I've never been, but I studied German in high school if that counts.
Impression: people are intelligent, hard-working. Often come across as serious. I think about Classical music, where Germany has produced some of the true greats, and it's the more 'serious' composers.
It must be said that I know one German guy online who's hilarious, but Germans really aren't known for their humour as a rule.
I vividly remember staying at a backpacker place in Scotland, and the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night (false alarm, thankfully). Most of us half-stirred, groaned, and thought about getting up.
The one German guy whipped out of bed so fast he almost stood to attention, and marched out of the room. All I could think was, "hey, stereotypes really DO have a basis in fact!".
I should emphasise that most of the Germans I've met, I like. But 'serious' is a word that would fit most of them.
I (Dutch) learned as a kid that God is good and Germany is bad.
Then I was 6 and Germany beat Holland in the soccer worldcup final of '74, clearly with help from above, and I didn't know what to believe.
Now I think God don't care and Germans are not much different from the Dutch or any other people.
They have a great landscape. Great language too. Is it true the German word for matchbox = 'streichholzschechtelchen'? How can you not like that. They have a great history... with some black pages. But what country doesn't? And Germans no sense of humour?
What about Modern Talking? Trio? Rammstein? Pretty funny stuff.
Originally posted by xxxenophobeHey... I've been to the Ramstein air base! Although it was only for about 2 hours and I was only inside the commissary store...
HAHAHAHAHAH... good luck with this croud..lol... but germany.. hmm... i think they got cool castles... and decent alcoholic beverages... oh but there women i hear are.. hmm.. in majority lacking... from people i know based at Ramstein a ...[text shortened]... eople in holland to.. hell i should just move to europe damn it...
But hey, I'm the girl everyone is talking about..
"Remember that gorgeous babe that came here sometime in January?"
"Hell yeah, she was hot!"
"I heard she was German?"
"Really? Are you kidding me?"
"No, I asked the guards, the kept her waiting for an extra 30 minutes before signing her in just so they could stare at her a while longer!"
"Oh wow, so I guess there are hot German chicks..."
So if you hear your friends having this conversation, they'll be referring to me 😉
But hey, if you don't mind me saying it... I hang around a lot at PHV (an American military base near Heidelberg, about 2 hours from Ramstein)... being a girl, I probably can't really judge it... but imho, German women look better than American women. At least better than those working for the military...
Angie 😀
PS: To whoever asked: The German word for matchbox is "Streichholzschachtel" 😉
Edit: And I can only speak for myself, but I am hardly ever serious... and although I may have a slightly weird humor, a lot of Germans laugh. Maybe you just think we don't have any sense of humor because most Germans speak very poor English (or am I stereotyping now?) so they don't get your jokes?
Originally posted by Shiny Knight"Streichholzschächtelchen" means "little matchbox". It's unlikely you will ever hear it, unless you bring a miniature matchbox. 😉 A normal matchbox is a "Streichholzschachtel", as Angie said.
Is it true the German word for matchbox = 'streichholzschechtelchen'?
Speaking of nice German words, I really like "Schlammschlacht". It's so much more descriptive than "mud fight".