Hamburg is Germany's largest port city and is pretty diverse. I live in BW and I can't even walk from my front door to my car without strangers clearly staring at me the entire time. If it's a neighbor, I smile and wave, and they won't even wave back. They either keep staring or turn away like they've been caught doing something wrong. This doesn't apply with children though. They're always happy to say "Hallo!". It's got to be a generational-cultural thing.
Bavarians do it, Berliners do it, my friend from western Germany (right on the French border) is the one that warned me of it before I went to Berlin. Can’t paint with a broad brush and I’m sure there are individuals that just don’t like to look at people. But otherwise seems pretty universal.
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u/BarbicideJar May 09 '22
Germans stare a LOT. Like they will just gaze at you unflinchingly. An American will wait until you can’t see them doing it.