American reacts to Germany - Geography Now! Germany 

Somebody said: "Americans are proud to be american. Germans are glad to be german."

Fun fact: The construction time of the Cologne Cathedral was two times as long as the USA exists. 632 years!

I love watching people talking about germany as a german. It’s just so funny.

As an American living in Germany with my German husband he REFUSED to call American bread, bread. It's toast. Regardless of if it is actually toasted

He: are they going like one hundred miles on the autobahn ? Me as a german: you can't Park on the autobahn man.

About the guilt part: when we talked about the holocaust in school, my history teacher sat us down at he first lesson and told us:" It's not your fault that it happened, it's not your parents fault that it happened, it's not even your grandparents fault that it happened. But it is our responsibility, both yours and mine, to make sure it never happens again."

"Are people really just flying down the Autobahn?" Yes, we pay for the whole speedometer, we gonna use the whole speedometer (if you ever get a road section long enough to speed that high up)

Americans in the US: "Apparently the Autobahn has no speed limit, it sounds so magical." Americans in Germany: "Oh another construction site, 50mph it is..."

Jim: "...at 100 miles an hour?!" me: * laughs in German *

Also a fun fact about Rammstein: The song “America” was meant ironic. But the most Americans think it’s meant true.

Let's talk about the autobahn: I don't want to offend anyone, but we are germans, not americans. We are not going to use our phone when we are going 150 mp/h on the autobahn (around 250 km/h). To get your drivers license here, you actually have to be a good driver and not like in america where you just practice with your parents and then take a test and boom there is your drivers license. You learn driving with professionals and you learn driving fast, my driving school actually made me go 200 km/h on the autobahn (125 mp/h) to see what it feels like. We also have strict rules for the autobahn, so actually we have less accidents on the autobahn than america has on their highways.

Love how he literally breaks his tung trying to pronounce german words

Well, I ‘chose’ Gymnasium, but honestly? You don’t really get to choose. It’s more like your parents and your elementary school deciding for you. You get a recommendation based on your grades and usually parents tend to try and get their children into a Gymnasium, because it’s known as the best type of school

Concerning the Autobahn: Europe in general has a concept of general or default speed limits. In Germany its 50km/h in cities, unless posted otherwise, on country roads its 100km/h again, unless posted otherwise and on the Autobahn ... there isn't one. But! Again, anless posted otherwise. There are many sections with a speed limit for various reasons. Still driving there is very safe compared to US interstates. The roads are designed for that speed, germans are used to that speed and getting a driving license takes hours of both theoretical and practical lessons with an exam in both fields. Many fail their first attempt. My usual cruising speed is 150km/h (somewhere around 90mph I believe). My personal speed record is 250km/h at which point the speed limitor of the car I used kicked in. Most cars that can actually go that fast have a built in 250km/h limit. On german pride: Disclaimer: this is my opinion. Other Germans may disagree. I like the phrase "we are proud of not being proud". It kinda describes the feeling I have towards all that. I am glad and happy to live here. I know I'm privileged compared to the vast majority of the world's population. But am I proud? No. I can be proud of my own achievements or of those of people who are close to me. I can't be proud of where I happened to be born. The past is the past. No German of my generation is in any way responsible of what happened back then. Guilt is not inherited. But it's our job and responsibility to make sure it never happenes again. This "never again" is a core value of german politics. And if we can manage that ... well ... that would be something to be proud of. 😊 Also I wouldn't translate "Vergangenheitsbewältigung" with some sense of feeling guilt from the past. "To cope with the past" is a much better translation. And there are many ways to do that. The education system: ... is complicated!!! First of all because we don't have one, we have 16! Every state manages education by itself and keeps changing it up all the timr and it sucks!!! So I can only talk about my home state of Sachsen (Saxony) at the time I went to school. After 4 years of primary school we got sorted into Gymnasium and Mittelschule. Gymnasium has 8 more years and ends with the "Abitur", the highest school diploma Germany offers which you need to study at a university. Mittelschule has 6 more years and after finishing it at 16 you are ready to start job training. It's important to know that Germany has a pretty unique apprencticeship system. Job training at whatever company you choose to work for and school weeks where you keep learning theoretical stuff important for your job are closely intertwined. This takes 3 years and after that you're officially a fully trained person and get the right to use your job title. So there is a clear emphasis on pratical work and it offers a lot of oppertunities for people who feel that studying theories and writing papers is not really for them. Wow ... this is a REALLY long comment now. 😅 Hope it was informative. 😊

So who’s gonna tell him that almost every German drives a „luxury vehicle“, by American standards, even our cabs and busses for public transit are Mercedes

Fun Fact: Adidas and Puma were founded by two brothers. Their headquarters are literally in the same town.

