miriam

Hi, <BR>being german, I´m very curious about the reputation of Germany especially among people who´ve been here. Is it for you more the country of fairy castles and the Alpes or do tourists consider that it´s a powerful business point in Europe, maybe worldwide? <BR>And how did you like the people while being here? <BR>I´ve made a lot of nice experiences being in the states, made a lot of friends because a lot of people do have a certain relationship whith Germany, whether their ancestors originated from Germany or someone of their family came to Germany being in the Army. <BR>How are your experiences? <BR> <BR>Miriam

Trina

Ah, Miriam - you've provided a perfect opportunity for me. I've been living here in Kaiserslautern for the last 5 years, and we have reached a crossroad in that we have to decide if it is now time to go back home. My impressions of Germany and her people vary greatly. I have been challenged to think differently in that I am more aware of my own perceptions and how they can be cloud by "bad" experiences. I've learned that people are people and every region of the world has its fill of good and bad. <BR>As we consider departing in February, I'm a little sad as this has been my home for so long. It is where my husband and I began our marriage and it is the only "home" my son has ever known. As for the land itself, I fell in love with it from the moment we landed in Frankfurt. The fairy tale castles and rivers and mountains have exceeded my imagination. Images of the Rhein and Bavaria are permanently imbedded in my mind. As for the business side of Germany, I've always been fascinated with Germany's role in world politics and business. Unfortunately, I have not taken as much time as I should to learn more. But, I always enjoy a good chat with my "hosts" on topics such as government, work ethics, and cultural differences. <BR>That's all I have time for now, but I look forward to seeing others' responses to your post.

jim

Germany is the land where, when I try to speak their language (which I do fairly well), people will invariably begin speaking English to me. <BR> <BR>Also, when people ask if I am American, and I say "No, I'm from Canada" ... a look of disappointment comes over them. <BR> <BR>My general take on Germany is that it is a beautiful country. I realize that it is an economic power with alot of entrenched engineering knowledge. The people have a rich culture and are generally very polite but distant. I feel more welcome in France, for example. <BR> <BR>I think it would be different in Germany if I came from a less humble background (e.g. academics, business leaders, engineers, are well respected).

Linda

For me the answer is both. Germany has been always seen as a financial, industrial and organized country. Many Americans stereotyped Germans as Bavarians because it is a beautiful area and most often visited. Once the wall came down & Berlin could be enjoyed as a complete city, I find it one of the most intriguing in Europe--so much history, culture, friendliness, etc. Having worked with Germans who teach English and live in all areas of Germany, I have a better appreciation for the diversity and strength of your country.

Mirian

<BR>Miriam, Germany was the first European country we visited, many. many years ago. And we loved it. We've been back 2-3 times, love the food, and thoroughly enjoy the people. The countryside is beautiful, and we especially loved the Rhine area, with all the castles. On our last trip there several years ago, while climbing the various castles, my husband's knees just couldn't handle any more steps, so my friends and I left him in the courtyard while we went climbing. When we came down, we couldn't find him, finally found him in the ticket-taker's booth, taking tickets from a bus tour group. The attendant had had to leave to take another employee who was sick to the doctor, and he had no one to take his place. So my husband volunteered. Neither spoke the other's language, but it all worked out well!

Bob

I was stationed in Stuttgart in 1970-71. My wife and I enjoyed our time in Germany and go back frequently. I agree with the other poster. People are people. Germans have been great to us and a few have been rude, but I can also say that about my own country and other countries in Europe. You have a beautiful country.

Glenn

I think that I started out as a person who loved the land and the castles. As I wanted to learn more, I discovered the economic, political role Germany plays in the European political scene. I am constantly trying to learn more or hear news about the events happening in Germany. I agree that you are going to get good and bad everywhere. I must say that I have had many good and only a few bad experiences. I find the history of the country so interesting and respect the people retoring instead of building new. I admire that they keep their traditions alive still. I enjoy the flowers everywhere and that things are made to be functional and pretty. If anybody is interested, you can subsribe to a free magazine "Deutschland". It has news on Politics, culture, business and science. You can sign up via internet. <BR>Glenn

Glenn

Sorry, I just found the web site to get a year of the magazine for free, <BR>http://www.publication-deutschland.de/english.html. Enjoy !

