Andere Länder, Andere Sitten

[LavCat]

Next month two of my colleagues and I expect to be in Stuttgart on business. I have never been to Germany and it has been quite a few years since I have been anywhere in Europe. I am looking for information on customs, particularly business customs, as well as things like what gratuities are expected in hotels and restaurants.

Our company's business attire is jeans and t-shirt (for more formal occasions). In addition I plan to pack a skirt and jacket, some sweaters, and to bring a bathing suit and winter coat.

Advice on food is welcome too!

[Yrrek]

Eat as much Schnitzel as possible. And Torten. The wurst is amazing also.

I can't really give you more information than that, since I haven't been in 16 years. (I was 2 when we moved back to USA). In fact, I was born in Stuttgart! Let me know what you think!

[LochnarITB]

The wurst is amazing also.
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Oh my, I was in Germany with my high school choir in 1975. We never went to restaurants. About half the time we stayed with families so we ate family dinners. The other half we stayed in hostels. Then we lived on junk food. In most cities, you would find carts selling white bratwurst, grilled so they had little charred spots on them, served on hard rolls. No American hot dog could hold a candle to them. We scrounged grocery stores for stuff for at the hostel and on the bus. Gummis weren't really known here yet so that was my major discovery. I brought back big bags to wow family and friends. We also lived on their chocolate, these tubes of cookies that were two round wafers with chocolate smeared between them and a drink that I think was called Orangeina, which we sucked down by the liter. It certainly wasn't gourmet but was fantastic fodder for a bus full of high school students.

[Assur]

Hi

Stuttgart can be pretty cold in November (chance of snow). Business attire is pretty conservative, jeans/T-shirt usually make the wrong impression (depends on the business you're in)

In restaurants and pubs/bars I usually tip around 10%, if the service is bad nothing. In hotels, if I check-in/sleep/check-out nothing.

German food can be very good, but it's difficult to find places that serve it, if you want to stay on the safe side eat Italian.

Hope that helps

P.S. Punctuality is considered very important!

P.P.S. Smoking is more widespread and accepted than in the states. People will happily smoke whilst you are eating in a restaurant!!

[Armin]

Next month two of my colleagues and I expect to be in Stuttgart on business.  I have never been to Germany and it has been quite a few years since I have been anywhere in Europe.  I am looking for information on customs, particularly business customs, as well as things like what gratuities are expected in hotels and restaurants.

Our company's business attire is jeans and t-shirt (for more formal occasions).  In addition I plan to pack a skirt and jacket, some sweaters, and to bring a bathing suit and winter coat.

Advice on food is welcome too!
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Some additions:

As Assur mentioned, business attire is generally expected to be formal. A suit and tie (for men) and a skirt, blouse and jacket (for women) the usual uniform for negotiations. UNLESS you're in the IT or some "creative" business (advertisement, music or TV and the like). Then you can pretty much get away with a loincloth :P
Also, being American, you'll be cut some more slack, as your German business partners will know that dress code is a lot less formal in the US.

But you certainly can't overdress ;)

Punctuality, yes, even if cliche, is still a German virtue :whistling:

Tipping in restaurants is generally less than in the US, as service IS included in all prices (and the prices, you'll notice, show B) ). Most people round up to the next full Euro, more than 10% only if service was exeptionally good.
In hotels, leaving a tip for the maid is not the custom, neither is tipping the desk clerk. A Euro for the bellhop carrying your luggage might be in order, though.

As for Stuttgart itself (I've been there a few times lately) heed Assur's warning: It can, on occasion, be bitter cold on the Swabian Alb in November. I've spent my basic military training there from October to December, trust me, I know :P. More likely, though is rain and fog. Also, from all German cities I know Stuttgart is probably the worst to navigate with a car if you're a stranger. Use a cab or bus/streetcar rather than a rental car. Several major roads run underground in Stuttgart, and even after the 3rd time there I still tend to get lost. Finding a place to park can be a nightmare anyway. :P

Often, in big german cities, it's easier to find a good Italian, Thai, Chinese or Greek Restaurant than a good "traditionally" German one. In Swabia, try "Spätzle" that's kind of the "regional national dish". Type of hand-made, thick pasta that I prefer to spaghetti any day :rolleyes: . Prices in restaurants are generally VERY high compared to the US.

