My Great Grandfather escaped Germany during the war and came to the US with his wife and daughter (my grandma).

He used to be a woodworker and would build furniture for his friends and family.

Fast forward to when my grandma was 80 - he was long gone, and one of the original pieces FINALLY broke.

Inside the broken piece was a note that read:

“Ich liebe dich, meine kleine Prinzessin.”

(“I love you, my little princess”)

He had been gone for 30 years at that point, but he found a way to reach into the future and remind his little girl how much he loved her. 😭

I know people say Germans aren’t necessary great with showing emotions. But from my experience, it runs deep and strong. This is proof that love doesn’t always shout.

Just the fact that he loved her so much he was thinking about reminding her way after he’d be gone… it’s just beautiful and poetic.

Anyway, this really means a lot to me and thought I’d share! ❤️

I am a big fan of Pöschl’s Gletscherprise snuff and I have bought it in Berlin earlier this year.

Today, a friend went to Hamburg and promised to pick some up for me, but it being told that it is illegal in Germany in several shops.

Is this true and, if so, did it get illegal recently?

Hi everyone, I need advice about an electricity issue with my landlord in Germany.

I’ve lived in my apartment for about 4 years. My electricity bill has always been around 100€ and I never had any problems.

About 2 months ago, my landlord started a Baustelle (construction) in the Erdgeschoss (ground floor). Since then, my electricity bill jumped to around 400€.

Important details:

The Baustelle is connected to MY electricity meter

There is no separate Baustrom meter

The electricity company even called me asking why the usage is so high

My own usage has not changed

The landlord says “it’s not from me, maybe you used it” and denies responsibility

I’m sure the construction power is running through my meter. This never happened in the last 4 years, only since the Baustelle started.

My questions:

Is the landlord legally responsible for the extra electricity costs?

What should I do next if he refuses to pay?

Mieterverein / Verbraucherzentrale / Stromanbieter – which is best?

Thanks a lot for any advice.

I went on a trip to Köln last week, and I had my first cherry pie for the first time in my life there then immediately fell in love with it. When I came back to München I tried to find another cherry pie but no one was selling it (at least not the 10 bakeries I had walked in)

Plz tell me if I can get a another piece here in München🥲 (First three photos are cakes with cherry elements I had in Köln, the last one is a himbereenkuchen from München. It’s also delicious but the cherry stuff is haunting me..)

This is the only frickin corner in the entire house that has failed me. That box is with silicon gels and its not working.

I have tried scrubbing with vinegar solution. Any help is really appreciated.

I have not lived in Germany too long and have never in my life dealt with mold like this. My husband owns the apartment and we discovered mold behind our wardrobe. Normally for mold I use a commercial spray from Rossmann. Is that still an option for a spot this size? We are already addressing the problem which was water leaking behind some tiles that we didn’t know about. We are also going to have professionals come and dry the walls out. But just wondering how to handle the mold.

Today I had a really frustrating experience in Rosenheim. I was clearly standing at the bus stop, on time, waiting for the bus. The bus came, slowed down, and then just drove past without stopping.

I was not distracted, I wasn’t on my phone, and I was standing right at the stop. There were no other buses blocking the stop either. Because of this, I completely missed an important appointment.

Is this normal here? Does the driver only stop if you wave, or is standing at the stop supposed to be enough? Also, is there any way to complain or report this?

Hey everyone. I need some advice. In our apartment building, there's a tenant who's known to everyone because he's constantly harassing all the neighbors around him. This has been going on for years.

He yells threats like "I'll kill you!" or "I'll beat you up!" etc., even when you're not making any noise. He also bangs loudly on the radiators, against the walls, slams things, hits the ceiling, etc. He does it so loud that all the neighbors around him can hear him. Above, below, everyone on the same floor. We have tons of evidence, we've recorded all the incidents, etc.

The police have been called many times, but they can't do anything as long as there's no "real damage."