francesca

I lived in Munich twice, once as a child and once as an adult. I think Germany is a beautiful country and that German is a beautiful language. I'm sorry I never mastered it. As for Germans, to be honest, it depends on the generation. I found a lot of my own generation (20s and 30s) to be quite arrogant. Of course, there are exceptions, but I've noticed this trait again and again, esp. in business relationships. As for the people in their 40s and 50s, this is the post-war generation and they are an interesting lot. They are softer, more hesitant about their place in the world and still appear a bit shell-shocked. But on the whole, I love many things about Germany, the language, the food, the beirgartens, the scenery, Berlin...

Zelda

<BR>What a question as my hubby and I are both very divided in our feelings for Germany although we have been there now quite a few times. Being Jewish with relatives in our pasts who died/were killed in the war it is a difficult thing as we also think Germany is very attractive to visit with the mountains and villages with the flowers spilling out of the windowsills all over and the cobblestones streets so clean and neat. <BR>My hubby loves the wursts and other foods and just eats his way around and keeps saying how he likes how clean and well ordered everything is but then he makes some comment about the war and his dead grandparents he never even got to meet and that is a conflict. Business is nothing interesting to me but I loved the scenery and the people were 95% nice and my hubby says he feels so drawn to Germany especially to Berlin where he cried when we left and he says he likes hearing German as it reminds him of home as that was the language he first learned to speak so whenever we travel to Europe and leave Germany to go into say France he wants to go back to Germany within a few days so we usually do.

Martha B

I always thought of Germany as an industrial nation with nothing left of their architectural heritage since they were bombed in WWII. (Germans are partly to blame for this since they will *tell* you how badly they were bombed in WWII. Frankly, if I were German, WWII is not a topic I would ever bring up.) Anyhow, I finally visited Germany, more or less unwillingly. We landed in Koln, took the train down the Rhine and Mosel rivers, ogling castles the whole way, and ended up in a little village on the Mosel just in time for the August wine fests. It was like a setting for Grimm's fairy tales. People were very friendly, even though most of them didn't speak English-- luckily my husband speaks German-- and I had a wonderful time. It completely changed my perception of Germans and Germany!

Joan

I have been to Germany twice (Munich & Hamburg) and have really liked it. The people are very nice, the food is good, the standard of living is great, and it's a nice, clean, efficient country. However, since I am Jewish I have to admit that I was reluctant both times to go to Germany and only did b/c both times I had friends in those places. I do not regret going and had some very interesting conversations with Germans that were something like "What is a nice Jewish girl like you doing here in Germany?" (Although I doubt they had ever really met any nice Jewish girls before). I found it very interesting that quite a few 20-something Germans are quite embarrassed about this period in their history and are even eager to leave their country (at least for a time) to live and work somewhere else. I am quite a WWII historian and do realize that the Germans are not solely responsible for this period of history. I plan on going back to Germany, maybe this summer, and drive along the Rhine and down into Switzerland. Now if I can only convince my parents that Germany is a nice country and that they are really leaving quite a hole in their travels by leaving out Germany! <BR> <BR>One more thing: as a New Yorker, I have always been astounded at how Germans really do cross only on the green light and how the stores close so early!

Doug

As a decendent of Danish immigrants that left Germany in order to avoid serving in the hated German army, I guess I'm supposed to be anti-German, but after one weekend airline employee fam trip in 1978, I've fallen in love with everything about that country. I've been back over 20 times for varying lengths of time. I love the scenery, the food, the history, the booze and the people. It's a cliche to mention German efficiency, but this stereotype is right on the mark - I set my watch by when the train pulls into the station. The airports and roads are well-marked and maintained. Every single place I've stayed has been clean and everything I've bought has been well-made and sturdy. German beer is the best both in quality and in the quantity you're given (huge). I can tell when I cross from Germany into Austria because the roadside suddenly looks trashy. There is so much that American leaders can learn from Germany as far as the educational system and employee relations. The problem is that we're too stubborn to adopt another country's ideas (such as 6 days per week of school, Gymnasium, 6 weeks of vacation). If only Germany were a bit more affordable, it would be the place I'd most like to retire to.

