Real or Not? or Is That Thing About Germany True?

Americans have many perceptions about Germans and Germany, some of which have some basis in fact and some of which are, of course, not true at all. I'm going to try to talk to a few of these.

German Food

I think this is one of the things in which the American perception is accurate to some degree. The German diet is indeed pretty heavy in sausage (they serve Currywurst once a week in the cafeteria in my office building) and potatoes. There are other things about German cuisine that I didn't know about until I got over here. They eat more pork and less beef than we do in the States. They do like cheese here, but there is a lot more soft cheese (think swiss and gouda) than hard, sharp cheese. Any cheddar that I find here is imported from England or Ireland. The only hard cheese that is found in abundance are Italian hard cheeses (Parmesan and Grana Padano, mostly).

Also, like most other countries in Europe, the Germans tend to drink wine or beer with their evening meals. They actually have wine and beer in the cafeteria at work, but I rarely see anyone get one. Also, the beer-to-wine ratio tends to be more tilted to beer here than other places in Europe, which would fit the American stereotype. So, yes. They do drink their fair share of beer here. But, oh! The beer! It really is that good. I'm not sure what makes German beer so much better tasting to me, but it sure is.

The diet here seems to be lighter in vegetables than in the States. In general, they tend to be fresher here than in Texas (since a lot of Texas veggies are brought in from California); however, it might be that they are less abundant here as well.

Despite all of this, the Germans that I have seen have not been an overweight lot in general. Now, this may have to do with the amount of walking / cycling they do in Munich, so I can't speak to Germany as a whole on this one. Of course, if you look at world obesity data, Germany is, in general less obese than the US.

"Rule Following"

Another area where there is some grain of truth. There are lots of rules over here that cover all kinds of issues and the Germans tend to follow them. There is one exception to this that I have noticed and that is the rule about speed limits. Obviously, not all roads in Germany have no speed limit (only sections of the Autobahn are like that), so there are actual speed limits on other roads. These are ignored here to the same extent that they are in the States. Other than that, break a rule (written or unwritten) and be prepared to face the wrath of any German near you!

I think that part of this "rule following" mentality is what makes up the stereotype of the German engineer. They have a reputation for being precise, giving rise to the mythos of "German Engineering". There is a certain amount of truth in this, from my experience. Engineering tends to be more rigid and less flexible than in the States. This has its pluses and minuses and I'm not making a judgement here, just laying out what I have noticed. No, please! Stop with the angry emails before they start! :)

Humor? What Humor? We're not funny, we're angry!

Americans tend to think of Germans as rather rigid, unfunny, unlikely to laugh and angry. This is definitely a stereotype that I have found to be completely untrue. While they have issues with some American idioms (as do any non-native speakers), they are just as likely to crack and laugh at jokes as anyone. It is not unusual to hear a group of natives talking and laughing on the train. This has been a pleasant surprise for me as I tend to use humor to get through the day, usually involving sarcasm. While not all my co-workers get all my sarcastic remarks, I do get the occasional laugh and the occasional "that was a total Dad joke" groan. Some things are universal. :)

Then there is anger. "Why do Germans sound angry?" Here's the thing, I don't think Germans sound angry, per se. But the German language, for whatever reason, sounds very angry to American ears. This is indeed a stereotype that I have found to be true. I'm not sure why that is, but there is probably some scientific sub-specialty that would let me know. :)

I will say, though, that when a German actually IS angry and is angrily yelling in German, that is the stuff of nightmares.

More German Personality Traits

There seem to be a lot of thoughts about the "normal" German personality. I will say that, in my experience and keeping in mind exceptions listed above, Germans are actually fairly close to Americans in personality. As an example, going out to dinner in Paris is usually a more quiet affair. The French tend to be quieter and a bit more proper. A German restaurant will tend to sound like a restaurant in the States (with the exception of it sounding more "angry"; see above). I think that, of the Germans we have met, they can be as outgoing and gregarious as Americans. I will also say that the level of that out-going-ness towards us has to do with the level of mastery of the English language. I think that, and this holds true for anyone, the less comfortable you are in your second language, the more reserved you will be when speaking that language and thus the more reserved you will appear to us 'Muricans.