German Pride is the Pride of not being Proud to still remember and never forget how high the price for peace is to never let those things happen again that once almost killed humanity

21:45 Jim says: "Why you feel guilt, if it wasn't something you directly did?" May I ask: Why you feel proud, if it wasn't something you directly did?

It's so fun to watch people reacting to Germany as a German. 1. Yes, i sometimes drive on the autobahn like 140 kmh 2. No, gluten is not a big thing over here but we are mostly not judgmental 3. We are proud but we are also careful not to make that mistake again 4. Yes we have 3 types of middleschool an no we could choose them, but mostly they are based on our grades

After the “Grundschule” what is in the most “Bundesländer” from 1. to 4. grade you get a recommendation from the teacher to wich school you should go. Either haupt- real or gymnasium. It mostly depends on how good you are at school. Some smaller villages also do have a gesamtschule what basically is everything in one.

Most poeple here in Germany understand that dealing with our history is not about guilt, very few poeple from those times are still alive. But because of our history it is our responsiblity to prevent anything like it from happening again. We mostly do this through remebering the attrocities that were commited in the name of nationalism

"but are people really just like flying down the autobahn going like a 100+ mph?" i actually laughed out loud. man, its a autobahn, not a parking lot.

Love how interested people are in Germany and i never think about how good we have it in terms of school and more. Video makes me happy and is kind of relaxing. Take my like

"Americans are proud to be Americans, Germans are just glad to be Germans." how a american friend after he visited me (german) in Germany......

The older I grow, the more I learn, that america isn't as good, as media presents. I'm happy to be german/swedish

"Now when it comes to language, things get a little tricky." Me, a German: *P A T H E T I C*

8:54 We had a whole TV show about a bread. „Bernd The Bread“ And it’s just… a bread. Yes… It talks and runs up and down in the TV. You can watch this for a whole hour. Everyday(i think, i never watched it). Yes… Sorry for my bad english

,,German pride is basically being proud of not being proud" is the best way I heard anybody describe it

"Choosing School" is more like the teacher looks at your grades after 4 years of grade school and tells you, "You're good enough for Gymnasium", "You're quite average, so go to Realschule" or "Youre pretty dumb, go to Haupschule and learn something that doesnt require much brain power and rather muscles or dexterity", however wether or not you actually follow this advice in the end is up to you. For example a friend of mine went to hauptschule, then went on to get his Realschulabschluss, basically continuing school in realschule, after that he went to the Bundeswehr (Military) to get an education as an electritian and get his Abitur, which you normally get after finishing Gymnasium and now he goes to Uni in order to become a police officer. So there is always a way to educate yourself upwards, wherever you start, you just need to commit.

Education and Healthcare is a right not a privilege. Health insurance was invented by Bismark as well as pension system and unemployment money in the 19th century.

Fun fact: in Germany you are allowed to drink beer and wine at the age of 14 when your parents are with you and when you have their permission. At the age of 16, you can drink and buy beer and wine on your own and at the age of 18, there are no limits anymore.

The Cologne Cathedral is so “dirty“, because its made of sandstone. This stone changes the Color after a few years. But it’s very expensive so you can’t change it that often.

It's not really lingering guilt, but a sense of responsibility to not forget and never let that crap happen again. At least that's how I feel about it as a German.

The Cologne Cathedral is actually permanetly cleaned (you can see the scaffolding that is part of the restoration project). The issue is that the Cathedral was created with a stone that heavily reacts with pollution in the air. To clean it, they basically have to cut away the top layer of the stone and replace it with new stone. The issue is that this process takes so long that, when they start with restauration at the bottom, at the time they worked to the top, they have to start at the bottom all over again. There is a famouse saying in Cologne that the world will end when they ever finish constructing the cathedral.

USA: Noooo you can’t go that fast!!! Germany: Gas GAS *GAS* I’M GONNA STEP ON THE GAS!

