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Cabbage and Christmas: What the French and Germans really think of each other

From baguettes to Birkenstocks, clichés on France and Germany die hard, even as the two countries celebrate 60 years since the post-war treaty establishing friendship between the two European giants after decades of rivalries and conflict.

Published: 18 January 2023 09:38 CET

Cabbage and Christmas: What the French and Germans really think of each other

Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

On the occasion of six decades marking the signing of the Elysée Treaty, AFP spoke to some Franco-German couples about their culture clashes on everything from food to Christmas.

Bread and cheese

The French national obsession with the baguette – recently elevated to UNESCO world heritage status – can be hard for Germans to comprehend.

The omnipresence of the elongated bread at mealtimes is a source of consternation for Verena von Derschau, born in Germany and married to a Frenchman.

“It doesn’t even get eaten! It just ends up as crumbs by the plate,” she says.

Reader question: How many baguettes does the average French person eat per day?

By contrast, pungent cheese and other sources of French gastronomic pride can lead to a certain hauteur vis-a-vis other cuisines, with fingers pointed notably at Germany’s love of potatoes and cabbage.

François Dumas, a Parisian who lives with his German partner, winces at the idea of some Teutonic preparations such as Maultaschen, a meat-filled dumpling usually served with broth.

“I give up there!” he says.

Comfortable shoes

While Birkenstocks now belong to the same stable of luxury brands as Louis Vuitton, the cork-soled sandals – on occasion sported with socks – remain emblematic of the German love of practical clothing.

“Germans dress like sacks, always comfort first,” says Roland, a Frenchman in a bi-national couple for years.

Schools

Meanwhile, in France it is children who suffer discomfort in the country’s strict school system. “I feel sorry for them, they have such long days,” in contrast to the German pupils who often have the afternoon free, Julika Herzog says.

Technology and trains

When the family is on holiday in Germany, it is her husband’s turn to complain. “There’s nowhere you can pay with card,” François Dumas says.

“And the trains are always late,” he says, the opposite of the German efficiency many expect.

Bells and bunnies

Festivals reveal yet more differences. The relative absence of the Easter Bunny in France was a surprise to Verena von Derschau. Instead, “they have bells”, she says, puzzled by the images of a winged bell bringing goodies to children during the spring holiday.

Flying bells and a giant omelette – how the French celebrate Easter

Christmas follows a different rhythm on either side of the border, too, with the French dressing up their trees early in December, while many Germans wait until Christmas Eve.

Germans also lean towards a more sober tree decoration, says Verena von Derschau, who has banned blinking fairy lights in her household.

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The ultimate guide to looking and sounding like a local in Berlin

As many writers have observed over the years, Berlin is a city that’s hard to define: it encompasses both the imposing tower blocks of Marzahn and the elegant boulevards of Charlottenburg; the incredibly wealthy and the down-and-out; the trendy young hipsters and the no-nonsense locals.

But even in this fascinating and varied city, there are some classic behaviours that set the Berliners apart from everyone else, from the way they dress to their choice of snack at the Imbiss.

Whether they’re a Wahlberliner from elsewhere who’s found their home in the city or an Urberliner who’s lived there all their lives, there are many things that set Berliners apart.

If you’re thinking of visiting or moving to the German capital, here are some of the habits to adopt to make you look and sound like one of those true Berliners. (Unfortunately, simply saying, “Ich bin ein Berliner” isn’t one of them.)

Perfect your ‘Berliner Schnauze’

Berlin’s notorious dialect – which translates as the ‘Berliner snout’ – is both a language and an attitude, representing the gruff, outspoken nature of your typical Urberliner.

Though you don’t need to go the whole hog and start speaking fluent Berlinerisch, there are some subtle regional shifts in accent you can adopt if you want to sound like a local.

The classic is to get rid of that throaty way of pronouncing ‘ich’ that is so typically German and stick to a more simple ‘ick’, just like the locals do.

In a word with ‘ei’ that in standard German would emphasise the ‘i’ sound, you’d instead treat it like a double ‘e’, making ‘klein’ sound a bit like ‘kleen’.

Turning any hard ‘g’ sounds, for example in ‘gut’, into a ‘j’ or ‘y’ sound is another wonderful quirk of this dialect. And you’ll also notice people transforming the ‘s’ at the end of words into a ‘t’.

So if somebody knocks into you on the street and turns to apologise, a Berliner such as yourself would brush it away with a brisk, “Allet jut!”.

Of course, plenty of people live in Berlin for decades and never quite get the hang of the dialect, and that doesn’t make them any less of a local.

If you really want to stand apart from the tourists, though, the most important part of the Schnauze is the attitude.

Don’t smile at strangers

Rude, abrupt, direct – whatever you choose to call it, there’s certainly something distinctive about the Berlin way to socialise.

Possibly thanks to its East German influence, being smiley and peppy in Berlin is kind of a no-go – often considered by locals to be fake and overly Americanised.

In this spirit, you’re unlikely to get greeted with a beaming smile when you walk into a traditional Berlin Gaststätte, instead being treated with a certain wry scepticism until the 15th – or 50th – time you return.

