I Love What Germans Do with Their Hands When They See Speed Traps! 😃 👋 | GERMAN VS AMERICAN 🇩🇪🇺🇸 

Hi everyone. Sorry there is black bars on the side of the video - Oopsy! I hope you like this video regardless :) 🆘 To donate to those effected by the flooding, click here: www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/spenden-spendenkonto-betroffene-unwetter-schaeden-100.html ‼️ To sign up for the Lingoda Language Challenge by July 27th, click here: bit.ly/LilaxLingoda_Sprint (You can read more about what the language challenge is in the FAQ in the link above)

The reason why Germany and other countries in Europe choose to have symbols and not words on traffic signs is, that we have so many different countries with different languages in Europe that people drive in areas where they don't understand the language very often. That could cause dangerous situations. Most of the signs look the same or at least similar in every country in Europe which makes an international travel way easier.

I have relatives in Hamburg. They say in Hamburg it’s summer, when the rain is getting warmer.

Regarding "Mama und Papa": Most adults still use "Mama und Papa" when talking to their parents, but many (including me) use "Mutter und Vater" when talking about their parents to others.

Back in 17th century you would get mustard to every meal when you were eating at a tavern or whatever, even when it didn't fit the meal. And as much as mustard doesn't belong in every meal, not every opinion fits the situation. So some people just give their mustard at every opportunity. That's where it comes from.

7:38 no one gives 20% as a tip here :D most of the people will give 5%-10%. In Germany waiters are paid very fair and don't have to rely on tips

Mühsam ernährt sich das Eichhörnchen doesn't mean you are slow as a turtle, It means a task is "aufwändig" ;) Labour intensive, needs a lot of steps, but you will get there eventually if you persevere. Sich ernähren meand to fees oneself. So it means "The squirrel has to feed itself in a cumbersome/labour intensive way/ it takes a lot of effort" as in having to collect thousands of nuts, acorns and seeds to survive. If you are slow as a turtle at work you "arbeitest im Schneckentempo", slow as a snail.

"Seinen Senf dazu geben" (give your mustard with that). A good explanation can be found in the German Wikipedia. This special meaning probably comes from the 17th century. At that time, mustard was initially considered to be an ingredient that made food tastier. Many innkeepers began to serve mustard with every dish, even if it didn't go with the dish. Now it's getting difficult. This actually means an unnecessary contribution. But so that everyone will feel involved and perhaps some aspects are important that have not been adequately considered so far "you should add your mustard". Colloquially, this meaning has changed again in the meantime. "you should add your mustard" does not necessarily mean, your contribution is unnecessary but rather "I expect your contribution".

"Stupid as bread" is the origin in my opinion, since bread is not exactly known for its intellectual abilities. As stupid as toast is also another devaluation, since toast is not even considered real bread for a German.

17:00 "aufwändig" comes from "Der Aufwand", meaning efford, thus aufwändig means "takes a lot of efford". Time consuming is different: It translates to "zeitfressend" oder "zeitraubend".

Some people from southern Germany say that the northern Germans got winter fur and webfeet of cause the rainy wether. There is no place in Hamburg far away from water, so there are a lot of moskitos and bugs, so we have insect shutters since years. Greetings from Williams Castle.

"The squirrel has a hard time feeding itself" refers to the fact that squirrels have to create many food depots in order to survive the winter. In a figurative sense, this means that there are issues and problems that cannot be solved in one fell swoop, but that require a lot of effort over a longer period of time.

Oh and "reiß dich zusammen" translates almost literally: "pull yourself together"

Danke nochmals, Lila. Your little story times and insights are very good and detailed. Definitely the best channel right now of descriptors of daily German life.

4:47 in the US they prefer the portable speed radar because it is similar to a gun.

Good for you taking your language learning skills at your pace! You shouldn’t feel pressured, otherwise you’ll resent it. As my (German) boyfriend tells me, the main aspect is getting your point across and expressing it well even if grammar isn’t perfect and vocabulary is a bit more basic. The job search presses on for me, and my biggest weak-point is my language skills! Hopefully I’ll come across a company that will give me a chance with my B1/2ish skills or a more English-based organization :-)

I love to see you so funny, smiling and gigling. Stay in that good mood as you are.

I really enjoy your videos. It’s such a joy seeing you having fun learning German.

