Customs/Tipping/Etiquette etc
It is usual to greet others when walking into a waiting room (Doctors or Dentists etc), small business or train compartment, with a simple 'Guten Tag' or, 'Gruess Gott'. Greetings (Grüssen) - Grüss Gott are the words you will hear everywhere as a "hello", also "Auf Wiedersehen" as goodbye. You can use Grüss Gott as a greeting most of the time, or if you wish to be more formal you can say "Guten Tag", or Guten Abend (good evening) to people when you are being introduced. Guten Nacht (good night) is only usually used when you actually going to retire for bed.
"The Germans," poet and dramatist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, "make everything difficult, both for themselves and for everyone else." Chances are you will agree with his words at some point during your time in Germany. But the more prepared you are, the less distressing cultural differences will be. Understanding cultural differences is the most important aspect of blending in with your host country, alongside of course, learning the language! The following is given as a guideline of the author's view of the main cultural differences.
Germans are also avid hand-shakers. Not only do they shake hands when meeting someone for the first time, but at every meeting thereafter. Upon arrival at small parties and gatherings, it is not unusual to greet everyone individually with a handshake - and then make the round again when you leave. Never have a hand in your pocket when shaking hands. Always make eye contact. If a female is present in the business meeting, it is more usual to offer the female the handshake first.
When you're invited to a German home, it is customary to bring a gift. The safest tokens of appreciation are bottled, either wine or spirits. Chocolates are another option. If you choose to bring flowers, don't pick red roses - unless you're in love with the host/hostess!
Munich is a very cosmopolitan city, up to 25 percent of the population are visitors from overseas. As a result, foreign restaurants spice up the dining options. There are numerous restaurants of many different types of cuisines, however, in addition to restaurants, there are numerous bar/restaurants serving varied foods (Die Gaststätte), the main difference with these is the Gaststätte will have a bar to sit at, in addition to seated tables.
One main difference between dining in a restaurant and dining in a bar/ Gaststätte , is with the timing of food being served. You will find that in Restaurants your food is brought at the same time for all people in your party, however in a Gaststätte this is very much not the case! The food is brought to your table as/when the Chef has prepared it, and there does not seem to be any general focus on bringing a whole group's meal at the same time. It has been known for a meal to be served after the rest of the group have already received and eaten theirs! The eating of meals in a Gaststätte is generally a more relaxed affair - where people eat their food at different times, and the general 'celebration' is not focussed on the food, as would be in a restaurant.
It is normal to reserve in advance, and on arrival be shown to your table in a restaurant, however it is not customary to be shown to a table in most other eating establishments. Often guests sit down at any unoccupied table or, if the establishment is quite full and there are spaces on used tables, ask if you can take the spare seats (Ist hier Platz frei?) and join the table - they will usually agree, sharing tables with total strangers is common. Beware however, for tables with a 'Reserviert' sign, or those labelled 'Stammtisch', which are reserved for regulars (see below).
Usually when the waiter first comes to your table you would order a drink, and then peruse the menu and order your food after the drink is served. Most bar-restaurants/ Gaststätte have a basket of bread or rolls sitting on the table, these are for customers to help-themselves, however you will be expected to inform the waiter/waitress what you have eaten when paying the bill.
After your food is served, it is polite to wish your fellow diners Guten Appetit. When you have finished eating, how you position your knife and fork sends a message. If you have finished, put the knife and fork together, tips toward the middle of the plate and handles toward your right elbow. Lying them down in a V with the tip facing away from you means you have not finished or may perhaps like another serving.
There is no getting around it - you are bound to need a restroom at some point! When you ask, the simplest phrase is 'Wo ist die Toilette?' Restrooms will in most cases be free for restaurant customers, but some establishments the toilets will be 'waited on' (especially the ladies restrooms) where a donation will be expected, usually a contribution of about 25 Eurocent. The money goes toward keeping the facility stocked and clean - a small price to pay!
The German dining and celebration culture very much revolves around alcohol. It only takes one visit to a German festival, like the famous Oktoberfest, for visitors to realize that it is nothing more than a big beer party. When it comes to alcohol consumption, Germans are No. 1. The average German drinks 12.1 litres of pure alcohol per year. It is much more common to have beer or wine with dinner than a soda or water. This is no surprise, as southern Germany produces some of the best wine and beer in the world, and once you have the opportunity to sample the some of the Bavarian brews, it is very hard to go back to a British pint of lager!
Having a drink with your German friends means toasting, and lots of it! In a group setting, when you order your first drink, all people in the group should wait until everybody has received their glass; then you jointly toast your first drink together. Thereafter, you will hear calls to toast 'Prost' (or Zum Wohl) - almost continuously. When everyone raises a glass, be sure to clink with each person and make eye contact as you do so.
If you visit a bar, you do not immediately order and purchase a drink at the bar itself, but find a seat and wait for a waiter/waitress to serve you, you do not pay immediately either. Usually your beer-mat (decker) will be marked with your drinks each time you order and you settle-up at the end of the evening. However, if you circulate around a bar or move to a new table, your waiter/waitress may well ask you to settle your bill immediately.
Please note, this seemingly relaxed way of not paying a bill in a bar until the end of the evening comes as some surprise to UK visitors. It is important to understand that the Germans work very much on a trust basis; when you order your drink with your waiter/waitress, he/she actually buys this from the bar to give to you, therefore it is the waiting staff who lose out if you unwittingly forget to settle your bill at the end of the evening.
When you are ready to pay, you should ask your waiter/waitress for the bill 'bezahlen bitte', it is standard for waiting staff to ask if the bill is to be paid altogether, or each individual separately (zusammen oder getrennt). Depending on whether you are in a restaurant or a bar/ Gaststätte, there may be a 10% service charge already added to your bill. In all cases it is normal to always round-up the bill, and any tip above this is at your discretion (however a tip of €2 is acceptable, and a €5 tip would be very good).
