Germans

[Temujin]

Upto this weekend my only experience of Germans was on holiday and found them to be very abrupt. In fact the stereotype seemed to be very apt.
Me & Mrs S have just had a long weekend in Berlin and my view has changed totally.
We couldn't fault their politeness and helpfulness and even commented that we wouldn't get the same service back here in blighty.

Were we just lucky to meet the few nice/polite Germans?
Are we right to think the stereotype is way off?

PS
we did come across 1 jobsworth though, at the airport on the way back this 1 guy made us walk through the zigzag thing to the checkin desk
rather than walk down the side of it, no-one else around, just me & Mrs S, oh how we chuckled

[UBT - Halifax-lad]

Did you mention the War

[Temujin]

Did you mention the War

nope but I did mention that England are going to win the World Cup

[UBT - Timbo]

nope but I did mention that England are going to win the World Cup

Ah, well, you see - that's the issue.

The Germans know that home field advantage is going to be awesome - just like the Aussies in Melbourne right now with the CW Games.

So, they "KNOW" that they are going to win and anyone who says otherwise doesn't know their sport.

Otherwise:

I've been lucky to meet many nationalities in my work and with very few exceptions MOST people (of any nationality) have been very charming and polite and good natured.

What have I got going for me:
Well, I tower over most people - being 6' 4" and not exactly slim (anymore). So, maybe people are nice to me instead of being nasty as they don't want to incur my wrath ...!

What have I got going against me:
I'm English/British - scourge of the world - war mongers - brutal colonists of everywhere - impinging their language everywhere - bit like the Yanks now I 'spose - but we did it better for 3 centuries.......oops, sorry getting carried away.

So, I'm prepared for other nationalities to hate me for being English/British.....! But they don't....!


In conclusion: The strerotypes of many nations is very much a "shortcut" to understanding what "people" are like.

But the reality is very different. And with the world getting smaller all the time, eventually, once we can lose the fanatical elements, we might just have a civilisation worth saving rather than one we seem intent on destroying....!

Glad your trip was an "eye-opener".

regards,

Tim

[GaryM]

Well, I have three friends in Munich that I chat to a lot. They seem to be very nice people.

[DJH@GB-Ro]

I know 3 Germans, all nice and very polite people , though all three happen to be boring Could just be coincidence

Oh and from experience, I'd agree with the 'no sense of humour' stereotype. They don't find funny things funny, yet they laugh like hell at really unfunny things, like someone speaking in a high pitched voice :scratch:

[Temujin]

Well our experience this last weekend has made us consider a longer holiday in Germany sometime in the future.

I was just pleasantly surprised at the marked difference between how we found them at the weekend and my own prior experience of Germans abroad.

[UBT - Steve Taylor]

Ive never found Stereotypes to be very helpful , I have found they normally lead to resentment and ignorance - see popular press for details

[GaryM]

I'm in a gaming clan that is mostly UK, but with a few people from other European countries. The guys in Germany came over here (well, to Hemel Hempstead) last year, and we might be meeting up in Devon this summer. Hopefully some of us UKers will be able to go over there for Oktoberfest.