of the second person pronouns. ;-) Oh, and that kid was a brat. Sparkling water is a nice thing for a good meal, but not necessary at all. Kid reminds me of those spoiled rotten ones that only eat pasta.

Ich sage auch im Zweifel "Sie". Wenn die Person das doof findet, wird sie mir das "Du" anbieten. So hab ich das auch meinen Kindern beigebracht

If I'm not totally wrong, Baking Soda (Natron) and Backpulver (Baking powder) are just the same.

Dear Antoinette, let me tell you a tiny story, from a time you were just born or so. In April 2000 I, a native German speaker, acquainted with the concept of formal and informal adress, took a bus back to the town of Nice, after spending a lovely afternoon by myself at St Jean Cap Ferrat (very nice place!) I asked the bus driver, a middle aged lady like me, but with darker skin (this is relevant, I will explain why later) something about fare or where she was going or so (cannot remember, over 20 years after). And I used "tu" - the French version of "Du". I was wrong to do that. And she rightfully corrected me. I never got why she was SOO angry, until I much later realized, she might have thought me racist and doing it on purpose to denigrate her. (Here is why it is important that her skin had a different colour than mine). So even when, like in my case, your mother tongue knows the difference between formal and informal adress, you can make the mistake when you are new to a language (I did not have that much French at school, only 2 years and by 2000 I had forgotten a lot about it). So you, who you are not even familiar with this concept in your native language, should really be forgiven if you make the odd mistake - and so should all people who come from a language which doesn't know the difference. Russian, French, Spanish and German all use a formal/informal form of adressing somebody. It is not a uniquely German thing.

Ich trinke grundsätzlich nur Leitungswasser. Leitungswasser ist das am stärksten überwachte Lebensmittel in Deutschland. Ich kann mich noch daran erinnern, dass Kinderärzte davor warnten, dass Kinder zu oft Mineralwasser trinken, da die darin enthaltenen Inhaltstoffe die Grenzwerte, die bei Leitungswasser gelten, teilweise um das Hundertfache und mehr überschritten werden. Nimm doch einfach mal eine Flasche Mineralwasser zur Hand, google nach den Grenzwerten für Trinkwasser und vergleiche sie. Für sprudelndes Wasser gibt es genügend Alternativen, wie Sodapop, die nicht gesundheitsschädlich für Kinder sind.

Splitting the bill, doesn’t include split it in same parts. Everyone of us keeps his own consumption in mind and pays his part.

Don't worry; if you wait long enough, the informal "du" will probably become the norm for everyone here in Germany. Now that I'm in my 60's and have lived here for almost 40 years, it feels odd to be automatically addressed with "du" by, say, fitness trainers half my age, my phone company that wants to sound young and trendy, and so forth. Not long ago, even my office pretty much mandated using the informal among colleagues, though thankfully not with the general public. I guess I've become an old stick in the mud... 😊 Still, if someone I don't know well says "du" to me, I don't correct them and usually just offer to remain "per du" if they wish, since that seems to make it easier for everyone.

In Germany (especially From older people and in formal Business) it is expected that you follow the „Kingge“ rules. An man called Freiherr v.Knigge wrote the book "on dealing with people" (in german über den Umgang mit Menschen)in 1788 and to this day „Knigge“ it is the german benchmark for etiquette. 😅 Baking Soda in Germany called Natron, is Not only used in baking. My grandma used ist for cleaning, as medicine against heartburn and bloating, against odors e.g. in shoes and of course for pretzels (Laugengebäck) For this reason, baking soda is often found in the household goods section aspecialley on the internet As in all countries it is all part of history 😂 als well as the small baking powder pockets 😂 there is always a story behind. I enjoy watching your videos,❤ because you hold up a mirror to us so charmingly. All things that I take for granted and that I no longer question.

If you would call someone by his/her first name, you use "du". If it's someone you would call by his/her last name (mr. xy), you use "sie".

that is new to me, until 1990 or later you could washyour car at home. It was a kind of 'tradition'that 'all' German male washed his car on a Saturday 😁

I prefer splitting the bill. I want to be free to dine as expensive as I like without having the bad feeling of consuming at the other's expense.

Extended Family Dinner in an Italian Restaurant..Half of them from the Swiss half from Germany...splittin the Bill---- the Aftermath was horrible..cause you realized that you paid for them others having like fancy Wine and whatever Drinks while you and your Girlfriend just had a normal Meal plus 2 Drinks..gosh..never again German Side never wanna do it again..haha...still all good..but yeah...never again.

Even for native Germans the informal vs. formal thing is not always easy to get right.

Baking soda = BACKPULVER. You can find it easily in almost any supermarket. No problem...

I just don't like stilles Wasser 😅😅

How can fresh water taste disgusting? I always trink water from the tap. I never, absolutely never, buy water. I even don't like it when its sparkling. I am thirsty and i dont like that CO2 prevents me from fast drinking. I also dont like too much CO2 in beer. My water here at home is fresh and has 5°C. Perfect for drinking.

