American reacts to the BEST TikToks about GERMANY

[@jihanaGMX]

It´s not a paper towel, it´s cloth. And it does not go around, that would be pretty unhygienic, instead it gets rolled up again. When the roll is finished it has to be replaced by a fresh one, and the old one gets professionally cleaned. That way everyone gets a dry, clean and reusable fabric towel. It never occured to me that this is something unknown in the US.

[@RustyDust101]

Yepp, and a cloth towel, due to its structure and texture is more able to actually scrape off the remaining particles you may have missed while washing your hands than paper towels. Paper towels are usually extremely cheap, soak through instantly, and loose nearly all their structural consistency. There are actually two rolls inside that device. One is the dispensing roll, the other the storage roll for the used towel. The diameter of the rolls are gauged exactly so that while one decreases in diameter, the other increases so there is very little wasted space inside. This prevents waste of paper towels.

[@Duconi]

We had them in one company I worked for. They are cool technology wise, but sometimes they get broken and it doesn't suck the old towel in anymore. That makes a mess. But I have been able sometimes to fix that. The towel that is rolled up feels like being 100m long or something. I don't know, but very long. If you know how to change them, it's quite easy.

[@armitage9204]

@@Otte74 I've never seen such a thing before but as soon as you feel the cloth, the machine schould be self explanatory. She didn't even understand the soap dispenser. I think this girl is just utterly stupid.

[@tangerine4665]

To be honest, I was a bit confused when I encountered them while visiting IKEA in Italy. They are not that popular in my country. Mostly it’s the air driers.

[@ExtremeTeddy]

Unbelievable how dumbstruck she behaves. It never appeared to me in the first place when I encountered them decades ago. After the first pull she should have noticed that it is a cloth and not paper ... not to mention that most of these machines have some kind of usage illustration painted on.

[@Odinus]

He: I can not imagin to pay for the bathroom. Meanwhile me: And I can not imagin paying for everytime I visit a hospital or a doctror.

[@mikebag120]

Hmmm.... I guess toilets are not free at tourist spots. In my area (village in the black forest) there is an agreement between the pubs/restaurants and the city that everybody can use their toilets for free. Even in supermarkets, hardware store (like shown here) and department stores. At least in my region it's free. Ok, back in the 70s, there was this toilet lady sitting at the entrance. But today? ....never saw this since then. Ok, I can't speak for whole Germany.

[@ohdarling3450]

@@mikebag120 same thing in my city!

[@SuperMurxus]

Also - you probably can't *literally* pay every time you visit the hospital or doctor because at some point you're broke.

[@saiyasha848]

And I mean, you are paying for a _clean_ bathroom. Most public toilets in Germany are really well taken care of, unless you are at one of those reststops that ony has a Urinal. those are to be avoided like the Plague.

[@dfguko]

You paying for health insurance so you paying for the doctor or hospital. Germany is full of stupid laws and rules its very regulated that why i never liked it.

[@GGysar]

16-year-olds in Germany: legally buying beer and getting drunk on weekends. Meanwhile, 20-year-olds in the U.S.: hey, bro, I managed to sneak ONE beer from my parent's fridge, let’s have some fun tonight.

[@melchiorvonsternberg844]

Mommendema... Als ich klein war, ist es auch kein Thema gewesen, wenn du mit 14 in der Kneipe ein Bier bestellt hast. Und wenn wir mit 15, 16 um die Häuser gezogen sind am Wochenende, da haben wir auch den Abend über 5, 6 Bier weggezogen. Aber wir haben uns nicht jedes Wochenende voll laufen lassen, bis zum Verlust der Muttersprache. Das hätte unser schmaler Geldbeutel gar nicht hergegeben...

[@Tilly_Shorts]

@@melchiorvonsternberg844 das ist das wahrste was ich heute gelesen habe

[@melchiorvonsternberg844]

@@Tilly_Shorts Gern geschehen...

[@Brauiz90]

I know this situation too well. As a 16 year old you can go in a pub and the barkeeper sells you all types of beer and wine, but at 10 pm you have to leave because you're not old enough to stay...

[@GreedyOrange]

@@melchiorvonsternberg844 unterschreib ich so, erstes mal mit 12 sekt an silvester aufm dorf, karusell obwohl ich nur da liege, huiiiii

[@pyrointeam]

12:21 I tell you what went wrong: She ordered an Eiskaffee (Icecoffee) thinking it's iced coffee (normal coffee wit ice cubes) like in the U.S. but it's actually a big cup of vanilla or chocolate icecream filled up with coffee. And that's why it's as expensive as a big icecream + a coffee. Oh and it's absolutely worth it. Same for Eischokolade.

[@HexenkoeniginVonAngmar]

Big translation problem: The German word "Eis" can mean both "ice" and "icecream". We just determine from context clues which one someone's talking about.

[@mrsquid_]

@@HexenkoeniginVonAngmar yeah it always confuses me how americans _always_ mean solid water when talking abt an ice

[@RatorLP]

coffee with ice cubes in a plastic cup sounds like something that should be illegal

[@pyrointeam]

@@RatorLP For germans yes

[@LythaWausW]

@@RatorLP My favorite espresso drink in Summer is an iced Americano with cream - a shot of espresso with ice and water and cream and splenda. I live in Germany now so I have learned how to make them myself with Nescafe Espresso #7. You probably would agree with the Starbucks employee in Wuppertal who said, "Do you know what that is?" to me *lol* Also, none of this is in a plastic cup, that would be gross.

[@svens.69]

To the public playgrounds: Everyone knows that you can use the equipment at your own risk. If I overestimate myself and then fall from a climbing frame, I can not say "I did not know that you can fall down there" Moreover, a few bruises from climbing around as a child has usually not hurt anyone ^^. In addition, it must be said that usually at most playgrounds a sign with rules of conduct is attached, among other things with the note: Use at your own risk and parents are liable for their children.

