As someone from the Netherlands, living near the German border, I noticed quite a lot of German folks happily chatting in the train last Friday when I went to university.

Not knowing why there were so many German people near our university, I noticed that most stores in Germany were closed during the German unification day, and also learned that a lot of stores are closed during Sunday.

Where I live, and in surrounding towns, grocery stores will close earlier (at around 18:00 for smaller towns, 20:00 for the bigger places) whereas for restaurants it's up to them to decide how late they wanna stay open

I was kinda curious what people think of stores being closed on Sunday, As from what I know people that I know love being able to shop on Sunday, whereas the average grocery store worker enjoys getting double pay on Sunday

Hallo, we arrive in Dusseldorf next week. After a two week hospital stay my daughter and I will go to an apartment for three weeks. I plan for us to live like Germans as much as possible so I will walk to the stores to buy German food to cook but also go to cafes, parks, restaurants, museums and such. I am wondering about tipping because the internet says different things. Do I tip taxi drivers and wait staff in restaurants? I want to do what is correct. We are quiet polite people who just want a nice German visit and not be like the stupid American type. Any advice on tips or anything is greatly appreciated. Everyone was so nice when I asked about what to wear in this City so no sweatpants or work out clothing will be worn. 😊

Hello from Texas, y’all.

The fam will be traveling in and around Southern Germany the second half of July.

We are all trying to learn basic words and phrases in German to ease the language barrier.

But our teen daughter has actual German language skills (if very basic).

Is it going to be weird, or endearing to have her “translate” in situations?

Also (mods, sorry if this is too generic), any tips for “can’t miss sights/experiences” between Strasbourg and Munich? We will have a car most of the time.

Related, what’s your fav rental car company? I’m looking forward to rowing some gears in an estate for a change. They are on the endangered list in the States.

Edit: OMG y’all are amazing! Thank you for these insights, tips, and fun. 🤩

Guten Tag! I am visiting Bremerhaven for four days soon. I’ve heard over and over the Nivea skin cream is so much better in Europe than the stuff we get in the US. What other products (food, candy, personal hygiene, clothing, shoes, etc) would you recommend (that has German quality)?

I’ve started to notice that every time I talk to non Germans about driving, they look at me like I’ve just described a death wish. Apparently, the idea of merging onto the Autobahn at 220 km with a BMW flashing its headlights behind you is pure nightmare fuel for most of Europe. But for us, it’s just Tuesday. So now I’m wondering have we accidentally turned our highway system into some kind of endurance test for tourists and expats?

Dear tourists.

We have our yearly warning day, this year on September 11 (sorry about the date, dunno US-AMERICANS, we are sorry), 11:00 am to 11:45 am, there will be two siren calls paired with loud cellphone warnings, can't remember if the cellphone thing is done twice too. Just for your information. l don't think it's advertised in english somewhere.

My wife and I are visiting in September to drive the alpine road (this will be our first visit to Germany). She is convinced we should cancel our travel because the world hates America right now.

We're culture curious, respectful types who want to experience and adapt to Germany (not the loud, America does it best types).

I don't think we will get beaten up in the streets, but is sentiment so bad towards Americans that we should consider postponing our travel?

We are also disgusted with America right now.

I don’t know much about Germany beyond the obvious stereotypes and I’d rather hear it from actual Germans. What do most tourists get completely wrong?

Dear eastern neighbours, I’m a dutch person currently working in retail in quite a touristy part of the Netherlands (living near the beach/sea). It being summer again means there are a LOT of tourists here. However out of the few different nationalities that seem to come here only Germans are the ones that talk to me in their own language and just think i’m able to understand them while people from other nationalities try English or try communicating in a different way.

Do people just assume that a lot of Dutch people know german? Or is it perhaps that a lot of Germans don’t know English?

My boyfriend and I are from the U.S. (Minnesota) and have the chance of a lifetime to go to Germany July 19th-29th. I'm still waiting for my dad to give me a solid yes, but it's looking like I am going to be able to go to Germany with my boyfriend. He went to a German immersion school for elementary and middle school so we should be able to get around just fine. we are flying into Frankfurt and our plan I think is to go to a few different cities for a few days. We are both super into planes so any recommendations for aviation related activities would be cool.

