I have massive respect to Germany after this..

So it was my mum's first time in Germany!. While moving to Augsburg, I realised that my bag was missing and the flag with everyones signature in that bag was in it.
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[@Cadfael007]

"Was du nicht willst, dass man Dir tu, das füg auch keinem anderen zu." A hundreds of years old German saying. "If you don't want something happening to you, don't do it to others!"

[@waschkarte3989]

We're not Kants for nothing. :)

[@inkenhafner7187]

And the original goes even deeper: "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."

[@Flossie710]

In Niederlandisch sagt man " Wat je niet wilt dat jou geschiedt, doe dat ook een ander niet ". Hi Nachbar, liebe Gruße 🙏

[@MsAaannaaa]

@@inkenhafner7187 Kant's Categorical imperative is not the original. :) He only introduced this in 1785. The saying can be traced back to various versions of this that were found all over the world even as far back as the 7th century (Persia, India, Greece, Old Egypt etc.). Christianity also had its own take on it before Kant.

[@robertnett9793]

@@MsAaannaaa Yep, our guy Kant just put it in the most general case using the most complex words he could :D

[@murraywebster1228]

I once left my computer case on the train in Germany and being a Brit I just assumed, that’s it, it’s gone.I got home and two hours later my doorbell rang, there was an older guy and a younger guy that I kind of remembered had been sitting across the aisle from me, he had noticed immediately after I left the train in Hannover that my small computer bag was on the floor under the table, when he got to his destination he called his father who then came to the station and then they both drove to Hannover from Wolfsburg, my luck I had a letter in my laptop bag with my address, this was a round trip of just under 100 miles, they refused to take any kind of reward or even the petrol money, they were just happy that they managed to find me and return something that they thought was really important for me, which of course it was as it a key piece of my working life as a sound engineer.I was completely floored,flabbergasted…all those things,unbelievable. I was, in a way able to repay them eventually in that a while later I was working on a concert series and there were shows in Wolfsburg to which I then managed to get the young man, his girlfriend and his mother and father on the guest list and backstage, I then invited them out for something to eat and drink but then refused to let me pay and they actually paid for me…..this was something that completely gave me a different attitude to Germans then, being new in Germany I still had a bit of an „island monkey“ attitude back then, but this changed my whole outlook on the country and taught me that stereotypes are mostly not true and are born out of prejudices and superiority complexes, this was a lesson that I’ve carried with me ever since and all over the world, one gesture that can quite literally change a persons outlook.

[@Maxcraft12]

Return Culture is huge in germany, the german postal service even runs a service where if you find a lost wallet you can throw it in any mail box and the postal service will return it to its owner for free. 🙂

[@LupusZockt]

I'm german and didn't know the postal service offers something like this O.O Thanks mate, that's really good to know!

[@izzy8932]

Heute lernte ich...

[@6Kubik]

@@LupusZockt the sparkasse does this too. They send me a keychain. I attached it to my car keys as it says in german and english to throw it in a mail box if lost.

[@florian-schaefer]

AFAIK this is true for the Personalausweis (German ID card), that it will be sent free of charge to the address written on it. Just throw it in a yellow postbox without an envelope. For a whole wallet, I'd rather give it to the next Fundbüro (lost and found office) or the next police station. They are better equipped than the post to handle such items.

[@hatiskalli1954]

technically this only applies to state issued id cards, the german postal service has to deliver those. i would still leave my findings at a police station, because you know stuff can get lost in big boxes full of other stuff ;D

[@1ERAK]

Also a common thing to do, if you find a glove or a cap lying on the floor, often people pick it up and put it on a post or a fence, so it does not lie around and the person who lost it can find it more easily.

[@yourtruebrit]

Ah that's why they have them in hannover :D

[@ispbrotherwolf]

We do the same her in Stockholm 🙂

[@thaiswei4069]

We do the same thing in France !

[@b.k.3313]

Das ist mir leider noch nie passiert. Egal was ich jemals verloren habe, ich habe es nie wiedergefunden oder zurück bekommen... was auch immer man mit z.B. einem einzelnen Handschuh anfangen kann 🤔

[@susannabonke8552]

@@b.k.3313 manchmal sucht jemand was... daß Hoodies im Gebüsch liegen bleiben ( und keiner vermisst sie ) finde ich bedrückend.

[@Minato368]

I would say this is common in Germany. I once lost my ID and my Debit Card in the Tram. Obviously I blocked the Card as soon as I noticed it was gone, but in the next das someone rang on my door to hand ne back both. The most German thing about this though was that he also told me to take better care of these things as it can be dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands lol

[@olivander5171]

lol

[@unendempire4111]

lol 2 xD

[@pommesmajo9486]

Same happend to me once. It was the most german thing ever. He was so pissed about it, because by losing my wallet i interfered with his daily routine and that its not his reponsibility to watch out for my stuff. Then he denied the money i wanted to give him for returning, wished me a good day and left. To this day im scared to lose anything, because he might show up and yell at me again...

[@genesisxbl8946]

@@pommesmajo9486 so he made everything right i guess? :D

[@pommesmajo9486]

@@genesisxbl8946 He absolutely did! :)

[@bjorndehoust5768]

....me as a German, I would say, yes... that's the way, thing like this work out in Germany...not always, of course, but most of the time. My story: Years ago, I been in a truck stop (was a truck driver) to get me a coffee...and got about 2000.- bucks with me to pay the fuel...and did not want to leave it in the truck. So...I drank my coffee, paid and left my wallet on the seat. 300K's later, I realized what happend, called the truck stop...and you know what...someone brought my wallet to the cashier and every penny was still there!!!! Björn 🖖

[@yourtruebrit]

That’s so cool, would be interesting to see who would return a case full of money 😂

[@brittalbach416]

@@yourtruebrit my Mom did. She once was in an elevator of her apartmenthouse with a man and he left his briefcase in the elevator. When she wanted to get out, she saw it and looked inside, there was a lot of losse money in it and a wallet with his name and phone number and she returned the briefcase a few minutes later in the building. But he didnt even say thank you. Wonder why he had so much money in there

[@brittalbach416]

loose money, I mean bills. And it was also in Germany, in Munich

[@gazz3867]

@@yourtruebrit A case of money would more likely be handed to the Polizei. After all, if it's legit you can just ask for it back, right? =P

[@joergbischoff2503]

@@yourtruebrit I forgot my wallet full of cash on top of the ATM, you know, after you got the money. 2 Days later, I had the wallet in my mailbox. Everything was in there. Also when I see a wallet, I always check for addresses or a phone number and if it's nearby, I will drop it directly in the owners mailbox. Have done it at least 4 times in my life. Never taken anything out of it. Surrendered two wallets to the police, because they were foreign IDs in it. It's just common courtesy for me to do this. Find items, try to track down the owner myself, or get it to the lost and found. But times are unfortunately changing.

[@TomKruhs]

It couldn't possibly have been a German. He would have washed and ironed the clothes and put a bar of chocolate inside.🤣🤣

[@yourtruebrit]

🤣🤣

[@petrafiedler202]

Ok, sometimes I wash found clothes, but only if they smell very strong. I'm German. 😂

[@elisabethstrazzanti2312]

Sooooo true !!!!!!!

[@fatdad64able]

😂😂😂👍🏻

[@C42ST3N]

as a german myself i can defenetly say, i was shocked it was not returned in perfect condition ;)

[@eliass6200]

In Germany every town or city has a "Funddbüro" where people can bring things they found and People whou lost somthing can go theire and ask if somone had found it . And the Bahn has the same :)

[@yourtruebrit]

It so cool they have that in Germany

[@eliass6200]

@@yourtruebrit yes that makes me proud to be German :)

[@Name-ki1xi]

I am so confused that "Fundbüros" don't exist in England, or at least people don't know about it... Because I always thought this was normal and exists in every country...