[@Quallenkrauler]

Also it's not like you're going to smack into the pavement if you fall down a four meter rope web. The ground beneath these climbing constructs is always shock absorbing material like soft sand or rubber mats. Playgrounds are constantly checked for safety hazards, so no they're not "built to be dangerous".

[@xehanotmelodic7696]

There is also a very Important law that makes playgrounds like this possible in Germany, the law of 'Aufsichtspflicht der Erziehungsberechtigten(Eltern)' duty of supervision. Which define that the parents have the responsibility to watch after their kids and are responsible for what they are doing. Of course you could now say, "What, why is there a law like this, that should be obvious and natural and shouldn't have to be written down!", but since a law like this doesn't exist in the US every year tousand of hysterical parents sue all kinds of organisations, and make something as simple as a funny playground for kids impossible to exist in the US. And that is only the top of the mountain.

[@Alianne09]

Agreed. It's a general attitude of "Yeah, slipping can happen, now you know to be more careful and hold on tight next time." Obviously playgrounds are set up in a way to reduce risk, with padded ground or wood chips below climbing structures. No one wants their kid to die, but the goal is for kids to have fun AND to learn what their physical capabilities are. So if they ever need to judge whether they can, lets say, safely jump off of a certain height, they have a reference point for that and hopefully the muscle memory to do it.

[@gazz3867]

Playground is fine. =) Kids heal fast.

[@wolf310ii]

These signs with "Eltern haften für ihre Kinder" are not worth the metal they are printet on. "the law of 'Aufsichtspflicht der Erziehungsberechtigten(Eltern)' duty of supervision. Which define that the parents have the responsibility to watch after their kids and are responsible for what they are doing." No, it defines not that the parents have to watch after their kids and they are not responsible for what the kids doing. When and how much "supervision" a kid needs, depends on the kid, how dumb it is and his age, there is no law that say that kids arent allowed to do a single step outside alone without supervison from the helicopter parents until they are out of school. If the kid is old enough to go alone in the kindergarten, its also old enough to go alone on the playground and its also responsible for what it does

[@boelwerkr]

Germany is big as in "filled up" there is so much to see. While many other countries have a few population centers and nothings much else than countryside, in Germany every town has something special.

[@SuperMurxus]

Size of Texas - but twice & a half the population too.

[@DenUitvreter]

That's not special in Europe.

[@fabiansaerve]

@@DenUitvreter but for Americans

[@benjamins.2267]

I would Definitely recommend to visit Frankfurts Main Station, a beautiful place indeed

[@christophleitzen9234]

@@benjamins.2267 for what to see junkies set there heroine? Frankfurt isn't a tourist city go Berlin hamburg Cologne or Munich

[@mementomori5580]

That towel thingy is actually a continues long cloth towel which gets unrolled on one side and rolled up again on the other. So it's not reused in the machine (it's getting exchanged for a new one and the used one is properly cleaned in the appropriate facility).

[@evilmessiah81]

right thts why you pay in most public restrooms in germany, cause they get cleaned constandly

[@LythaWausW]

We have these in America, and and Ryan said, he hasn't had the opportunity to travel much.

[@cantinadudes]

One thing i have to add to the playground thing: While it looks very unsafe, every little Detail is built so that the injuries are still minimized. There are forms that the companies behind the playgrounds have to follow, or the playground doesnt get opened to the public. These are very strict forms, and sometimes the people that inspect the playgrounds are so precise, they wont even let you build certain stuff just a few milimeters too close to other stuff. I know this because my dad is a playground inspector and i've been following him every now and then, and he is one of those inspectors that are very precise. Tragedies rarely happen due to these restrictions, and sometimes its even traumatic for those involved in the construction of the playground. My dad still speaks about the time a girl lost her arm on a playground he inspected 20 years ago, thats why he and all of his coworkers are so precise with what they are doing. The worst injury any kid had ever since was a broken arm after falling off the climbing moose near an Ikea (its a wooden moose that you can climb) And even i myself have experienced how it is to hurt yourself once. I climbed on a roof of one of the things there (dont know how they are called) and fell off. I landed with my back to the ground on logs that were suspended in the air, and i didnt even get a real injury, it just hurt a bit for a few minutes and i had some scratches on my back, but apart from that everything was fine. So yea they look dangerous and you can certainly harm yourself, but they arent as dangerous as they look because of restrictions and forms the construction companies have to follow

[@dfguko]

I would send any kid into the woods alone at night and let them playing there not at a artificially created place in a city.

[@SoneaT]

@@dfguko you aren't that wrong and living on the countryside, makes this possible ( but not at nights, to dangerous with those wolves 😜we have here in Germany). But living in Munich, requires a 1 hours drive to reach a real wood. And it might be more save bc the trees are mostly those who are not can be climed on. 😂

[@simonschmitz6523]

digga halber Aufsatz😂

[@hendrikson98]

Blabla Car is as an app where someone whos driving himself can put up his route (like i.e. berlin - munich) and people can book it in that direction too or get in somwhere on the route. The drivers are from what i experienced just normal people but extremely kind and welcoming. It happens often that there’s almost a fluent conversation over 5 hours of travel 😂

[@Anri6547]

yeah this makes 10 times more sense than uber...

[@vomm]

I used to drive a lot with Blablacar or before that Mitfahrgelegenheit and actually only ever had positive experiences. I have never heard anything negative from others, except that maybe someone drove a little too fast or something.

[@meikeido]

Ist das so ein Städteding? Ich hab davon literally noch nie was gehört😅

[@alihorda]

First time I have ever heard about this app

[@manub.3847]

@@meikeido "Car sharing agencies" existed early on, but mostly only within one employer (high fuel costs, almost the same commute). In the case of the "modern ride-sharing agencies" (founded in the Internet age), it was more about "risk minimization" since the driver and the passenger to register with name, address, etc. and state their "journey/tour" and agree on a cost sharing. From this system, if necessary, a civil action for one of the parties is possible. And yes, the whole thing is even available for rail transport, since group tickets are often cheaper.