Baking soda you can find in Germany in the russian shops. Easiest way

I just remembered something about the "du/Sie" thing. At least in our region a lot of people don't know the correct plural form of "Sie" is also "Sie" as is the accusative form. So they use "Sie" when directly addressing you but use the "du" Forms for plural and accusative form, which is super weird. For example a student asked my colleague (whom they always correctly addressed as "Sie") "Und was macht ihr da so?" (And what do you usually do there?), which is the plural for the "du" form. My colleague was super weirded out that her student suddenly called her "du" as if on first name terms with her but then she realized they didn't know the correct plural was also "Sie". Same here with our postman. He addresses me as "Sie" and then he says things like "Das ist auch für euch." (euch being the accusative plural form of "du"). So it's like he addresses me as "Sie" and then when he refers to both me and my hubby he says "du". 🙂 Those are native speakers, mind you. So that must be super confusing for foreigners. Because you don't only have "du" and "Sie" but also "dich/euch" and "Sie/Sie".

As a German I understand how confusing Du vs. Sie can be. Maybe the following hint is helpful, I am not sure. But: Before talking to a person, ask yourself if you would say "excuse me, Madam/Sir" or "excuse me, Dear". If the latter seems to fit better use Du. If the 1st feels better, use Sie!

I love both plain tap and sparkling water. But I am always surprised when American voice their disgust of sparkling water, when pretty much everything they drink outside of coffee or milk is carbonated - a big parade of sodas….

I think the bill splitting in Germany depends on the situation. If I go out for a meal with family or good friends we tend to split the bill but if I'm out with work colleagues then we each pay individually for our own meal. As for the water, certainly in my area near Hannover Still Water/ Tap Water is becoming more the norm. In the Kindergarten I work in nearly all the children drink still water, we fill their water bottles direct from the tap. We never buy bottled water for home use, our tap water tastes just fine. Du and Sie still confuses me as well and I often make mistakes, but this is not unique to Germany many other languages have a polite and familiar form. We are just lucky not to have this in English, LOL!

Your reasoning regarding splitting the bill makes 100% sense! Having struggled with money for most of my life the concept of splitting the bill evenly would have made me not want to go out because not knowing in advance whether I would even be able to afford it would have been far too stressful. I also think it's entirely unfair to be expected to basically pay for someone else's order if they earn much more than you do and do not have to worry about money. I now have a fulltime job and can just go out without having to worry about the bill. I still remember the feeling of struggling financially so I would never expect a person with a lower income than mine to pay for part of MY order. Regarding Du and Sie: I don't know if it's any comfort but it's often just as confusing/weird for Germans. Whether you say Du or Sie is based on context and situation most of the time and it's becoming less and less formal in the younger generations. So for example I am 32 and I work at a university, so most students here are younger than me. If I were to meet people my age or younger in a private context it would be very strange to address them formally, yet I say Sie to the students. I also find it quite funny how the tone changes between colleagues as soon as someone offers to switch to first names. At my workplace most younger people (under 50) immediately say Du and use their first names anyway but if you for example send an email to someone you don't know you will usually write in a quite formal manner. So I've had a couple of exchanges that started with me writing an email to "Sehr geehrter Professor XY" and them replying with "Sehr geehrte Frau X" and then ending the email with "PS: Wir können auch gerne Du sagen!" and then there's an immediate change in tone in the next email and you go from "Sehr geehrter Professor XY" to "Hi Alex! :)". I find that quite funny and I think it shows how many people just want to drop the fomalities and stiffness and want to be friendly and casual with each other.

"Du" and "Sie" is not that complicated. But more importantly, it is not a matter of intuition, there are quite clear rules ablout it. The formal "Sie" is not limited to people with special authority. Every adult is by default addressed on a second name base which comes with the formal "Sie". Non adults are usually addressed informaly, even though adults may chose to use the formal form if they think, that the kids are grown up enough (and they better should, if they are not sure, if a young person might be 18 or older)- but that is up to the adult person then. If either of two adults thinks, they are close enough, they can offer the other one the "Du", which can also be done by introducing yourself with your first name. If that is accepted, it is automatically reciprocal (!). And usually for life, unless you later come to a different agreement. The only time in which one side says "Du" and the first name and the other side uses "Sie" and the family name is when non-adults are involved. Exceptions are rare. On the internet, "Du" is fine by default and there are some clubs or special communities in which "Du" is the default and there are other limited communities and contexts in which only the formal language is accepted (as in some workplaces). But you do not have to know that in advance (except for job applications, for that it is always advisable to find out as much about the company culture as possible), people don´t expect you to know it and they are going to tell you about it. In such a case it is possible to handle things differently, when you meet someone outside the special context in which formal or informal is expected as one of those special social contexts, but that is something, you would have to come to a mutual agreement about. But, again, that is not the default. There isn´t really a limit to when you may offer the "Du" to someone. You should rather not try it in a very formal context and if the other side says, that they would rather keep it formal you have to accept it. It is your right as an adult to be addressed formally, all deviations from that rule must come as a mutual social agreement. If you just ignore that, you are insulting the other person. But you may stick to a formal form, even after you have been neighbours, collegues or even close friends for decades. Or you may offer the "Du" to a complete stranger after one minute of sitting together at a table on a resting place together. That does not depend on intuition. It only depends on what you want.

