Anyone here ever live in Germany? Specifially Western Germany?

[Taverner]

Just wondering what it's like, what the people are like, etc...

I hear they are a lot more progressive than Americans by and large, and they tend to have a gallows sense of humor that would shock most of us...

Reason I ask is I am considering submitting for a job in Bonn

[Parche]

1. Germany

Never lived there, but know someone who has a travel company that does tours
near the 'Eagles' Nest :hi:

[tandot]

2. I visited there in 2002. On the news they brought a story about a naked jogger

They actually showed him jogging - N U D E - in a public park and didn't blur anything out. It aired on the local 6 pm news. It was hilarious. Other people in the park either just ignored him, did a short glance, or snickered.

[AllegroRondo]

3. I lived there for 2 years

you'll love it.

great food, great beer, great scenery, great people. EXCELLENT public transportation. I didnt need a car the entire time I was there.

they are a bit more progressive, especially about things like public drinking and public nudity. no open container laws, just dont act like an idiot. topless sunbathing? nobody looks twice. gays in public? so what, no big deal.

you are correct about their humor, though. some of it was quite good, similar to British humor, but some I just didnt get.

[deucemagnet]

4. I went to high school in Bonn a very long time ago.

I graduated from Bonn American High School in 1983. Back then, Bonn was the capital of West Germany, and there was an American diplomatic community and an American high school. It's a beautiful area, and I found the pace of European life to be to my liking. If I had an opportunity, I would go back in a heartbeat.

[cwydro]

5. I lived in a small town near Munich

for about six months. I loved it. I loved the people, the scenery, the beer, you name it.

Far ahead of us on recycling, bikepaths...pretty much everything.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. i'll ask this on tavs behalf: did you like the ladies?

:P

[cwydro]

9. Well, I had an SO at the time (American)

but I thought that the Germans were hot as hell. I was younger then and it struck me what good shape the older women (40's and so on) were in, especially compared to Americans...and how good looking they were.

I actually did have a fling with a German once who was visiting the Keys (YEARS ago.) No complaints:evilgrin:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. tsk tsk tsk

:spank:

[cwydro]

11. NO! I was a GOOD girl.

I did nothing. The fling was YEARS before.

[CottonBear]

7. I lived there as a child and have firends in Munich. Germany is wonderful.

It is beautiful, extra-super clean and tidy, progressive, public transit is incredible, the beer is great and the people are very friendly.

Munich is my favorite Eoropean city. It is, however, very expensive (thik NYC or Toyko).

[Orsino]

8. I enjoyed my three years in the Rhineland in the nineties..

Friendly people, I thought, with a touch of perfectionism. Yeah, they tend to be anti-fascist given their history, and there is an element of fatalism to their humor.

I don't recall visiting Bonn.

[Adsos Letter]

12. I lived there for two years, but it has been a long time

I was stationed near Nuremberg in 74-75. The people were generally quite friendly and, as the poster above noted, they are a lot more relaxed than Americans regarding nudity and sexuality.

Long story short: One really cold night in November I was standing at an intersection in a small cluster of houses outside Kreuzbach, waiting to guide an artillery battery onto the correct road. It was really cold.
A guy who looked like maybe he was in his early 60's came out from one of the houses and began speaking to me in really excellent English, but with obvious German accent. He offered me a drink of peppermint schnapps, which I gladly accepted. We chatted. I complimented him on his excellent English; much better than my high-school German.
He said he had been captured by the British and spent 2 years in a POW camp in England.

Then he held up his left arm which I had not noticed, because of the darkness, was missing from the elbow down; he chuckled and said:

"I...was at Normandy." We both laughed, he offered me another sip from his schnapps bottle, bade me good night, and went back into his house.

That experience has stayed with me because it always seemed like a touch of common humanity; being an ex-soldier, he most likely knew what it was like to be stuck in the middle of a cold night, doing some boring job which you weren't all that happy about in the first place, and missing home.

I think you will find that the German's are pretty much like anybody else: take the time to get to know them, remember that you are in their country, respect their space, and you should have a great stay.

Decent folks and assholes exist in any culture. I think you'll enjoy yourself there.

[underpants]

13. I was stationed there for over two years

but I can't say that I really got much out of the country other than beering and such. I didn't see downtown in the light of day until a year after I got there.

The night they won the World Cup sure was fun.