[@pierremertscheit4206]

3:55 yeah, but beer is legal to drink alone at the age of 16 and with 14 its allowed to drink with your parental permission. And he deffinitly looks older than 16. For some germans, beer is treated like a softdrink

[@saiyasha848]

And it looks like he is on some beer festival in southern germany, maybe even Oktober fest. no one is gonna question your beer order here unless you look 10. And even then, some might not.

[@saladien9987]

To be fair it is basically a softdrink.

[@23GreyFox]

@@saladien9987 Compared to American "beer" it's hard liquor.

[@annaluciaschmitz]

@@saladien9987 True 😂

[@Woopsdiditagain]

"For some Germans" Bavarians. Ganz klar Bayern lol

[@domieszter]

Ryan you need to travel, get a ticket to UK/Germany and make videos of your experiences🙂

[@LouisInBlue]

and learn some german lol

[@evilmessiah81]

@@LouisInBlue right, most germans speak englisch, so you could learn german too

[@LouisInBlue]

u suggest me to learn german? 😂

[@slyparis2447]

@@LouisInBlue why not ?

[@LouisInBlue]

@@slyparis2447 i just dont see the casual link between germans speaking english and me learning german too lol and i myself am actually learning english now😂

[@wissbegierigerdaniel4397]

Yes, that is true, everyone under the age of 60 can communicate in English, because it's one of the three most important subjects in school, next to German and Maths. But, most people that are older might not understand English because it wasn't teached at school like 60 years ago. So if you can't speak German, talk in English and you will be understood unless the person is over the age of 60. Most people in Germany have an B1-Level in English, so don't be worried. Also the young generations use the Internet often, so they get confronted with English every day.

[@alexandervonreu418]

Well… even in the IT departments of various companies and public organisations the people really struggle to speak English. Some years ago it was possible to finish school with knowledge about French, Spain, Russian, Latin or old Greece language but without learning English

[@dayfin1843]

There is however a difference between East and West Germany. My stepmother is 50 and grew up in the DDR, she had to learn Russian in school, no English. Edit: She finished Abitur in West-Germany after their Ausreise and also got her university degree in the West, all without any English skills.

[@FetterFish]

Digga, es heißt taught und nicht teached xD

[@spagettie1589]

Please consider where your from when thinking everyone might speak english, however you might not. Not meant to be rude, but if you have ever heard an african person talk to you the way they learned it, it takes like four people to get what they are saying. It now happend twice to me... It is just painful to think that you should be understanding the other person but in the end neither understands the other one....

[@lunaris7342]

My Mother is under 60 and she cant speak englisch at all my best Friend in School is 23 and she couldnt speak englisch at all either. Just because we learn it in School doesnt mean everybody can speak englisch

[@stevemeier2852]

You should try the citizenship test for fun. The questions are public and the stuff you don’t know may provide more video ideas

[@tobiass.6525]

we were in california and the man at the cash register asked the elderly gentleman (grey hair, long gray beard) for his ID coz of a beer. just ridiculous

[@viis374]

My parents (50 years old) were asked for theirs as well. It just seems so unnecessary to me. In Germany i wasn’t even asked for my Id when I was buying vodka, mind I am 18, but I was kinda sad because I wanted to show that I’m 18 and they were like “we don’t care”

[@seorsamaclately4294]

A story from 20 years ago. An online friend in the USA (at the time 70) got carded when he wanted to buy pipe cleaners. Mind CLEANERS, not tobacco.

[@mats7492]

Well, if they card everyone no one can sue for discrimination..

[@fabiansaerve]

@@viis374 i have the exact same story haha

[@steffent.6477]

@@viis374 Lucky you, I get asked every time in Germany and I'm 28 and don't look like 16 or so ^^

[@Jesus_Crist]

The "I think she went on a bad day" got me laughing so hard 🤣 😂 One word every German will understand Frankfurter Hauptbahnhof

[@wigglinbrow]

Ah yes... Frankfurt Central Station... One day a guy just sat down next to me, smiled, greeted me friendly... and then started talking about his penis. 😂

[@Anson_AKB]

escalators and transport belts (eg in airports) usually don't have unreliable motion sensors, especially if they are long/high, but a simple pressure plate in front of them, which lets it run for a little longer than it needs to get you to the end. always fun to watch someone use a non-moving one like normal stairs in the wrong direction (there are indicators: "arrow" and "don't enter"), and then someone at the "normal" start comes and triggers it to move that person backwards :-)

[@williamrockwood5234]

there are also many, that go both ways though, depending on which end you enter

[@monkeybusiness673]

That legit happened a little while ago and I was absolutely amazed. Around my area, most escalators don't have sensors and just run nonstop, so naturally I thought this one was out of order and took the stairs. One person started walking down and then WOOP got ferried back up. Hilarious! x'D

[@twinmama42]

In many cultures, you wash dishes under running water, which needs a LOT of water. Germans don't do that. We put a dishwashing detergent in hot water, clean the dish, and let it dry. Some people have two sinks, one is filled with clear water (no detergent) to rinse off the detergent before letting the dishes dry. Even with two sinks you hardly need more than 10 liters (quarts) of water to clean a lot of dishes. With the running water method, you need from 15 to 25 liters of water per minute, not counting the extra amount of detergent needed. So figure out which method is cheaper and more eco-friendly. Using a dishwashing machine is always more effective than washing your dishes by hand, but German housewives are almost as effective (water consumed, the energy needed for heating up the water, amount of detergent used) as machines.

[@scarba]

Housewives? Men do dishes too in Germany

[@chrissiesbuchcocktail]

thx for saving me to write this :)

[@holladiewal6812]

Well, modern dishwasher can do the work with 3-4 litres of water, which means in most cases they are more efficient than sink washing. And as long as you are not heating your hot water with a heat pump, heating in the dishwasher will be more or as effective too!