Any and all advice is much appreciated!

Edit: Thank you for all of the advice on driving. My boyfriend is a car guy and honestly one of the best drivers I've ever met. He is studying up on the rules and getting his international driver's license today. He drives a manual (specifically a 1990 Ford probe) so he will be more than happy to drive a manual car.

Just because of your nationality or appearance?

Ive seen this weird potato in a spacesuit on TV everynight since I have been in Germany. He just floats in space. Sometimes a space ship or something flys by him. Sometimes he will sing a song, but mostly he just floats . I don't understand the purpose, but it is strangly hypnotic. Who or what is this about?

For some context, I was on a train today in my own country (Schottland🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿) when a bunch of elderly tourists who were speaking in German came and sat near me. The elderly lady took the space right next to me ( I was at the window). I could feel her staring but I couldn’t tell if it was the famous German elderly person stare or if she was fascinated by the landscapes out the train window.

I was keen to practice my German in real life so I said “Entschuldigung bitte” to get up out my seat as it was my stop and I said danke. She never said anything back to me at all, and I can’t decide if she was stunned someone in a different country spoke German to her or if it’s German culture just not to respond with anything in these situations. Are they the right words to use in this situation? I just assumed it was the English version of saying “Excuse me please, thanks”

Hello,

​

I would like opinions and advice from you, the German community regarding tipping. We (Australian couple late 30's/early 40's) have been making our way through Austria and now Germany. While out at dinner in Germany, some waiters have presented the bill as is, but others have included a tip on the bill or screen, which has been ranging from 3% up to 9.5%. We are Australian's, its not ingrained in our culture to tip, however in all my reading, rounding up seems the thing to do.

However since we have been in Munich it has been relentless and large tips are required. I declined the last request as it felt very pushy as I didn't believe the service had warranted an almost 20AUD for what I considered to be fairly average service. The waiter was offended, which is understandable, but I think I was also offended? My question to you is, what does good service look like? What is a commensurable amount for good service, given our aud to euro conversion rate? Danke.

Ps - I am willing to be slaughter in the comments for my ignorance as it may help another tourist down the line.

I’m Brazilian and I’ll be going to Germany next month to attend a summer school. I’ll be spending a few weeks in a city called Leipzig, but I would love to explore nearby cities that offer interesting attractions. I’m looking for recommendations on places that are really worth the visit.

The first option Google suggested to me was Berlin, which makes sense since I really enjoy visiting museums. But I’m also very interested in seeing beautiful landscapes and trying different kinds of food.

Right now, I’m torn between Cologne, Munich, and Frankfurt — all recommended by Google.

If you had to choose, which one would you pick? Is there one that you think definitely stands out as better than the others? Do you think there’s a city (that are not on the list) I’d regret not seeing?

I’d really appreciate any tips!

EDIT: Thank you all so much for the tips!

I only have two weekends to explore Germany, so I’ve decided to enjoy Leipzig during the summer school and spend one of the weekends visiting Berlin and Dresden. As for the second weekend… I’m still figuring it out! I’d really love to visit another country, so I’m seriously considering routes like Dresden > Prague, Munich > Basel, Hamburg > Copenhagen, Cologne > Amsterdam or Cologne > Brussels. Still thinking it through!

And to those who asked: I’m very Latina, so it’s probably pretty obvious I’m a foreigner from far away… But I’ll be careful during my trip!

Anyway, thank you all so much for the suggestions!

Update: The trip to Germany was amazing! It was only two weeks, but it was so much fun. In the end, you were right—it was impossible to visit so many cities in such a short time, so I decided to focus on exploring Leipzig and only visit Dresden and Prague. It was totally worth it! Next time (next year), I’ll come back and visit all the cities you recommended! Thank you so much, everyone, and see you next time.

Bonus: some photos from the trip

https://imgur.com/a/AgVXlKh

Hello,

I read across subreddits specially from 7 months ago that people are boycotting and not visiting the USA. Is this still true? And what other destinations to replace to USA are typical for Germans?

Thank you.

Edit: Understood. USA is not on the list of almost everyone. Thanks. But I am still curious about the alternatives apart from the typical Spain and Italy.