I'm german and it is so funny how they pronounce german words🤣🤣🤣

Wait what? Tornados? How comes i never seen a single one.

It's always so funny to me that ppl go crazy over the autobahn. We just drive as fast as we feel comfortable (which may be a lot faster than other nations feel comfortable with). Other than that I'm a little upset he mentioned beer but not wine?? The area I live in is basically only wineyards with a few small villages thrown in between. 😂 but be careful when you visit the "Pfalz" and order a "Weinschorle"!! It's a huge glass (0,5l) with white wine and a few drops of sparkling water. It tastes amazing but will knock you out after a few glasses. Oh, and also you just HAVE TO taste German bread or buns. There's definitely a reason why every german abroad misses their bread. 😂

What I learned in school is, that I and my country are not superior to other people and countries. Valuable lesson :-)

We don’t feel guilty as a person, but guilty as a nation. I mean, I never felt guilty, but we think, that we have the guilt, to never let this happen again and do the best, helping people, who where harmed by the Nazis.

Like Jan Böhmermann (a german comedian) said it: "We are proud of not being proud." I think the majority doesn't need patriotism to live a good life, the concept itself is somewhat alien to many people in Germany. I mean, why should you be proud about something you didn't achieve yourself?

Especially among young Germans it is even common to see that they have more of an European pride than a German pride. Part of it is also because basically all of politics ignore the demands and opinions of young people so they are kind of fed up. So they look at the bigger picture and see the EU which has higher authority than the German government.

about the pride thing: I personally think we know everything about our good and our bad sides (we get taught in school) but we're handling it in silence I would say

"Apparently they got a lot of castles over there" describes all of Europe🤣

The German Drivers license is much better than the American. Even most people go around 160 km/h (100mp/h), There are not that many accidents. But yes, sometimes you will see people passing you with 180 mp/h (300 km/h) totally legal.

Adressing that Pride stuff: Most Germans I know would consider a fellow german who shows "his pride of germany" an idiot. You can be proud of something you achieved. But getting born in a country is nothing you can be "proud" of. You can consider yourself lucky. At max.

The fastest I ever "drove" while sitting behind the stering-wheel was 285km/h (178mph) while driving a Toyota Supra Turbo. It was on A 5 passing the Frankfurt Airport to the south. Well, I was young... I don't drive faster than about 145 km/h these days (90 mph) as I'm getting older...

"American pride is like bred into us, like young children saluting flags, learning the anthem... its bread into us." We did that too... in the 1930ies and early 40ies. Just more efficiently... What Americans call American pride, we tend to call American propaganda. Confronting the errors of the past is the most patriotic thing to do. That and criticizing ones goverment, to improve. Things I miss here in the US.

The "guilt from the past" thing: It's not in any way the generations that came after that time's fault, but we are responsible for never letting it happen ever again.

