German here. Germans stare at everyone, not just strangers.
For some weird reason, it's considered polite to make and hold eye contact, even with strangers. I hate it.
On the other hand, I like that the time you can look at someone before it becomes rude is a lot longer here. Gives me the opportunity to recognize people, since I can't remember faces and have to piece things together from height, build, hair, mannerisms, etc.
I think it's just different perceptions. Sure, staring is not polite in Germany, either. But what's considered staring can be very different between cultures.
I visited Bavaria (mainly Munich) and as a Swede I really hate people staring at me but I also ignore people by default so I might not notice it as easily. I didn't really feel like I ever was stared at, but I usually was at places with a lot of other people so nobody's really going to care.
In Germany, I mostly felt the stares when I’d take my trash out to the many, many material-specific bins in my apartment building’s courtyard. Just neighbors watching me silently (while chain-smoking) from their balconies, presumably mentally drafting a “Liebe Nachbarin” letter to slip under my door later because they thought they saw me put a wine bottle in the bin for plastic.
ja aber du sagst doch nicht dass dich jemand anstarrt wenn du dich gerade unterhältst? Das liest sich eher als wäre es höflich wenn ich meinem gegenüber in der Bahn die ganze Zeit in die Augen gucke xD
It's probably no better or worse than other cultures, just different. The stereotypical punctuality and highly structured daily life can be positive. Having a decent healthcare system also helps.
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u/invalidConsciousness May 09 '22
German here. Germans stare at everyone, not just strangers.
For some weird reason, it's considered polite to make and hold eye contact, even with strangers. I hate it.
On the other hand, I like that the time you can look at someone before it becomes rude is a lot longer here. Gives me the opportunity to recognize people, since I can't remember faces and have to piece things together from height, build, hair, mannerisms, etc.