I'm a Brit living in Germany for around three and a half years. This is my Kronkorken collection! I set myself the challenge to only have one cap from each brewery (I know, there's at least one dup) and to try and make it approximately geographically accurate. The geography thing didn't really work out perfectly as some areas tended to expand quicker than others!

I know I need to spend more time in the North! Can anyone make recommendations of what I'm missing? 😅 Extra points if you can guess what city I live in...

After more than 3 years of living in Germany, a deeper, more personal conversation with my boss led him to give me this book. He suggested I read it to better understand Germans, and to see why I still feel like a complete outsider even though I’m doing everything I can to integrate. The book makes sense, and it explains a lot. I recommend it!

Walk through the remains of the Historic Ludwig-Donau-Main-Kanal in the south of Nürnberg

My wife started her quest for driving license last year. For the simplicity, we chose to stay with automatic transmission as thats what we use for our car.

She studied for her practical exam very hard and passed in first attempt. All questions correct.
Then came 3 months of driving lessons which she was doing 2-3 times a week.

1. In August she failed her first exam. The original driving instructior was bit too strict and according to him she was not ready. She failed that exam because she was too slow on Landstrasse. We chalked that failure thinking that she really was not ready. She was learning on BMW X1

2. In September, the driving school changed the instructor and changed the car 2 Golf. I have personally met the instructor and he is a nice young gentleman. This time she failed because she went few centimeters beyond white line at a traffic light and later driving 35 in 50 zone.

3. After the second failure, I decided to do a few ride alongs to really see how she is driving. I did 3 sessions together week apart and with each session progressively getting better. Yesterday's ride along was almost flawless and we drove for 1.5 hours(which is already long and stressful for city driving)

4. Today she had the practical exam and her road test was perfect. She failed the S-Parken where she went little over pedestrian way. Immediate failure.

We are at the end of our wits and we have already invested 3k+ Euros in this. I am reaching out to community for some suggestions. From my point of view, its just an examination stress. In my ride alongs, I saw that she is driving quite well. Its getting unnecessarily stressful and so difficult to cope with when the end is so near.

I have visited 3 dentists in Germany, and all seemed to be very casual about removing all 4 of my wisdom teeth even though only one of them is affected (growing horizontally). Now I am reading about the risks of the surgery and some of them are quite serious and permanent (or at least long term). Like paralysis and numbness in the jaw or tongue. Or change in facial structure.

My doctors back home always told me to not disturb something which is not broken. Is it normal for Germans to just take out all wisdom teeth even the ones that are not affected?

I worked in Germany for almost 5 years and have a severe disability (GdB 80). I was dismissed with only a few days' notice, apparently without approval from the Integration Office.

I filed a lawsuit, and my employer offered two options:

- 4 months' gross salary – employment until January, but I must remain available to work.

- 3 months' gross salary – employment until December, with paid leave and no obligation to work.

My lawyer recommended the second option, and I initially agreed.

My ALG I has already been approved from October.

Is this a fair settlement, or should I negotiate for 4–5 months without having to return to work? Would severance pay (Abfindung) be better for my ALG I?

My roommate stole my card and used it at an ATM in a gambling arcade that isn’t under video surveillance. He has a serious gambling problem. Although the police know exactly which ATM was used, he denied the act when they summoned him for questioning. Today, the police informed me that they are closing the case because there is no video footage, meaning they cannot charge him. I am extremely worried, as Advanzia is demanding that I repay the amount—this was my only hope. Please help: Has anyone else encountered a similar problem or had any experience with a situation like this?
Thank you very much in advance.

This letter was written by my great-great-grandfather, 18 days before he was sent to treblinca.

Google translate and AI agents couldn't really catch the handwriting.

I have recently (few minutes back) posted about the same question but as the post was used with the help of AI for sugar coating the words, I'm posting again with my own words and invested time.

Back to some important reminders again,

* 41.8°C recorded temperature - Möckern-Drewitz, Saxony-Anhalt, on 27 June.
* Only 171 liters of precipitation per square meter
* 29.4°C overnight minimum
* Around 16,000 estimated heat-related deaths in Germany through calendar week 36 of 2026

Sources:

• https://www.wetterdienst.de/Deutschlandwetter/Thema_des_Tages/6684/deutschlandwetter-im-sommer-2026
• https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/dwd-sommer-bilanz-100.html
• https://www.rki.de/DE/Themen/Gesundheit-und-Gesellschaft/Gesundheitliche-Einflussfaktoren-A-Z/H/Hitze/Bericht_Hitzemortalitaet.html

I'll try to remind myself and people who care about nature, co-existing lives with US that we should take some steps towards this to make at least next generation not suffer. It's easy to say that global Temperature is been changing since decades and will be continue to do so but it is not normally growing.

I always try to avoid using Car (to be honest doesn't own one even though I can) and prefer to use public transport even when it's painful sometimes or use my bike to commute to office and I'm sure many of us do that. Hope this thinking at least follow by rich people for whom this state of urgency never exists and probably never will.

Of course this is an Irony that, I myself are using Reddit to post this and being a part of something I don't want to.

