Things I wonder about Germany and the Germans

I don't know. The longer I'm here, the more I wonder about some things. For example: Did Hitler have a Führerschein?

Wondering with it being bluedave's birthday and all... why do Germans, when going out for their birthday drinks, pay for everybody else. Is it some sort of bribe, show up and pretend to be my friend and I'll recompense you with alcohol?

I thought the whole point of a B'day was getting pissed for free!

I wonder why everything has to be so complicated. For example, why they need to have at least four types of personal documents (Personalausweis, Pass, Reisepass, Kinderausweis)?

Does it matter? He wore a leather cap while flying a JU52 and had a German Shepard dog.

My German friend said that this custom has its benifits. You only have to buy beer for your friends one day a year then you just go to their birthday parties and get drunk on their dime.

Me thinks that if one is a smart person they will invite only 10 people to their birthday party but make sure to get invited to 20 birthday parties over the year.

I remember when i invited all my friends out for drinks and then my boyfriend at the time who was german said I had to pay for everyone.. I had no money.. so i got him to pay for everyone.. but I'm with you.. its a very strange concept...

Also whats with the old ladies on the U-Bahn jumping off the train to get to the escalators first.. there extremely rough.. personally i think that most of them should create a german womens rugby team

i wonder how monopolies, like T-Com, are still allowed to exist! Ok, I know the economic structure here is not the same as in the States, but still!!! I like to have choices, dammit! Even if they are not good ones.

Why the popularity of dachshunds? (OK, I know this is Bavarian and not German, but still.)

And why must they tinker incessantly with spelling?

The maddest thing of all is this preoccupation with the German language, all those signs, newspapers etc. I think I've even heard people using it on the U-Bahn.

Had a conversation with a guy in my office about this a while back he’s American but has been out here for years.

He was telling me that when he first came over here he invited his work colleagues out for a meal. When towards the end of the meal people just got up and started walking out without paying he started to panic and ended up paying for 30 odd people.

Apparently when you use the word invite you are implying that you are paying

foook dat!!

sarabyrd, what's a German Shepard? New to me! Never saw one here. Is it American?
I have a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Hitler had a driving licence, but he lost it after a fit of drink/driving at one of his rallies. He had 4 points in Flensburg.

Of course it matters. He got to be Führer and killed millions of people! I hope the driving examiner was put on trial after the war.

(Yes, basically the whole thread was an excuse for a play on words.)

I wonder why people in the Munich S-Bahn and U-Bahn haven't figured out that the button which opens the door only works when the green lights are on. Many people just keep pressing the button and wonder why the door is not openning. duh!

for a nation obsessed with not queueing for anything they seem to get very upset when I nip to the front of a traffic queue at the lights on my bike. (and often express this by flashng their lights/ shouting + screaming)

Mad.

Yes, be careful with translations. Either you are paying, or more likely, you are cooking a meal and inviting them to your house. You don't "invite" someone to come along out for dinner or drinks with you. You "ask" them if they want to come along.

Or when they are waiting for the escalator to change directions, many of them press the indicator light hoping that it will make the escalator stop and go the other way.

...maybe they need to eliminate any confusion on their side...this just reminds them more than once of who they are...ha ha ha ha...

Had to get a TUV for my motorbike the other day and the dealer said he needed the Fahrzeugschein. So I dug out the paperwork and rocked up.

No - he says - not that one, the smaller one.

What the fu**? Why do we need 2 registration documents for one freeking vehicle?

Mixed up yer Schein and yer Brief, have ya ?

That's a bit odd really because the larger document (the Brief) actually has more information than the smaller one (the Schein).

Might just be your choice of vehicle of course ?

why do they insist on using abbreviations & acronym for everything ... Abk, FeWo, PKW, LKW, FKK. just read the classifieds here, more cryptic than anything in an english language paper.

