American Reacts to German Homes: How Germans Live

Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to this video German Homes: How The Germans Live | Meet the Germans. This was extremely fun to watch. Sorry for rambling. Thanks for watching and subscribing!

[@TheVanezBlane]

You know it's a non german when there is "beautiful city" and "Berlin" in one sentence.

[@leDespicable]

Well, there are uglier cities than Berlin, even in Germany lol

[@Apokalypse456]

in fairness the touristy spots do look nice

[@barbara-xt6cc]

Berlin is a beautiful city.

[@Cau_No]

Or calling the soviet time 'Plattenbauten' beautiful … because of their balconies.

[@kayaraespunkt8382]

I am originally from Berlin, born, raised and still living there. It is beautiful in so many ways. We have wonderful architecture. Every borough, even quarter or as we are calling it „Kiez“ is different. Berlin is colourful. Literally - because of the house colours and street art, but also the athmophere. You don’t need to be in a „hip area“ for it. People are very direct but not in a rude way. Berlin is incredible green, we have so many, riversides, canals, parks, even forests, hills and way more. I would never ever move to a different city. If I think about ugly cities I think about the „Ruhrpott“, Stuttgart, Braunschweig, Hannover…

[@yourframedrop]

You know, the thing with doorbell pranks - that's exactly what all of us did when we were 12! :D

[@AliasSchmalias]

Man how many neighbors did i fuck up :D

[@jensschroder8214]

Note that in the UK if you ring the doorbell prank then you are committing an offense. But that's only for the UK.

[@DSP16569]

@@jensschroder8214 Official in germany too but mostly done by 12year old boys that are to young to be sued. But a short visit or phone call with the parents of these boys could be a hard lesson for these offenders.

[@Fyrwin]

In German its called "Klingelstreich" (Doorbell prank)

[@L00pTroop]

I grew up on a small village. Unfortunately we have to walk a while but we pranked EVERYONE too 😂

[@juka409]

Never thought that something as simple as German doorbells could be so confusing to other people 🤣

[@FLHBR]

Dutchman here. I've never seen such a strange doorbell either.😨

[@keyboard5494]

Same here

[@donotami90]

She forgot to mention that there is a speaker with those doorbells most of the time so when you press the button the person in the Apartment would speak with you this way without coming to you. Also, as mentioned in another comment, the bells are usually located outside. That way you would first ask over the speaker what the person ringing the bell wants from you, so you can decide if it's safe to open the door.

[@cadeeja.]

Right, like an intercom :)

[@GuardianOfRlyeh]

and if there wasn't a speaker to communicate the people often just open their window and greet you this way before letting you in (I was a postman for many years) ;)

[@frankheyder2222]

Those "plant" roof are indeed made from plants. They are "Reetdächer" or thatched roof made from reed.

[@madremoja]

Just to add the information for Ryan or other non-Germans: It is a traditional rooftop on the coastal side. So you won't find those in Middle or southern Germany.

[@frankheyder2222]

Yes it's coastal. Our family has friends in the netherlands who are reed farmers. From what I got from that is, you need very special equipment for that. Such roofs are mostly found in villages, but I've seen even some in large cities like Hamburg. It getting more common now, as it is seen as a "green"/environment friendly alternative.

[@wandilismus8726]

They are quite often here in Schleswig-Holstein

[@maxbarko8717]

In the Black Forest, traditional material for roofs is straw whereas in northern Germany it is made of reed. These roofs can last up to 150 years, if I am not mistaken.

[@videomailYT]

We have an Underground Station here in Berlin that also has a Reetdach and it is the only Tube that has a Station with a roof like this it is Dahlem-Dorf

[@madremoja]

About the water: not all Germans like sparkling water. Eventhough the normal tap water has a really high quality (with differences in taste depending on where you live), many Germans still buy bottled water. So yes, you will find 3 versions of water in supermarkets/drink stores: without gas (usually named "still") , medium sparkled and full sparkled. And sodastream is a thing here, too.

[@DiesdasAnanas-ku5rv]

I hate sparkling water, always have. I hated drinking water as a kid, until I discovered non-sparkling water (it just wasn't a thing in my childhood).

[@madremoja]

@@DiesdasAnanas-ku5rv As a kid, I didn't like water in general. Always mixed sparkling water with juice made from our own apples. If I had to trink water, then I chose sparkling. As a teenager it changed. Now above 90% of what I drink is tap water. Pure sparkling water only if nothing else is available. But I can't drink that much of it, because it makes me feel sick. Same reason why I couldn't drink beer in one go. 😅 Would rather deal with a bottle of wine than a bottle of beer.

[@littlescully3637]

The water out of the tap/faucet is the most controlled food in germany!

[@0tobsam0]

Interesting note on sodastreams: In Germany and Europe those are much more often sold with glass bottles instead of plastic.

[@jawohlbxb3534]

@@DiesdasAnanas-ku5rv I hate sparkling water when im thirsty and i want to drink a lot of it. Its just easier to chug non sparkling

[@ncredibledark7926]

Germans value the stuff they spent money on. My grandma moved out of her house (60km from us) because my granddad has passed away and the house was just to big for her alone. So she moved closer to us in one of the apartments we own in the village next to ours. She also took her kitchen with her, so now she's living in a brand-new apartment with a kitchen she bought, when she was 21, so exactly 60 years ago. Surprisingly, the kitchen looks basically brand-new :)

[@littleDutchie92]

I don't think in the Netherlands its about not valuing the stuff you pay for. Its just, the kitchen is installed to the house, and ik stays in the house for the next owners/rentals to use and you move into a new house where there's also a kitchen that fits perfectly in the house, which you can then use! The kitchen just belongs to the house just as the bathroom does!!

[@JTHBS]

@@littleDutchie92 mmh Kitchens can differ a lot, depending how you use them. Also i think its because house owners / landlords dont want to be responsible for the kitchen tools (Dish washer, functioning sink, refridgerator, cookin plate and oven etc). When something breakes it is in the responsibility of the kitchen owner to repair it...this reduces the maintenance effort for the landlord and it creates more responsibility on the side of the renter because the technology and furniture in it is his own property. This system has advantages for both sides..and it only becomes annoying in the beginning and end of you rent

[@paddypleiner5518]

@@JTHBS In Ireland, the landlord has to provide certain items e.g. sink, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, microwave... but the stuff is mostly run down, patched and of poor quality and only replaced when broken beyond repair... with all the benefits of renting a (partly) furnished place, the quality of furniture will be always poor and you don't know how the wall behind the built-in kitchen really looks

[@JeroenJA]

@@paddypleiner5518 huh, sink, oven i follow, but really he has to provide a washing machine and such! and taken a kitchen with you.. of course belgium is buy your home country, everybody rents mostly to save up to be able to buy ;-). so you get the fridge someone you know replaced, and such, and often you leave it behind, because, in your bought home you want a fitting new fridge :) . why border taking the old one with you if the new renter agrees he/she can use it a little while, until she stumbles upon a give away better one or invest in an better energy score to use less electricity :)

[@Leenapanther]

@@littleDutchie92 I think that's just some exclusive german thing no one else understands. As a Swiss I don't understand. Why would you want to pay so much for a kitchen. Leave it so the next renter can also save money...

[@Killerpixel11]

Airing out homes is actually quite important over here. We don't have flimsy wooden houses that have more holes than swiss cheese. ;) You get thick, insulated masonry walls with properly fitted, insulated windows and A/C is quite rare. So unless you wanna start a black mold farm, you have to get air flow going regularly.

[@leDespicable]

Not all doorbells look like that, there are different types even here in Germany. There's ones like those in the video that are basically just a nameplate that doubles as a button, and there's also the "classic" little round buttons with the names written next to them. Just like with anything else, there's a big variety of different designs, even for doorbells lol. They don't have to be integrated into the mailbox either, it's just a common feature that apartment buildings have, having the mailboxes right below the doorbells is convenient. There's still plenty of buildings where the doorbells are mounted entirely seperately and aren't even near the mailboxes. One feature that pretty much all German apartment buildings share though is having the doorbells outside the front door, since you can't just open it and go in. German front doors can only be opened with a key, so only those living in the building can open the door, everyone else has to ring the doorbell to be let in with a door buzzer. I find it curious that most Americans seem to be so much more paranoid regarding burglars and crime in general, but the architecture of apartment complexes and homes doesn't reflect that fear at all. Just being able to walk into an apartment building without needing a key would be seen as unsafe in Germany, despite the fact that most Germans aren't even afraid of crime. Regarding kitchens: One has to keep in mind that Germans are long-term renters. You don't move into a flat for just a few years, if a German moves somewhere they'll usually stay in that flat for a long time (often 10 years at least), so why would you want to have a kitchen that you don't like for such a long time? And, once you bought a kitchen for a place (which is often at least 10.000 euros, for medium-sized kitchens that is), you'll want to get the most out of it, so of course you'll take it with you when you move out lol

[@SkeeveTVR]

and if your front-door / apartment-door isn't locked up your insurence wouldn't pay when someone breaks in.

