I've been living outside of New Zealand for too long because some of you are telling me that many of the more modern NZ showers have removable shower heads 🙌 This makes me very happy.

I think most Germans want to lern driving in a manual car because when you learn to drive a automatic car you're not allowed to drive any manual cars but if you learn to drive a manual car you can just drive everything. So that would be my opinion...

As a German I love watching videos like this one, because it's cute to see what people of other countries think about us Germans.^^

Those 'weird' German things are actually pretty standard in the entire Europe, not just Germany

Ich noch nie jemanden so begeistert von Duschköpfen reden hören.. 😂

not having a removable showerhead sounds awful

German Smalltalk in a Nustshell: Grüß dich! Hi, und hast du schon Winterreifen drauf? Nein Mann! danke für die Erinnerung, machs gut, wir sehen uns

I'm german and thought the whole time:"you don't do that?"

Winterreifen hätten im Sommer einen längeren Bremsweg als Sommerreifen.

Kids in Germany ride bikes at the age of 3-4. All of us ride bikes, old and young! It is really strange if someone has no bike.... 😀

Me (a German): watching video Antoinette: Winter tyres! Me: Crap! Really need to set a date to get my tyres changed. Thanks you Antoinette for reminding me!

"Some thin I love about germany: the older generation riding on their bikes..." Wait until you got your drivers license.

I think I learned more unusual things about New Zealand than Germany.

Winter tires arent used during summer because they become too soft in warm temperatures and wear off quickly

Manual cars have Fahrvergnügen, automatics not so much.

I think a more accurate title for this video would be: Normal everyday EUROPEAN things that really surprised me.

I think it's more common in German showers for the showerhead mount to be height adjustable by sliding up and down on a vertical metal rail. While many modern showers in the USA and Canada have removable showerheads, the mount is usually located where a fixed showerhead would be and does not move up and down. The height-adjustable setup is certainly more convenient for people who don't want to get their hair wet every time they shower.

If you enjoy people on bicycles you you go to Netherlands. They are basically born on a bicycle 😂

In Spain we all drive manual cars as well, I think it’s normal in Europe.

Antoinette: I have never heard of winter tires Me, a canadian: 😶😶

1. There's the fun aspect in manual driving, but there's also a pragmatic explanation: Automatic transmission is usually an expensive extra for cars sold in Germany. If you're comfortable driving with manual transmission (and most Germans are, as we've all learned it in driving school), why spend the extra money? Also, until the beginning of this decade, cars with automatic transmission used to be less fuel efficient compared to manual cars with experienced drivers. This has only changed with the latest (and most expensive) generation of automatic transmission gearboxes. 2. Winter tyres have a different rubber compound that's not made for hot temperatures. If you use them throughout the summer, the profile quickly wears off. If you plan to own and operate a car in Germany for more than two years, it's cheaper to have two separate sets of tyres. As an alternative, there's also so called "Ganzjahresreifen" (tyres for all seasons) that can legally be used in the winter months as well, but they're a compromise. Not as safe as dedicated winter tyres on snow and slippery surfaces, and not as durable and fuel efficient as dedicated summer tyres.

Viel Glück und Erfolg für die Führerscheinprüfung.

,,...because in Germany it snows...." Well, not anymore I guess. Edit: Leute, ich bin Deutsch, man kann mir also auch auf Deutsch antworten xD

