Germany (DE)
Germany is Europe's largest economy and most populous country — a federal parliamentary republic of 16 states (Bundesländer) celebrated for its engineering prowess, rich cultural heritage from Beethoven to Bauhaus, world-famous Oktoberfest and Riesling wines, and one of the most comprehensive social safety nets in the world.
Daily Life
Practical day-to-day information for living in Germany.
🛒 Supermarkets
Discount supermarkets. Excellent value. Limited range but covers all basics.
Standard supermarkets. Wide range, good fresh produce, organic options.
Budget supermarkets, slightly more range than Aldi/Lidl.
Large-format stores with the widest range, good deli and meat counters.
Organic/health food supermarkets. More expensive but high quality.
Opening Hours
Supermarkets: Mon–Sat 7am–10pm typically. Some open 6am–midnight in cities. Pharmacies: Mon–Fri 8am–6:30pm, Sat 8am–2pm (rotating 24h emergency service). Banks: Mon–Fri 9am–4pm (varies).
Sunday Rules
Almost all shops are CLOSED on Sundays (Ladenschlussgesetz). Exceptions: petrol stations, airport shops, bakeries until noon, some museum/tourist shops. Plan your grocery shopping before Sunday.
Recycling
Germany has one of the world's best recycling systems. Separate waste into: Gelber Sack/Tonne (yellow — plastic/metal packaging), Blaue Tonne (blue — paper/cardboard), Braune Tonne (brown — food waste/Biomüll), Schwarze/Graue Tonne (black/grey — residual waste). Pfand: return deposit bottles (€0.25 each) to supermarket machines.
Dining Out
Lunch menus (Mittagstisch) offer the best value: €7–12 for 2 courses. Dinner typically €12–25 per main. Beer garden (Biergarten) culture in summer — you can usually bring your own food. Restaurants are often cash-only.
Utilities & Internet
Electricity/gas: sign up with a provider (Vattenfall, E.ON, RWE, EnBW or local Stadtwerke). Broadband: Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, O2, 1&1. Average broadband speed 100Mbit. Contracts typically 24 months.
Cultural Tips for Expats
- → Sunday is sacred and quiet. No loud music, no DIY, no lawn mowing.
- → Greeting your neighbours (Nachbarn) is expected — say "Guten Morgen/Tag/Abend".
- → Bread (Brot) culture: Germany has 3,200 types of bread. Bakeries (Bäckerei) are everywhere.
- → Germans queue in an orderly fashion. Never push in.
- → Asking personal questions (salary, age, relationship) is considered intrusive.
Quiet Hours
Ruhezeiten (quiet hours) are legally enforceable in Germany at three levels: federal law (BImSchG), state law (Landesimmissionsschutzgesetz), and your building's Hausordnung (house rules). Violations are not just a social faux pas — they can trigger a formal warning (Abmahnung) from your landlord, a complaint to the Ordnungsamt, fines, and ultimately lease termination. New arrivals from louder urban cultures consistently underestimate this.
Federal minimum. All noise that is audible to neighbours must stop: music, loud conversations, power tools, running washing machines at high spin.
Mandatory in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, and many other states. Not required in Berlin or Hamburg by state law, but may be set in your Hausordnung.
The strictest tier. No power tools, no lawn mowing, no car washing, no DIY. Many buildings also prohibit loud vacuum cleaners or spin cycles. Confirmed by BGB §906 and state noise protection laws.
- •Running a washing machine on a full spin cycle at 11pm (audible in apartments below/above).
- •DIY drilling or hammering on Sunday — even a single screw is a violation.
- •Loud phone calls in stairwells late at night.
- •Playing music above conversation volume after 10pm, even with windows closed.
- •Moving furniture or dragging heavy objects on hardwood floors after 10pm.
- •Mowing the lawn or using a leaf blower on Sunday.
- •Using the Glascontainer (glass recycling bins) on Sundays or after 10pm.
First violation: verbal or written complaint from a neighbour. Second violation: Abmahnung (formal written warning) from the Hausverwaltung — this is placed in your tenancy file. Third violation: grounds for fristlose Kündigung (immediate lease termination without notice period) under §569 BGB. Ordnungsamt fines: €25–500 depending on city and offence severity.
Postal Services
Deutsche Post and DHL are the dominant postal and parcel operators. Germany's postal infrastructure is extensive and well-organised, but physical post remains legally significant — official notices from the Finanzamt, Ausländerbehörde, and courts arrive by post and trigger deadlines from their deemed delivery date. Always check your letterbox.
Germany has 17,000+ DHL Packstations — automated 24/7 parcel lockers. Register free in the Post & DHL app (PostNummer required). Parcels can be collected any time and held for 9 days. You can also send parcels from Packstations. The PostNummer is obtained during a one-time PostIdent identity verification. Strongly recommended for all arrivals to avoid missed parcel deliveries.
PostIdent is Germany's bank-grade identity verification process, carried out at any Deutsche Post branch. Required for: opening online bank accounts (N26, DKB, etc.), activating new SIM cards under some operators, and some regulated financial products. Takes 5 minutes: bring your passport. Video PostIdent (online via webcam) is available for many providers, allowing remote verification without visiting a post office.
Einschreiben (registered mail) has specific legal weight in Germany. Under §41 VwZG, a letter is deemed delivered on the third day after posting. The postman leaves a yellow Benachrichtigungskarte if you are not home — you have 7–15 days to collect at the post office before it is returned. Once returned, the sender (Finanzamt, court, Ausländerbehörde) can enforce the delivery date anyway under the presumption of receipt rules. ALWAYS pick up yellow notification cards promptly.
When moving address, set up a Nachsendeauftrag (mail forwarding) with Deutsche Post. Orders: deutschepost.de/nachsendeauftrag. Cost: €28.90 for 6 months, €37.90 for 12 months. Set up at least 5 days before moving. This is a safety net — also notify your bank, Finanzamt, Krankenkasse, and employer directly with your new address.
- →Non-DHL parcels (Hermes, DPD, GLS, UPS) follow different collection rules — check each carrier's app separately.
- →Free Packstation registration takes 15 minutes and is one of the most practical setup steps for any new arrival.
- →If you expect a registered letter and will be away, set up temporary collection by a trusted person via Vollmacht (power of attorney letter).
- →Junk mail: post a "Bitte keine Werbung" (no advertising) sticker on your letterbox — this legally reduces unsolicited flyers.