What Germans think they are good at

YouTube comments:

“After having lived for 4 years in the US I learned to appreciate some German traits. What comes to mind is efficiency, being detail oriented, having a long attention span, being direct and mostly honest, and – very surprising for me – compared to the US the relation to your superior is much more on an equal footing (okay not everywhere), despite calling your boss by their firstname in the US, work life balance, time for your family Politically, trying to find a balance between economic growth, workers rights, social security and sustainability (trying is the word here). On a material level, certainly bread (in all variations), beer, engineering of course, Sahnetorte (cream cake), Wurst (sausages as well as cold cuts); plumbing, online-banking, … Examples of what we still have to learn: seeing the good things (we are perfect in looking for “das Haar in der Suppe”, finding fault in everything); sometimes letting go of safety in favor of taking risks.”

“My sister lives in Munich and, although I’ve never lived there, I’ve visited Germany multiple times. Germans do many things very well. The towns are clean, safe, and well run. People are polite and civilized. Food is delicious and the beer is out-of-this-world. The women are so good-looking! My sister enjoys a high quality of life over there – she says that social services are comprehensive and stress-free to deal with. And all this without mentioning German achievements in science, medicine, engineering, commerce, and the arts. It’s a fine country. p.s. John Kampfner’s book on Germany is excellent.”

“As an Italian, I can say that Germans are the best when it comes to public facilities, infrastructure, punctuality and public order.. they also make the best beer you can find.. They need to improve fashion and social attitude perhaps (Not all of them are “cold” though) I would love to live in München one day!”

Germany is the world’s most innovative economy

October 2018. Germany is currently in the driving seat when it comes to innovation – thanks in part to the speed it’s developing new technologies like driverless cars.

In the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report, Germany came top as the world’s most innovative economy, with a score of 87.5 out of 100 in the Innovation capability pillar – one of the 12 drivers of a country’s productivity.

German homes

Deutsche Welle – What sets German homes apart? That’s what Rachel want to find out for this week’s Meet the Germans. From cake forks to tiny homes and BYO kitchens – join her for a snoop around a typical German home.

Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic – from unusual bans to meaty cuisine or haunted castles. This week: come on in and make yourself at home with the Germans.

At 0:24 unfortunately a small error has crept in. This house is the famous Rietveld Schröder House and is located in Utrecht in the Netherlands and not in Germany. Sorry for that.

German bread, again

The Germans are extremely proud of their bread culture – and pretty scathing about bread from most other countries (don’t get them started on Toastbrot.) Since moving to Germany, Rachel has discovered the delights of fresh German bread from the local bakery.

But there’s still one thing getting between her and a bag of crusty bread rolls. Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. Back then, as a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic – from unusual bans to meaty cuisine or haunted castles. This week: bread.

German bread

What do most Germans miss when they are abroad? Their bread! Hannah Hummel at Deutsche Welle explains why people in Germany are so crazy about it, how Germany developed such a huge bread diversity and why so many bakeries are under threat nowadays.

Her German father baked bread for the family in Scotland. It is very common for Germans living outside of Germany to bake their own bread.

Wüsthof knives

The state-of-the-art production facilities of Wusthof in Solingen: From the Design and Engineering Department, Forging, Tempering, Grinding and polishing, Etching, Sharpening and Quality control to Packing and Warehouse. Quality – made in Germany/Solingen.

YouTube comments:

“I’ve got a complete 20 years old set of the classic line from my father three years ago. The Knifes are still sharp and I love them all. I think, twenty years later they will be a nice present to my children.”

“I have an old chefs knife that is simply amazing. It holds and edge forever but can be resharpened with just a few strokes with a diamond hone. Thanks, Wusthof family!”

“I have a set of those knives over 30 years and no problems with them!!”

“I have purchased two sets of these knives. To say the least they are the last knives you’ll ever have in your kitchen. Like anything they will last a lifetime given the proper care. My set has white handles and I haven’t seen any other set of knives with white handles.”

“I have a 1st World War Mauser bayonet made by Solingen from 1917. Nice to see you guys in business after all that time and history.”

Tesla Giga Factory Berlin

Elon Musk wanted the factory in Germany. Why? Great automobile culture. Largest economy in Europe. Central geographic location. And, perhaps most importantly, great engineers. It makes you wonder what Henry Ford would have thought of this.

YouTube comments:

“This might just be the coolest car related video ever made. I can just imagine the person in the production meeting that suggested this and you just know when Elon heard about it he was like ‘Yep that’s sick’.”

“Tesla makes the best car commercials without making car commercials.”

“One of the best process walkthroughs I have ever seen. Amazing footage. Amazing piloting. Amazing process. Well done!”

“I’m a Tesla employee in Berlin and I was there on our ceremonial day. I can say that I saw with my bare eyes the guy who is controlling the drone. He has some amazing skills, so this video is made by him and its not fake. Cheers!”