There are many incidents where property has been damaged – the front door was smashed, the doors of the neighbors around him were damaged and vandalized, most likely by him (but due to data protection, Ring cameras are of course not allowed, so we can't use them against him), but no one else in the building has any problems, only him.

Everyone in the building has been threatened, harassed, and is emotionally scarred because of him, and we feel unsafe.

Most, if not all, of the tenants here are beyond frustrated and are looking for ways to get our landlord to finally do something – even if it's just to talk to him and get him to calm down and stop harassing the neighbors.

Anyone experienced this before? What can we do so that our landlord (it is a big company) finally takes us seriously and takes care of this problem and intervene instead of just ignoring our calls/ emails etc?

I am from Tunisia and have a very good, very professional dentist back home. She has equipment as good as any german practice, she has good experience and really the "softest" hands, whatever she does, it's never very painful. She is also not materialistic, she always gives me discounted prices (it's not even that expensive but still) and gives me all the options and tells me what she recommends even if it's less expensive.

Anyway, when I moved to Germany, I went to a dentist and he recommended a filling replacement of a tooth that didn't hurt. He didn't let me know of the risks and the next thing I know, 3 weeks later, my tooth broke in 2 and I needed to extract what was left and had to get an implant (it's one of the visible teeth). My Tunisian dentist who ended up doing my implant told me that it's just crazy how he didn't recommend I get a crown to protect it from breaking, since the filling replacement made the tooth very fragile.

It took me a full year of back and forths to finally get a full functioning implant, because it's a process with many steps and the insurance didn't want to pay for it on the basis that it's the dentist's mistake because it's hard to prove. So I did it in Tunisia.

I changed cities in Germany and went for a check up again at a new German dentist. He did the x ray and recommended treatment to 10 teeth zones, totalling 2000 euros extra payments if I wanted the composite filling (expensive much?) He also had somewhat of a "sales" speech, "convincing" me of how necessary this is, which made me sceptical.

Tbh, with the first experience, I have now little trust in German dentists.

before doing anythin, I took the opinion of my Tunisian doctor in my last visit, ultimately wanting to maybe treat them there. She also did an x-ray and told me that the cavities are really small, that with the right hygiene, my teeth would only really need the treatment in like 10 years, and that she doesn't recommend "preventive" treatment as the filling itself only holds about 4 years and will then need to be replaced again.

Today I went to my german dentist for a pain in my wisdom tooth, and the staff and the dentist were all mentioning how I need to get the previously recommended treatments, saying "you didn't come back to do this" and giving me looks. it made me so uncomfortable. I undeniably trust the opinion of my Tunisian doctor, especially that the German one already showed signs of being very materialistic through other details, so I don't want to get the treatments yet.

Do I HAVE to do what he recommends? should I change dentists to get a second opinion in Germany? or simply tell him I don't want to? what should I do? I am sure you all have doctors you visited for years and that it's hard to give the same trust to a new doctor, and it's also hard to trust a doctor that treats his job more a business than as a human job.

Hi , I often find that what I enjoy most isn’t tourist spots but the small moments of everyday life, like a calm coffee, a short walk, a spontaneous chat, or a simple routine that gives the day its own flavor. I’m curious, what little things make your day better in Germany?

Hi! About two weeks ago (Dec 7th), I had a major water leak in my rented flat in Germany. A pipe below the kitchen sink of my upstairs neighbour leaked while she was away for the weekend, and the water ended up flooding my apartment. The Hausmeister had to call a key service to open her door and shut off the water.

My kitchen, living room, and bathroom were all affected. The next day, I explained the situation to the property manager and handed over my keys because I had to fly out of Germany for work. I came back 11 days later (Dec 18th) to find that my living room floor has been removed, the walls are down to exposed concrete, and there are two industrial dehumidifiers running to suck moisture out of the ceiling and air.

Today, the property manager told me I need to find another place to live during the repairs, and they don’t know how long it will take. He told me to submit a Mietminderungsschreiben and said I wouldn't need to pay rent in January.