[@eliass6200]

@@Name-ki1xi ging mir auch so

[@manub.3847]

Not to forget that the municipalities can also partially refinance themselves if the items are not picked up within 6 months, auctions take place.

[@GTA.Sven.Andreas]

as a German-....thank you for your kind words....we are not evil people....we are trying to be good men too

[@viertouchdownsineinemspiel]

My experience says „yes“, most Germans would return lost things. It even often happens, that you can find for instance lost hand gloves or jackets being picked up from the street floor and hung up properly on a bench. Happy eastern everyone!🐰💋❤️

[@susannabonke8552]

I think it depends on living conditions. When poverty and despair grow honesty disppaers

[@viertouchdownsineinemspiel]

@@susannabonke8552 Stimmt natürlich.

[@denidale4701]

@@susannabonke8552 not necessarily. The opposite can happen too, with higher poverty you know the value of things and return it, while being richer you just take whatever you feel like without thinking much. It depends on a lot more than just wealth. Like in some poor countries people rob others all the time (stories I heard of the Americas), while in other poor countries people treat other normal people great but rob the government and perceived people in power all the time (a very Eastern European thing).

[@ginajk8857]

Of course ,I would always do the same, Comes naturally,, no thinking

[@summersun6536]

@@susannabonke8552 I never have experienced that, but the total opposit: the poorest people in Germany often were the purest and most relatable ones. I have seen people begging on the streets and wealthy looking people went by, whilst teens and people less wealthy looking shared their belongings. There are begger gangs, too. It's just scamming, they get really aggressive, if you don't give them money. But who is really in need, happily accepts an invitation for having lunch or shopping in the super market. I have offered that myself.

[@SaturnusDK]

"Finders keepers, losers weepers" is illegal in most European countries. It's actually considered theft if you find anything of value and keep it without trying to find the rightful owner. Typically there's a triviality limit at around €50 but technically it's anything of any value.

[@fawkesmorque]

50€? I thought it was 10€...

[@julians.2597]

@@fawkesmorque in Austria it's 10€, pretty sure it also is in Germany

[@ghhhjj5160]

@@julians.2597 No, in Germany the finder's reward is regulated according to § 971 (BGB) depending on the amount of money or the value of an object. :)

[@elipa3]

Yes, but probably you dont bring a Euro, two euros to the fundbüro.

[@julians.2597]

@@ghhhjj5160 that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the minimum value at which you are obliged to take measures to get it back to its owner after taking possesion of the thing.

[@ruedigerschwarz]

When I was studying Geology ages ago and I had just finished some extensive mapping (two weeks of work) along the then border to the then GDR, I had the misfortune to have placed all my maps and notes on top of my car preparing to drive home. At home I realised the loss and drove back all the way to look for my work. Despite extensive search I couldn't find it . A week later I had a big envelope in my postbox sent to me by an NCO of an American Cavalry unit who at that time were guarding the border in that area where I did my mapping. They had found it on their daily control tour along the border. Enclosed were my maps and all the notes I had lost accompanied by a nice letter where he wrote that he assumes I would still need the maps and notes. Enclosed aswell was a sticker with the badge of the unit which, after all this time, I have still put up on the shelf above my desk. Man, was I grateful and relieved! There are some really good and honest people out there!

[@yourtruebrit]

Where did you lose it in Germany ? :)

[@ruedigerschwarz]

@@yourtruebrit West of the village of Habel, near Tann in the Rhön-Mountains. Here the border between the German states of Hessen and Thüringen also was the border between West-Germany and the then GDR and was guarded by units of the US-Army. The famous observation post Point Alpha (which is a great museum today) is not too far away.

[@franhunne8929]

Let me tell you something: Generally people ARE nice. It is just that those, who are not, are making headlines and have the louder voices. Those of us who do the "right things" - do not get talked about very often (yeah, there is the odd feel good story in the news about somebody handing back a huge sum of money that got left somewhere accidentally, or someone doing other nice things, but most of the times, journalists will rather make a story with a conflict).

[@kudaclash8538]

I think i.g. Germans behave like this and will give items back but when you lose something like that in a "bad" district with f.e. drug-addicts it can happen that somebody will take it. I never experienced something like that, but I have a friend who lost his money-bag with 70€ at the actual tram-station in Neukölln in Berlin and he never got it back. I personally only had very positive experiences with lost items in Germany, but even there you can find criminals / bad people obviously.

[@karinliebtschokolade8157]

Du hast so Recht. In Deutschland und in jedem anderen Land der Welt leben 10% Idioten. Der Rest ist nett. Die Kunst ist also, Dinge so zu verlieren, dass sie nicht vom 10. gefunden werden. Dann klappt das mit der Rückgabe in Deutschland. 🙂

[@Kivas_Fajo]

Yep, it is the same with a faulty product, where you look for answers online. You will never find the ones, where it works just fine. Only the ones complaining how much the product sucks. Be always aware of this fact, while browsing for answers...;-)

[@sveinstmobekken2175]

This is more or less the norm in the nordic countries as well. Our saying goes, "If it's not stolen, it will return" I've lost my wallet on 3 occations, once in the stands after our side scored in a footy game, once in a bar on a night out, and on a local bus. Every single time it was returned, all items intact, in a letter from the police. And back when I was a kid, my mom left her camera on a bench in Gothenburg, Sweden, while on a family trip from Norway. She told the receptionist at the hotel we were staying about it, and a few weeks later, it came in the mail.

[@frankmitchell3594]

A few years ago I was in Ystadt and found a wallet on the footpath. I looked inside and, along with money and cards, was a drivers licence. So I was going to the police station with it. As I turned to go I could see the man on the licence picture coming towards me looking at the ground, obviously he was looking for his wallet. He seemed surprised when I called to him and handed it back. He offered a reward, which I refused, so we settled on coffee and cake and a chat together

[@cs-lp5qv]

One time my wallet was stolen from my backback by some kids (they were standing behind me at a street and acted strange when I turned around). A few days later I got a letter with all the stuff from my wallet (identy card, health insurance card, kredit card... ) exept the money. I was still glad I got all my cards and stuff, I was lucky I had just about 20€ in the wallet.

[@waschkarte3989]

I do think it's normal. I once found 400€, unmarked, in small bundles, in front of house door. Put up a letter saying I found some amount of money (didn't say how much it was) and left my number, a week later I went to the police. Weird part was the officer telling me I should have given it immediately, he might give me an Anzeige for Fundunterschlagung. Funnily enough I did my research and for money I was in the "normal" 7 days, still in shock. Would have surely won that in court, but oh well. Long story short: half a year later I got around 350€ on my bank account because the person who lost it never went to the police to say he lost it. Around 50 were Gebühren, rest went to me. And I didn't hesitate a second to write that note in front of my house and bring it to the police. It might have been the money someone was working for a long, long time, needing it for rent and food. Interesting to learn that this isn't "normal" behaviour everywhere. It surely is for most people here in Germany.

[@robertnett9793]

Yeah... well, most cops aren't lawyers. So not everything a police officer tells you will result in an 'Anzeige' really does. But you likely stumbled upon a bad example, or just a cop who hadn't had his morning coffee.

[@Paxmax]

My stepson(at age 13, happened in Sweden though) found a wallet in the street, abt €250 in cash, left it at police station. Owner was really happy, and in Sweden the customary thing to do is a 10% finders fee. So, my stepson got 3 times happiness, glad he made an important find, glad it came back to owner and exstatic over finders fee.

[@chaosgoettin]

@@Paxmax something like this exist in Germany too, but I am not sure anymore about that.

[@jackruder8264]

Der Besitzer wahr wahrscheinlich mit der DB unterwegs "Insider Joke"

[@jackruder8264]

@@chaosgoettin Fundbüro?