[@Al69BfR]

And often kitchens are much more modular, so you just have to change the countertop and perhaps rearrange your household appliances to fit the connections and you‘re good to go.

[@Peacefrogg]

In the netherlands you are obligated to leave at least a standard working kitchen. And if someone comes to look at your house/appartment, it’s common to talk about how you will leave the walls and floors, and the kitchen. The next renter sometimes pays you for leaving your nice flooring or expensive stove. But everything else is cleaned out when you leave. Nobody wants to sleep on a second hand bed.

[@thorstenbrandt6256]

And we are as bad as you are. We do "Klingelstreiche" (ding-dong-ditch as you called it) as kids, too. Put your hand on the top, press and slide down and you will ring all neighbors. But you have to be fast and sneaky, cause there will be an old lady at some window, and if she sees you your mother will hear of it ;-)

[@Peacefrogg]

@@thorstenbrandt6256 in dutch it’s called: belletje lellen.

[@DSP16569]

How they fit: Standarisation. Mostly you only need a new kitchen working plate but all other stuff has a standard size (60cm wide, 60cm depth and 75-85 cm high - adjustable). In Germany the kitchen is often the important room and germans love the freedom to use a kitchen they want (and not the ugly one the landlord demand).

[@Hirndille]

Also, if one spends 20k Euro or more for a kitchen, one wants to keep it for life...

[@chatterm17]

When the person who live there before you had a disgusting taste in color you are glad to buy youre own. 😂. And i dont want stuff that had another person in use for years.

[@Danisachan]

@@Hirndille That's why I don't understand why renters don't just provide one. A kitchen will never fit into your new home/apartment the way it did into your old one. And if you want to expand it in your new home, it might no longer be on order.

[@wolf310ii]

@@Danisachan As long as its not a custom made kitchen, it will fit in the new home. Its not one big single piece counter, its modular

[@-Jakob-]

This is a 100% bullshit tradition. Fullstop. In Switzerland, kitchens are always part of the apartment you rent. And they don't have the cheapest fitted kitchen falling apart after 2 years of use as the landlords know that at the end of the day, due to high labor costs, that would be much more expensive.

[@animyosfox8617]

The thing about the doorbells is (I don’t know if somebody else already commented this): On most apartment complexes, especially the bigger flats, the main entrance that leads into the stairwell is locked (because it doesn’t have a doorknob or handle on the outside), so you either need a key to even access the stairwell, or you ring a doorbell (e.g the one of the person you want to visit). They have a button (typically directly besides their door to the stairwell) to power an electromagnet that’ll unlock the main entrance’s door as long as it’s being powered. Most of these apartment buildings are also supplied with door intercom systems btw.

[@robbypolter6689]

The reason for the kitchen is that everyone here in Germany designs their own kitchen and the kitchen furniture is adjusted with centimeter precision. So you can customize the kitchen according to your individual wishes and ideas. For example, I didn't have a standard fridge, but a drawer fridge. The oven was at eye level and the flap disappeared when opened below the oven.

[@AHVENAN]

The wierdest part of that whole concept for me is, here in Finland, if you are renting and for example your fridge breaks, it's your landlord who is responsible for replacing it, not you the tenant, I guess this can't be the case in Germany then.... Also, I would find it super annoying and inconvenient to have to rip the kitchen out and reinstall it every time I moved. no thank you! Moving is more than enought work as it is! 🤣

[@GuardianOfRlyeh]

@@AHVENANnope, we have to buy all of that stuff, like fridge and oven, ourselves - and we take all of that with us when moving. I like that because so I have full control over what to buy and not just getting the (propably) most cheap trash other people bought.

[@AHVENAN]

@@GuardianOfRlyeh Yeah I understand that, what I said is that is not how we do it here, here all that stuff is already installed when you move in. In my experience the appliances in most appartments is perfectly fine, and if anything stops working, I don't need to worry about being able to afford a new one since that is my landlords responsibility

[@metazock]

@@GuardianOfRlyeh I am from Germany and have a completely different experience. People don't take their kitchens with them. *IF* you even own it and not the landlord you leave it for the next tenant and ask for compensation. A kitchen is normally fitted to the room so removing it to install it somewhere else makes no sense most of the time. Only if the new tenant does not want it you take it with you.

[@HenryLoenwind]

The idea behind the cake fork is that cake is so full of flavour (and sugar) that you get the same enjoyment out of a small bite as a large bite. And because it's expensive and only eaten for fun, it makes sense to split it into more bites than a regular meal you eat to fill your belly.

[@anahills3836]

I use a tiny spoon for my ice cream.

[@emiliosagichnicht7521]

Dinge die ich nicht wusste...

[@minihobbit1707]

Also interesting to know is. That these have only three prongs. Some of the small forks also have a special shape on one side to cut the cake with it, because you do not use a knife to cut when the cake is on the smaller cake plates ("Kuchenteller") in front of you.

[@Oberbaumbruecke]

Those little forks are british.

[@ItsNessaTho]

​@@anahills3836 same

[@sonyphotoguy6601]

A German says: I want to decide how the kitchen looks. There are many different options for kitchens and the all fit because the kitchens are kind of standard sizes. But there are all kinds of colors and designs. From a view hundred up to 100,000 Euro kitchen. So you can decide what you want. Airing prevents mold. Our Windows are very air sealed.

[@hildajensen6263]

Yes, that's what I hear from my German family. - But somehow the old kitchen doesn't quite seem to fit the new apartment, since the room have a different layout. So they are often buying new anyway. And I still don't understand why we had to have the trouble taking the old kitchen down, move it across town, carrying up 3 flights of stairs, and put it up, just to take it down again and put in a new one 2 months later. I am really glad that they don't do the same with the bathrooms though.

[@aramn8151]

@@hildajensen6263 Often the past tenants offer their kitchen to the new ones for a cheaper price. When we were looking for a new flat last year, most would have come with the kitchen (which we would have had to pay "Ablöse" for, which basically means you buy the kitchen) and we would have been required to take it if we would like to move in. So no, not every German household moves their whole kitchen every time they move. I would even say that most try to sell it to the new tenants because no one likes to move a whole ass kitchen every time they move

[@gran9773]

13:05 The small forks are 1. a lot nice to use to eat a lot of the cake and pastries in Germany 2. help portioning. so we don't heat half the cake in one go 3. to pace ourselves. eating the cake slower allows us to savour the flavour more and makes it more likely that we eat less cake overall.

[@marjanpel1563]

Genau, daher sind wir auch durchschnittlich viel dünner als viele US-Amerikaner. ;) Weil wir unsere Essen nicht in großen Portionen einfach runterschlingen.

[@phenomic]

That is not the reason why they are smaller though, that is more the trait that comes with them being smaller. The reason why they are smaller and why one prong is more thick than the others is because back when they were invented pasteries and cakes often where a bit more sturdy and because you are not using a knife to eat your cake the smaller length combined with the more thick prong allows you to applie enough force to "cut" the cake / pasterie without bending anything out of shape on your fork.

[@schmidtikovsky2825]

2:00 yes it is an apartment complex and the thing you see in front is a mailbox with incorporated doorbells. The lower boxes are for letters and such and the names on top is for the doorbell. Most of them have an intercom system so you can ask who it is before pushing the buzzer to let them in. 3:40 these are reed houses made out of some kind of straw for the roof. It is an extremely old way of roofing which is also done in a lot of countries. i even saw houses in the japanese countryside with this kind of roof

[@FromAnonymouse]

Ding Dong Ditch is definitely a thing and honestly, it’s kind of cute to hear the next generations of kids run away giggling. I don’t mind. It happens like once a year, maybe.

