NationStates Jolt Archive

Just out of curiosity. What/how much do you know about Germany? History, society, political life, culture?
Have you ever been there? Do you speak the language?
Do you like it? Don't you like it? Why? Anything that comes to mind when you hear the word "German"?

Big chunk of land just east of France right?

They speak German don't they?!?!?!!?

They speak German don't they?!?!?!!?

Some do :D

Just out of curiosity. What/how much do you know about Germany? History, society, political life, culture?
Have you ever been there? Do you speak the language?
Do you like it? Don't you like it? Why? Anything that comes to mind when you hear the word "German"?


This is coming from an Irish guy?!

This is coming from an Irish guy?!

This is coming from a German girl living in Ireland. Europe isn't that simple any more :p

Its filled with Germans...;)

They have great beer and schnaps, but a more crooked history, having been responsible for loads of oppression, invasions, killings and one of the worst genocides ever.

This is coming from a German girl living in Ireland. Europe isn't that simple any more :p

well, I know a bit about germany. I even have an aunt livning there. :)

Its filled with Germans...;)

They have great beer and schnaps, but a more crooked history, having been responsible for loads of oppression, invasions, killings and one of the worst genocides ever.

Just to correct that tiny thing: there were worse invasions in history. But Germany does have a very bloody history indeed.

Du hast mich mit meiner Deustche Hauseaufgaben geholfen, so (how DO you say "so"?) du sollst wissen, dass ich Deustch sprechen kann. Ich hab' Deustchland (Bayeirische Deustchland/Oestereich) letze Sommer besucht, und es war mir sehr schoen und spass. Ich weiss genug von den Deustchegeschicht, ich glaube.

I always take a chance to practice German.

And for those who don't speak German: "You have helped me with my German homework, so you should know that I can speak German. I visted German (Bavarian Germany/Austria) last summer, and it was really pretty (to me) and fun. I know enough of German history, I believe.

Well Germany supposedly has good beer.

Also it has a lot of good metal bands...

And it had that one festival (has Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Slayer as headliners) I couldn't afford to go to from Paris in its eastern part.

Oh and thats all I know about modern Germany. I think I know enough of its history, but modern Germany?

What goes on over there nowadays anyways?

What do I know about Germany?

I read German pretty well but cannot speak it

My PhD dissertation was on Martin Hiedegger.

My grandfather lost a leg when an 88mm German shell exploded in WWII.

Mercedees Benz are now just Chrystlers

They make some pretty good beers. (But the Thais make better ones!)

The women are prettier than those in England (Bigger boobs and smaller teeth)

Wagner was a pimp

Goethe

Hermann Hess

Beetoven

Bach

Brahms or was he Austrian?

Helmett Kohl should have been re-elected instead of Gerhart Shroder

Feurbach

Imanuel Kant

Hegel

Hussell

Friedrich Nietzsche

Dietrick Bonhoffer

Martin Luther

Jung

The Diet of Worm

The Hansa

How much do you want to know?

Just out of curiosity. What/how much do you know about Germany? History, society, political life, culture?
Have you ever been there? Do you speak the language?
Do you like it? Don't you like it? Why? Anything that comes to mind when you hear the word "German"?

Well, let's see. I can speak tourist-German (which is to say, I can spout inane things like "Good evening! My name is Poliwanacraca. I am an American! Where is the hotel?" but can't carry on actual conversation to save my life). I find the language rather entertaining, simply due to the large number of humorously lengthy compound nouns. I also remember my college choir being rather amused by an inadvertent mistranslation of a Mendelssohn piece which had us begging God to "take us to his apartment!" (deine Wohnung)

My entire experience in Germany to date consisted of a couple of hours' layover in Frankfurt airport, which I mostly spent looking for things to sleep on. Thus, my only definite opinion on Germany is that there should be comfortable couches in Frankfurt airport for the use of sleepy Americans who've just spent nine hours on a flight from Boston. :p

I'm also of about 1/3 German descent, which is more than any other nationality in the makeup of my mongrel self. Oh, and apparently one of my great-to-the-somethingth-power grandfathers was court physician to Frederick the Great. So I have to like Germany at least a little, I suppose! :)

umm, I believe Hitler was from there?

