Things I miss

effectiveness/practicality
culinary/recreation
attitudes

cleaning methods that "clean" (blowers)
fridge
laundry stand
light switches
Autobahn
jogging trail
bakery
old towns market place
normal relationship to alcohol and nudity
ICE
public transport

http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/housing.html

Housing: What You Need to Know

In Germany, the quest for domestic bliss begins with finding the right house or apartment. But it doesn't end there.

It's important to know German practices and terminology when you set out to find a house or apartment here. If you want two bedrooms with a living room and dining room, you will actually be looking for a vier Zimmer (four-room) home in Germany. Bathrooms, WCs (literally, water closets), kitchens and halls aren't included in the number of rooms. Furnished apartments are rare, and will cost a great deal more than an unfurnished place.

Unfurnished apartments here are just that: completely unfurnished. They don't have built-in cabinets, closets or even lighting fixtures. You'll often have to buy everything, perhaps even the proverbial kitchen sink! Stoves, refrigerators, kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, bookshelves, tables, beds, chairs, curtains, curtain rods, lights and everything else are your problem.

It's advisable to employ the services of a lawyer or legal advisor before signing a lease. Even if you speak excellent German, the lease may be too long and too couched in legalese for a layman to comprehend. It might even contain a pitfall like an annual rent increase.

On the other hand, you may be responsible for some things that aren't spelled out in the lease. The main parts of a landlord-tenant relationship are codified in a law. There may be nothing in the lease dealing with notice periods, renovations required or actions in the event of non-payment of rent, but these things are still covered because of the law.

An agreement to rent an apartment or house for a fixed term can't be terminated early except under extraordinary circumstances. A transfer is usually not an extraordinary circumstance.

Your payment to the landlord, which is usually made monthly, is in two parts: the rent, which cannot be changed for the duration of the lease; and the Umlagen - or Nebenkosten - which can. The latter can include such things as a share of the landlord's property tax, heat, stairwell cleaning, trash collection and water. If the price of one of these is raised during the period covered by the lease, your Umlagen can be increased accordingly. You generally pay separately for your electricity and gas, though these can be included in the Umlagen. And you might also pay separately for some of the things we mentioned as being in the Umlagen, especially heat.

A few other matters concerning living in German rented quarters:

• It's a good idea to have an inventory of anything that is in your new place and any deficiencies that are seen should be noted. This is simply protection for you and your landlord.
• Avoid loud noises between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday.
• Most cities now require that trash be separated in a number of ways. ThThere will usually be separate receptacles (mainly on the landlord's property but sometimes community ones on a nearby sidewalk) - one for metal and plastic, one for paper, one each for green, brown and white glass, and one for all else. If you want to get rid of something such as a piece of furniture that's too big for the trash containers, you can call the sanitation office and request its removal. This will usually be done on a Sperrmüll (large trash) day. In most cities they will even haul away an abandoned car by appointmentointment.
• Wash and dry laundry only in the areas or rooms provided by the landlord.
• Leave cars, bicycles, baby carriages, etc., only in areas provided by the landlord. The cleaning of rugs, blankets and the like should be done only in designated areas.
• Obtain the landlord's written permission if you wish to keep a pet.
• Lock entrance doors from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. if more than one family lives in the building.
• Close and lock all doors and windows in your apartment during periods of extended absence.
• Install satellite dishes and television or radio antennas only with the permission of the landlord and in compliance with local laws.
• Inform the landlord immediately of any damage to gas, water or electrical lines.
• Find out from the rental agreement who is responsible for the cleaning of halls, stairways, front walk, etc. It could be you!
• Never grill, barbecue or make an open fire on a balcony.
• Never pour or shake anything from windows or balconies. Make sure flowerpots or boxes on windows or balconies are secure and that watering them doesn't create a nuisance to neighbors below.

