r/AskGermany

Why do Germans pay 45000 euros for the new all-electric Mazda 6 when in New Zealand the same car is 29000 euros on the showroom floor? Why are German built cars more affordable on the other side of the world than they are in Germany? I love this country but isn’t it about time the government looked in to car pricing in Germany to help Germans afford a quality new car like citizens in other western countries are able too?

Hey, ich habe in der letzten 5 Jahren nur Gürtel gekauft, die nach dreimal Tragen kaputt gehen. Also, dass das Material absplittert. Deswegen würde ich gerne wissen, wo ihr so eure Gürtel kauft, falls die noch ganz sind. Das Ding soll mal paar Jahre halten ...

Hello, I am 21 years old. I am from Azerbaijan and
I am currently studying for a master’s degree and at the same time learning German. I see my future in Germany, and I think that through an Ausbildung I could stay in the country and become a citizen within 7–8 years.

However, if I drop out of my master’s program and leave now, there could be problems related to military service. I also think that if my international passport expires while I am in Germany (the passport is valid for 10 years), the embassy might refuse to renew it because of military service issues. Therefore, I feel that I need to obtain German citizenship before my passport expires.

In your opinion, which profession should I choose, or what should I do to avoid problems when obtaining German citizenship?

Last month, I tried to extend my blocked account for studying in Germany, since the last payout transfer was in May, but the app said the option was "unavailable," even though I had tried to do it a month before the last transfer.

After the first week of May, I closed my account to reactivate it and extend the blocked account duration. But as soon as I got my "reactivation", I discovered that the "reactivation" had generated me a NEW IBAN instead of reinstating my OLD IBAN, and this wouldn't be an issue except that I had €4k+ left in my old IBAN after my last payout.

I tried emailing them and got literally no response, tried calling them, and they straight up terminated my calls before answering. I even tried their WeChat option that is apparently a thing, and that link did not work properly (it'd send me to the front page of WeChat without any other page opening). It's like they're ghosting me on purpose.

I have used this account for nearly 6 months now, and I need someone to tell me what I should do (if I could do anything to begin with). My visa wasn't rejected, and I'm not planning on leaving Germany for good. All I wanted was to extend my account so I could continue using Fintiba as my blocked account provider.

It's getting near the end of the month, and I need to pay for both my rent for next month and the groceries. Yes, this isn't my first time posting about this, but it's been a week since that last post, and I'm getting very desperate. I would GREATLY appreciate anyone providing any info on this.

An older German couple took our reserved seats on the ICE from Köln to Frankfurt.

I don’t speak much German, but I showed the man my ticket and, in my best college-German-with-25-years-of-rust pronunciation, explained: “These are our seats.” He had placed their coats across their seats and was sitting in mine.

He responded with a long stream of German I didn’t understand, followed by the universal “go away” hand wave.

Now, I know Americans already have a reputation abroad, and I really didn’t want to be “that American” demanding seats from Großvater and Oma on a German train. My wife and I quietly moved to nearby open seats while several passengers watched the exchange with interest. Also, if you’d seen my wife’s death stare silently urging me to “just sit somewhere else,” you’d understand my tactical retreat.

The whole time, though, I was praying the actual owners of those backup seats wouldn’t show up.

Part of me also didn’t want to be the American who summoned the conductor to relocate an elderly German man like some kind of Deutsche Bahn hall monitor. The ticket checker didn’t even appear until 30 minutes into a 55-minute ride anyway.

So now I’m curious: in Germany, would I have been considered rude if I’d firmly insisted on sitting in our assigned seats? Or was Großvater the one breaking the social contract here?

Edit: Yes I was certain we had the correct car and it was first class. Yes I'm certain I had the right seats. I had to convince my wife of these certainties before she would even approach the car. And a random ICE or DB train guy with a red hat and red vest with a name tag looked at my ticket and said yes, this is your car.

