I Visited Germany 7 Times, and Here Are 8 Curious Facts I Learned

When visiting Germany for the first time, we were somewhat expecting to be amazed by everyday things that made the lives of ordinary people who lived there so comfortable. The only thing we weren’t ready for was to continue being surprised every time we visited this country again and again. We still are astonished at how things are arranged in this country every time we visit there.

One of the Bright Side authors has just come back from another trip to Germany and is ready to share another bunch of interesting things she saw there. The bonus at the end of the article will reveal how Germans use failures to their own benefit.

In the movie theatre

       

I Visited Germany 7 Times, and Here Are 8 Curious Facts I Learned

“Extra” minutes of a movie for additional money

There is a convenient system of multiple tickets in the movie theatre that costs $23 per month. Taking into account the regular price for a one-time movie theatre visit which usually varies between $8 and $9 (and even sometimes $10), buying a monthly ticket could be quite convenient for a regular theatre-goer. However, you’ll need to be ready to pay for an “excess length” of the movie. It’s not included in the ticket price and if a movie lasts more than 120 minutes, it requires extra payment.

Additionally, long words in the German language are explained with the fact that one word can consist of several small ones. For example, “überlängenzuschlag” (excess length for an additional payment) is one whole word in German.

I Visited Germany 7 Times, and Here Are 8 Curious Facts I Learned

The tickets are sold without indicating a certain seat. You can enter the theatre hall and choose any seat that you like. The disadvantage of such a system is quite obvious: if you’re late for a movie and it’s in a small theatre, you won’t be able to find a comfortable seat.

At the end of the movie, when the credits are already running on the screen, no one stands up and leaves the theatre; they continue sitting and looking at the screen.

Apartment blocks

This is how home-made honey was sold in an apartment block.

Germans greet any person they see in an apartment block. It doesn’t matter whether you live there, just came by to visit your friends, or entered the wrong block — if you see a person, you need to greet them.

The first floor is not counted just like in France or Great Britain. If you’re invited to someone’s place and they say they live on the first floor, you should go to the second floor because that’s where the floor numeration starts.

Trust in people

I Visited Germany 7 Times, and Here Are 8 Curious Facts I Learned

Self-service kiosks with newspapers are located everywhere! You simply open the box, leave a coin and take a newspaper. There is no lock or mechanism checking whether you have left money or not.

Also, the toilets are chargeable in petrol stations. Basically, a payment is made with the help of a machine that prints out a 7-cent voucher for visiting the bathroom. After that, you’ll get a 5-cent discount for buying the fuel or anything in the shop at the same station. Once when the machine wasn’t working, caring Germans put a dish out where all people willing to visit the toilet were given the option to leave some money.

There was no one controlling it and yet there was still money on the dish.

Safety

I Visited Germany 7 Times, and Here Are 8 Curious Facts I Learned

A helpful flyer for the location of “Oktoberfest”

Much attention is paid to women’s security in Germany. There are many hotlines for any problems and life situations where help is provided to residents in 15 languages. And one doesn’t need to have medical insurance to use it.

Christmas trees

 

In Germany, people start to get rid of their Christmas trees on the 1st of January. They are neatly placed on the pavement where road services take them for recycling. People have to put out their Christmas trees on special days, without decoration. A tree that is utilized not as per the rules will cause the owner to have a fine.

About taste

We’re quite used to seeing unusual flavors in foods in Germany, but we were amazed to see chocolate tortilla chips and a burger pizza.

German humor

A great joke in reference to a German ambulance.

German people’s specific sense of humor has been the butt of many jokes in other countries. We all are familiar with English humor but we also know what the German sense of humor is similar.

A working day

Germans like to start their working day early. They can often be seen at their working places at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m, which has them finishing up at 4 p.m or 5 p.m.

Also, most people in Berlin speak English. So if you don’t know German, you won’t feel uncomfortable here.

Bonus: A German store is giving soccer balls away for free after their failure at the 2018 World Cup so that the next generation plays better.

Have you ever visited Germany before? What other interesting things have you noticed there? Please tell us about them in the comments!

• SOURCE: BRIGHTSIDE