[@changingmind3248]

My dad grew up in one of those large blockaparment buildings - one time he and the gaggle of other kids tied the door handles of all opposing doors together, took a wooden board and pressed it down on all the bells simultaniously... You can imagine the rest.

[@Jehty21]

I wouldn't mind it if kids would do it. But drunken a**holes every weekend - that gets annoying really quick.

[@masontobiasc]

But only from 8:00 to 22:00! Don’t you dare bother my time that I don’t even use for sleep!

[@davdav3945]

I completely agree 😊, although some of the grownups here are part of the fun as well like our neighbour who always has a filled water pistol and trying to wet the kids so you have to be a good runner 😂

[@lizarddreams6142]

Kaltmiete and Warmmiete are just different ways to calculate the rent of a place. Oftentimes, your landlord will tell you the monatliche Kaltmiete (monthly cold rent), which is JUST for the apartment itself. Afterwards, it depends on which services are paid by you directly and which go through your landlord. Warmmiete can (but doesn't have to) include: electricity, heating, internet, water usage. So if your Kaltmiete is 1000€, your landlord may ask you to pay an additional 200€ for heating each month. If you use less than those 200€ a month, you get the rest of the money back - or if you use more, you have to pay up. I hope that makes more sense!

[@michaelz.7140]

At the End of the year or the beginning to middle of the next year you get a Nebenkostenabrechnung which includes all kinds of costs like heating, garbage collection, house cleaning services etc divided by tenants of this building . It depends on the local rules, e.g. in one municipality you have to pay for garbage collection per housing unit (apartment) and you get billed directly whereas in other jurisdictions your landlord gets billed for the whole building (complex) and gets his money back through the Nebenkostenabrechnung...

[@manub.3847]

Not to forget that the deposit is calculated on the cold rent. A deposit of 3 months' rent is usual. And often the landlord cannot increase the cold rent as he pleases. He usually needs a reason: for example renovation of the staircase, new heating system, windows, if necessary. Installation of a kitchen, etc. The rent increases are then usually between 5-10% of the original cold rent. Landlords often wait with the "general overhaul" of an apartment until there is a change of tenants, since they can then pass on a higher proportion of the costs to the new rent.

[@DaniSupreme]

Also it Matters to different other Services of the social system here. If you get financial Support from the City for example they want to have the exact Data of kalt and Warmmiete, so they See If you are in need of Support or how much they Support you with.

[@lukekoster6107]

wo hast du denn Strom in der Warmmiete bitte...

[@lizarddreams6142]

@@lukekoster6107 hatte ich persönlich noch nicht, aber schonmal in Inseraten gesehen.

[@kurtwagner4663]

How mind blown he was, when he learned we take the whole kitchen with us, when we move :'D I love it

[@amoeba6252]

About the forks: The smaller the bite the faster your mouth is empfy and you are able to follow the converstation. Which follows after a proper meal or at tea time. Kaffee und Kuchen is a big thing in germany and you are eating casually cake with coffee.. so that is why the fork is smaller:) small bites= less time chewing. Eat sit and chat …and yes we rang all the doorbells;)

[@phenomic]

That is not the reason why they are smaller though, that is more the trait that comes with them being smaller. The reason why they are smaller and why one prong is more thick than the others is because back when they were invented, pasteries and cakes often where a bit more sturdy and because you are not using a knife to eat your cake the smaller length combined with the more thick prong allows you to applie enough force to "cut" the cake / pasterie without bending anything out of shape on your fork.

[@ZuzkaButterfly]

I don't know about Germany but here in Slovakia the doorbells (very much the same) are at the entrance to the building because the door is locked by magnetic lock so strangers cannot get in. You can unlock the door from your apartment using a button when you have visitors (and they ring the bell) and they can make their way up to your apartment. 😊🇸🇰

[@bakhodirjonkakhkharov344]

The same in Austria.

[@Laura.LD.]

It’s the same in Spain.

[@MissLeesha237]

The same in Germany 👍🏼

[@ariafalse5113]

The same in Hungary.

[@andrijanaginin1168]

Same in Italy 😊

[@JenMaxon]

I'm English living in Germany - that's why I watch. Re: kitchens. I thought it odd at first too but the fact is I get to have the kitchen I chose not the weird one left by the previous tenant and I get to keep it too when I move on to the next place. You don't install a new kitchen - you take the one you have with you like the rest of the furniture.

[@florianflorian1385]

I know only one of my friends that did move the kitchen. It usually stays in my experience and is sold off to the next tenant. then you can upgrade whatever you feel like and sell again when you're leaving.

[@JenMaxon]

@@florianflorian1385 Yeah I had someone else tell me that elsewhere. All I can say is when we were looking for our flat 2 years ago, most did not have a kitchen and only one tenant offered to sell us her left over kitchen when she left.

[@TheStoryTelleR1611]

Wait until you hear about moving in The Netherlands: they don't just take out the kitchen, but also the wooden flooring! It was quite a shock - my friend there had to take his kitchen and flooring when moving places 😮

[@AHVENAN]

WHAT? Not only ripping out the kitchen but the floors too? Sounds to me like german and dutch peaople just want moving houses to include as much work as possible, for me, sorting, packing, labeling, moving and then unpacking everything is more than enough work 🤣

[@GuardianOfRlyeh]

​@@AHVENANthe principle behind this is quite simple: Leave the appartment just as it was when you moved in.

[@AHVENAN]

@@GuardianOfRlyeh that's exactly what we do here too, since the kitchen, floors and appliances are a part of the apartment 😂

[@MiaMerkur]

Maybe the floors were very expensive. Like Eichen-Massiv-Boeden or even more thousands.

[@JumpingFlapjack]

The roofs where you asked what they are made of are : The first with the "straw" called thatched roof, thatch is reed that grows near bodies of water. Thatching is one of the oldest surviving craft traditions that exist. Because thousands of years ago roofs were covered with thatch. And indeed, many an old farm in northern Germany is very old. The oldest I have seen was built in 1574, and it is still in use ;). The second black roof is a slate shingle roof, slate is a type of rock that can be very well split into flat slices the shingles, these are usually square or rectangular. Roofing with shingles is also an old form of roofing. :)

[@JumpingFlapjack]

Damn there is no translation for this straw roof.....in German they named Reeddach. Maybe Reedroof are a translation for it.

[@jancleve9635]

2:09 It is an apartement complex. 2:24 Exactly. 3:42 thatched roof- Very historic. Reetdach in german, yes it is made from plants. 7:30 Still very rare as main residence. 8:30 Not many , but we tend to life a little bit closer together here. On the other hand, we don´t have half a continent to spread out ... I know we tried. 11:27 Yes, our apartments come empty. But a lot of times you buy some parts/furniture from the person who lived there. 12:01 Beer ,Pizza and backpain. 3rd floor to 4th floor and no elevator in both houses... yeah you do it because when you move you also want help.

[@franhunne8929]

The thatched roof is a rare thing though these days, insurance is very expensive (fire hazard) and it is quite expensive and needs maintaining which does not come cheap either.

[@Caelestan]

@@franhunne8929 Not to mention that in areas (mostly in northern germany) where are some more of these roofs in one village or small city, fireworks are often forbidden by local regulations. That is really nice (i mean it the way i write it) because you have no fireworks, but a very special mood there e.g. on new year's eve.

[@pip5858]

8.30 comment wins at life 👌 🙌

[@jancleve9635]

@@pip5858 Dankend entgegengenommen.

[@workaholica]

The "plant roof" actually is covered with thatch, bundles of reed ("Reet"), which allows for very organic, rounded shapes of roofs. It's a traditional method in the northern parts of Germany (and our neighbours of course). I have seen it done on a new house once, it's best described as a combination of roofing and hairdressing.

[@volkhardhenschel1863]

The plant roof with bundles of Reet is the best insulation against coldness in winter and against heat in summer, its a natural a/c with no costs for energy.🙂🙂🙂

[@ngotemna8875]

Also in Eastern parts of Germany (especially around the Spreewald) Everything that has some ties to Slavic culture basically

[@justarandomgothamite5466]

Also it came out of fashion because it has to be replaced often and very flamable.

[@michaelalockrose2354]

We have this in England as well, esp. in the South, e.g in Hampshire. A bit of a headache as a homeowner, as you have to replace parts of it ever so often (pretty expensive!) and being a thatcher is a dying profession....but looks amazing.

