Fred smith is going to love this, especially if you consider the site it’s hosted on:
Germany Survival Bible A-Z
Some examples:
Once you’ve got your beer safely set in front of you, umgotteswillen don’t take a sip before toasting with your table mates. Raise your glass, look your fellow drinker in the eye, clink glasses and say “Prost!” The eye contact thing is vitally important; it is said that, should you forego this social nicety, you will be punished with seven years of bad sex. A quick glance at the low German birth rate confirms that the Teutonic gods are indeed watching.
service.spiegel.de/cache/interna … 29,00.html
Whereas in places like New York or London, crossing lights are treated as little more than street-side decorations, the little red man in Germany is a miniature dictator and his subjects often obey unconditionally. Things are changing, though, and increasing numbers of Germans are throwing aside their own genetics and risking the illegal cross. But visitors beware! It’s not as straightforward or as easy as the few rebellious Germans make it look.
service.spiegel.de/cache/interna … 39,00.html
If someone draws blood, of course, the magic word might be uttered. And don’t jump to the conclusion that all Germans are immune to what passes for politeness in the rest of the world. Young men will still give up a hard-won subway seat if an elderly person shuffles on to the train. Then again, this may be a symptom of fear. After a lifetime of battling it out on the German streets, it would surprise no one were the old grandma to cane someone off the bench.
service.spiegel.de/cache/interna … 44,00.html
Circulatory collapse is a major health problem in Germany. Indeed, only recently, former-German-politician-turned-television-dancer Heide Simonis recently hung up her dancing shoes because of suffering a Kreislaufzusammenbruch. The odd thing is that in its mild, irritating, I-need-to-skip-work-and-lie-down form, this is a uniquely German phenomenon. Elsewhere, if people suffer a circulatory collapse, they die.
service.spiegel.de/cache/interna … 75,00.html
This is indeed true. A German friend of mine once went over a read pedestrian light not noticing the cop car at the traffic light. And soon it sounded out of the cars roof mounted loud speaker: “Next time you will be shot!” . Good that not too many Taiwanese are visiting Germany frequently.