Sorry, somebody had to say it, now in seriousness:

They have the autobaun. That is one of the best inventions of mankind. Oh, and beer, lots of beer. Driving 200 mph + beer.

Omg I'm fighting the evil with all I can! Must! Not! Make Joooooooooooooke!..................grrrrrr

WE ALL KNOW THEY MAKE THE BEST OVENS!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh

I am so going to hell for that...

umm, I believe Hitler was from there?

Sorry, somebody had to say it, now in seriousness:

They have the autobaun. That is one of the best inventions of mankind. Oh, and beer, lots of beer. Driving 200 mph + beer.

Autobahn. And Hitler was from Austria :p

I've been there, have family there, would love to go there again.

But sadly I don't speak the language, even though my father was born and raised there. I have a fairly good grasp of the history, for someone from North America at least.

Of course I like Germany. I have family there, family I love dearly. During my visits there (all of them lasting from 6 to 10 weeks) I felt more comfortable with the society in general than I do over here, even though I don't speak the language (which I am ashamed to admit). The aatttitudes and values corespond much more with the ones I was raised with in my home than the ones I encounter over here.

One differnce that resonated deeply with me was the attitude towards Art and Artists. As an Artist, over here, my non-immediate family refers to my vocation as something remarkable but kind of odd, treating me as something like the balck sheep of the family. Over there, my relatives never hesitae to mention the fact that I'm an artist, and do so with pride. The response to this information is always quite positive. A small difference to most people, but one that is important to me for obvious reasons.


When I hear the word "German" I think: Dad, Omma, Opa, cousins, aunts & uncles, rouladen, driving my uncle's 800 series BMW on the Autobahn between Frankfurt & Cologne @ 240 KPH, the Dusseldorf Aquarium, Kraftwerk, Konigsberg Klope (sp? awful meatball things) Schloss ____ (fill in the balnk...any awesome old castle), smoked eel, a really polluted river (the Rhine, of course) and of how the goddamn Nazi's and Communists fucked up a wonderful place.

EDIT: I should add that I'm of 100% German background...albeit Donau Deutsche on my mothers side.

What do I know about Germany?
...
How much do you want to know?

You failed to mention Marx? or do you consider him english?

What do I know about Germany?
They make some pretty good beers. (But the Thais make better ones!)
What? Thai beer contains rice and thus is not even real beer

The women are prettier than those in England
Wouldn't generalise - I'm married to a Brit after all.


Helmett Kohl should have been re-elected instead of Gerhart Shroder
Helmut Kohl led Germany into a political, mental, cultural and, most importantly, economical valley out of which it hasn't been able to come out yet. 70% of the problems we have now were caused by the Kohl administration (25% by world economics and 5% by Schroeder, whom I dislike as a person).

I spent two weeks there living with the family of a foreign exchange student friend of mine last year. Great place. Don't speak a word of German, but it was still awsome. Since we weren't staying in a hotel or a "touristy" town, we got a pretty authentic German experience. The town was near Xanten, but I can't remember the name off the top of my head. I think it started with a j...

Anywho, we got to see Bonn, Cologne, the Mosul valley, and the city whose name I can't remember but it's where the Mosul and Rhine rivers meet. Awsome place...I want to go back.

I lost a chance to visit Germany when everyone else in my German class in high school decided to cancel going after September 11 2001 because they were afraid to fly... since I had already paid for the trip I was able to transfer the money to go on a different school trip with another teacher to Italy and France, so all was not lost (probably the best ten days of my life) but I still am disappointed that I could not go to Germany. Of course I would never forgive myself if I never went, so I know I definitely will sometime. I speak the language well enough but am far from fluent (was top of the class in high school but I didn't take it my first year of college... I am taking it again this upcoming semester... I hope to become somewhat fluent, most of us lazy americans usually can't be bothered to learn another language.)

I am also of German descent... not sure of the exact percentage but that doesn't really matter. I've got a great German last name, Hacker, which comes from ancient wood choppers, not ancient computer geeks.