Kittie

Miriam, <BR>My only visit to Germany was in 1995 with my then-husband and my parents. <BR>We stayed in the small town of Mitterfells in Bavaria about 20 miles from the Czech border. Being of German descent (on my mother's side), I had always wanted to visit Germany and was thrilled when we chose a place outside the "normal" tourist areas. This is an area where many people don't speak English because not many English speaking touists come their way.My husband was stationed in Germany for 5 months in 1984 and I had studied German for 5 months before we went. I found that as long as I tried to speak German many people were very patient with me. <BR>My most memorable moments: <BR>1)Sitting in a local gasthaus with 4 locals and my German- English dictionary. Tasting the local celery liquor. They were complaining about the "cheap cash-paid labor" crossing the border into Germany from the Czech Republic and other countries. <BR>2) A man at a gas station in Munich talking to us about his visit to Florida the year before. It does seem that the word "Florida" is a universal word similar to "Coka-Cola". <BR>3)Being let in free to tour the Castle Egg (Schloss Egg) as gratidude to the American army that did not bomb the area, but went through in tanks so as not to destroy the ancient buildings. <BR>4) Talking to Father Ermanold at a local Abbey. He told us about how the fathers during WWII were sent to Dachau. He teaches the student to collect stamps to keep them off of drugs and cigarettes. I now mail stamps to him from our trips to add to his collection. <BR>5)My father ( a veteran of WWII) talking to a gentleman who was of the same age on the streets of Mitterfels. <BR>This last experience held me in awe. My father was 70 years old and didn't know a word of German other than what I had taught him on the way over there. The German gentleman knew a few words in English. They seemed to communicate just fine though. They seemed to relate based on their age. They had both put the war behind them seemingly years ago. I know it sounds strange, but that is the way I saw it. <BR>Living in Florida, I come into contact with German tourists all the time. I try to help them out the best I can in order to help them feel welcome in the US. <BR>I hope to return to Germany some day. I really love the people. <BR>Kittie <BR> <BR>

Carol

Dear Miriam, <BR> <BR>My husband lived in Bitburg when he was a little boy (his father was in the service) so when he had the opportunity to take a six month assignment in Munich, we jumped at the chance. I had never been to Germany, and never thought much about it one way or the other. My father had been in WWII, but was very young at the time and was stationed in the U.S. He died shortly before our move to Munich, but I thought about him often and wondered what his reaction to our move would have been. I went to the Soviet Union for a month when I was a college student and we were very much in the middle of the cold war. Though my father thought of the Soviet Union as the enemy, what he asked me when I returned was "what are the People like?" This is the important question everywhere, I think. <BR> <BR>I am an at home mother and my background is in community work and the arts, so I am not a business person. My two cents worth on that subject is that I was impressed by how corporations and the government have worked together to support the culture's values. Some of that is no doubt changing as the market place becomes more globalized and as Germany struggles to assimulate East Germany. <BR> <BR>I loved that the shops are not open twenty four hours a day, though it was very frustrating at times. I love that people can actually make a decent living working at a bakery, for instance. Most people I met were reserved but friendly and seemed to appreciate that I used my struggling German. I loved the respect for the environment--bring your own shopping bags, no take-out cups, etc. At my daughter's private school, she was not allowed to bring anything in her cold lunch that would have to be thrown away. I learned how much we Americans value convenience. <BR> <BR>The country is breathtakingly beautiful in many places. We enjoyed the charm of local festivals. We loved the beirgartens and had our own favorite "family friendly" ones. <BR> <BR>We met so many friendly Germans in spite of not knowing the language well. We had our own familiar Obst and Gemuse stands, our favorite Italien restaurant, things that made us quickly feel at home. I feel as though I left a part of me there, and will always consider Munich a home away from home, even though I lived there for such a short time. Now my ears perk up at the mention of all things German. I look forward to looking up the web magazine that Glenn mentioned. Our subscription to Munich Found just expired, and it is too expensive to renew. <BR> <BR>I just returned from a week in Amsterdam and I had to squeeze in a couple of days in Koln and on the Rhine, as the idea of being so close to Germany and not visiting was too much for me to bear. <BR> <BR>