Hi Antoinette. I am from Poland and just FYI - yes, driving manual gives much more control over the car, including some safety, like starting or slowing down on snow/icy road. There is some techniques which you can use in such condition, but they are possible (or much easier to use) with manual gearbox only. I am living now in Ireland and when entire country is stopped by one inch of snow (for single day and not every year) - I still can drive my manual car, being alone on the road (or with other Poles, Germans and other drivers from our part of Europe). For example - to slow down you car on ice/snow, you should use gearbox, gradually reducing gears and leave alone your accelerator. If you use just breaks - you'll lost control for sure, and even ABS may be useless. Of course some very advanced electronic systems in very modern cars can help, but if you have automatic car and electronic for some reason will stop working - you have a problem and no skills to solve it... Also there is another reason why in our countries we change tires twice the year. The winter ones are more expensive, but not that much. But using them in higher temperature is pointless - winter tires have not only different tread, but also are made with different rubber mix, designed for optimal performance in lower temperature. I remember when warm spring started and I still had my winter tires fitted - my car produced strange squeak on tarmac in some places, and thus I presume the grip was affected. I hope this helps you a little to understand our strange mild-European things :-)

at least here in Finland, automatics are just so much more expensive than manual. Also, as someone mentioned, we have the same thing as Germany does - you're not allowed to drive manual if you get your licence driving an automatic

No removable shower heads? O_O How can you live like that?

As to the subject of winter tires: they deteriorate at an extreme rate when temperatures are above their ideal range. So you would need way more tires if they are used during summer time. Further they are less secure in summer. The rubber gets really soft and while breaking you would virtually slide ont the rubber and the car would come way later to a stop.

Changing your tires mostly isn't about cost. Winter tires have a softer rubber that has more grip at lower temperatures but would quickly wear at higher temperatures in the summer. Summer tires have a harder rubber that needs to warm up a bit to get really grippy, but doesn't wear as much as the winter tires, but the tires don't get to ideal operating temperature in the winter. Also Winter tires have a different profile with bigger "channels" to work in a lot of snow/water instead of summer tires having a profile with more rubber touching the road so you have more grip on dry or slightly wet roads, but it's easier to loose grip and slip on flooded or snowy roads. So both tire types are just optimized for summer or winter, so it's much safer to switch tires. I hope I could help you with this comment.

Manual transmissions aren't just a German thing, they are European.

The removable showerhead also comes in handy when cleaning the bathtube

In Germany, cars with automatic transmission are more expensive than cars with manual transmission. I guess that's a reason for many people *not* to buy them.

This is so funny! I’m a German living in NZ, and I was really frustrated with the shower heads here! Now that we have our own house we installed a removable shower head 😅

if you don't have a removeable showerheads, how do you even shower "ohne Haare" or "nur Haare"

When I was growing up we had a neighbor who was way into his 80s. We lived right in the middle between Hamburg and Bremen and this man was known near Hamburg to be always on his bike, people saw and recognized him almost 70 km from home. He took his bike shopping, he made his own broomsticks so he took his bike to the moor, he was picking up seeds for his garden here, then he went and got cat food over there, then he found another thing to do somewhere else. He was on his bike constantly. There came a day when he wasn‘t feeling so great, back hurting, knees...you know, stuff that happens when you get old. His daughter in law couldn’t take him to the doctor, so he went alone (this time in his car) and when she came home in the evening and asked what the doctor had said, the answer was „I should take my bike out a bit more.“ Yep, everybody‘s reaction was „Even more?!“

We moved to a smaller German town. And hear all the elderly people were always taking me over 🚴‍♀️. It tooked be some time to realize they have e-bikes

Antoinette: "I ask myself why the Germans chose to drive with manual cars." Me: *"I ask myself why the New Zealanders chose to drive with automatic cars."*

About these "Winterreifen": Tires (actually all polymers) have different optimal usage temperatures. Tires that are above their optimal usage temperature tend to go "soft" and may slip because the material of the tire gets easily smeared on the road surface... Tires that are below their optimal usage temperature get more brittle and so flex less, resulting in less contact between road and car...

So as a German living in Australia: 1. Love that half the videos is about cars 😹 2. So true about the manuals. Miss them. But I understand that right-wheel drive cars more often come as manuals now only. 3. The winter tyre thing is not only about saving money. The rubber composite is different. It is made so that the tyre doesn’t become hard and porous in temperatures below -5 degrees Centigrade. Driving winter tyres in warmer weather (above +10 degrees for extensive periods) will make them wear very quickly and also increase your fuel consumption because of increased friction. 4. The shower heads 🚿 OMG!!! When I renovated my bathroom I made sure to ALSO have a hand shower installed. Not only for washing myself. But also for easily rinsing and cleaning the shower. How else to you guys do that? Buckets???!!