Got to say this channel is more useful and educational than any other "foreigner in Germany" that I k ow about. That's because your personality. You may come across as shy or "having low self esteem" (unlike most german people who behave like "Hoppla, jetzt komm' ich!" or full of a "knowing-it-all" attitude, which will NOT help them learning anything). You're not afraid to present yourself as curious and as a learning person which is quite effective. Your ability to detect and address all the small cultural differences in a very detailed way is sooo satisfying to me. To look through your eyes at my own country and languages is very educational for me, all the time. So, a very rewarding channel to watch...many thanks and keep up with being a curious person! You'll going to overtake all the "klugscheißer" types by FAR with your genuine, humble processing of the day by day experience... ...so, good for you and for the people around you. Cheers!

Thanks. Your diving ever deeper into german culture and retain a fresh view. Thats is great. :-)

I'd say the closest thing to "aufwändig" in American English would be "requiring a lot of effort or hassle." It's not so much about the amount of time it takes as the amount of work involved. "Dementsprechend" usually means "accordingly." Literally, it's "dem" + "entsprechend," and entsprechend is accordingly or correspondingly, so it's really "according or corresponding to that." Hi from the New York area! I'm from the Netherlands where the climate is just like in Hamburg, and I do miss those northern European summers, where it rarely gets very hot and you never have to wait long for it to cool down. Here in the Northeastern U.S. summer can feel like an endless heatwave for someone like me, and while it is fun for a while, at some point it gets annoying that you can really only be comfortable going inside where there's AC running... (Oh, and regarding "mach das ruhig": while "ruhig" usually means quiet/quietly or calm/calmly, when used like this it has the effect of making the sentence less harsh, more gentle, i.e. instead of being an order like "do that now," the meaning is more like "I agree that's a good idea, go ahead and do that if you like (or when you have the time)". So it's a way of being nicer than it might otherwise be.

Tolles und interessantes Video! :)

how to say "step by step": DE: steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein (constant dripping wears away the stone) EN: slow and steady wins the race DE: in der Ruhe liegt die Kraft (strength is to be found in serenity) DE: mühsam (er)nährt sich das Eichhörnchen (the squirrel laboriously feeds itself) FR: petit à petit l'oiseau fait son nid (little by little the bird makes its nest) DE: wer langsam fährt, kommt auch zum Ziel (if you drive slowly, you will also reach your destination) EN: slow and steady wins the race ... I like it... :) Servus aus Wien, Andreas

Interessant/unterhaltsam weiter so 👍

Thank you so much!

Хееееей, спасибо за новый видосик) очень ждал!

Hi. Like watching your vids. Thanks for mentioning the floods and the donation links. Suggests a kindhearted personality. Bye

Absolutely great content

You are very sweet in the way you talk and the way you express yourself

Yeah, UK drivers do the same as a warning to others. The 'catchers' don't stay in the same place too long though. They're are plenty of fixed cameras too, mainly in urban areas, traffic lights, junctions and accident blackspots with many just inside (for example) a 30mph area after higher speed area like 60 or 50mph. I've seen similar in other countries too

About the mom and dad thing, here are some ways we would call our parents: Mama, Papa Mutter,Vater Mutti, Vati (or a mix) maybe there are more but I didn’t know rn (and sorry about my English haha)

Haha, seems you're catching a lot of idioms or even idiom sentences during your work. In regards of you waving like a bird to warn the other driver for speed traps. You normally would do it like just moving your hand showing "slow down" or "push your brake pedal" a bit. This is often done not only to warn in regards of speed traps but as well if there is an possibly dangerous situation ahead what the other "fast" driver might not become aware of - maybe an accident right behind the next corner or a roadblocking item etc.

formal: Vater und Mutter colloquial & childlike: Papa und Mama in some regions: Vati und Mutti (but those are child-only minimizations, much like daddy and mommy) German doesn't have one-syllable words for them, you could say just Pa und Ma (instead of Papa and Mama), but it's not very common (well, maybe in "Jugendsprache" it's more common, don't know).

I said the phrase you showed for, are you muted? My husband laughed because he thought I had just learned to say, you are stupid🤣. So apparently they sound the same. Lesson learned.

21:35 - The subtitles and the dubbing differ because the subtitles are straight translated from the origin but the words and sentences structure (German has more options of word order) of the dubbing are sometimes slightly changed (not the meaning) for a better synchronisation with the lip movement.

The point w/ the mustard you got right!