[@michaelachatelle]

I’m not German but being from Prague things work quite similar over here so it’s fun to watch your reactions 🙂

[@CazuhLynn]

It's probably already been said, but ringing other people's doorbells and then dashing off and hiding somewhere is a fun activity for (almost) every young German. So much so, that there is a special name for it that varies within the different areas of Germany. In my village, grown-ups were incredibly lenient because they had played it in their youth as well and some would participate in a form of hide-and-seek or leave sweets on the doormat afterwards. It was still pretty exciting to find out who had to ring the doorbell, especially in one house that was rumoured to be owned by someone with a gun. We later just left it out. :D But yeah, some adults were not happy to be a victim of "Mäusepingeln" and got rather angry. :D

[@Traumtaenzerin197]

We call that "Klingelmännchen" 😄

[@C0KAcolada]

I know it as „Klingelputze“😂

[@fdhmcking]

Einfach nur Klingelstreich 😅

[@davdav3945]

Klingeljagd 🤭

[@helloweener2007]

Apartments in apartment houses have usually two door bells. You have these mailbox - doorbell combination next to the main door or just a panel with door bell buttons and the mail box seperate. And you have a single button next to your apartment door. The main door shuts. You can't open it without a key. So guest have to inform you that they are in front of the building. Many of these systems have also an intercom. So when your door bell rings, you can push a button and talk to the person on the main door. And if you want to let him hin, you can push a button to unlock the door. It makes a hummig sound and you can just push open the door from outside. Pushing all door bell buttons and running away is a Klingelstreich, a door bell prank.

[@Sventastic_78]

East and West Germany both had 4 digits zip codes. After reunification in 1990 many zip codes existed two times. 1993 it was switched to a 5 digit zip code System, fixing many problems and automated letter sorting became possible

[@redzora80]

and in big citys like Hamburg it was 4 digges the city and additioal 2 digges because the city is so big.

[@ChristophOldenburg]

Actually it is not a thing to move the whole kitchen furniture and appliances. Once it was custom fitted you'd usually get to try the next renter to buy it off of you for a to agreed upon price (which saves both parties some money). Some landlords do rent out the kitchen included. What the video implies is oversmlipified.

[@hw2508]

Not only zip codes changed. phone prefixes as well.

[@Wheeljack2k]

Let's take a moment to praise our lord and savior: Rolf Fünf ist Trümpf!

[@robertschmitz3788]

​@@Wheeljack2k I was born long after the unification and have only ever known 5 digit zip codes. However when my father showed me old postcards from my grandmother I noticed it lacked a fifth number. Once I asked him why they changed it. He began to smile and without saying a word opened a clip of "Rolf" on KZbin. I never laughed as hard in my life then when seeing this quirky mascot and hearing his slogan. I might be the only one in my age group to have ever heard of Rolf, but "Fünf ist Trümpf" is still the first thing that pops into my head whenever I see a postcode...=)

[@mathephysikutz2961]

3:00 »Walk up to the door of the apartment ...«. How the heck do you get into the buliding in the first place? Apart from waiting for somebody entering or leaving it and then sneaking in.

[@hanji_1991]

i was born and raised in germany but all of my friends are american. by now i know more about your country than my own (also prefer speaking your language more than my own for obvious reasons). thank you so much for making me learn more about my country. it's so funny to watch you reacting to all those differences and it was so nice to also notice a non-biased attitude when east germany got mentioned. as an east german, i experience a lot of discrimination in my country (from other germans) so thanks for just looking at a building i was raised in and going "wow that looks pretty neat". it's what i call "home". i've never known anything else but those concrete apartments stacked above one another, few trees here and there, but mostly grey and grey. very soviet style (given the soviets were still around when i was young). keep up the good work. i subscribed. :)

[@maxwilli3718]

I've moved within Berlin 14 times and never had to buy a new kitchen. The previous tenant always tried to sell me his, or the landlord had previously taken over the kitchen, which happens when the previous tenant had rent debts, or had to dispose of the kitchen, which can also be quite expensive.

[@eikejmeyer]

Same, I have moved and rented several times and always the kitchen was furnished by the landlord. Wouldn't want to rent a place without one, too much hassle.

[@MarcLucksch]

When looking for a place you usually find some offers with or without. I only would take my kitchen if the new place doesn’t have any. My current place had one, but it was old, so I got my landlord to pay for a new and nice one to my specifications that I will of course leave behind when I move out. Best of both worlds

[@littleDutchie92]

To me as a Dutchie the concept of taking a kitchen with you has always amazed me. The kitchen fits the house quite perfectly and in the next house the kitchen room has all different measures, so naturally the kitchen doesn't fit?? 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

[@maxwilli3718]

@@littleDutchie92 So ist es.

[@tommesgulo275]

I loved your reaction to the kitchen. It was wierd to me to when I moved from Minnesota to Bonn. But I have gotten older, and found out that I really do love a certain sort of sink, (double basin, with a small vegitable basin), oven and range (why should I just take over some old electric thing when I can install my induction range?) This stuff is mine! The cupboards really do not cost a lot, and as has been noted in the comments, most kitchens here are built with a standard of 60 cm cabinets. Now it just seems really strange to me that anyone would take over a kitchen (for me the most important room in the house) that is not tailer made.

[@inkenhafner7187]

And if you live in a region of Germany where apartments are rented without kitchens and don't have a lot of money there are plenty of offers for 2nd hand kitchens from people who are moving and can't fit their old kitchen into the new apartment properly and social shops get quite old, but still intact kitchens, repair them a little bit and there people can get a kitchen for next to no money. And then you can do with it whatever you want, if you don't like the colour or design of the doors, put a countertop of your choice on it (the cheapest ones are laminated plywood, available in different designs, but you better put something under your hot pots and pans).

[@beapbass]

I've actually already moved 7 times in my adult life (plus 3 times with my parents). Only once did I have to get my own kitchen and that was in a one-room apartment, so I bought something for like 300 € including the fridge. Since I moved that often I've already seen many more apartments for rent. Almost all of them already had a kitchen if they weren't just newly built. It's quite common that you bring your own fridge, however.

[@klaymen0]

Interesting side fact, I live in neighboring Switzerland, also German speaking, and kitchens are always part of an apartment you rent, owned by the owner of the apartment, not the tenant. The idea of moving your kitchen with you sounds pretty strange to us. After all, the exact measurements of a kitchen changes from place to place, so your own cupboards and shelves might not fit optimally in a new place. Also laundry machines are already present (usually shared in the basement, a trigger for many neighbor conflicts)

[@caromitgeige]

I find your honest surprise at things that are common and every day for me so refreshing

[@TotallyNotAFox]

3:50 - The roof is made out of dry reed, it's a typical architecture feature at the coast of the North Sea

[@rakat2746]

And that's why I like watching these videos so much. Things that are completely normal for me, as a German, are something completely new in other countries and the other way around. You always learn something new. 🙃

[@NoctLightCloud]

du hast den Smiley falsch verwendet.

[@rakat2746]

@@NoctLightCloud Nein. 🙂🙃🙂

[@NoctLightCloud]

@@rakat2746 hilarious comeback😂

[@Fidi987]

One thing about Tiny houses and mobile homes in Germany: you cannot park them just anywhere. You need a designated camp ground or property. Also, as far as I know, the Tiny houses are not allowed to be moved ever so often but have to have a fixed address on your property, or else you will have to rent the plot you park them on.

[@Nils.Minimalist]

Meanwhile there is a map with tiny house sites/places within germany ... and they are growing continually.

[@hw2508]

The tiny house aspect was a little too present in this video. Yes, there are tiny houses. But it is not that all Germany can't wait to move into a tiny house.

[@RachelStewart04]

Rachel here (from the video 😁) - just stumbled across this in my feed, so funny to see someone live reacting to my vid ha. Thanks for watching! Oh and good cake/fork theory.

[@SchwestrerDiesel]

Usually (at least in my experience) you'd have to paint, when you move out, werther or not the wall is already neutral. Also you'd have to close all holes you have drilled for shelves and wall decoration beforehand. Exeptions are possible, when you've lived somewhere for a short time (maybe up to 2 years), when the landlord or -lady is planning to renovate after your move or when you've left the walls in good condition and they're especially nice.

[@tweety77hf]

I am living in Germany. I grow up in 73 qm with two adults, two kids, two little dogs (Dackel) and two birds. But made often camping and travelled to the Netherlands, we had an amazing childhood and had lots fun together.

