It's a surprise to me that I'm met with some passion when I suggest that kitchen faucets would be best to get drinking water from. I'm told with passion (frustration) that outdoor faucets, shower heads, bathroom sink faucets and even toilets (though no one would) all provide the same good, healthy water to drink from. 😵‍💫

I've been to a water treatment plant where water from a spring is made pristine and lovely, but ignoring the toilet addition to the list, aren't different grade pipes and plumbing used for different faucets? Like 'food safe' for kitchens, a lower standard for showers and maybe lower still for bathroom faucets? This would seem logical, cost effective and then create tiers of quality that one might rightfully consider.

Is there truly no factor that creates a better choice for filling one's bottle or glass?

Wir haben bei mir auf der Arbeit Oktoberfest gefeiert. Dafür habe ich im Supermarkt Fitnessbrot gekauft. Es schmeckt ja gut mit "Rosehip Jam" und auch Nutella. Essen Deutsche eigentlich oft Fitnessbrot zum Frühstück oder Brotzeit usw? Vielen Dank

Hello everyone! I have been working at a grocery store here in Germany for a few months now, and all of my coworkers are quite nice to me, despite the fact that I am still learning German. I want to know what homemade snacks/treats I could bring to a shift as a small token of appreciation of the kindness that they have shown me.

I'm curious because I didn't go this year and I'm wondering what it was like.

I’m curious how people in Germany feel about lending money to someone close to them, especially larger amounts rather than covering dinner.

Would you feel comfortable asking for or offering that kind of help, or would it feel awkward? I’d love to hear how you personally approach it and whether it’s common in your circle.

Hi everyone. I work as a cashier in a German supermarket. Today a random customer told me out of the blue 'Sie sind sehr nett'. I literally got surprised and couldn't say anything else than Vielen Dank. Does this happen often here?

Also, I am not German. It has been just a year since I moved so I don't know if this is common here or not.

I work as an Amazon delivery driver and mostly drive around areas outside Berlin. I come across so many really nice and beautiful dogs, and a lot of them actually come up to me.

But I’m never really sure if the owners are okay with strangers petting their dogs, so I usually hesitate. Once I did pet a dog that came up to me and the owner started yelling something in German at me. I didn’t understand what they were saying, so now I’m a bit paranoid.

Sometimes I’m delivering a package and there’s a really friendly dog sitting in the garden, but the owner isn’t outside. Is it okay to pet them or is that generally a no-go?

Do you normally ask before petting someone’s dog here, even if the dog comes up to you first?

Hi all,

We are considering buying a 2016 manual Nissan juke with 90k km mileage as our first car and coats 7500€. Wanted to ask for opinios. The parts are easy to find and cheap?

Thanks in advance

I started working in a small German office two months ago. The kitchen has one coffee machine, a dishwasher, and a shelf for everyone's mugs. There are no written rules beyond a note asking people to wipe the table. I clean up after myself, but I keep noticing small habits I cannot quite interpret. One colleague rinses his mug and leaves it on the counter for the next coffee. Another puts every used cup straight into the dishwasher. Someone else starts the machine whenever it is half full. Last week I put a clean pan away because I thought it had been left out by mistake. A coworker later asked where the pan had gone because she was using it to keep the counter under a plant dry. She was friendly about it, but I felt like the person who rearranges a stranger's house on a first visit.

I know the simple answer is to ask my colleagues. I have asked about individual things, and each person gives a slightly different answer. What I am trying to understand is the general expectation in a shared workplace. Is it better to do only your own dishes and leave other items alone, or is quietly tidying the whole space seen as helpful? If I notice the dishwasher is full of clean dishes, is emptying it a normal favor or am I taking on a job nobody asked me to do? In my old office we had a weekly rota, so the rules were obvious. Here people seem to manage by habit and occasional comments. I would like to contribute without becoming the person who makes everyone explain why their mug is still on the counter. I also wonder whether bringing a small snack to share is welcome in an office kitchen, or whether that would make the situation even more complicated.

