Geography Now! Germany - Americans React

[@verdemis1308]

Small correction: In Germany wo don't have 300 different types of bread... it's more like 3000 different types 😄

[@raistraw8629]

Yes, also the number of castles are way higher.

[@kenninast]

Approximately 3,200 different types of bread, yes.

[@markmeier2609]

Its 300 different types of Bread per Bakery :)

[@johnmichel4865]

I can still vividly remember buying a loaf of pumpernickel from a supermarket in Freiburg in 1992 while Inter-Railing - and being staggered by its 1kg (2.2lb) mass. I was full after about two bites!

[@klausgieg]

And 25000 castles, more the 1500 different types of sausages and at least hundreds of different receipes for cakes and pastries 😋

[@daveofyorkshire301]

Germany has influenced the whole of Europe long before the wars, and long after. It's strange that we're taught with a focus on such a short period, I understand why - the never forget philosophy, but there is more to Germany and it's culture. You might be surprised how much English culture evolved from German culture, not least the English language...

[@hyenalaughingmatter8103]

His-Story is also written by the winners... ww1 ww2 was a crime against Germany if people try to dig deeper you will see it.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

@@hyenalaughingmatter8103 I don't know enough about WWI but WWII was triggered by outside forces, primarily the withdrawal of promised financial support from the USA due to their great depression, but Germans did vote for Hitler - a known ex-convinct with a history of violence and hatred in a minor political organisation with anti-Semitic ideology, don't pretend otherwise, they did see what was going on and although desperate under crushing super-inflation still empowered a tyrant. Their hands are definitely not clean. So please tell me dig deeper where to find what out, I am interested to know your perspective since you've raised this subject?

[@hyenalaughingmatter8103]

@@daveofyorkshire301 Freedom of vote is a illusion. Hitler is a masonic tranny and works for Rotschild.

[@penname5766]

The English language is Germanic. That’s not the same thing as “German”. It’s a linguistic branch that has roots in an area of Europe that ENCOMPASSES modern-day Germany (hence the name) but also other countries and is where many different pagan tribes (including the Angles, Saxons, Jutes etc etc) originated before migrating across to Britain and various other places.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

@@penname5766 That's like saying Latin isn't Roman when ancient Rome spoke Latin, which by the way also exists in English as one of the core languages it evolved from. Don't forget old Norse, old English (aka Anglo-Saxon) and Celtic too... Plus your misconstruing my words. Perhaps purposely?

[@johnmichel4865]

Germany is a massively underrated tourist destination. Great country and people. Berlin for my 40th was an all-time great party - and those guys certainly know how to do that!

[@BlameThande]

10:40 The eagle is probably the single most common national symbol in Europe - Germans, Poles, Austrians, Russians... When the US was picking its symbol, Ben Franklin was against adopting an eagle because he said it wouldn't stand out.

[@eypandabear7483]

The eagle (aquila) was the symbol of Rome. And in mediaeval Europe, Rome was the ultimate symbolic source of legitimacy. That’s the main reason eagles are so ubiquitous in European heraldry.

[@Muck006]

Eagle, lion, bear ... lordly symbols of strength and power. Who would respect a country with a rabbit as the "national animal"? The "coolest flag with a symbol" contest is obviously between Wales (the obvious top -dog- dragon) and the Isle of Man (the "weird guys" contender).

[@christofkruppa5742]

you mean seriously Russia is Europe?😒 best regards from Germany

[@eypandabear7483]

@@christofkruppa5742 The Russian double eagle is explicitly derived from the (Eastern) Roman Empire.

[@DailyDashcamDiaryDeutschland]

@@christofkruppa5742 Yes. Russia is in Europe as much as Turkey is in Europe. The country is both in Europe & Asia, but both capitals are in Europe.

[@eypandabear7483]

3:40 “Lower” and “Upper” in geographic names refers to elevation, not North and South. Which wouldn’t even make sense, because historically maps were not always oriented “North = Up”. Lower Saxony is obviously “lower” because it sits on the coast. The real weird fun fact is that “Lower Saxony” is the original Saxony. What is now called Saxony got its name from inheritance shenanigans.

[@bellpepperknight809]

Not really. Unless you define inheritance very loose. The Saxon tribe (also never using the term "Saxony" as they were unaware of being named after their weapon by one Roman scholar until after the invitation to Kent. They introduced themselves as "Germani" instead, as that was what the Romans called them at this point.) wouldn't quite fit either as their settlements hardly reached "German ground", they were settling more in the Netherlands than Germany, although we might find some evidence (with Google's help) of them being in Frisia. So I cut the tribe out for now. Now the next point where the name could have been "stolen" would be from the actual duchy of Saxony after it got split into many tiny pieces, by the German king that was still angry about his cousin the Saxon Duke not helping him fighting in Italy. Well that could fit since the County of Meißen got the title, as it was granted by said king to the Wettin house. Only problem: All 3 states that contain Saxony in their name as well as parts of other states were part of said Duchy. This puts a strong claim for Lower Saxony but since it didn't exist it can hardly be called the original Saxony while Saxony is denied this originality. Even if you put both aspects together. I simply can't agree with the statement that one state is more the original than another. Sorry pal.

[@eypandabear7483]

@@bellpepperknight809 I call it the “original Saxony” because it is the area where people spoke Old Saxon (aka Old Low German) rather than Old High German. The dialects spoken in the state of Saxony are all High German (excepting the Slavic minority). They are not descended from the Saxon language, unlike Low German (Plattdeutsch), and of course, English.

[@bellpepperknight809]

@@eypandabear7483 I think you have a little different idea what High-German is, since the Old Saxon belonged to the Pre-Old-High-German not the Low-German. Or maybe they shifted that from the Germanic sub groups in your country and we run into language barriers here. Short Data Exchange: There is a Germanic language group containing 2 major groups: South (including English, German, Dutch, ...) and North including the Scandinavian languages. Pre-Old-High-German can also be called West-Germanic (Wikipedia claim) After Pre-Old-High-German, there is a split between the Old-High-German and the colonizer groups. But Low-German is still not part of the language group "West Germanic". Pre-Old: starting around the 3rd century, 5th century: time of the Anglo-Saxon-Invitation (colonization of "England"; in reality only Kent and then conquering the 7 kingdomsland) Old: 8th-11th century, Middle: 11th-15th century, New: 15th-21st century. (Although some people declare Standardgerman as Modern-High-German, no confirmation given for this in language science yet.) Low-German is from an entirely different concept it seems. (Being a sub group of Northsea-Germanic, not fitting in the direction context yet also being a sub of a sub of the West-Germanic sub) My understanding for High-German though is, that this is the base of the South-Germanic languages (including both West- and East Germanic) that all Germanic people could understand (possible since it in the oldest form seems to be a simple replacer for West-Germanic.) With this though it would include Low-German as a sub's sub's sub, and before the split in the 6th century, which also didn't instantly change the language groups and end Pre-Old-High-German which is a logical error, there would be a common ground. After the split Low-German was a sub of Old-Saxon which was a sub of Northsea-German which was on the same level as the Old-High-German. *This is probably the point on which you sit* with High-German and Low-German being devided. So, where can we find a middle ground? How proceed on the matter? Shall we ignore Pre-Old-High-German and the premise of High-German to fit the narrative that High-German existed in Germany except the coastline and then go on to limit the Saxons to those? I'm looking forward to where we will go with this and I'm eager to absorb your knowledge. But I will say this, whoever came up with those categories needs to take some logic classes. :D

[@bellpepperknight809]

@Tim Willemsen Going fully historically accurate in a YT reply? -> Not gonna happen. It would take hours of writing to address every tiny bit and fit the so old history together including the disclaimers for the legends how the Saxon association main tribe which was successful at raiding therefore got many other tribes to join their association became named after it's weapon and so on. Serving in the Roman army and giving the Roman attitude to just call every Germanic tribe Germani, nso. In the end the comments would become TLDRs anyway and it simply isn't worth the time. So of course they get shrunk down and gain the ability to be attacked by everybody doing a short Google research and reading 10 minutes on a secific point. I for example only jump through my notifications here atm. However following his reply from earlier, his claim is less based on any of those and more on the language development. Which after checking it out, was made by somebody who needs some logic classes. It was a mess to read through this stuff and idea presented greatly differs from his idea as well. So I will now look forward to whatever deepening he will see fit. As I will assume that he also doesn't like to waste too much time on YT replies. (Because I'm a bad person and see bad in others only. :P)

