Germans are great savers. Instead of spending their money on expensive meals, the average German prefers to save it to invest in their home, buy a car or go on holiday trips.
Germans like to walk and ride their bicycles. Hence, in every city, you find a very good network of public transport that connects you with your local surroundings. For environmentally sustainable reasons, you are even encouraged to leave your car at home and explore the country by train.
Punctuality is considered a virtue and is taken quite seriously. When you are invited to a dinner etc., please do show up at the hour that is communicated to you. A 15-minute delay is still considered to be polite. Any delay after that is considered impolite unless communicated in advance.
Not every shop accepts credit cards. The most common method of payment is still cash, followed by debit cards. It is worth your while to check beforehand with hotels, restaurants, shops, taxi companies, etc which method of payment they accept.
On Sundays, all shops are closed, except for restaurants, petrol stations, and your emergency pharmacy that is on duty. However, you better check the opening hours of restaurants and bars before you go out on Sundays, as these may differ from the regular opening hours during the week.
Germans are great at recycling their waste: plastic is thrown into specific yellow garbage cans, glass bottles are disposed of in special glass containers (sorted by colour), paper and cardboard boxes go into extra paper barrels, electronic and bulky waste needs to be brought to your local civic amenity site.
Kitchens are in general not included in rented apartments, as Germans do prefer to buy a new one instead of using one that had been in the possession of someone else before.
More than 50% of Germans rent their homes, as this is more lucrative than buying. As in general the quality of houses and flats offered for rent are in an excellent condition. Another reason is that the German rental market is robustly regulated and in favour of tenants.
When renting apartments, no electrical fittings are included in the lease contract, meaning that only the light bulbs will be left hanging off walls and ceilings. Lamp shades and fittings will have to be bought by the tenant him/herself.
When meeting German they tend to be rather aloof, as they do not like to engage much in small talk. This is not meant to offend you at all, it is just the way they have been brought up. But once they get to know you better and start to trust you, you have a friend for life!