The traditional German fast foods (Bratwurst and Currywurst) have been pretty much replaced by "Döner Kebap", brought by immigrants from Turkey. In most cities, it's easier nowadays to find a Döner stand than a McDonalds... :D

Say, if your company's attire is jeans and t-shirt for more formal occasions, what do you wear to casual occasions? Bikinis? :P

[LavCat]

Say, if your company's attire is jeans and t-shirt for more formal occasions, what do you wear to casual occasions? Bikinis?  :P
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Shorts and a tank top or well worn t-shirt for me. We make computer cameras.

[eppie]

Hi

Stuttgart can be pretty cold in November (chance of snow). Business attire is pretty conservative, jeans/T-shirt usually make the wrong impression (depends on the business you're in)

In restaurants and pubs/bars I usually tip around 10%, if the service is bad nothing. In hotels, if I check-in/sleep/check-out nothing.

German food can be very good, but it's difficult to find places that serve it, if you want to stay on the safe side eat Italian.

Hope that helps

P.S. Punctuality is considered very important!

P.P.S. Smoking is  more widespread and accepted than in the states. People will happily smoke whilst you are eating in a restaurant!!
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German food and good?? Well it is "better" than traditional dutch food, that is for sure, but it is mainly large quantities of meat and potatoes. The spatzli are nice though, I like them. Tha fact is I'm vegetarian, and then germany is not the place to be.

For the rest german cities are nice to walk around in I find. Clean and enough place to drink a good beer. And don't forget the wine. They make some nice wine on the banks of the rhine a bit more to the south. I'm sure you can get it in Stuttgart as well, makes also a nice present to take back. I also find germans are not so rude as dutch people in traffic, it is more like in the states I find. (also the average size of the cars should make you feel at home :D )

Have a nice time there,

eppie

[ergates]

Hi,

as I am a German and since I am living only about 1 hour from Stuttgart I feel an obligation to answer this. ^_^

Regarding customs there are lots of small and not so small differences between typical German and US customs, especially when it comes to negotiations/discussions. But in my experience Germans are quite tolerant when facing other customs, so you may only need to be prepared to cope with a different style (e.g. pain points/problems are often addressed very bluntly by Germans; a German having a very stern and concerned expression does not mean anything (that's normal! :lol: )).

In a restaurant I usually tip about 10%, more if the service was outstanding, nothing at all if the service or the quality of the food was lacking. I never tip in hotels I reside in for less than a week.


If I meet up with German customers (I am working for a large German IT business) I usually ask (e.g. via email) for an expected dress code before meeting up, in case it is not obvious (meeting with senior management usually requires a formal dress, not jeans and t-shirt... ;) ). Generally I would suggest to bring a formal dress in any case.


Regarding the food: You will have a much easier time in finding good Italian, Greek, Yugoslavian, Chinese, Turkish, ... restaurants than a good German one.



HTH,
ergates

[kandrathe]

When I travel in Europe I don't want to be treated as the cliche' American, so I try to dress European. For me this means slacks, leather shoes, shirt, jacket and optional tie. If you are in the larger cities then fashion is also a consideration. My experience is that most American men are ignorant of any fashion trend. Jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, sportswear, and tennis shoes scream American.