[@twinmama42]

@@scarba I'm 57, I can say old-fashioned things. But yes, young men do dishes too.

[@silkwesir1444]

Some people in Germany use the running water method too. Which is a huge waste of water and detergent. I guess those who use the running water method feel it is more hygienic that way. Not actually true but I get where they are coming from.

[@juleb.7163]

A small fact about Dresden: the black Stones you can see on this buildings are stones from the time Dresden burned down (WWII). The bright stones are the ones which were created for restauration.

[@choobrloob3815]

If you put it like that it sounds as if the stones are blackened because of the fire. But it’s just that sandstone gets darker when exposed to weather and those buildings are 300+ years old …

[@juleb.7163]

@@choobrloob3815 thats what they told us in elementary school

[@CharonInk]

it´s more like with the Cologne Cathedral. @Choobrloop is right, the sandstone withers over time if exposed to the outside, so they are constantly replacing stones that look to weak to hold the construction for much longer by using a type of stone of a similar colour as sandstone, but more resistant to outside conditions. That is why, for example, the cathedral in Cologne always has scaffolding somewhere attached to it, because it's a full time job to do all that ^^ there's actually a saying in Colgne that "hell freezes over before the Cathedral is finished" xD

[@clauslangenbroek9897]

@CharonInk They don't constantly replace stones that look weak - this is not true at all. Sandstone lasts for many 100 years. They are only withering on the surface that's all, so they change colour not their structure. When there is damage it is for other reasons. The black stones are the old ones and the light stones are new ones, this part is right, but they are still both the same material. Dresden Frauenkirche, which is shown here, was rebuilt from scratch in the 2000s, as it was completely destroyed in the war. They used mainly new material but added some of the old stones to show respect to the original building.

[@danielanoll4069]

Escalators with motion sensors have been around for decades. And that towel dispenser has a big roll inside. Some are manual, you pull out a length and it goes back in (it's spring loaded). I used to change them at work, it's quite tricky!

[@Das-Nanno]

5:08 it’s like a towel dispenser. In it there is a huge long towel and it just gives you a bit unused towel to dry your hands. It’s used to minimize paper towel waste… I even think some of those machines clean and dry the towel inside but I‘m not sure. For most of those Someone comes takes it out into a washing machine and puts a new one in.

[@mibert1556]

I love that playground! I'm there with my 5-year-old son occasionally. The way it's build, the first steps are the hardest, because the strings are further apart, so smaller kids have a hard time even getting on it. I made it a rule ever since my son was old enough to go to playgrounds not to physically help him climb stuff he couldn't do on his own. I would assist him by telling him I'm standing right behind him and maybe have a hand touch his back for reassurance, but I would not pick him up and put him on top of things. He was soo proud the first time he managed to climb up there when he was 4 1/2 and sliding down afterwards was the best reward. I love that he can take calculated risks on german playgrounds and wouln't trade them for the world.

[@armitage9204]

We had a wooden adventure castle on our playground nearby. It was 8-10ft tall. When I was a child, my parents were so scared seeing me climbing up und jumping around. I must have been 3 or 4 years old. My dad still tells the story about me climbing up, without fear, smiling and shouting "trust me". Now, 30 years later, I'm suffering under extreme acrophobia. 😁

[@evilmessiah81]

as a kid we had an old steam locomotive at our local playground, the firechamber was welded shut, so noone could get stuck there but otherwise it was completely walkable and you could pull all the levers and vents, and could climb all over it.

[@jasminkagolubic9118]

I visited Berlin in 1998 and my impression of the city is completely different. Very pleasant, cosmopolitan and warm. Stayed there for a week, walked a lot, used both the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, trams, buses, and not once experienced any issues whatsoever. If one wants to find fault with everything, then they surely will be successful.

[@danielschurmann7558]

that video was mostly just a bunch of memes and jokes nobody understands: like "brother got catcalled" - "there is a large gay community and general openness". Likewise the others (tourist spots are expensive, police sirens are quite loud, there are sometimes weird people, etc.) I don't think any of that actually happened to that person.

[@vomm]

Berlin has definitely changed. There are now very many also aggressive people, every ride on the subway or S-Bahn feels quite dangerous. Berlin used to be sympathetically crazy, today it is increasingly threatening-crazy.

[@NicolaiCzempin]

She did says she was "joking - kinda"

[@antonk3533]

@@vomm I feel like it’s the opposite. Statistically crime has also declined over the last decades, in Berlin. What changed is the way we talk about crime and how it’s reported.

[@vomm]

@@antonk3533 Being agressive is not a crime. And I talk about my experiencies, not about reportings.

[@myeramimclerie7869]

11:57 yeah well, that's Berlin. Can also happen in Hamburg, especially weird people in the metro (had a lady once who peed on her seat and then proceeded to wash it with a bottle of beer) and drunk people screaming stuff at night. Lots of fun when you're going home and some 2m 100kg dude stands beside you screaming catcalls at you. yey. fun.

[@Itazu]

Yeah, this can happen in every big city. I live in Berlin and oh boi you see a lot of shit - literally. For example a drunk guy standing on the plattform and his pants soaked wet full of piss and shit.. Or a Lady standing in the fountain at the Alexanderplatz lifting her skirt to wash her p*ssy.

[@annaluciaschmitz]

In Cologne and Frankfurt too.

[@carsten7220]

That was so weird for me as a 30 year old german that I had to show my ID for a beer at a Kentucky airport when I arrived for a machine repair. They even ID'd a clearly 70 year old man next to me. But even more disturbing was to realize that the hotel was in a dry county. So there was no alcohol at all. Every fifth building looked like some kind of privat church. I liked my visit to USA in Phoenix, AZ in 2004 though, we had much more fun.

