Germany Local Customs

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Most Viewed Local Customs in Germany

51.

Food and Drink   Berlin

Food and Drink, Berlin

 23 Reviews  The Internationales Berliner Bierfestival is a blast of a festival held near the Alexanderplatz. I counted 3 separate major stages where bands were playing, and the booths of beer vendors went on for... 

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52.

Food and Drink   Hamburg

Food and Drink, Hamburg

 6 Reviews  The annual 10 day, 3 city festival presented by Duckstein Beer corporation celebrating art,culture, and cuisine. The weekend features full days of music concerts from acclaimed local and national... 

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53.

Food and Drink   Düsseldorf

Food and Drink, Düsseldorf

 24 Reviews  If you go to Düsseldorf you have to know that the city is the "Altbier"-area. Altbier is considered Germany's oldest beer style. It's a dark beer especially brewed in the area around Düsseldorf. Never... 

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54.

Food and Drink   Stuttgart

Food and Drink, Stuttgart

 6 Reviews  When you go to the Getranke stores you buy the beer and pay the Pfand (price for recycling the container) the first time you go. When you take pack the empty container you walk in the door and someone... 

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55.

Food and Drink   Heidelberg

Food and Drink, Heidelberg

 10 Reviews  During the Xmas marts there were several stand that were selling the traditional Lebkuchen. Lebkuchen is a traditional German Xmas treat similar to a gingerbread cookie. Lebkuchen was created by monks... 

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56.

Events   Hannover

Events, Hannover

 10 Reviews  Whitsun in Germany is a big holiday with a free monday. In Hannover this holiday is one highlight of all our summer festivals. There is Fest der Altstadt - a big party in the Old Town with, music,... 

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57.

Rhein Valley Vineyards   Koblenz

Rhein Valley Vineyards, Koblenz

 1 Review  On our Rhein cruise we passed mile after mile of row upon row of the most perfectly kept vineyards I have ever seen (well... it is Germany... and I haven't actually seen a vineyard before but they... 

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58.

cultural diversity   Mainz

cultural diversity, Mainz

 3 Reviews  Mainz - like most of western Germany - offers a bewildering array of cultural options. Yes, the Germans do like the exotic and the erotic - their attitude toward matters sexual could be called open... 

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59.

Bears   Berlin

Bears, Berlin

 14 Reviews   Berlin’s coat of arms features a black “bear rampant”, that is standing on his hind legs and facing to the left – you will see it everywhere you go. Indeed you will see all sorts of bears, as this... 

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60.

Events   Hamburg

Events, Hamburg

 9 Reviews  There had been a big China event in 2006: China Time! A market with Chinese products was build up on Jungefrnstieg. There have been many musical, social and political events with "China" a theme in... 

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61.

Traditions   Düsseldorf

Traditions, Düsseldorf

 10 Reviews  This is actually a local custom for Hannover but since I’ve never been there and was introduced to it by Hanover transplant Sabsi who now resides in Düsseldorf I’ll put it here. She thoughtfully gave... 

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62.

People   Stuttgart

People, Stuttgart

 3 Reviews  My impression is that the people of Stuttgart are very nice and polite. They may hesitate to speak english, maybe they feel that that their english is not good enought?. So if you speak German it will... 

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63.

People   Heidelberg

People, Heidelberg

 7 Reviews  Inside the old Heilig-Geist-Kirche, the church at the market square, there is the grave of King Ruprecht and his wife. He was the founder of this church, of the oldest still standing building at the... 

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64.

Meeting points   Hannover

Meeting points, Hannover

 3 Reviews  This is where we normally meet when we meet in town... at the 'Kr?pcke Uhr'. The square called 'Kr?pcke' was named after Wilhelm Kr?pcke who owned a coffee house there from 1885-1919. 25 years ago the... 

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65.

carnival   Mainz

carnival, Mainz

 1 Review  Don't miss to visit Mainz at carnival! There are lots of parades, the biggest one on Rosenmontag - the canival's monday! On Schillerplatz you find the carnival's fountain - in the form of a fool's... 

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66.

Art and Culture   Berlin

Art and Culture, Berlin

 36 Reviews  Mauermuseum (Checkpoint Charlie Museum) is named after the famous crossing point of the Berlin Wall and was created to document how absurde the history of an town and people could be if created for... 

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67.