It’s really fun listening to a different perspective to things that are absolutely normal to me :)

The thing that surprised me the most as a German is, that "Pfandflaschen" is apparently a very german thing. Like, really? I thought everyone had that? It's such a good system!

I am from Germany and I‘ve never thought about those things, they’re just every day life for me🤔😂

When you drive a fast car a manual transmission is simply much more fun (to me atleast) :)

Everytime , when I was in america, I have a car with automatic gearbox. And after returning I am happy to sit in my car again with manuel gearbox.

I love seeing content from people that came to Germany from far away and Share their experiences 😁

I'm from Norway, but living in Italy. In both countries we have winter tyres, manual cars and removable shower heads. I know that fixed showerheads excists, but they are the fancy ones that are fixed to the ceiling (where you can choose between a lot of different pressures on the water) and always combined with a second removable showerhead. About riding bikes it depends on where you live both in Italy and in Norway. Some places old people ride their bikes, but I think not nearly as much as in Germany and Denmark or the Netherlands.

We have detachable shower heads here in Italy. I was surprised in a British hotel to find that the shower head was fixed, I found it so primitive! Pensioners riding bikes are quite common here, no helmets of course. Often the bike is loaded with shopping bags. And if it's raining, they might even steer with one hand and carry an umbrella with the other. For winter driving on motorway and mountain roads it's obligatory to have either winter tyres or a set of snow chains that can be fitted if required. I've never driven an automatic car, but my son has recently acquired a vintage Fiat Panda with automatic transmission. He has to take it to a special workshop for servicing, so that's a bit expensive.

Americans mostly drive automatic cars, but, I did learn to drive on a stick shift in the 1960's. Most states in the US require snow or all-weather tires. In some northern states will also require snow chains on the tires. In the US we have both the fixed and hand-held showerheads. My apartment has a fixed shower head. Old people ride bikes in the US. I don't, however. But, I have a friend who is in his mid-70's who belongs to a biking club and goes riding on a regular basis.

Antoinette’s videos on Germany are all excellent. Not only are they a simple accurate insight to the country and its people but they are critical but fair!

3:50 Driving with winter tyres during the summer month will also increase fuel consumption. They are made for low temperatures and do not roll that lightly in high temperatures.

My grandfather who is 91 years old is still riding his e - bike :) He is sooo active

I would like to add that winter tyres are less effective in summer than "normal" tyres. It is not only the price

After experiencing the removable shower heads in Asia and Europe I’ve made a point of changing all my showers in the US to wand type shower heads. So much better for everything from pet bathing to the actual cleaning of the shower. Now I just shake my head when I visit people and they don’t have shower wands.

In my opinion driving an automatically car in Germany is only used by the minority because in your drivers license lessons it's better to learn driving with an manuel car (You can drive both types of cars then but when you learn at an automatically car you can only drive that type)

Canadian here who did her German driver's license at 50 years old after living in Germany for decades and now can drive a stick shift car!! I'm so glad I did it!

Hey, Antoinette, it is so awesome to listen to your experiences in Germany. Just because I am german, but live in Croatia. I had no idea that some for us normal things could be so cool , new or anoying for people from other countries. Amazing to lusten! Tnx for sharing❤

Just happened upon your video. I was born and raised in Canada but my Mom immigrated from Germany at age 19. My Mom and I were very close, sadly she died in 2014. She raised me very European/German. I still have relatives in Germany and so I am in regular contact with them and have been to Germany several times. Even my Dad was German background, he was first generation Canadian born (he sadly passed away in 2006). I love anything German!!! So I’m excited about your channel, always love learning more.