[@HH-hd7nd]

17:45 No tests, parents can choose. The teachers give a recommendation, however it's up to the parents if they follow that recommendation or ignore it. There are a few things you need to know about the German education system though: 1) The system is not a one-way system. If for example someone graduates from a Hauptschule after 9th grade with really good grades he/she can decide to switch to a Realschule, go to school for a 10th grade and get the Realschulabschluss (a higher qualification) as well. And likewise everyone who graduates from a Realschule can switch to a Gymnasium and go to school for three additional years and graduate with Abitur at the end of 13th grade. Likewise pupils can switch to a "lower" school if they can't keep up - a friend of mine from elementary school - or Grundschule - decided to try his luck at Gymnasium; however he didn't do all that well with his grades on average being in the 4s and 5s (in Germany we don't use letters for grades, we use numbers, with 1 being the best and 6 being the worst; in tests 1-4 means you passed while 5 means you failed the test and 6 means you failed horribly); but after switching to a Realschule he was able to cope much better and managed to get up his grades to 1s and 2s. 2) Even if you don't go to another school for higher qualifications but decide to start vocational training instead (which is highly valued in Germany, it's not at all looked down upon as it is the case in the USA) you can still aquire additional qualifications later, including the Abitur which then qualifies for University. 3) As said before - vocational training (= Berufsausbildung, including craftsmanships) and trade schools (kaufmännische Ausbildung, commercial education) are held in high regard in Germany and are not considered low skilled jobs at all (because they are not, all of them are highly regulated trainings that require 2-4 years of training and grants an official degree and certificate at the end). In contrast to the USA many of these jobs are also way better payed; if you learned a craft for example you usually finish your training as a journeyman, but you can aquire additional qualifications and become a master - and craftsmen are usually well payed.

[@sosprichtportugal]

After Hauptschule you must be so much behind the others drom Realschule, how can you catch up in just one year? Or pass those exames? The problem is not want you can do later, is the stigma you have on you staeting with 10 years. And children from other countries were stigmatised too. The teachers send them to Hauptschule, they ddidn't give them a chance. Putting them down right from the beginning.....

[@peterrabbitn787]

@@sosprichtportugal you have similar things you learn, the pace is just different and some subjects are different. Where in Gymnasium you learn German, Englisch and a mother language the other students can decide if they want to learn a mother language or rather do some computer skills or other things. It is mainly just the pace. Yes they'll need to out a little more effort into it but they should be prepared to be able to cope switching from hauptschule to realschule. I know many students who did so. Of course they did not have perfect grades in all subjects on the first year. The only problem they have is the 2nd language. If they choose not to do the language they have to learn it in order to get a gymnasium degree. So that is more difficult/work

[@frederiktheissen7021]

Hab's nicht cht ganz gelesen wird richtig sein

[@Prof.Dr.Diagnose]

@@sosprichtportugal Firstly you have to understand, that Hauptschule is not a school for kids with learning issues, or something like that. You basically learn the same, just not quite as specialized and not as long as in Realschule and Gymnasium but it's nothing major, nothing you couldn't compensate. For the really specialized stuff, we have universities anyways. And foreign kids are not discriminated in this system. Teachers don't send them anywhere. They are trained to learn to know the likes and abilities of the children, independent of their language, and give their opinion to the parents, who have to choose in the end. If you're a foreigner and can't speak german, there are programs and classes in- and outside of school. But it's on you to use it, if you want to keep up in Realschule or Gymnasium. The school system can't do everything for you ;)

[@aphextwin5712]

In four Bundesländer, to be allowed to go to the Gymnasium does require the elementary school teachers to ‘sign off’ on this. This is generally based on a minimum grade average. In two other Bundesländer this used to be the case. But there are ways around this, usually by passing extra tests or by doing a trial run at the Gymnasium.

[@onbedoeldekut1515]

The Adidas/Puma skit is because the two brands were founded by brothers, Adolph (Adi) and Rudolf Dasler. Puma's original name was/is RuDa. Sorry, I know more random information about so many things that it's almost detrimental lol.

[@badeboom]

And there was always a cultural fight over which brand is better. Especially in the 90s.

[@swanpride]

Regarding regional differences: I mean, we all speak high German and naturally there is a common ground, but it does make a huge difference if you are from the North, South, West or East. Different traditions, different cuisine, different clothing...the differences are sometimes subtle, but they are there. And if people start to speak their lokal dialekt, you can bet that other Germans would have trouble to understand them.

[@dekai7992]

"we all speak high German": Except for the Swabians. "Mir könnet alles, außer Hochdeutsch."

[@DKPHTK]

@@dekai7992 its only the würtemberger Schwaben.

[@HH-hd7nd]

13:20 Deutsch is NOT what you call Dutch in english at all. Deutsch is the German word for what you call German. Dutch in German is translated as Holländisch. High German and Low German are two different languages. High German is based on the languages of the Southern Germanic tribes like the Alemanni and the Lombards, while Low German is based on the languages of the northern tribes, like the Saxons and Angles. Low german is also way closer to Dutch, Frisian, the Jutic dialects (which is a variety od danish) and the other scandinavian languages (except Finnish which is an uralic language and related to just one other language in Europe which is Hungarian). Low german is also closely related to a language you may be very familiar with - English. The reason is that the basic language from which modern Low German derives is actually Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German....and as Old English. It's the language the saxons spoke when they conquered England during the 5th and 6th century. Because of that modern day English and modern Low German are still way more closely related than English and High German. In a historc sense Low German was way more common in the Holy Roman Empire than High German. High German was spoken only in the Alpine regions in the South while the rest spoke Low German.According to many historians that slowly started to change when Martin Luther translated the bible - and even though he himself spoke Low German he chose to use High German for his translation.

[@penname5766]

Yes although Old English was derived from multiple Germanic (as opposed to strictly German) languages that were brought over to Britain via the Angles, Saxons, Jutes etc.

[@YezaOutcast]

Dutch is actually tranlated as "Niederländisch". Holland is a region of the Netherlands.

[@Rdlprmpf12]

Notable: The "Dutch" dialects in the USA (e.g. Pennsylvania Dutch) are NOT Low German, not similar to the Dutch from the Netherlands, they are derived from High and Upper German dialects (Pfalz, Switzerland). In the 17th century the English word "Dutch" included German. The transition between the dialects was (and mostly still is) gradual and without a German nation they didn't see any reason for a second language name, I guess.

[@aphextwin5712]

The German dialects of the Pfalz, which the Pennsylvania-Dutch is mostly based on, actually belong to West Central German dialect family. While they fall into the second category when dividing German dialects into Low and High German, they have not followed all sound shifts that separated High from Low German, and thus have elements of the German dialects spoken roughly West of the Rhine river up to the Dutch border.

[@onbedoeldekut1515]

One thing I really appreciated in Germany is the food. If you're eating in a restaurant, you'll find some of the least adulterated foodstuffs. It was a breath of fresh air to enjoy tastes and textures that haven't been sullied by one thing or another. I'm a 'mostly veggie' now, but the roast suckling pig I had in Munich was a thing of wonder.

[@swanpride]

The only reason why German food isn't more famous is because France and Italy are our direct neighbours...they kind of overshadow us. Except when it comes to the bread, naturally. And the beer. And the sausages....

