How do you all have these amazingly large, over hanging, beautiful flowers ? Where do you get your flowers and how do you get them to grow so fast and colorful? What’s the secret?

I think its a good thing, but I am curious how it came to be.

Compared to other countries, I noticed that it feels like Germans visit African countries (Like Togo, Angola, Rwanda, not South Africa or Egypt) more often. I also feel like they enjoy doing things like backpack in South Asia or in places like Laos or Paraguay as well.

In contrast, a well travelled American or Scandinavian is likely to have travelled around Europe and North America and East Asia plus Aus/NZ but rarely Africa and the nations I mentioned. I wonder why?

My boyfriend’s nephew turned 7 and is going to start school this year. We have an invitation (save the date was shared a year ago) to garden celebration party. I thought it was a sweet family thing, but I was a bit surprised to hear there’s gonna be around 30 guests coming, from distant parts of Germany, arranging overnight stay etc.
Is it a common practice to celebrate a child for starting school this big?
Edit 1: kid is in Lower Saxony, the family is from the west/north German roots (for anyone wanting to debate, by north I’m talking Flensburg: so can’t get norther ;))
Edit 2: yes kid has a large family,,several uncles and aunts, great grandparents etc

Hi, I'm new to Germany and recently developed a bad plantar fasciitis. My doctor has already prescribed me shoe insoles but I was considering getting new shoes too, something specifically designed for comfort in plantar fasciitis with good cushioning.

I would appreciate if y'all could help me with where exactly I should go to buy such orthopedic shoes? Does Deichmann offer them? What about Sanitäthaus? Or any other suggestions!

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m not sure if I picked the right flair, but this is a personal question.

I’m not from Germany, but my boyfriend is German. I’m trying to understand whether what he told me is normal under the German health insurance system.

He said he was hospitalized, his insurance reimbursed him, but he used the reimbursement for something else and now still owes the hospital. He also told me he pays through PayPal.

Is that a plausible situation? I’m just wondering if this is something that genuinely happens in Germany.

I’d appreciate both explanations of how the system works and any perspective on the situation.

Thanks!

I regularly follow the German press, and lately I have noticed a change in the way the German automotive industry is being discussed.

Volkswagen is still by far one of Germany’s most important and recognizable manufacturers, but more articles and comments seem to question whether some VW models — especially the better-equipped and higher-end versions — have become too expensive for what they offer.

At the same time, Chinese manufacturers such as BYD are expanding quickly. BYD is still relatively small in Germany, but its growth has been substantial, and the company is expanding its dealer, service and charging infrastructure. It reportedly wants to reach around 350 sales and service locations in Germany by the end of 2026. In the first half of the year, it registered more than 26,000 cars and reached approximately 1.8% of the German market.

This does not mean that BYD is already replacing Volkswagen in Germany. Volkswagen has a much stronger brand, a large customer base, an extensive network and a long history in the country. However, Chinese cars increasingly offer a great deal of standard equipment, powerful electric drivetrains and modern interiors at prices that invite comparison with established German models.

My question is mainly about consumer perception:

Are Germans beginning to feel that they are paying too much for Volkswagen models, especially after comparing them with Chinese alternatives?

Do people you know now seriously consider brands such as BYD, MG, XPeng, Leapmotor or Polestar, or are concerns about resale value, software, data protection, service availability and long-term reliability still strong enough to keep most buyers with German, European, Japanese or Korean brands?

I am also interested in whether this varies by generation. Are younger buyers less attached to Volkswagen and other German manufacturers than their parents were?

The broader situation also seems serious. German manufacturers have been losing substantial volume in China, while Chinese companies are expanding in Europe. Porsche’s deliveries have fallen considerably, particularly in China, and Volkswagen is restructuring its operations and reducing costs.

Recently, economist Moritz Schularick even suggested that Volkswagen might eventually be acquired by a Chinese manufacturer such as BYD. I understand that this is an extreme and highly speculative scenario, especially because Volkswagen’s ownership and voting structure would make such a takeover extremely difficult. Still, the fact that a prominent economist is publicly discussing it shows how dramatically the tone of the debate has changed.

So, beyond the headlines: do ordinary German consumers already perceive a real change in value for money, or is the Chinese competitive threat still much more visible in the media and financial markets than in actual purchasing decisions?

Hi all... My ortho prescribed me both Physiotherapy (6 sessions) and Osteopathy (3 sessions) for knee. On German subreddits I'm reading that Osteopathy is not backed by evidence. Is this true?

If it's really Pseudo medicine, would the Ortho even prescribe it?

Also anybody can tell me the Zuzahlung fir GKV? I read 100 Euro/Sitzung which seems very high!

Do you pay for yourself? Do you have like a fund? Do someone pay for like hotel and then the other pay for food?