[@HannoBehrens]

Well, a friend of mine is working for the German railway it it works like this: The girl you were talking to telephoned/radioed the conductor (mostly also a girl) in that train, and because these conductors "belong" to the train, they will walk down the whole train, fetch your luggage and bring it back in. You have described it, you have said where your seat was and she will find that thing and secure it. Then it will get numbered and stored and stays in the cabin of the conductor. After that she will bring the bag back out on the original station where that train started, which was Hannover. Because the request is in the system, it will be brought to the storage for found things and the original owner will get a notice. See, I once was traveling with bicycles on a train and they said: „Yeah put your bikes here in the luggage wagon.“ Funny thing they parted the train and my bike was on the way to a complete different part of Europe than where I was going. I alerted the conductor about that and she arranged, that my bike was unloaded from that wagon and sent back to where I was. I was waiting on a station for three hours and then my bike arrived. It's not magic. It's Germany. All this oiled machinery of bureaucracy and correctness has a dark side, so… hahaha! Remember that scene from "No tickets!" of that Indiana Jones flick? It's exactly like that. No German was shocked about that scene, that's normal here. No tickets and you sit on a platform somewhere in the nowhere and if you think you can just sneak into the next train, you are deadly wrong. This tight communication between people in the railway can not only work for you but also against you. You fuck up with a conductor, you get kicked off the train and no other train will let you on board, because every conductor in every train on that line knows that you are a bad boy and you are not allowed on that train anymore, at least for some time until the "system" forgets you. And yes, they will tell the next shift about you. So, waiting for eight hours won't help. This is not theoretical, it is exactly what that girlfriend of mine, who is working as a conductor („Zugbegleiterin“) on such a train told me as a „Döntje“. If someone fucks with the personal or train or other passengers he/she gets kicked off and will not be allowed on the train again. And the next train, will know exactly who you are. So in that case you better have good shoes. There will be no mercy on you if you arrived at that stage. But really to get there, you have to be a real asshole. Did I say: „You have to walk?“ Many taxi drivers are inside that loop. You. Have. To. Walk. Maybe not the whole 800 km from Munich to Hamburg, but you have to walk until you get to an other railway line and just hope that your fuckup was not so severe, that the story about you was gossiped all over the personal (which happens from time to time, even if there is no "official" policy about this, the information about that story will magically get through the gaps and as the trains run through the country, stories, gossip and laughter about that will). In that case no train will transport you and they have a remarkable ability to identify you. Because the girls on those train have much time and gossip and talk and describe what happened in great detail and they will recognize you. Fun fact of the dark side of this. It's all the magic of the wonder of radio communication and the marvel of girl-gossip. And that's the oil that is greasing this wonderful German machine. So be nice to our girls.

[@Trashloot]

Had a good laugh reading your comment. Luckily i never experienced the "dark side". But hey, there is never a good reason to be an asshole so why would you be one.

[@chaoskind9012]

I'm German and this honestly reads like a fanfiction

[@HannoBehrens]

@@chaoskind9012 Do you have a girlfriend working for the German railway as a Zugbegleiterin? I admit I have carved out a bit of a story about this, but everything is true. Things like this happen. If you start defecating in the train or starting to misbehaving or insulting the personal or other guests, you will be ordered to leave the train. If you don't leave by your own, the police will be called and you will have to pay a *heavy* fine for interfering with the railway schedule, like you would if you'd engaging the emergency break system for fun. If you did anything like that no other train will transport you, because the Zugbegleiterinnen are in radio communication with each other. All trains of that like will be informed of what happened, it will be noted down in the logbook, the exact description of that person will be shared and that's it. The logbook will be shared and no train of that line will accept you as a passenger as long as they remember you, which can be for quite some time. There is also a connection of the taxi schedule of private organizations that are in the loop with Die Bahn. And if that happens information about rogue passengers get passed around. So, „No Tickets“ will end with a long march on foot for you. And that's no joke. No conductor and no taxi driver will accept a passenger that is marauding his vehicle, defecating everywhere, behaving aggressive or rude or vandalizing the train. The only ride you will ever get is a ride with Die Grüne Minna, when it is so bad that the police is called and they take you to the next police station to press charges. Still. From there it is on your own to get back home. Nobody will arrange that and the DB is not obliged to transport someone who is not respecting material, passengers or personal and that's part of the service. You might not have heard it because that's internal if you don't know someone inside. You might not have experienced that, because if you'd be one of the persons the DB refuses to transport you'd be too dumb to use the internet and even type comments on KZbin and I say, that's not a high threshold. It can happen in stages, like that you are told with a friendly voice to leave the train at the next station and she leaves you. But be sure that at the next station some DB security will enforce her friendly word and behind that the police comes. The conductor is a in a way the train. She is the authority and behind the conductor, even if it is a small girl, there is a threatening force of order. And if you have followed the news incidents like this have ended with a bullet in the head of one of those rogue passengers, because he pulled a knife. He was killed. And we had a certain kind of passenger that attacked passengers and a college of my friend with an axe (or was it a hatchet?) on one of our trains, so while in the past there was a lot of laissez faire, this policy has definitely changed due to certain changes in our society. And a lot of people walk. Especially if they don't have a ticket and won't pay one. That's the lowest level of fuckup but this can get up to bullet in your head. And that's no joke. Especially the police doesn't ask twice if one of the conductor girls get threatened. We have a sad history now in our country with cases like that, but they have adapted. We will protect our girls. Take it or leave it. But it's like that. The level of daftness to get shot dead for the price of a ticket in a German train is, I admit, even in our society not easy to reach statistically. But it happens. „No Tickets“ is not an empty threat. It will get enforced. Have you seen the face of one of our girls, after one of those rogue passengers thought he has to go violent? She was on the same line as my friend. I can assure you, they now take care, this doesn't happen again. So. You better pay your ticket. It's a great experience to ride one of our trains. It's a great experience, because our policies get enforced and the conductors are well trained professionals, even if she is just looking like a nice girl. To interfere with train or airplane will put certain additional severity on every violent crime you commit. And if you land in jail, you will experience something like no mercy on you. You will serve the full time and if you are lucky you also get punished for interfering with these services, which will maybe be higher charged than a simple broken nose. You are dancing near terrorism charges with that. Don't fuck with German train or plane personal. It will seriously fuck up your life and a long walk home is the least of your problems. Actually I have open comms myself for incidents like that and when I heard of that girl conductor that was seriously beaten up, I was a minute later on the phone line to call my friend to ask her, if she's okay. She had her day off. But she told me, that's one of her collegues.

[@derangemeldete]

I don't have any friends ... that are conductors :) but i can confirm what you said from personal experience. I wasn't on the receiving end of it, but i witnessed a passenger boarding w/o a ticket and getting thrown off the train. After that the conductor made a phone call to the next train running that route describing the passenger and making sure to check for a valid ticket or otherwise not let them board again. They weren't offensive so i imagine if they managed to get a ticket they'd be allowed on the next train, but the conductors made sure they weren't going anywhere w/o a ticket on that route. I didn't know that was common practice and was quite impressed, but reading your comment it seems like that is standard procedure. I don't think that's a dark side though, it's just protecting their interests and maybe even protecting them self from harm that might come their way or towards their colleagues.

[@florentinenice9146]

I would argue it's not girl-gossip since I experienced guys gossiping as much. I would also say in that case it's not only gossip since it's important information if someone was kicked out. That doesn't happen often and they don't want you to just take the next train so they inform the other personal. It means more money for them. Schwarzfahrer for example have to pay 50€ if I'm right.

[@BADKATT1969]

Thats how it is here in Germany, Im a Brit that lives here for over 30yrs and I have the deepest respect for this country and its people.

[@tomtildrumii.6492]

In 2016, a violinist accidentially left her violin in a train in the Saarland. It was a Stradivari, 300 years old, worth 2,39 million Euros. She got it back the same day... A similar thing happened in 2012 in Switzerland, also with a Stradivari violin...

