18 Things I Appreciate About Germany After 18 Months Abroad

With recent events, it’s so easy to forget that Germany is a pretty great country in some regards. Coming back here after 18 months has showed me that there is so much to appreciate!

#1 Punctuality: If a German person tells you they’ll be there at 6 pm, they’ll most likely be there by 5.55 pm – just how I like it.

#2 Sidewalks: In Germany, it’s super safe to walk on the side of the road, you can walk almost anywhere! Try doing the same in Thailand and you’re considered suicidal.

#3 Road signs: There’s a sign for everything. E V E R Y T H I N G.

#4 The bread: Obviously. You won’t get this selection of amazing breads anywhere else. Whole-grain is actually whole-grain and not that weird kind of soggy, syrup-coloured brown toast that you get in the US.

#5 People know how to drive: Since driving school is mandatory in Germany if you want to get your license, everyone knows how to drive. It’s pretty safe on German roads in general despite the zones with no speed limits (yes, I do love the Autobahn, of course).

#6 People get things done: You want something? You’ll get it.

#7 You can drink alcohol in the park: Or anywhere, really. I am not talking about getting drunk, but having a glass of wine or a cold beer by the lake and it’s even legal, how perfect is that?

#8 Affordable food: Veggies are actually pretty affordable compared to other countries, who would’ve thought! You can also go out for a meal and as long as you avoid the really fancy places, it won’t break the bank.

#9 Public transport: While we love to complain about our trains being late – there’s a train or at least a bus to e v e r y w h e r e, and in my city they run 24/7.

#10 Being naked is totally acceptable: jk, but no, seriously, in NZ you had to go to the sauna with a swim suit – I don’t get it, it’s disgusting. In Germany you even have to go nude in most places.

#11 Late opening hours: Pubs and restaurants and bars are open until late, some even all night – I have missed that so much.

#12 Phone plans are cheap: Seriously, I pay 7 euros/month while in Canada I paid three times as much and didn’t even have half of the stuff included that I do now.

#13 Education is free: Well, mostly, at least there are no high tuition fees.

#14 The villages are beautiful: Especially after seeing country life in NZ and Thailand, I was amazed by how neat and beautiful German villages are – I never appreciated that.

#15 Roadtrips are so easy because everything is so close: Honestly – while in Canada, it sometimes took us three days to drive where we wanted to go, here you can’t even drive for three days without hitting water, except for the East towards Russia etc.

#16 Tall people everywhere: Idon’t consider myself extremely tall, for a woman in Germany I’m pretty average, but on my travels I felt so tall sometimes that I couldn’t imagine myself wearing heels.

#17 Great coffee: The worst coffee I ever had was in New Zealand, and it really was hit or miss there – same in Thailand. Other countries just have huge pots of coffee but they don’t appreciate fresh, well-brewed coffee – I do!

#18 People leave you alone in stores: What I absolutely hate in stores is when there’s someone following me around the whole time even after I said that I don’t need help and that I’m just browsing. Won’t happen in Germany because it’s considered rude.

I will try to come back here and read this list when I’m annoyed by life in Germany because all in all, I like the country, I love the culture, and I love a lot of Germans. Not all of them, but well, who does?