Germany's Strong Economy: Two of Its Key Elements

For several decades, Germany has led the nations of Europe in various economic indicators. Through rising and falling business cycles, the wax and wane of employment rates, inflation and recession, and the other usual ebb and flow phenomena of finance, Germany remains at or near the top of the list.

Why is the German economy so successful?

The answer is multi-factorial. Writing for Newsweek in July 2014, Rose Jacobs identifies labor policies and a strong manufacturing sector as two of the elements fueling Germany’s growing economy:

Where French unions and companies go at each others’ throats over working conditions, Germany has loosened labour laws just enough to encourage hiring, helping push down unemployment to record lows today. And where the UK waxes nostalgic about its manufacturing past, Germany – which faced the same market forces over the past 40 years that prompted Britain to shift towards a service economy – today boasts higher export figures for high-tech products than any country on earth.

While German workers are well-paid, productive, and enjoy good working conditions relative to their peers in Europe and North America, the relationship between management and organized labor is less combative.

While other nations have moved steadily toward a service economy, Germany has retained a healthy manufacturing base. Germany still makes money by building products and selling them both domestically and abroad.

Learning German Pays!

In March 2014, The Economist published a study of how knowing a foreign language affects a worker’s paycheck. Obviously, it helps!

In almost every profession, knowing German will increase your earnings: engineers, chemists, physicists, and managers all get paid more if they know German. The same is true for those working in marketing, life sciences, economics, pharmaceuticals, software, telecommunications, and healthcare.

The Economist cites MIT’s Albert Saiz, who got his doctorate from Harvard. Analyzing the salaries of various professionals, Saiz

found quite different premiums for different languages: just 1.5% for Spanish, 2.3% for French and 3.8% for German. This translates into big differences in the language account: your Spanish is worth $51,000, but French, $77,000, and German, $128,000. Humans are famously bad at weighting the future against the present, but if you dangled even a post-dated $128,000 cheque in front of the average 14-year-old, Goethe and Schiller would be hotter than Facebook.

Obviously, the numbers will vary from individual to individual. Saiz reckoned with a $45,000 starting salary. The 3.8% premium for knowing German would be $1710 in the first year. This amount compounds over time. “Assuming just a 1% real salary increase per year and a 2% average real return over 40 years,” Saiz arrives at the figures above.

In any case, learning German is worth it!

Studying in California? Take a German Class!

A survey of academic majors and professional programs at the University of California and the California State University system shows that German is recommended, strongly recommended, or required for more degrees and diplomas than any other world language.

Evidence comes from three documents: “Prerequisites and Recommended Subjects in Preparation for Work at the University of California,” “San Francisco State University Bulletin,” and “U.C. Berkeley General Catalog.”

German is recommended or prescribed for a total of 56 majors or degree programs. By contrast, French was recommended for 43 majors, Spanish for 21, Japanese for 7, and Chinese for 4.

The following departments recommended German to their undergraduate majors and to their graduate students: Ancient Civilization, Anthropology, Art History, Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, Dramatic Art, Literature, Mathematics, and Paleontology, among others.

These departments “strongly” recommended German: Anatomy, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Physics, Botany, Chemistry, Film Studies, Genetics, Linguistics, Logic and Methodology of Science, Molecular Biology, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Physical Science, Physics, Physiology, Religious Studies, Zoology, and others.

Special Occasions - Feiertage, Besondere Ereignisse, und Besondere Anlässe

Like Americans, people in Austria, Switzerland, and other parts of central Europe have special occasions in life - milestones, or Meilensteine. Many of these rites of passage - Übergangsriten - are the same on both continents: Geburtstage (birthdays), Hochzeiten (weddings), Verlobungen (engagements), etc.

To celebrate these occasions, people send Glückwunschkarten (greeting cards) and Geschenke (gifts or presents). They might throw a party, and the German language has several words for ‘party’ - Party, Fest, Fete, and others.

A special type of Fest happens the evening before a Hochzeit, and is called a Polterabend. The verb poltern means ‘to rumble’ or otherwise make loud noises, and is familiar to English speakers in the term Poltergeist.

An old tradition calls for friends of the family to gather in front of the bride’s house on the evening before the Hochzeit and make lots of noise, often by breaking pottery (but not glass). Allegedly, this habit arose from an ancient superstition advising that loud noise would scare away evil spirits and thereby protect the Braut (bride) so that she could arrive safely the next morning at the Hochzeit. But in reality it’s simply a fun way for the friends to be laut.

Meanwhile, the Bräutigam (groom) is probably far away, drinking Bier with his friends.

On the day of the Hochzeit, most German couples will get married twice. There will be a government wedding at the Standesamt (registrar’s office), often located in the Rathaus (city hall). This makes them officially married for tax purposes.

Most couples will have a second wedding ceremony with family and friends, usually in a Kirche or in a Synagoge. Afterward, the Hochzeitspaar (bride and groom) typically celebrates in a restaurant, which has been reserved for the occasion so that no other customers are there, and the group takes over the entire place for meals and dancing.