Comment from Germany: the autobahn is for motor vehicles able to achieve more then 60 kmh - about 41 mph, and the speed limits are usually on the parts where the driver needs to pay really good attention, like when there are a lot of on-/off-ramps, construction/maintenance, tight corners, etc. Handling a car and other traffic at such speeds is being taught in driving schools - each part of that is mandatory. Starting from scratch a driver's license can easily cost about $2000 in tuition fees. Fines for infractions start at a few Euros and go up to losing a driver's license and being barred from starting afresh for a year, depending on the severity and count of infractions. The mindset taught in driving schools is that the driver isn't driving only their car, but also those around them, albeit indirectly, so the traffic rules make more sense: stick to the right, overtake on the left, then go back to the right, check your mirrors regularly and often, signal your intentions, keep all the other traffic participants around you in mind, they want to get to their destinations as well, don't bother anybody and nobody will bother you. Also, motor vehicles have to be roadworthy, tested every 24 months, to be allowed on public roads. Any major modification needs to be certified as well. Loud pipes? Additional lights? Get them tested and approved, get them added to your vehicle's documentation, otherwise no. Special diets: you'll find gluten-free and vegan food even at the cheapest discount stores; we might get annoyed by preachy vegans privately, but we still respect their choice and have no problem catering to their diet. There's so much variety available, so who are we to tell others how to live their lives? About beer: the breweries might be old, but the beer is made today according to the Reinheitsgebot, so technically every beer adhering to that traditional recipe is "history". The interesting part is how all the different results can be created using that recipe just by varying the proportions and timing - some beers are nearly sweet with just a hint of hops, some taste mostly of hops, some taste best at room temperature, some at cellar temperature. About patriotism: Glad to be German, proud of what I have achieved in life. Proud to be able to appreciate this mixture of cultures and happy to enjoy this variety - people from all over the world come here, adding bits of their cultures to the whole society, and the whole society participates. When I grew up one of my favorite dishes was based on a Italian/Swiss recipe, after my internship in Britain I modified it into a kind of pie, using a dough originating in France and Dutch cheese, resulting in international fusion cuisine. About schools: the paths to higher schools usually happens after 4th grade, when it the child's learning abilities and overall tendencies have been established, so that the more practically-oriented children get prepared for trades, and the more theoretically-oriented children get prepared for higher education. The apprenticeships also includes mandatory schools ("Berufsschule", roughly "vocational school") as well as on the job training, often in training work shops inside the company. After an apprentice has completed their 3 years and passed their exams, they can continue their vocational training to become a master ("Meister") or get schooled in a "Fachschule" (vocational school, higher level) and then continue studying at a "Fachhochschule", graduating with an engineering degree. There are also various ways to switch paths while still at school, so everybody can go along the path best suited to them. About bread: there are about 3200 kinds of bread registered around Germany. Slice them thick or thin, however you like, spread whatever you want on it, and you'll find the perfect combination. It might take you a few tries, it might take you far more, but for me a wholegrain rye bread with sunflower seeds, barely toasted, with a thick spread of cream cheese with horseradish , sprinkled with freshly cut chives is just the perfect snack.

There is another type of school it's called "Gesamtschule" that includes all three typs (Gymnasium, Realschule and Hauptschule) in one.

He: Germans love their bread Me as a German: yep :P

just saying: no mopeds on autobahns. that helps a bit… and there is always a limit: airresistance, fuel costs, skill, or death. you cant go unlimited fast, if you are dead…🤗

07:10 "Are people really just flying over the Autobahn at 100mph?" Yes. My dad usually drives at 200 km/h (that's about 120mph) and we still sometimes get overtaken at that speed.

I'm German, but grew up in the U.S. until I was 16 when my family moved back to DE. Love your reactions! Two things I want to comment: 1. National pride. Growing up in the states, I felt like an american and I was proud of it... but that's not where it ends. In the US pride starts on a much smaller level, your school spirit, maybe your town, neighbourhood, whatever. You have something that bonds people together, starting on a small scale, all the way up to national pride. That's a nice feeling. Something I missed in Germany a lot when we moved here. I understand why germans don't live this sense of pride and now as an adult, see the dangers that can come with it, not only historically for Germany, but in the present all over the world. 2. The school system. Hmpf. I hate that Germany separates Kids based on their "potential" at such a young age (after 4th or 5th grade). Coming from a well-educated and -situated family we had all doors open to us. For kids that don't have the same help at home or starting point to begin with, it is much harder. And although switching the track you are on is possible, I believe it is unfairly difficult. I generally do like the split into vocational schools and studies and into more academic paths, but truly believe it should happen later... after 9th or 10th grade. So, maybe the longest comment ever, but these are two topics that I care about passionately!

So actually the rent in Germany is the money u saved your whole live. The state doesn't say:" oh u can't work anymore? Here is some free money!" you have to save it from ur incomes the whole life

German pride and being patriotic isn't really a thing because of history. Displaying a German flag (on clothes, your car, your house) was heavily frowned upon and pretty much made you a nazi unless it was during a international sports event (at least in the North where I grew up, in the very south it might have been different). That only changed in 2006 when Germany hosted the soccer world cup. This event (it lasts 4 weeks where houndreds of thousands people from all over the world travel to the hosting country to watch the games) changed a lot reg. flags. But until this day, hearing someone say "I am proud to be a German" has a strange maybe even uncomfortable ring to it for many, and people don't say it as often/freely as Americans do. It's not because of guilt, but because the Nazis used this type of lingo A LOT, they over-emphasized national pride - it was a tool for brainwashing the people. So if you know/learned a lot about Nazi Germany simple patriotic statements may sound off to you. This of course is just just my opinion.