[@mikepxg6406]

OK if you like Sausage. 🇬🇧

[@ChiaraVet]

@@swanpride we could say that basically, the bar for "good (as in tasty) food" in Europe is very high, so you don´t stand out particularly, but don´t worry, that´s why we have the EU with Schengen, so that anyone everywhere in Europe can taste a lot of different cuisines! ;) LG

[@swanpride]

Regaring Germany's colonisation history: You most likely missed it out, because the period was pretty short. Basically Bismarck wasn't a fan of having colonies, so he actually prevented Germany having some at least initially, until he bowed to political pressure and took what the English, Dutch, Spanish and French left over - then Bismarck did, WWI happened and the colonies were taken as loot. So basically those colonies were only long enough under German control for around 30 years, but that period was sadly long enough to do a lot of damage, especially to the hereros.

[@realdomdom]

Vergangenheitsbewältigung Exhibit A

[@Muck006]

@@realdomdom Stupid comment ... exhibit 3.850.123

[@richardmangelmann4975]

@@realdomdom Wait I dont get it, thats not Vergangenheitsbewältigung he just stated how and why that stuff happened.

[@leonlb]

@@realdomdom Vergangenheitsbewältigung is (normal) just used in WW2 context and the Nazi crimes

[@JorlinJollyfingers]

Schnitzel: Mostly pork but can be calf, Rouladen is Beef, Sauerbraten is nowadays mostly beef, originally horse. A lot of mistakes in this one but that's ok because of the limited time.

[@MrBenedictus25]

Schnitzel is Austrian. And we est it correct. Without tunke

[@verenak2158]

Regarding schooling: that is one of those things that is handled by each individual state. So if and how you can choose between the different schooling options depends on where you live.

[@joellassan1582]

No its decided by grades

[@proxis9980]

@@joellassan1582 nope its not. you get a recommendation based on grades and it will be harder to get into a school in a more populated area if you dont have a recomendation for that type but the decision is the for the paretns to make. :) and also the point verena made was that schooling is statelegislated not federal legislated so how the different types of school are setup and what is taught can vary (within a framework set out by the federal legislature)

[@SWTobito0702]

@@joellassan1582 Thing is, depending on the state you got those grades in, they're worth more or less, because some states have stricter schooling than others.

[@Tristan_Anderwelt]

8:30 We had a tornado few weeks ago across our city of Paderborn in North Rhine Westphalia. I never thought I'd ever have a tornado that strong so close to me 😵‍💫

[@fabianstriebeck8054]

ja but a tornado does not really break down brick and cement built houses, so they dont have their houses ruined and massive media outbreak and stuff, just oh look its very windy - lets make sure everything is packed away and strapped down.

[@zoivac1048]

Hey, german native here 👋 About the costitutions of the different states: Yes, every state have its own cinstitution, but the law and many other things are running by the government. For example, until recently, the Hessian constitution still included the death penalty as a legally enforceable criminal procedure. Since Germany has a constitution that applies to all federal states and in which the death penalty is illegal throughout Germany, federal law beats state law. So the only things who are actually runned by the "Bundesländer" (member states) are the police, the healthcaresystem and the schoolsystem. The law and the legislation and also things like taxes are runned by the german government and are the same in all german states. So germany is more "One state" when it comes to laws then the USA is. Here you dont have to fear that you dont know some laws does existing in one state, but doesnt existing in another state. German school system: Based on the child's performance, the school makes a recommendation to the parents as to which secondary school the child should attend. However, it is up to the parents to decide which school the child goes to later.

[@bycracket7295]

I am 18 and I have never heard of a tornado in germany.

[@BlackWater_49]

9:45 That's the Czech President, not the German one. Just thought I'd make that clear.

[@OrkarIsberEstar]

Actually its notillegal to own said mustache guys book, it never was. It was illegal to PRINT it cause of copyright not actually something else. Serdar Somuncu, turkish heritage german comedian became famous for doing public readings of that book mocking it in the process. And the copyright neded in 2016 so if you want you can print the book and plaster the streets with it if you want. Its at worst littering

[@stephanweinberger]

@3:46 the "lower" simply doesn't refer to latitude, but to elevation. Lower Saxony is on the coast. @15:50 religion is far less important in Germany (and Europe in general) than it is in the US, hence why he said they identify as Christian "at least nominally". E.g. nobody would ask a politician running for office what faith (if any) they have in Germany, whereas in the US that question seems to regularly end political careers.

[@30chrismuc]

Whenever you are in munich - feel free to give us a call Chris from the Hofbräuhaus brewery lab

[@souliedaniel6700]

Each state has its own constitution !!!! Not at all ! There is ONE constitution, the Grundgesetz which is applied in all of Germany and is the same for all. Some local décision of a regional parliament can be applied within the limits of one state but they don't form a constitution on a legal point of view.

[@PiratePawsLive]

Visa free means, you can go to a country and stay there for up to a set amount of time. Mostly 3-4 months without applying for a visa and all the paperwork it entails. Just take your Passport (in some countries your ID is enough) and go there.

[@AH-xf3by]

Here in Germany we don't have 1 school system but about 16 (education is in the hand of 16 the federal states). All of which are more or less different. This also applies to the "classification"-process after elementary school.

[@Nebraska214]

Im From Germany, living in the southern Tip of Hessen. Plattdeutsch is not the one language, it depends on the Position you are. It can be very different even from Village to Village even if they are only a few Kilometers apart.

[@TilmannB0710]

But they are similar, because also dutch and danish language are similar. The northern language was similar, but with much dialects. When you understand "Plattdeutsch" you can also understand a little bit on dutch or danish language. Also it is easier to learn danish or dutch. Also english is a old language and build from old Scandinavian, Netherlands and "German" languages. Seeing Anglo-Saxons. You can hear it, when you look about the old Celtic language. There not really so similar with the today English language.

[@IMFLordVader]

@@TilmannB0710 Similar yes but some words are completely different. "Speaking" for example: proaten, küren or snacken

[@TilmannB0710]

@@IMFLordVader In old north German also "Schnacken wi tusammen" - also in the near from Danmark are the same "å" That will be speak like "ooh" - in Schleswig Holstein give it also more time in old northgerman language - some words are different, but it give some words also in old languages like "Plattdeutsch". - its really more similar like english between celtic language how in Wales, Scotland or Ireland. - When you can read and speak a little bit Plattdeutsch, you can easier learn danish how when you come from south Germany. Also to english is it similar with old Plattdeutsch. But it is also a few years ago, where have had language was build in. "Hochdeutsch" for example is not really old :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/in_CkIKDn9ajq5Y

[@IMFLordVader]

@@TilmannB0710 I can hardly speak Plattdeutsch but my parents speak it fluently. But I can understand nearly everything and there are some funny nouns like "Michampel" or "Froatenböld"

[@DKPHTK]

ei gude wie ^^

[@mikepinhorn1596]

I've been waiting for your Vblogs on the UK. Hope you're enjoying your stay with us.

[@seanhopton.]

I am looking forward to the vlogs of your Holiday too Great Britain. I look forward to your Reactions on my country.

[@davesmith796]

Geography Now is an incredible channel. Barbs does his research and is a very charismatic guy.

[@teotik8071]

Thanks for the reaction. 👍 Greetings from Hamburg.

[@HafdirTasare]

24:43 of course you want to go South, where your grandfathers were, where the whole stereotypes come from and where all the big Fairytale Castles are.

[@kevanwillis4571]

Bio (organic food.) has been a thing in Germany for a hundred years. Recycling is just a way of life. All round top country.

[@OliverPoleschner]

At 19:00, we Germans know that too much patriotism can turn into nationalism. That why we are very reserved about it.

[@Gabrielgrassmayr]

There are of course a bunch of mistakes in both videos but I really like how y’all really knew a bunch about germany. Glad to see how people see germany

[@cooperspruce]

Germnay, as told by Americnas : )

[@hyenalaughingmatter8103]

No its Deutschland anyways 😉😂

[@cooperspruce]

@@hyenalaughingmatter8103 *Deutschlnad

[@hyenalaughingmatter8103]

@@cooperspruce 😂😂😂👍

[@danijobi]

Actually, the US is much more religious than Germany. In Germany you have to declare your religion for tax purposes, whereas in the US the numbers have to be based on surveyys, but still: Germany this summer will reach the landmark of less than 50% of all adults identifying as any kind of Christians, while in the US this number ist still about 65%. Eastern Germans actually are the most atheist population on earth, with some states showing 14% Christians and 65% atheists/unaffiliated.