The reason you never run out of ideas, my dear Antoinette, ist not Germany but your creativity and foremost your open eyes and your sense and readiness for wonder and detail, for oddities and buried layers of strange things.

I just got back from Germany again, and I'm always amazed when I see the older folks on bikes. I just love it. It's rare to see that here in the US.

Manual gear shifting allows you to control the revs precisely and thus gives you much closer control of the acceleration. Automatic transmission revs up immensely if you step on the pedal hard, but there is a delay of, I'd say half a second. For me, it's a tradeoff: Accelerating is much more fun with a manual gearbox, but in usual stop and go traffic, automatic transmission is more comfortable. There are models that allow you to do both. I'm glad I learned it with manual gearbox. Hats off to you for making the switch to manual!

Some comments from a German native: - Gearbox - is now shifting to automatic. Early automatic gearboxes ate up a lot of power, increased weight and fuel consumption. This made them unattractive for us. - Winter tyres: minimum tread of 1.6mm is mandatory for summer and winter tyres, it's recommended to replace winter tyres already at 4mm. they are not more expensive than summer tyres, but the rubber mixture is much softer to provide more grip in cold conditions. (in some regions we face down to - 20°C). When it is hot in summer (we faced some 40°C this year), this soft rubber causes longer breaking distances - and the tyres are worn-down very fast. - Shower Heads: When you were talking about them, I remembered the worst one that I've ever seen. it was in New Zealand: It was fixed on the wall above me and had a valve to start the water & adjust temperature included. one handle with function close - > cold - > hot. So you had to stand below it, reach out and open it. And it started cold. very cold. no possibility to open it and not being rained on immediately...

Wenn man einen Schaltwagen entsprechend fährt kann man ihn sowohl spritsparender als auch sportlicher fahren als einen Automatikwagen. (Leider immer nur eins von beidem gleichzeitig 😂)

It's not just to save money it to save having to change your tires as often too! Winter tires are softer than normal tires and would just be eaten off in 2 months over 20°C. I live in Canada and shower heads comes in both types but I can't live without a hand-held shower head.

Hello, I am from germany and yes, removable shower heads are one of the most normal things in germany. It’s just there. I don’t know why, but I have always been growing up with removable shower heads, since I was a baby😂❤️

Winter tires are more likely to wear out when the temperature is higher than 4 degree Celsius. So they are mostly used from “O to O” ( October to Ostern / Easter)

We just moved to Canada from Austria and we bought a manual car and replaced the shower head with a removable shower head :D

Hello Antoinette.. I've just returned from Germany after a three months stay with my son and family..i just love everything about Germany.. young and old love their outdoors.. and they do take care of their environment..an hello to your husband also..

This is so fun and interesting to hear! I'm German and would have never thought of the things you mentioned as anything out of the ordinary 😄

The most important reason why we do not drive with winter tires in summer is the wear of winter tires is very high in summer, which means that if you drive a lot you need a lot more tires.The wintertires broken quickly in heat. And its only forbidden to drive Summer tires wenn there is snow and ice. In a warm winter you could drive summer tires. lg

Removable shower heads are also good for cleaning things. We wash there our winter shoes, the kids big toys or maxi cosi for example :)

Driving an automatic car is like driving an auto scooter at an amusement park - driving for kids 😀!

i couldnt imagine not driving a manual car. i just love it.

My grandfather drove his bike literally until he died at the age of 89. Disregarding rain, storms or snow he went to the cemetery to visit my grandma daily for more than 9 years and - as old as he was - he would never forget about that one day he passed the cemetery without standing at her grave. I think that made him feel bad for a long time. Anyway, your attitude and vibe are absolutely awesome and you seem so likeable. Keep making videos like this one, really fun to watch

About winter tires: They're made of softer rubber that becomes "too soft" at higher temperatures, so it wears off quite fast then. The other way round, summer tires become too hard and therefore lose grip at cold temperatures. The point is, temperatures in my region of Germany go from +40°C to -20 and in other regions, -20 isn't the limit. You don't have such a big span in oceanic climate, i.e. on an island.