“You are not to blame for what was but responsible for it not happening again” quote by Max Mannheimer, holocaust survivor.

I’m Danish and married to a half-German, and we live in Northern Denmark. Apart from the last long period where we’ve had Covid we spend our holidays in Germany - we LOVE the country, it’s food, castles, old towns, markets, beautiful landscapes and all of it, we have family in Cologne and in the Koblenz-area and have been there very much, but we love Berlin and The state of Bavaria. We long to get back but the Covid is worse in Germany than here, so we have to wait for some time yet. Germany is quality in everything and you’ll never regret spending your holiday there.🍀❤️

Fun fact about the cathedral you called dirty: it is dirty! Its made from sandstone, which gets dirty as quickly as they can clean it and also breaks easily, so it always looks patchy and theres always some kind of construction going on.

100+ mph Yup. And from experience: No matter how fast you drive, there is always that Audi/Mercedes/Porche/whatever that will pass you in a speed that makes your car jump from windpressure, and make it seem as if you are standing still :D Have tried that a couple of times when doing ~115mph [185 km/h], trying to get home to Denmark.

German pride is almost always misunderstood and confused with being a Nazi, except for soccer. look: i love Germany its a beutiful country with almost always fair and good social and healthcare system. I am not a Nazi, i just want to love the good things in my country

While German college/university is technically free, you still have to pay "Semestergebühren" which is basically a fee you pay every semester for general infrastructure and politics at the uni, as well as your free bus/train ticket you get with it. It varies from uni to uni but it's around 250-350€ every 6 months from my experience. Also there of course are private universities, that's usually where the rich or more wealthy kids (with bad grades) end up. Also depending on the major you're taking it can be incredibly difficult to apply for state universities, because you need to have near perfect grades for popular majors like psychology, medicine and more recently business administration as well.

As a German man who was born in 1966 I must say that it's not that important to have or feel this lingering guilt from the past. It's still there, but it's about to fade. For me personally it's way more important not to forget what happened. WE SHALL NEVER FORGET! And all of us we shall do everything to prohibit that the nightmare of the years 1933-1945 will happen ever again! In Germany ... and everywhre in the world. Thanks for your reaction to this great video of my homeland!

The Autobahn usually has three lanes, the middle and right is where cars drove 100-150 km/h while the left one is free for speeding through. You see some cars going 300 km/h.

I actually have to say, that I would feel like a nazi when I would have a German Flag in my Bedroom 😂 I know it’s stupid but yeah we don’t celebreate Pride like other countries:)

WW2 is still in living memory, if barely. Anne Frank, who wrote the famous diary, would have been 92 this year. So historically speaking, it's not *that* long ago, even if lots has changed since then. Also, Germany lost the war utterly and thoroughly. Some German cities had 90% of their buildings destroyed. The state got completely dismantled, the territory split up among the allied forces until the the state of Germany got built up again from scratch. Germany's current territory, political system, constitution, anthem etc etc are only 70 years old, and that's not even getting into the fact that East Germany ended up on the opposing side of the Cold War with its own totalitarian regime and that the reunification happened only 30 years ago. So while Germany is on the one hand a lot older than the US, it's also at the same time a lot younger. With all that and everyone wanting to make sure history doesn't repeat itself, suspicion of patriotism is deeply ingrained in our culture now. We Germans can definitely be proud of individual aspects of our culture and achievements (and we can be a bit arrogant about them, too), but it manifests more along the lines of "we have the best bread" or "we build the best cars", and less as patriotism for the country or Germanness as a whole, if that makes sense.

"German Pride" means: to rembember the past (killing over 6 million people in concentration camps), to be conscious of the past but also to see how Germany developed within the last decades after WWII (peaceful, hardworking, best engineering, tolerant) and to be proud of the good things without showing this explicitly. Greetings from Germany

Like many others said: "Pride" is just something that doesn't click with the country you were born in, in most eyes, it doesn't really make sense. Patriotism on the other hand is something we definitely get, however we show it in different ways than you might think. We like to show patriotism by being good citizens, putting up and continously increasing taxes if we can handle it to support our people and country as a whole - by engaging and protecting the democratic system we have, securing our values of humanity and society and by building relations to other nations. Stuff like that is patriotism to us, identifying with what it means to be German, hence why German people are so diverse in ethnicity and stuff - that's not what defines "being German" (this also gets more clear by understanding our past, especially pre WW2, the founding of a German state generally speaking). Throughout history the territory what now is Germany is a cultural hotspot, very central in Europe with thousands of years in history and so many cultures, tribes, groups of people, generally speaking, settling here and forming the culture. Being born on this plot of land we now have bears no significance in retrospect, but sharing and following mutual customs, values etc. like I already elaborated. We are one nation but many folks/ people - always have been - and Germany is just the flag where we meet beneath. The people are the country.