I don't drink (by choice, not because I'm not old enough... I'm in college, after all, the age law doesn't matter there) so the whole beer thing doesn't do anything for me. Actually that would have been the problem with going to Germany with a class of Americans, 75% of them would have been drunk the whole time and while I'm sure that wouldn't have ruined my trip, I'm glad that when I do eventually go to Germany I'll be by myself or with close friends so I won't have that problem (will have to go back to Italy and France by myself, too, if I get a chance.)

But, for you beer drinkers, you should know that someone with the same last name as me in 1417 started (along with Pschorr I guess) the Hacker-Pschorr brewing company in Munich. There is a famous "Hackerbräu Festhall" in Munich also. I guess after the Hacker family was done chopping wood they started making beer. I also guess that I am likely descended from medieval beer makers.

Also I can't get away without mentioning things like cars, airplanes, racetracks, precision machinery, etc. In my mind Germany (and Japan of course) produces the most high-quality, high-precision things, be them cars, motors, watches, radios. Whether it is 100% true or not, my mind equates German engineering with absolute top quality and performance, and I know I'm not alone thinking that way.

What? Thai beer contains rice and thus is not even real beer

Wouldn't generalise - I'm married to a Brit after all.


Helmut Kohl led Germany into a political, mental, cultural and, most importantly, economical valley out of which it hasn't been able to come out yet. 70% of the problems we have now were caused by the Kohl administration (25% by world economics and 5% by Schroeder, whom I dislike as a person).
So does the US Bud!
Went to Germany when I was alot younger. My memories are of a very clean place, no litter. Went down the Mosel (spelling) valley which was lovely. May have changed by now however that was years ago. Good hospitals, as I ended up in one!

Es war einmal eine sehr bose hexe. Sie wohnte tief in walt. Sie war klein, und hasslich, und hatte eine furchbare stimme. (forgive spelling errors and umlauts, which I probably spelt wrong as well, where they belong)

Lesse, When do you count them Germany? Germanic Tribes, Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire, Post-Austrian Germany? I know lots ^_^. Ich bin eine berliner! Though as you can see, I have very rusty and basic german skills (i.e. lack of them)



(for non german-speakers)

Once upon a time there was a very mean witch. She lived deep in the forest. She was small, and ugly, and had a terrible voice. (then later) I am a donut.

They eat weisswurst, wear lederhosen and speak German and their capital is Berlin.

PS: Hitler may be born in Austria, he took the German identity after WW1 I believe.

Someone please mention E-Nomine...

One of my friends family is from Germany.
His mom speaks both English and German, and his grandmother, "Omi" (wich I think is German slang for Grandmother), visits every summer.

Omi is a very sweet kind old German lady, and she speaks about as much English, as I do German, so we can sort of talk.
Usually, Mom translates for us.

I know this:

1.Germans love to cook, and at any time usually, upon entering a German womans kitchen...there will be food.

2. This food will be offered to you, regardless of when you last ate.

3 . You will offend this woman if you do not at least make a half-hearted attempt to eat what you are offered.
Fortunately....they can all cook very well..and it will be good.

4. Germans love thier booze.
Wether its beer, or schnapps, or Jagermeister....Germans love the stuff.
In fact...McDonalds in Germany..sells a combo meal...with a beer. (optional)

There is no drinking age in Germany.

Germans are most enthusiastic about the following things:

1. eating mass quantities of sausages, and suarkraut.

2. Partying.

Thats it.....thats what they really really love.

I just love it when Conan O'Brien speaks German (or at least pretends to do so). Okay, Germany's a big country and highly industrial. They've got Rammstein (yeah!) and an interesting history. Bloody, sometimes, but interesting. I love the architecture in German cities and little towns in Germany are just adorable.

I'm actually dreaming of a trip to Germany now when I have time. I would come to Rostock by a boat from Hanko, and since it'd be there pretty late, I'd probably have to find cheap accommodation in Rostock... Then I'd probably take a train to Hamburg and stay there a night or two, and continue to Denmark and Sweden to return to Finland :) . I'd appreciate it if anyone can help me find cheap hostels and tell something about train prices in Germany.