[@BananaJoe-78]

If you haven't already, I suggest you watch some videos about German inventions. It might surprise you... Greetings from Germany

[@josiahrickens4556]

I spent 3 yrs in Germany from 82-85

[@wallythewondercorncake8657]

Per square mile, the UK actually has more tornadoes than America, they're just very small

[@RuuAndrew]

Good reaction, would like to see you two do more from Geography Now.

[@RustyDust101]

Basically "Bundesrecht bricht Landesrecht" / "National law breaks federal law." So if the central government decides to pass a law that has over-arching consequences for all of the states then the states in Germany can't make their own laws that counter those national laws. Some law making however is forever enshrined in the local, federal law-making of a state vs central law, and such is protected by the German constitution. Unless the constitution is changed those federal laws can't be overridden by a national law. Changing the constitution requires a 2/3 majority of both parliament and senate / Bundestag and Bundesrat to ratify such changes. As such any changes to the constitution of Germany are incredibly difficult to manage. Sorry, I ain't no lawyer so I can't tell you which federal laws are protected as such. One law making area I know of is the educational curriculum of schools which is handled by the state, not the central governement. /edit 1: The comment about Germany being the "Tornado Alley" of Europe is like saying that New Orleans is the French speaking headquarter of the USA. Yes there are a few around but the amount of tornados is about as common as native French speaking New Orleansians (sorry, I don't know the term, so I apologize). While yes, the north and north-west of Germany already had three tornados this year, the damage they caused were still fairly minor compared to what happens each and every year in the USA. So, yeah, technically speaking, from a purely statistical point of view, Germany has more tornados than the rest of Europe. But a) they tend to be much much weaker, rarely even touching down, b) the numbers are much much lower (around maybe five to ten in the F1 to F2 category a year). Each and every single one is newsworthy for the whole of Germany as they are still so rare. /edit 2: Bread types: The central register for baked goods has registered well over 3000 types of bread and bread rolls for Germany, so, yeah, while more than 300 is true it certainly understates the importance of bread to Germans. It is something that I as a diabetic still can't completely get rid of, despite the high carbohydrates in most all breads. Sniff, yeah, I am a German, and I ab-so-lute-ly frickin' love my bread. Sausage: I have this nagging feeling that Hitler didn't want to invade Poland because he wanted the land, but he wanted to claim that the best sausage in the world now belongs to Germany (again). The Krakauer / Krakower sausage is incredibly good. (OK, that was a dark joke, at least concerning the reason. But Krakauer sausage really are amazingly awesome.) /edit 3: Since the release of the Geography Now video, Germany has easily outpaced the USA in the immigration numbers both in percentages per capita as well as absolutes. /edit 4: The nominally considered 'Christian' number is very, very nominally. Even the most restrictive Catholics don't give a damn about the Pope when it comes to using contraceptives. Most more or less follow the traditional holidays more for the benefit of having a holiday than actually celebrating the religious holiday it derived from. The only exception being Christmas and Easter. Most were born into a similar 'nominally Christian' family and kept the nominal denomination. But in the recent five to ten years or so the number of people exiting the church has increased massively. So much in fact that many parishes have decided to shut down Sunday services in some towns completely and combine multiple parishes into one. /edit 5: School system: While the grades of kids do play a major role in what teachers *SUGGEST* where a kid should go after 4th grade, because they see their apptitude or lack thereof for certain scholastic fields, parents do have the final vote on where their kids should go. But teachers very strongly influence and give recommendations for a prefered track. This is decided in a parent-teacher-kid conference where they meet and discuss the interests of the kid, as well as the kid's grades in cases where the kids have shown no inclination for one field or another. It would be highly unfortunate if a scholastically challenged kid were forced by its parents to go into the scientifically-geared Gymnasium track for another eight to nine years, especially if they favored a trade or vocational apptitude. BTW: vocations or trades are not considered 'lower' jobs in Germany; as such they have absoluely no social stigma. Having a finished bachelors / Gesellen title in vocational training in Germany is considered pretty high honors and almost guarantees a fairly high wage in almost any job. Having a master /Meister title is even better. But both titles take at least three years of constant education to achieve, each. So having a Meister title takes at least six years, and two major examinations, one for your bachelor/ Geselle, and one for your master/Meister. Most vocational Meister in Germany for any kind of building or construction jobs are on par to bachelors' degrees in engineering for many other countries; they recieve such in depth education. /edit 6: Germany's past and history. If you want to know something about our past, don't beat around the bush and simply ask. You will get an in-depth and comprehensive answer from a German, without hiding the past. Few people around the world (except Israelis or history teachers) will be as well versed in German history, especially for those devastating 12 years, as Germans will be. While we rarely bring up the subject ourselves we are neither afraid to own up to the responsibility of our ancestors nor the horrors committed in Germany's name. But like with gun shootings in the USA you can't constantly live with talking about it over and over and over again; it would get you morosely depressed if you dwelled on it constantly. I certainly do hope that Germany has learned from its past and changed for the better, and that this is also apparent to the rest of the world. If the latter is not true, then we have to work even harder at improving.

[@thomasnieswandt8805]

"National law breaks federal law." there is a good and fun example of this. In Hesse, technically the death penalty is still in place, but Germany as a whole has abandoned it, so it remains in Hesse constitution as a fun footnote. As for the "teachers sugestion" that was changed a few years back. Up untill thee mid 2010s the teachers word was "law" if your teacher said "You are dumb as f*, go to Hauptschule!" You did that. Today the parents decide...with horrible consequences in many cases. The teachers know best. But a mother who is like "My son needs to go to Gymnasium because his friends go too" will force her child into learning beyond their skills. Back in the mid 90s when i was sorted into secondary school my teacher said, to my mum "Your son is highly intelligent, he has an outstanding mind. He is far ahead of iis classmates and has a lot of knowlage. He could "run" through Gymnasium with no trouble at all....... BUT !!!! He is to lazy, only doing enough to get through" So i was send to Realschule. well, still studied and had three jobs learned over the years. Not because i like to change the job, but keeping my mind bussy.

"Federal law breaks state law" is a better translation.

[@minischembri9893]

@ My thought, too !

[@bellpepperknight809]

I would suggest to use "Federal law breaks state law", as "National law breaks federal law" makes very little sense: Nationalrecht bricht Bundesrecht. As Nation and Bund are the same... well you get the point. ( _Nation = Bundesrepublik Deutschland -> Nationalrecht: Gesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland_ _Bundesrecht: Gesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland = Nationalrecht._ )

[@HH-hd7nd]

24:45 The North beats the South by far. In the southern region you cannot smell the salt in the air, there's no wind to speak of to clear your mind and every other kilometer some stupid mountain blocks the view. Joking aside - all parts of Germany are nice and have their own distinct perks. If you come to Schleswig-Holstein one day you shouldn't expect to see much castles though because we don't really have any here, at least not castles in the original sense (which means a fortified home of a noble family). It's a bit complicated because the english speaking countries have fewer words for structures like that, for you it's always a castle - however that is actually a bit unspecific and in general english speakers tend to throw two different types of structures into the mix and call them castles. In Germany there's a distinction between the term Burg (which is the original thing, a fortified home of a nobleman during the Middle Ages) and Schloss, which is usually less fortified (sometimes not at all) and more of a fancy place, somewhat overlapping whith you would call a palace; they are also usually newer than the Burgen. And there's also structures that are definetly fortified but where never home to a family but strictly military structures - these are also technically not Burgen/Castles, these are fortresses. As I said - it's complicated. In general we don't have many of the Burg type structures in the North. There's a variety of reasons for that: One of the most important is that the landscape is flat and stones to build big castles was hard to find. This means that most noblemen in the North built their fortified homes with the ressources that where easily available - mud and wood. However these materials do not stand the test of time all that well which means none of the medieval wooden castles in the north exists anymore. We have a few Schlösser but that's it. If you come to the North some day make sure you visit the North Sea coast - but don't go there with the intent of doing all that much. The best way to enjoy the coast is to sit at the beach or at the dike, enjoy the calm and quiet and wind down while listening to the waves and sea birds. So good to recharge the batteries. And then there's of course the city life in the North as well, up and foremost of course Hamburg, but also Bremen or Lübeck. And if you happen to be in the region during the last week of June you should visit the city of Kiel and the Kieler Woche (=Kiel week) which is not only one of the largest sailing regattas in the world but also a huge festival with about 3 million visitors each year (except the Covid years of course).