Every year afterward, the Ehepaar (married couple) will celebrate that date as their Hochzeitstag or Jubiläum.

Das Ehepaar will celebrate a silberne Hochzeit or Silberhochzeit, which happens nach fünf-und-zwanzig Jahren.

Likewise, they’ll celebrate a goldene Hochzeit after fifty years.

When a child is born, the family and friends will often throw a party for the Taufe (baptism).

In addition to celebrating a person’s Geburtstag, some regions of Austria, Switzerland, and southern Germany also celebrate Namenstag. To find a person’s Namenstag, find a saint who has the same name, and then find the date which is the official holiday for that saint. The territories which celebrate Namenstag tend to be Roman Catholic regions; other parts of Germany and Switzerland are Lutheran or Calvinist, and tend not to observe Namenstag.

The famous professional soccer player Bastian Schweinsteiger, for example, was born on August 1, so that’s his Geburtstag. But the official holiday to celebrate St. Sebastian is January 20, so that becomes Schweinsteiger’s Namenstag.

The Geburtstagskarten which people receive on their birthdays often say Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag or Herzliche Glückwünsche zum Geburtstag.

The phrases Herzlichen Glückwunsch and Herzliche Glückwünsche are appropriate, not only for Geburtstage, but also for any other achievement or happy occasion.

Around the age of 13 or 14, a student will complete her or his religious instruction, and celebrate a Konfirmation.

Naturally, there’s a big Fest when students finish school. After completing the Grundschule, you’ll go on to one of three types of high school. If you’re graduating from a Hauptschule, your diploma is called a Abschlusszeugnis. If you’re graduating from a Realschule, your diploma is called a Mittlere Reifezeugnis. From the Gymnasium, you’ll get an Abitur. The word Abitur refers both to the test and to the diploma that you receive if you pass the test.

Der zweite Sonntag im Mai ist Muttertag in der Schweiz, in Österreich, in Deutschland, in Liechtenstein, und in den USA. Aber in Luxemburg ist Muttertag an dem zweiten Sonntag im Juni.

Der dritte Sonntag im Juni ist Vatertag in den USA. In Österreich ist Vatertag an dem zweiten Sonntag im Juni. In Luxemburg ist Vatertag an dem ersten Sonntag im Oktober. In Liechtenstein ist Vatertag immer am 19ten März.

The celebration of Ostern (Easter) can vary from mid-March to late April. Vierzig Tage nach Ostern ist Vatertag in Deutschland. This same date is also celebrated as Himmelfahrtstag (Ascension Day). Many schools get Ferien (vacation days) for Himmelfahrt.

Different regions have different dates for Vatertag in der Schweiz, so you have to ask which Kanton you’re in before you know when this holiday is.

When someone dies, the remaining family members, along with some friends, will place a Todesanzeige in the local Zeitung (newspaper) - an announcement of the person’s death along with comments and memories. As Zeitungen have become less common, these Todesanzeigen now appear online. The family will also mail printed cards with the Todesanzeige in special envelopes with black rims.

Dining in Deutschland

If you’re walking down the street in a typical Austrian or Swiss town, and you’re looking for something to eat, you can usually learn exactly which types of food are served in a restaurant without going inside. Most restaurants in central Europe post a menu - eine Speisekarte - next to the door. This convenient feature will tell you exactly which dishes the restaurant serves, and at which price.

In most German restaurants, the customers will seat themselves. Only in the finest and most elegant restaurants will a host or hostess seat you. If there are no empty tables, you can join a large table if there are empty chairs at it. You simply ask, Ist hier noch frei? to inquire if you can use the unoccupied seats. The people already at the table might answer with Ja, bitte or Bitte sehr if you can use those chairs.

Usually, a waiter or waitress - der Kellner or die Kellnerin - will bring you a menu. If they don’t, you can ask by saying die Speisekarte, bitte! But don’t ask for das Menü, because that doesn’t mean ‘menu’ - it means ‘a full meal’ and is the way to order the restaurant’s special of the day: an entree, probably with soup and salad.

If you order das Gedeck, it’s like ordering das Menü - the restaurant has selected a full meal for you as a package deal. It’s probably die Suppe at the beginning and der Nachtisch at the end.

If you’re speaking to a waiter, address him as Herr Ober; to the waitress, as Fräulein. Another option is to address either of them as Bedienung. As with all cultural vocabulary, there are variations from town to town and from time to time. In a small restaurant in a small town, where the owners are the managers and wait personally on customers themselves, you’d address them as Herr Wirt and Frau Wirtin. Such family-owned and -operated establishments tend to be the most traditional and are of the oldest type.

Typically, restaurants do not automatically serve a glass of water with the meal. If you order water, you’ll get a bottle of Mineralwasser and it will be added to your bill. Mineralwasser comes in a number of varieties: Stilles Wasser, or ohne Kohlensäure, has no carbonation. If it’s mit Kohlensäure, or Sprudel, then it does have carbonation.