For Germany specifically, and you must understand that I come from an area of the US that is populated with Germans, Norwegians and Swedes; :-)

Not just punctuality, but rules in general are very important. If the sign says "XYZ" you should do "XYZ" because if you don't someone will point it out to you. I discovered this many times while in Germany. Once, I was stopped at a train crossing where a sign said "Turn off engines while waiting for the train." Well, when I got to a stop I saw that the train would pass within a minute or so, so I did not follow the letter of the sign. Within moments of me stopping and not shutting down my engine, the horns were honking and lights flashing at me indicating to me to shut off my engine. Another time at a sidewalk cafe my wife took more than one napkin as she was always used to grabbing whatever she wanted in the US. Also, she then got a lecture on conservation. So my advice is to begin to culturally get inside the German psyche, which I find to be very ordered and revels in its adherence to detail and order. Conservation is crucial and waste is not very well tolerated.

[Armin]

The 3 golden rules for Europe:

- In Germany, everything that's not explicitly allowed is forbidden...

- In France, everything that's not explicitly forbidden is allowed...

- In Italy, everything is allowed, even if explicitly forbidden...

;)

[LochnarITB]

- In Italy, everything is allowed, even if explicitly forbidden...
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Hmm, I wonder if there is enough room on the credit card for a one way flight to Italy....

[LavCat]

Thanks everyone! We are off for Germany tomorrow. I should start packing, but I'm not sure all my Diablo characacters are refreshed. Assuming we make it back alive I will post an update.

[Occhidiangela]

The 3 golden rules for Europe:

- In Germany, everything that's not explicitly allowed is forbidden...

- In France, everything that's not explicitly forbidden is allowed...

- In Italy, everything is allowed, even if explicitly forbidden...

;)
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E la vera!

Occhi

[gothmog]

When I travel in Europe I don't want to be treated as the cliche' American, so I try to dress European.  For me this means slacks, leather shoes, shirt, jacket and optional tie.  If you are in the larger cities then fashion is also a consideration.  My experience is that  most American men are ignorant of any fashion trend.  Jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, sportswear, and tennis shoes scream American..
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Everyone under 30 runs around in sports shoes, T-shirt/dress shirt and Jeans in Germany. Leather shoes and slacks/suit is only worn on formal occasions or if required as business attire.

[Rinnhart]

Oh my, I was in Germany with my high school choir in 1975.  We never went to restaurants.  About half the time we stayed with families so we ate family dinners.  The other half we stayed in hostels.  Then we lived on junk food.  In most cities, you would find carts selling white bratwurst, grilled so they had little charred spots on them, served on hard rolls.  No American hot dog could hold a candle to them.  We scrounged grocery stores for stuff for at the hostel and on the bus.  Gummis weren't really known here yet so that was my major discovery.  I brought back big bags to wow family and friends.  We also lived on their chocolate, these tubes of cookies that were two round wafers with chocolate smeared between them and a drink that I think was called Orangeina, which we sucked down by the liter.  It certainly wasn't gourmet but was fantastic fodder for a bus full of high school students.
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<3

[LochnarITB]

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:wub: :wub: :wub:

[Fragbait]

Hi,

I may be wrong here, but as far as I am informed, this is an Italian orange lemonade... It has pieces of fruit in it, and is widespread in the northern regions of Italy. For the southern regions, I cannot tell. If you're searching a German soft drink, try Afri-Cola and orange lemonades like Libella, Glorietta and such.

Greetings, Fragbait

[Kylearan]

Hi,

I may be wrong here, but as far as I am informed, this is an Italian orange lemonade...

It's a French lemonade, and extremely widespread there.

-Kylearan

[LochnarITB]

I may be wrong here, but as far as I am informed, this is an Italian orange lemonade... It has pieces of fruit in it, and is widespread in the northern regions of Italy.
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Hmm, you're right. However, when I looked at the main Orangina site, the large bottle is exactly what I pictured (it has been 30 years though). The description of the drink is right on too. It is a "sparkling" orange drink with pulp (pieces of fruit?). The strange part is that the site for Orangina/Schweppes says it wasn't sold outside France until 1985, 10 years after my trip to Germany. It must have been a widespread copycat. That is very likely considering its apparent popularity in France prior to 1985. Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for 1975.....