My 8 New Weird German Habits 

I love your tone,

I'm usually a pain in the ass. This video was well done. I'm the only American that I know who has Grohe fixtures in my bathroom and I dry the shower after every shower. I had two aus Hamburg grandparents that helped raise me in the U.S.. They did not even dry the shower, yet I do. That is so strange now that I know it is a German thing (depending on how hard or soft the water is).

In addition, after reunification the government invested almost exclusively in the East. As a result, signaling technology in many areas is at the level of the 1960s. Another point is that freight transport, local and long-distance passenger transport run on the same tracks. This means that express trains are slowed down by slow trains. New high-speed lines are hardly being built anymore because citizen protests oppose the whole projects

The same here in the Netherlands, and more "managers" doesn't solve the problems. A lot of things should never been privatised, when all of a sudden stockholders are involved you know it is going to be a downwards spiral.

DB is not privatized! It was only changed into private law, what gives transparency to the true cost of running the system. Before that, the costs were cloaked and therefor the prices were subsidized, lacking funds elsewhere. @@markschattefor6997

The DB has not been "kaputtgespart", because the money spend by the income generated is still high, but often times inefficient. Also, the politics take taxes and money out of the system like everywhere and also gives everybody a management job with political connections. But DB is a state-owned company with the state having control over the control mechanism, what they don't have in true privatized companies. That's why it is a bite in the ass for every taxpayer, getting nearly nothing from it. However, the overall lobbying against let's say goods transports, has to do with disabling German military to deploy fast over train networks (Socialist Moscow lovers). And also with pulling regular transportation on the streets, favouring (international) trucks, which companies are in international shareholders hands.

basically what happened to boeing, blizzard entertainment and a bunch of other giant US companies

Good one 😉

😂

Ha! 😂 I am old, 54, and I have started to get this thing about new technology and older people. I am pretty sure it's not a decrease of intelligence, it's the lack of time. Why the heck spend hours or days of the short life span left on learning how to use some new technology if the old way works just fine? 😉 However, most Germans, regardless of their age, are more than willing to accept new technology if it helps to save money. My parents in law, both close to their eighties, had no problem with cancelling their newspaper subscribtion, when they learned that they could share my husbands digital subscribtion for free. 😊 It still feels somewhat unreal to see them reading their newspaper each on their own tablet at breakfast time... 😂

@@Kristina_S-O save is a verb; safe is a noun or an adjective.

I don't know, I was born before CDs and during my lifetime that entire technology has come and gone again. I feel like technology cycles have become maybe a bit too short for your model.

We want the Deutsche Bundesbahn zurück 😂

The same in Slowakei about Slovak Railway 😂

I'm happy to live in a region that has soft water. Tap water, which consists of groundwater, is hard. It contains many minerals and also lime. Our tap water comes from dams (surface water). It contains significantly fewer healthy minerals (it tastes significantly less “metallic”), but also no lime. That makes life easier. The skin doesn't feel tight after a shower (you don't have to apply cream straight away), the hair needs less care products, there are no limescale stains on glass and metal surfaces (at most, small stains like those left by rain on a glass pane - they can be done too Wipe dry very easily), washing machine, kettle etc. do not need to be descaled regularly. You also don't need a water softener when doing laundry or in the dishwasher.

The water in the region I live is so hard, I got bruises all over my body from showering every morning... ...maybe not that hard, but if you forget whiping it only once, you better have some vinegar or citrus acid at hand.

I have hard water but don't bother wiping it off. The few centimeters of limescale deposits provide extra corrosion protection... 🙈 And chrome is too much _bling bling_ for me anyway 😎

​@@312Annabella Here, at the east sea, so hard water everything gets a white cover, bathroom and kitchen, coffee is urg. As I read your post, I suddenly rembered how much were better, softer, easier in midth germany, like nostalgia. 😀 Now I really miss it.

me² I am frisian living up north...we dont have to do this..we have the best water

in Southwest it is called "Vesper" and can be "Brotzeit", "Abendbrot", "Picknick" or "Zwischenmahlzeit"

But we also call "Vesper" a snack you take with you on a trip or to school.

In north germany Vesper is about 16:00. Bread/cake with tea/coffee and a lot of stuff going on it.

​@@Blast-Forwardno, that is just a snack, not Vesper.

@@MiaMerkur In the south we call it like that.

I love them at all times of the day.

👍🍰@@mojojim6458

sounds delicious!!

