You might be totally new in Germany, or you may have lived here for a while now, but some German behaviour still makes absolutely no sense to you. “What the heck, Germans?!” you may have thought. Believe me, I as a German myself have thought so too.
However, some of these peculiarities Germans seem to have can actually make a lot of sense – or be at least somewhat understandable. That’s why in this article, we’ve explained some typical things Germans do. This way, we can all understand those habits better and might even adopt some of them ourselves!
- Lüften: Why do Germans open all the windows, even when it’s freezing cold outside? That’s because houses are well insulated but not air conditioned in Germany, and if we don’t open up the windows to let the inside air exchange for fresh air, moisture will build up and there’s a risk of mould developing. Actually, to conserve energy it is more efficient to fully open the window for 10-15 minutes (turn off the heating during this and turn it on again after) than if you keep the window in a tilted position (“auf Kipp”) for a long time. Never have your window “auf Kipp” while the heating is on, as the heat will be lost through the window!
- Complaining about “Quiet Times” / “Ruhezeiten”: In Germany, it is regulated by law that you shouldn’t do any noisy work (like lawnmowing, hammering stuff, any loud construction work) during certain hours
or days, that is on Sundays (or special holidays), and at night from 8pm (for very noisy work)/10pm o’clock until 7am. The purpose of this is that people are able to rest properly. - Closing bedroom doors: Are Germans isolated beings that don’t want to be talked to? Certainly not. They are simply fond of their private space, so if a bedroom door is closed (like in a flatshare situation), Germans will expect you to not simply walk in. However, it is common practice that if you knock, they will likely bid you in 😊
- “Kein Bier vor 4!”: What does that mean? While in Germany, many people drink lots of alcohol, there is a consensus that there should be “kein Bier vor vier”, so no beer before 4pm. Rest assured though, just because many Germans drink alcohol that does absolutely not mean that you also have to. There are also many German people who don’t drink alcohol for various reasons, be it for health (alcohol is still really unhealthy), religious beliefs, other personal reasons, because they have to drive home by car or because they simply don’t like it. (And you don’t need to have a reason for not drinking, it can simply be that you don’t want to.)
- Bread, bread, bread: Germans love their bread and in Germany, it is socially accepted to eat bread for every meal. Many Germans also bring bread (usually well-topped, as a sandwich) to school or work so they don’t have to buy any lunch. (In this case, they usually eat a warm meal in the evening.) And German bread can be much more than simply an American-style sandwich. Have you tried all of them? (The best ones can be found fresh in a bakery!)
- Early dinner? When you think of a dinner meal, what time do you think of? While in many countries this can begin as late as 9-10pm, most Germans like to have their dinner earlier, anything from 5pm (old people) to 7pm is usual. Maybe this is because many Germans have only eaten bread during the day? So be prepared if you ever get invited to dinner with a German! Individual differences can apply of course, especially for university students who don’t have a schedule or clear life structure 😀
Note: It is actually also quite healthy to have an early dinner. This ensures early digestion, which means that our digestive track won’t need to work so much during the night, and sleep often becomes more restful because of this!
- Phoning in private? Many Germans tend to walk away, walk around, or go to a different room when taking a phone call. This is because they like to keep privacy (if the call is private, at least), but also means that they don’t like to listen in on other people’s phone calls.
Maybe these have helped you gaining some insight into German peculiar behaviours!
Your fellow student and SLR host Franzi 😊