About giving tips in germany: We usually prefer cash over credit cards. (because if you actually hand out your money you have a way better control and feeling of your spedings and expenditures) But at the same time, we don't want to walk around with kilos (pounds) of change in our pockets. Thus, our tipping behaviour has developed in the way that we like to just round up. few examples: price: 1.90€ .. you pay 2€ ..... price: 16.30€ .. you pay 17€ ..... price: 32.90€ .. you pay 35€ Noticed something in the 3rd example? ... if the prices get higher, just a few cents are considered rude. So first thing would be to round up to 34€... but then... why not go for 35€ instead and just get a 5€ note into play instead of dealing with hard money. I hope i did not confuse you, just wanted to give an insight of the german way of thinking in this regard.

Cool that she pronounces Eichhörnchen corrrectly! ;-)

It is so easy to install screens. It is the first thing when I moove to a new apartment. Measure your windows, go to OBI or hagebau and buy some the cheap ones (3-7€) they work totally fine. And are atached really easy. The ony tool you need is a pair of sicssors.

About that "Mach das ruhig" sentence: I'd say there are (at least) three different meanings depending on the way the sentence is spoken. 1. If it's spoken without any emphasis, it means just what you said in your video: "Do it" but in a sense of "It's not an order, but it would be a good idea if you did that." This is typically the answer to a question like "Darf ich das machen?" 2. If it's spoken with a calm voice but emphasized on the word "ruhig", it means "Don't rush. Do the task focussed.". You'd hear that in situations were the speaker notices you working with not enough accuracy or you being too nervous. 3. If it's spoken with a little aggressive voice, emphasizing every single word: "Be quite while you work!" or "Don't speak (sing, whistle...) while you're working!" or "Use a quieter method to accomplish your task!" You might hear that if the speaker feels annoyed by any sound you make during your work.

You look like a much more confident person now then a few years back. 😊👍

So cute.Love her .Greetings from Oldenbug

watching movies dub in german also with german captions in the beginning is best. watching movies is increasing the passive vocabulary, this passive vocabulary is transforming into active just after some time. i did this after german highschool with english movies since than till today. i never lived in an english speaking country, but my english is fluently and dream sometimes in english after a movie night 🤣.

29:00 In lower German we use Vadder(n) and Mudder(n) as adults.

Mother - Mutter Father - Vater Mommi - Mami Daddy - Papi Mom - Mama Dad - Papa There is also Mutti and Vati, but I don‘t know anyone who uses that anymore. My husband says Mam (like Mom) when he talkes about his Mother and Muttern, when he talks to her. I use Mutter, when I talk about my Mother and Mama, when I talk to her.

Yes we do have “blitze” in Denver Colorado.

If you are in an area with lots of mosquitos in Germany: You can get non-permanent mosquito screens at hardware stores in Germany. It's a velcro that adheres to the window frame and a screen that then adheres to the velcro. Easy peasy!

so funny and sweet 😍🤣

The Hand sign just means:"Slow down!" Or you blink with your Lichts to show there's a "Blitzer".

OG follower here. I remember you from your psoriasis/hair growth videos

The reason the subtitles in films say something slightly different from the dubbing is because people read more slowly than they can hear and your attention is divided between reading and watching the action, so subtitling always involves summarising.

Mühsam (slowly with much effort) ernährt sich (feeds itself) das Eichhörnchen (the squirrel). "The squirrel takes a lot of effort/work/time to being able to feed itself" meaning something is going slow and is hard but we are going places.. Used on yourself when you are making slow progress but keep reminding yourself that in the end you will succeed. Used by someone else on you if someone is trying to teach you something, but you are slow. He kind of expresses his frustration while at the same time remining him and you that you are making progress and will succed. If said to you still struggeling you should repy with "be patient with me" "Bitte hab Geduld mit mir". If said when you finally reached the goal "Na endlich! Mühsam ernährt sich das Eichhörnchen" "Finally! Slowly does the squirrel feed itself." Just be happy like he/she is. 😁

I've bought kakis (persimmons) at Costco in San Jose several times - but it seems to be a seasonal thing. Someone in the neighborhood around here even has a tree. I learnt that there are two different types of persimmons that taste completely different - but I have only ever has the more solid sweet kind.