This was summed up recently by an exchange I witnessed in a Berlin petrol station. A woman walked in and screamed at the cashier. The cashier yelled back. The woman yelled again, and so it continued.

For a non-German speaker, it may have sounded like a furious altercation, but it concluded with the customer happily walking away with the chocolate bonbons they had been asking for.

Order Currywurst (mit oder ohne Darm)

Everyone knows that Currywurst is a proud Berlin creation – so much so that its inventor, Herta Heuwer, is considered something of a local legend. If you want to pay homage to Heuwer, you can find her memorial plaque at the corner of Kantstraße and Kaiser-Friedrichstraße in the West Berlin district of Wilmersdorf – the exact location where her food stall stood way back in 1940s.

Of course, the most Berlin way to pay your respects is to tuck into a delicious Currywurst yourself, preferably from a small food truck or stall by the side of a road.

A currywurst at an Imbiss

A woman holds a portion of Currywurst mit Pommes at a food stall in Berlin: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

Just be aware, though, that the question of whether to have it with or without skin – that is, mit oder ohne Darm – is a controversial one. Since the fall of Berlin Wall back in 1989, it is possibly the only thing left dividing the city.

The most important thing to know is that the skinless version is an East Berlin invention, born out of scarcity, so you may get props for having your sausage ohne Darm whenever you’re east of Alexanderplatz. For a similar reason, people from the GDR – or Ossis as they’re nicknamed – are said to enjoy their sausage served whole in case a piece is stolen when the Imbiss owner cuts it up.

Talk about your art project

Although Berlin is in a constant state of flux, one thing that never seems to change is the city’s magnetic pull for artists, whether they’re performers, musicians, painters or writers. Wherever you go in the city, you’re bound to meet people from all over the world who are oozing creativity – so if you don’t have an art project on the go just yet, it’s time for you to get one.

For double points, it’s best to talk about your art project whenever anyone asks what you’re doing in Berlin, while studiously avoiding the question of how you’re funding your party lifestyle.

Dress like you don’t care

Two days in Madrid and I have come to the conclusion that Berlin may be the worst-dressed city I’ve ever seen.

— Oliver Sachgau (@sachgau) April 25, 2024

If there’s one thing that unites both the Wahlberliner and the Urberliner, it has to be the ‘give no sh*ts’ mentality that pervades in the city, and this definitely shows in the way people dress.

From ill-fitting thrifted garments to full-on bondage gear, you get the impression that almost everyone in Berlin is dressing for themselves more than anyone else. Trying too hard is an absolute no-go, and will definitely get you turned away from Berghain, Berlin’s legendary techno club.

To perfect the Berlin look, simply open your wardrobe and pick out a random assortment of items you like. Throw them on with no attempt to coordinate them and hit the streets of Berlin with your head held high.

Always carry cash

In Germany, cash is king, and no-one embraces this analogue mode of payment more than the Berliners. It may be part of their instinctive anarchism, but almost every independent business in the city seems to have a ‘nur Bar’ sign up somewhere, indicating that cash is the only option.

If you don’t want to look like a fumbling tourist, be sure to carry enough cash with you while out and about in the capital, especially if you’re going to a non-chain restaurant or shop.

Not only will small businesses appreciate anyone who automatically reaches for their cash rather than their credit card – they’ll also be happy to save on the bank fees that come with accepting card payments.

Embrace budget beers

Forget upmarket Helles and boutique craft ales, in poor-but-sexy Berlin it’s all about getting more bang for your buck, and what better way to do that than with a €1 Berliner Pilsner, Sternburg or Pilsator from your local Späti – or better yet, a €0.20 beer from Aldi?

In Berlin, the best night outs are often done on a budget, crowding around a table at your local Spätkauf – a special corner shop with super late opening hours – or taking a few beers and sitting on Tempelhofer Feld, a sprawling park that sits on the grounds of a former airport.

Men drink beer by Brandenburg Gate

Men drink bottles of Berliner Pilsner by Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Soeren Stache

If you want to feel like a true Berliner, you’ll get brownie points for moaning about the latest signs of Pilsflation – the staggering rise in the price of the capital’s favourite dirt-cheap beers over the years.

As you crack open a bottle of Sternburg – a Sterni as the locals call it – you should remark to whoever is in earshot, “Can you believe this Sterni cost €1.20? You used to get two for less than a euro!”

Hate on snooty southerners

Germany’s North/South divide may get far less attention than East and West, but when it comes to defining people’s sense of identity and regional differences, it’s hugely important.

In Berlin, the southern state of Bavaria – so beloved of tourists – is known for being highly religious and full of conservative views, not to mention right-wing parties like the Freie Wähler, or Free Voters, the Christian Social Union (CSU) and far-right AfD.

When Berlin’s state coffers are bare – which is often – there’s also plenty of resentment about the way the country’s finances shake out and the fact that wealthy Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg don’t tend to share their money around when they get their hands on it.

To fit in with the locals, respond with limited enthusiasm if a friend tells you about the recent trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein and be sure to have a few insults up your sleeve for abominable places like Munich and Stuttgart.

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