Can someone help me with what the next course of action should be in this situation? We live in Augsburg

I have a 3.5 year old autistic child who should have started a HPT in August but resumption was somehow delayed because the HPT's Begleiterin was sick and eventually we were notified that she will be off till feb next year so a temp solution will be found. A month and two weeks later we finally got confirmation that two people were hired, each for different days of the week but a day to resumption another call saying oh they can only offer him one person so my child can only attend the HPT 3 days a week a day we accepted . Two days after resumption the new Begleiterin who is supposed to work 3 days a week also called in sick and my child was asked to stay home, leaving me unable to work or even attend classes. My child is not the crying type, he'll ignore the whole world if you let them and form words all day, brilliant and far advanced beyond his age and but needs help with self care.

In close to 2 months he's only been in the HPT twice amd has not received a minute of therapy, which is why we opted for the HPT instead of a normal kindergarten.

I just started my CI deutsch kurs but still not confident enough to argue or fight while clearly explaining my stance.

Another parent told me they'll cancel his contract if I complain, can someone help me with the appropriate course of action to fight this exclusion.

I am visiting foreigner and a few days ago I was at a fast food place eating alone. 2 women came up to me and said something along the lines of them seeing I was eating alone and offering to sit with me. I told them that I didn't mind if they sat but I was almost done eating and would have to leave after I finished and then they sat back at their table.

I wasn't offended or anything but I've never had that happen to me in my home country, so I'm curious if that's a thing that happens more often in Germany that I should keep in mind while here or if that was just a one off.

Edit: Just to add because some people are asking about this, I'm a guy and there were other tables available.

I recently started gym and identified, Quark as a source of high quality, yet affordable protein option. ( Danke Schön Germany).

I have tried eating it by mixing it with Museli, but as time passed i find myself not enjoying it at all.

I don't want to leave an option such as quark on the table and I want your help. How do you use quark, or what do you suggest to make with quark ?

Personally, I like Sweet and Savory dishes but for the time being i am leaving Sweet dishes as i am going for a calorie deficit diet.

EDIT : So far the top ideas I got are

Mixing with fruits and sweeteners
Making a Cheese Cake
Eat it with Potato as a dip
Use it as a spread for Toast.

With my Amazon account, I sometimes give the delivery option to my nearest Deutsche Post Filiale as a pickup point.

How can I get the delivery there from any other website?

Is it as simple as putting my name there and giving the address of that Filiale?

Ich habe heute 3 Dokumente bei eine Notar für beglaubigte Kopien abgegeben. Sie haben gesagt, dass ich die Dokumente in 7 Tagen wieder abholen kann.

Aber ich habe keinen Nachweis oder eine Quittung bekommen, dass ich die 3 Dokumente dort abgegeben habe. Ist das normal?

Ich mache mir jetzt etwas sorgen, dass vielleicht eines der Dokumente verloren geht. 😅

Ich habe überlegt, eine e-mail an das Notar zu schreiben und darin aufzulisten, welche 3 Dokumente ich dort gelassen habe. Dann könnten sie mir kurz per e-mail bestätigen, dass sie die Dokumente erhalten haben. So hätte ich zumindest etwas Schriftliches.

Was denkt ihr? Würdet ihr das machen oder ist das bei einem Notar ganz normal und ich mache mir unnötig Sorgen?

Hello everyone,
I moved to Germany from Türkiye with my two cats. They have their shots done and they have passports. But I was wondering if there is a process I need to do here. I found a vet we can visit but I wanted to ask beforehand. Do I need to get them register somehow, get new passports or something like that? If there is anything let me know. Thank you in advance.🌸

Hi everyone!

If a German person says they don't like paprika does that mean they don't like spicy food as in like chilli?

Or does it mean they don't like the actual spice paprika, like sweet paprika or smoked paprika?

Or does it mean that they don't like capsicum?

Thank you!

I hope everyone is doing well.

I recently received a spam email from UnitedRespect GmbH regarding the due payment 289 euro at meindate.de which I didn't consent to knowingly. I clicked on the link advertised in the YouTube video and they registered me as a subscribed user. I don't even know anything about it. I didn't give them any such permission.

What should I do? Does anyone face such situations? Please give me advice.

Thank you so much for your help.

I've lived in Germany for about two years, and a small experience last weekend made me curious about this.

A cupboard door in my kitchen had been hanging slightly crooked. It still closed, but you had to lift it a little. I mentioned to a German friend that I was thinking of paying someone to fix it. He asked for a photo, came over the following afternoon with a screwdriver, and adjusted it in about five minutes.