[@yourtruebrit]

oh wow that's such a nice story, it even better that it's in Saarland :)

[@pfalzgraf7527]

I am a German. As a schoolboy, I left my viola on the train 2 times - it always came back :) So, I don’t think it is to be expected but in my experience it is not totally unlikely, either.

[@ErklaerMirDieWelt]

@@yourtruebrit I mean in Saarland, chances are high the item actually belongs to a relative of yours, so you better be taking care 🙈

[@gelassenbleibenalsmama]

@@ErklaerMirDieWelt Haha, yeah, or the parents were friends with whoever found it in school or so ;) Whenever I brought a new friend home, I could count on it that my dad knew their whole family :)

[@caspar_van_walde]

That sounds relatable. Once I forgot my instrument (not quite a stradivari, but still worth about 2k€) in the overhead shelf in a regional train. I got it back, just after the weekend, as it was Fridays. I just filled out the given digital form (what is kinda scifi for Germany) at the train companies website and a bit after I got noticed, a member of the company found it at end of the shift. They even could've send it to me, but it luckily was just a brief ride to Köln.

[@Rsama60]

I am German and this is a nice story. Thanks for sharing. I would not bet money on it that this would be always the car in Germany. I only can say that I was raised by my parents to be honest and not keep it. I also raised my sons like this.

[@yourtruebrit]

100% it was more of a shock that someone actually handed it in :D

[@calise8783]

We returned from a trip and in the Stuttgart airport parking lot we found a phone. We noted the parking row and went to the airport police telling them where exactly we found the phone. A week later we received an email from the owner thanking us for turning in her phone. Of course we did.

[@yourtruebrit]

That's so nice of you to do that! :)

[@vanburger]

I don't want to rain on Germany's parade too much, but as a worker on the railways in the UK as a train manager/guard we work so hard to reunite people with their property and deliver 1000s of items per week back to their owners. I imagine it's the same in the rest of Europe that if some toe rag decides to steal it, there's not a lot else we can do. But please don't imagine this only happens in Germany.

[@Trashloot]

German here: I honestly don't care where this story happened. Returning lost stuff is the right thing to do and i am 100% sure that there are awesome people all around the world who would do this :D. I don't see the theme of this comment section not as one country vs another one. Lets just celebrate people doing the right thing :D. P.s. There are assholes and cool people in every place around the world. There is exception ^^.

[@MrsNanaBlue]

Let's just enjoy that there are good people out there, you sometimes need this, when the other news are bad... I especially met nice people in Prague and in Edinburgh while I was travelling.

[@supremeghost7950]

@@Trashloot This guy gets it.

[@ellisa8981]

I know from my own experience that you do a good job on that.

[@steffenrosmus9177]

Sorry, had to rain in your parade. Me an my friends never got lost items back in the UK when travelling there. Exsp BR is an moloch.

[@SiqueScarface]

I can tell the reverse story. Sometimes in the 1990ies (Yes, I am old!), I found a purse on a bench in Liverpool Lime Street. It really was a hassle to hand it to the authorities, because on the whole train station, there was no Lost+Found counter to be seen, and then I handed it over in a local police station at the place I was staying (somewhere in Merseyside). And the policemen were quite surprised that someone wanted to hand over a purse with about 100 pounds and a credit card and a drivers license.

[@4Curses]

That is hilarious.

[@philippbrogli779]

When I went to school a fellow student found a purse and he searched the person on Facebook to contact him.

[@ilsekuper3045]

I think that a society allowing support to the poor people in order to at least live a decent life, can count on more ' honesty ' for goods to be returned, than a society, where everybody needs to struggle for pure survival.

[@timurhant469]

That's that and German culture always supports honest hard work and does not like short cuts. Stealing is a short cut on someone else's cost. We don't like that! Yes, finders keepers is also quite common in cities like Berlin, but honesty is big in German culture. Kind of like the Japanese.

[@susannabonke8552]

Exactly.

[@steveneardley7541]

Yeah, like the U.S.

[@ginajk8857]

​@@timurhant469 And so misused by not so honest politicians lately.

[@timurhant469]

@@ginajk8857 Totally agree!

[@Core_creactive]

I (living in Munich) lost already so many things in the subway and train, my smartphone, the wallet, my whole backback - every time I got all back! One time someone brang my wallet back to my home personally .... It inspired me to do so as well everytime i got the chance and every time I am proud to take this responsibility for someone and inspire that person aswell :D Another unrelated thing I wanted to tell You about the video :) I see You watching the screen while You talk about Your personal experiance and It would be so lovely if You would look into the Camera instead :) I would be curious about it ^-^/

[@yourtruebrit]

Glad to find another Munichner! :D U-Bahn is always where most people lose there stuff in munich :)

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

Yep, inspiring others to do the same is part of the idea. In fact, after having stumbled over the idea some 15 years ago, whenever I've done something nice for someone and they want to thank me, I tell them to simply look for an opportunity to be nice to someone else. If enough people go with that, it might come back to me sooner or later - and even if it doesn't, hopefully I'll at least meet someone else who has benefited from that idea 🥰

[@inspectorbutters166]

German here. I dropped my wallet in a train a few months back. Two days later I got a call that while the wallet and money were gone, all my papers, ID, driver's license etc. were handed to the personnel of Düsseldorf main station. While I lost a few bucks and a really nice wallet, at least I didn't have to go through the hassle of replacing all my documents

[@annboleyn82]

I’m from Munich. I was a heavy drug addict back in the days and I found a wallet on the bus somebody lost. I took the cash out (I’m not proud of it and wouldn’t do it again). But I put the wallet in a letter box with all the blokes stuff in it ID card, bank cards, health insurance card etc knowing the german post office would return the wallet to its owner.

[@emiliajojo5703]

I think it's actually very common.never lost something but found and returned at least ten wallets, and everyone I know would do the same.you may complain about Red lights,but it's the same mindset,do what's right.

[@yourtruebrit]

Oh wow that's super nice of you!, We need more people like you in the world!! :)

[@franziskakaffee5797]

Yes, same here - forgt my wallet several time - once in the train and always got it back. I was always very grateful and felt rather lucky - cause I would not expect it. Also I found wallets or IDs and brought them to the adress. No big deal.

[@b.k.3313]

@@franziskakaffee5797 mir ist zwei mal der Geldbeutel abhanden gekommen, einmal geklaut und und einmal habe ich ihn im Kindergarten meiner Tochter beim Abholen liegen lassen. Beide Male habe ich ihn zwar wieder bekommen. Aber jedesmal war er bis auf die letzte Münze leer geräumt 😠. Immerhin hatte ich meine Papiere wieder

[@franziskakaffee5797]

@@b.k.3313 jepp, deshalb hab ich ja geschrieben, dass ich es nciht erwarten würde. Ist glaube ich auch sehr verschieden je nach dem wo man wohnt.

[@Martina_BCJdesign]

Apparently it's a common thing here. My phone fell out of the pocket in Aldi supermarket in a small town near Frankfurt. It's thursday before Easter holidays. Everything was packed with people. You could barely move around and had to wait turns to get to a certain aisle. I didn't realize I lost the phone until I reached the car. Came home, hoping that I left it there. When we couldn't find it, we drove back to Aldi later that day. Wonderful person that was cleaning at that moment called the wonderful lady that was shift lead. She told us to call the number. And the phone was behind her back as she tested is it really mine. Beyond thankful!!!! I was so pleasantly surprised. In Croatia where I'm from, it would have been long gone, it's "finders - keepers" there. I don't know but I felt like I needed to at least give them something back, luckily had 20eur and told them that it's for coffee after a hard day's work.

[@sarahkoe1903]

It's actually common to hand in whatever it is you find. According to my mum, there is even a law that says that you can keep money up until 50€ if you find it somewhere (if you find just the money, without a wallet or anything to identify the owner, mind!), but if it is 50€ or more, you are required to hand it in, with information when and where you found it. If you find a wallet, whatever may be inside, you have to hand it in as well. I have done this a few times already (though I looked in the wallet and contacted the owner myself) and felt really good about it. Good deeds carry their own reward, you know. 😊

[@ccrisDE]

I would say this is normal. Most people here won’t take other peoples shit and try to return it to the owner.