There is a german rock song which has a line that roughly translates into: "It really doesn't fit in my head to be proud of a coincidence"

Funfact. We love dubbing so much, we will even dub and sub German media as soon as there just the slightest hinch of a dialect 💀

About our german school system: in fact, we go to "Grundschule" (elementary school) until we're inbetween 10 and 12 years old. Then we have to decide, which school we wanna continue with. That's when the grades get important: if you have kinda bad grades, you'll be sent to Hauptschule, if they're better, you can choose between Realschule and Hauptschule, and if you're doing really well in school, you can choose between all (Gymnasium, Realschule and Hauptschule). But still, everyone who's grades are good enough is probably gonna choose to go to a Gymnasium. After 8 or 9 years of Gymnasium you write tests to get the final and highest diploma you can get in german school system, the Abitur, with which you're gonna have the best chances to get a well-paid and highly regarded job. So yeah, that's how that works. About german pride: we do sometimes show our pride, espescially when there are things like soccer competitions or any kind of sport events, but in general that's not something common. In fact, if you put up a german flag somewhere without an obvious reason like a sport event, you may be mistaken as a fan of the more right-winged parties in germany, or even as a neonazi. All in all, german pride is something that exists, but is handled very very carefully, as it (in my opinion) should be. In bavaria, where I am from, I actually feel like there's a bigger feeling of pride. When germans tell you they're from bavaria, they'll probably do it more proudly than if they tell you they're from germany. About the Autobahn: yeah, officially you can drive as fast as you want to, but there's like a tempolimit made by society, most people will stay inbetween 90 and 130 km/h on the autobahn. But that's not an official rule. You won't get punished in any way if you drive any faster. And one more thing, that I as a bavarian think is very important: Coo-Coo-clocks are from the Schwarzwald, not from bavaria. xD

"... African Americans ... hundreds of years ago ..." Yeah, tell yourself that. The last legal equality changes were around 1960 I believe, and it's still a long, long way to resolve the consequences of that century-long legal inequality. And that's before I even mention Native Americans.

German Autobahn in a nutshell: You're not allowed to enter if you vehicle is incapable of at least 60 Km/h. Every driving school teaches a recommendet speed of 130 Km/h. But yes if there are no speed limit signs you can go as fast as you like. The "Rechtsfahrgebot" "Drive as far right as you can rule", tries to make sure that the overtake/fast lane is as free as possible

The schools are pretty bad described. Gymnasium is the highest and hardest with 9 years, Realschule is not as hard with 6 years (you learn the same just less intense) and Hauptschule is the easiest with 5 years, but you still learn the same things as you do in the others, just much more simplified. Its just shorter and many students will move from the Realschule to the Gymnasium to do the last 3 years

A friend of mine who teaches economics in the US for over 20 years told me that german cars (produced in the US) are less expensive in the US than in Germany. He bought his BMW in Florida and brought it to Germany to enjoy german autobahn in his semester breaks.

About German pride: In Germany, you learn that you can only be proud of your own achievements, not of those of other people. And you can be happy to live in that country, but not be proud of. Rammstein explained the ambiguous relationship of the Germans to their country really nicely in their song: I want to love and condemn you. Remember what happened on January 6th this year in the Capitol? Something similar happened on August 30th 2020 in front of the Reichstag. But unlike in the US, the protesters couldn't make their way into the parliament.