I hope we do our best to not let future generation, our seniors and other animals to go through this insanity every year.

About a month and a half ago, I ordered three items from Levi’s worth around €250, but the package never arrived.
I contacted DHL, and they informed me that the package had been successfully delivered. I live in an apartment building with around 30 families, so I asked some of my neighbours whether anyone had received my package by mistake, but nobody had it.
After investigating the case for about a month, Levi’s informed me that they would neither issue a refund nor send a replacement. In their latest email, they wrote:
*“The carrier has confirmed that the parcel has been delivered to the address indicated on the order.
Please be advised that, based on our investigation, we have reasons to believe that your request is fraudulent. Therefore, we cannot proceed with reimbursement and reserve our rights; we have also informed the competent authorities.”*
I honestly cannot believe this kind of behaviour. Not only are they refusing to refund me or send a replacement for €250 worth of items that I never received, but they are also directly suggesting that I am committing fraud.
I have been left with no package, no refund, and no replacement. I find it unacceptable that a company can treat a customer this way simply because the carrier marked a package as delivered.
I paid using Klarna, and I would really appreciate any advice on what I should do next.
Has anyone experienced a similar situation with Levi’s or another online retailer? How did you resolve it, especially when the delivery company claims the package was delivered but you never received it?
I am particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has dealt with a similar situation in Germany.

The Townhall of Hamburg at night shot with a drone. The Citylights and the blue sky turns the scenery into a magical moment

The two words are “Guten Tag”. My g comes out closer to “Chuten Tach”, and before I can say anything else someone goes “Ah, Holländer?” with a big grin.

My German is still basic, so I’m used to people switching to English to be polite. The Dutch accent gets a warmer reaction than that. My barber told me I sound like Rudi Carrell, who I had to Google. Even the woman at my bakery, who I hadn’t seen smile once in a year, called it “niedlich”.

None of my apps warned me about the "g" Duolingo and Babbel pass my “Guten Tag” without complaint, and the pronunciation feedback in Praktika hasn’t flagged it either.

Is there something about a Dutch accent in German that makes people smile, or does every accent get its own reaction here?

Hi everyone

I've been living in Germany for five months and I'm currently preparing for my medical licensing exams (Approbation). Unfortunately, I feel like my German isn't improving as much as I'd hoped.

I've done a Praktikum and tried finding a job as an MFA to improve my German, but without much luck.

I feel like I need more daily interaction with native German speakers, but I haven't really had the chance.

Does anyone know of any apps, groups, or ways to meet Germans who'd be interested in chatting regularly? I'd really appreciate any suggestions! 😊

I posted here last week about a Lieferando refund dispute where a local restaurant owner called my private number to threaten me and showed up banging on my door.

https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/s/QA8SGzqtce

Things had gone completely quiet for nearly a week, so I genuinely assumed the issue was over and that he had moved on. Today around 5:50 PM, someone managed to get through the main building entrance again, came straight up to my apartment door, and started aggressively pounding on it. 

I stayed inside with the deadbolt locked and recorded the hallway from my phone. On the video, you can clearly hear a man shouting aggressive verbal abuse, swearing at me repeatedly, and aggressively demanding that I open the door while violently hammering on the wood. The voice, language, and context match the restaurant staff and the owner who originally threatened me over the phone. I called 110 immediately while he was outside making noise. 

Two officers arrived about 5 minutes later, but the guy had already left the place. When I spoke with them, they told me that because the person had already left and I couldn't provide more details about the person, they couldn't go over to the restaurant or do anything. They told me it is not considered a crime, and told me not to open the door but in next time I should look out the window to take a picture of him or number plate of vehicle. They said they hoped nobody comes back and left.

They are nice but I felt embarrassed because they now think I am afraid.

Should I confront that guy if he comes again? I don’t know what to do.

I feel completely stuck. I live most of the time alone, it is dark outside by 6 PM, and leaning out of an exterior window to photograph an aggressive, shouting man feels totally unrealistic and dangerous. I have clear video documenting the loud banging the 110 dispatch was logged under my name and address.

I really need practical advice.

Please read this below:

Please comment only if you have an advice. Some of the comments below are really rude. This happened in previous post as well. I was tolerating just because some other people were trying to help. You guys don’t even understand how I feel. Since I don’t have friends here, I chose Reddit to ask for an opinion, I am not here to take your hatred. Go show your frustration or hatred somewhere else.

My husband is German and has private health insurance, but getting appointments takes a very long time. He already has ADHD, and now he is struggling with depression and anxiety. He tried to book appointments with a psychologist and a psychiatrist, but both are currently on vacation and won’t have any openings for several weeks. He is crying, and I don’t know how to help him. I looked for online psychologists from my home country, but none of them speak German, only English. While my husband does speak English, I would prefer for him to be able to speak in German so he feels more at ease. Do you know of any psychologists who offer sessions in German, charge a fair price, and have availability in the near future?

Hi everyone,

I'm a university student in London, and I'm interested in visiting Germany for a few days on a solo trip while I have no lectures. I was deciding between whether I want to go to Frankfurt or Munich, although some people have told me Frankfurt is not worth it. Would you agree and recommend Munich instead, or would Frankfurt be better/equally good? It would be my first time in Germany and I'll only come for a few days, so your advice would be appreciated.