There are several approaches to finding a place to live in Germany. The first and probably quickest is through an Immobilienhändler, a real estate agent. The drawback to this method is the high cost: these firms usually charge between two and three months' rent for the place they find you. Their fee is completely separate from the deposit you'll have to pay the landlord, which will amount to another two to three months' rent, not including the first month's rent.

Let's say an Immobilienhändler finds you a place that rents for €1,000. He could charge you some €3,000. The landlord's deposit could be €2,000 to €3,000, and the first month's rent is still €1,000. That's a total of €6,000 to €7,000, of which only €1,000 goes to pay rent! Sometimes landlords and real estate agents will permit you to pay these fees in installments.

Another method of finding a place is through the newspaper. The drawback to this is that a good place may well be snapped up before your call gets through. There also may be a language problem. (See box).

A third method, the oldest and sometimes best, is finding a place through word of mouth. Your friends and colleagues often know of places in their own area, or one being vacated by a departing coworker. Networking is useful in your professional life, and no less so when trying to find a place to live in Germany.

As we've said, deposits usually are two to three months' rent, which is in addition to your first month's rent. However, the deposit will be returned with interest when you leave, provided your quarters are in good order. This usually means a renovation, and it is sometimes required that this be the work of a professional.

Cuisine and Dining Out

http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/dining.html

The Germans are about as sophisticated in their dining as anybody on earth. The "sausages, sauerkraut and beer " stereotype is downright insulting.

However, most people coming to Germany like to try the traditional specialties, which we present here.

On the Baltic and North Sea coasts seafood is the word; clams in dough, fish soups, crayfish pastries, and all kinds of smoked fish, with emphasis on herring and salmon (Lachs). Wild (game) is something else the Germans prepare well, particularly in the forested areas of the south. Venison and boar are always a good bet, as is quail, wild duck and other game birds, with stuffings made of such things as truffles and savoy cabbage.

Other meat dishes that retain their popularity include the Schnitzel (cutlet) which is commonly served breaded, but has numerous other variations Jägerschnitzel with gravy and mushrooms, and the Zigeunerschnitzel with spicy vegetables. The basic meat in a Schnitzel is usually veal, but pork is also used. Roast pork also remains very popular, and is eaten with gravy and those giant, almost chewy dumplings that have long been popular. Still another pork specialty is the Rippchen, a juicy cured pork chop. It goes nicely with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.

Beef is often used to make Tartar; raw ground meat into which can be mixed raw eggs, anchovies, capers and the like. Steaks and chops are by no means a rarity in Germany, but the consumption of meat by the slice is considerably lower than in the States. The Germans are more likely to stretch their meat by mixing it with other things.

Sometimes this is done with stews. Spicy Gulasch (goulash) is a favorite. Germans also use pieces of meat in preparing vegetable dishes, but the main way of stretching meat is the ubiquitous sausage.

Germans are world masters at the production of these Würste, and the variety of them is great. The most popular types with Americans are the ones you get, among other places, from the vendors at the festivals and other outdoor events: Bratwurst, Bockwurst and Rindswurst. The Bratwurst is mainly of pork and served roasted. The Bockwurst is the one most similar to the American hot dog, though it is usually longer. The Rindswurst, sometimes called the Knackwurst, is usually of coarsely ground beef and is fatter and stubbier than the other two. All three are eaten with the fingers and usually dipped in mustard. You often get a Brötchen (roll) with them.

The standard type of German bread is similar to what we call rye bread. Second in popularity are the whole grain breads, including pumpernickel. These are heavier and the slice is thinner. Brötchen are also very common, from white or rye dough, plain or with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flavoring or cheese flavoring.

Among the egg dishes the Bavarian Bauernomelett, is popular. Potatoes and onions are mixed in with it.

You'll find few surprises among the vegetables Germans eat. A favorite here is Eintopf, literally "one pot," which is made with beans, peas or lentils, to which is added pieces of sausage, potatoes, carrots and spices.

And then there are the pastries, made with chocolate, marzipan, honey and anything else that is good and calorie-laden.