...aber bitte mit Sahne 🎶🎶🎶

But that is Kaffee und Kuchen Zeit or Kaffeezeit in my region.

Yes, this is the most German (or should I say Alman) thing ever!

​@@mareiketje4899because it's a pain, trying to get the stain off! So it's better spending 1 min.viping sprinkles instead a few ours cleaning calcareous marks!

I just give them a couple of winks with one eye and give them a seductive smile back!!! 🤣 Their reaction is priceless

@@michaelvonfriedrich3924 , does that go for either sex?

I‘ve learned that it’s okay to stare at someone if you are a woman. If a man stares at you, you are more likely to feel threatened .

@@CabinFever52 well of course the reaction is priceless 🤣

he's talking about staring at a complete stranger, isnt he?

I was in the US Army in (West) Germany many years ago. I really enjoy this website. Keep it up!

Brotzeit can be at any time during the day … like a small „meal“ of cold food like a sandwich in between and is a Bavarian dialect expression. Abendbrot is dinner with cold food like bread, sausages, cheese etc.

Yeah, my parents were from Berlin and we always called it abendbrot, sounded more like ahmbrot. Was a whole extra meal on sundays. Breakfast, lunch, Kaffe, supper, abendbrot.

@@marcokeller3575Yes, "ahmbrot" is exactly right :)

Brotzeit CAN be the evening meal. It really is just a light meal/snack of breads, cold cuts of meat, cheeses, spreads, and maybe slices of bell peppers or pickles. Other such meals are butterbrot and abendbrot. Brotzeit is more Bavarian and a brunch to just after work time snack or light meal. Butterbrot is more breakfast through lunch and some extra veggies… a simple open faced sandwich. Abendbrot is a light evening meal much like brotzeit, but likely with soup or salad.

No, he's spot off!

i was expecting some disaster with 2 transfers-- instead "oh I was 7 minutes late"

Well, but it is almost an exception when connections go that smoothly - about half of the trains of the DB had a delay last year. Compare that to Japan or even Switzerland....

While i do agree with you. the thing about the DB is, that she could be so much better. She used to be better, and i think that is the main reason ppl complain. They knew the DB as she should be, and hate the DB for what she has become.

Never have I ever have had accumulated so much delay in my life (and I travel far and often) with my car than with the DB. Over 60% of connections delayed or missed because of random cause or complete breakdown. Not to mention the higher costs (compared to having and maintaining a car in total with credit and maintenance, fuel, etc.) you have to pay for travel way longer for less way. The inconvenience of bringing things, especially heavier stuff from A to B. And then not being where you need to be when you have arrived. (When I drive by car I park where I am destined to be and that's it, I arrived. By train I have to switch from distance to local travel means (which are especially in Munich also very eager to delay you even more if they even decided to drive) and other people you might visit feel the need to pick you up so that you arrive eventually and not 7 and a half hours later than expected. Then DB is a corrupt company that destroyed cargo as well as person travel means by letting their trains and rails deteriorate accompanied by an impressive amount of why-should-we care. Let's give a practical example. I lived in Frankonia for quite a time and didn't have a car. By train (RE from a smaller town then ICE) it took me 3.5 hrs to arrive at Munich train station to visit my family. Then I needed to change to local means and go by S-Bahn to an outer part of Munich which took another 45 mins to 1 hour depending when the next S-Bahn would go. There someone would pick me up or I would have another 30 mins walking. So all in all it took me around 4.5 hrs to 5 hrs to arrive at my family, and that only if everything went well (which means at max a delay of 10 mins). Regularly (def more than 50% of the time) i was heavily delayed (by at least 1 to 1.5 hrs). This does not include the time I needed to get from my flat to the next train station which was around 15 mins. With car it took me 2.5 hrs to leave home and arrive at my families. With me being physically where I wanted to go to. So at my destination. 2 point 5 hours vs approx. 5 hours. Then let's talk about time tables. My car drives when I want it to, also at night, best time to drive. Would I be able to reach my destinations with train at let's say after 10pm, very unlikely. Regios notoriously do not drive after 10.30 pm and before 04.30 am. And ICE also quit their service generally around 12 am. This is a fucking joke mate. I cannot tell you how much jams are not a problem compared to the rate of DB being delayed, broken, not on time or out of work. Worst jam in 7 years was once when they had road work and removed 2 of 3 tracks from the A9 near Ingolstadt (a very heavy load motorway segment in Germany where traffic is really stuffed oftentimes). That was the only time it took me 7 hrs instead of 2.5 hrs. In over 90% of all cases I arrived under 2.5 hrs. This is not even remotely comparable to the problems the DB causes when being dependent on it. It was incredibly seldom that it even took 3 hrs instead of 2.5 hrs. So ranting about the DB is not actually only a Volkssport, it's also maddeningly justified.

