If you've never lived in another country you might never realize that you and your folks have some weird behaviors, other cultures think are weird. Of course, the specifics depend heavily on the cultures you are comparing. When I moved to the US though I didn't really realize that there are quite a few things Germans do that Americans would find weird. Mostly because I thought that the differences wouldn't be that big. After all - it wasn't Japan, Saudi Arabia, or the Congo - right? I grew up with American movies, TV shows, and music. I know stuff about American geography, climate, and history.
Vice versa I thought that either Americans would know a lot about Germany, too (for obvious historic reasons) - or maybe nothing at all, which would have fit the stereotypical view of an American who doesn’t know what is happening outside of their own country. But even wondering about what Americans might know about Germany, I almost always only thought about economic or historical topics but otherwise nothing else. After my move - surprise - I came to realize that the American and the German culture are quite different after all. After moving to Ireland, I found - surprise, again - that it is not only the Americans who find these German behaviors weird.
The "FKK"
FKK stands for "Freikörperkultur" and basically means free body culture. In other words - you can be naked. There's a lot of beaches or pool areas where you can - and should be - naked. People bathed naked way before the 18th century even. And while it became taboo for a while it gained popularity around 19000 and it is still big compared to other countries. Even though I generally support the view that a naked body shouldn't be something to be ashamed of I can totally see, that naked hiking (yes, it’s a thing you can do in Germany) - where a group collectively hikes naked through the open countryside - must seem strange. It is for me, too, in fact! Nevertheless, Germany has some very liberal laws on non-sexual public nudity, which must seem weird especially to Americans, who are in general more reserved when it comes to this topic.
The "Hausschuhe"
This one is probably my favorite topic on this list and I confess, I do have ‘Hausschuhe’ and I intend on owning a pair for the rest of my life. “Hausschue” are house shoes - shoes you wear only at home inside your house. Instead of wearing your street shoes (rude) or socks (cold), you can wear a dedicated pair of Hausschuhe - they can be classic like the good old Birkenstock or all fluffed up and cozy - as long as they are good and comfy. Many schools and kindergarten have lockers where children keep a pair of house shoes so they can wear them in school or at their aunt’s / cousin’s / friend’s place since it is always handy to have a pair at hand.
Our relationship to health
Germans love their organic food. Every discounter sells a special organic grocery series. Berlin is the vegan capital of the world and even though our health care system has some flaws you do get solid health care. We don't really want to spend a lot of money on it, though. Expensive gym memberships aren't for us and hell breaks loose if the organic chicken portion of 5 kg costs more than 2€ (how this can still be truly organic with those discounts? Nobody knows…). We do like to spend our money on tobacco, though. Even now in the year 2017 around 25% of the population smokes. Sure, this number decreased - but not by much and not as steady as you'd think - you know, given that smoking FOR SURE causes cancer and all the bad stuff (it was around 40% in the 1990s). Instead, we spend our time campaigning against GMO food because well, you know, you never know, it might be not as good as we think after all.
The "Zug"
A reason why air conditioning isn't big in Germany (besides of course that it is bad, baaaad for the environment) is, that we think cold air itself is bad. Not only when it comes from an AC. Just open windows or doors can create a "Zug", which is short for Durchzug and basically means a stream of air. This devilish Zug can cause pain in whatever part of your body you assume was exposed to the cold stream of air or any kind of cold or unwellbeeing.
Punctuality
If you have a date with a German at 3 pm it literally means 3 pm. Better 2:57 pm. You might be forgiven if it is 3:03 pm or 3:05 pm if the traffic is really bad or you had to find a parking spot. 3:05 pm will cause serious nervous feelings for your date and 3:10 pm is unbearable. If a party begins at 8 pm, it begins at 8 pm! In other countries that might mean that you can get ready at 9 pm and then finally show up at 10 pm. But not in Germany. When I was living in the US and Ireland I seriously tried being late on purpose to not be the first one to shop up. It never happened.
Complain all the time.
Some people say in Germany “That’s fine.” or “No changes needed.” is actually a compliment. And I admit, we are very prone to complaining. All the time. The train is 5 minutes late? We complain. Someone bumps into us in the supermarket? We complain. The government ratifies a new law? We complain. I think sometimes we aren’t even sure what exactly we complain about and what we want instead. But then again, complaining itself brings some sort of pleasure and satisfaction. We especially like to complain about the service of a restaurant or a cafe and we have a dedicated name for bad service - Servicewueste Deutschland (which translates to service desert Gemrany).
Push, reserve and Value the space
I don't know if this is related to the history this country has been too, but don't expect any generosity from Germans when it comes to waiting in line. If a new check out opens at the supermarket, you don't politely let people who are in front of you go over. Everyone for themselves! Germans can't stand in line. We need to get our shit done as fast as possible and mind our own advantages. If you happen to stay at a hotel and find abandoned towels at 8 am in the morning by the pool - it's the Germans, who woke up at 6 am to reserve the prime spots. Better don't get too close to them either, we value some significant space between us, the people on the bus and our colleagues. I've seen people close to a nervous breakdown because someone touching their elbow in the train during rush hour.
The Stare
Germans stare a lot. I actually never noticed this before moving abroad, but I came to realise that I think it’s true. While in other cultures you immediately look away or even try to avoid eye contact to begin with, a lot of people (particularly on public transportation) as good as stare you down. Not sure if this has some sort of cultural background or what the story is but it definitely is the case.
Carbonated water
I have to admit it - I am a fan, too! Even though normally I prefer still water, I love drinking a Saftschorle or Weinschorle - juice or wine mixed with carbonated water. It's just so refreshing. I admit though, that we seem to be the only nation in love with carbonated water and even within Europe nobody really seems to understand. I've tried to convince other people of an amazing Weinschorle - without any success.
Follow the rules. All the rules.
That particularly includes honoring the traffic light. While in big cities you might see people doing it from time to time, Germans usually don't cross the street when the traffic light is red. Not even in the countryside with no car around. You might even get to hear a "child murderer" when you cross a street as you know - you never know if a kid is watching and uses you as a bad example. You can also observe the love for rules during concerts where Germans loooooove to clap on 1 and 3 (seriously, pay attention during some Schlager concert - it's quite funny).
These were some of the things that I observed in my own home country, but I would love to hear from you if you have moved to Germany from another country. Is there anything else you noticed that you found weird about Germany?
Kate recommends: Though I do fear some people (including my younger self probably) might hate me for this, I do recommend a copy of Faust. by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It is not just considered his magnum opus, but also said to be the greatest work of German literature and the play with the largest audience numbers on German stages. In Faust, the demon Mephistopheles makes a bet with God whether God’s favorite human being (Faust) can be lured away for the righteous path. The play inspired many other works such as opreas, comics, pop songs, paintings or plays and similar to the UK’s Shakespear inspired many sayings.