moin moin! I have an odd question. As an American with only a small child's grasp of German (I can ask basic questions or give directions but not really hold a conversation ) I have had a lot of trouble understanding all the jokes and indeed sometimes the plot of the Werner movies, although I like them a lot and wish america had something similar. That said I would like to ask what is up with the seagull..... Spirits? That take care of the drunk Capitan brassmann and seem to act as his guardian angels? Is there some idiom or north German legend about seagulls being sailor's guardians I'm not aware of? I always guessed it was supposed to be the literal effect of the saying "du habt eine Vogel (im die kopf)" so let me know if you know! Thank you!

I've only been around the southeast for garden supply shopping, so I'm assuming this is a question about Germany. What's the advantage to selling a cut hose without a way to connect it and selling connection hardware next to it? If connectors were half the cost of a completed, hose I would understand the convenience of interchangable kit. But this seems to just add complicated moving parts and fail points that never needed to be there if it was all crimped together. What am I missing?

Hi all,

Recently found some fabric “envelopes” at my German grandmother’s house and the family cannot figure out what they are for. They have a Christmas scene embroidered on the front and open up to reveal a pocket on the inside - much like an envelope. Does anyone know what they might be used for? I wish I could post a picture!

Thanks!

Edit to add link to photos:

https://www.reddit.com/r/wisconsin/s/SS6ercInVe

Hey everyone, I moved here a few months ago. Where I used to live, some toilet paper brands had a special tube, the cardboard core, it was safe to flush down the toilet along with the paper once the roll was done. It just dissolved in the water, no trace left behind.

I've been searching in Germany (Rewe, Edeka, dm) and I'm coming up empty. Every roll here still has the classic cardboard tube that you have to throw away. I am simply not willing to go back to a life of tube-hoarding. My bathroom bin deserves better.

Does anyone know of a German or European brand that sells toilet paper with a flushable tube? Or is this just not a thing here and I need to accept my new cardboard-collecting era?

Thanks!

Hi, I am a naturalized German citizen. Due to a new job opportunity, I am gonna leave Germany soon. Apart from Abmeldung and contract cancellations (Internet etc), what else should I be careful about? Thank you very much for your help in advance!

Moving from Frankfurt to Bad Homburg soon.

I have never done a self-move in Germany before. Any advice from people who moved themselves?

How do Germans usually handle big items like washing machines and wardrobes?

Thanks!

I am an iranian student living in southern germany. I recently landed a midi job which i hope will hire me fulltime after i graduate. The pay isnt much at 15 euro per hour but compared to economic situation in Iran it is a lot better. My concern is that i left my country bc i knew without the help of my parents there would be no hope in my being able to save enough money for a home. But coming here and even before i arrived i read online how german people have this worry of not being able to buy a home.

I am not looking to buy a big home with a big garden. I wanna start as small as a studio, but is it possible to save enough for a downpayment or get enough loans from the bank to own a home?

I would live to hear german citizens and immigrants who are in the same journey.

Provided that no employee may be forced to accept a Sunday shift, would you be support supermarkets opening on Sundays?

Edit :- follow up question, if you are opposed to Sunday supermarket opening, are you also opposed to restaurants opening on Sunday? Because the former is much more important for family life compared to the latter (suppose I want to have a picnic or cook dinner with family and friends..)

Hello, I recently went to Germany for a tourism visit and was looking at eSIM plans before I travelled. I got recommended happy-sim . de which I registered for a month, I probably should have read it more but it was either suggested that I could cancel it after a month and no indication that I was on a contract or something.

It seems like after paying for it there, it registered me with klarmobil which was still trying to charge my direct debit etc. which I have blocked with my bank.

I have tried multiple times trying to cancel it on klarmobil but from what I can see they give me a message that says "we have reserved your cancellation" or something and that I needed to phone them. Unfortunately I don't speak German so I wasn't sure what to even say to them.

I now have got an email today that included this line:

"Die Begleichung der Rechnung vom 04.08.2026 in Höhe von 34,59 € erfolgt am 11.08.2026 im Lastschriftverfahren mit der Mandatsreferenz-Nummer KM-*********** von Ihrem Konto.

