Greetings Germany: Discovering a New Culture in Bavaria

Something to note about Germany is that it is a very culturally diverse country. This is part of why I chose this as my destination country for my exchange semester abroad.

When I first travelled to Germany, I spent a lot of time in the northern and central states, in cities such as Bremen, Hamburg, and a lot of time in Heidelberg. I found that the culture in these cities was surprisingly similar to that of home. It was a very welcoming place where people would dress and act however they wanted as well as most people spoke some amount of English! I enjoyed my time exploring these cities, but when I chose to go on exchange I wanted to really go out of my comfort zone and immerse myself in the more traditional German culture.

"It was a very welcoming place where people would dress and act however they wanted ..."

This was one of the big reasons for my choice to attend OTH Regensburg, because it is located in Bavaria, which is almost like a different world when compared to the rest of Germany. Bavaria is a lot different than the other States of Germany in part due to its catholic plurality and conservative traditions. This is very different from home in Canada due to the close connection of church and state. Most people are also quite conservative and these strict values tend to only be relaxed in larger cities in the state, such as Bavaria’s capital, Munich. In Munich there are more relaxed views, similar to those of most large cities.

“My biggest recommendation for anyone travelling abroad is to try your best to learn some of the language and familiarize yourself with the customs of where you are going.”

This conservative nature was quite foreign to me and I had to be hyper vigilant of how I was conducting myself. For me, the thing that took the most getting used to was how you are meant to interact with people that you don't know, or are meeting for the first time. For example, there is an expectation that you speak to someone you do not know well or to whom you must show respect with the formal form of “You” which in Germany is “Sie” but if you know the person and you are speaking casually you would use the form “Du”. This was very difficult for me to remember when I was in stores or restaurants and speaking to the employees because most of them were my age, and since I was used to talking to my friends using the “Du” form of you, I would sometimes get dirty looks if I was to speak too casually to someone.

Another hurdle was how many different ways there were to greet different people. So, if you were greeting someone that is quite old or you were in a religious setting, you would say “Grüß Gott” (god bless). If you were in a more casual setting, such as hiking on a trail and you pass someone, you would normally say “Servus”. This is a hard word to translate because it basically is a catchall for any way we would say “Hello” or “Goodbye”. It is similar to the classic Canadian head nod (not really a greeting but more of an acknowledgement). But it can also be used as a greeting when meeting with or departing from your friends.

There are also many other greetings in German such as the normal “Hallo” (Hello) and “Tschüss” (Goodbye), but they are much more widely used across Germany than “Grüß Gott” and “Servus” as well as being less age or situation specific. I found it so interesting how respectful Bavarian people are towards their elders and even how they differentiate how you speak to or about someone in formal or non-formal contexts. I believe that even these small rules shine a light on how Bavaria continues to be a very traditional and tight knit place, and this may contribute to some foreign travellers feeling as though they are not welcome or wanted, however, during my stay I felt nothing but welcome and loved.

My biggest recommendation for anyone travelling abroad is to try your best to learn some of the language and familiarize yourself with the customs of where you are going, because if you can show that you are trying to learn and embrace their culture even in the smallest way, I believe you will be welcomed with open arms.

- Brodie Hay, VIU Exchange Student,  4th Year BSc in Computing Science