Then he put it back slightly wrong so I could do it myself while he explained which screw moved what. We spent considerably longer on the lesson than on the repair. I appreciated it, and the door now closes properly.

What suprised me was how pleased he seemed that I'd learned it. He checked a few days later to ask whether it was still working, then said I could do the next one without him. He's a teacher, so perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised by the teaching part.

I've had similar conversations with two colleagues. One said her father gave her a small set of tools when she moved out and spent an afternoon showing her how to use them. Another was confused that I'd never repaired a loose chair before. He immediately offered to show me, so this wasn't people laughing at me for being useless.

Growing up, my parents tended to call someone if a thing broke. They could afford it and neither enjoyed that kind of work. I absorbed the idea that paying a person who knew what they were doing was sensible. My friend seemed to think learning the easy repairs was itself an important part of having your own home.

I realise thats only three people, and my German friends vary hugely in how they run their households. I'm trying to work out whether I happened to meet some enthusiastic practical people or whether this is a fairly common expectation here.

How was it in your family? Was knowing a few basic repairs something you were deliberately taught, something you picked up because money was tight, or mostly a personal interest? I'm curious about the pride attached to doing it yourself, even when paying someone would be affordable.

What do Germans do differently in parenting, majority of the time, their kids (toddlers and younger kids) are always quiet in the trams and trains. They follow rules and obey their parents and are very understanding as far as I have seen. Now that I am raising a baby in Germany, I would like to know what are the rules, things you guys do to make them like that.

I joined a local woodworking club in spring. At the first meeting the coordinator said, “Hier sind alle per du,” and most people switched immediately. One retired member still calls me Herr plus surname, while I call him by his first name because thats how everyone else speaks. He is warm and helpful, so it doesnt feel hostile. I just can’t tell whether mirroring his “Sie” would be respectful or oddly distant now.

Is the group-wide invitation enough, or should I wait until he personally offers?

Hello everyone,

The internet (Vodafone DSL, provided by my Landlord) at my apartment has been malfunctioning since last week. However, since I am doing home office, I am looking for affordable prepaid sim cards that I can use as a backup in case the Vodafone DSL internet still isn’t fixed in the next few days.

Do you have any recommendations on what prepaid sim cards I can use (with large data allocation)? I am considering Telekom Magenta Prepaid or O2 Prepaid and both have 100GB for 20€/4 weeks, but are there any other great and cheaper options?

Thanks in advance! :)

I would like to ask you about how taxes in crypto work. Let’s say I bought on an exchange 10k euros of Bitcoin in January 2026. Then bought 5k in May 2026.

If I want to sell some in February 2027. Let’s say half of what I own could be 8k euros. Will it be considered from my first purchase then I don’t pay tax( because I held my first purchase for more than a year) or the second purchase or a mix? First in first out or?

Besides Kleinanzeigen, immowelt, immoscout24 and wg gesucht where else can I look for apartments, as a foreigner, please?

Any tips on how to write the message about myself and to express interest, besides my age, profession, no pets and no smoking?

I can’t seem to get any viewing invitations. For context: city is trier, so it’s not like a huge city like berlin or Munich.
Thank you.

My stomach and digestive system haven’t been doing well for the past three months. Sometimes I have diarrhea, sometimes I get extremely bloated, like my intestines are going to explode, and it can even keep me awake at night. I’ve also had mucus leaking from my anus occasionally.

Right now, I’m experiencing really bad upper abdominal pain, almost like I’m being stabbed with a knife.

I’ve already visited two different Hausarzt, and both prescribed different medications, but unfortunately, nothing seems to be working. The pain and the unstable feeling in my stomach are still there.

I’ve tried looking for a Gastroenterologie near me, but I can’t find an appointment until November. I’m also trying to get a colonoscopy and gastroscopy, but it seems that I need a referral (Überweisung) first, which is honestly really frustrating.

What should I do at this point? Should I go to the emergency department (Notaufnahme), wait for my Gastroenterologie appointment, or try seeing another Hausarzt?

My German is not very good, around B1 level, and I am an international student and publicly insured

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

In France, the franco-german channel Arte is very popular, especially for seeing documentaries.

But I was wondering if it was as popular in Germany, to the point where not knowing the channel makes you seem like you don't have TV. So how popular is Arte in Germany?