Alles Halbwahrheiten, Fakt ist im Restaurant wird man gefragt: Getrennt oder Zusammen ? Weil es eben nicht einheitlich ist, es ist nicht immer üblich getrennt zu zahlen. Zudem gibt es eine menge Leute die am Wochenende obwohl es verboten ist ihr Auto auf ihrem Grundstück waschen. Es interessiert in der Regel einfach nicht, gerade auf dem Land machen das viele. Das Siezen und das Duzen, waren früher klar getrennt, als ich noch jünger war fand ich das Siezen störend, ich muss allerdings sagen, je älter ich werde desto mehr bin ich auf der Seite der Alten. Es lässt nicht jeden Idioten so nah an einen rankommen im Gespräch - vor allem auf Arbeit. Das mit dem Wasser hat sich seit den 80ern so bei uns entwickelt, als ich Kind war gabs nur Wasser aus der Leitung, das Problem ist dass man alte Leitungen im Haus haben kann, früher wurden noch Bleileitungen verbaut. Zudem ist kein Kalk im Mineralwasser, aber der Abfüller ist auch wichtig von Mineralwasser, sollte man beachten.

I also like the German way of paying for your own meal better because those who would like to spend less don't have to feel bad and neither do those who would like to treat themselves. I would always feel bad when ordering something more expensive. As a native speaker I also have situations where I am not sure whether to use "du" or "Sie" and how or when to offer "du". It can be confusing because it's also a generational thing. My mother worked as a teacher and she said "Sie" to most of her colleagues. When I was teaching I said "du" to most of my colleagues and "Sie" to some of the older colleagues I didn't work so closely with. That became difficult when I addressed mails to a group of colleagues that included people I was on du and some I was on Sie terms with. I always used du/Sie (with slash) and it was super weird. So don't worry, Germans also have "du/Sie"-Problems. 🙂

@ du/Sie: as we Germans say (in false english): you can say you to me. @ baking soda: isn't Backpulver (baking powder) the same as baking soda. And if not, what is the difference?

The formal way of addressing someone by saying "Sie" isn't a particularly German thing. You can find it in France and Italy too. However it's being used lesser and lesser over time and with every younger generation. There are some professional areas where it is kept rather strictly like law, banking and public administration. In other professional environments like IT, telecommunication, engineering it's being used rather rarely. In private encounters it's a matter of personal taste. In doubt using Sie is never wrong, particularly if the person is older than you or is holding a public office. If someone introduces himself by his first name that's usually an invitation to communicate less formally and drop the "Sie" (I've heard about something called the north German "Sie" which is used in combination with the first name; but I'm no expert on that and I might have confused it again already). If you're the older person it's your turn to invite to drop the "Sie"; if the other person is older I'd recommend waiting for them to take the initiative for leaving the formal level. If someone refuses to give up the "Sie" it should be respected without much thinking. It's an aspect of some Germans being reserved and waiting for more experience in interacting with you.

I never got it why splitting the bill is a thing.

First use the formal Sie by offering the Du the other person is NOT CORRECTING you but offering as closer/ less formal connection to them. So you did nothing wrong! You where more polite as they would expect you to, thats all. That why you offer the du and not force it to some one.

...............hi Antoinetty echt ein super Kanal

One thing about du and sie if you practis the different forms in an old fashioned way, actualy the oldest one or the hiracical higher person offers the du in every other case it is sie but that is a thing dat gets a bit out of fashion in the last years i think.

Paying for someone eating meat would be unbearable for me in any country! 😢

You: "I am sorry, but I only have regular water" German: "That's fine for me". A couple of minutes later German: "Yuck, why are you serving tap water? I thought you have regular water?"

The Du/Sie choice can be incredibly confusing except for those people who believe in one set of strict rules about it and get angry with everyone who follows different rules. It really needs to go. I'm a native German speaker, grown up in Germany, and I mostly just don't address people at all if I don't know whether to use Du or Sie. Occasionally (unfortunately only rarely) you can get away with a trick. Suppose you are in an organic supermarket. It's an environment where you expect unconventional/young people who are likely to default to Du. With some people there you will just feel that that's what you have to use. But with some it may feel wrong for some reason, and they might conceivably be offended either way. Then you can often get away with addressing the entire workplace in the plural, using the informal plural Ihr. That way you acknowledge that it's a Du type location, but you are not specifically addressing that person with Du. What's particularly neat about this (on the rare occasions that it works) is that it's actually an obsolete polite form of address that you can still find in books from the time of the classical German writers.