[@yourtruebrit]

It was a nice surprise! :)

[@wilmanmacloud7968]

To be realistic, I would not use the term 'most' , but still a decent amount in comparison to many other nations.

[@aphextwin5712]

Another story, a friend of mine intentionally threw away his old wallet (which still had an expired library card with his name in it, it was otherwise empty) into a trash can in a public building. It was returned to him (this was in Switzerland).

[@anastasiasetiadi5689]

😅😅😅 must've been awkward.

[@baytaschwarz4144]

Similar thing happened to me. I was completely shocked as well - and I am German (though I did live in the UK for many years)🙃 This was three years ago now and this is what I said at the time: "I am often very quick to moan about Deutsche Bahn Personenverkehr. I feel I should be equally quick to praise where praise is due! On Monday, I accidentally left one of my bags behind on the train. From that point on, all the DB staff I came in contact with were extremely friendly, helpful, and competent! The service people at the station I got of at called the train staff who within minutes found the bag (thankfully I’d had a reservation so knew exactly where it was). It was then taken to “lost & found” in Munich (where the train ended). Within a couple of hours of talking to them, the bag was boxed up and started its journey back to Berlin, and I was able to track it online. So very glad to have it back! THANK YOU, Deutsche Bahn! (Sidenote: DHL on the other hand successfully lived up to their bad reputation… ☹)"

[@yourtruebrit]

oh wow DB do have there good moments :D! Thanks for the lovely story!

[@cpunktspunkt748]

Which bad reputation?

[@t.kausch419]

... this is and must be normal in every country. We teach our children to do so, and we live it. It is your bag, your items.... not from other people.

[@avanx7699]

I am german, i wouldn´t say it´s a particular german thing, but in general though, it´s more likely to happen in germany from a german mindset person rather than somewhere else in europe i guess. We all lose stuff, it´s painfull and i guess most of us know, if i would be in that position, it would be nice, if somone would do the same, so i guess its like a, what goes around, comes around thing. plus, honest people, are honest people, no matter what country.

[@Ohne_Silikone]

I once found a wallet on the streets near my house in Germany. I stopped a passing police car and handed them the wallet. They went trough it, took money out and intended to give me the money, I refused and found this behaviour very strange. Later on I read on Internet that people finding stuff and picking it up take custody over what they find and are required by law to at least make an effort to return it to the rightful owner. There was also mention of a fixed percentage finders reward. Still just taking it from someone’s wallet feels wrong.

[@yourtruebrit]

Oh really that's interesting, I am going to look into this Have a lovely weekend! also :D

[@4Curses]

I only found a wallet once on a parking lot and I was so glad I found the owner, a really desperate woman, almost a minute later, since I would have missed by bus if I had to walk all the way to the police station xD

[@kg_sroberth2238]

I'm German and I lost my wallet 3 times and I got it back every single time without anything missing :) This is why I still believe in the good of humankind

[@kronusexodues7283]

Surprisingly I had the oposite experience in Scotland. I'm from Germany myself and left my camera at a bus station in Aberdeen. I went to the police station to report it, but I was certain I'd never see it back because I thought nobody would return it. I thought "in Germany people would just keep the caamera" but then when I went to the police station, I got told that it had already been handed in.

[@sharkquark6252]

Also ich weiß ja net wo du lebst, aber bei uns kriegt man eigentlich immer alles zurück, sogar große Batzen Geld

[@Hoto74]

@@sharkquark6252 Hängt halt stark von der eigenen Erfahrung ab. Es reicht einmal etwas zu verlieren und es nicht zurück zu bekommen und schon denkt man das wäre normal.

[@kudaclash8538]

I'm half German, half Russian and my mother (who is Russian) told me similar things. She met my German father in Russia and when I was 4 we all went to Germany to live here. She told me that in Russia if you lose something, it's gone... as simple as that. Your fault and nobody will do something about it. In Germany its 100% common that people will bring items they find to the next police station or one of the countless "lost and found offices" (f.e. at the main station etc.). I once found damn 5 Euros (cash) in the tram and told it my parents and my father told me to bring it to the "lost and found office" of the tram-company. And I personally lost my smartphone once (it felt out of my pocket while I was riding my bike) and later, when I found out about it, I called my own number and then the founder picked up and told me where I can get it from him and his girlfrind in their apartment. It was a very young couple (maybe 20-22 years old) and they didn't even want the 20 Euros I offered them for being so nice when I went there to get it. When it comes to being honest the German society / tradition is absolutely great.

[@3NC3PH4L0N]

If people think it is important they will more often then not, give the lost items back. There is a "Fundbüro" in every major city and every major company. "Fundbüro" means "Bureau of Findings". Sometimes people keep things though...

[@blueqion9488]

I don't know I always thought something like that is the most normal thing in the world because I was raised that way. As a kid I once lost my gloves and someone hung them up on a fence were I found them and got them back. Hearing that this doesn't happen a lot in other countrys makes me a kinda proud of Germany.

[@shezario]

This is hilarious to me as a German, who has traveled quite a bit and also lived in the UK. I had pretty much that same conversation about how complete shocked I was when I got my backpack back within 4 hours after leaving it in a train at Shibuya station. If you think the lost and found system in Germany is good, try Japan. As for how well this actually works here in Germany: I'd say better than most places in Europe at least, but it's still pretty much a coin flip if you see your stuff again or not in most cases.

[@LETMino85]

Japan is on another level. People _will not touch your stuff_ EVER! xD

[@andreaskarbe4030]

I was even more impressed and a bit scared in Switzerland. I believe thid would currently not be possible anymore due to the new data protection law. My flight got cancelled and I got rebooked three times in row due to a fierce snow storm. And somehow I managed in all this chaos to loose my passport. My passport does not hold my address. A week letter I received a letter by SBB (Swiss railway operator) if I am missing a passport as they found one where the name and date of birth gave a match to me according to their customer data base. I still remember looking at this letter in total disbelief.

[@yourtruebrit]

Switzerland is such a nice place it's really cool how much effort they go to, in which to give your item back :D great story!

[@IchSaluki74]

I am German. I have found about 5 Mobiles and 3 wellfilled purses in my time and if the adresse is in, I Return it myself. If Not I hand it down to the "Fundbüro". If you find scarfs, wooly hat etc. you put them onto a lamp post. Just normal. You do NOT get everything Back, but have a good Chance. Especially in Trains and Busses. "Edel sei der Mensch, hilfreich und gut."

[@AtorThorn]

I lost my wallet three times in Germany. Two times some really nice guys brought it over to my house, one time I lost it at the train. I got it back but all the money was stolen. A couple of weeks ago my wife went out with friends and managed to lose wallet and phone -- both were brought to the local police. One time I found a wallet of a young call, called her bank and the girl could pick it up. Works well here I'd say!

[@berndhoffmann7703]

they kind of did a test, it was above 50% returns in GER, but above 60% in Switzerland!