Greg

I think much of the bad rep that Germany has from WW2 actually belongs with Austria which got off scott free in the guilt business. <BR>Adolph Hitler was an Austrian as was Kaltenbrunner (the head of the Gestapo) and many. many of the SS members and commandants of the concentration camps. <BR>All the blame was placed on Germany but Austria was very much involved. Now Germany pays reparations to the victims as it has for years but Austria doesn't.

dan

I have studied German history for a long time, and my mother's side of the family originated in Wurtemberg. So far my own travels have been only in the southern half of the country. For the most part, I have found the German people to be fairly friendly and helpful. They do seem much more reserved than the average American (if there is such a thing), but I have had good conversations with many on my travels. I also feel that the Germans have a well-deserved reputation for efficiency - hotel service is great, and yes, the trains do seem to always be right on time. Some of my own experiences there were as part of a business school study abroad program, so I have seen the business and non-business aspects of the country. I also had a chance to visit a German university (Freiburg) and learn about the school system there. Because of my own background as a visiting grad student in business and a former grad student in German history, I have an impression of a very complex Germany. I see Germany as a highly advanced economic and also political power that has done a pretty good job of overcoming its past problems. I have a hard time seeing Germany as a whole as a fairytale land of castles and mountains because of other influences in its history - such as militarism and nationalism. However, I think that the fairytale aspect was and is there in some respects, especially in some areas of the country. <BR> <BR>I do not completely agree with Greg on the German/Austrian issue. Because the tragedies of World War II resulted mostly from the actions of the German state, it deserved most of the blame. Certainly a large number of individual Austrians were heavily involved, but the state of Austria was taken over by force. Sure Hitler was Austrian, but he did what he did in the name of Germany (as a racially based empire that would include Austria among other areas). This is not to say that Austria itself had no role, but Germany was the main actor on a stage that included many accomplices such as Stalin, Mussolini, Hungarian nationalists, Ukrainian camp guards, etc. <BR> <BR>I have a very favorable impression of the Germany that exists today, and as much as I abhor what happened in Nazi Germany, I realize that Germany is a very different place now, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my travels there so far. I do go there for some of the fairytale aspects, but it is the complexity of Germany that fascinates me the most.

Jeanie

I also disagree with Greg over blaming Austria. While Hitler was Austrian, he acted on behalf of Germany. Austria had no choice on whether to become a part of the Third Reich, it was either submit or be overrun. I'm sorry, it peeves me when people blame Austria, I really love that country.. <BR>I have spent lots of time in both Germany and Austria. In many ways I really liked Germany - it's efficiency, dependability, etc. It was the easiest country for me to be in as an American. Bavaria is beautiful and the people friendly, however I spent most my time in the Cologne area. <BR>Austria was different in so many ways, sometimes better and sometimes not. austria is slow and laid back and with the exception of most Viennese, the people are the sweetest. I loved Austria's beauty most of all. Yet at times I wanted them to take a lesson in german efficiency - it felt like no one did anything in Austria but sit around and sip coffee at cafes. Just a couple of observations. <BR>I know you didn't ask about austria, but for me I can't talk about one country without the other.

Susan

I just got back from Baden-Baden. I've never been particularly interested in Germany, but I got the chance to go as a side trip from Amsterdam. I LOVE Germany! First of all, it was soooo beautiful. The Black Forest, the castle, the town - everything was charming. The people were very kind. While many of them (the older ones, in particular) were a bit formal, they were helpful and very friendly once I started talking to them.

Greg

<BR>This is from the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC web site at http://www.ushmm.org/education/history.html <BR>&lt;On March 11, 1938, Hitler sent his army into Austria and on March 13 the incorporation (Anschluss) of Austria with the German empire (Reich) was proclaimed in Vienna. *Most of the population welcomed the Anschluss* and expressed their fervor in widespread riots and attacks against the Austrian Jews numbering 180,000 (90 percent of whom lived in Vienna).&gt; That's what I have always read, that the Austrians wanted to united with Germany (the overwhelming majority of Austrians that is, not 100% but a very high percentage). BTW in Germany Hitler never got more than 38% of the vote. And Hitler was born in Austria, grew up in Austria and spent most of his life until the late 1920s in V