[@Jin600]

Its a Fabrig Towl and it gets suckt in so that the next person has a clean Towl for there hands. After it has run truh completly they are removed and replaced by unused towls

[@Anson_AKB]

yes, it is NOT a paper towel to be torn off, but a real clean cloth towel, and when you trigger the mechanism you'll get the next 30 or 40 centimeters (around one foot) from a roll, which after use then is rolled up on a second roll. after it all is used up (maybe 20 meters? 50+ uses) someone takes away the used roll for washing and puts in a new clean unused roll.

[@Fluxikator]

As a kid in Germany in a little village (like 300 people living there) everything was a playground. The actual playground probably was one of the safest places to play for us. We climbed trees as kids. Up to a height that if you would fall down you could seriously hurt yourself. One day I slipped one a smaller tree and my jacked cached a short branch and got ripped in half. Bales of straw were always a nice place to play. Or the old shed where they put straw in. We even played in like a abandoned cow shed. And this one had a second floor where straw and stuff was laying around. The middle was sturdy wood. But little did I know that the side bits where just like cardboard. So I was sitting next to the ladder to surprise a friend coming up with my self-made wooden gun (we were playing shoot em up.) And about 20seconds later my butt kissed the concrete 6 feet below me. I fell through the upper floor. Good thing I feel on the walkway and not between the iron stuff were the cows are held. One day we were playing at a river bridge. (A really small river we could easily stand in) we jumped from the bridge into the water. It wasn't really high. But I had the super good idea to try a assbomb (jumping so you butt hits the water first) the water wasn't deep enough.... My ass hurted for like 3 or 4 days. Nowadays the kids do way less dangerous stuff.

[@Llortnerof]

Arschbombe is Cannonball in english. And yeah, that was stupid :P

[@annaauer735]

i gotta say, as an Austrian, it's always fun and interesting to watch you react to German stuff xD

[@stuxburg]

Austria and Germany are basically the same

[@annaauer735]

@@stuxburg in some ways yes (Don't ever tall that to an Austrian, they're gonna get mad xD)

[@gggthsb]

I think we can not deny that our culture's are pretty similar, we just talk in different dialects and there are minor differences. I think the reason we Austrians get mad when people call us germans is mostly due to the fact that the rest of the world is basically denying the existence of Austria. Like just because we speak the same language, we are not Germans. Noone would say Swiss people are French or German or Italian just because they speak the language.

[@matthiasewert3587]

Das glaub ich gerne :D Grüße von Hamburg:)

[@mementomori5580]

English classes are basically mandatory in school for years. From year 7 to year 13 (we had 13 classes for the highest level of the "basic" education when I was still in school) I had english as a subject every year. As far as I know, it currently starts at year 5 already with english classes. So yeah, unless people are really old, chances are that they speak or at least understand english if you speak clear and slow enough (don't expect normal "conversation" level from everyone). Edit: English classes start at the 3rd year already apparently by now (my information were like 10 years old, so I am not surprised that it changed again). Thanks to "Sans AlphaWolf" for the correction.

[@sansalphawolf3293]

they actualy start with the 3 class at least it was for me and 86% of other germans I am friends with (the others didnt want to talk about it or just sayed they never had engish)

[@Stikler]

It also really depends on to what school you go to. I had my first "contact" with englisch in preschool and had it in a really simple form since 1st class and as a "real" subject since 3rd. I went to a normal school that did not specialized in bilingual or smth like it. just normal public elementary school.

[@mementomori5580]

@@sansalphawolf3293 So they went even earlier now, good to know. My information are after all like 10 years or so old, so I am not surprised that it's been changed again already ^^

[@rainerm.8168]

Hey guys, I'm 80 years old and my English is New York Times level. Love this channel as well as the UK one.

[@danielastarly5803]

My kids started english lessons in grade 1 - but only very basic stuff in elementary school, like colors, animal names, body parts. Not much grammar (if any), just 'touchable' vocabulary. In grade 5 they started again from zero. But some kids only start grade 6 again (if their first foreign language at Gymnasium isn't English).

[@InCardiaSnoop]

I like to imagine that our lack of modern equipment during our education establishes a constant wish for progression, optimization and innovation once we enter the workforce. I don‘t have any study to back this up though.

[@pb.....]

I'm not Sure if that would be better or worse than it just being because of incompetence

[@Herzschreiber]

It is a fabric towel. It comes out freshly for drying your hands, then the part you used moves in again to make room for the next "clean part". When it is entirely used, someone will take it out and send it to the laundry and put a new, clean one there.

[@oliverbraun8639]

about the playgrounds: playgrounds may look unsafe, but everything which is on the playground is tested and evaluated. And the process of maintenance is regulated. We even have a technical rule for playgrounds. We like technical rules 🙂

[@hanswurst2490]

If germans talk about a "good childhood", it means "experienced all things children want to do (by natural desire)". You don't want to know, what we and also my boys were doing with a simple swing😊

[@tmartin9482]

OMFG TikToker can't distinguish between paper and cloth towels even when touching it. 🤣

[@sinac.270]

I drove a lot with blabla car and I felt absolutely safe. Always met nice ppl there 😊

[@mawtildarebelfox8544]

In most restaurants they gonna ask you which kind of water do you prefer. And there are a lot of clubs with different kinds of music.

[@themantikormc]

13:31 (I live in Germany) my sister fell down a 3 meter high thing on a playground when she was like 6 or 7 yo and broke her arms and one leg

[@mightygreen3364]

12:12 definitely has a great, 100% correct translation

[@plainText384]

Ich = I fick = love deine Mutter = coffee du Hurensohn = very much/ always Du bist = I drink ein = it Bastard = all weather ein Hurenson = always Ich fick = I love ....

