10 Things You Should Know About Germans

There are a lot of things you might not know about Germans - for example we DO have humor! A lot of it! Of course there might be some exceptions to this list - just not number 10.

1. "King Football" is the true nobility in Germany

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Germans LOVE football - truly madly and deeply. If you are German there is actually only one occasion when you are allowed to be openly proud of your country: During a football championship – World or European – or an equally important sports event (except when it’s not football there basically is none).

2. Germans don’t sugarcoat

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Some people claim that Germans are rude. That's not entirely true. Germans just don't sugarcoat. We have a tendency to be very direct during conversations. For example, if a German tells you: "Oh I'd never wear a dress like that." We don't consider it rude, it's only conversation to us.

3. Germans LOVE Nutella

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I think, secretly Germans are convinced that everything tastes better with Nutella. Bread, Crisp-bread, stollen, some cakes, fruits – we just LOVE to put Nutella on top of it.

4. Germans do have humor!

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Germans have a reputation for not possessing any humor. That’s not true. Our humor is just deeply laced with sarcasm. Problem is: Outside of Germany people aren’t used to that and tend to get offended.

5. Don't bark at Germans!

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Yeah it’s true: German isn’t the most beautiful language to listen to. But it's OUR language. So if you think it’s amusing to make fun of it in front of us by barking some German words – be prepared for a very dry joke that might feel a bit like a slap in the face. Remember: We don’t sugarcoat and we do tend to be very sarcastic.

6. Germany has no kings or queens

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We don’t have any queens or kings left – the last German emperor was Wilhelm II. and his rule ended 1918. After World War I the Germans revolted against their emperor, blaming him for the war and in the end he fled the country.

7. But Germany once had a fairy tale king

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Well, Bavaria (the part of Germany with the beer party & the funny outfits) had: King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He actually built the Neuschwanstein castle which inspired Walt Disney.

8. German trains ARE never on time!

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There is this ongoing rumor about Germans always being on time, being very correct and so on…well, that doesn’t apply for our trains. Or any form of public transport to be precise. It’s just a fairy tale.

9. There is no German christmas pickle

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Sorry, it's just an American fairy tale.

10. Adolf Hitler was an Austrian

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That’s right. Adolf Hitler was born and raised in Austria – that’s a little country next to Germany. He never was German. Please do remember that from now on. Thank you.