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Really? What part of Germany are you from? I visited my friend in Hannover in 2007, and I have to say it was by far the cleanest and best-maintained large city I had ever seen (Other than Hannover I've only been to other North American cities, but that even furthers my point). Maybe it's all the rain that makes it look depressing (it does to some people, not to me), or maybe it is grass-is-greener syndrome.
Yes, Hannover is relatively nice, it can afford its great infrastructure due to the money it earns from all the international fairs. Oddly, there are some nasty jokes on Hannover, like the question: What is half the size of the central graveyard of Chicago, but twice as dead? But it has improved quite a bit.
But if you go to the Ruhrgebiet area in the Western part, some towns there look really horrible, also some parts of Berlin, Bavaria, Saarland. Sure, not like Youngstown, but still... In many places they tore down the beautiful half-timbered houses and replaced them with ugly concrete cubes.
I am from Southern Bavaria, I find it depressing, so much so that I can't imagine ever living there again.
Does anyone have a name or even a photo of one of those neat American cities or towns we are talking about here? Just so that I know what you think might be German influence...
Does anyone have a name or even a photo of one of those neat American cities or towns we are talking about here? Just so that I know what you think might be German influence...
...but one possibility might be New Ulm, Minnesota, which is a small town in southern part of the state that was founded by German immigrants. I am told that its sytle/architecture has some Old World influences.
As far as major cities go, you might try Milwaukee, Wisconsin (especially Mader's German Restaurant); other cities with large German populations would be Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis,and Minneapolis-St. Paul. I'm just not sure how much authentic German architecture you'll find. I think that it's more of a cultural influence than a physical presence.
Yes, I guess so, too. I just saw some photos, the houses in New Ulm don't look anything like those in the German Neu-Ulm, apart from some isolated half-timbered ones. But then again, who knows what the German Neu-Ulm looked like before it was destroyed during the war, like most other German cities. Plus, there are great differences between nothern, central, southern, eastern and western Germany. When I see American red brick houses, they look a lot more northern German or even Dutsch or Danish. Where I come from there are no houses like that. And places without sidewalks and cobble-stoned streets are not Germanic anyway
Back to the topic. When looking at the Midwest, one does not get the impression that those rather Germanic places are better than other parts of the USA. They seem to have just as many problems as all the other cities.
So what impact did anti-German jingoism during WWI have on Germanic influence in the United States? Here in Baltimore the name of a major downtown business district street, German Street, was erased and replaced by Redwood, one of the early American casualties. What WWI didn't do, Prohibition and WWII finished.
Or is this too simplistic?
Well, sorry to say this, but then obviously the fault lies with you, for some reason you seem to attract and provoke unfriendliness towards you. You know, there are several studies on friendliness around the world, and Germans rank among the best countries in that respect.
It also depends on where you go and why. If you go on a business trip to Frankfurt or Berlin you will probably not get to know a lot of friendly Germans as business people of any nationality are not overly liked among normal Germans, they are regarded as greedy capitalists, be it American or German businessmen.
And, especially during the Bush years, being American did not help you a lot, to many Germans the American accent is reason enough to think little of you.
Basically, if you don't speak German you won't be treated nearly as warmly as if you spoke at least some German. Germany is not a developing country where people are nice to you just because you are American or have money to spend. Quite to the contrary, you have to kind of prove to them that despite being American you deserve to be treated in a friendly way. And speaking their language is the best way to do that. Foreigners who go to Germany expecting jolly, beer-loving, English-speaking actors in a Disney-style Euroland just waiting for foreigners to come along might as well stay at home because they are bound to be disappointed.
And if you go to Germany, please avoid doing certain things if you want to be taken seriously. E.g. grown-up men should not wear shorts in cities (or pretty much anywhere else for that matter), nor baseball caps on their heads, nor those little carrying bags around the waist. If you run around like that you will be considered clowns and treated accordingly. Nor do grown-up Germans like people speaking overly loudly, it is considered rude, as Germans pay a lot of attention to privacy.
A nasty, but not unexpected response. No one expects people of the world to be courteous or friendly BECAUSE we're American - it is expected because we are all human beings. Your ignorant image of Americans described above is nothing but uneducated and conveys your obvious dislike of Americans. You are apparently of the same mold as the other Germans I've encountered - rude, arrogant, condescending, not-so-bright...and certainly not better than anyone else. Enough said.
So what happened to instill in you such hatred toward Germans? Did you get struck by a stein-toting Teuton in lederhosen. Or did some oompah player blow his tuba into your ear?
A nasty, but not unexpected response. No one expects people of the world to be courteous or friendly BECAUSE we're American - it is expected because we are all human beings. Your ignorant image of Americans described above is nothing but uneducated and conveys your obvious dislike of Americans. You are apparently of the same mold as the other Germans I've encountered - rude, arrogant, condescending, not-so-bright...and certainly not better than anyone else. Enough said.
Unrealistic. You will not be treated like anyone else just because you are human like everyone else. So, Americans are as uneducated and egoistic to us as Germans are cold and humorless to them. Default attitudes, if you will. That does mean that an American individual cannot convince me that he is not like that, actually I am always waiting for that to happen and I do know some very nice Americans, mostly African-Americans, though. The first white American I talked to in my life turned out to be a blatant racist tourist in a train from Munich to Salzburg. When working for those Texans later on I never really felt like there was much common ground, either. Nor did my German colleague, who quickly moved back to Germany. I guess the differences between our two continents are much greater today than our proposed common European-based history suggests.
By the way, most Europeans including Germans are quite fond of Obama, probably more so than half the American population.
Sorry if you did not like what I wrote, but others understood what I was saying as I received reputation points for that post.
I understood exactly what you were saying...don't act as if your words are above the "simple minded Americans". You seem to think you have a more global view, when actually yours is quite egocentric and narrowminded.
Reputation points...so what? There are plenty of other folks out there just like you who will praise you for your derogatory remarks. That doesn't make them accurate. It's your actual reputation you should be concerned about...and that is the one I outlined earlier.
Well, think of me whatever you like. I am very happy with myself, and I have every reason to be
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But it has improved quite a bit.
Not sure if I can help much..