[@HiHi-tc9rc]

@@plainText384 eh 😬......i mean close enough i guess

[@PrincessNhymoe]

As far as I know, english is taught since elementary school. I had it in first grade up to 'Abitur'

[@PaulWinkle]

I've seen the cloth towel roll in a Henry Fonda movie from 57. It was a thing in US back in the days. Of course the big roll is not being cleaned in the machine, someone replaces it with a clean new one regularly. However very hygienic, you always get a fresh clean square, better than a Dyson air dryer. And it is not possible to go full circle, you never touch dirty used cloth

[@solokom]

13:33 there is an interesting Google talk on German Playgrounds by a US-American Mother who moved to Germany. Fun Fact: US Playgrounds tend to be more dangerous. Because if there are no challenges on a playground given by the installed features, the kids will seek their own challenges and this is here it often gets dangerous.

[@phoenixfeathers4128]

Our bakery, the supermarket, the bookshop and the ice cream parlour are open on Sunday (well, at least for a good amount of time). That’s pretty much the important stuff

[@RudolphGottesheim]

You should make a video about Electric Callboy. They are a German band with lyrics mostly in English. Their videos are really fun and they are very relaxed with reaction videos (i.e. they're not copyright-striking or demonitizing other channels for playing their music).

[@Wolle7477]

@4:34 it's a cotton towel "sucked back" for washing and reuse for reducing waste

[@timefliesaway999]

You should watch more videos of My Merry Messy Life! Especially since they have 3 kids, they also make lots of videos about what the childhood looks like in Germany vs in the USA. Very recommendable, since you have a kid of your own

[@LythaWausW]

He might not find it useful cuz he's not raising a kid in Germany. Howver, he might find it mind-blowing to see the differences!

[@davis_8082]

6:05 yes, the thing about the schools is true. Some high schools are in a horrendous state with mold on the walls etc. we have schools with whiteboards and laptops. But usually it’s still a classic chalkboard and the students take their notes on paper.

[@Knack15]

The dispenser has a roll of fabric that unrolls when you pull it down. You then dry your hands and the dispenser pulls the used cloth back in and rolls it up into a second roll. When the first roll is empty, the whole thing is exchanged for a new one. The used ones are either cleaned or disposed of. This results in less waste and actually cleaner toilets. The other alternative is to use a hot air dryer where you either hold your hands underneath or put them in from above. You can actually find such dispensers or dryers in many mainly renovated public toilets. About the sinks There are relatively different types of drains. There are normal ones with a plug you have to push in, others just have a click-lock that you push on to open or close, and there are others where you don't have to reach into the bowl but just turn a knob next to the faucet and the whole thing closes and opens the drain. And that's the whole thing in a nutshell. Many sinks have a small drain tray where the dishes can drip off. Öffentliche Schule = Public school

[@jimmyincredible3141]

Airport towel is reusable - goes automatically from a clean roll to a dirty roll - in between its for you to use ...you pull it out a bit from the front, clean roll, dry your hands on it directly under the machine, when you are done it pulls it back in (backside) - no paper waste, and at least in theory it can be washed and used again...makes a lot of sense tbh

[@lenncrafter667]

5:37 it is not paper

[@Tara-mr4qb]

Love this content ! We definitely need other parts

[@asaris_]

Well, it depends with the ID for beer/alcohol. If you look definitely older than 16 you get your beer. Harder stuff though is 18. And... I still got asked for my ID for a can of Coke with Rum when I was 39.... (Dude thought I might be 17. And that wasn't a single incident. I have to regularly show my ID for that. 😔) Btw: usually you're even allowed to bring your own food to beer gardens. Someone's confused over how we wash our dishes? Wait what happens when he finds out how we wipe our butts... 🙈🤣 (Hint, the vast majority meticulously fold the paper.)

[@teyj]

That Machine, which confused the airportlady so much: That's a towel dispenser and it's not paper but cloth. You dry your hands an it rolls the wet part up an dispenses more dry towel. There's no cleaning inside - when the towel is used completely a maintenance guy comes and changes the dirty roll for a clean one. The dirty roll then get's washed an reused.

[@tangerine4665]

Almost everyone in Europe speaks English. I think it’s mandatory in schools in most countries.

[@clara-josephine1608]

Nah absolutely not go to france and you won't come though with english you might meet someone that can talk a bit english if you're lucky. But in General even if taught I school doesn't mean that people are able to speak a language.

[@tangerine4665]

@@clara-josephine1608 I was just thinking that there might be a few exceptions. Like French - they refuse to speak it I suppose and then there are Italians who might try but for reasons unbeknownst to me always struggle. Also, Russians probably. But for millenials and younger generations I think it’s just natural. Everything is in English - computers, music, films, smart phones, social media. For business - e.g. you have a Romanian and a Sweede. They will speak in English between themselves. I agree that teaching it in schools doesn’t guarantee you will learn it, I mentioned it just to stress how normal it is to speak in English. Kids learn it from pop culture.

[@Gamm420]

@@clara-josephine1608 France is likely the only exception in all of Europe. And even there most do understand and speak English but they try hard not to use it. At least these were my experiences over many trips.

[@tangerine4665]

@@Gamm420 The French are like: NO! French was first, we will not speak that peasant English language (In French ofcourse) 😅

[@aypahyo]

5:34 it is two rolls inside. it rolls from the fresh one onto the used one. It is not paper but a giant strip of towel. When all is used it goes to a cleaner so it can be reused.

[@RIP_Day]

9:00 firstly we do have dishwashers and secondly, he is doing a terrible job at cleaning the dishes that's not how you get them clean and hygienic not to mention the way he puts a dry plate on a wet surface

[@viciousyeen6644]

That was a kitchen sink with drying area for dishes. Some people put a plate holder on top of that drying area. But most people own dishwashers right next to their sinks. It’s just practical if you got anything bigger to clean or just one to two plates

[@memiusobscuricus1438]

You should really watch "Why German History is Different" by "Then & Now". Its an amazing video. You'll like it

[@joethewolf3750]

5:22 we had those at my elementary school! Gotta say, not the best choice for immature children but they're quite great in general. Basically, it's a towel, but better. It's a strip of cloth that gets rotated by the machince so you never get the side that's still bet because someone just used it and it's a way of cutting down the waste of paper since the towel can just be washed and reused. You just pull it out, dry your hands and the machine sucks the used bit into the back where it can dry.