The classic area for cheeses in Germany is the Alpine Allgäu region, south of Ulm. Its products are eaten frequently for breakfast, and also as an accompaniment to Germany's celebrated white wines. Rhine wine goes nicely with soft cheeses, such as the Allgäu's Limburger. Mosel goes with butter cheeses, and Pfalz wine with Emmentaler. The last-named is better known to you as "Swiss cheese," but it is also made in Germany.

Much of the food we have described goes well with the famous German beer. There are roughly 1,500 breweries in Germany today making about 6,000 beers of nearly 140 different types. Styles vary throughout the country and finding one's favorite requires experimentation.

Restaurant Etiquette

If you want a hot meal in Germany you'd better time your restaurant visit for "meal times," from around 11:30 to 2 and 6 to 9. Germans don't eat at all hours as do their cousins across the Atlantic. Breakfasts, though, have become the rage of late, and many restaurants serve them at all hours.

You have an opportunity to "shop around" for a restaurant. The law requires each establishment to post a copy of the menu outside.

Once inside, just pick out a table and have a seat. It's rare for anybody to show you to a seat. If there's no empty table, it's all right to ask people already seated if you can share their table. They'll usually agree.

You'll get no glass of water from the waiter unless you ask for it. And if you do ask be sure to specify Leitungswasser (tap water) if that's what you want. If you don't do this, the waiter will assume you want mineral water, and you'll find a fancy price for it on your bill.

The tap water will cost you nothing extra, but that's about the only thing that's free at a German restaurant. There's no "free second cup" of coffee. Each cup you have will be a separate item on the bill.

It's usual when the waiter comes to order a drink, and then peruse the menu while he's getting the drink. The well-ingrained American notion of a "dinner" - including soup, salad, entree and dessert all for a single price - is very uncommon in Germany. You almost always pay for each item separately.

Sometimes, at better restaurants, the waiter will pour a small amount of wine from a newly served bottle into the host's glass. This is a charming custom dating from the old days. But nowadays the host really doesn't have the option of refusing the wine, unless it's spoiled or clearly not what was ordered.

There are no set rules for tipping. In most cases a service charge is included in the price of meals in restaurants. Tipping can vary from place to place and, depending on the quality of service, can range from rounding up to the next euro to 10 percent of the total bill. Always tell the waiter or waitress how much you want to pay. If, say, the bill was €11.70, say "12 euros, please." The practice of leaving money on the table is all but unknown.

Credit cards are not so well established here. You'll usually be able to use yours at pricey international establishments, but if you're just going to the neighborhood Gasthaus you'd better take along enough cash, just in case.

Insurance

http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/insurance.html

Insurance: It's the Law

In Germany, insurance isn't just a good thing to have -- it's mandatory. Here's a quick primer on what you'll need.

If you are planning to spend more than six months in Germany, or have moved here in a job-related capacity, there are some things you need to know about insurance, which is in some cases mandatory.

Health Insurance Options in Germany - 2008

Germany has one of the best health care systems in the world, providing its residents with comprehensive health insurance coverage. The health insurance reform 2007 requires everyone living in Germany to be insured for at least hospital and out-patient medical treatment.

The options available to you for health insurance while living in Germany are the government-regulated public health insurance system, private health insurance from a German or international insurance company or a combination of the two.

Government Health System

Most German residents are members of the government health system (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung or GKV). If your gross annual salary is below 48,150 Euros per year or 4,013 Euros per month, membership in the GKV is mandatory. The total cost of government health insurance is currently approx. 15% of your gross salary up to a maximum monthly income of 3,600 Euros. If you earn more than this amount your insurance premium remains constant. Your employer will normally pay slightly less than half of the monthly premium.

GKV benefits include in-patient (hospital) care as a ward patient with doctor on duty at your nearest hospital, out-patient care with registered doctors (Kassenärzte) and basic dental care. Your non-working dependents resident at your address in Germany are included in your insurance at no additional cost.

