Just like every country and its people, Germany and Germans have thin tolerance or in a way no tolerance to a certain chunk of things. These can be either your words or your actions. I have experienced some of them personally, and have learned the hard way, and some of them I have just heard from experiences of my very close friends and relatives. Here’s a list 5 things you should not do or say when in Germany.

1. Do not be late. Punctuality runs in the blood of Germans. You will be in a terrible situation if you lose track of your time and get to an appointment later than finalized.
2. Do not write to someone strange using their first name and especially not with a Hallo or Liebe in the greetings. Use the formal version of greetings like Sehr geeherte/r Frau/Mann depending upon who you are addressing your email/message to. In case of a phone call stick to the Frau/Herr Surname version while addressing.
3. Do not walk on the cycle lanes. I have experienced it, and learned from it, yet I forget at times and I have been given – at times terrible expressions. Cycle lanes are not to walk, as cyclists drive at a higher speed than you can walk.
4. Do not wish anyone birthday before the day. It is considered as a bad omen. I never did it, but have been in a situation where someone wished someone and that did not end so well.
5. If you can drive in Germany (be happy :), not many can) then stick to the right lane – almost always and all times. Go to the left lane only and only if you want to overtake. If you do not do this, you will not have happy times driving in here. Believe me, I learned this one too the hard way.

🙂