THINGS TO KNOW PT. 2: German Restaurant Etiquette Tips 

I tried to explain it to other people. They had a hard time getting it. Thanks for educating!

And there I thought you would give an introduction how to eat with fork and knife properly. I noticed on my travels to the US that people tend to make a mess on the table. So very seldomly there are tablecloth on tables. A restaurant, not a fast food outfit, usually has tablecloth on the tables. White. So don't make it hard for the proprietor to mess around with sauces and such. You should not leave anything but crumbs which can be swept or vacuumed up. You can verify whether you can pay by credit card by the signs at the entrance door window panels or a window next to it. www.cz.de/var/storage/images/cz/celle/aus-der-stadt/celle-stadt/nachfolger-fuer-celler-restaurant-an-der-aller-gefunden/696824727-1-ger-DE/Nachfolger-fuer-Celler-Restaurant-an-der-Aller-gefunden_big_teaser_article.jpg If they accept any those will be displayed there.If you order still water then you will get some fance brand still water. That's gonna cost you! So better ask for "ein Glas Leitungswasser" a glass of tap water. This is even better than the still water because there are tighter regulations for tap water than bottled water. Tipping: You don't have to. It is completely voluntary. Waiters get regular pay they can live on. They don't rely on tips. But somehow they do. Because people do tip but not the amounts like in the US. So it is a quiet understanding when salaries are agreed upon that there will be some tips which boost the income. But by law the prices you see in the menue is what you owe to pay. Nothing more. And from my experience you won't get a better service because waiters are not expecting the tip to change the income by much. If they get one good, if they don't so what. I round up to the next convenient number like you explained in the video. Sometimes I used the situation deliberately to get some change back. For restrooms and so.

Nicely done and better than the average because you explain the reasons behind differences

Great recommendation: "Do not compare!" When I went to the US as an exchange student I did not know what to expect and simply tried to learn how to behave there. This rule actually holds about everywhere: If you marry into your spouse's family, are invited by your boss for the first time, meet the Queen of England or whatever. And it will definitely improve your experience if you have an open attitude.

Tap water actually is of higher quality that "mineral water" that you can buy, because there are very strict laws concerning water quality in Germany. Fun fact: mineral water does not qualify, i.e. a spring with mineral water may not be designated as "drinking water". That is also the reason why the ingredients have to be listed on the bottle.

Water: Just to make it a little more complicated, these days often there are three kinds of water: still water, sparkling water and medium which is " a little sparkling"

We slowly learnt these things & it was somewhat frustrating for us in the beginning but the service people were always pleasant to point out what we could have done haha. Great video!

we pay for water and we do not have to give such high tip - the waiters can be payed over minimum wage because guests pay for water and do not get free tap water. You pay for water but you save tipping the waiters. You tip around 3%-5% and if service was good, you give some more.

The waiters get more salary in Germany than in the USA. Nevertheless, the salary is not so high compared to many other professions. Therefore 10% tip with good service is ok. Two euros tip or a little more if the food is delivered to the front door. As a German I must say that cash is still often used. In most food shops and restaurants but also credit cards are accepted. In small shops or bakeries cash is in demand.

I really wish I knew water was not free, prior to my trip to Europe, so glad you mentioned that! Also, it's great that you noted the standard size of water is similar to the size of a personal Coke bottle. Something I totally wouldn't have thought to ask or look into on my own!

The reason for high prices drinks esp water u mention yourself. The tradion to enjoy a long time in the restaurant. No one here will force u to hurry up by asking u every 5 min if all is Ok to get the tabel fastly reset. So if u sit there longer and have some more dtinks u had to pay for that Time somehow. And yes 10% Tip is normal. Its not writen down but a kind of respekt to the servers and often divided berween hin and the kitchencrew. So good servie good Tip bad service 10 €Cent. That will be noticed by everyone in Service :)