Members of the GKV will join one of the 250 "Krankenkassen" in Germany (non-profit associations administrating the government health scheme). The health insurance funds adhere to established government regulations on what they offer.

You and your dependents are automatically enrolled in the government long-term nursing care scheme (Pflegeversicherung). This presently costs 1.95% of your gross salary (a maximum of approx. 80 Euros per month) of which your employer pays half.

For those seeking to upgrade their medical coverage, for instance the right to consult a private doctor, to homeopathic remedies, a private room in hospital and higher dental reimbursements, supplemental insurance coverage is available which can top up the government system benefits.

Private Medical Insurance

You may opt for private health insurance (Private Krankenversicherung or PKV) instead of joining the government health plan if you can show that your gross annual salary is presently more than 48,150 Euros and has been more than 47,700 Euros per year for each of the past three years. If you cannot or do not, you will automatically be registered as a voluntary member of the government system and will not be able to change to a private insurance plan until you have been a member of the government system for up to 3 years. It is important to take this decision at the outset when or before arriving in Germany, to avoid being forced into the government system by default.

Generally, private health plans cover a wide choice of medical and dental treatment and provide broad geographical coverage. Private patients generate higher earnings for medical professionals and will usually be treated by senior doctors. A private patient can also request and will often get, doctors who speak their native language.

The cost of full medical insurance is based on the benefits chosen, as well as on the age, gender and any pre-existing conditions of the insured. You can reduce the monthly cost of your private insurance by agreeing to a deductible. Please be aware that private insurance premiums are based on the insured individual and do not automatically include your dependents who will be covered under your policy at their own individual rates. Limited term (often 5 year) policies will often refuse to continue their cover at maturity if you have claimed under your policy; thereby leaving you to find new cover at potentially very disadvantageous rates.

By purchasing a private medical insurance plan from a German health insurance company that provides a certificate recognized by the German government (Arbeitgeberbescheinigung) you take advantage of the same employer subsidies as a government plan member.

Please note that everyone, whether state or privately insured, must pay into the government long-term nursing care scheme.

Sick Pay Insurance

Should you fall ill while in Germany, your employer will usually pay your full salary for the first six weeks. After that, either the government scheme health insurer or your private insurer will provide a measure of income replacement. The government scheme will pay a percentage of your income up to a maximum of approximately 2,200 Euros per month as statutory sick pay for up to 78 weeks. If you are earning more than this per month, it would be worth considering the purchase of supplemental sick pay insurance, which is available at reasonable rates. Privately insured individuals can purchase cover for their entire net salary.

Dental Care

In Germany, dental care can be expensive. For major dental work involving bridges, crowns or orthodontics, you must get a cost estimate and present it to your insurer prior to treatment. The reimbursement amounts in the GKV are calculated based on a fixed price depending on the case and you can expect to pay between 30% and 80% out-of-pocket for dental work under the government system and do not have supplemental dental insurance. Private insurance companies offer a wide variety of dental tariffs to meet individual needs.

Pharmacies

Germany has an extensive network of pharmacies. The statutory national health insurance generally provides reimbursement for prescription generic drugs, though with a co-payment, the scale of which depends on the cost of the medication. Prescription drugs for children have no co-payments. If you are privately insured, brand-name medication will be covered, as long as you have a prescription. You will have to pay the full cost of the prescription medicine at the pharmacy and then submit the bills to your insurer for reimbursement.

Also see our article "Health Insurance" for a more detailed explaination of Health Insurance Options in Germany.

Copyright
Cathy J. Matz-Townsend
International Insurance Broker
Hainstrasse 2
61476 Kronberg, Germany
www.insure-invest.de

All information as per July 2008 - no guarantee for accuracy or completeness.

For an expanded explanation of health insurance see the separate article here.

Personal Liability Insurance

This is mandatory in the case of automobiles (See the separate article on driving). You can also get insurance covering other cases of liability for injury or damage to other persons or their property. You are covered whether the negligence was yours or that of a family member or even your pet. It is highly recommended if you rent a house or an apartment.

