# Advice for an American in Germany? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-an-american-in-germany/371039 "2006-09-01T04:57:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frelling\_Tralk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecc23a/32.png) [@Frelling\_Tralk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frelling_Tralk)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-an-american-in-germany/371039/21 "2006-09-01T14:45:10Z")
Thank you to all of you for the advice you’ve given so far! I’ve learned quite a bit in the past few months, reading books on German culture and history, so thankfully I already knew about shopping hours and personal space. And I’ve been to Australia, so multicolored money and measurements in metric don’t bother me. **constanze** , when it comes to this, there is no such thing as “too much” information. I don’t want to spark an international incident out of ignorance! ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-an-american-in-germany/371039/22 "2006-09-01T17:06:02Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] Heh-heh…I harken back to the late 70s when my girlfriends went to Germany to bicycle through the country. My friend’s mother was _terrified_ that she would accidentally bicycle through the gate on The Wall and die under the iron fist of communism. But I guess you don’t have to worry about _that._ [/QUOTE] _Accidentally_ bike through the gate??? Did your friends mother never see at least one picture or TV shot of the wall and the gates??? 😕 It’s not something you “accidentally” cross! ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-an-american-in-germany/371039/23 "2006-09-01T17:14:32Z")
[QUOTE=Frelling Tralk] Thank you to all of you for the advice you’ve given so far! I’ve learned quite a bit in the past few months, reading books on German culture and history, so thankfully I already knew about shopping hours and personal space. [/quote] Getting some info on the country you’re visiting is already a big step in not being an “ugly American” - because we dislike tourists who have no idea at all about the country they are in (we consider them ignorant and arrogant = “typically American” 😉 ). > [@](#): > > **constanze** , when it comes to this, there is no such thing as “too much” information. I don’t want to spark an international incident out of ignorance! Well, I don’t think you’d be able to do that! Yes, it’s sometimes easy to do things out of ignorance that are offensive in another culture - Wikipedia mentioned in the article on gestures that some Texas football fans were arrested in Rome when showing the “horn” sign - that sign means more like the Devil than a football team there - but that might also be related to being drunk and rowdy, I’d wager. At the moment, I can’t imagine something you would do - as a normal, nice person, not as jerk - that would cause big trouble. Bush even got away with copping a feel to Angela Merkel… Of course, there’ll always be some misunderstandings (esp. with language), some things you may consider odd/strange/dumb because they are different from home (maybe some things you’ll find better?) - but that’s part of traveling. I hope you have fun. If you do find the time to visit Munich (the Octoberfest starts 2 weeks before Oct.3rd, so you’ll probably miss it, but Munich has lots more to offer!), you could give me a call or something. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-an-american-in-germany/371039/24 "2006-09-01T17:33:35Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] . If you find yourself on a long train ride sharing a compartment with strangers, don’t expect the kind of personal revelations you sometimes get with Americans. . [/QUOTE] Actually this sort of openness between strangers isn’t strictly an American thing; P.G. Wodehouse mentions the same sort open confession of one’s troubles and dreams to nonce travelling companions, among the English. **constanze** , the person your fiance met was just a bore, and bores come from all nations. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-an-american-in-germany/371039/25 "2006-09-01T18:21:50Z")
[QUOTE=constanze] _Accidentally_ bike through the gate??? Did your friends mother never see at least one picture or TV shot of the wall and the gates??? 😕 It’s not something you “accidentally” cross! [/QUOTE] I know…the mind boggles, doesn’t it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-an-american-in-germany/371039.md?page=1)