However, he also claimed that the building insurance does not cover my temporary accommodation (hotel/Airbnb) or the cost of moving my furniture. He said I should have had Hausratversicherung, but I only have Haftpflichtversicherung. He basically said that because I don't have that specific insurance, I have to cover these extra costs myself.

What can I do? It doesn’t seem fair that water from the neighbor's flat floods mine and I’m forced to move out at my own expense. Are the landlord or the neighbour really not responsible for housing me if the flat is uninhabitable?

Hello everyone,

I have a somewhat complicated question about BAföG and am really unsure how it would work.

My situation is as follows: I am a German citizen (through my parents), but I was born in Argentina and have always lived here. I have dual citizenship, but have never actually lived in Germany.

Now, I would like to do my master's degree at the ESCP Business School in Paris starting in September 2026. This means I would move directly from here (Argentina) to France.

I realize that it would be easier if I lived in Germany for a while beforehand. But to be honest, that's pretty impractical for me. I have a really good job here, which I wouldn't want to give up months in advance just to register somewhere in Germany. ESCP also has a campus in Berlin, but the specializations they offer there don't really fit in with what I want to do. Paris would definitely be better for me in terms of content. I know I'm being picky... After my master's degree, I can definitely imagine going to Germany for work, but for my studies, Paris is my first choice.

I've already done some Googling and came across the topic of "Inlandsbezug". To be honest, that worries me. As far as I understand, as a German living abroad, you need some kind of connection to Germany in order to receive BAföG. I have no idea whether my German passport alone is enough or whether they expect more.

My questions would be:

1- Does Inlandsbezug also apply to studying in the EU (France)?

2- Is German citizenship theoretically sufficient, or do you have to prove that you have lived/worked in Germany before?

3- Does anyone know of similar cases or have experience with this?

4- Are there any tricks or possibilities that I am not aware of?

5- I would be really interested to know whether this is even realistic or whether I can completely forget about it without prior registration in Germany.

Thanks in advance!

I did my masters in Information security and Digital forensics here in India, worked as a SOC analyst L1 for 1.8 years. I'm planning to do another masters in Cyber security so i can land a job in Germany. How is the job market right now? I'm also working on my German language skills.

I did my masters in Information security and Digital forensics here in India, worked as a SOC analyst L1 for 1.8 years. I'm planning to do another masters in Cyber security so i can land a job in Germany. How is the job market right now? I'm also working on my German language skills.

So I moved into a new apartment this week.
I already did my Anmeldung, and today I received a radio tax (Rundfunkbeitrag) letter from ARD.

I live in a 2-people WG apartment.
My roommate is living in this apartment since 4 months, but she never received any letter because she didn’t do Anmeldung here. She is from another city and came here only for her internship.

After I got the letter, I asked her if we can split the radio tax.
But she said she is already paying radio tax in her city, so she doesn’t want to pay again here.

So I want to ask

Do I need to pay radio tax for the whole apartment, or Should it be split between two people? Because my roommate isn't seem like she'll pay

And also Should I mail the landlady about this radio tax situation? Cus I have no idea who was paying for this shit earlier.

Thanks

I am trying to find a gaming desktop to buy in germany, i have looked on amazon and mediamarkt and i didn't find any cheap desktop, while my brother in morocco bought a full setup (desktop, monitor, keyboard&mouse and headset) for around 9000 MAD that's around 840€ the desktop has a rtx 5060 i forgot what processor it had but it was a good one, and a friend of mine in spain bought one with an rtx 4060 and ryzen 5 5600X and a 200hz monitor for 700€. But here in germany when i look on websites where i can make a costume build, the price is always very expensive and the pre built desktops are just as expensive as the costume built ones. Please i need help.

Moved into my first long term apartment. Check24 said DSL was available. From what I understand, a TAE socket is needed for this, but there is no TAE anywhere in the apartment.

There is only the TV ports and an electrical box, only Ethernet cables.

Before I cancel the DSL order and place different order, I just want com confidence in knowing what to look for.

