Sentiment in Germany towards American's

Euros in general are annoyed with the US with the exception of Italians, Brits, Irish, and a few other countries.

Older Euros tend to be grouchier & more hostile to the US. Younger people are usually cooler except for the usual nutjobs

 

Germans are not particularly "warm and fuzzy" in the 1st place. No offense to any of you that are German, but I've been there twice and that is what I've found, especially vs. Italy.

 

I visit Germany often. Everyone minds their own business and has fun. No one cares where you are from, USA, Canada, Russia or Australia. Only piece of advice that I would give is not to wear a t-shirt with USA on it or carry the US flag while walking down the street. Just tell your step daughter to act normal and not to burst into a patritic speech at the bars or clubs. She will enjoy Hamburg and touring the rest of Germany. Don't be worried.

 

I wouldn't really worry if I were you. I travel to Germany a lot and I don't think your daughter will be in any trouble. German's really don't care if you are American, IMO. Plus, she is going to Hamburg, which is a very rich city and I highly doubt anything will happen.

I was in Frankfurt the other month and everyone was very nice. I usually converse in German when I am there; however, even when I spoke English, there was absolutely no difference in the way I was treated.

 

Scott, I am not German but I was born in Hamburg and lived the first 9 years of my life there. Germans tend to be very formal, especially the older generation. While they may think the same about us as the French, they would never say so in public, least of all to an American.

Hamburg is indeed one of the two most wealthy cities (Munich the other) and is very clean and beautiful. I don't think you daughter has anything to worry about. The younger generation, as someone else pointed out are pretty open minded and really don't care where you are from.

I think what seperates the German's view of us from the French is that the French have a very stuck up inferiority driven complex. The German's on the other hand don't like war or our stance on Iraq based on different factors. The older generation is still haunted by the memory of WWII and the younger generation is still somewhat affected by this.

The outer areas of Hamburg are very beautiful as is the Schleswig Holestein (my German spelling is non-existent) to the North. Also tell her to ask for a tour of the Blankenese area by the harbor, St.. Pauli (for the beer and discos) and the Landungsbrücken.

Regards,

Jon P Kofod
www.flatoutracing.com

 

Dr. T's daughter is going too

 

Same rules apply like anywhere else.

1. Don't be a loud boisterous obnoxious American.

2. At least make some minmal effort to try to blend in, to absorb, to immerse; this comes through clothes, language, and less tangible things like mannerisms and general disposition.

3. Respect the people you're around.

4. Listen more than you talk.

5. Realize that plenty of people live life to its fullest and do just fine without being American.

6. Try and get down to Italy.

6. Most importantly, see #1.

 

She'll be with his family and he's from there........ she'll be fine. 99% of the worry is gone. If she was traveling alone and didn't know anyone, then a lot of this advice you've been receiving applies.

Tell her to take good picts and enjoy. Don't freak her out.........

 

Tell her to buy shoes like they areb wearing there. Nothing screams American like gaudy sneakers

 

make sure she goes on the autobahn as well

 

In Munich and Nurmberg this year, I found the german's to be extremely pleasant. I agree that I would not be an obnoxious or arogant American! I seeked out a lot of directions from the locals and the were all very kind. On the ICE train, I put a newspaper on the seat in front of me to put my feet up. A German guy raised is eyebrows and said "You are not American, are you?".....I said, "yes, from California". He was pleasantly suprised of my etiquite.

 

i'm an american living in london...i was in hamburg last week...it was great...people were very nice, even after hearing my accent...europe is more concerned with GWB rather than the citezens of...i wouldnt worry at all, especially since she will be with natives...

now paris, they will give u attitude there...

 

Exactly. You have to make a distinction between the attitude towards Americans and the feelings about their current administration. The general sentiment in Germany towards people from the US is VERY positive - although you will always find some idiots that project their criticism against some aspects of current US politics towards its individual citizens. But then, this is something which happens in this forum to, when I think about the rants against the French

BTW: When in the US I always enjoyed the friendly atmosphere towards Germans there, too. And I don´t mind psychos like Scott61 with their laughable anti-german rhetoric (but that´s another story in another thread ...).

 

Worst case scenerio tell her to burn a flag or two and would fit right in with the rest of the hating world out there towards the US. What a shame we must face to travel after the US has saved so many lives and enhanced the world on so many levels.

I would tell her to have him come here and spend his Euros here instead of her there. Better in our(your)economy than theres !!

 

You reap what you sow. Politics aside, the reason people outside the U.S. hate us is because of those fat, loud obnoxious 'mericans who think the world is their toilet and treat people like they're put on this earth to serve them. I'M American and I can't stand half of the people who live here!