[@sebastian5714]

9:55 you have only to pay at Events 😂

[@weirdkidatyourschool4370]

or at big train stations

[@m.z.2466]

5:42 the escalators that stop mostly do so so a person can approach from either end and the escalator will go forward or backward depending on which sensor gets triggered first. there is a sign on an escalator if its reversible (2 arrows side by side)

[@derwidder1400]

That was a good one, please react to more of these tiktoks.. btw, tiktok is also really popular here in Germany :) Edit: I don't really like tiktok, but in this case it creates a lot of variety of content, which is great for a reaction video

[@LythaWausW]

The reason I don't like TT is the employees require psychological help after screening videos from sick, twisted people. I cannot even type what they have to endure, you can just imagine, I think.

[@derwidder1400]

@@LythaWausW that's not exclusive to tiktok tho, that's a problem everywhere in the internet and to be honest not a really good reason to dislike tiktok

[@rubberducky8065]

6:22 when my family and I go to theme parks we have like a Bollerwagen and there are buns, pretzels, Laugenstangen, snacks, drinks, more snacks and drinks and yuh- 😂😂

[@53kama]

An English proverb: "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch": Whatever you consider free, it has been calculated in some item in the calculation. You always pay the real price. Greetings from Germany

[@robknight666]

The thing about the bathrooms that you have to pay for is, that they are usually very well cleaned, even at bigger festivals. And the workers get payed well

[@ealamin]

when he says that Germany is massive : you have so much to see and explore that you need much more time than you can imagine

[@Llortnerof]

Would probably be better to say that Germany is very densely packed, while the US is very spread out.

[@LythaWausW]

As exactly as massive as the state of Montana! But with more stuff to see in between the stretches of nothingness, as you pointed out. (To be honest I believe all Americans should visit Glacier National Park in Montana because it is basically the exact same thing as the Alps. Less cowbells, that's all. If you're too lazy to get a passport, go to Montana.)

[@Llortnerof]

@@LythaWausW In Germany, you're going to have a hard time even finding stretches of nothingness. It's pretty hard getting any significant distance to civilisation. And if the park is just like the Alps, they're going to have to rename it soon.

[@LythaWausW]

@@Llortnerof Why would (Canada and ) America rename Glacier National Park?

[@lucas_lipp]

Bro, the rope pyramid thingy on playgrounds is awesome. Like, even if you're on the lamest playground, there's a lot of fun to be had, if it has one of those. I did a voluntary year at a primary school before going to Uni, and they had all kinds of things for climbing, jumping and whatnot, including the rope pyramid, and the most we'd have as an injury would be like a scraped knee, which usually came from someone just tripping and falling on the ground, while wearing shorts. It never even really occured to me that playgrounds here could be considered dangerous or that they'd be differend in other countries. They're pretty safe because of pretty strict regulations you have to adhere to when building a playground, and the rest is the children being taught how to be careful, and to know what they can or can't do, before attempting something stupid.

[@baustronaut1390]

10:41 private school 💪💪💪...as middle class...and No Ford...because German Cars are better...so we use japanese 😂

[@bube1994]

Was on a schooltrip when i was 14 at our cityown-brewery! We drank beer with the teacher! Was cool!

[@wondermouse4398]

Germany DIDNT start WW1 the austrian did and Germany just joined like France, England, Russia and later the USA

[@iron_side5674]

5:04 So that is a Towel "Dispenser" it doesn´t produce waste instead it rolls the Cloth off one end and rolls the used cloth up on another and then it is switched for a new one, the old one is washed and reused.

[@natsukiilluna6324]

One reason why our schools are not as technological as elsewhere is not only because in Germany we find change difficult😂😂😂, but also (and for me that's a main point as a teacher) students become lazy and well... stupid if they are given the tools to do so. I know that some students wouldn't be able to write clearly by hand, nevermind without mistakes, if we gave them a notebook for school-use at an earlier age. (And I'm pretty sure some would even forget how to write themselves altogether.)

[@rainerm.8168]

Right on. You could start an entire new debate about this change of general culture.

[@wolf310ii]

Ich hab mal in der Schule gelernt Schreibschrift zu schreiben und lesen, seit der Ausbildung wo wir gezwungen waren Normschrift zu nutzen, kann ich in Schreibschrift nicht mehr schreiben. Ganz schlimm wird es wenn ich eine handgeschriebe Notiz von meiner Mutter entschlüsseln muss, 90% des Textes besteht aus U's

[@Dreatnought1966]

The towel machine consists of a large roll, the used part is retracted. The roll is then swapped and the dirty roll is washed

[@jonathanh.7657]

Das wird lustig

[@Rap-ow2lh]

4:25 it is probably on the canstatter wasen in march or october cause the thing where he ordered beer had plates of stuttgart on it

[@Nono-zx8zv]

Danke hab den Kommentar schon gesucht:')

[@lucillemoonstone4065]

5:20 it´s a towel that when used rolls it self back up and then when it was all used you wash it. You can open it to take it out.

[@GGysar]

6:00 Well, I can tell you how it was in the Gymnasium I went to. The last time I have seen this school was in 2014, but even then every normal classroom had a PC and a projector, the PCs had windows 7, well windows xp at first, but we eventually upgraded and with "we" I mean the computer club. Additionally, we had several "computer rooms" with one PC for every student, and we had what we called "internet café", it was a room with 8 PCs, that was ALWAYS open, yes even during breaks and everyone could use them. Oh and most rooms had whiteboards and this awesome technology, where you had a special electronic pen, that would allow you to directly interact with the image the projector... projected, like you could write or draw with it.

[@LythaWausW]

The Gymnasium I know has black boards still. Chalk and erasers. Where was this amazing Gymnasium in 2014?

[@GGysar]

@@LythaWausW Friedrich-Gymnasium Luckenwalde.