Hello, I am Cuban and currently living in Cuba. In two weeks, I will be traveling to Germany, specifically to Freiburg, for work. I will be staying for two months. I don't have the details regarding where I'll be staying or other specifics yet, as this came as a surprise just today. I have never left Cuba before, let alone traveled to Europe or Germany, so I was hoping you could offer me some advice, both regarding the trip itself and what it's like to live there for at least two months.

What do I need? Etc.

Please keep in mind that I have never traveled before, neither within nor outside of Cuba. In fact, I have never even left my hometown. I do not intend to immigrate; in fact, I was the one who set the duration of the assignment, as my employers originally wanted me to stay for a longer period. I currently work online from home.

One other thing: I don't know any German. I speak and understand English perfectly, and, of course, Spanish is my native language.

Thank you in advance.

Ich soll für die Schule eine Umfrage machen was das erste ist an das Menschen denken, wenn sie nach Frankreich gefragt werden. Es wäre gut auch eure Altersgruppe zu sagen, um differenzieren zu können, muss man aber nicht. Es gäbe folgende Altersgruppen:
14-20
21-40
41-60
61+
Ich bedanke mich schonmal im voraus:)

I moved to Germany in 2023.

I got my radio tax letter with file number the same year, my roommate who was paying added me to her account.

Beginning of March she moved out and another roommate of mine registered and started paying for the apartment.

How do I add myself to her account since I do not have a contribution number for myself?

I tried doing it with the file number in the email, but looks like the file number has expired.

Should I wait till I get a new letter? (have not received it yet - been more than a month)

It is a bit confusing and scary as I see people getting fines for radio tax issues. :(

Hi everyone,

I have a Ford Focus Mk1, probably 2002 or 2003, and I live in Germany.

I have an issue with the rear window wiper. I’ll attach a video showing exactly how it behaves. The rear washer works and the wiper moves when I use the washer, but the normal rear wiper function does not work properly.

My question is: could this cause the car to fail the TÜV/HU inspection in Germany?

The front wipers and washers work normally. The problem is only with the rear wiper.

Any advice appreciated

We are new to Germany, live in a fairly affluent area and have a stand-alone house. I accidentally left our house key in the door and left for about an hour. When I came back, the key was missing. A package had been delivered and the key was gone. Checked all over the front porch, under the mat, in the mailbox. Nothing. Is there any sort of cultural protocol here in Germany that might compel someone to take the key for safekeeping, and if so, where might they take it? Or am I likely looking at a scenario where someone stole the key?

Q: Do Germans really mind if someone films their own swimming technique at a pool? (Inevitably captures other swimmers, but only for personal review at home)

If you take out your phone near the pool, staff will stop you. I understand completely why showers, changing rooms, and sunbathing areas are private — that makes total sense. But the pool deck itself feels more like public space to me. Almost everyone is wearing goggles and a swim cap, so there's nothing really recognizable.

I just want to film my own swimming technique so I can see what to improve, and I'm always a bit anxious about accidentally doing something wrong.

So I'd genuinely like to understand: how do Germans think about the pool area as a private vs. public space? What's the reasoning I might be missing? 🙏

------

EDIT: Thank you all for the comments — it really helped me see how people here actually think about this 🙏

The key insight for me was the logic that recording others without their consent simply isn't okay here. It also extends to gyms, apparently — does that mean street photography with people in the frame is, strictly speaking, also not really okay here? Genuinely curious how that's navigated in practice.

Also appreciated the constructive suggestions — looking into Verein pools, and just asking the staff directly about what's allowed at a specific facility. Thanks again!

Or do I just have bad luck? Every time I order something from Germany and it isn’t amazon, the delivery usually takes weeks. To give you an example, I bought some Asian cooking ingredients from an online store in Germany, it took them over two weeks to get it delivered. Another example, every time I order plants from a well known German cactus nursery, it takes them about a month. This morning I wanted to order some seeds from a German seed bank, they gave a deadline of over a month. I live in Belgium, so it’s not like it has to travel overseas.