[@Wintermaus]

Ryan's mind blown because we take the whole kitchen, including counters and sinks when we move, is hilarious! 😂

[@KlingelTimi.]

Was genau ist denn mit "Counters" gemeint? Ich habe noch nie einen Strom-, Gas- oder Wasserzähler "mitgenommen" und neu installiert.

[@Wintermaus]

@@KlingelTimi. Counters hat nichts mit Strom und Wasser zu tun. Counters sind die Küchenschränke und Schubladen.

[@KlingelTimi.]

@@Wintermaus Aaaah! Danke sehr!

[@Wintermaus]

@@KlingelTimi. 😊👍🏻

[@DGARedRaven]

@@KlingelTimi. Nicht ganz richtig. "Counter" ist vor Allem die Arbeitsfläche, der Bereich auf dem du in der Küche am Schneiden bist etc.

[@oelboy]

Regarding the cake forks, it's a bit like a tea spoon. You use it for tinier dishes so it doesn't fall off the plate/ look out of proportion. And since desserts are typically consumed using a small spoon it just seems logical to use a small fork if needed as well. Also, many of these cake forks have a fortified prong on one side for cutting through the cake without bending.

[@leonienuhn4571]

they are doorbells with postboxes below. but most homes have the postbox inside/outside, with the doorbells being seperate from the mailboxes. some have even speaker systems

[@Danisachan]

For the record: I've moved 3 times in Germany and a kitchen was always right there. But yep, I remember a very small amount who didn't have a kitchen. Instant no-go for me then because I couldn't afford to buy a new one. 😂

[@godkillmeplease]

I moved 7 times, kitchen was never included.

[@wolfganglemke6312]

Quite a big fraction of landlords is greedy but dumb. They let the apartment empty. In contrary it is much more profitable for the landlord to invest into a nice kitchen - he can pay the kitchen "before tax" - and raise the rent about a decent amount. Everybody - renter and lessor - have less stress during change of tenants. The landlord can provide a more attractive opportunity.

[@AnciusDuccius]

I moved 12 times until today, only three times there has been a kitchen.

[@chrstiania]

i moved 7 times but only to places that either had a kitchen or where I could buy the kitchen off the Vormieter

[@resathe6760]

@@wolfganglemke6312 as a student I like that there is the possibility of apartments with kitchens but if I'm going to rent an apartment for a longer period of time I would hate to have a kitchen i didn't choose myself

[@freemind360]

3:10 🤣 Yes we all did that in oure childhood. 👍 We in Hesse call it Schel-le-klop-pe . We ring and then we ran! 🤣

[@Nick_ID_1VFXArtist_und_Cutter]

The doorbells in the video are combined in the wall with the mailboxes, so mail is sorted for the precise person/apartment. Its a common thing in houses more than one family lives in to have those doorbells at the main door of the house, the person in the apartment you want to visit has a button near the apartmentdoor to open the houses main door for example from the 4th. level remotely :) Btw, from the view of a German, those apartments are small, but quite a standard, if we are watching some flats in Korea or something, those apartments are incredible small and uncommon to be able to live in for us XD And last but not least, taking the kitchen with you is common but not nearly everybody is doing that, especially in apartments its often left behind, it's often taken with the owners when moving out if its a private house:) Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪

[@b3ne222]

I really liked it, thought your comments were funny as hell :D

[@keyem4504]

This airing out is a safety measure too avoid to much moisture and thus mold forming on the (outer) walls. Landlords try to protect themselves and the tenant by requesting that and usually certain heating requirements.

[@brozy5720]

When I rented my cozy little apartment (42qm), roughly 20 years ago, the previous renters sold me the kitchen for a measly €150,-. When I had a rough time getting the money for my rent, my landlord was very understanding and suggested a 2 month pause in pay "Kaltmiete" so I only had to pay "Nebenkosten" and pay €100,- more per month after I got a job again until the debt was done. "Kaltmiete" is the base rent for the apartment. "Nebenkosten" are the costs for utilities (gas, water, heating, garbage, cleaning service for the stairs and so on). Both together make up the "Warmmiete". "Nebenkosten" are a fixed payment, if you use less, you get refunded, if you use more, you have to pay the difference. Tiny houses was new to me. I can't imagine living in one. Might be good for a small party, but live in it? Where do I put my shitload of movies, CD's and books? Also, why were they so prominently featured in this clip when only a marginal number of people live in it? All the other stuff is varying wildly based on what of home you have. Bells with names on it, bells with names next to it, bells without names (mostly on one-family houses). House shoes are depending on the people living there, same as water. Sparkling, not sparkling, tab...depends on the individuals taste. The tiny forks are exclusively used for cake. They are also very helpful for getting the bottom pickles out of the glass.

[@lordohnehelm]

She exaggerated a bit with the kitchen thing. Yes, sometimes it can happen. But more often the flat has an "Einbauküche" that belongs to the landlord and stays in the flat.

[@daemonbyte]

the kitchen thing, and light fittings too, is about responsibility and customization. If the landlord rents a flat with a kitchen they are responsible for fixing anything that breaks. If you do it then you're responsible for it. As for customization, remember that Germans generally rent for life. If you're going to live in a flat for 10 or 20 years you generally want a kitchen that suits you. When you're done you either fit it in the new place or sell it used. Either to the person moving in or to someone else who needs a kitchen for their flat

[@nichtmenschlich6133]

In my experience the smaller forks are used for smaller things, mostly desserts. E.g. strawberry slices, cakes, etc. If people visit we often get cake or sth. and make a can of coffee with it, it's so called "Kaffee und Kuchen" aka. "Coffee and Cake", basically a time in the afternoon where everyone comes together and has cake and coffee, most commonly though it's when people, like family or close friends visit from afar to basically "Welcome" them and give them the feeling of hospitality. It's to come together, sit around in the living room or dining room and talk together while eating and drinking

[@MiaMerkur]

It is like the (healthier) tea time in Britain with tea and scones or relish sandwiches.

[@tschaytschay4555]

For households with low income the "no kitchen" part is a problem. Of course I would like to choose my own kitchen, but I can't afford any so it's always important to look for an apartement with an "EBK" - "Einbauküche" - built-in kitchen. They are availible too, especially in small flats for just one or two persons. And I actually love Tiny Houses and on the channel "Living big in a Tiny House", you can even see a few examples for families. :)

[@tmartin9482]

So, where is the difference between living in a tiny house and living in a trailor beside a relabeling and a fancy frontage?

[@ItsNessaTho]

​@@tmartin9482 nothing, it's literally just a famcier version of a trailer

[@MiaMerkur]

​@@tmartin9482 The tiny house are bigger, because they are higher. And better isolated. For the start. I have a lot stuff so I would rent a storage in addition for the 1000 books, 1000 videos, seasonal decorations, handcraftmanship materials etc.

[@onigirikatze]

11:10 you don’t always have to install a completely new kitchen. When you are searching for an apartment you can especially search for one with an „Einbauküche“, means a complete (or at least nearly complete) kitchen

[@Patrickfromgermany1]

About the Houses with the plantroof : Reetdachhaus = Thatched roof house Reet (also Reeth, Reth, Reith, Ried, Riet and the like; cf. Middle High German advised “reeds, reeds”), refers to the reeds that grow on banks or on swampy terrain and are used in many places in a dried state for roofing and in earlier times served for many similar purposes, such as embroidering new dikes with the dike needle. Thatching is considered one of the oldest craft techniques in house building.

[@wanderwurst8358]

Im German. I never rent a flat witout a kitchen and im still alive. The moving kitchen is more a thing with very big flats or single houses. For smaller appartments you will always find something with a kitchen built in. The little fork is a "Kuchengabel" (cakefork) and its the most neccessary unnecessary cutlery to have. Middleeuropeans with table culture (like me 😛) also have smaller hors d'oeuvre cutlery, special soup spoons, egg spoons, special egg breakers, 3 different sizes of teaspoons for mocha, coffee and tea, asparagus cutlery, fish cutlery, lobster fork, butter knives, cheese knives, fruit knives, napkin rings, cream spoons, sugar spoons, creamer ... and the whole thing preferably in silver or silver-plated for poorer households. Oh, I love this stuff, even though I usually only eat with a fork or spoon. 🥰😅

[@gustavmeyrink_2.0]

I also have Messerbänkchen and lemon slice squeezers in addition to the cutlery you mentioned.