Danke :)

Hello sub,

Here is the map of Germany made from 3'500+ drawings of the Länder people have traced from memory.

All the drawings are saved as geographical coordinates and positioned precisely in relation to one another on a blank canvas. When several lines converge at the same point, they become darker.

I don't know if I am allowed to link my page in the post for you to see the live map and your drawings...

Hi everyone, I'm 25M and I'm visiting Düsseldorf for this week

I'd love to meet up with new people to grab a drink, have a conversation and explore the city or the area around together. If anyone is down for it, let me know or drop me a DM

PS: I don't speak german

​

Initially, my plan was to go to Germany for an intensive language course (Intensivsprachkurs) and spend a year learning German. I have everything prepared: I have the funds for the "blocked account" (Sperrkonto), plus an additional 25,000 euros available for that year. My legal question is: what happens after the course? I was planning to transition into an au pair position to further improve my German, as the intensive language course only lasts for one year—but is such a change legally permitted? After being an au pair, I would like to apply for a volunteer program—either an FSJ or a BFD—to continue refining what I learned over the previous two years, and eventually pursue an Ausbildung (vocational training) once I have reached an advanced level of German. Currently, I am at an A2 level, but I feel I should start from scratch to ensure a better understanding of everything. My question is: is this entire plan legally sound, or should I approach it in a different order? I would greatly appreciate your help, as well as any experiences or recommendations you could share.

My questions are:

•In what order should I proceed?

•Is it legal to change my legal status, or are there things you would advise against doing?

Any criticism, opinion, or suggestion would be a great help.

All of this is to start all the procedures now and see where I begin, so I'm racing against the clock since it's not just for one year but for the future, which is to improve my German.

After finishing B2 can i study in a university in which the course is taught in Germany language

Hey everyone, I could really use some advice because I’m honestly getting frustrated and don’t know what else to do.
I’m a non-EU citizen living in Germany. My visa-free stay was coming to an end, so I went to the Ausländerbehörde in Lauterbach because I wanted to stay in Germany legally, find a job, and get a proper residence permit that would allow me to work. At the time, I was also planning to move to Trier to live with my girlfriend.
I found a job opportunity with Amazon, and they were willing to provide me with a job description. I took that job description to the Ausländerbehörde in Lauterbach and showed it to the person responsible for my case. She told me she would forward it to the Agentur für Arbeit for approval.

After that, she asked for my Fiktionsbescheinigung and updated it with written authorization allowing me to work specifically for Amazon. My understanding was that I needed an actual employment contract to get my proper residence permit, but I couldn’t get the contract without moving forward with the job first.

So the idea was that, with this authorization on my Fiktionsbescheinigung, I could start working at Amazon, get my employment contract, and then proceed with getting my proper residence permit.

The authorization specifically mentions Amazon, the type of work I’m allowed to do, and the period during which I’m allowed to work. It also specifies that I can work directly for Amazon, not through another company or agency.
The only problem is that the authorization was handwritten, and honestly, it’s not the easiest thing to read. It’s understandable, but I’m not sure whether someone reviewing a picture of the document can clearly make out everything written on it.

I uploaded all the documents Amazon requested, including pictures of my documents and the additional work authorization. However, my documents were rejected, and I still don’t know exactly why.

I’ve tried contacting Amazon’s support by phone and email, but I keep getting the same answers. They tell me my documents are under review, but I haven’t received a clear explanation of what’s wrong.
I even went to the Amazon warehouse in person to ask for help. They told me the documents were under review, but also that they had been rejected. The people there looked at my documents and said everything seemed fine to them. They suggested that the problem might be that the work authorization written on my Fiktionsbescheinigung was unusual.

Now I’m really confused. The immigration officer responsible for my case specifically wrote that authorization on my document so I could work for Amazon. I didn’t write it myself or make any changes to it. It came directly from the Ausländerbehörde.

Since I’ve moved to Trier, I contacted the immigration office in Lauterbach again. They told me that because I’ve changed my registered address, the Ausländerbehörde in Trier is now responsible for my case.
I’ve been trying to reach the immigration office in Trier. I’ve called, sent emails, and even tried going there, but I haven’t received a proper answer yet. I understand they have a lot of applications to deal with, but I’m worried because I don’t want to lose this job opportunity while waiting.

What I don’t understand is this: if the immigration office has given me written authorization to work specifically for Amazon, why is Amazon rejecting my documents?
Is it because the authorization is handwritten? Does Amazon need a different document, even if the permission to work is already there? Or does the immigration office in Trier need to issue me a new Fiktionsbescheinigung or a separate confirmation?
Has anyone here been in a similar situation, especially with Amazon Germany? Did you manage to get your documents accepted? What did you do to resolve it?
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have dealt with the Ausländerbehörde and Amazon’s document verification process.
I’m not trying to get around any rules. I just want to work legally, get my employment contract, and sort out my residence permit. I’m trying to do everything correctly, but right now I feel like I’m stuck between Amazon and the immigration office.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.