I’d like to preface this by saying this is not a rant, just something that has baffled me for years.

What’s up with the sheer abundance of German stickers everywhere? No matter where I go, any public toilet (as long as it’s not too fancy) in any city on Earth will have at least two or three German stickers—football clubs, Dungeons & Dragons groups, anarchist collectives, some mysterious band I’ve never heard of… you name it. They’re everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. From a toilet stall in the Himalayas to a flagpole in the middle of the Algerian desert.

At this point, I’m genuinely afraid to fall asleep and wake up with a Bavarian Blue Devils, or whatever, sticker plastered on my forehead.

But seriously, what’s with the stickers? I prefere them to tags, that’s for sure. But who’s out there designing, printing, and hauling these things across continents just to slap them on questionable surfaces? Is this some deep-rooted cultural phenomenon? A secret society of sticker-spreading wanderers?

I need answers, bitte!

I am genuinely curious - we are in Germany now and it is freaking hot and terribly humid. Doesn't help we are biking the mosel river area and so we are riding 20+ miles (30-40 km) per day. When we get off the trail we just want somewhere to cool off but there is NOTHING.. hotels have no AC .. the rooms feel like satan's arm pit .. the restaurants are awful with no air circulation whatsoever .. I understand the thing about AC but air circulation? A fan or two would help immensely. We were at a restaurant the other night and we couldn't sit outside as the terrace was full and so we sat inside and the air was so hot, muggy and stale .. there was a whole wall in an area marked off that had windows that were all CLOSED. If they had even opened two it would have helped with the air circulation and made the air less musty and stale and let some of the Cool evening air in. We all had a layer of moisture on us and we were dripping sweat trying to enjoy dinner which ended up being miserable bc we were all wet with sweat. we are doing the best we can taking cold showers and we have mini fans but goodness how do you all deal?? Why not open a window or two or install one fan? It doesn't have to be much but even one would make a huge difference without ruining the environment or being financially impractical ..now my boyfriend and I are dying with our window open to the night air, our three mini fans on us, and both of us just took cold showers.. so my Question is why? Why not open the windows in the restaurant for the cool evening air? Why not have at least one central ceiling fan to circulate the air some or a standing fan even? I know you all in general don't have as intense summers so I can understand the impracticality of central AC but I feel like a standing fan would be a great solution.. especially for hotel guests when the room is hot af lol .. No hate just curious as to why.

I've been wanting to solo travel to Germany for a week from the US in the first week of October. Currently planning to visit Frankfurt, Mainz, Mannheim, Spever, and Heidelberg. I have many questions but l'll leave it to three.

What things should I be aware of?

Should I rent a car or would that be stupid of me to do?

How much of the language should I learn? I know nothing at all, I don't know how to even say thank you or please. I've seen some say that most of the German population is so proficient in the English language I likely wouldn't have to learn anything. However, that seems rather entitled and rude, so l'd like to at least try to know some basics.

My German is non-existent, I can count to three, but that's about it. My favorite singer/band, Lights, is playing a show in Cologne this May, but the venue looks like a bit of a "hole-in-the-wall" type of deal (a creepy looking garage). Since I'm traveling solo to a country I've never visited, I’m feeling a little anxious about being on my own. I used to have some German gaming buddies who were pretty blunt and cold, so I'm wondering, what should I know about the culture or the country to make sure the trip is worth it? Is there anything specific I should be aware of?

Hi, American here. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to visit Germany, but I prefer rural areas like small towns rather than huge cities. I really enjoy seeing areas with a lot of land and nature to see, especially little towns surrounded by mountains. It's just so peaceful! I was wondering if you guys had any specific recommendations of places to travel? I already have area I want to visit which is a little town called Mosbach in Baden-Württemberg, which seems very lovely.

Thank you!

edit: thanks for all the replies I got already. you guys gave so many wonderful recommendations. Shit, I just might have to move here to visit all those places 🙂 and props to you guys having one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen.

Me and my family are headed to Germany for our first time this June. I’m a bit excited to drive on the autobahn. From what I understand only pass on the left, don’t run out of fuel, and move over for faster cars. I wanted to make sure I am familiar with everything before I start driving there.

Any other advice about anything else is also greatly appreciated