[@ExtremeTeddy]

Fühl sich auch direkt viel edler an, wenn man seinen Fisch mit dem Fischmesser zerlegt :)

[@Frohds14]

@@ExtremeTeddy Die Fischstäbchen, meinst du wohl.

[@ExtremeTeddy]

@@Frohds14 Also meine Fischstäbchen sehen nur eine Gabel ... Ich meinte schon richtigen Fisch, sowas wie Rotbarsch ;)

[@AnciusDuccius]

No, not always in smaller appartments. It even depends where you are. For example: I lived in Hamburg, there were mostly kitchens, but not every appartment, was also a question of flat or appartment. I lived in Wiesbaden too, there it has been more or less 50/50 and I lived in Duisburg and there weren't ktchen inside.

[@tosa2522]

2:00 The upper part of the mailboxes shown here is used as a doorbell. The real mailboxes are located below.

[@nichelbichel6464]

About the repainting of rooms, it's generally done either when you move out or when you move in. Basically most times you're required to renovate the apartment once in your stay, even it is not 'required' as in, that it needs a paint do-over

[@obiwanfisher537]

The thing about the kitchen is: Those are expensive. You live in a place for a while and you just want a nice kitchen, so you install one yourself. And then, when you move, you take your old kitchen with you. And about the doorbell: There are houses with 200 different apartments, so yes, you have doorbells with intercoms for security. You can only go inside when you're buzzed in, as houses there usually have two doors: One to get inside the house and to the doorbells and post, and a second door that only opens with a key (or buzzer) so you get to the apartments. It's mean to keep people out of the house who don't belong there. Of course there are many ways to go around that, but still better than nothing.

[@derwidder1400]

I watch every video of yours. I think what differenciates you from other reaction youtubers is that you're very attentive and actually speak out your thoughts about the information you get. Very entertaining. Keep on doing that good stuff!

[@ebbhead20]

You cant get into a building in most well done complexes. You have to buzz the name you want and they will pick up the phone and ask who it is? Or sometimes they have a door function they press and then talk to you. If they want you to come up. They will press a button and let you up. You have about 10 seconds for the door to work for you.. We had that since the mid 80's here...

[@TecSanento]

End of course - once you pressed the first doorbell, You can not Ring any of the others for some time - so halloween Tricks don't work the same

[@TecSanento]

@@ebbhead20 okay just to make clear I was not talking about the doorbell in the starcars but the door bells at the postboxes in front of the main door to the Apartment Complex

[@ebbhead20]

@@TecSanento im not sure what you're replying to, this was just a comment for the video he made where he seemed baffled.. So this is not really something i get ?

[@sreinke7219]

The good thing about small forks and spoons is that they fit into mugs. I for example keep a spoon in my mug whenever I drink hot chocolate, tea or cappuccino so I can stir it and my parents sometimes like to dip their cake in coffee. Especially if the cake is a few days old and has gotten a bit dry.

[@victoriabill9257]

To clear something up, this doorbell is in an apartment complex. And the door bell is the button which has the tenants last name on it. This can vary from houses to apartment complexes, from cities to towns. But yes, quite often the doorbell is an elongated small recktangle, usually in white with the surname of the tenant on it. However, you'll also often find the surname written next to a small circular/normal doorbell - mostly on older buildings and houses.

[@june4976]

Kitchen story time: when we moved into our first apartment on our own, the people who had lived there left their kitchen to us. We were glad about that - at first. BUT soon after, we learnt why. First: it was a self-built kitchen, nothing standardized. Second: the appliances seemingly had been installed by Fred Flintstone, at least they sounded and had a power intake of appliances of 20+ years old (and the smell, at least the fridge). Third: there was a large GAP at the back of the counters - about two inches! Everything disappeared there, from forks to grapes to overflowing milk on the stove. It was GROSS. And fourth: the kitchen was so tacky that we questioned the people before us had ever cleaned it - which would have been rather difficult, too, because all the cupboard's doors had these shutter-like wood planks that were a nightmare to clean. After about half a year, we wished we had bought a kitchen. Fortunately, the grandparents of my boyfriend still had some cupboards of their old kitchen in the cellar, so we could throw this disgusting abomination out.

[@InspektorDreyfus]

About the kitchen ... There are extremes. Some built-in kitchens are so old, crappy and dirty that you run away directly. Some tenants have bought so expensive kitchens, which they want to sell to the next tenant - prices are just ridiculous. Some kitchens are owned by the landlord and you rent the kitchen. Usually for a price for which you could just buy a credit financed kitchen yourself. And in general, the whole kitchen business in the "Küchenstudios" is a total rip-off. It is worse than car dealers. No matter how clever you think you are, you always pay too much.

[@spiritofcoco]

Oh, we ARE as delinquent… I love how you immediately picked up on the prankster‘s paradise doorbell situation 🎉

[@namenlos40]

2:55 You can't go up to the person's door, because tue main door of the complex is probably closed.

[@holgerczubka5453]

2:57 You can´t ring the door bell in front of the appartement because the main entry of the building is locked! When you ring the bell and the owner of the appartement is at home, he can talk to you over the intercom (german Sprechanlage) and push a button (Türöffner) that opens the main entry. 3:07 Thats what we did as children - pushing all buttons and the run away. its called "Klingel putzen" 9:50 The standard size of pillows her in Germany is 80x80cm (about 31x31 inch)

[@ThePixel1983]

Exactly. How do Americans enter an apartment complex?

[@lulaa123]

@@ThePixel1983 their Apartment complexes are basically just open. Like you can just enter through the front door without a keys and go up to someones Apartment. Super unsafe if you ask me

[@ThePixel1983]

@@lulaa123 I see. Yeah, meanwhile here in Paris you have two front doors. The first has a numpad and gives you access to the letterboxes and doorbells. So no kids waking up everyone 😁

[@wizardm]

Most germans want their own furniture and kitchen. Many people buy a new kitchen if they move. In some cases you can buy the kitchen from the previous tenant.

[@nichtsie]

in northern germany the appartments are normally with a partly equipped kitchen: a sink and sometimes some boards. But a sink is normal here. Our appartment f.e. has a fully equipped kitchen, we have to leave it there if we move, only the fridge, the washing mashine etc are ours. :) But this is very typical for northern germany.

[@DeFuchs]

13:04 No matter whether it's the USA or Germany, cats love their damn boxes

[@forkless]

Funny that you mention the metric system. I really don't understand why Americans are so hell bent on keeping it. The metric system is not only easier to understand -- that alone should be reason enough for Americans to adopt it -- it also offers a higher grade of precision. In fact, houses built using the metric system have less waste material.

[@xelspeth]

This is a joke right?

[@forkless]

@@xelspeth What is?

[@xelspeth]

@@forkless I've seen a bunch of good arguments and a bunch of bad arguments against the imperial system.. but this tops all of the bad ones. First off: Easier to understand: It's not. The only reason you think it's easier to understand is because you learned it (first). People who grow up with the imperial system have way easier time understanding it instead of the metric system. Second: It offers higher grade of precision: Are you mad? The level of precision is not based on the unit used but on the device. You can use miles to accurately represent a distance that's less than the length of a ricecorn. Third: Houses build have less waste material: 1. Source 2. see above. If there is more waste material just means that whoever build the house did a worse job

[@baumstamp5989]

some people buy very individualized kitchens with counters that are of expensive or special material for the working plates. same goes for the sink. also the kitchen machines like oven or heater plates are very differing in price range. so you cant just leave a kitchen which you may have bought for $20,000 behind and then movie into a home with a kitchen that may have the worth of $5,000 because it is made of inferior materials or inferior class machinery. sure theoretically you could let someone who moves into a house after you pay for the kitchen. but if the new home has an inferior kitchen or one that you do not like, then you would have to pay another $20000 to make it like your old one again... so yeah, if you have an expensive well-taken-care-of kitchen then you will have the moving company remove, transport & reinstall it for you. and about the question how they fit. at least in most cases there are STANDARDS when it comes to those things. and germany is really known for loving to conform to standards in certain aspects of life. for example tubings of sanitary appliances like showers , toilets etc. are all standardized so you can interchange them regardless of what design, quality, material or "outer visible style" they might come in. same for kitchen counter heights, dishwasher fitting, etc. some of these may have 2-3 options , for example there exist XXL dishwasher size. but it will always only be the questiion if you need an XXL dishwasher or a normal size dishwasher to fit into your kitchen counter. you never have to explicitly look for tens of different height versions or other special measurment versions. but in these two standards you can have dishwashers for 300 dollars and others for over 1000 dollars .. depending on energy class / power saving features, if it is a smart device that can be controlled via Wi-Fi.... so like the whole differently priced model ranges of all the different kitchen tech companies. sorry if that is too much info :D