[@rashomon351]

oh, there's a lot of mentioning the war and it's atrocities in Germany. It's part of every school curriculum. In the higher grades, most classes will visit one of the memorial sites at least once during their time at school. The notion that you shouldn't mention the war does definitely not originate from Germany. You will have no problem finding somebody to have a meaningful discussion about that topic. Maybe, I wouldn't use it as a smalltalk topic. But germans don't do smalltalk anyways ;) btw: buying, owning or selling this weird Hitler-book never was illegal in Germany. That's a misconception even held by most germans. It was, however, illegal to *reprint* and publish the german version of that book. And the reason for that were simply copyright reasons, which belonged to the state of Bavaria until 2015. The english and other language versions of that book could and were always reprinted and sold. Mainly in the US.

[@SavageIntent]

I think while tornadoes do technically happen, they are almost always not that serious or destructive in comparison to the US.

[@stiibuderschrat7522]

True, but that is primarily due to the construction of the houses, the tornadoes that exist in Germany would also completely destroy a house built in the usual American way, fewer tornadoes but just as dangerous as in the usa.

[@StormyJanis04]

@@stiibuderschrat7522 thats right the the overall intensity is not much lower compared to the us and our country is small so its more likely to see a tornado in Germany than in most US states

[@OrkarIsberEstar]

to laws - federal laws trump state laws so most laws are the same. Differences are usually very minor like which subjects get how much attention in school, if you need to go 12 or 13 years to school to get the university licence, and so on. As example bavaria technicly still has the death penalty in its law but since federal law outlawed the deathpenalty it hasnt been used in bavaria since ww2 To school - its a testing thing. You can however get your higher education later through other means like if you are a handyman and worked a few years as such making your "Meisterprüfung" thats seen as same quality diploma as the gymnasium one and opens up university for you.

[@nghtblccd]

You can freely choose which school you go to, but often your elementary school and teachers recommend one type for you depending on your performance. Still, obv some kids are forced by their parents into specific schools, especially into Gymnasium as it has the image of being like the "best" type of school (in relation to career).

[@Jezzebel1313]

Bears? We have...bears? I was born and raised on the border to the black forest. The only bear i heard of was that one in Bayern that walked into Germany over the border of Poland. And they shot him (couple of years ago).^^

[@lukeelwell6507]

What’s your favourite part of visiting UK Is it what you expected or was it a surprise 🤔🙂

[@jujoonline8248]

Oh so for which type of school you go to is actually up to the parents and the child nowadays. But depending on your grades the teachers tell you which school is most likely best for you and mostly people go with that type of school. Btw in germany the schoolsystem in every type of school is build upon general knowledge all the way. Hauptschule graduates after 9 years. Realschule after 10 years. And Gymnasium after 13 years. You have the opportunity to switch between schools if your grades are high enough or to low. Many students from Realschule often come to the Gymnasium after their graduation.

[@claudiaberger9639]

As an Austrian, I can say that this description is incorrect. This description is the description of an American who named his KZbin channel "Geography Now". Not really historically relevant.

[@Ragothor]

Hey guys. Nice, down to earth reaction. Regarding school...my main teacher in ground school gave a recomendation for one of the three types of schools after ground school. My parents then decided, which school i would take. At least in Schleswig-Holstein, and it was quite a time ago ;)

[@Ragothor]

And no, in my time it was not mandatory to go to a concentration camp. That was the decision of the teacher. And yes, we went, but it wasnt mandatory.

[@Jezzebel1313]

Nope. No elephants in german rooms.^^ We want to remember because we don't want to repeat that s***.

[@Gnarkzsch]

There are about 20000 (20k) castles in Germany. even if you would visit one each day, it would take you 54 years to finish the journey. each region has its charms depending of what you like to see. the "Ruhrgebiet" which was the steel factory of WW2 has a lot of industrial ruins, some of which have turned to be a museum. you can visit coal mines and steel mills and learn about the conditions how the workers were treated back then.

[@germanjake1288]

In general the differences are minor but only because Federal Law breaks State Law. An infamous example was that in several states the death sentence was still in it. The last state who had it in its constituition was Hessen (until 2018) . Bayern also had it until 1998. But as the federal law prohibits such things they where never in effect anymore since 1981 where the last execution took place in the DDR.

[@thomasschmitz3765]

[1:35] As a German, may I provide my thoughts about your idea of learning German rather than Spanish. Spanish is way easier to learn and is spoken by so many more people around the globe than German. Plus, many Germans understand English to a certain extend. Most Germans don't speak English very well, frankly, but at least they try, and it is often good enough - although with a very thick accent and by unintentionally using lots of "false friends" - to make up for some kind of conversation. In short, Spanish is the language to go for. As for the video - well made, very authentic, and fun to watch. Keep up with it...

[@enteplays3662]

For sure. Try to explain to someone the diffrence between der, die and das and when you have to use which one. A nightmare

[@chelseacorbett694]

ive been teaching my self German for a while its a wonderful language. Mein Deutsch ist nicht sehr gut

[@minischembri9893]

Don't give up, Chelsea. I know it's a difficult language to learn but every language you speak besides your own is a "key" to a different world. Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland. 🙂

[@michaausleipzig]

wow ... all by yourself? That's tough! I admire your courage! Hope you have someone to practise with at least... Keep at it, cause we all know: "Übung macht den Meister"! :)

[@chelseacorbett694]

@@michaausleipzig no one to practice with unfortunately ... i write better German than i do speak it but im getting there. i use alot of learn German while you sleep videos on YT and watch alot of German movies and drama series. its a beautiful language, and a beautiful country, i hope one day to live there. Ich möchte in Deutschland leben. ich liebe Deutschland :)

[@newnyu7763]

German and English do have in fact more in common than you would first mention. Dont give up. You'll manage it for sure. :D Sadly enough i dont no option to direct message you on youtube to send you some contact information but im pretty sure if you want you will find somebody to practise with ^^

[@chelseacorbett694]

@@newnyu7763 English is a french Germanic language so i know there are many similarities however the british tongue does not move in the same way. Due to the way we speak it can take many years to master another language we move and form our mouths differently

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

The thing with tornadoes is, if it fits the definition of a tornado, is the weakest possible and lasts only a minute, it's a tornado for the statistic. Not all of them are huge affairs that last for hours. The weakest damages trees but does little damage to buildings. Though here it should be mentioned that in Germany and many (most) parts of Europe buildings are more robust than in the US. Not just apartment complexes, but also single family homes. While the damage from a strong tornado would still substantially damage these homes, you would not see these flattened areas we've seen from the US. There would be still at the very least visible remains of a houses layout standing, not to mention the cellars, which are a standard feature. That would be an interesting experiment though, comparing how similar constructed buildings lasted with a stronger tornado.

[@nilsmeissner1283]

The video is obviously a bit older. Berlin Tegel Airport was closed a few years ago and for a while now the new Berlin-Brandenburg is the only Berlin airport.

[@riccobassermann2744]

9:27 well yes but actually no. His German is really good for him not being German. But if tries to get from Hamburg to Berlin with this he will probably end in Munich.