[@danieldani5922]

Most bathrooms in shops are free too. Those who cost something are mostly the ones you find at the Autobahn

[@uliwehner]

exactly try to find a "public" restroom here in the US that is NOT inside a business. McDonald's may no charge you for using their bathrooms, but they do require you to go inside their store, and some have keys they give you, because the restrooms are closed to keep the riff-raff out.

[@MartinTreideHeuser]

The toilets have small fees also to prevent vandalism. Often they are free but the desk of the cleaning personell is in front of the door and they expect a tip. So they are rarely disgusting and mostly really clean.

[@S1lentSt0rm]

05:00 instead of paper towels (which are wasteful, since they end up on a landfill / recycling), those are regular towels made out of cloth. There is a huge roll in the top which has like an "endless" towel (like 20 - 50 meters long). The machine drops it a bit, you dry your hands and if there is no movement for a few seconds then the used bit of the towel is pulled in, and rolled up on another spool. Once the complete towel is used it is removed (and a new one placed), washed and used again.

[@nicosteffen364]

the towel has two rolls, the clean you pull out, the it rolls onto the used roll, the get replaced and cleaned somewhere else.

[@roboticdem0n]

In the towel dispensers there are two rolls. One with clean towels and one with dirty towels and they just swap the rolls if it gets to the end

[@SuperMurxus]

Cultural enclave - often called names like "Chinatown", "Little Italy" etc. at times can be a 'total mixture' too.

[@roderich7549]

5:10 it's a cotton towel with a lenghth of several meters, when all of it was used it will be cleaned at a laundry and replaced.

[@mucxlx]

The dish washing is referring to not rinsing it with cold water after he cleaned it. I always did rinse it and i dont know where this stereotype came from, maybe some dont do this. Also most bathrooms are free. Its just in like a train station or at the airport or a truck stop on the highway where it costs something. But you get a really clean and nice smelling bathroom. It came about a decade ago and before it smelled so terrible you needed a gas mask. Some restaurants have a tip plate for the cleaning lady where you can tip but its not mandatory. The classroom said "public school"

[@ESCLuciaSlovakia]

5:39 We also have escalators in Slovakia that slow down when nobody is standing on them, so when you actually step on them, they will start going their normal speed.

[@aschnundhoeldn]

5:20 Someone has probably explained it before me, but I'm too lazy to look it up. The towels are made of very strong fabric and will re-roll on a new roll once used. When the clean fabric is used up, the roll is chlorine cleaned and reused. Unfortunately, this is not available everywhere and you can often find air dryers or normal paper towels.

[@tl1897]

05:33 This Towels are made from fabric. And they don't go in circles. Inside are two rolles. One for the clean Towel, one for the dirty one. So you always have a fresh Towel. (unless they forgot to refill it)

[@dedeegal]

I was in Rochester, Minnesota for eight days a few years ago for training. My colleague and I had arrived late Saturday evening. The next morning we went to a nearby mall. I wanted to buy some snacks and fill up my huge hotel room fridge with some beer. The only kind of beer available in the store was Heinecken in a six-pack. The stuff had 2.x% alcohol. So practically .... "clear water." At the register, the girl asked to see my ID. I asked her if I didn't look grown up enough to her (I was at least 45 years old at the time). She said that the cash register requires it that way. After this procedure I still didn't get my beer. Because: it was Sunday and 11:45 am. That was 15 minutes too early ;-) That was a really bizarre experience for a Sunday morning.... I never went there again. Across the street there was a "Joey's Liquor". It was only open on weekdays, but it had an ample selection of German beers. I didn't have to show my ID there. A 0.5 liter bottle of wheat beer cost about two dollars. In Germany, you sometimes pay more if you buy individual bottles at a kiosk.

[@jackybraun2705]

Those towel machines we had at school (in the UK) back in the 1960s. Hygienic and sustainable.

[@Mongolenfreak]

5:00 its just towls, kinda like paper towls but its actually cloth it spools down and up the other side so you can wash and reuse it afterwards to not waste that much paper

[@rushinroulette4636]

The US has many cultural enclaves. Most people know of Indian reservations, Chinatown(s) or little Italy for example. It is dort of similar in European countries (except for American Indian reservations obviously), where many people from a cultural group or nationality will generally tend to somehow gravitate together.

[@Jan_Seidel]

5:00 it is a big roll of towel. clean towel is dispensed, you dry your hands and the used piece of towel is pulled in to get clean towel ready for the next customer. The roll has to be replaced when it is fully used. But it is cloth so it gets washed and is then returned. 11:45 means public school, but that is BS

[@sansalphawolf3293]

the coffé you called iceream is EisCafé and its basicly a mix of bouth and its good but expensive (7€ or more should be a bit much even with the size of that cup)

[@mechanobotuldsi1798]

5:03 it is a rolled Towel u will get the Clean towel to dry ur hands, and the Dirt part will go inside, When the Clean roll ist empty someone came to change the towelRoll and takes the old one for cleaning the Roll. This is how they safe Paper. only washing towels.

[@youtubaer1]

13:40 you learn to fall without hurting yourself by falling as a small child (speeking from expierience)

[@flylikeanowl8667]

Omg love that they showed Potsdam and Dresdennn

[@chaoswizard1782]

8:37 that tiktok is kinda stupid tbh. of course we have dishwashers in germany. the small basins as shown in the clip are for bowls, knifes, boards and stuff. Things that are too small or big to fit in the dishwasher or are not appropiate to put in a dishwasher. And yes, the area next to the basin is for drying :)

[@DonUltraRocko]

As a german its very fun to watch these videos 🤣🤣

[@trickz531]

the airport paper thing is like a towel ^^ and in this tower is a role of towel . the used towel rolls in and new towel comes out. and later whole role get cleaned . i did not know amerikans dont have that

[@7.obermonster457]

The airport thing is a multiple use towel, it isn't paper. It will be rolled on the other side so they clean it again. It's simply recourceful and saving energy and materials.