Accident and Disability Insurance

Most accident insurance will pay protection in case of death or a daily sum if you are hospitalized or written sick. It may even pay damages in case of injury and any cost relating to cosmetic surgery. Disability insurance pays a lump sum, the size of which depends on the degree of injury. The least expensive version is the reine Risiko-Unfallversicherung, which has a low premium and pays a large lump sum in the event of disability. The catch is that it doesn't pay for lesser injuries, such as a broken arm or leg.

Home Insurance

Household Insurance (Hausratversicherung), covering the contents of your home against fire, water damage, theft, vandalism and hail, isn't required by law in Germany. But it is recommended and some landlords demand it.

Policyholders should make sure they insure their household goods for their full value and maintain a current list of all personal items such as furniture, home entertainment equipment, jewelry and antiques. Some policies even pay for hotel stays during the renovations that are necessary for claimants. Most people in Germany insure their homes for €600 per square meter of living space. Hence a home of 150 square meters would be insured for about €90,000, and the premium for such a policy would be somewhere between €80 and €100 a year.

In the event of damage, contact your insurance agent immediately by phone and by registered letter. In the case of theft you must prove what was stolen. Receipts, inventories, guarantees and photos are very helpful.

Legal Insurance

(Rechtschutzversicherung) covers any legal costs you encounter, up to €150,000. And, if you want to countersue, it will pay as long as there is a reasonable chance of winning. Legal insurance can be purchased for the entire family, for the job (Arbeitsrechtschutz) and for traffic infractions (Verkehrsrechtschutz) . If you're renting your apartment or house, it's a good idea to have Mietrechtschutz insurance, which can cost up to €60 per year).

Life insurance

(Lebensversicherung) isn't considered very important in Germany. The social insurance system is stable and dependable, especially for taking care of the family if something happens to the breadwinner.

However, changes in the hugely expensive social systems may be in the wind, and in any case the foreign visitor might not be able to take full advantage of it. Life insurance in Germany is essentially the same as that available in most western countries. Varieties of it include whole life, which can generate annuities or lump sum payments after a certain amount of time (usually 12 years); term life policies that pay death benefits to surviving family members or other beneficiaries, and variable dynamic policies that grow at different rates over the years.

Criticism -

Transatlantic Letters from William Parks
Comments on German and American Culture and Society

#6 Criticism - Cross-Cultural Crossfire

We have different ways of offering and receiving criticism. Americans usually begin with some sort of personal gesture, often reassuring the other person that they're OK as a person, pointing out something good before then continuing. Something like this: "John, you know we really value the work you're doing here. Your handling of the ABC case was especially good. I'd like to share some ideas with you, so you can be even better in your work here."

For many Germans, this is a lot of misleading, beating around the bush stuff. Germans like to be direct and to the point in making criticism, seeing this as a question of honesty and truth: "Herr Schmidt, sit down a moment, please. There are a number of things you're doing which are not in accordance to what we expect here."

Germans tend to see any kind of diplomatic gestures to soften the recipient up as unnecessary and mildly sadistic delays. Americans may, however, find this directness blunt and insensitive, and somewhat paradoxically, then become less open to the criticism. Americans usually believe that by introducing the criticism with positive remarks, you make the recipient more open and less defensive. This style could, however, backfire with many Germans, who become impatient and nervous, sensing that the "real message" is yet to come. The criticism itself comes across, but at the cost that the German may find the American critic somewhat devious and even a trifle dishonest.

A positive solution to these differing expectations is not hard to find: simply clarify beforehand what the other person wants in the way of critical feedback. Nonetheless, Germans would do well to point out the positive intent of their criticism, and Americans would do well to begin by stating specifically that what they intend to offer is critical feedback.

After having done some reading on the topic I came to the conclusion that intercultural communication is horror.

