Keeping a respectfully low profile is never a bad idea.
I certainly hope that it goes without saying that you should be respectful towards others, just like everywhere else in the world. I just wanted to clarify that Germany is not some totalitarian dystopia where you immediately go to prison for insulting someone.
This thread gives me so many opportunities to go “well actually” with useless knowledge.
Pepper spray is kind of legal in Germany. You can freely buy it without age restrictions as a defense against wild animals. It is however illegal to deliberately use it against humans. But then again, German self-defense law allows you to use “whatever is necessary” to prevent an attack. So if you can make a compelling argument that your bare hands were not enough, you can totally use pepper spray, a knife, a baseball bat or even a gun to protect yourself, your property or others. Of course, for the gun you might be on the hook for illegal possession but that’s a different question.
On the other hand, CS gas (a form of tear gas) is fully legal for use on humans.
Insulting people can result in criminal prosecution in Germany.
Technically yes but realistically it only gets prosecuted in extreme cases. Like throwing feces at someone or distributing leaflets with your insults. If you just call someone an asshole, no police officer in the country will even bother with it. It’s hard to prove who said what and the maximum sentence is extremely low.
I think you’re confusing us with the British.
Germans are careful about anything that could be considered antisemitic because of history but unless you go straight to Nazi slogans, there is no law that forbids you from being critical of Israel. Insulting someone can be illegal but that can only be applied if you insult a specific person, not a country and it’s only enforced in extreme cases.
So unless OP plans to join a full-blown anti-Israel protest that risks getting violent, I don’t think they have to worry about that.
“Grüß Gott” exists in BW but it has become very rare. I would say only the generation 80+ uses it regularly. Edit: source
In Swiss German, “grüezi” (which comes from “Gott grüße euch”, so basically the same origin) is extremely common.
I have lived my whole life in the south of Germany.
People in the south are literally known for their friendliness. Or, in the case of Bayern, their fake friendliness.
Don’t get me wrong, people are friendly. But the way they show it is different from other cultures. They are more likely to tell you what’s on their mind instead of meaningless small talk and polite phrases. To some cultures that seems to appear rude even if it isn’t meant to be.
They do not speak English.
The assumption that nobody speaks English is outdated by decades. Some may have a thick accent or mix German and English grammar when speaking but they will definitely understand you. I’ve met many foreigners who came here to practice their German and got frustrated when everyone immediately switched to English when they noticed a foreign accent.
General culture:
Laws:
Terms and phrases:
Well, if someone can’t handle losing as a result of their own skill level, chess probably isn’t the right game for them. Unless you pick opponents below your own level, you will realistically lose about half of your games and you can’t blame it on bad luck. That’s part of the game.
For me, chess is one of the least frustrating games to lose in because it’s entirely based on the difference between my skill and my opponent’s skill. There is no luck involved, so losing is entirely my own fault. And even if I lose, I might have learned something.
What’s way more frustrating is games that drag on for hours and then get decided by something that I can’t control like an unlucky dice roll or card draw.
Germans would still kill for this price. 7.11 USD/gallon is something like 1.60 EUR/liter. We’re currently way above 2 EUR/liter.
Sorry to disappoint but alligators are not closely related to dinosaurs even though they have existed for a long time. Birds on the other hand are dinosaurs.
I would say that‘s an entirely different point. If someone likes to literally watch paint dry, who am I to invade their discussions tell them they shouldn’t? Let people like what they like even if you personally think it’s neither good nor fun.
Care to explain what you mean by that?
“I don’t like it so it must be bad” in relation to all kinds of media. So many people can’t accept that something just isn’t meant for them. There are literally thousands of games, movies and albums getting released every year so if you don’t like something, just don’t buy it and move on instead of complaining to (and sometimes about) those of us who are looking forward to it.
Edit: this might not strictly be the most toxic behavior but it makes social interactions super annoying, even in small groups and it seems to coincide with people who are overall fond of forcing their personal views and beliefs on others.
The text is also questionable at best. 10-15 being “Prisoner in custody” makes no sense. At that point, a person is not a prisoner but a suspect unless we’re talking about someone fleeing from prison.
At least to me and my friends who watched it with me. See my other reply for an explanation why. But of course, tastes differ and there seem to be quite a few people on here who liked it.
My main criticism about Glass Onion is that the twist only works because Blanc knows something from the start that the audience can’t really figure out on their own. I prefer detective stories where the main character has the same opportunities to gather information as I have and if I pay close enough attention, I can figure out most of what happened before the big reveal.
But I’m glad that you liked it. Shows that the series caters to different tastes.
Which is why I liked Andor and especially Acolyte so much. Finally a new perspective.
Yeah, that’s all I can think of right now.
It is not. See JuSchG § 9, section 2: “Section 1, number 1 does not apply to adolescents in company of a legal guardian”. Section 1, number 1 restricts beer, wine, cider and similar drinks under the age of 16 and an adolescent (“Jugendlicher”) is defined as 14+.
In total, that means that you are allowed to buy and drink the listed kinds of alcoholic beverages starting at 14, as long as a legal guardian is present and allows it. Even in public.
For other alcoholic beverages (e.g. liquor) or food that contains significant amounts of alcohol, there is a hard limit at 18+, no exceptions.