[@AnnaDavidMerz]

I'm glad to say that this is common practice... not always but most of the time! 😊

[@av4l4rion]

I as a German always feel like a thief, when I keep something I found. So because of this I always try to bring it back. A few weeks ago I found a credit card on the street. It was Friday afternoon so the Found-and-lost-office in Dresden was already closed. In the station they did not want to take it, because I did not found it in the station. My last try to give the credit card to someone who can bring it back to the owner was the police. Some days later I got a phonecall by the owner who thanked me, that I am such an honest person 😀

[@knightwish1623]

I'm from Germany. A few days ago I went shopping with my wife, when we got to the Supermarket and went to get a trolly there was a plastic carryabag hanging on it. Looking inside we found a few cloths items and the checkout slip. We took it in to the shop and gave it to the cashier, saying that someone hat left it on the trolly. I just hope that they came back and asked in the shop, but I'll never know. I'm an Englishman and lived 50+ years in Germany

[@berlindude75]

I wasn't so lucky on the flip side: First ever trip to the UK in the early 1990s to Hastings, East Sussex on the southern coast as a week-long junior high school class trip. On the first evening my new backpack was stolen from under an air hockey table at which I was playing with fellow classmates inside a seaside games hall, containing all my IDs and wallet with just previously exchanged local currency (200 GBP). Earned me a visit to the local constabulary that night and, also with one of the teachers, a lengthy separate trip to the embassy in London for new temporary ID the day after. That was my very first impression of the UK.

[@schuhschrank947]

We once found a leather jacked on the train with a wallet with money and a passport in it. We took it with us and at the next station where we had to change to another train and we had a little time we went to the post, put the jacket into a package and sent it to the owner. We only took the money for the package out of the wallet and the owner was surely happy one or two days later when the package arrived

[@justanotherguy2824]

When I find something obviously lost I take care it finds its way back to its owner because I also appreciate a lot when items I lost come back to me. It is not just the financial value. If this behaviour is the norm you feel safer and cared of by the society you are part of. I forgot my wallet in the train twice, lost my mobile phone on the street also twice, once I left my company key on the train seat, I got back all of it. Not everybody is honest of course, one time my bicylce was stolen, and one time a bike helmet. But overall I feel I can be confident about the honesty of the people around me, and I appreciate this comforting feeling very much.

[@neralem]

I've once lost my ID card while entering the school bus. Must have been fallen out of my pocket. Days after that I've not even realized it is missing, the door bell rings and there was a highly pregnant woman holding my ID Card in her hand and giving it to me. She refused any reward and was very kind. I thanked her and she left. Never saw her before or after that. So yeah, it is common in germany I think. Everyone I know whould hand it at least to the police or something like that.

[@liebefriedenworldwide8780]

It's not always this way, depends who finds it. Staff is checking the whole train after each ride and there are still good people in this country. Feels great when you get your stuff back. Happy for you! I once forgot a little bag on a bench of a bus station in Belgique, when I came back about 8hours later surprise it was still there.

[@ponglenis9273]

My dad once found a tablet without any security randomly when walking his dog, it belonged to a lawyer and had infos on all of his patients. Like seriously how careless? He went through the contacts, found a number and contacted the man. He got 500€ back.

[@sirdavidoftor3413]

I live in Toronto 🇨🇦. Very often on the subway I find bags and stuff left. I take it and give it to the attendant at my home station and they will send it to lost and found. I once saw an unattended bag ( medium pack sack). I was taking a breather and after 20 minutes no one picked it up. I grabbed it, and it was very heavy, felt like a laptop was in it. I didn’t open it up, a bit of fear that there was explosive in it)but searched for mall security and gave it to them. They questioned me, and took my phone number, ( just in case) I think to make sure I wasn’t a bomber then I was off on my way to finish what I needed to do. As humans we are all individuals, but on our journey through life, we all have times when we need a little bit of outside help, even if it is just a smile. Stay safe,stay sane, stay Strong Ukraine 🇺🇦

[@andypre1667]

This is why you will also see wheel covers / hubcaps leaning somewhere visible along roads every so often. They are oftentimes not cheap to replace. If the owner drives by again, he/she might just spot them.

[@StarTrekkker]

What you experienced is pretty common in germany. I once left my bag in a train from Amsterdam to Berlin, including an expensive DSLR, I panicked at first, but got it back some weeks later. Although I was raised with the believe, that it is wrong to take, what does not belong to you, I did not trust my people enough, they incorporated this as much as I did. By all accounts, this is one of the things, I like most about germany, people tend to be overly correct.

[@Bunny99s]

Actually, in germany it is illegal to keep lost items you've found. Keeping them could result in a fine or up to 3 years in jail (quite rare ^^. The accusation would be "Unterschlagung" [Defalcation]). Things which are worth less then 10€ can be kept. Anything above that value should be returned to the owner directly in case the owner can be determined from the found item, otherwise it has to be dropped at the lost and found office. The finder can claim a reward of up to 5% of the value if the value is below 500€, otherwise 3%. If the owner could not be determined by the office within 6 month, the finder usually gets the item. Of course if you loose your wallet, depending on who finds it, chances are not that great that your money is still in there since the finder usually don't have to fear getting caught.

[@TremereTT]

Valuable things you loose hide themselves in a secret dimension and the physics of this dimension sometimes return other valuable things for you to be found as compensation to keep the balance of the universe.

[@barbarawerelius9048]

I once found a credit card sticking in a ticket machine for the SBahn. I called the bank information number on the back of the card and said hey I'vet found the card please inform the owner. Well I didn't even in think about what to do with the card but to give it back. Made me happy to see the owner be happy after returning the card! It makes life much easier, don't you think?

[@darkadmiral106]

I once lost my Wallet in an DHL Depot literally hundreds of kilometres away from home, in the middle of the night and didn't notice it until the next day. Fortunately, my papers were in there and someone in the workforce there mailed it back without a single cent missing!

[@nitka711]

Hi, yes this is normal. Here is an example of this on a smaller scale: if someone finds something on the street/ sidewalk (eg a scarf, necklace or glove) they will put in somewhere close but easier to spot, like hang it on a fence or put it on a small wall or something similar so it will be easier for the owners to find, if they come looking for it.

[@arnodobler1096]

For example, if you find a wallet you can just drop it in a mailbox - the post office will forward it to the owner.

[@tasminoben686]

Moin Arno, ich habe mal meine Brieftasche im Postamt, in deäu ich beruflich zu tun hatte liegengelassen. Bekam noch am selben Abend einen Anruf, ein Postbeamter hatte das Teil im Kundenraum gefunden. Damals mußte man noch über die Auskunft die Telefonnummer herausfinden. Und da standen nur meine Eltern. waren 25 km Fahrt, bekam außer der Brieftasche noch einen väterlichen Rat.. Egal, du weißt ja selbst, wie nervig es ist, Perso und den grauen Lappen neu zu beantragen.. Damals gab's zum Glück nur Bargeld, dies wär mir also erspart geblieben! M, erinnerst du dich noch? XD Schönen, frostigen Gruß Ben

[@arnodobler1096]

@@tasminoben686 Moin Moin Ben! Ja erinnere mich so dunkel (wird von Jahr zu Jahr schwieriger😱) Ich kann mich auch noch an unseren Postbooten erinnern, damals als Kind. Der bekam so bei jedem 3. 4. Haus nen Schnaps. Eines Tages lehnte er, auf seinem Fahrrad sitzend, an unserem Haus und schlief. War mittags um 1, als ich von der Schule kam. 🤣 Ja das Geld ist meist nicht so schlimm, aber die Rennerei zu den Behörden! Wünsch ich dir auch Ben!🙋‍♂

[@tasminoben686]

@@arnodobler1096 Eine Arbeitskollegin Hat damals das 'Worst 'case' erwischt: Handtasche auf Autodach, aufschlißen, einsteigen... Noch vor EC-CARD-Zeiten, aber sonst war alles drin, was beim Neubeantragen so richtig Spaß macht! Mit Postamt habe ich auch so Einiges erlebt. Hab als Büromaschinenmechaniker Frankiermaschinen gewartet. Mußte dafür immer von den zuständigen Postämtern die Geräteschlüssel und die neuen Postsiegel holen. Ja, wie hat schon Tucholski geschrieben: Es ist des Deutschen Pein, vor einem Schalter zu stehen.. Und des Deutschen Freude, hinter einem Schalter zu sitzen! 😋😤 Ps: Die gute Bärbel hat ihre Handtasche natürlich nicht zurückbekommen, mußte den kompletten Weg nach Canossa kriechen!