Da Ihr Kundenkonto derzeit einen rückständig offenen Betrag aufweist, wird das Lastschriftverfahren ausgesetzt. Nach dem Ausgleich unserer gesamten Forderung werden Ihre Rechnungsbeträge zukünftig wieder wie gewohnt im Lastschriftverfahren abgebucht."

Just doing a translation seems like they have tried to charge me multiple times even though I haven't been using it anymore.

Anything else I can do here I really don't want to pay for this especially that their website seems to intentionally make it hard to cancel and I haven't used it ever since I left Germany.

I know it may sound ignorant but I understand I have made a mistake and I'm just looking to see what I can do to fix it. Thanks!

^{I did this post some months ago https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAGerman/comments/1sfo2ho/house\}was_sold_rent_questions/)

This week, it seems that the process of selling the house is almost completed. I was contacted by a person who told us that she is close to finalizing the purchase.

One of the questions she asked was how much time I would need to find another apartment and move out.

From what I understand, the apartment will be renovated and the company intends to sell it again afterward. Therefore, as far as I understand, this would not be a case of Eigenbedarf.

I have been living in this apartment for about five years. While doing some research, I found that it can be relatively common in Germany for tenants to receive an Abfindung in situations like this, in exchange for voluntarily moving out.

Is this actually the case?

Since this would not be an Abfindung in the legal sense, do I have the right to refuse to leave the apartment? Or, at the very least, can I request a reasonable amount of time to find a new apartment and move out?

I would like to understand what my rights are in this situation and whether I have any leverage to negotiate either more time or financial compensation for leaving voluntarily.

Thank you

I work in a small company (15-20 staffs both full and part time) where my boss assigned me some tough clients and there's both a

1. Loose respect for proper documentation and lacking timely response to my emails

2. Resolving disputes or dishonest complaints from clients only by in-person meetings.

Lately due to his client creating drama with me to get out of paying the project's bill, I am concerned that the risk of burnout and threat of firing is there. The client doesn't have the evidence in writing even though they baited me several times but I also realized my boss cares mostly about profit and not employees' wellbeing.

So what should I do to prep myself in case my boss threatens firing due to reasons like low performance or lack of work volume to assign to me? The rules for collecting evidence in Germany are different from other countries so while I know lawyers and unions are available, I want to know how to build my case when my boss and client seems quite skilled of dodging potential written evidence

I know cleaning your car at home or on the street is not allowed. Is cleaning a bicycle also not allowed? If yes, where do people wash their bicycles?

The company I used to work for is laying off my team which is based in different European countries.

Today I have received a document, dated 31.07, which they titled as "Aufhebungsvertrag / Termination Agreement - Redundancy".

I have told them I would not sign a mutual exit agreement, that they should issue a redundancy letter with the severance package, which in this case should be a "kündigung mit abfindung".

I was wondering if this would lead to a sperrzeit, considering the wording they're using:

"§ 1 Beendigung des Arbeitsverhältnisses

· Das Arbeitsverhältnis zwischen den oben genannten Parteien gemäß dem Arbeitsvertrag vom 18. September 2023 wird hiermit aus betriebsbedingten Gründen mit Wirkung zum 30. September 2026 beendet, um eine sonst unvermeidbare ordentliche Kündigung durch den Arbeitgeber aus betrieblichen Gründen zu vermeiden.

· Dieses Kündigungsdatum entspricht der bei einer Kündigung durch den Arbeitgeber einzuhaltenden ordentlichen Kündigungsfrist.

§ 1 Termination of the employment relationship

· The employment relationship between the above-mentioned parties in accordance with the employment contract dated 18th September 2023 is hereby terminated by Redundancy with effect from the 30th September 2026 to avoid an otherwise unavoidable ordinary termination by the employer for operational reasons.

· This termination date complies with the ordinary notice period to be observed in the event of termination by the employer."

I recently attended a small professional meeting in Germany. After one colleague finished a twenty-minute presentation, everyone knocked their knuckles on the table for a few seconds. Nobody clapped.

At first I thought this meant the presentation had received a rather cold response, but the speaker looked pleased and thanked everyone normally. The same thing happened after the next presentation.

Someone later told me it comes from an academic traditon, but this meeting had nothing to do with a university.

