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I think if you are visiting Munich or Koln, it's very hard to say they are depressing city. But for example, I visited my friend in Halle and well, I felt very calm in first week, but the second week was very frustrating. I guess it would be same in the eastern side = .=
I have been to Germany four times and loved it there, I have been all over the country and it is anything but dirty and depressing.
My thoughts exactly. You typically find what reflects back to you. I find this to be especially true with regard to people. I've been to so many places where the stereotype called for very morose, unwelcoming and unfriendly people and found the exact opposite. On a few occasions, I've been to the same place several times with differing experiences.
My sense is that the best way to enjoy a new place, either overseas or in the good ole US of A, is to go with an open mind and a completely non judgmental attitude. It can absolutely enhance the experience.
My thoughts exactly. You typically find what reflects back to you. I find this to be especially true with regard to people. I've been to so many places where the stereotype called for very morose, unwelcoming and unfriendly people and found the exact opposite. On a few occasions, I've been to the same place several times with differing experiences.
My sense is that the best way to enjoy a new place, either overseas or in the good ole US of A, is to go with an open mind and a completely non judgmental attitude. It can absolutely enhance the experience.
Bravo - I totally agree! I've traveled the world over and can count the negative experiences on one hand, with fingers left over. Life is a grand adventure!
I lived in Germany for three years and found it ANYTHING BUT depressing. I will say though, that out of all the places I've lived and visited, to me Germany is the most beautifully melancholy, if that makes sense. Maybe it's because I've watched so many WW2 documentaries, I don't know - but I couldn't drive across a railroad track without wondering if a cattle car full of Jews or POWs had made it's sad way down that track at one time. The town I lived in was at a sort of crossroads as Allied forces made it from France toward Munich and Hitler's Eagles Nest at the end of the war, and there was fierce fighting in the street right in front of our house. I always felt that there were many "ghosts" in Germany.
But the architecture, the music, the natural beauty, the cleanliness, the orderliness of the towns, even the weather - all that appealed to me so much that the sense of melancholy only added a depth to the whole experience. I didn't find any areas to be depressing, except for Dachau.
I can't say enough positive things about the German people. I really like them in general. I like their basic take on life and their values.
We've gone back on vacation several times and next time I'd like to revisit Berlin and go back into Poland.
Bravo - I totally agree! I've traveled the world over and can count the negative experiences on one hand, with fingers left over. Life is a grand adventure!
I lived in Germany for three years and found it ANYTHING BUT depressing. I will say though, that out of all the places I've lived and visited, to me Germany is the most beautifully melancholy, if that makes sense. Maybe it's because I've watched so many WW2 documentaries, I don't know - but I couldn't drive across a railroad track without wondering if a cattle car full of Jews or POWs had made it's sad way down that track at one time. The town I lived in was at a sort of crossroads as Allied forces made it from France toward Munich and Hitler's Eagles Nest at the end of the war, and there was fierce fighting in the street right in front of our house. I always felt that there were many "ghosts" in Germany.
But the architecture, the music, the natural beauty, the cleanliness, the orderliness of the towns, even the weather - all that appealed to me so much that the sense of melancholy only added a depth to the whole experience. I didn't find any areas to be depressing, except for Dachau.
I can't say enough positive things about the German people. I really like them in general. I like their basic take on life and their values.
I third this. I love Germany as well.
I thought I'd be indifferent, but I'm not. I really like it. Usually I visit a country, and once is enough, as there are just too many countries out there to see.
But, Germany, it's one of those countries that I definitely want to return to again and again.
It depends what one expects. Germany is mostly not made for tourists, but for locals leading their often boring lives, going to work, raising their kids etc. Many German cities are about as interesting as US suburbs. And for their purpose both are appropriate. German cities are functional and offer what people need for their daily lives. A few cities and entire regions are in trouble, though, no doubt about it. Some are dying out, suffering from profound demographic changes.
I would not want to live in Germany anymore. I remember the only places I liked there were the ones where there were lots of immigrants. Germany makes me feel claustrophobic in a strange way, despite being a big country.
It depends what one expects. Germany is mostly not made for tourists, but for locals leading their often boring lives, going to work, raising their kids etc. Many German cities are about as interesting as US suburbs. And for their purpose both are appropriate. German cities are functional and offer what people need for their daily lives. A few cities and entire regions are in trouble, though, no doubt about it. Some are dying out, suffering from profound demographic changes.
I would not want to live in Germany anymore. I remember the only places I liked there were the ones where there were lots of immigrants. Germany makes me feel claustrophobic in a strange way, despite being a big country.
As much as I love Germany (and I do), I can see where you're coming from in your last sentence. I know that parts of Germany are not crowded or hilly or mountainous, but so much of it is, that I know exactly what you mean. So many small towns with crowded teeny streets and hills and valleys! Also, the architecture is so similar in so many places that it's easy to get confused about where you are exactly if you're traveling through the towns.
I told my husband the last time we were there, "I love this country but I really miss that big Texas sky."
I know what you mean by that, but that is not really what I meant. I feel that as well in most parts of Germany, of Europe actually. But there are parts where you can feel the big sky to a certain extent, for instance in parts of Lower Saxony. But yes, there is no Grand Canyon or anything spectacular or otherwise grand. Your best chances of finding that are probably in Spain.
But I meant something else. I always get the feeling that German society is a bit closed and content and paralyzed. It doesn't feel like there is something interesting on the horizon. It's strange, Germany exports a lot of stuff, so they are linked to the rest of the world, but I just don't feel that international flair or anything like that.
I'll have to go there in June for a few days, but I know I will be happy when I am on my way to the airport again. I guess I have lived abroad for too long to be content with any place in Germany now. I will visit occasionally as long as my parents are alive, but after that I won't.
Germany makes me feel claustrophobic in a strange way, despite being a big country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
As much as I love Germany (and I do), I can see where you're coming from in your last sentence. I know that parts of Germany are not crowded or hilly or mountainous, but so much of it is, that I know exactly what you mean. So many small towns with crowded teeny streets and hills and valleys! Also, the architecture is so similar in so many places that it's easy to get confused about where you are exactly if you're traveling through the towns.
That's actually one of the things I love about Germany! I love the small towns with crowded tiny streets and the hills and valleys. I like walkable, and Germany is quite good at that.
In many small German cities that is not really the case, either. Some seem outright dead. People seem locked up in their homes rather than out on the streets. Saturday afternoons and Sundays are depressing in this respect as shops are closed. Sure, one might say, at least Germans are not as materialist, yet. But that is not the case, either, it's just the law that prevents them from doing so, and it seems that many Germans don't leave their homes except for shopping and work.
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