Trivial Things to Note About Life in Germany

It's hard to find a good taco in Germany... unless you make them yourself.

These are just a few helpful little tidbits things I've noticed about Germany and can remember at this very moment. Don't come to Germany expecting to find good tacos, German chocolate cake, or Sloppy Joes while you drive as fast as you can on the Autobahn. It's not what you're thinking. 

• It's bad luck to celebrate birthdays early, or even wish someone "happy birthday" before their birth date. Afterward is okay, but before -- nein.
• You have to bring your own cake to share on your birthday. Others do not provide it for you, unless they're your mother or aunt and they bake better. Sometimes, there are a choice of cakes, especially at some children's birthday parties, for particular Germans. You can have a piece of each!
• Buy hamburger or Hackfleisch freshly ground from a butcher. Do not buy it from a grocery store. Supposedly, grocery store burger stinks and is poor quality with added preservatives. I don't notice any difference, but if you listen to certain Germans, they won't eat ground beef unless it comes from a butcher. 
• Hackfleisch is ground meat. Sometimes it's mixed beef and pork. If you want good ground beef, be sure to ask for Rinderhackfleisch. 
• White asparagus must be peeled before you cook it. It's not like green asparagus, where you just cut off the tips and steam or saute it. Don't learn that the hard way. You'll be chewing an awfully long time.
• No one is going to bag your groceries. You do all the bagging yourself. In fact, you do all the bagging AFTER you go through the check out line, AFTER you pay, and AFTER you walk away with your cart. There are counters and bagging areas past the cashier, on the way to the exit. Attempting to bag your own groceries before this will only result in you getting rushed by the German in line behind you, or you'll get weird looks from the cashier. (I bag my groceries quickly in my own shopping bag, as fast as they can scan them, but with a big grocery list, this is impossible.)
• It costs one euro to borrow a grocery cart (they're not free). You get your euro back when you return the cart.

You can't find this cake in Germany

• German Chocolate -- the main ingredient in the famous American cake with coconut and pecan frosting -- does not exist here. Chocolate made in Germany is just chocolate, albeit very good. German Chocolate in German Chocolate Cake is an extra sweet chocolate developed by an American man whose last name was "German." Really!
• When asked to smile for a picture, a German will ask you to say "spaghetti". 
• Germans eat a lot of spaghetti, in my experience, which is surprising. It is many a German child's favorite food, according to my research, and adults eat plenty of it as well.
• You can go to prison for sporting a swastika. Das ist verboten. 
• Peanut butter and popcorn kernels are not that easy to find in a grocery store. Popcorn is mostly of the sweetened variety. Salzig is less common. 
• You won't get ice in your cup at the movies. Don't even try. 
• At a fast food restaurant such as Burger King or McDonald's, you won't get a full cup of ice, but rather a few cubes. Ask for extra ice, and you may get 10 cubes, if you're lucky. I gave up a long time ago.
• Sekt is the German version of champagne. 
• There are speed limits on portions of the Autobahn -- it's not a racing free-for-all like we are led to believe. Speed limits aren't everywhere, but when they exist, they usually range from 70 to 120 kph (45 to 75 mph). 

• Germans use English cusswords more liberally than Americans do. The F and S words come from the mouths of middle school students, but adults often make them part of their everyday language as well. The German word for "crap" is Mist. Nice, eh?
• I can't say whether it's nationwide, but in this part of the country, Germans drink a shot of tequila with cinnamon and orange instead of lime and salt. Komisch.
• There's no such thing as a Sloppy Joe. Schade.

Wörterbuch

Das ist verboten. - That is forbidden. 

Hackfleisch - ground meat (pork and/or beef)

Komisch - strange

Mist - crap

Nein - no

Rinderhackfleisch - ground beef 

Salzig - salty

Schade - shame

Sekt - sparkling wine