Everything you mentioned, we do in Denmark too - and I love the removable shower heads!

About the showers: Here in Switzerland they are removable as well. And we have the best water pressure in the world (when I go to Germany or any other country in Europe or anywhere on the Planet I always notice the shitty pressure) in my experience, which is due to the mountains (the water pressure is high because the reservoirs are very high up, we don't need towers or pumps to create pressure) and a very well maintained pipe system.

German here: I didn't see this yet, but there is an alternative to having to change your tires for the season. Since we usually divide them into summer and winter tires, there are all-year-'round tires that.. well, work the whole year. This makes them more expensive but at least you don't have to get them changed until they wear down too much or simply pop/breakl/whatever. ALSO- If one of your tires pops you got to get two new ones for your car. Because you need the same wear and tear on the two front tires and two back tires. So if my left back tire dies, I got to replace both back tires. This leaves you with a bit worn, but functional exchange tire for the future. Besides, buying tires in higher numbers gives a slight discount.

I am from Sweden and we definitively can remove the shower head. Also, to be able to adjust it to your height is very important to me. Another thing, I'm a pastor and conduct a fair amount of funerals. Often when people reach really high ages, they have these things in common: gardening, and riding the bike until the doctor/family/body absolutely told them they were not allowed.

There's even something called all-year-tyres (Ganzjahresreifen).

:D My 82-year-old grandma lives in the countryside in lower saxony. There is a tradition there in the early months of the year called the "Kohlfahrt" or "cale ride" where she goes on a bike tour with other older people, everyone wearing a shot glass around their neck. At every street crossing they have a glass of Schnaps and finally they all ride they bikes drunkenly and happily to a restaurant where they have Kohl and Pinkel -- cale and a special type of sausage which is a wintertime specialty in the area. Thanks Antoinette you really make Germany seem like a wonderful place. :D

Deine Begeisterung für Deutschland freut mich ungemein. 🌹

Antoinette Emily stays at a hotel in NZ, grabs the shower head, pulls it out of the wall and the tiles are coming down. "Now it's removable!". 😀

Bathrooms have changed heaps since you left NZ. Most bathrooms now have removable showerheads as well. It makes cleaning the shower much easier too

There are several reasons for changing tyres between summer and winter. A) The tyres themselves are not optimized in their flexibility for the opposite temperatures. For example, summer tyres become much harder under 7°C/ 44°F. Becoming too hard they loose grip much easier. Winter tyres, on the other hand, become much too soft in higher temperatures, thus generating far too much grip, thus increasing gas consumption. And it wears down winter tyres in summer much quicker. B) The treads of summer and winter tyres are optimized for different weather styles. Summer tyres offer better side-ways grip on dry, or dusty roads, yet still are as optimized as possible for as low roll-off resistance as possible. They might have fairly wide cuts in the treads to syphon off flash-rain water without endangering grip. These wide cuts in the treads fill up much more easily with the slush, ice or snow which then sticks to the tyres, thus aggravating the already low grip conditions of summer tyres in winter. Winter tyres on the other hand have cut treads that are opitimzed for grip in wet, icy, slushy conditions. They have many many small lamellae that increase the surface area in a forward direction to achieve greater purchase on slippery surfaces. Thus they give you much much MUCH better grip at inclines than summer tyres. But due to that increased forward grip they also have a higher roll-off resistance, thus increasing gas consumption again. Which may be of some concern as gas is so expensive in Germany. C) Winter tyres are often mounted on heavier steel rims as these are much cheaper and more resistant to the salt-water-snow-slush mixture that is generated on the streets when the winter service vehicles clear the streets with salt. Alumin(i)um rims or heaven forbid, magnesium-alloy rims, are easily stained and even pitted by this aggressive chemical mixture/solution. Especially if you don't have a chance to clean and dry them out regularly. As such using your favorite light-weight rims in winter is going to damage them quite quickly.