Useful Information   Hamburg

Useful Information, Hamburg

 7 Reviews  Another useful place in the main railway station is this branch of the newsagents chain of K Presse + Buch. Here you can get your postcards and stamps and the service is swift, friendly and... 

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68.

Karneval   Düsseldorf

Karneval, Düsseldorf

 5 Reviews  In carnival (which is BIG in this part of Germany!!) people in Düsseldorf don't shout 'Alaaf' (that's in Cologne!) but 'Helau' ... Be prepared to get drunk and dirty when going into Düsseldorf's old... 

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69.

Events   Stuttgart

Events, Stuttgart

 6 Reviews  I was very lucky to find the United Buddy Bears in Stuttgart. From 9th July until 12th August 2008 these exhibition was set on Schlossplatz. The Buddy Bears were designed by 140 artists from all over... 

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70.

Language   Heidelberg

Language, Heidelberg

 5 Reviews  Welcome to my part of Germany! If you need help, information or directions in English it's best to approach younger people... they all speak English to various extents: some only have... 

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71.

People (Germans, Berliners..)   Berlin

People (Germans, Berliners..), Berlin

 31 Reviews  Though not unique to Berlin, it does have more than its fair share of allotment gardens with over 800 complexes. You frequently see them along side the railway tracks and on other pieces of land close... 

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72.

Museums   Hamburg

Museums, Hamburg

 6 Reviews  "Dialog im Dunkeln" is a very special place in Hamburger Speicherstadt : You may experience there the daily life of blind people in a guided tour through a world of total darkness. You will eat your... 

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73.

Useful Information   Düsseldorf

Useful Information, Düsseldorf

 4 Reviews  The big tower is telling the time. I must admit I didn't quite get the explanation about how the time should be read, but the main guidelines are: the first vertical row of lights (starting from the... 

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74.

Useful Information   Stuttgart

Useful Information, Stuttgart

 3 Reviews  When you want a grocery cart you have to put in a coin to release it from the chain of the other cart. You slide it either in the top or the front, depending on the cart. When you return the cart you... 

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75.

Events   Heidelberg

Events, Heidelberg

 6 Reviews  Three times each year residents and visitors alike can enjoy the spectacular castle illuminations & fireworks behind the scenes of the old town Heidelberg. Just after sun set the castle-lights are... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Aachener Printen

by euskaldun

For Aachener Printen, I would suggest the Bäckerei Moss. They are easy to find, as they have different stores all around town, some of them centrally located, like, as there is one near the railway station, and another one right in the heart of the city, on the Krämerstraße - the main pedestrian street between the Markt Square and the Cathedral.I believe they sell Printen year round, since they are not Christmas specific as the Lebkuchen. They are more similar to the Couques from Dinant that to traditional Lebkuchen from Nurnberg (they are sweetened with sugar beet syrup, rather than with honey). For real Lebkuchen, you will have to wait a bit longer.You do not mention dates for your trip, but keep in mind that most Biergärten close by the end of the Summer season, so for this thing you might sadly be a bit too late.

More Information about Calw

by hunterV

You can get more information and tips at Calw information: Marktbruecke 1, 75365 Calw. Tel. +49 07051 96 88 10 Fax +49 07051 96 88 77.Each German city has such information bureau where you can get lots of detailed information about the sites, tours, hotels, etc.

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How to get along while travling

by Ilike2trvl

As an American, whether you are a tourist or stationed in Germany as a member of the Armed Forces. The best way to get along is to learn their language and customs. If nothing else attempting to speak their langauage will get you futher with them than not trying. Most German people will give you credit and be more responsive if you try to speak their language.

Ewigkeitssonntag - Eternity Sunday

by Kathrin_E

The last Sunday of the church year, five weeks before Christmas, is celebrated as memorial day for the defunct in the Protestant churches. The older name was Totensonntag (Sunday of the Dead). It is respected as a statewide holiday. Christmas markets usually open during the week after Eternity Sunday; those few that start earlier have to stay closed on that day. Dancing and similar are not allowed. In Sunday service the names of all those members of the community who died during the previous year are read aloud and a candle is lit for each of them. Afterwards a commemoration is held in the cemetery.

Volkstrauertag - Mourning the Victims of War

by Kathrin_E

Volkstrauertag, the day of mourning the victims of war and persecution, is celebrated on the second last Sunday of the church year, thus in mid November. It was introduced after World War I by the Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (German War Graves Commission), then on a date in spring. The Nazi regime turned it into a commemoration of heroes, as one can easily imagine. After World War II it was reestablished but with a different focus and on a different date. This memorial day is not about glorifying "fallen heroes". It is a day of solemn remembrance of war and refuge, and a warning never to let this happen again.