[@schtreg9140]

Austrian here. I really don't like the section about Vergangenheitsbewältigung. It doesn't translate to "a lingering feeling of guilt from the past" at all. It rather translates to "overcoming/dealing with the past". You won't find many national flags in the vast majority of other European countries either. And that isn't just the case in Europe. In fact, the US is "kinda weird" (as Barbie puts it in the video) in how rampant nationalism is there compared to most other democratic countries. I feel like he put a lot of his personal bias in that part of the video which really is a shame imo because the rest of thd video is quite accurate (for the most part). But that specific part makes me cringe everytime I see it. And I think it perpetuates the stereotype that Germans (or we Austrians) are hush hush about WW2 and don't wanna talk about it. Heck, my grandfather was a fully fledged national socialist and I live near the concentration camp in Mauthausen. We can talk about the crimes against humanity committed by my ancestors all day long. In my experience, a it's often foreign people (including Americans, but also Brits, French, Russians etc) who get way more defensive when I hold their own countries to the same standard as mine and when I don't romanticize crimes like colonialism, slavery/Jim Crow or the clusterfuck that was the USSR. It often feels like their utmost priority is to emphasize that their own countries' crimes certainly weren't as bad as what the nazis did - even tho I never make that kind of claim, I observe this reaction almost every single time I talk openly about these crimes from the past. EDIT: Typos :( EDIT2: Oh and a funny thing about Marx: When I meet a socialist from an English speaking country, they insist that Marx wrote most of his work in ENGLAND (which is true) while capitalists from the anglosphere always point out that Marx was GERMAN (which is also true). Just something funny I've picked up on over the years. Make of that what you will ;)

[@winterlinde5395]

Thank you for explaining Vergangenheitsbewältigung!! Now I don’t have to. Gut, weil dazu reicht mein Englisch nicht. 😃Grüße vom Nachbarn im Norden 👋

[@schtreg9140]

@@winterlinde5395 I got you, bro 👋

[@Patrikch100]

Yesterday tornado in Moravia in Czechia. Last year June again tornado in Moravia in Czechia.

[@j.st.3478]

Hello, a german here. School system in germany has a good reputation abroad but we actually have some issues with it. 1. After 4th year (end of „Grundschule“) you have to have at least a B in German, Maths and „Heimat- und Sachkunde“ (a mix between geography, biology and history) to be allowed to go to „Gymnasium“. Between „Realschule“ and „Hauptschule“ you can decide freely. There are options to change the school later in but it does not happen frequently. 2. In germany your social status depends a lot on the fact that you went to university and finished a degree. You have to finish the „Gymnasium“ to be allowed to go to an univesity. That‘s why over 60% of the pupils go to a Gymnasium… the classes are very full and the teachers have to be very fast and challenging so nearly 20% will fall out of this school and change to a Realschule in the First two or three years. 3. Due to this Situation, the german school system is very unfair. If your parents are academics and/or have a lot of money, they can help you a lot in the First years with private lessons, so you will make it. Others won‘t. 4. there are huge differences between the single states! An „Abitur“ (final exams of Gymnasium) in Bavaria is way more challenging than in Berlin e.g. 5. There are also Differenz types of Gymnasium! Some focus on maths, physics etc, some on languages, some on arts. 6. there are plans to reform the System. Grundschule should be for 6 years and then the other school forms should only have different focuses Not different status…

[@dirkschwartz1689]

Great reaction to a really good (and as it seems popular among US culture KZbinrs) video! The presenter's German pronunciation is in fact very good - although there are a number of typos in the text displays - couldn't help myself, a lot of Germans like to correct people ;). All the information is correct (the very few necessary corrections and additions can be found in the comments below). For its relatively small size compared to the US, Germany has a very diverse landscape. The North is definitely worth a visit, as well as the German Alps, the many castles along River Rhine in particular, and all the other different regions are. I'd like to emphasise one thing: The Autobahn is the German system of highways, not - as some Amercicans seem to think - one large road. Only about 30 % of the total length doesn't have a speed limit and this in patches, not consecutively. The lanes are typicall noticably smaller than in the US, not only on the Autobahn but especially in hilly areas and inside of towns. An average US family truck would probably have some challenges to be driven to the streets of the town I live in (ca. 27,000 inhabitants at the foot of the Eifel mountains region). We do like to use our feet and bikes though to make our way around town!

[@gwaptiva]

Just a tidbit on the Autobahn/highway. The major difference isn't in the width of the lanes or the bits and bobs around and between lanes; the major difference is the depth of it: US highways are generally around 11 inches thick, but German ones are about 27 inches; that's so they don't collapse immediately under the weight of traffic, and that again lets you drive more quickly (relatively) safely. Ok, and the language spoken by the Amish and Mennonites in the eastern US is called Pennsylvania Dutch where the Dutch is the English pronuncation/confusion of Deutsch. It's an old version of Low German (Plattdeutsch), and is quite a long way away from Dutch (almost as far away from Dutch as from English)

True about the Penn Dutch… except it's closely related to Palatine German (basically to language of where I grew up, weirdly, although the variants spoken in the 19th century). Nothing really to do with Low German at all. Somehow, this myth keeps popping up.

[@gwaptiva]

@ Maybe it's because as a Dutch speaker I can understand it almost word for word?

[@BlackWater_49]

23:40 You start out in elementary school for the first four years, depending on your grades you can enroll in one of the three weiterführende Schulen (Gymnasium, Realschule, Hauptschule) for 5th to 10th grade. There is a way to switch from the Hauptschule to the Realschule if you're good enough but I don't know how that works exactly but for the Realschule you can get something called a Q-Vermerk (Q-note, Qualification note) at the end of 10th grade, again if you're good enough, that allows you to get into the Oberstufe which are grades 11-13 of the Gymnasium which if you do well and pass the final exams at the end of the 13th grade gets you the Abitur which allows you to get into university.

[@con8848]

The thing with germanys tornados is, nearly every house here is build out of bricks and concrete. We only have a very small amount of light buildet houses that could get wrecked like the one in USA. When a tonado hits a city (like lippstadt and paderborn this spring) mostly trees get smashed and roofes uncovered. They had some people injured but noone killed

[@raistraw8629]

The thing is, our tornadoes don't compare to the ones in America, sure stone houses help there too, but even if we had the same houses as in America, there wouldn't be as much damage as in America. Our tornadoes are simply much weaker.

[@con8848]

@@raistraw8629 i wouldnt say weaker. They appear still much lesser here and last much shorter than in the US. But the force of the tornadoes is in reasing especially with global warming.

[@lukasrentz3238]

@@raistraw8629 Actually no, the strongest Tornadoes known in Germany have been rated F5 with speeds of >480km/h. That destroys brick houses with thick walls down to the foundation.

[@raistraw8629]

@@lukasrentz3238 In the records of the German Weather Service, tornadoes have been listed from the year 689 until now. There you'll find two F5 tornadoes, and that's already over 200 years ago. We mainly have F1 and F2 tornadoes, and every couple of years, an F3. I'm sorry, but if you compare it, it's just incomparable with the USA. FYI: Tornadoes since the year 689 F0: 193 F1: 494 F2: 298 F3: 79 F4: 11 F5: 2 A list made from ChatGPT for the USA: F0: 10,000 F1: 20,000 F2: 15,000 F3: 7,000 F4: 1,000 F5: 200

[@raistraw8629]

​@@con8848 "But the force of the tornadoes is in reasing especially with global warming." The data doesn't support your statement, at least not for Germany; in fact, it's quite the opposite there. And globally, the data doesn't support this statement either.

[@ianprince1698]

at the beginning of the great war, the British royal family had to change its family name to Winsor as its name up to then was german from prince Albert, the European royal families had been intermarrying for centuries

[@onbedoeldekut1515]

A tornado recently (May 21 2022) injured 43 people, it was the most destructive in recent times, and meterologists suggest they're only going to be more regular in higher strength as global warming continues. The knock-on effect for other weather patterns being affected, and resulting systems being changed wholesale is a very real possibility in the long run (if drastic measures aren't implemented worldwide).