[@sisuguillam5109]

Arno! 😃

[@sisuguillam5109]

@@tasminoben686 Tasmino! 😄

[@altair738]

A friend once lost her purse in a public toilet in Germany. Being a foreigner, she had no German ID or address in her purse. She didn't even report it, thinking that it was gone for good. A month later she gets a call from the Fundbüro (the lost and found office) saying that they'd found her purse -- turns out they'd found an old university ID card of hers when she was a student in Portugal, so they'd called up her old university, somehow convinced them to give out her phone number, and then called her up.

[@frauleintrude6347]

It can even get better. Lost my hand bag with keys, phone, money, cards in an IC because I had to switch trains in a hurry. One track suddenly was closed because of an accident. They told people with destination so and so should switch trains at the next stop to catch another train running a surround direction - time left 2 minutes.. I realised the loss just shortly after. Went to the information desk of the DB, told them my seat number and train. They informed the conductors in said train and told me just to sit and wait. The conductors went, found and took the bag and handed it at the next station to conductors on a train in reverse direction. These guys than handed the bag to a service person at the train stop in the station I was stranded. Got my bag back within 2 hours, all items inside. This was amazing.

[@jokervienna6433]

I come from Sweden but live in Vienna since many years. I have the same experience here - lost stuff will more often than not come back to the owner. Personally I have not lost anything, but both at work (security) and private, I see how much effort people put into getting someones lost items back. Then I put it some extra effort too. Yes, Sweden and Swedes are considered to be honest, but from what I have seen (and helped out with) in Austria, they are even more honest.

[@Nifuruc]

Happened to me, happened to a friend of mine... Yes, that's how it should be. I'd do the same for anyone else just because it's the right thing to do and I'd always hope for the same. Sadly enough sometimes people in Germany steal things but that's the exception.

[@olgaplatt9221]

This can happen quite frequently in Germany. Once I have left a Rimowa Bag on a train, and I got it back the very next day.

[@_YourSimp_6956]

Many people don’t understand this but us Germans do have respect for people! ❤️

[@pascalb.8434]

Yes, this is common in Germany. Even in big cities like Hamburg. I live near Hamburg and when I was younger I did lose all kind of stuff everywhere. Everything from bags, clothes, phones I lost was all handed in at the proper locations so I was always able to pick it up. Also a huge shout out to that one guy from a French hostel who send me my old Nokia per mail to my place in Germany after I lost it in France.

[@lionelpeer4097]

Story from Switzerland: I once received an email from the SBB (Swiss national rail operator) that my wallet had been found and handed in at their lost+found. The funny part: I had only been home for 2h and had not even realized that my wallet was missing!

[@ColdieHU]

Glad you got your things back, but that was an exception. There are more stories of things never turning up than being reunited with the owner.

[@Bosanac23482348]

I also remember an older lady here in Germany :) Im from munich btw. So when i was 18 years old, i went to my bank to get money for the driving school. I have withdrawn 350€ (my salary was like 700€ at that time). I was in a hurry and bcs i was late, i forgot my wallet with all that money in it, even my cellphone. After 5 minutes walking i noticed that i lost my stuff. Ran back to the bank, but it was gone. The next day it was ringing on my door and it was a older woman with my belongings. Not even 1 cent was missing. Im so thankfull for that

[@Damian.D]

What a wonderful story! Glad to hear there are good people out there. And cool haircut, by the way! 😎

[@yourtruebrit]

haha, thanks! I need to head to the barbers in the UK :D I hope your doing good :)

[@FFM0594]

We had a Brit visiting our work. She took off her ring with a very large sapphire in it to wash her hands and forgot to pick it back up. No one touched it while it was sitting on the counter and when the office closed the cleaning crew came in and secured it and handed it in.

[@f.w.7843]

I was lucky to have people get out of their way to get me my stuff back numerous times. Not only in Germany btw. And I have also always returned lost items I found. The nicest person to live on this planet must be this older guy from Iowa. In 1996, when I was an exchange student there, this guy found my wallet with over USD 200 (my monthly allowance in times before credit cards) in it. I had lost it during a high school band trip to the next town over. That guy drove over 10 miles to personally deliver the wallet back to me. I could not even convince him to pay for the gas. He only accepted to be invited to a malt ice cream. I will always remember that guy. There are good humans out there. And he was the best ambassador the US (or the MidWest) could dream of.

[@thomasstraub26]

Realy appreciate your nice words! Its a matter of respect: help others and regard others property. Should be natural.

[@sunniertimer598]

Finders keepers, losers weepers. I thought that was an American expression. Glad you got your bag back. See there are still decent people to be found everywhere.

[@yourtruebrit]

Many in Germany

[@shootingholmesplace278]

most of the time the money is still inside. normaly we put like wallets in to the postbox and the post will send it to you for free. but this is commen in germany.when the owner is close to me i just bring it to them. i think i did it 3-4 times in my live. because 30min ride is not to much for a person to get the very importent iteams back also they dont need to ´cancle the cards if they have them back fast. so less work for them.

[@SaturnusDK]

"Finders keepers, losers weepers" is illegal in most European countries. It's actually considered theft if you find anything of value and keep it without trying to find the rightful owner. Typically there's a triviality limit at around €50 but technically it's anything of any value.

[@ElaMongrella]

Pretty commonplace here in Germany, yes 🙂 I haven't lost anything myself (yet), but have found wallets or phones and brought them to the "Fundbüro" of wherever I happened to be. My ex once found a wallet (in another town), and the address in the owner's ID said that the owner coincidentally lived in the same town as him, so he took it home and handed it to the owner personally.

[@fae1984]

i once lost my camera on the floor of a campsite playground in france. it was pretty late and dark so i didn't notice at first. Later while i was trying to fall asleep it started raining. Suddenly something in my brain alarmed me and i noticed that i haven't seen my camera since we went back to our tents. My friend and her dad were already sleeping, it was late at night and raining alot so i couldn't go out to look for it. The next day my friends father told me the staff of the campsite got a camera turned in by one of the other visitors. i couldn't even believe it, i got my camera back, with everything still working, all previous photos still there. Thanks so much french person or whoever you were. Without you my pictures of all those memories would've drowned in the rain. Thank you

[@thesayes6231]

Ah I remember as a kid my sister and I found a wallet on a bench. It had some fifty euros in it and some other stuff, but no ID or anything to identify an owner, so we gave it to the Fundbüro. A few weeks later, after nobody came forward, we got it back and shared the money between us. Was a lot of money for us back then :D

[@sassandsavvy007]

I'm very happy for you, you got your bag back and you have this memory of Germany. Not all of us Germans are as honest as the people in your story but a great deal of us are. Best wishes from Munich 🙋🏻‍♀️

[@herrzwerg3453]

That story made me smile. Glad you got your stuff back. Reminds me of when I was a child and sometimes we just forgot to close the front door and it was open for the whole night, nothing happend nothing got stolen. A few days ago I accidentally left my keys outside my apartement door and on the next day a neighbor rang my door bell to tell me I'd forgotten my keys outside (It had the office chip on it as well). Boy would that have sucked if it got away. Even though we do also have Assholes taking advantage of it, I feel you have a good chance of getting your stuff back and people behaving fairly decent. You can also bring a lost wallet or monthly ticket of public transport to the police and they will track down the owner. (As I did once) Maybe I earned it there :P

[@ilkahellerling2345]

Yep that is totally normal in Germany. I was raised like that by my mom and we raise our children like that. If you found something try to give it back to the owner or give to the police.and i am happy for you that you got your stuff back. 🤗

[@jochenlutz7195]

An aunt of mine lost a golden bracelet-pendant at the EXPO 2000 in Hannover. One week after my aunt I visited the EXPO and went to the lost-and-found office. I was really surprised - it was there and I could return it to my happy aunt.