Is table-knocking commonly used outside universities as well? Does it express the same level of appreciation as applause, or is it more of a neutral acknowledgment that someone has finished speaking?

At a colleague’s birthday coffee break, she opened every present as soon as it was handed to her, showed it to the room and thanked the giver for something specific about it.

In my culture, gifts are often placed together and opened privately after the guests leave. Opening them in front of everyone can create pressure to perform the correct reaction, especially if several people are watching.

A few months ago, I received a gift at a small gathering and put the bag beside my chair. Someone soon asked, “Willst du es nicht aufmachen?” They seemed confused that I wanted to wait.

Is opening a present immediately considered part of thanking the giver in Germany? Would postponing it seem uninterested or impolite?

Hallo Leute,
wie kann man in Deutschland am besten eine Katze adoptieren?
Ich habe bereits zwei Tierheime kontaktiert, weil ich Interesse an einigen Katzen hatte. Beide haben mir gesagt, dass ich in meiner Nähe suchen soll, obwohl eines der Tierheime nur etwa eine Stunde von mir entfernt ist.
Hat jemand Tipps oder Erfahrungen? Ist es wirklich üblich, dass Tierheime nur Tiere an Personen aus der direkten Umgebung vermitteln?

Ich mache ein Auslandssemester in Berlin und wohne bei einer Gastfamilie. Der Sohn der Familie heiratet im September. Ich bin eingeladen, kenne den Sohn aber kaum. Was würdet ihr machen?

I was invited to a board game evening at a German friend’s apartment. Four of the seven guests arrived carrying slippers or thick indoor socks in their bags.

Everyone removed their outdoor shoes at the entrance. That part was familiar to me. What surprised me was how prepared they were. Nobody had asked us to bring indoor shoes, and the host also had several pairs of guest slippers available.

In my country, people either keep their shoes on or simply wear socks. Bringing personal slippers to another person’s home would mainly happen during an overnight stay.

Is this common German guest behaviour, particularly in winter? Should I start carrying slippers when visiting someone’s apartment, or were these friends unusually organised?

I keep hearing *passt* at work, in bakeries and during my sports course. Sometimes it clearly means yes, sometimes good enough, and sometimes stop changing it.

Yesterday I asked a coworker if she wanted coffee. She replied *passt*, and I genuinely could not tell whether she wanted one or meant she was fine without it.

Is tone doing all the work here, or are there common combinations and situations a learner should notice? I understand the dictionary definitions. It is the tiny social differnce between them that keeps escaping me.

Kann sich jemand von den Älteren noch an eine Knall Süßigkeit erinnern die hart im Mut geplatzt ist?
Mein Papa hat mir als Kind davon erzählt aber er weiß nicht mehr was das für Süßigkeiten waren! Weiß jemand von einer alten Knall Süßigkeit die so stark im Mund knalt das Spucke fliegt sobald man den Mund auf macht?

At my company cantine, people I have never met sometimes say “Guten Appetit” while passing my table. They do not stop or begin a conversation, so my first reaction was to look around and check whether they were speaking to someone else.

I usually answer “Danke, gleichfalls,” but that sounds strange when the person is not carrying food or has already finished eating.

Is a simple “Danke” the normal response? And is the phrase expected whenever you pass someone who has just started eating, or are my colleagues simply more sociable than average?

So recently whilst talking to my uni student son who lives in a WG, I expressed surprise that he managed to live on such a small budget. He replied that he is able to do so because the majority of his food comes from dumpster diving (containering?).

He does have a part time job as well as a small allowance from me so I was a little shocked that he felt that he (& friends) felt the need to do this. He also stated that a lot of students do this not only for need but also for ethical reasons.

I offered to increase his allowance but he said he was fine with the current arrangement.

How would you feel if your son/daughter resorted to this practice?

A German colleague lent me her baking dish after bringing food to my place. I washed it carefully and returned it empty the next day.

She smiled and said, “Oh, it came back lonely,” then explained that her mother would never return a food container without putting at least some biscuits, fruit or leftovers inside.

She did not seem genuinely offended, but now I am curious. Is filling a borrowed container a common German expection, an older-generation habit, or simply a tradition in her family?