[@StormyJanis04]

Germany had many significant tornadoes in the last years some big cities here got even hit by many tornadoes so the density is pretty high

[@HafdirTasare]

08:33 Well, we have.. Storms... we dont call it Tornados that often.... But there are storms that match the basic Tornados in America i belive.

[@OliverPoleschner]

At minute 17:50, the School or the Teacher from the ´Grundschule´, gives a recommendation for the parents, where they should send their child to. But it is totally up to the parents where they send their child to.

[@gerhardadler3418]

What stays out is not the school spilt, but that there is still a huge weight on manual labour and craftsmanship. It's one of the reasons why germany has many small and midsize companies that act on a global level. Even the US (or better cities/states with help of some bigger companies, mostly german) tried in recent years to adapt some of it's core concepts in some areas.

[@istora9158]

Fun Fact: Bremen existed before Bremerhaven, but when the Weser got too shallow for ships to make their way up the river, the mayor of Bremen (Johann Smidt) bought a piece of land next to the Weser at the coast from the kingdom of Hanover so they could have a functioning harbor (also for profit). This is why it's called "Bremen's haven" roughly translated. It became a city on its own later on, and only joined Bremen again as a city state after WW2 because of the US if I remember correctly. Also, about the schools: During elementary school the children's performance in the different subjects determines to what school they can go. For example, to go to a "gymnasium", you need to be pretty good and get a recommendation from the class teacher, which is called "Gymnasialempfehlung".

[@Laurelinad]

13:21 i'm german (just joined your discord btw) and know a bit of plattdeutsch and yes, dutch is the dutch word for "german" and due to the history borders were shifting all the time and such so at times dutch was just considered german. hence many "german" communities in the US are deriving from plattdeutsch, dutch and other languages / accents plus the years of their own culture so some stuff is comprehensible and other things are just waaaay off ^^ also there is 2 types of Hochdeutsch: the bavarian is considered hochdeutsch because it's literally high in the mountains and the official german language is called hochdeutsch because it's a high level / higher education type language. plattdeutsch on the other hand (literally flat german) comes from the flat and closer to the water (lower) northern german countryside ;) also lower saxony is where the saxons originally came from and saxony is where they migrated to. just a little fun fact ;) 15:20 a "backpfeife" is a slap with the hand like the sketch showed ;) 17:43 the parents usually get the last word but the grades in the years beforehand denote what recommendation the class teacher gives the parents for their children. some adhere to that, some ignore it and make their kid suffer for that and ofc at later stages it's possible to switch, too

[@frederiktheissen7021]

With the schoolsystem Its like your firts teacher helps with an Idea what the would get in but mostly the Kid and the parents choose together the middleshool and locks on the teacher tipp while

[@PhyllisGlassup2TheBrim]

'Lower' Saxony has nothing to do with how further north it is, it refers to the fact that the land is flat.

[@lanman6239]

A ton of people probably already mentioned it, but we don't have tornados like the US. They are usually called "Windhosen" (literal translation: wind trousers/pants) and they are comparably mild. Sure, they can still do damage, but they don't level towns. Due to climate change they became worse though in recent years, but are still way less catastrophic or comparable to US tornados. Without context, statistics can really easibly be manipulated.

[@MrMillhouse72]

Roulade isn’t pork - it’s beef 🥩😉 And yes, we have eagles 🦅 in Germany. The eagle is our heraldic animal 😉 BTW: „Mein Kampf“ is legal to buy in every bookstore since a few years ago.

[@barneystinson951]

Es gibt auch Schweine Rouladen, finde ich sogar fast besser wie Rinder Rouladen, nur die Soße ist nicht so gut

[@MrMillhouse72]

@@barneystinson951 Das muss dann aber eher ein nördliches, oder östliches Ding sein. Im Süden und Südwesten gibt’s nur Rinder Roulade 🙂

[@barneystinson951]

@@MrMillhouse72 Naja, ich kenne das nur von meiner Familie welche ursprünglich aus Ostpreußen kommt und nach der Vertreibung nach Westfalen kam. Kann sein das, dass noch ein preußisches Gericht ist, kann aber auch sein das das hier aus Westfalen kommt, gibt es jedenfalls hier auch beim Metzger

[@seanhopton.]

Hi, l do think that looking at different European cities would be a great learning curve. I am from England and I would be interested in finding out more about Europe 🇪🇺 l am sure the different countries that make up Europe are really interesting too look at. I send my regards to you and your family!! Sean Xx

[@kolli7150]

Wow. For me as a European and German England belongs to Europe despite not being a European union member state anymore... our history and our culture is strongly connected... we are neighbours! I am sorry you have to learn about it as if we were some distant far away place in the world. This comment is just another knife into my heart after Brexit. But I guess it's a step forward to be interested. My adulthood only counts a decade. But I feel so old and tired by now. I wished Germany would stand out more for being the country that holds Europe together, preserved peace and worked for equal living standards in all of Europe - East and West, South and North and beyond the borders of the European union. Now there is war in Europe. And for the first time in my life I feel personally ashamed for my country. We don't do enough to support the freedom of Ukrainians and to end this war as fast as possible. Looking back we were watching and even supporting Russia to convert into a place that is more and more like a fascist dictatorship. Although I was lucky enough to be born into a free and democratic Germany, I do well remember my grandparent's experiences of being born into nazi Germany or my parents experiences who grew up into Eastern/ socialist Germany. I understand what propaganda can do to people and how propaganda changes a society. I don't speak Russian fluently but I understand the language well enough to draw my conclusions. I was watching all signs of change during my internships in Russia in 2015 and 2017. After the annexation of Crimea everybody should have waken up. But we, me too, were dreaming with open eyes not believing a real war could ever happen again. When I was working as an au pair in England after finishing school in 2012 the world seemed to be so free, so open, so wide. I registered that Brits over all were far more critical towards the EU even back then but would I have imagined to be in need of a passport to enter England ever in my life? Certainly not. Even in 2019 while making friends with a group of Brits during an internship in Tokyo the Brexit seemed to be just surreal to all of us. Then this horrible pandemic came over us.... Just last week I was talking to a teenager who would have loved to work as an au pair in England but right now, it's not possible to get Visa for this purpose. How altered the words is compared to the day when I was 18! I would have never imagined I will be founding my family in such a world. That I would share my flat with a war refugee from Ukraine, that I would sent money to Ukrainian friends or Ukrainian family members of Russian friends as my Russian friends are afraid of consequences if they supposed their Ukrainian part of their families, that I would stop any contact to my Russian friends in fear of getting them into trouble. But here we are. We better start to learn more about our European heritage and recent history right now. Sorry for this outburst of frustration. It just broke free. Please let us all appreciate and actually preserving the privileges we have in life and let us try to make it better to our fellows and ourselves.

[@JesusKreist]

The main reason why you were not hearing monster stories of tornadoes in germany is: Compared to the US, the tornadoes here are tiny and quickly over. They were often over as soon or even before touchdown completion. In the video and some reports they are called tornadoes, but most of them were "only" heavy storms. Basically the heaviest of tornadoes in germany would barely classify as cat 1 in the US. Plus they mostly target sparsely or unpopulated areas. It is only due to climate changes in recent years that tornadoes get more serious and numerous. 7:15 Them's fighting words, dear lady! #1 The autobahn does not move through a city directly, it is connected via other roads only. #2 There are no shops and residential areas next to roads with a 55 mph speed limit. #3 The autobahn is curvy in comparison to US highways.

[@midwestamericans3806]

Thank you for sharing this info.

[@viciousyeen6644]

There recently was a very strong tornado in Paderborn, it damaged the whole city and ruined a lot of roofs and balconies. The damage would’ve been far more serious if we would build our houses like they do in the us

[@JesusKreist]

@@viciousyeen6644 A couple of years ago there was a big in Bützow. Massive damages to the roofs and balconies all over the city but specifically in one section of the city. It was over in a minute and there were a couple of relatively minor injuries. The one in Paderborn likely was the same or close in length and damages. Meanwhile the tornadoes in the US last a couple of minutes and at times are strong enough to level whole streets or smaller cities. Often causing severe injuries, death and of course financial ruin. Building specifications aside the ones over there are 5 to 10 times worse than anything we encountered in germany thus far. Keep in mind in the US the houses mostly are built *BECAUSE* of catastrophes like storms, wildfires, earthquakes and the like. Simply because it is cheaper to rebuild afterwards.