I mean, in the average English didactics lesson the professor tells about the fact that there might be some problems and that one has to be careful; usually this is accompanied by a stereotypical example of things that went wrong. But this is as far as it goes. Many professors and English teachers mistake the whole topic of intercultural communication by only pointing out differences that are apparent: Germans shake hands at every opportunity, Anglo-Saxon people don’t, etc. And that’s about it.

But due to above-mentioned research I am now able to tell that there are quite some more differences between the US/English and the German culture. What is more, many features of communication are implicit to the respective culture and therefore most people are not aware of them (it’s like the grammar of behaviour: you need no explicit knowledge of grammar to speak your mother tongue correctly). Only to people who live in another culture for a longer time period these differences can become apparent - and then it is additionally very difficult to trace those differences. In the following explanations it is necessary to use somewhat stereotypical features of the cultures to make distinctions possible. I am absolutely aware that this is not an accurate way of describing reality. So when you read about a typical German or a typical American this only represents a theme and not actual persons or characters.

One of those stereotypical features of German behaviour is a certain amount of directness. Germans usually mean what they say. An invitation for coffee entails the act of arranging a possible date to drink coffee. In other words: the polite American who says: “Hey, why don’t you come over some time?” will be surprised to find that the German really wants to visit him. The same principle applies when the American is taken aback by the German who just says goodbye without an invitation - the German and the American both never intended to invite the other after their first meeting, but the German makes it clear.

A similar problem occurs when a person is asked his or her opinion on the country (or anything else). The polite American will say that everything is lovely and nice because saying something negative would be horribly impolite. The German, on the other hand, remarks both positive and negative things because it is a sign of a critical mind to analyse things and find good things and downsides. So the German shows polite behaviour in criticising things as this shows a certain respect towards something - only if you think about something you give it a certain value. By thinking you find downsides, and if you express them - well not a problem to another German, just say WHY you have your opinion. Many Germans love to argue or to discuss and there’s nothing better than a nice disagreement for a good discussion. This even leads to the phenomenon that some people are of a different opinion as a default. Sometimes I behave myself like that: Somebody states something with which I agree. Nevertheless I take a different point of view - all for the sake of a nice discussion and, what is more, the more diverse the opinions are, the better you can understand different viewpoints and the more thoroughly you can analyze the thing.

http://kellermax.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/the-minefield-of-intercultural-communication/

Independance versus Structured matter of perspective

Transatlantic Letters from William Parks
Comments on German and American Culture and Society

#17 Order must be

Maybe you get the point - Ordnung muss sein! - is not easy to translate. The closest thing in the U.S. would be "Get your sh*t together." And so the intercultural headaches start: the German maxim is very impersonal, the American directive highly personal. The latter is a command, in other words, an order. This raises the question of our relationship to authority.

Order is our response to the existential threat of chaos. Life is unpredictable, and we seem very unhappy about that, so we create some sort of master-matrix that we want to place everything in. Order is a concept, something in our minds, but which we also try to discover on the outside.

Life has not always been an easy game in Germany. Numerous, horrible wars, currency reforms, and fundamental changes of the political state have left Germans with a deep need for order and security. The sense of order that Germans have found, especially in the course of the 20th century, is one that is often abstract and impersonal. This can easily conflict with the more personal American sense of order.

It's not just that Germans so eagerly refer to rules, regulations, and principles as if quoting the bible. To my American mind, in the early years of my living here, the effect was often something like, "But Mama says..." I didn't realize it then, but I was rebellious and exasperated by the impersonal, implied authority of Ordnung.

Americans, bewildered by what may seem a kind of religious worship, should never take this personally. Bear in mind that Ordnung is the collective result of a long and difficult history. Germans, on the other hand, would do well to explain the rules more thoroughly and clarify interests on both sides. Remember that Americans are habitually tuned to radio station WIIFM: What's In It For Me.

Independance day, Reunion day

structure, efficiency 

http://www.howtogermany.com/transatlantic/transatlantic-12.php

kontroll staat, abhoeren etc