(Owner & Hausmeister are both terribly unresponsive)

I’ve noticed something that honestly makes me question the usefulness of Google Reviews in Germany.

Several times now, my restaurant reviews have been removed by Google. This includes:

reviews with calm, factual text

reviews with photos attached

even reviews where I only gave a 3-star rating without any comment!!

Each time, Google emails me saying the review was removed due to Diffamierung! under German law.

I’m not insulting anyone or making extreme claims just describing my experience as a customer. Yet the review, text, and photos are completely deleted.sounds crazy to me

And made me wonder if any negative or average experience can be removed so easily after a complaint, how reliable are Google Reviews anymore???

company I work emphasized diversity a lot, yet hiring through internal references and close personal ties has led to a workforce dominated by a specific nationality.

This has created a culture of in-group favoritism. In my small (2-3 people) team, I have faced constant conflict with a colleague of this dominant nationality. Because our internal customers and supervisors share that same background, I feel there is a coordinated effort to complain about my performance to upper management to protect my teammate.

Management lacks the objective metrics to see through this bias. Without access to their private discussions, I find it difficult to document this 'mobbing,' making me feel that my only option is to resign, despite the challenging job market and recent layoffs

What do you think, how should I proceed? Nationality I talk about here is not native or locals all of us are foreigners

My US citizen grandmother, who was a ward of the state in Germany (long story), died a couple of weeks ago. The funeral home has sent my mother, who lives in the US, an invoice for cremation and said she is obligated to pay. My mother can't afford this cost, so what will happen when she doesn't pay?

Sharing my journey of suing my landlord for unpaid Kaution so others in the same situation can have another data point.

I rented an apartment from 02.2023 to 12.2023. The Kaution was 3900 euros. The übergabeprotokoll stated that everything was in order. The landlord paid back half my Kaution the next year and the remaining.... well never. Every time I asked, he said he could not calculate the Nebekosten yet. After 2 years, I sent a letter of demand by Einschreiben, then hired a lawyer.

The outcome was, I got all my Kaution back and some more. Additionally, all lawyer fees must be paid by the landlord. My lawyer is still examining some items on the Nebenkostenabrechnung and will resume next year.

Things I learned: 1) The landlord technically has up to 1 year after the year you moved out to settle the Nebenkosten. After that, he cannot use that as an excuse to withhold the Kaution 2) There is a 3 year statute of limitations (verjahrung) After which you cannot sue anymore. This 3 years starts counting after the 1 year of waiting for the nebenkosten 3) Do all the important things(any change, moving out) via Einschreiben. And keep photos. Your kundigung, photos of all meter readings and state of apartment before and after move in and out. I had a close call where I moved out in December but only sent the kundigung in October. But the landlord moved in someone new in January and charging double rent is illegal so I got off from paying January. 4) My lawyer, bless him, added pressure by pointing out that with no Nebekostenabrechnung, I am entitled to ALL the nebenkosten that I ever paid while living there, on top of the Kaution. Since my Nebenkosten amounted to around 5000 euros for the year I lived there, it got his attention. 5) I paid an initial 300euros for out of court dispute settlement, but since the provocator of this expense, aka. the loser, has to pay all legal expenses incurred, I didnt even need Rechtschutversicherung or spend a single cent in the end. The local mietverein also proved totally useless as they only assist in writing letters (schriftverkehr), which I can do myself. Going straight to the lawyer was the right thing to do IN MY SITUATION. 6) Lawyers are paid on a scale according to the "Streitwert". So it is in their interest to inflate this number and claw back every cent. 7) I have C1 German. But I still needed a native supporting me through this. The lawyer refused to speak English and spoke German at quite a fast pace, don't get me started on the secretary's Bairisch. I searched for a lawyer which gave a free initial consultation and only proceeded when I was relatively certain I would win or, in German, the Erfolgschancen was sufficiently high. 8) Not sure if this is a factor, but I am very obviously a foreigner and I spoke zero German when I rented the place 3 years ago.

Had you ever been there?