[@mimibel6670]

1:25 It is common in Germany to have a Klingelschild (door bell nameplate), but not always in this style. 3:38 This is a Reetdach (thatched roof), it is common reed (in a dried state) used for roofing. 5:15 When you rent a flat or a house, you usually have to pay rent every month. The term " Kaltmiete" (cold rent), or basic rent, refers to the part of the rent that is only for the use of the living space. In addition to the basic rent, the operating costs (including the heating costs) are added, which together make up the Warmmiete (warm rent), also known as the gross rent. 8:54 No we do not only have "sparkling water" in bottles, there is the "klassische" mineral waters with a lot of sparkling, "medium" with reduced sparkling and "still" non-sparkling mineral waters. Sparkling is just more common. 9:50 We just did not change the basically traditional form for much to long (this pillows are bad for the spine), but other forms start to get more common. 10:40 There are many reasons for taking "your kitchen" with you: if you paid a lot for a nice kitchen and now you move, you could sell it to the next person (but that would mean they would need to like it and want/can pay for it), you could just leave it behind (but it could be that there is no kitchen in the next apartment and you would have to buy another one and that maybe 4 to 5 times). There are many apartments that come with a (basic) kitchen.

[@janzizka9963]

The doorbell box downstairs is neat because the building is usually locked, non-residents don't have keys and nowadays you can open remotly from your home. Earlier we threw the backup keys (assuming you know the person) out of window trying to hit the guest 😁 And yes, it is a prankster paradise.

[@lelareau3820]

the doorbell prank was very common in my youth. its called klingelputzen which means doorbell cleaning - as you swipe over all the bells in one swipe as you would clean them

[@simsch97]

I think it is called very differently in different parts of germany. We call it "Klingelmännchen" here but there are so many names for it like: "Klingelmännchen, Blinde Mäuse, Glöckerlpartie, Klingelmäuschen, Klingelputzen, Klingelrutschen, Klingelsturm, Klingelpost, Schellemännchen, Schellekloppe or Schellebergerles" cite Wikipedia.

[@ankebosing1968]

We called it Mäuseklingeln.

[@TecSanento]

But at least in newer apartment buildings pranks dont work like this anymore - because once you ring the first doorbell, the talking channel is blocked and you can not Ring another flat

[@GERMartin]

The difference between Kaltmiete ("cold rent") and Warmmiete ("warm rent") are the running costs which usually include all costs that come up over the year that are directly for the appartment. I work for an property management here in germany and my job is the billing of incidentals ("Nebenkostenabrechnung" or "NKA"). This NKA will come once a year. The Kaltmiete does belong to the owner of the appartment. The running costs (Nebenkosten) are there to cover all expanses. These expanses cover street-cleaning, water consumption, waste water, cost for the garbage collection, real propery tax, rarely electricity (usually you pay this directly to the supplier of energy, you also have a free choice of where you want to get your electricity from), sometimes heating, sometimes gardening, sometimes cleaning of the communal staircase (if a company does this. This is 50/50 I think, the other half you have to organize who cleans the stairs once a week. Usually there is a Putzplan/"cleaning roster" hanging at the entrance where this is arranged), cabel TV, sometimes but rarely internet, sometimes exterminator, communal electricity for the stairs and costs for the lift if your house has one. I probably forgot something. Overall you can say that costs that are recurring are alloctable costs but these costs also have to me noted in your contract... We germans always try to overcomplicate everything and we usually succeed 😎 If you paid enough in the year to cover all expanses you get some of the money back, but there is also the case where not all costs are covered, so you have to do an additional payment. If you wanna know more about that, let me know 😄

[@Dr.BenjiBuddy]

In the netherlands the doorbells are usually outside of the building with an intercom next to it. You can buzz someone in (or not) so they can come up to your front door.

[@jangaazka5789]

3:38 - you were right. Roof is covered by reed. In was very pupular till the 19th cent. It is still kept on historical buildings. It was cheap and popular in North Europe (Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, Netherlands) and in England.

[@BrokenCurtain]

3:37 You've never seen a thatched roof? o.O And yes, those are plants - water reed, to be exact. They're quite good, traditional roofs and the people who build them are called "thatchers" (re: "Margaret Thatcher").

[@leDespicable]

To be fair, if you don't live in a place where thatched roofs are a thing, you're less likely to know what they are unless you paid attention to them in media. I live in Bavaria, and if we hadn't talked about the term "thatched roof" in English class, I probably wouldn't have known about their existence either lol

[@BrokenCurtain]

@@leDespicableEven if you don't live in a place where they exist, they're still a common feature in film and television. For example, I'm reasonably sure there were a few in the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

[@sinusnovi3826]

3:40 it is reed. It is popular on legacy houses in northern Germany at the sea side. Reed is very good at isolation and very stable/durable against salt water humidity.

[@maxigrunke7100]

6:10 ... My one friend literally lives there. This is their home 😅 funny that that building is shown... I never thought this old building was worth any mentioning

[@m.sierra5258]

"You like to make really long words" - that's just how the language works. Instead of putting an "of" in between words, we join them together. "House of representatives" in German would be "Representantenhaus". This is not one word, it's two words without a space in between. It's called a compound word. Those aren't in dictionaries, their parts are. This is actually a problem for things like auto-completion on cellphones, because they often assume that every word is a fixed word from the dictionary, they often can't deal with this principle of combining words. Btw, in some cases this is done in English as well... like "doorbell". Although it's rare enough that all of them are in dictionaries, and it can't be done on-the-fly.

[@Humpelstilzchen]

3:15 Yes 😂 we call it ,,Klingel putzen,, doorbell cleaning or doorbell sweaping

[@emipigeon914]

Or „Klingelstreich“ what means dorbell prank

[@ArmandoBellagio]

Rachel was also surpised by the German postcodes I guess since she came from the UK and they have a weird combo with letters and number. However, it used to be just 4 digits (like they still have in Switzerland for example). But since 1993 it's 5. Yeah, like in the US. Of course house numbers are switched ;)

[@jomaclkego6381]

And when I was a child, there were only 2 Numbers, and the street was written underneath. We had to add the name of the urban district, too-. So my address was: Claudia Jansen, 41 Duisburg-Wedau, Graudenzer Ring 1. When I was in Highscool, the districts were given numbers. So instead of "Wedau" I had to write "26". Since the reform of 1993 I have a lot of problems to memorize the addresses of my relatives and friends, even so they live in the same place as in 1992. 😅

[@jomaclkego6381]

aaaah. I was born in 1958.

[@elipa3]

The thing with kitchens - in former times there were kitchens in the appartments. But a lot of people preferred to buy their own kitchens, other colours, other fronts, other cupboards, more or other appliances . So that changed. If you are moving and there is a built-in-kitchen, you often can buy it, for cheap money.

[@Alarda85]

Yes, those doorbells in the begnning are the ones of an apartment building. The roof that amazes you so much has a thatched roof. We call that a "Reetdach" in German. You mostly get those houses up in the coastal areas around the Baltic and North Sea. That is an old regional building style. The roof is made of water reed. Those houses are very old actually. Most of those fall under the monument protection, because they don't build modern houses the same way and there are only so many left. Those that are must be repaired only with the same kind of material originally used and the rules are very strict. There are a couple more old building styles that have survived in remaining builings in different regions, such as the timber-framed houses.

[@VampireFan1980]

The prank you mentioned, ringing the doorbell, does exist here in germany as well. It's called "Klingelmännchen" - But normally it's rather kids doing it, not 15 year olds.

[@swanpride]

And it is really not much "fun" to do at an apartment complex...since the doors are opened remote anyway, there simply is no one who turns up at the door.

[@aw3s0me12]

*>> Klingelputzen* is what i have ever heared of naming it. -männchen never occured even once, for me.

[@swanpride]

@@aw3s0me12 I am sure that there are geographical difference. I am from the west of Germany (geographically speaking), and here it is called "Klingelmännchen". Never heard Klingelputzen, only Klinkenputzen, which is naturally something entirely different.