Yes we don't say it's quiet to when things aren't busy. Because quiet "leise" means the amplitude of sound while calm "ruhig" means the kinetic energy as well as your inner tensions as well as not busy. "Ruhig" can also be used as "leise"/quiet but never the other way round. "Ein Hotel in ruhiger Lage" means A hotel in a not busy area but it implies that it's quiet too. So people will be pissed if the Hotel is advertised as "in ruhiger Lage" and it is not busy but there is a noisy manufacturer next to it. Because ruhig not only means "not busy" but also "calm/calming".

As Germans, visiting Califonia we ate at a restaurent and were waited on by a caring and polite waitress we even had a nice conversation with. when the manager brought the invoice, my brother paid just the meal with his Diners- Club card, because we wanted to tip the waitress in person and kept sitting at the table. The manager came back and ask if he could help us.We said we were waiting for the girl to tip her." She is sitting in the kitchen crying , as she did not get tipped " we cleared the situation she came to our table, red eyes, we appologised and gave her a double tip.

Jetzt haben wir den Salat! 🤦☺️

A trick about the slugs I've just learned (and control them, 'cause tey are invasive): when you find Weinbegschnecken: take them home to live in your garden. They eat the eggs of the slugs. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacktschnecke

With "dementsprechend" and "mach das ruhig" shows how important the emphasis is in the German language, not only the emphasis within a word, but also the emphasis in the sentence! If you emphasize "dementsprechend" on the first syllable - which is probably what is meant - it means something like accordingly; but if you emphasize it on the second syllable, it gets a completely different meaning, namely "dement speaking"! Likewise, the meaning of the phrase "mach das ruhig" becomes completely different where you put the emphasis! If you emphasize "mach" - what the boss probably did - it means "dare to do it!". If you emphasize "ruhig", it means "do it calmly, properly, exactly!" You can also emphasize it on the "das", then it means again something else, namely "do this, leave everything else aside!" Addendum: "mach das ruhig" can have several other meanings, it depends very much on the context. E.g .: with almost closed lips, almost no emphasis and spoken very softly: do that, you will see what you get out of it, don't complain afterwards! "Dumm wie Toastbrot" This is the summary of all American videos about German bread: In Toastbrot there is nothing in it, but really nothing at all - in contrast to any normal German bread! And if there is nothing in someone's head, then he is just as stupid as toast!

The best german word is zuvorkommend, it means to be courteous but it translate into to come before someone what isnt courteous.

not being the brightest shining candle on the cake would be better than the toastbread…

In addition to the foul weather that they endure, not just cold, but as you point out even when it is not cold it is raining a lot. In the South as you know nothing about it you should know pretty much everything gets covered by sans from the Sahara desert from the north of Africa, so your balcony and your car and anything else you have outside including clothes that you might put out to dry which is why people don't put clothes outside, they get covered with the sand, an orange grainy sand...

KAKI: Fun fact, that's the word for poop in Hungarian! Also, Hungary=Ungarn is called Magyarország in the Hungarian language, which sounds totally different from either Hungary or Ungarn.

Your accent with the hand sign could take some work. You don't just wave your hand, but the whole forearm, the hand stays rigid with regards to the forearm (or the hand parallel to the ground). The meaning is slightly different from the flashing headlight; it means "slow down". Might be used because an obstacle is coming up. The flashing headlights are good for a whole slew of messages. There is the aggressive, long period persistent "Lichthupe" telling you "Go away, I bought that expensive Audi for a reason, I don't want to be held up by you in the left lane!" There's the courteous one brief flash "I cede my priority, go ahead!" And then there's the double brief flash you mentioned: "Danger! Speed trap ahead!"

"Aufwand" (noun) = "effort", "expenditure" "aufwändig" (adj.) = "sumptuous", "elaborate", "time-consuming"... basically "taking a lot of effort" "Mach das ruhig" - "Just do it".

The traffic signs used in Germany follow the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968, so you'll see them in most of Europe, but also in Asia and Africa (--> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Road_Signs_and_Signals).

In my case, the Mama-Papa situation is a little like mashed potatoes. When I was little I referred to my parents as "Mama" and "Papa". Back then I never used the Word "Mutter" and "Vater". Later the English words became popular, so I called them "Mum" and "Dad" as a German. Alas, my parents a both deceased now. When I talk about things concerning them, Iike what their occupation was or that they are deceased I use "Mutter" and "Vater". But I still call them as "Mum" and "Dad" when I remember them in a heartwarming way.

Welcome to Hamburg!