I order from all over Europe. I recently ordered seeds from Sweden, and I got them in about a week. I ordered plants from Spain, same. France, it took like 3 days. The Netherland, literally next day delivery. I’ve dealt with companies in Eastern Europe, and even they managed much shorter shipping deadlines.

Im not saying that all online stores in Germany are like that. Amazon is just as quick in Germany as elsewhere. But this has been such a common experience for me that it can’t just be bad luck.

As someone new to German language learning, I keep hearing over excessively long German words like "Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften (Insurance companies )" and "Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit (food tolerance)" in reels and funny memes. It just made me curious, are these long words even used in everyday vocabulary by German speakers or do they have like short versions for them? Also which one of these long words are actually used and dont have any alternative?

Can anyone help? I'm praying that social media can come together and get my husband's messenger bag back. Already put in a report with the transit office. But I really need this bag back. Train from Frankfurt to Mannheim about an hour ago. ICE 515, car 4 up on a rack. Absolutely devastated because there were some personal, sentimental items that are irreplaceable

Hey everyone! I’m a Mexican woman who has applied to two Master’s programs in Germany and I’d love advice in case I get into both and have to choose.
Both programs are very good, and I'm really undecided.

My background: I run a small traditional clothing business in Mexico (handcrafted textiles). My dream is to eventually expand the brand into the German and European market. So studying in Germany isn’t just academic for me — it’s also a strategic move for my business.

The two programs I applied to:
• Management & Entrepreneurship – Leuphana University (Lüneburg)
• Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship & Sustainability (IMES) – TU Berlin

What matters most to me when choosing:

1. 🚀Startup ecosystem – incubators, mentorship, access to grants or funding for non-EU founders
2. 🌍 Network – connections useful for breaking into the European market
3. 💼 Minijob compatibility – I need flexibility to work part-time and grow my business on the side
4. 🌆 Lifestyle & cost of living – as an international student on a budget (i will live with my German partner)
5. 📚 Practical vs theoretical – I already run a business, so I need applicable skills
   If you were in my shoes, which would you pick and why? Any experience with either university and what is has to offer or the German startup scene as a foreign founder is super welcome! 🙏

Hello everyone! My wife and I will be visiting Berlin very soon for our first trip to Germany, and I was hoping to get some recommendations and advice from locals or people familiar with the area. We’ll be there for 6 nights (Saturday–Thursday), and we’re trying to experience as much as we can while we’re there.

Here’s a short list of some of the places I already have planned:
Berlin Cathedral (tickets booked online)
Museum Island
Berlin Palace
Zitadelle Spandau
Suarezstraße antique shops
Samurai Museum Berlin
McDonald’s (I have to compare the German menu to the U.S. version!)
Zur Letzten Instanz

I also already have a guided tour planned for Sunday. It’s about 4 hours long and covers around 30–40 major landmarks and museums. It’s more of a sightseeing overview tour rather than spending a lot of time at each stop, so that’s really the only thing fully planned so far.

A few things about us and what we enjoy:

I’m a huge history nerd and absolutely love museums.
I’m also really into hobby stores, tabletop gaming, and anything Warhammer related.
I’m a big foodie and would love recommendations for authentic German food, bakeries, cafés, or even a nice fine dining experience while we’re there.

My wife loves thrifting, antique stores, flea markets, and sweets/baked goods.

One thing I’d really love to do is take a train somewhere since I’ve never ridden one before. We were considering making a day trip to Prague, but I’m not sure if that’s realistic for a single day or if there are better train destinations nearby.

Thanks in advance!

Hii peeps,

I have completed German A1 last year from Goethe Institute online. It was their superintensive course with 4 hours every weekday and I completed the level in 1.5 months.

Now I am looking for an A2 course which I can complete by June end

So that I can enroll for the B1 course starting in goethe on July 1st.

There are no A2 courses from Goethe until July and I feel like it would be a waste of time to sit idle waiting for the Goethe course to start in July for A2

Are there any good online institutes at par with Goethe where I can complete A2 by the end of June?

TIA.

PS : I couldn't enroll for A2 earlier as I was working full time..and just got off my notice period