I'm starting this thread to share anecdotes, observations and general commentary on the crazy world of ze Germans. Been living in Berlin a few months now. So much greatness in this place but also so much backwardness. Would be great to compare notes with others who've learned German, lived in Germany/Austria/Switz, or have any other connection to the Germanic world and who can help me to appreciate more of what this place has to offer. Might also be useful to commiserate on occasions where the rad tape is strangling me. I'll try not to ramble and overwhelm in this first post. Will recap a few of the interesting things that I've had to come to terms with during the first few months. - The German obsession with cash and the slow speed at which frictionless payment methods are taking hold here, despite Berlin's claim to be Silicon Allee, the Euro equivalent to Silicon Valley - The high price and lack of suitable data sims. Again - crazy in a city that claims to be a tech hub. Getting more than 5GB on a sim is close to impossible. Can't top 'em up easily. An absolute killer if you land in this city and need to be able to work and have proper internet access from the get go. Even more so if you're dependant on Google Translate to help you get by with flat hunting, furntiture shopping, administrative red tape etc. - Since my early visits here close to a decade ago, I've always been amazed at how seriously they take jaywalking. People look at you really oddly just because you're not prepared to stand like an idiot in -10 degree rain, waiting for the light to change, when there's not a car in sight and its safe to walk. If you jaywalk in front of an adult with a child, its quite common for them to make an admonishing remark, or even to label you a "kindermoerder" (child murderer)!
Im attempting to learn German, but up here in Switzerland is difficult, theres a ton of different dialects and they speak 100 miles per hour, I noticed they do use a lot of cash here and prepaid sims arnt cheap, its around 29CHF for 1.2gig, they have a special on now thats 2gig for 35.
Re the sim - I was in Cologne some 8 years ago and walked into a call shop (small shop with a bunch of fixed line phones for hire) and they told me to go buy a sim as it'd be cheaper. Eight Euro later and a cruddy handset and I had 8EUR credit and free voda-voda calls/txt... Wouldn't complain about the bureaucracy... the j-walking's the same as Melb (i.e. policed) but at least you can exceed the speed limit by >3km/h and a lot of places there are no speed limits at all... yet the road toll is better than our nanny states. Can drink in public/on the train, probably don't need a helmet on your bike (by law), beer is cheap (often cheaper than coca cola), beer is great and despite this ze Germans don't seem to have our alcohol violence. The trains are amazing and they all work/arrive on time, cars are cheap, the alps are close what more do you want? Be polite, be on time and you'll be fine.
I had to laugh about the jay walking. Child killer! Bit extreme. I'd be in huge trouble. I can not see the point of waiting for a green walk dude when there are no cars.
First world problems. Every culture has it's idiosyncrasies and the frustrations that go with them from an outsider's perspective.
Time to move to Austria for the simple life bro. Quite a few Aussies work the Swiss frank and scoot over the border to Austria to spend their ski dollars on weekends in Arlberg , Montafon and Bregenzerwald and beyond.
Nah not gonna do that. Its a challenge and I'm enjoying it. There are many great things about Berlin and Germany. Proximity to mountains being one of them.
I wish. The Zurich option didn't work out, remember. Wife's a city girl. If she got a job where she could work with only an internet connection then she'd probably agree to a month or two a year living in a resort. I'm looking at doing that for a few weeks this winter, but on my own not with her.
Many (most?) cities in the US are exactly like this. The only place I have seen regular j-walking is New York. I have actually been chastised in Salt Lake City. Americans are very obedient.
The beer situation is indeed great. Most civilised countries don't have the anglo binge drinking related problems. Although I have seen a few hairy situations at train stations after football games with rival fans clashing.
haha. I really love the overtly literal German words. Glove = handschuh (hand shoe) Vacuum cleaner - staubsauger (dust sucker) Aeroplane - flugzeug (flying tool) Toy - spielzeug (playing tool) etc
Are you using Duolingo? I'm using it to get the vocab cranking. The words aren't too bad. The grammar and the articles are the hard part. Will likely enrol in some classes in next few months.
hallo und wilkommen! zeug = stuff or thing so a tool ist ein 'werkzeug' or 'work-thing' though what do i know, my german is antiquated...
Then there are the onomatopaeic words in German, like schuss and schlitt. And the traps for inexperienced players, like schießen (to shoot) and scheißen (to shit). Confusing these can cause unintentional hilarity when describing a hunting trip.
I was in surgery once using a cautery unit which basically cuts/burns flesh while you operate and basically minimises bleeding. My German born resident who hadn't lived there for probably 10-12 years, still had the occasional thick German ascent breakthrough. This day, she remarked that she "loved" the smell of burning flesh! She was oblivious and couldn't see why we were all horrified.
Can anyone explain why the German soccer team is called die nationalmannschafft? And justify how that's not dirty?
haha, I didn't quite get it at first read. She was trying to say she "loathed" it, right? I thought it might be some play on the word for meat which is fleisch.
I use Babble, seems to have really good repetition and focuses a little more on conversations, I also take lessons when i have the time.
This thread is not about skiing. Should it be moved ? (Convo or CV maybe) or.. Should it be tagged with a new prefix (Travel Chat, or Off-Piste or similar) so that it may remain contextually relevant to Europe. Please vote.
yes there is truth in previous posts... mention of the WW2 to the Germans is like mentioning Huts to those indigenous folk of the Main Range... it just sends each group into tail spin....
Yes, but it is also about travel, and it's so far a respectful conversation - not sure if moving to CV would do it any favors. Plus thinking about how to broaden the scope of these travel forums without losing ski/snow context. Why did Xtremo post here instead of Convo or CV for instance? It's not for me to dismiss such organic behavior offhand, but rather to examine how I may shape the flow of the river for easier navigation - blah blah blah
Bears have a more sensitive question from a cultural perspective... are KNP producing signs written in Chinese for the important tourist trade flocking to hit the Eagles Nest to Kosy walk... never mind the Germans their tight asses ...we need to focus on the tourist dollars here!!
Rationale went something like this: Europe seemed the most fitting place, other than convo. I stopped looking at convo many years ago because I found it to be too much of a time suck. Its interesting, fun, entertaining but I found it akin to randomly surfing youtube because there was always more stuff to look at. An excess of spoils. If a Europe based forum user were to post a topic like this in convo, I would never see it. Perhaps misguidedly, I make the mistake of assuming that others are like me and that there would be a better chance of attracting decent information if I posted in this forum. In summary, a self interest driven decision!
Am I the only one who still doesn't get it?! Or is it not a joke at all, and simply a weird story about a German doctor who genuinely liked the smell of burning human flesh?
Ha, German isnt too bad to listen to once you get used to it. The problem is the only German most of the western world has been exposed to is Hitler yelling.