I get these suggested questions on google here in germany when i google my symptoms

Bube! Du Brot! 🤣🤣🤣

I like your videos very much. I also noticed the cultural differences in the USA. It's very funny sometimes. After dinner in Houston, I got up and told my co-workers I was going to take a quick lap around the block. They looked at me very strangely. When I did my little lap, I realized that I was really the only pedestrian and everyone else was in air-conditioned cars and looked at me in amazement. When I came back my colleagues said that it was very dangerous. My answer: there was nobody but me ;-) By the way, I'm learning American English very well in your videos. Thanks for that!

Having a yield symbol sign instead of a sign that says yield is a lot like what we have in Canada. We have lots of stop signs, but there are some streets that have yield symbol signs instead. I ride my bike on the road a lot, so I just think of the yield symbol sign as another stop sign and make sure I stop at the intersections and look before going across.

Are you sitting in planten and Blomen, or is the overall park design in Hamburg the same?

The hand signal is not hand flipping / waving but "down" = slower :D

Regarding subtitles and voice acting: The subtitles are usually a better translation of the original, because the voice acting also has to match the mouth movements to some extend (at least in length/silibal count). That is why they are sometimes different.

As far as I know a tip in Gernay usually is between 5% and 10% according to the waiters job.

Ich schätze der Turm ist 10 Meter hoch. I guess the tower is 10 meter high. Ich schätze es wenn Du mir ein Geschenk machst. I appreciate it when you give me a present. Blitzer: es gibt feste Blitzer. Es gibt aufgebaute Blitzer. Es gibt Blitzer bei roten Ampeln. Es gibt Blitzer in unscheinbaren Autos, meist ein Kombi mit verdunkelter Heckscheibe. Es gibt Laserpistolen. Es gibt Lichtschranken im ausgemessenen Abstand. In Österreich und NL wird gemessen wie lange ein Auto für einen Autobahn-Abschnitt braucht, wer es schneller schafft bekommt Post. Trinkgeld: ich runde auf 5 oder 10 Euro auf. Die Braut trägt ein aufwändig besticktes Kleid. The bride wears an elabortely embroidered dress. Mach das ruhig. = Ich vertraue dir das Du das machen kannst. Jeder der vorbei kam, gab noch seinen Senf dazu. = Jeder der vorbei kam, hatte dazu noch was zu sagen. Verkehrszeichen: Die europäischen Verkehrszeichen sind nach den Genfer Übereinkunft. Auch Mexico hat diese übernommen. Es gibt in Europa viel verschiedene Sprachen, die Verkehrszeichen in den verschiedenen Ländern sind aber alle ähnlich und werden von jedem am Aussehen erkannt.

The fun thing about Blitzer warnings is that the police can't prevent them. According to law the police is only allowed to blitz at positions where there is danger to people ("Gefahrenstelle") it's not allowed to be a money-making operation for the muncipality ("Gemeinde") - at least not officially. In the past Blitzers that were too well camouflaged like looking like a trash can where forbidden by the courts because even the Blitzer is supposed to be a teaching tool to drivers ("Verkehrserziehung"). Which brings us to the Blitzer warnings in the radio and by other drivers: Because surely if the police is blitzing, surely there must be a danger at that location, right? And surely you are allowed to warn people about an upcoming danger, correct?

We also have Mami and Papi that are mostly used by children. Some adults call their mothers Mutti. When we talk to persons that are not our friends we refer to them as "meine Mutter" und "mein Vater".

New York City has Blitze (well, speeding cameras) that do exactly the same thing. A lot of them. I'm guessing other US cities do as well.

That hand signal is less of a flapping but simply the motion to slow down, to lower the speed. :) There's no hand signal for checkpoints. Because a) if you're driving in that direction, it's usually too late to turn and b) if you're actually driving drunk, we all want you to get pulled out.

I call my parents Mama and Papa when I talk to them or when I talk with my sister about them, but when I talk to other people the more distant they are from me and my mother, the more likely it is that I call my mom "meine Mutter" instead of "meine Mama". And then there is the special case of close family and some other very specific situations where I or others say "die Mama". Examples: when I talk to my father, either of us will say "die Mama" like "Die Mama hat gesagt, es gibt gleich Mittagessen." The same for my sister: "Hast du die Mama gefragt?" And even when I call my mom's business and my cousin's wife answers the phone I will sometimes ask: "Ist die Mama da?" But I think this use of the article with Mama might be regional, because we do that with names here, too.

