German culture, explained for Indians

The little things nobody tells you before you move to Germany, explained in plain English, with the German words you will hear and a comparison with India.

• SitzpinklerMany German men sit down to peeIn Germany, many men sit on the toilet even just to pee. There is even a word for it: Sitzpinkler.
• StoßlüftenOpen the windows wide, even in winterGermans open all windows wide for a few minutes several times a day, even when it is freezing outside.
• Du oder Sie?"Du" or "Sie": who you call whatGerman has a polite "you" (Sie) and a friendly "you" (du). Using the wrong one can sound rude or too close.
• PünktlichkeitOn time means a few minutes earlyFor work, appointments and official meetings, Germans arrive on time or a little early. "Indian Standard Time" does not work here.
• Kaffee und KuchenCoffee and cake at 3 in the afternoonOn weekends, many German families meet around 3 or 4 p.m. for coffee and homemade cake.
• AbendbrotA cold dinner of breadIn many German homes, dinner is bread with cheese, sausage and vegetables. The warm meal is at lunch.
• BrotkulturBread is a big dealGermany has hundreds of kinds of bread, and German bread culture is on the country's official list of intangible cultural heritage.
• Schuhe ausShoes off at the door (usually)In most German homes you take off your shoes at the door. Hosts may offer you slippers (Hausschuhe).
• GeburtstagBirthdays: never congratulate earlyIn Germany it is bad luck to wish someone a happy birthday before the day. And at work, the birthday person brings the cake.
• FeierabendFeierabend: when work ends, it endsAfter work, Germans have "Feierabend": free time that colleagues and bosses respect. By law, workers get 11 hours of rest.
• VereinThere is a club for everythingGermany has more than 600,000 registered clubs (Vereine): sports, music, gardening, chess, carnival, dog training and more.
• BargeldCarry some cashGermany still loves cash. About half of all payments in shops are made with notes and coins.
• SchrebergartenA small garden outside the flatMany city people rent a small garden with a tiny hut in an allotment colony. There are almost 870,000 in the national association.
• SpaziergangThe Sunday walkOn Sundays shops are closed, so many Germans go for a long walk, in any weather.
• DirektheitGermans say what they meanGermans are often very direct. "No" means no, and honest criticism is not meant as an insult.
• Wasser mit KohlensäureSparkling water and safe tap waterMany Germans prefer water with bubbles. Tap water is safe to drink almost everywhere, but restaurants sell bottled water.
• KehrwocheKehrwoche: cleaning the stairs by turnsIn many apartment buildings, tenants take turns cleaning the stairs and the pavement. In Swabia this is called Kehrwoche.
• Zusammen oder getrennt?"Together or separate?" Splitting the billIn a German restaurant, the waiter often asks if you pay together or separately, and everyone pays for what they ate.
• TrinkgeldTipping: round up, and say it out loudIn German restaurants people usually tip about 5–10%, and they tell the waiter the total when they pay.
• FKKFKK: why some beaches have a special signFKK means "free body culture": some lakes, beaches and saunas in Germany have areas where people bathe without clothes.

German history in easy German

• A21961–1989Die Berliner MauerOne night in August 1961, a wall cuts a city in two. For 28 years, families live a few streets apart and cannot meet.
• A21989Die MontagsdemonstrationenEvery Monday, people in Leipzig meet in a church to pray. In autumn 1989 they walk out with candles, and a whole country changes, without a single shot.
• A21775–1933Weimar: Dichter, Demokratie und BauhausA small town in Thuringia, where Germany's most famous poets lived. In 1919 it also gives its name to Germany's first democracy, and to a school that changes how the world builds.
• A21864–1886Der MärchenkönigAt 18, Ludwig becomes King of Bavaria. He would rather build dream castles than rule. Then, one evening in June 1886, he walks into a lake and never comes back.
• A21962Die Sturmflut von 1962One February night, the North Sea pushes into the Elbe and the dikes break. While Hamburg sleeps, the water rises, and one man decides not to wait for permission.
• A21830–1974Die Auswanderer von BremerhavenMillions of Germans once packed their whole life into one wooden box and boarded a ship to America. Many of them left from a harbour that Bremen built on the North Sea.
• A21143–1669Lübeck, die Königin der HansePirates, storms and salt worth its weight in gold: how merchants from many cities joined forces, and how a town on the Baltic Sea became their queen.
• A21714–1837Als Hannover Könige nach London schickteFor 123 years, the King of Great Britain was also the ruler of Hanover. It all began with a clever princess, a law about religion and a few weeks of luck.
• A21774–1840Der Maler der StilleA quiet boy from a Baltic town survives an accident on the ice that costs his brother's life. He grows up to paint people from behind, looking out at the sea, and the world forgets him for almost a hundred years.
• A21850–2018Kohle, Stahl und KumpelDeep under the Ruhr lies black gold. For more than 150 years, miners from all over the world dig it out together, until the last mine closes in December 2018.
• A21785–1863Die Brüder GrimmTwo brothers who loved old words were afraid that their country's stories would be lost. So they wrote them down: Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel and many more. Later, their courage cost them their jobs.
• A216 v. Chr.–1804Rom an der MoselTwo thousand years ago, the Romans built a city on the Moselle. An emperor lived here, gladiators fought here, and its great black gate was once a church, until Napoleon came to visit.
• A21920–1959Das Saarland stimmt abA small land full of coal, passed back and forth between Germany and France. Twice its people vote on where they belong, and the second time they also have to wait years for their money to change.
• A2um 1600 v. Chr. · 1999–2002Die Himmelsscheibe von NebraTwo treasure hunters dig up a green metal disc with golden stars. It is about 3,600 years old, and before scientists can study it, an archaeologist has to pose as a rich buyer in a hotel in Switzerland.
• A21945Drei Männer in PotsdamSummer 1945: Germany lies in ruins. At a round table in a palace near Berlin, the leaders of the winning powers decide what happens next, and they do not trust each other.
• A21386–1914Heidelberg: Studenten und eine RuineGermany's oldest university, a student prison with drawings on the walls, a castle that burned twice, and an American writer who came to learn German and found it awful.