So German ...

In our Berlin office where people from over 15 nations come and work together, the idea of someone being a foreigner appears to be quite irrational. Yet, we happened to stumble upon several of our colleagues, bringing up stories about their impressions of lifestyle and habits in Germany, that turned out to be quite a surprise to the locals among us.

After several talks, we developed quite a huge collection of interesting facts and odds of which German-born citizens might not even be aware. And as we find them funny but also very useful, we decided to share them.

Starting it off with some insights from our Italian developer Matteo Cavucci, here comes the first part of our new blog-series “So German ...”.

What was the most significant thing you remember when you first came to Germany?

I clearly remember my first week in Berlin. I was out all week, chilled at home on Saturday and then decided to go grocery shopping on Sunday. It was in November and there was literally nobody on the streets. That really creeped me out, all the shops being closed and everybody just staying home on Sundays. I still haven’t quite adapted to that yet.

Anything else you would recommend to know before coming to Germany?

Forget about your credit card. Just don’t rely on it, usually you won’t be able to use it.
I don’t really know what it is with Germans and paying cash, but they just mostly do.
Credit cards don’t seem to fit into German lifestyle.

Any personal tricks or advices for future residents?

I usually think it’s a very nice and interesting thing to read regional newspapers.
I, myself, mostly just understand the headlines and look at the pictures, but it’s a very nice way to get insights on what the place you’re at is about.
And it helps with the language too … of course.

Apart from that, I never really felt the need to adapt to some kind of German standards. Living in Berlin, I don’t feel like a foreigner.
I feel like a European, living in a European City.
In cities like Madrid, Paris, London or Barcelona, for example, I always felt like some kind of stranger, tourist, just someone who clearly isn’t part of the deeper national culture. In Berlin, the variety of people and cultures is just enormous. It’s basically normal to be different.
I really like that about Berlin.

Thank you, Matteo!

Illustrations: Lucia Cosma