"Mach das ruhig" ist aber wirklich verwirrend! ;-)

I like silverfish. They're so cute! And they don't come in through the window, either.

In addition to the radio messages about the speed traps, they need to be announced, so you can look up, where they are being set up, but there is a catch: Some areas are called areas with speed traps, then you do not have to announce the exact position anymore.

In Southern German we say Mama and Papa for a long while, but after that we switch to Mutter and Vater. So we say "Mein Vater hat mir gesagt" "My Father has said" or "meiner Mutter meinte das war gut. "My mother said is was great."

I have lived in Hamburg from 14th of August, I came from Kosovo where the temperature was tops 28 C when I came to Hamburg tops 20 C so it was try too cold to for me. Really is have lived also in Heidelberg

I just searched for the mustard thingy and translated it xD There u go: "According to various historians, this phrase probably dates from the 17th century. Back then, mustard was considered a spice that made every meal more enjoyable, even if it didn't go with it. All innkeepers at that time, whether desired or not, simply served their guests mustard with every meal. Since this was just as uncomfortable as unwanted advice, the saying "add your mustard" became established in this way after a while. "

give your mustard = give your 5 cents

Greetings from Hamburg 😅

For tipping: Tiping up around10% is fine for bigger orders. With small orders like drinks at a bar, you usually just round up a bit for the next .00€ or something like that.

aufwändig actually means something that requires a certain amount of effort. as you said it "it requires time" thats zeitaufwändig x)

The hand signal given when warning about a speed trap means slow down.

A fun thing about screens in the window which you can do, windows are not created like they are in the United States so there's no little track for the window. They're generally attached permanently or it's a big pain in the ass to take them off otherwise, it's just a big velcro situation, this is what the DIY people do... As you say it's bone cold there most of the time so there are no bugs then... That's why the Germans say they have no bugs is it's too cold to have bugs for 9 months of the year... So they suffer with no air conditioning and bugs for 3... You are lucky as you only know of hamburger so it's not really that hot up there and you were right close to the North Sea where there is a cool breeze, most of Germany is not like Hamburg... Spread your wings out and get to know Germany not just Hamburg, which is a wonderful town but it has many drawbacks too...

The suggested/related questions with immediate answers is definately a thing in german google. And btw. being a little creative about how you tell the waiter that you wanna pay is perfectly fine. I find it charming and it´s polite. Why use the boring-ass-overused phrase everyone says. But typically you would you the konjunktiv II to add a little more politeness. Zum Beispiel. "Wir wären dann (auch) bereit zum Zahlen/für die Rechnung.", "Wir würden gerne die Rechnung haben", "könnten sie uns bitte die Rechnung bringen?" etc. Phrasing it in a way so the other party has a choice is the important bit to add the politeness. EasyGerman has a recent video about it if you wanna digg deeper. (Super Easy German 167) That or what you said is 120% ok. That´s not that big of a deal as you seem to perceive it.

Mom and Dad = Mutter und Vater But we rarely use it. We use it when we talk to others about our parents. My Father said... My Mother said... Some will call their mom Mutter. I rarely heard someone call her/his dad "Vater", but i heard that too. Usually we use Mama und Papa when we talk to our parents no matter how old, sa we will stay their little one all our lives, but when we talk to others we refer to them as Mother and Father. Also many young people and I myself (although i am not young) have adapted to unsing the american "mom" and "dad"

warning others from Blitzers is actually illegal

I am also dyslexic with both letters and numbers, yet I am still an accountant, and can also spell. Always stick to the 10 and the 15% as I described in my previous post, if you got lousy service and you wanted to pay less than figure the 10% out and cut it in half to leave 5%. It is actually not nice that they get paid a fair wage so, they are not dependent on tips as the workers in America are. The servers in America go the extra mile to ensure you get good service so they get a good tip. In Germany the servers could care less, in fact you generally have to waive a server down to get service at all and sometimes they treat you as if you were asking for a big favor when all you really need is a fork because you dropped yours on the floor... Or heaven forbid you should want some ice cubes in your drink...

The reason why they announce it on radio is because it contribues to traffic safety cause people tend to drive more responsibly in these areas

tipping is like - whatever you want to tip. no given number. and the waiters are normally paid fair. not great but ok. so if they do a good job - give them something extra, if they did a bad job - tip nothing. noone will look at you madly for not tipping anything.

OMG, your´re from California! No wonder, you love Germany so much.