[@brendakendig]

I have lived in Germany for 24 years and I experienced the tornado in Hamburg-Harburg in 2006 and Hamburg-Bramfeld in 2016. I lived in both of these at the time. I have since moved and am waiting for the next tornado to hit where i live

I personally don't get mad at Americans claiming ancestry (I just find it weird, although I fully understand *why* you do it)… I *do* get mad at people claiming "I'm German" (or "I'm Dutch", "I'm Swedish" or whatever country) just because some (maybe just one) of your more or less distant ancestors came from Germany. No, you're not German. You may feel an affinity, and I don't mind that. But you *are* not German.

[@midwestamericans3806]

Yea I could see that and why that could be annoying for people.

[@aglaiacassata8675]

Splitting the children after grade 4: The teachers decide in Bayern, Brandenburg and Thüringen. In all other states, the parents get to choose their childrens' schools. If they are unhappy with this choice, there are possibilities to move "up" or "down". Especially after finishing Realschule, many pupils continue to a Gymnasium for 3 years of schooling, meaning they will get their Abitur degree (required for University) one year later than the pupils who went to Gymnasium straight from grade 5.

[@enteplays3662]

Bears went extinct a long time ago in Germany. They got all hunted down. Every now and then a bear ends up in germany while searching a new place to live but most of the times they get killed because they cause "problems". The most prominent expample for this would be the Problembär Bruno or rughly translated problematic bear Bruno. He has eaten a few sheeps and was sighted near villages so he got shot

[@mariang.5575]

🫶 sehr gut! Jeder will Bier trinken und Haxen essen! Zum frühstücken gibt es bayrisches Weißbier!

[@charliefoxtrott1048]

As a person living in Lower Saxony (call's so 'cause we r closer 2 the sea level than the other Saxony's) 30 miles south of Hamburg: I never noticed it, but after visiting friends in Hesse and Northern-Franconia with all their 'babbeling' who told me "Man, you are speaking like we write!" (They meant High German) Northern German isn't High German. But it is close enough for my beloved "wildlings" from the middle, eastern and south! And yes, they know that I'm calling them names.. but hey: we R friends, for them I'm a Swamp-German (despite the fact that the Netherlands are still 135 miles west from my hometown) That's German humor 😄

[@bellpepperknight809]

It comes because as base for New High German, the dialect of Hanover was used. While New High German is approximately 500 years old, it is the current Standard German. So the closer your pronunciation is to your state's capital, the more you will be confused as a pure High German Native. ;o)

[@LexusLFA554]

The most extreme difference I have heard is that the school in Baden-Württemberg apperantly is so easy, that a Gymnasiast from there compares to our Hauptschülers in Bavaria.

[@sebastiannerling6042]

About the Schools: Your teachers will give an evaluation that sets you up for a certain school. Your parents can choose to accept this or act against it. The way most germans see it today is that it is way too early. At age 10 you have not yet reached a final level of interest. So in theory the system sounds great but it produces a huge sum of washouts on all levels that could have been supported way better.

[@michaausleipzig]

There are acutally some pretty cool videos about how Germans and speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch can understand each other. Really worth checking out. This is spoken nowadays by just a few elder people in that one area of Pennsylvania and for me as a german it was so cool to hear it, it really sounds like a weird german dialect I'm not used to with a strong english accent and some english words thrown in. So sad this is pretty much dying out in the near future... The amount of people identifying with a certain religion is also very different betwenn different areas in Germany. In the east for example the number is a lot lower, as in a "socialist" society religion had no place. That's why the last person in my family to even be baptised was my grandmother! About schools: After primary school your parents get a recommendation about where to send you based on your grades. The details however can differ widely between states, as all education is managed by the states, which is a matter of some frustration when it comes to having your degrees accepted, especially as a teacher but well ... federalism is sacred I guess...

[@marie9014]

The German education and school system is different from state to state. In elementary school, I didn't get marks/grades, just written feedback on the subjects and my social behaviour. After 4th grade, you could get a recommendation that you could go to a "Gymnasium", but even without it you could go. It will probably be stressful if you have trouble learning and understanding these topics fast, maybe the new schools principal or the elementary school will talk to the parents if they and the child really want it. The recommendation is not exactly based on a test, but on your accomplishments throughout the 4 years (1st to 4th grade), your cooperation, social skills and knowledge of the different subjects. You have one to two class teachers per year in your whole school time, so they know you and see if you're doing better in school. They are also mostly close with parents.

[@79Testarossi]

Great reaction 👍🏻 geography now - austria next 😂😂🇦🇹🇦🇹

[@simonjudt7919]

The Amish and Mennonites speak mostly Pensylvania Dutch, wich isn't nearly similar to Plattdeutsch and more likely a mixture of some south-western dialects wich are spoken in the regions of Rhineland Palatine, Hesse, Saarland, the north-west of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the south of North-Rhine-Westphalia. But the main influence comes of Rhineland Palatine. The English word Dutch has it's origin in the German word for German "deutsch" wich is in the dialekt of Rhineland Palatinate called "deitsch" and was etablished for the German speaking settlers in general. The description for people from the Netherlands as Dutch came up far later. Fun fact: the Dutch Oven was an invention by German settlers. Me as a German, grew up and still living in the federal states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland Palatine, can almost fully understand Pensylania Dutch.

[@patrickschindler6781]

The sovereigns had to deal with a whole administrative apparatus, so they also needed castles because they already had administrative structures, they also had influence and power. The imperial constitution of 1870 was primarily an unlimited contract between the state princes and the emperor. Insofar as federal law does not beat state law, the princes had great influence. In the war against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the German troops came to the English with reinforcements at the last minute. William II is a cousin of Queen Victoria. Furthermore, Viktoria came from Swabia, today's Baden Württemberg. The House of Hanover is related to Elisabeth Il! Catherine the Great came from Saxony. Marriage was part of the politics of the monarchy. I think I don't need to elaborate on what I wanted to say.

[@UltimaDoge]

And no, our Autobahn isn’t anything near to what pervertion of concrete you do. We have mostly two lane speedways (two lanes on each side) and they are much more narrow than in the us. Three lane speedways are very rare.

[@-----REDACTED-----]

As for which school type one goes to after elementary: the children get a recommendation by their teacher based on aptitude as well as wish of the child (or at least we had been asked back then), but ultimately the parents decide since they are the ones who enroll you.

[@tobiasbresson1074]

Lower (Nieder) and Higher (Ober)refers to altitudes not to North or south.

[@Auvas_Damask]

The different school type thing just doesn't work. The financial situation or whether the parents are academics or not is often the deciding factor

[@carbos6444]

Geography Now is a great way to learn more about countries.

[@АгнесияКорделияЕкатерина]

German Food and Elevators are what I love the most. Because in Germany there are so many different types of elevators.

[@uli69247]

I never knew we had tornados in Germany. Props from Berlin.

[@SWTobito0702]

Coming from Cologne, neither did I. Middle-Eastern Germany is quite weird apparently.

[@gaedingar9791]

They're way smaller and therefore less destructive than in the US, so they're not all over the news. But my weather app sometimes shows it in their news feed.

[@stefaniebock1213]

To answer one of your questions the parents decide to which type of school the kids will go after primary school. The teacher gives a recommendation, but in the end the parents decide. We have a fourth type of school - Gesamtschule (comprehensive school). The idea behind this type of school is to decide what educational achievement you will aim for at a later point of time, not when you're only 10 years young.

[@theonijkerk3012]

The big difference with tornados is that in Germany are build with brick and concrete.

[@martinkrautter8325]

(btw., Rouladen is Beef, Sauerbraten is Beef and sometimes even Horse, esp in the Rhineland)