My fondest memory was when my husband was on a long business trip in Germany, and he surprised me with a plane ticket to fly out to meet with him and keep him company on the return home. I was so excited, and it was going to be not only my first longest flight solo, but it was my first international trip. I remember my husband researching about the culture and learning about the culture through his work resources and discussing it with me. So now all this information we are learning in our current class makes so much sense and is relatable to me. I remember they said you don’t want to stand out too much as a tourist for safety reasons, so I read some articles on how they usually dress as I did not know what to pack and I didn’t want to stand out.
When I arrived in Germany, I remember how beautiful and organic everything was. I felt like I was in a movie set, but this was real life. We stayed in Fresing, Germany. I could hear the church bells ring from our hotel balcony, and I would see many people walking or biking. Many people on their bikes would be shopping around town and you can see fresh veggies and flowers from their bicycle baskets. I noticed late in the afternoon, a group of very young children speeding around the streets on their bike as they may be just leaving school for the day. This town gave me a sense of security and a strong sense of a community feel. My husband told me that they would serve beer in the cafeteria in his office building, and they would have mandatory teatime at 3:00 p.m. Of course, that was a huge culture shock for him compared to his organization in the United States.
When we went out to dinner, I noticed many tables were set up family style. That was something that I really had to get use to. They would provide you with an English menu per request. I remember at one restaurant a lady turned around and started to talk to me and unfortunately, I did not know any conversational words. My husband knew a few to let her know we did not understand her, and we spoke only English. We experienced that quite a few times, so many of them though we were originally German, so we felt that we fit right in. According to our Book on Managing Cultural Differences by authors Neil Abramson and Robert Moran, “The Germans are generally restrained in their body movements. They do not wave their arms and hands a lot as in other cultures.” (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 542) Service was slow, so in the United States you are comfortable by waving your hands in the air to get the waiter’s attention. My husband does this a lot, so I had to tell him to avoid doing it and wait until he got his attention. I believe that would be rude in any other cultural environment.
When I was in Germany, we were there during Oktoberfest season. My husband and I took the train from Fresing to Munich, Germany. It took us some time to figure out the ticket pay system. We tried googling instruction on it and finally we learned that the train is sometimes and honor system and if you had no ticket, the train conductor would just kick you out on the next stop. My husband and I took a chance and just followed the crowd that were dressed up for the Oktoberfest event. We did not get caught, (please do not take this tip as this was many years ago). We followed the crowd and found ourselves at Oktoberfest! It was amazing and so well organized and clean. Everyone was drinking, but I have to say they were the nicest drunks I have ever met. Everyone was welcoming and would invite you to join them no matter what table you found yourself at. I really enjoyed my time and now recognize the cultural differences clearly now.
Works Cited
Abramson, N. R., & Moran, R. T. (2018). Managing Cultural Differences. New York: Routledge.
Hello Anna,
It sounds like you had an amazing experience in Germany! My wife has a high school friend who is German, but was in the States because her Mom was working here. We have traveled there, and because she lives in a small town, also just north of Munich, we were able to get a sense of how daily life is.
Much like you describe, I also noticed Germans do not like to stand out, and are very much by the book. In my experience I noticed they don’t often break the rules. For instance we were at a cross-walk, and no cars were coming, my wife and I crossed the street, but our friend Verena stayed until the walking light flashed. She actually apologized to another pedestrian for our misstep! At first I was a little taken aback because that is what any American would do, but soon began to understand culturally you should respect the differences!
The small towns really are idyllic, and the biking paths are everywhere! It was also great to see the sense of community in the towns, as they went to their local butcher, baker, florist etc. Our friends mother Jutta, told us that of course they would shop at their local establishments, to keep the community thriving!
You also mentioned about the long family style tables, and I concur! Most of the places we ate out at, we ended up sitting for much longer than expected because of conversations that were pleasant and continued on.
I am glad you enjoyed yourself, because we certainly did!
The one thing I will add is that the Autobahn (highway) is something the Germans have correct. I noticed that while you can for the most part drive as fast as you want, motorists respect the laws. For instance the left lane, if you have someone coming up from behind you, move to the right. Trucks always have to be in the far right lane, and it is customary to only pass on the left.
We ended up discussing road rage, and found out that Germans in general have very little of this, because understand the highway driving and respect it!
If you could bring some of their cultural differences to the United States, which would they be?
Great post you certainly took me back to my time there!
Thanks,
Bill Egan