I don't think Germans prefer manual transmission for any particular reason except cost. For decades automatic transmission has always been an "extra" and you had to pay more for it when you bought a new car and people simply didn't want to. Although the argument "having more control" is true, I don't think it's a big deal for most people. And automatic transmissions also have engine brake for smooth deceleration or kickdown for fast overtaking. Personally I like shifting, it's fun it keeps me more engaged while driving and more attentive, I think. But I don't mind driving an automatic.

In the Netherlands we mostly have removable showerheads and everyone rides their bike, young people as well as old people do.

Same thing in Portugal. Everyone drives manual. We all learn to drive manual and it is extremely rare to drive automatic cars. Only Smart cars come to mind for automatic, honestly.

This is so entertaining to watch as a German. Great video, like it

Real reasons why most Cars in Germany have Manual transmisson. 1. Manual is cheaper 2. Manual is cheaper 3. Manual is cheaper 4. As you learn driving Manual in driving school, it is nothing Special for a German. It is more the other way around. Driving Automatic is more special. 5. Some people Like driving Manual because of the sportive bla bla But Things are changing and the percentage of Automatic Cars is getting higher

I'm from the Netherlands and I didn't even know that fixed showerheads existed. And my father is 87 and still rides a bike and my mother in law was riding a bike till she was 91 (NO helmet ;-)

i do agree with your Husband when it comes to "you have more Feeling for the Car with Manual Gears" - Winter Tires are not really expensive but more soft..so if you drive them during wamer Days u literaly scrub them down within Days cause there are made for Temperatures below 10° Grad cause then the Summer Tires wont work properly and u have less Friction wich leads to alot sliding..sorry for no Commas..i dont like them :))) Keep up with your Channel ! Cool Content

So basically, I wanted to learn to drive a manual car, because most of the cheap cars here in Germany are manual driven cars. Most of the beginners buy a car that is very cheap and old. I for myself just like to drive a manual car. It was a bit hard and confusing to do it when I learned it at first, but you get used to it really fast and then it's just something you automatically do it without really thinking about changing gears. I also think a bit like your husband about having more control and feeling for your car. You can kinda feel when you have to change gears and i think it gives me just a bit more feeling about how my car really works.

Thx for your video... I#m German, too and it just makes me smile to hear such things

USA has removable shower heads but it’s sadly not standard. I’ve never seen it in a hotel room. But my house has them. Love them as a mom with kids and pets!

I am German and I never thought of these things being so weird for other nations XD sooo cool to look at it from another point of view. Thanks for the content. It made me smile after work :)

I LOVE GERMANY ❤️❤️ I was based on the German/Dutch border in Elmpt, Neiderkrutchen for 4 years with mythen husband. I just love the slow pace of life there and the freshness of their fruit and veg! Miss living in Germany, I am so envious that you live in such a beautiful country that I would love to of lived in. Maybe we can share stories sometime? Keep up the great content! Oh, yes I love how the older generation ride bikes everywhere and the uk have removable shower heads as well 😂 xxx

I drove manual for over 12 years. This year I bought an automatic and it was the best decision ever :D It's so muchbetter when you stuck in stop and go traffic.

I lived in Hong Kong for twenty years and there removable shower heads are the norm as well. The only place were I encountered fixed shower heads was in the US.

Manual cars are a lot more appropriate for the generally more aggressive driving style in Europe. Automatic cars, while being way more comfortable, are less direct in their throttle reaction and thus generally a bit too sluggish.

Agree 100% with your husband‘s answer on manual cars: more control over what the car is doing.

Also, winter tires are made of softer rubber, which means that (1) they wear more quickly, and (2) they add roll resistance, meaning higher fuel consumption.