Hypocrite! 😂 Sorry … 🙂

„Real“ Germans wipe and dry every part! The metal, the glass and even the tiles using a dedicated towel and shower wiper 😂

​@@peterl1771 Well, then apparently I (born, raised and living in Germany) am not a "real" German 🤔

@@sabineschroter1012I have never wiped the faucet or tiles or tub. I do wash wash the textile shower curtain every other week, though!

@@sabineschroter1012 Then you seem to be a soft water German 😉

We just say second breakfast, in other parts of Germany. Cause nobody eats bread. Or it's a very new fashio to do so. It's more rolls.

@@holger_p hi Holger, Dankeschön. Ich habe als Koch in verschiedenen Regionen in Deutschland gearbeitet. Da merkt mann das die selbe Sache je nach Bundesland oder slebst in Nachbarstädten verschieden genannt werden. Vielen Dank für deine wertfolle Anmerkung.

Vesper

😂

😂

For me, the best beer is in Berlin, in Strassenbrau.

This is why I love showering away from home. Hotels, eg. I'm just gonna leave this all wet! We scrape the glass panes every time and they still look awful. I tried using vinegar on them and I discolored the floor stones. The armature looks pretty good though after a simple wipe.

It's not only far more often on time, the train network is also much more packed. Far more trains - and still working well. Mad respect for the SBB guys.

Das wundert nicht, über die SBB und ihre Infrastruktur sind ja schließlich zwei Weltkriege weniger weggegangen: zum guten teil stammt sie (die deutsche) aus dem Anfängen des vorigen Jahrhunderts , aus Bismarcks Zeiten sogar, - wie es auch beim Telephonnetz der Fall zu sein scheint.

Oder im Schrebergarten 😂

Der moderne Spießer hat einen Buddha.

With a little wheelbarrow...hahahahhahahah! I forgot the name for wheelbarrow, so I had to write it in English.

@@ubierin4797Die Glückskatzte ist auch nicht zu verachten.

He is establishing new German traditions.

It very much depends on the local water. With soft water, you can get away with doing it rarely or never. Hard water, you well may have to do it even living alone because otherwise you can't turn the knobs anymore.

Well, I am German and I do it every day. Otherwise you can get mold, rust and water spots which are hard to remove. It only takes like 10-15 seconds to wipe everything if you are practiced.

Hard water makes it necessary, unfortunately. Maybe you just always lived in an area with soft water.

Yeah, for me Brotzeit is more a "small meal during the day," might be a second breakfast or something like that.

Next time also visit Czech Republic. I love their beer even more! ❤

😂😂😂😂😂😂

Not with the German stare. It can kill, when necessary.

​@ThomasVWorm Männer die auf Ziegen starren? Men staring at goats?😂

German here: Someone here called it Kilometerblick (kilometer view). It's the first time I've heard that, but it applies perfectly to me. I don't stare, I just look somewhere, even through people, I often don't really notice that someone is there. Of course I also look at people, but believe me, it's almost always meant in a friendly way: I make eye contact. If the other person looks back, I give them a brief nod or even a smile, especially if I have the feeling that they are feeling uncomfortable, alone or lost.in this case it's more of a sign that I've noticed you and that everything is okay for me and that you're welcome to talk to me if you want to. I hardly ever want give nasty looks. Of course, it's different for everyone and there are stupid people everywhere. But there are others everywhere too.

You can always excuse yourself by saying: "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just daydreaming".

Nun habe ich ja noch nie gehört, daß man jemandem den Kopfhörer von der Stereoanlage gemopst hätte oder eine Zahnbürste - das dürfte ein echtes Randphänomen sein.

I don‘t know anybody that is still brushing teeth with the non-electric tooth brush. In fact all of my family and friends are equipped with electric brushes in 2nd to 4th generation!

Black tea _always_ develops a slick, no matter the water. That's just black tea. If you want to avoid that you have to stir constantly while it's seeping.

Alb vs Alp. Brezel vs pretzel. B vs P.

