There’s no denying it; living in Germany has been hard. Unbelievably hard at times. But it comes with so many rewards that we don’t (or at least we try not to) spend too much time complaining about it. But sometimes homesickness will sneak up behind us and slap us in the face, and that can be very startling. This happened recently when Mr. Meena turned to me on a Sunday afternoon and said, “Let’s go to Wal-Mart.”
I started bawling. It was absolutely ridiculous. Of course we couldn’t go to Wal-Mart – it doesn’t exist in Germany and even if it did it wouldn’t be open on a Sunday (nothing is, really). But that simple statement made me feel so many strong emotions about something we used to do so regularly, which was get our big grocery haul on Sundays, that I was prompted me to think of all sorts of things that we don’t say or do while we’re living in Germany. Some good things, some bad things, and some that are a little silly. Hopefully these phrases will provide insight for some and laughs for other expats about life in Germany.
Here are some examples of things that we don’t say in Germany:
Will you change the temperature on the thermostat?
That’ll be __ dollars.
What is a bratwurst?
I don’t have enough vacation days.
Do you want Chik-fil-A sauce?
I need you to fix the ice maker, honey.
Soccer is the worst.
I don’t feel like recycling.
There aren’t enough castles around.
What is that in Fahrenheit?
Wow, everyone is waiting in line so patiently.
I put Reese’s on the grocery list.
Will you pop on over to the Redbox and get us a movie?
We have a reservation at Olive Garden.
Wow, the Deutsche Bahn is always on time!
[in winter] Where are my sunglasses?
Pass me a Bud Light.
It’s too early in the day to drink.
I only need a few gallons of gas in the car.
Sweet tea, please.
Y’all.
Why would you wear lederhosen? (Disclaimer: this one is more specific to Bavaria)
The doctor was able to get you in for an appointment tomorrow!
Let’s go to the shooting range this weekend (okay, so we didn’t say this before we moved to Germany, either).
I wish public transportation was more convenient.
Want to go shopping on Sunday?
I don’t like Haribo gummy bears.
What kind of things do you not say in Germany?
Photo by Dave licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Above version modified by My Meena Life.
Featured photo by Joakim licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
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I can TOTALLY relate to how you feel! I miss home all the time! I wasnt planning on spending the rest of my life here, but now I'm about to marry a German and having a hard time accepting this new reality and feel that one day we might move back to the States for a few years. There is something just so glorious about being able to go shopping on a Sunday.
I agree! It would be really hard for me to stay here permanently, I think. I hope you get to go home at some point. 🙂
Really enjoyed reading the article! "Wow, everyone is waiting in line so patiently." is my favourite! It really took me a while to get used to queuing properly here in Australia (I'm German). I wrote about this phenomenon here https://www.thegermanz.com/miss-things-when-livin… Keep up the good work, love your stories!
Thank you so much!
Wow, I had completely forgotten that RedBox was a thing! It's amazing the little things you completely forget about when you're away from a place for so long. The first time I went back to the US after moving to Germany I realized I had forgotten that water fountains existed, lol!
That makes sense! 😉 There were water fountains in Vienna when I visited last week and I was so surprised!
I feel the same way too! I no longer say "Dude" because that's just such a SoCal thing to say because of the surfer society I grew up in! I feel sad when I miss Target and wish I could just hop over and grab something I need, instead its more like a long hunt here!
It's strange how we can get so used to going to one place for everything we need, and then we move to Germany and it's definitely more like an inconvenient scavenger hunt.
Wow, the Deutsche Bahn is always on time!
Muhaahahahaha…
In fact, historical Steamtrains are perfect in time…except they have to wait for delayed regional trains from DB.
I guess, you did not made one of the extra tours with a steamtrain? many of them passes schweinfurt, especially heading north. first weekend at september there are open days at the "Dampflokwerk Meiningen", which is the only plant in germany for overhauling or refurbishing old steam locomotives.
in winter there are a lot of extra tours to the christmas markets (e.g. bamberg, rothenburg, erfurt…)
I haven't heard about the steam trains, but they sound like a great time! I'll keep it in mind for sure, thanks for sharing, Grem.
Nice Post!
What is Chik-fil-A sauce?
What's different in our queuing? It seems fine to me 😉
Thanks!
Chik-fil-A is a popular fast food restaurant in certain parts of the USA, especially in the southeast. They primarily serve chicken based meals – part of their gimmick is to have cartoon cows telling you to “eat more chicken”. Their special sauce is renowned and people go crazy for it. It’s a sweet mustard based sauce and you have to ask for it specifically when you order. It’s just really good. I always eat it with their chicken sandwiches and I found myself wishing I could try it on a chicken schnitzel in Germany!
German queuing was too aggressive and disorganized for me – it stressed me out SO MUCH. Where I am from, people usually form perfect lines and are extremely polite to one another – often letting someone go in front of them just to be nice. I was pushed around in a few queues, especially when I was trying to board the train, and it was definitely one of the hardest things for me in Germany. It seems to work just fine though, if you don’t mind jostling a bit. 😉
the sauce sounds interesting and like something i want to try. I really like mustard based sauces.
As you wrote about queuing, I thought about the queues in supermarkets.
But you are right, especially queues for train boarding can be hard 😀