[@maxmussdermann1754]

Giving things back is pretty normal in Germany, I once found a wallet on the street and just picked it up, looked if there is an ID inside and as I found one, i brought it to the local police station and they called the owner to come and pick it up. There is even still a service from the "Deutsche Post" (the former federal post office) that if you find a wallet and there is an ID in there, you can just dump it in their yellow pillarboxes and they will deliver it back to the owner for no cost. A friend of mine actually had that happen once.

[@rkalle66]

Hopefully it will remain custom in Germany. You're learning to do it as you get positive feedback. So don't be shy to prepare a nice present to the finder who was honest to return your lost bag. But keep an eye on your belongings. Not everybody will react this way. There are thieves out there like everywhere else in the world. We are on earth not in paradise.

[@Vanessa_Sharma]

Das war einfach nur Glück. Das hat nichts mit Deutschland oder nicht Deutschland zu tun. Ich habe eine Tüte mit Geburtstagsgeschenken für meinen Sohn am Auto stehen gelassen. Das Baby hat geweint, wir waren gestresst, und sind dann ohne die Tasche losgefahren. Es war sein dritter Geburtstag, jetzt wird er 4. Nie wieder gesehen, die Sachen. Und es war keine Großstadt. Es war quasi ein Dorf. Pech.

[@avi.chan23]

I found a set of alot of keys while walking in the forest near the village we live in. I took it home, prepared some papers to stick to the trees near the place I found the keys and then I brought the keys, together with a letter on where and when I found them (and my name and address) to the town hall. The women owning this keys came to my place a week later and brought me a little treat to thank me. I was happy about that, but to be honest, I didn't expect anyone to appear at my place just because I did a absolute normal thing. If you find something or someone forgets or loses something it's my job to do my part to bring that back to the original owner. I always thought, this is just common sense all over the world, not just in Germany... Happy for you anyways

[@juliegirl1989]

To me, it's a question of respect and also self-respect. I once found a wallet full of cash in the staircase of our apartment building and I never could have forgiven myself if I had kept it for myself. I found an ID inside and first tried to contact the person via social media, but since I figured that they would need it back very soon and they didn't live too far away, I drove to their address and dropped it off with his mom. It turned out that the man had been delivering pizzas and would have faced a lot of trouble from his boss if he hadn't been able to bring back the day's earnings. He contacted me later and offered me a free pizza, but I declined (I'm gluten-sensitive). I hadn't done it for the reward anyway.

[@holger_p]

I have had the same thing, and if it just happened a minute ago, they phone the train staff to watch out at your seat, that's the fastest way. But otherwise the cleaning personal at the terminal will find it. Just a wonder it worked internationally via Prague. And than German old style administration caught you and send you to Hannover, instead of sending the bag to a place near you. (They cannot send it directly, you have to identify it, and tell what's in it and so on). But theft is not a thing , maybe for a wallet the temptation is great. You rather find people bringing things to the lost&found, then they just steel it. I have heared of Americans wondering, people leave their notebook on a restaurant table when going to the toilet - and it's still there, when you come back.

[@dwrabauke]

I am really glad you got your item back. I was not so lucky. Years ago I forgot a large bag with two really cool backpacks for my sons (presents) and some self-made cookies in a train. I immediately went to the lost and found in the train station and they even phoned the train to have someopne look for it, but they didn't find it. Someone had already stolen it. It bothers me to this day.

[@notbugs]

My sister once left her purse on the train when we were travelling through Germany to Switzerland. It was in the 70's and the train was headed for Milano in Italy. Once we got off the train in Zürich and my sister noticed that her purse was missing we went to the information desk and filled in some kind of form. A few days later the phone rang at the place we were staying and my sister got the news that the purse had been found by some cleaning staff in Milano and they had sent it back so we could pick it up at the train station in Zürich a couple of days later. In her purse was her wallet, passport, diary so she was extremely happy that it was found and returned so swiftly.

[@jettef7312]

Honestly…for me as a German it’s kind of strange that this isn’t a common thing everywhere… for me it’s just totally normal that if you find something try to give it back to the owner or hand it to authorities if you can’t do it on your own…

[@Panbaneesha]

I live in Hamburg, and I've returned several things myself (smartphones, wallets, keys). Most often I was able to contact the owners by searching for their numbers on the phone/in the wallet. Otherwise you can bring stuff to the "Fundbüro" - an central office designated to keep found objects for the owners to inquire after them. If the owner shows up, the finder is entitled to up to 5% of the item's value. If the owner doesn't show up the finder gets the item back, or it goes to auction. I also got several things back that I lost, including a wallet with debit cards, so chances of retrieving lost items are not too bad. PS: As a child I found an antique silver coin with a silver setting and chain. I felt really important to bring it to the lost and found, and I was even happier when after some months (or maybe even a year) I was contacted and told it was mine now. I still have it forty years later ;)

[@yourtruebrit]

Hmm where are the auctions happen in Germany ? :)

[@robertnett9793]

@@yourtruebrit You can look them up. 'Fundsachen Auktion' is the term you are looking for. It's either over - I belieive, the 'Ordnungsamt' for stuff turned into the municipal lost and found bureaus or over airport / railroad companies. I even remember a tv show, where people bid on luggage from some airport - with public opening and peeking inside. Voyerism as a public happening - ah, good times....

[@TheHesseJames]

In the early Eighties I left my mother's typewriter (look it up with google images, lol) in the train in Germany. It was the one she bought from her first salary waaay back (in the 20th century we had items being useful for decades). I filled the form at the station and sure enough I could pick it up three days later. But it is not a sure thing. An indicator is that the Lost And Found offices auction off mountains of stuff every year because nobody claimed them. So, also in Germany many people don't even think that somebody would turn their stuff in.

[@rora8503]

Yes, it is very common that germans to collect stuff from other people and try to give it back. When I lost some keys in the dark, someone put them in the neighbour's newspaper box. That is especially true for workplaces, schools and so. In our neighbourhood, people often put up descriptions and their phone numbers when they lost something. If you give back something of large value a lot of people are grateful and tend to give a 'finder's fee', a small amount of money (often depending on item value) to appreciate honesty.

[@blazingscythe9463]

It's not that rare of a thing to happen here. I remember back when I was in school a few weeks after my confirmation my step-dad forgot his camera in a train while we were on a trip. Obviously these things are really expensive and it had pictures from our trip on it which he likes to use for little collages of some sort. Of course he was pretty bummed out about losing it. About 2 weeks later in school my religion techer, who's also the pastor of my town, comes up to me and asks wether we forgot a camera in a train. It turns out there was still my confirmation certificate, which had my name and town on it, on the camera! So whoever found it, went through the pictures, saw it and sent it to our church. Moments like this are moments that build character, for that reason alone I always try to help people if I can.

[@leong1190]

You got lucky. I live in Germany and I lost a cell phone on a train that I never got back. A friend of mine even forgot some gadget when a train broke down and he had to change trains. He notified them immediately, nobody had entered the broken down train yet except staff and they maintained that they didn't find it. Some stations have problems with pick pockets as well. Also In some places where the train stops for a bit longer, they tell you on the speakers to watch your items because people will jump on the train, grab a bag and get off again. I used to take this train weekly and saw the same beggar get on the train every time, he said his wallet got stolen, sometimes that he just left it on another train but he only needed 7€ to get home. Then he'd pass around a cup for donations. Very unlucky guy for that to happen every week :)

[@lameduck3105]

I would probably have stolen a pair of knickers out of the bag before handing it in. Kudos to the person who found and handed it in.

[@ellisa8981]

I disagree with you that this would never happen in Britain: The first time I went to London with a friend, he left his rucksack in the underground. We thought the same: Never to be seen again. But the day before we left two weeks later, he asked where they keep lost things from the underground and there it was, with everything in it. So happy!

[@yourtruebrit]

I see your point, but where I am originally from in England it’s not the nicest area :)