[@aw3s0me12]

@@swanpride maybe yes. I am from the south german side, Baden Württemberg ;) We always said *Klingelputz´*

[@spaltersar]

@@aw3s0me12 I'm from Cologne. We call it "Klingelmäuschen" (doorbell-mouse).

[@holgernelke196]

Of course we take our kitchens with us when we move houses. We usually buy them custom-made to our requirements, like having an induction cooker, seperate oven or pharmacy cabinets. And after spending up to € 25k on a kitchen we want to make the most of it. Besides that who wants to use a kitchen someone else has already used and abused? You'll never get the gunk out of a fridge or freezer or the stains out of the oven from the previous tenant. Moving companies normally employ a cabinetmaker that will alter your existing kitchen to the new place in accordance to your needs and the possibilities there. Makes much more sense to spend money on a kitchen you really like then to live with one that's ugly, dated and dirty.

[@lingred975]

it's also weird for me, spaniard. you wouldn't be able to move my kitchen to another place.

[@t.a.yeah.]

I think it depents, if you really plan to live there a longer period iof time, it's nicer to get your own kitchen, but if you move often, it's actually pretty dumb to take the kitchen with you, because every kitchen has diffrent sizes and you maybe won't get the same cabinets after 5 years, if it's bigger. We sold our kitchen to the next renter and bought the kitchen from the previous inhabitants of our new home. Just a new fridge.

[@holgernelke196]

@@t.a.yeah. My kitchen is now 12 years old and I've moved twice since I bought it. All I needed was a new counter because sink and stove top needed to be moved to the hook-ups being in different places. And the company I bought it from guarantees that you can buy additional elements directly from their cabinet makers. Never had any issues. And if an appliance breaks I can just replace it because of standard size and fittings.

[@t.a.yeah.]

@@holgernelke196 Nice for you. (literally, no irony) Everyone like (s)he wants. :)

[@laurieleannie]

So very interesting! Thank you!

[@Nothin-but-the-blues]

As far as I know are the big square pillows ( 31,5" x 31,5") a result of the time when the beds were much shorter than today and the people had to sit in their beds (alcove). So they could protect their heads and backs with this large pillows! The beds become longer but the pillow size remained the same!

[@noxcis1407]

at minute 4:06 you said that germans like to use long words, we use the long words to describe the properties of the object like "Mehrfamilienhaus" in english it´s means multi family house.

[@manuelplate6370]

3:25 We All did it in our childhood. 😉

[@rincemind8369]

I'm from Switzerland and moving the whole kitchen when changing apartment for us also sounds like a pretty weird german thing. Kitchen equipment and bath installments are investments from the housekeeper/property management that add up to defining the quality level of the apartment. Nobody in Switzerland in the right mind would have even the idea of the possibility of taking the whole kitchen when moving. Also the problem that kitchen equipment wouldn't fit properly into a different space/setting is more than realistic.

[@carpediem4091]

I think this only happens in Germany... I don't know any other European country where that's a thing

[@skandalf9726]

so isches! XD

[@tako-hime8088]

oh interesting, I didn't know it was different there! here in Austria it's quite common to take your kitchen with you as well when you're moving.

[@Leucanthema]

I was thinking the same. Everything else is basically the same as Czech Republic, but the kitchen think sounds alien to me. Kitchens are usually fitted in the space, moving them sounds weird and ineffective.

[@taptoplayde]

@@Leucanthema My Baumarkt even offers a paid service where they plan the old kitchen into the new room, move the kitchen and install/update it in the new flat.

[@dehyassimp7450]

About the kitchen: I‘ve only experienced a kitchen being moved from house to house and not from apartment to apartment. And when you have build a kitchen into your house, often it was so expensive that it would be a shame to leave it behind (for example, we renovated our kitchen a few years back and now it has wooden counters and very nice equipment overall - we don‘t plan to move but if we have to, that‘s definitely coming with us).

[@folksvalueinstitutfurfried9642]

Mailboxes are typical outdoor accesable. also the doorbells. Often there is an intercom system, older appartmentcomplexes have not. Anyway the the one u like to visit can remotely open the outer doorlock. than u have to go to the apartment where the door will hopefully opend manually. Sometimes mailboxes are in the staircase located but these doors are usual unlocked

[@tyez2272]

What i often dont like about the Videos from "Meet the Germans" is, that they sometimes show a side - which most likely is common but not everything and everywhere - but never the other side. Just as an example: The kitchens. Yes most likely it isn´t installed but since i moved out of my parents home and visited some flats (WGs or single apartments) to rent, they all had kitchens in it. Not the most beautiful to be honest... and i literally would never move and take my counters with me except they were VERY expensive. Same goes with the Tiny Houses. Yes, Germans feel very comfortable in tiny spaces - at least more than maybe cultures where big houses are more common you know, but Tiny Houses and small apartments are like the "starter"-things to begin with when you don´t have any money to afford the higher rent at bigger apartments. Or maybe just because you cant afford more, which is totally normal because not every job here in Germany is paid as much as people deserve for their hard work. Like in the medical sector etc. I live in a small space because i am at university and have literally almost no money left at the end of the month so of course i rent a small flat. BUT when i try to make a family then of course i would move to a bigger apartment etc. As a German i sometimes have the feeling that they only show one thing and it "seems" as if its the standard everybody has. PS: Rules in the contract such as "how many times you have to air out" are most likely never controlled xD Of course there are normal rules like noise etc. but no one controlles how many time you air out :D Have a wonderful week Ryan and stay healthy :)

[@t.a.yeah.]

Besides that, tiny houses are not good for the environment, neither good to house many people, for that, build vertically, with wood, with insolation (which is very bad in tiny houses). For most people tiny houses are a hobby or vacation. It's hard to find a place for your tiny house to really live in. I'm not even sure, if it's legal, I think, you have to live in a building, that's not moveable (or at least be registrated in such).

[@tyez2272]

@@t.a.yeah. yeah true! Its not that easy to live in tiny houses and just pick a place to put it down. I think that they want to make special areas where it is allowed but i am not sure. Thanks for your addition!

[@jadenf5528]

Questions that may came up and havnt been answered in the video: Cold rent: just the rent for the appartment Warm rent: cold rent + extra cost like heating, warm water and sewage Yes, we also have still water in glass bottles

[@Sloyment]

To answer all questions: Multi apartment buildings have a doorbell tableau outside the main entrance. It is usually not integrated in the mailbox. As you figured out, you can remotely ring the apartment doorbell from outside. Newer installations also include a door opener, so you can remotely open the main entrance door from the apartment to let someone in. There might also be a speaker system, so you can ask who is at the door. Doorbell pranks are rare. 15 year old kids don’t do tat at all; 10 year old is more likely, maybe even younger. It’s a thatched roof or reed roof. A typical apartment size is more like 70 m² for three people, although some people live in very large homes and thus distort the statistics. Warm rent is the rent you pay to your landlord, which includes the cost of heating, staircase cleaning, gardening, garbage removal etc. Cold rent is the part of the rent that is for the housing itself. It’s like brutto and netto. In most cases however, warm rent does not include electricity, water and telecommunications. The part about tiny houses is obviously BS. The guy mentions garden houses. There are garden colonies for hobby gardeners, and in the past, you were allowed to put up a tiny hut and even live there, but that was in addition to your regular home, like for weekends in summer. There are several reasons against living permanently in a tiny house. There are tight building codes, so you can’t put up any building anywhere. Building plots are absurdly expensive, so you might as well put up a real house. And even on social welfare, you are allowed as a single person to rent a 45 m² apartment. So if you want to live in a tiny house, you must be really desperate. You can buy bottled non-sparkling water, but there is no point in doing so, as the tap water is much cleaner than the bottled water. And for bottled water you pay 17 cent per liter (76 cent per gallon), while tap water costs you 0.4 cent per liter (1.8 cent per gallon). It’s just ridiculous. In most cases, the kitchen counters don’t fit your new kitchen, so you end up throwing them away. …or selling them on eBay and buying new ones from Ikea. I guess cake forks are supposed to look cute. Same as with dessert spoons.

[@frankfurt1063]

lol my uncle told me he used a wooden board to ring all the appartments doorbells at once as a kid. Some houses have doorbell buttons that stick out more so it mustve worked nicely.