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November 9: Fateful Date in German History

by Kathrin_E

If there is a day in the calendar that should be a national memorial day, it is November 9. In the 20th century, four events that made history happened on this date. Coincidence? 1918: End of World War II. Chancellor Max von Baden announces the resignation of Emperor Wilhelm II. Proclamation of the German Republic. Communist revolution. 1923: Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch, the first, luckily unsuccessful attempt of the Nazis to seize power found a quick and bloody end in Munich. 1938: Pogrom Night, aka Crystal Night, although the latter name is not in use any more. All over Germany the Nazi mob destroyed synagogues and Jewish property and attacked Jewish people. The name Kristallnacht derives from the glass of broken shop windows in the streets. This was the beginning of a new, more severe stage in the persecution of Jews. 1989: During a press conference in East Berlin, SED Politbüro...

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November 1: Allerheiligen – All Saints Day

by Kathrin_E

All Saints is a Catholic holiday. It is a public holiday in those federal states that are historically and predominantly Catholic: Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland. In these five states, but only in these, shops remain closed and public transport runs on Sunday schedule. Everywhere else November 1 is a normal workday. “Border hopping” for a shopping spree is popular among people who have the day off but live close to states that don’t.By All Saints, the graves of Catholics have to be prepared for winter and decorated with an eternal light, a candle in a red transparent plastic can. Cemeteries are full of little red lights.The following day is Allerseelen (All Souls), the Catholic commemoration of the dead (not a public holiday, though). Visiting the graves of one’s defunct dears is common.

October 31: Reformation Day and Halloween

by Kathrin_E

October 31 is:1. to the Protestant churches, Reformation Day;2. to kids and those who like to party, and to shopkeepers, Halloween;3. for the record: to the Catholic Church, the holiday of St Wolfgang, the patron saint of the diocese of Regensburg. Reformation Day recalls the event that was later declared the beginning of the reformation: Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses against to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. He planned a disputation about that topic on the following day and publishing statements about the topic this way was common academic usage – the church door served as the university’s notice board. Luther had planned to reform, not divide the Roman Church but as we know things turned out differently. So this day became the birthday of Lutheran Protestantism. Protestant churches with Lutheran or United background hold services on Reformation Day, usually in the...

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November 11: Martinstag - St Martin's Day

by Kathrin_E

St Martin of Tours is one of the most popular saints in the Roman Catholic Church. His holiday is November 11. It is 40 days before Christmas, and historically speaking, it marks the beginning of a Lenten period before Christmas (which is not observed any more,, instead Advent has become a festive season). St Martin’s Day used to be the date when the servants changed employer, taxes and debts were paid, etc. Like Carnival before the pre-Easter Lent it became a day of festivities and feasts. Roasted goose (Martinsgans) is a typical dish you’ll find on the menu of German restaurants in November. Bakeries offer seasonal pastries made of sweet dough with raisins, for example in the shape of geese (in Baden) or little men with a clay pipe (Rhineland). In the Carnival regions along the Rhine, November 11 is the beginning of the “campaign”, the new Carnival season. 11 is the jester’s number,...

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October 3: Day of German Unity

by Kathrin_E

October 3 is Tag der deutschen Einheit, Germany's national holiday, a rather young one. It has only been celebrated since 1990. After the peaceful revolution in autumn 1989 and the first and only democratic elections in the DDR in spring 1990, the DDR government under Lothar de Maizière declared that the DDR will join the Federal republic of Germany on October 3, 1990. Negotiations with the four allied powers and the Two-plus-Four Treaty, actually the peace treaty that finally ended the cold war, preceded.October 3 is a public holiday. Important for travelers: shops remain closed and public transport runs on Sunday schedule. The flags are up. The day is marked with some political events and speeches. The average citizen just enjoys a day off (and secretly grieves the diasppearance of June 17 because in June the weather is likely to be better and warmer than in October).

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Questions and Answers

Tickled_Pink profile photo

Q:  Is May a good time to travel down the rhine river? What is the best and most scenic stretch to travel along? How would you... 

MacedonianUK profile photo

A: I would look at www.d-k.de. website. They have Great Boat Trips starting at Dusseldorf or Cologne all the Way to Mainz, passing Koblenz And Lorelei .... The strech... 

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