Oh yeah, was tu bisst est was tu isst, und ihr wisst was est ist. Does that make any sense?

So does the US Bud!
Which is why no selfrespecting Bavarian (and Czech - home of the original Budvar beer) would consider Bud proper beer.

We are very proud that all German beer contains only water, yeast, hops and malt. It has been like this in Bavaria since 1516 and has been German law since 1906. Although, due to EU-regulations it is allowed to sell other kinds of "beer" in Germany.

Having said that I'm a real ale enthusiast when in Brittain and think that Singha beer goes well with Thai curries :)

Anything that comes to mind when you hear the word "German"?

Fahrvegnugen, sauerkraut und schiessenfilmen. :)

Fahrvegnugen, sauerkraut und schiessenfilmen. :)

What's "Schiessenfilmen"?

I may not speak the language. I may not have been born there. I may not live there. But I am German. Here's proof (http://img290.imageshack.us/img290/4420/minimesend1np.jpg) (click the linkypoo, you'll laugh)

Yes, that's me. Age 3 or therabouts.

What's "Schiessenfilmen"?


Ka-ka movies.

What's "Schiessenfilmen"?

I see someone's never experienced the horrors of hardcore German pr0n. :eek:

Ka-ka movies.


Pooh-Pooh-Porn. Most hideous thing to ever come out of Germany.

Ok, now you kind of scare me. I never heard of anything like that, and from what I hear, I don't really want to hear more... :eek:

Pooh-Pooh-Porn. Most hideous thing to ever come out of Germany.


I was expecting someone to ask what was fahrvegnugen.

Ok, now you kind of scare me. I never heard of anything like that, and from what I hear, I don't really want to hear more... :eek:


Click on the linky to take your mind off of it. You get to laugh at me. jah jah (http://img290.imageshack.us/img290/4420/minimesend1np.jpg)

Pooh-Pooh-Porn. Most hideous thing to ever come out of Germany.


See..I would have said "The Scorpions"..but thats just me.

See..I would have said "The Scorpions"..but thats just me.


Hrrrmmm...


You have a very good point.

They are both tasteless forms of questionable entertainment.

Hrrrmmm...


You have a very good point.

They are both tasteless forms of questionable entertainment.


But only one will annoy from a distance.

"*whisltes*..follow the north star......"

But only one will annoy from a distance.

"*whisltes*..follow the north star......"
:D good point!

I guess Germans and Japanese are the most unloved people on this planet in the eyes of other nationalities.
- They build better stuff than most, especially cars, so they steal jobs from us
- They killed a fair amount of our grandparents, and most for no good reason
- They both think they are better than us (and they might be) - and they show it
- They both have economies that create a lot of problems for others. Much of my pension-funds are placed in those two countries
- Germans are fat (so are americans but they rarely leave home) and Japanese look weird and act weird.

Arabs and Russians are up there with them on my particular shit-list of people to avoid because of poor behaviour when on restaurants, resorts, bars, skilifts etc.

So - don't like them. No sir.

I guess Germans and Japanese are the most unloved people on this planet in the eyes of other nationalities.
- They build better stuff than most, especially cars, so they steal jobs from us
Or the other way round - there will be lots of job losses at an Opel factory, the jobs going to Scandinavia.

- They killed a fair amount of our grandparents, and most for no good reason
How can there be a good reason?

They both think they are better than us (and they might be) - and they show it
I would put (current) Germans very low on the arrogance and "I'm-a-(put in country)-therefore-I'm-better-than-you" ladder, way beyond Americans, French or British, to name but three.

Or do you mean with "us" just the scandinavians? But everyone thinks they are better than Skandinavinas and show it ;)

- They both have economies that create a lot of problems for others. Much of my pension-funds are placed in those two countries
Again, at the moment I would say that other countries' economies create more problems for the German economy than vice verca. The German economy causes mostly problems for Germany.

- Germans are fat (so are americans but they rarely leave home) and Japanese look weird and act weird.
I wouldn't say fatter than most middle-northern Europeans.



