7 things only those who lived in Germany would understand
Germany is not all about fast cars, precision engineering, and
Autobahn. What makes Germany unique is its culture. Here are seven things you
would understand only if you have lived in Germany
Sundays
Sonntag ist Ruhetag (Sunday is a rest day) and it is
taken quite literally. Most shops are closed on Sundays. If you forgot to
shop for groceries on Saturday. You have no choice but to wait till Monday to
go shopping.
You are also by law required not to make any kind of noise that
might disturb the peace of your neighbor. Meaning, no vacuuming, drilling, lawn
mowing etc. Even running your washing machine in a shared apartment or throwing
bottles in common bin is not allowed on Sundays.
Article 139 of the German constitution states, “Sunday and
holidays recognized by the state shall remain protected by law as days of rest
from work and of spiritual improvement.”
There are a few exceptions to this rule, but neighboring towns
are allowed by law to operate “open Sundays” eight times a year. During these
special days, shops open for business, usually with impressive sales, and the
townspeople gather to celebrate the livelihood with a street fair.
Until then, though, take that time to simply relax. It is Sunday
after all.
Garbage Disposal
Garbage is treated with a lot of respect in Germany. What I mean
to say is waste is segregated into different categories and is retired into
their respective bins. To give you a proper insight, the wase is
separated into five categories. Yellow bin or yellow bags for packaging
and plastic disposal. Green or brown bin for bio-waste disposal. Blue bin for
paper and cardboard disposal. Black bin for residual waste like broken
ceramics. Bottle banks for brown and green glass disposal. (The colors of the
bin varies in different regions.)
This does not include hazard disposal like batteries. Which need
to be collected in a box that you can get from the store and return it to them
filled with old batteries or electronic devices which are disposed of properly.
Meanwhile, this is not it! There is more, read the next point.
Pfand
Every time you buy a drink in Germany, depending on which type
of plastic is being used you need to pay an additional deposit for the bottle
along with the drink. To give you an example, if you buy a tin of coke priced
at 0.95€, you pay an additional 0.25€ for the bottle. Hence, 1.20€ in total.
The deposit of 0.25€ is returned to you when you when you return
the bottle. The deposit for the bottle would vary from 0.08€ – 0.25€ depending
on the type of material it is made of. The 0.25€ deposit bottle comes with this
symbol on it.
And can be handed over to the cashier at any store or in a
machine in exchange for cashback or cash.
Carbonated Water and Ice-olation
Do not be surprised if you ask for water and you are served with
carbonated water. Carbonated water is what many people in Germany drink to
quench their thirst. Don’t be surprised if a server at a restaurant refuses to
serve you tap water. Secondly, adding ice to drink is quite unheard of in
Germany. If you are one who likes to have ice in their drink, be ready to be
disappointed.
Piracy Laws
Piracy is taken very seriously in
Germany. You need to make sure to delete your torrent client software before
you enter Germany. You will be served with a notice stating hefty penalty if
you are caught uploading content without distribution license.
One thing to beware, the enforcement
authority will track the IP address and not MAC address. What I mean to say is,
it is the owner of the internet connection who would be penalized irrespective
of who violated the law. So be very careful whom you share your internet
connection with. The fines go up to 800€ for each movie/software.
The law recently passed by the German
government made unlicensed streaming illegal too. Thus, buffering TV shows or
sports games are illegal in Germany. However, it is one of the most confusing
aspects of rules in Germany. The steaming falls into the grey area, you can
defend by saying that you have no idea the steam was illegal. Meanwhile, I have
limited knowledge about this law.
Beer Culture
Seldom, yet sometimes you would come
across some people at university or at work enjoying beer during lunch time. Do
not be surprised if the professor who is supposed to be taking the class next
hour is enjoying his beer during lunch break.
October fest in Munich is not be all and
end all of German beer culture. There are several festival in Germany around
the year and this is a very common sight.
Meanwhile in supermarkets.
Germany is also one of few countries
where McDonalds serves beer. However, not all McDonalds in Germany sell beer.
Nudity
Nudity in Germany has much more relaxed
view than most of the other countries in the world. For example, it is not
uncommon to see topless women or men’s buttcheeks in newspapers and hoardings.
Animated nudity has been recently used humorously to increase awareness of STD
among people.
Do not be surprised if you walk into a
sauna and find yourself as an outcast even though you are wearing only a
swimsuit.
In movies, contrary to widely used
rating structure, a violent scence with lots of blood is more likely to get
Adult rating than a nude scene.
April 3, 2018
by Gautam Sawala
FROM QUORA
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