# I say "Germany." What's the first thing you think of? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507 "2012-01-24T16:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/141 "2012-12-09T07:08:10Z")
Nearly eleven months later, I still think of the same thing. When someone names a country, I think of geographical shape and location of that country. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/142 "2012-12-09T07:38:07Z")
I had to go with the Hitler thing. Mostly, I think, because of my age. I’m 65, born two years after the war. When I graduated from high school WWII was only 20 years in it’s grave. Most every adult male my fathers age had served in the war. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/143 "2012-12-09T17:31:35Z")
Castles, forests, food and beer. In that order. But I lived there for three years, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/144 "2012-12-09T17:34:38Z")
3 World Cups (soccer of course, silly) BMW Mercedes ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/145 "2012-12-09T17:40:58Z")
[Riesling](http://www.pauly-bergweiler.com/mosel/cms/upload/Slider/wein/Sunset-Wehlen-3.jpg), then the food. ([Schweinshaxe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweinshaxe): Yum!) The autobahn next, then probably the [beer](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2974/799)—not the best, but I liked it while I was in Dresden—then Dresdener/[Meissen](http://www.meissen.com/en) porcelain. If I think of WW2, the first thing that comes to mind is the [U-bootwaffe](http://www.ubootwaffe.net/), and that only because of some undergraduate paper I wrote on USN OR dealing with the threat. And perhaps Das Boot, way too much Aces of the Deep, and Silent Hunter 2 and 3. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/146 "2012-12-09T17:45:56Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > First thing I thought of was chocolate cake. Speaking of what Americans know as “German Chocolate Cake” - that is unheard of in Germany and nobody there has ever heard of it. When I get German visitors here and they see it on the menu or at a bakery, they all want to try it. They usually like it a lot, but have never eaten anything like it in Germany. From Wikipedia: "Contrary to popular belief, German chocolate cake did not originate in Germany. Its roots can be traced back to 1852 when American Sam German developed a type of dark baking chocolate for the American Baker’s Chocolate Company. The brand name of the product, Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, was named in honor of him. In 1957, the original recipe for “German’s Chocolate Cake” was sent by a Dallas, Texas, homemaker to a local newspaper. This recipe used the baking chocolate introduced 105 years prior and became quite popular. General Foods, which owned the Baker’s brand at the time, took notice and distributed the cake recipe to other newspapers in the country. Sales of Baker’s Chocolate are said to have increased by as much as 73% and the cake would become a national staple. The possessive form (German’s) was dropped in subsequent publications, forming the “German Chocolate Cake” identity we know today and giving the false impression of a German origin.[2][3][4] The recipe still remains popular to this day and has been adopted by baking companies." ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/147 "2012-12-09T18:24:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My brother and his wife are currently living in Germany. He keeps trying to talk me into visiting, but I have no interest in Europe. All that aside, Hitler. My bro and his Frau are back from Deutschland. He told that he restructured the way his companies’ offices are arranged. He wanted to name one of the positions “Leader”, but his German assistant pointed out that nobody wanted the position, “Führer”.😃 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/148 "2012-12-09T18:43:00Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My bro and his Frau are back from Deutschland. He told that he restructured the way his companies’ offices are arranged. He wanted to name one of the positions “Leader”, but his German assistant pointed out that nobody wanted the position, “Führer”.😃 Hmm…dubious to this little anecdote. German businesses all have a “Leiter” - meaning “Leader” - in every department. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/149 "2012-12-09T18:46:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My bro and his Frau are back from Deutschland. He told that he restructured the way his companies’ offices are arranged. He wanted to name one of the positions “Leader”, but his German assistant pointed out that nobody wanted the position, “Führer”.😃 Your disinterest in Europe is puzzling to me. There is so much to enjoy there as a visitor, and very little to dislike. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/150 "2012-12-09T18:47:03Z")
When I think of Germany I am drawn back to the first few hours I was there, April 2009. I was on tour with a Latin Rock band, first time in Europe for most of us. The boys were nervous and everyone is relying on me because I speak about twenty words and phrases in German. I am driving us on the Autobahn between Munich and Nurnberg and keep seeing there things in the farm fields beside the road, four poles placed in a square 30ft/10m appx apart with a grid of wires across the top and single wires hanging down from them and these green vines growing up the wires. We stop at a what we Americans would call a Truck Stop, though this in no way is a good descriptor as it is clean, has excellent food etc, and I summon all my courage and in German ask an older gentleman “Bitte Sie, was is das?” he replies “Hopfen” and looks at me like I am teh stupid, he then realizes I am not a local and says “American?” I say “Ja ich bin Texan”, he smiles broadly and leaves. I muddle over the word “Hopfen” and suddenly I get it “Hops”. This is how I knew everything would be OK, we were in the land of good beer and we were welcome there. It was a fantastic trip, that is what I think about when I think of Germany “Hopfen” **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/151 "2012-12-09T18:56:15Z")
My grandpa teaching us to count to ten in German. He was born in the US, but they spoke mostly German in the home when he was a boy. Grandpa only became fully fluent in English when he started first grade, and had to. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/152 "2012-12-09T19:03:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Your disinterest in Europe is puzzling to me. There is so much to enjoy there as a visitor, and very little to dislike. I love beach vacations. If I could do two weeks in the Caribbean, then another two in Europe I would have gone for it. And my bro is here visiting with us and says the “Leader” thing may have been partly his assistant teasing him over his crappy German. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/153 "2012-12-09T19:04:36Z")
The colour green. A dark green. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/154 "2012-12-09T19:05:57Z")
Sausage, schnitzel, sauerkraut, and beer…lots of beer!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/155 "2012-12-09T19:27:51Z")
Soccer, because one of my high-school classmtes had a few World Cup jerseys with the German flag on them. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/156 "2012-12-09T20:00:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > **I love beach vacations**. If I could do two weeks in the Caribbean, then another two in Europe I would have gone for it. Ever hear of the Mediterranean? You will be surprised to discover there are beaches there, and many European countries have rather easy access to said, warm, sandy beaches year round. There are also some nice beaches in Northern Europe as well, but perhaps more swim friendly just in the summer. Just sayin’… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/157 "2012-12-09T20:08:45Z")
“Nazis” (so fair enough to call that “Hitler”) Then “family” (my mom’s side is German) then “Margretl” (friend, German) then lederhosen/beer/food/big bellied men with humorous facial hair then…Nazi zombies… ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/158 "2012-12-09T21:46:28Z")
Chocolate. That hot girl who was entering the train station yesterday as I was leaving (I don’t know that she was German, but she and her less-hot friend were speaking German). Castles. The short film _Schwarzfahrer_ that won an Oscar 20 years ago or so. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/159 "2012-12-09T23:05:11Z")
sausage and sauerkraut ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/160 "2012-12-09T23:09:00Z")
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