German here: About pride: I for once am proud how we handle our past like honest adults instead of trying to whitewash it like Republicans in the US regarding racism, slavery, tulsa, warcrimes etc (If you point out something bad about america, you can leave since apparently you hate it here. ) It is important to realize that Nazi-ism is an ideology which is alive and well in the US. It is not a historic event limited to Germany. About slavery: You say it's so far removed but 1862 as endpoint of slavery isnt THAT long ago. Plus: the consequences are clearly still around today. About autobahn: The german driving schools are quite strict and the driving rules are drilled into everyone. So overall it's very disciplined driving here. Accidents still happen of course but as far as I know Germany's numbers are pretty low...like lower than the US and the rest of Europe regarding traffic related deaths. About food: Trends in germany are vegetarian, gluten free and less sugar. Overall the bottles and packs are smaller than in the US but often have substantially less sugar. And to loop back to pride: I sometimes feel insulted when I see what other countries sell as bread or beer. On a personal note: Coming from the mentioned mentality of never again and being critical of injustice I absolutely despise the latest Iraq invasion. Invading a country under false pretense is as evil as you can get and yet nobody seems to really care about warcrimes in the US. Even worse: Whistleblowers uncover crimes and THEY are the ones threatened with prison! The other is Israel. Of all the peoples in the world I would have thought the Israelis would have the experience and compassion to NOT subjugate a helpless minority and pretend they are morally superior while bombing hospitals, journalist and civilians. At least the German governement did not support the Iraq invasion, but speaking up against the injustice in Gaza seems impossible for our politicians.

I'm German. We didn't get assigned a type of school, we got recommended one based on performance (At least for us we didn't get grades right away, because the first years are kinda like learning to read or how numbers work). You can take what you get or choose whatever you like.

About the school-part around 19:20 : At the end of these general public schools (as they said at age 10/11) your teacher writes recommendations for you and your classmates. He/she recommends you for either one of these three follow-up-schools based on your tests and results you achieved till then. After that it is up to your parents, where they want you to get educated. But most of the time parents stick to the recommendations.

Yes, we can deal with the Autobahn having no speed limit in some parts because we are THOROUGHLY taught how to drive. :*

7:30 The road accident rate in Germany is one of the lowest in the world and yes. I've driven at more than 140mph on the autobahn.

Regarding Autobahn: people in Germany and Europe in general simply know how to drive. Having driven in the US before, I guess I can understand your astonishment as I was shocked at how chaotic the roads can be over there... The drivers licensing is very strict over here and quite costy (1.5k to 2k€ these days I believe?), so people are better drivers here by nature. If they suck at driving, they won't pass the strict testing, if they don't get better, they get discouraged by the price and dropout. Also, most people drive stick here so there is more awareness on the drive by default as well. And 100 mph (160 kmh) ain't even that fast. I do that in my Polo when bored to change the pace a bit on long drives - cruising speed would be like 86 mph-ish (140 kmh) for me - its my preferred balance between speed and fuel economy. I still need to switch sometimes at 100 mph to midlane cause someone is coming from behind in a quicker car or just pushing more. If I wanna drive fast, its around 118 mph (190 kmh) - in a Polo. So yea :v I don't see people going faster than that very often though. But it happens. Autobahn is not all just a straight line. Data also shows there are far fewer accidents in Germany compared to the US due to reasons mentioned above. Edit: the remark regarding checking phone while driving - yea people don't do that here. Especially at those speeds. You can also get fined for it. And other drivers don't appreciate when they see it. Your remark makes me wonder though if operating your phone while driving is a fineable offense or not in the US...? Regarding pride in your country: it's a lesson learnt from history that it's a useless thing. Like, for what. To brag or sth? We are happy to be in a country that is well organized and where things just work well (education system, healthcare etc). At most, it's pride in how things are done here, but not simply because whatever it is you are proud about is correlated to Germany. Like, the thing has to be good for it to be something to be proud about? And then we are proud about THAT thing, not Germany - at least that's the way I experience it. In contrast, the way the US plays the national anthem before every domestic american football game strikes everybody else in the world, not just Germans, as really really strange and awkward... Like, you know where you are, it's the domestic sports league - why play the national anthem every game. Or eSports competitions as another example, when its a US player playing against foreigner, ppl doing USA chants instead of chanting for the person itself - like, that's not a meme, that's real. And it's weird. Compared to that, you don't hear Japan, Korea, France, Spain whatever chants - they cheer directly for the competitor. I guess what Im trying to say is, your view on patriotism and nationalistic pride may be based on an inflated sense of those due to US culture, as no other country is THAT proud about their country - but yea, Germany is among the lowest in that patriotism metric.