Who's the pot calling the kettle black, britMUC?

going native ... you got a point there, cinzia! looks like i've been in germany way too long:-)

what is up with germans being so anal? every damn day at the cafeteria they swarm like vultures pushign and shoving and not even noticing that they are doing it, cutting the line etc...even at crowded areas like marienplatz. i keep saying excuse me sorry and no one seems to care. they stop in the middle of the road while walking all of a sudden, i say excuse me from behind them and they don't respond!!! i think i am going to do the same from now on...sh!ts getting on my nerves now and if you guys see a bunch of people lying on the ground, just know that i have passed through that place just a few minutes before.

no, he didn't.

and here's another bit of slightly useless information on the topic: in east-germany after the war führerschein was officially changed to fahrerlaubnis (so they wouldn't have to use the nasty f-word... )

I wonder if Adam Sandler ever wrote a song about wondering about Germans and Germany. Um, I wonder.

can't remember exactly where I heard this one:

At least the first part is true...

i wonder why so many german men over the age of about 25 are loosing their hair?

Okay, so not really what this thread is about, but can anybody satisfy my niggling curisoty and tell me what the letters 'BMZ' stand for?

I've seen a few signs at the side of the road that say 'BMZ' (incl on 13 to Unterschleissheim), but I also saw the same sign above a office doorway in Karlsplatz ...

It's always black writing on a white sign, with a red border. Any ideas?

I don't know what the abbreviation stands for, but I think the sign itself marks the place where the fire department can hook up to the water supply, and also means that you are not allowed to park there so as not to block access to the hydrants. IIRC there was a thread on this and other signs some time ago.

Edit: Here's the link to the thread on signs.

BMZ = Brandmeldezentrale

I think it's where the firebrigade go first to check the status of the building or property.

Thank you for the explanations ... !!!

Oy! Mods! And the rest of you posters as well! This was supposed to be a pointless drivel thread, and now you've all gone and spoilt it!

@ OhFFS - Sorry for riuning your thread. Pointless drivell reinstateed..

"why, oh why, does my German postman(lady) deliver the post to all houses on our road up to my next-door-neighbours at 9.30am, and then procced around the entire suburb before returning to my house and the rest of the street at 1pm. Did the previous tennants forget to give her a christmas tip, or something?"

Hey, I tried. It would have helped if I could have actually found a pic of Adam singing that stupid song and the text to it. It was in Mixed Nuts I think.
I wonder what the birds and the bees are actually doing with the flowers and the trees? And whatever they do, do German birds and bees do it differently than other nationality of birds and bees? I wonder?

And another thing.

Why are so many of the men in this country hairdressers? At least I assume they are, judging by the way they look. I reckon they need to go to masculinity clinic, and have a hair transplant. Onto their chests.

Just to bring a typical german rhyme: Der Führer war ein armes Schwein, er hatte keinen Führerschein.
A Dachshund is a Dackel (straight fur) or Teckel (the scruffy looking ones)
And never forget: A german never says sorry as long as you don´t give them a long stare.

AHAAND...Please leave us germans alive the Turks are already after us.

Hehe... I can totally relate to that

plus I can't figure out the parcel delivery system either, how does it work because it has me well confused!

There are days when I am at home all day and never leave the apartment waiting for a parcel, it never arrives. Then the next day I get a letter telling me to pick up my parcel which I was not at home yesterday to receive hah... was at home the whole day, this has happened a few times.

Then there are times I am not at home and they leave the parcel with a neighbor. The post office is on the corner of my street, sometimes the walk to pick up the parcel from the neighbour is further than the post office, plus the stupid postman has been giving out to the neighbours that we are never at home and now the neighbours are angry at me for having to receive my parcels

And then sometimes when I'm not at home the stupid postman leaves it with a small business on my street which just happens to have a 9-5 opening time, so I've no way of picking it up

hmm, was I meant to give him a tip at xmas??

Ive got a tip for the postman...

Fook off and dont ring all the doorbells so you can get in
If im at home during the day its becasue i was pissed up the night before and dont feel well so fooking stop it!!!

I have to say, I am sooooo glad I live in the UK, where everything's brilliant and I never have to wonder about all these horrible things that you have all been going on about in this thread! I'll certainly not go back to the fatherland.

Hitler's driving instructor went to Argentina after the war and opened a driving school with Mengele.
They both did very well for themselves. Argentia is a good place to relax after serious trauma; divorce, loss of a loved one, war etc...