The title of this blog post I got from the newspaper article I write about and is not my own opinion about the Germans.

today we had a nice get-together with colleagues and there I got a newspaper article from my boss. The article came from a German newspaper and describes that it is possible to get trained in working together with Germans,  the title of this message is the first sentence of this article. And it’s  quite funny to read being Dutch and living in Germany.

The article is available above and is  written in German but I’ve translated the first part which is also the most interesting. Right-click and select open in new window/tab would open in it a size which is readable.

Germans are terribly complicated: They address each other formally, still wear ties and want to have everything in written form. More than rarely the Dutch have issues with this. To make sure the Dutch won’t be disappointed they can follow a course in German etiquette.

And to be honest I can understand that this course exists for the same reason as other intercultural trainings. After we just came to German I really need to get used to the formal way of speaking with each other, the hierarchy and the expectation of having every statement in a written form. After 4 years I think I got used to it and see it as normal and I can say it something Germany should be proud of its part of the German culture.