The motorway is actually very simple: there are usually three lanes (sometimes two) in each direction of travel. You should always drive on the far right. The leftmost lane is the overtaking lane. That's it. Speeders therefore always drive on the left.

Concerning the beer: While all beers in germany follow the reinheitsgebot, the taste of weihenstephaner beer isn't that different from other german beers, but german beer is incomparibly better than american beer. It's a night and day difference.

Fun fact on the side: "Tschüss" is actually just a common short way of saying "Auf Wiedersehen". It's one of the many all rounder words basically every german uses like "Machs gut". Some might be used more in specific regions but generally everyone uses them.

„With a country like Germany that has a troubled past“ - are we gonna forget that the US has a very troubled past as well

About the school system: We start school when we are about 6 years old. Elemantary school is from 1-4 class and then it depends kind of on your grades how you go on from then: Hauptschule is until 9th class and Realschult until 10th after thet you start working or switch to Gymnasium so that you can study. Gymnasium is until 13th class and after that most people study.

"Are people just like flying down the Autobahn going like 100+ mph?" - you will easily spot people driving 130+ mph :D

It depends on your grades at elementary school, which type of school you continue to go. But it doesn't mean you are stuck in one type. If your grades improve you can switch to "Realschule" or "Gymnasium". Of course it can also go the other way, if your grades are bad, than you must switch from "Gymnasium" to "Realschule" or to "Hauptschule". I went to "Gymnasium".

I went to Realschule because my teacher in primary school (is that the word for Grundschule?😂) told me that it would be best for me to either go to gymnasium or Realschule. They say what they would recommend but you don’t have to do it. So I went to Realschule and after that I went to get my Abitur (in a Gymnasium) because I want to go to a university. That’s the good thing in Germany, you can always kind of ,,upgrade” your degree

Basically how it works with the school system, after the end of grade 4 you get a recommendation on your "zeugnis", which is a paper showing your grades listed up from that year with other information like sick days and your Social and Work behavior, and based on that you and your parents are given a choice to apply for certain schools. However the choice is kind of... made already since if you get a recommendation for the "hauptschule" it is basically impossible to get accepted into a Gymnasium. You CAN however reach the more academic schools by showing high promise in your grades afterwards. Some go from the Hauptschule after grade 10 or 11 into either the real or even into the gymnasium.

And not to forget we have Wacken open Air in Germany 😁🤘

I -- as a german -- learned a lot of new things from this video

I don't get this: You say that you're proud to be an american and that that is the norm in the USA. Then you say that people who don't have money can't keep their teeth in you country. I know that there are cultural differences between Europe and the USA but even factoring those in... how do you reconcile those two?

And the gummy bears are hella tasty 😍 I have never had any problems because I ate them

"we want free healthcare but we aint damn commies" *gets stuck like this for decades*

I believe the Kölner Dom isn't “dirty“ - I reckon the dark colour comes from the building material itself. At least this is the case with the buildungs in Dresden - many people believe the buildings here to be black from the inferno from 1945 but it is actually the sandstone itself that turns dark after a couple if years due to its high content of minerals and iron.

about german pride: we germans do not wave flags nor do we tell everybody we're the best and number one and leader of everything. We're just humble knowing we are. ;-) Is there a lingering sense of guilt in germany? Not anymore. It's more a very profound awareness for history and political consequences.

7:22 Hi im from germany. It is true that there is no official speed limit when this sign appears at the side of the Autobahn. But it is still limited to the speed where you are able to take control over your vehicle. So its for sure possible to drive with 124 miles per hour or 180 kilometers per hour, but only if you are able to take control over your car, means not at every weather, not at every traffic situation, etc. Also you need to know how and WHERE to drive so. Germany has different roadsystems. Only on the Autobahn (means 3 or more lanes each direction) this sign means no Speed limit and if you wanna go for full you better only use the most left lane of your autobahn cause on the middle and right lanes cars are normally driving up to 75 Miles per hour or 120 km/h. We got accidents from time to time especially from tourists who underestimate the risk or overestimate their driving skill. For this and for climate reasons german politicians discuss for a while now to implememt a regular speed limit like every other country gots it. So for everyone: dont be an idiot by driving. Dont underestimate the risks and drive like brainless. You can have a little fun of course, but only as long as the circumstances allow it and you got full control on your vehicle :)