Arabs and Russians are up there with them on my particular shit-list of people to avoid because of poor behaviour when on restaurants, resorts, bars, skilifts etc.
From experience I would say that Scandinavians let loose in Germany are equal only to some north European islanders. Blame it on the Scandinavian Alcohol tax.

And for skilifts - I mean if you don't know the fine art of "active queuing", that is your own fault ;)



So - don't like them. No sir.
Fair enough

Here are some assorted facts I know:

The Germans live in the coasts of Greece and Spain. They love leather trousers. They eat 5 meals a day. Most of those meals consist of assorted sausages. There's like 1500 different types of sausages in Germany. German males have dodgy facial hair. Their women don't have almost any facial hair, instead they are Teutonic ice-maidens with blonde hair. No german-born person in recorded history has ever been late. Germans are known to be spontaneous and fun loving. Secretly, though, they'd like to invade all of Europe. German is considered to be the language of love because of its softness. The Germans have a good grasp of the English language. All except conservative politician Angela 'Angie' Merkel, who chose the Rolling Stones song Angie as her anthem at the election rallies. "All the dreams we held so close seemed to all go up in smoke. You can't say we're satisfied. Angie...". Sigh.

well i live nex to the ............. and i hate those .......... wen thy come ofer and start talking german (wiener berliner) and thy go like you know the way
and i say imy graden ous lol not good at german but well burn it

I just love it when Conan O'Brien speaks German (or at least pretends to do so). Okay, Germany's a big country and highly industrial. They've got Rammstein (yeah!) and an interesting history. Bloody, sometimes, but interesting. I love the architecture in German cities and little towns in Germany are just adorable.

I'm actually dreaming of a trip to Germany now when I have time. I would come to Rostock by a boat from Hanko, and since it'd be there pretty late, I'd probably have to find cheap accommodation in Rostock... Then I'd probably take a train to Hamburg and stay there a night or two, and continue to Denmark and Sweden to return to Finland :) . I'd appreciate it if anyone can help me find cheap hostels and tell something about train prices in Germany.

Oh yeah, was tu bisst est was tu isst, und ihr wisst was est ist. Does that make any sense? Try this link (http://www.bahn.de/-S:PtVORd:d9H2yNNNcpub2tNNNU5M/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml) for train prices.

Rammstein is one of the best known German bands.
I know a tiny bit of the language, of which I am learnng.
In German, it is called Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
The internet TLD is .de
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (The Song of the Germans), or "Deutschland über Alles" (Germany above all) as it is also known, is the national anthem.
Berlin is the capital and largest city.
It is a federal republic.
Formerly divided into The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
"Auferstanden aus Ruinen" (Rise From Ruins) was the national anthem of East Germany.
The Berlin Wall, which seperated the two sides, fell on November 9, 1989
I can name various people from Germany.
Bratwurst!
Oktoberfest!

I'll stop for now.

I guess Germans and Japanese are the most unloved people on this planet in the eyes of other nationalities.
*sniped*
- They killed a fair amount of our grandparents, and most for no good reason
*sniped
I never killed anybody nor do I plan it for my future

Love Germany for the most part--great beer, great scenery, lots of history (Who can forget Karl der Grosse? Sorry, don't have the proper alphabet on my keymap...), and I had never run into anyone that wasn't helpful, curteous, respectful, or polite, when I was over there as an exchange student back in the 80s.

Going to Berlin on roads was interesting back then....left quite an impression on a 15 year old. It's probably why I eventually went the path of the Libertarian, and always question why the government can infringe on citizen rights. It also made me ask why so many think that the government knows best.

I also did a report back in high school for a government class, comparing the US and (then) West German legislatures. It was very interesting to research the differences.

Pretty decent place you come from, Cabra.

There's always horror stories we get when the students from our school come back after half of a or a full year in the US.

Do you have cars in Germany? (Noooo, we build Mercedes, Audi, VW, BMW, and Porsche for export only... :rolleyes: )
Are the Nazis still in power? (shocked silence)
Is the Berlin Wall still up? (very ironic, since my former school is in Berlin)
I'm sorry. All I know about Germany is Hitler. (Hey, at least he was honest...)