@@K__a__M__IActually, no! Since I use a water filter (I live in a region with very hard water), it doesn't do that anymore.

Das gilt aber in SB nur in den Stadtteilen, wo man das weiche Sandsteinwasser aus dem Bliestal hat. Im den Stadtteilen mit "Muschelkalkwasser" ist es hart bis sehr hart, so daß es dort zB schwer bis unmöglich ist, Zierfische nachzuzüchten (Malawibuntbarsche vielleicht ausgenommen).

Yep, my thought. Well, living in Switzerland now, it was something like: "How 'bünzli' can you get?" I have never cleaned the shower right after showering. Yes, there will be lots of white spots. (Who cares?)

The glasses represent adopting new technology to combat the latest fear, fear of blue light.

When I was young having warm lunch was normal in Germany. Mom was at home all day, the children did come home from school at lunch time. And the father came home for lunch when possible or he did have warm lunch where he did work or some did even had a type of a thermos flask - more a thermos can - for warm lunch with them. And in the evening we did have Abendbrot/Brotzeit. This was typical in Germany about half a century ago.

@@ThomasVWorm Yes, that was the case in West Germany. I am a child of the GDR. Our mothers weren't at home all day - they had jobs. We still had a warm lunch, the children in kindergarten and school (for 55 pfennigs per meal), the parents at work (it cost a maximum of 1 mark per portion). My mother worked at Deutsche Post. There were too few employees at their post office to have their own cafeteria. So every lunchtime the employees went to a neighboring restaurant where they got their lunch. They did not pay the usual prices that every private visitor to the restaurant paid - for them the prices were the same as in a company canteen. In the evenings at home we had bread, sausage, cheese or even Viennese sausages, schnitzel,... with bread. “Real” cooking was only done on weekends.

sounds wonderful to me!!

good one!

You don’t need to buy another to ticket! At least they’re good for that - if it’s their fault that you missed your train, the Zugbindung is cancelled and you can use another train without a new ticket.

​​​@@glockenreinstill have to buy a ticket and then apply with a formula to get your money back for this ticket that you were forced to buy. (don't expect 100% back) BUT always ask the personnel in the new train and explain situation and you might get in without purging a new ticket. To apply for a refund you also need a official statement of the bahn info or the personal in the train that the train was late. Hope this helps......it definitely sucks & is unfair 😊

@@HejSue I did not know that was the official way, thanks for explaining! 😅 I have literally never done that though and it happens to me at least every other month. I always just get on the new train, show my old ticket and explain. No one’s ever not accepted that, maybe I have a trustworthy face or something. I also wonder how you’re supposed to buy a new ticket because very often there is no time and you have to sprint to the new train. Even if you bought the ticket online, often that would only work out when you’re already on the train.

​@@glockenreinyes it's impossible, because when the staff would make you buy a ticket, they would have to wait for you and that causes delay so they say just get in. And the ICE staff is nice because they don't meet rude people all the time. The regionalbahn staff are stressed and mostly not nice. If they want you to buy a new ticket, then you should force them BEFOREHAND to hand you out a statement of delay, that you need to apply for refund. A screenshot of the db app is also good. Note literally every personnel handles this differently, what is ok for that, could be not ok for others. I have witnessed so many times db staff threw out people when it is not to their liking - even if it was the last train in the middle of the night.

@@HejSue I always went to the DB service point, where I always got a written notice on my ticket that Zugbindung is cancelled due to a delay. Never had to buy another ticket nor did I have to rely on train staff being nice. Therefore, I'd even say the actual official way IS to go to the service point if a train delay causes you to miss other trains.

Und das Fensterleder?! 😊

because they clean your teeth better. i even bring mine when i go camping now. 2 minute timer is built in as well. Just the perfect tool for the job.

@@uliwehner Also they stop if you press to hard. My teeth got really sensitive and hurt when I sucked air into my mouth or drank cold water (like normal tap water). This was because of me pressing too hard and also because my bad technique (wiping back & forth, instead of circular motions). The electric brush does the circular motions, and you just have to guide it. Those two things greatly helped my teeth get better.

Nalf lives in south germany . The water is full of chalk and limestone

@@Call_me_daddy6 He said it was a "new German habit" as if he didn't have it before living in Portland.

@@Call_me_daddy6The water in Cologne is so hard, I made ice cubes and put them in my water and when the ice started to melt, I had "dandruff" floating in my glass.

I'll look for you there.

@@mojojim6458we're followers🙋‍♀