If you simply want a glass of tap water from the faucet, you may ask for Leitungswasser. Such a request is usually made by foreign tourists from America.

The prices on the Speisekarte both include any applicable taxes, like a ‘value-added tax’ or Mehrwertssteuer, similar to a sales tax, and include an already calculated tip or Bedienungsgeld. These will vary, but are around 16% for the Mehrwertssteuer and 10% to 15% for the Bedienungsgeld. Because these are already included in the prices listed on the Speisekarte, you don’t tip the waitress or waiter in the same way you do in an American restaurant.

When you are finished with your meal, you might ask to pay by saying Bedienung, ich möchte zahlen! or Die Rechnung, bitte! or Zahlen, bitte!

The Kellner or Kellnerin will tell you how much you owe, or hand you a Zettel - a small slip of paper with the amount written one it. Because the Bedienungsgeld is already included in the amount, a large tip is not necessary. Most customers will, however, round the amount up to the nearest Euro. If the bill amounts to, for example, einundzwanzig Euro dreißig, a customer will hand the Bedienung some money and say zweiundzwanzig, bitte, indicating that the bill is to be “rounded up” to the next whole number. This little gift to the Kellner or Kellnerin is called the Trinkgeld.

The use of Kreditkarten is becoming more widespread in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but many restaurants and other establishments accept payment only in Bargeld - cash.

Often, the pace of such things is a bit more deliberative than in the United States, so allow more time for the dining experience. If you’ve got to get to an appointment, catch a train, or be at the airport at a certain time, allow a couple of hours for a restaurant meal. If you need to eat in a hurry, avoid the restaurant and go instead to a Schnellimbiss, also called a Schnellgaststätte, or a Imbissstube, or simply an Imbiss. Whichever name you call it, it’s quick, and less expensive than a restaurant. It’s the traditional central European version of fast food. Usually, its main offerings are several different types of Wurst. You can get Bratwurst, Currywurst, Bockwurst, Frankfurter, Thüringer, and other types of sausage. The Frankfurter and Bockwurst are mild in flavor and most like an American hotdog. The other sausage types have richer and more pronounced flavor.

In addition to Wurst, regional variations of the word include Würstel, Würstchen, Würstl, Würstli, and Würstle. A mild Wurst like the Frankfurter or Bockwurst is also sometimes called a Wiener Wurst, a Wiener, or similar variations.

When you get a Wurst at an Imbiss, it will not be served in a bun like an American hotdog. Instead, it will come with a slice of bread - eine Scheibe Brot - or a roll - a Brötchen. A Brötchen may also be called a Semmel. The Wurst will usually also be served with Senf (mustard).

In addition to Wurst, an Imbiss often offers Pommes frites and Getränke (french fries and beverages). Some offer Brathähnchen: grilled chicken. Türkische Imbisse will offer Döner, short for Döner Kebab, a Mediterranean speciality.

Whether you go for a nice restaurant or fast food, eating in Germany is tasty!

Places to Eat, Places to Sleep

Traveling through Austria, Switzerland, and other parts of central Europe, tourists will encounter a bewildering variety of signs and vocabulary informing them about food and lodging.

Certainly, a sign that says Restaurant is obvious enough. But you can also get a meal in a Lokal, and probably at a lower price. If you’re looking for fast food, look a sign that says Imbiss. At a typical Schnellimbiss or Imbissstand, customers will walk up to a window or a small booth, and order a variety of sausages, beverages, and french fries. Often there are no tables or places to sit. A Restaurant is, by contrast, much more elegant. The Lokal is in the middle.

To be sure, these generalizations about how specific words are used, and what they mean, are subject to exceptions and local variations.

Looking for a place to sleep? The sign proclaiming Hotel is clear enough, but you can also get a room with a bed if the sign says Pension or Gasthaus. The Hotel will probably be a little pricier, and will likely feature a restaurant as part of its facilities. A Pension will include a breakfast, but not other meals. In most lodgings in central Europe, the cost of breakfast is already included in the price of the room. The Gaststube is the dining area within the establishment.

The sign Hotel Garni indicates a smaller hotel offering only breakfast and not the other two meals.

A Schlosshotel will be located inside a castle, and a Kurhotel is located in an area known either for its naturally occurring hot mineral springs, or for its climate and fresh air, both of which are sought by patients seeking to improve their health.

People under the age of twenty-seven often stay in a Jugendherberge, because its price is lower than any other accomdation.

A Gasthaus usually includes restaurant for all three daily meals, and has only a few rooms for overnight guests. Again, the price of breakfast will be included. It may have a sign advertising Zimmer or Fremdenzimmer.

A spectrum of related vocabulary is found for establishments offering either food, or lodging, or both: Gaststätte, Gasthof, and Landhaus.

A sign saying Privatzimmer may simply indicate a room in family house for rent, perhaps one night at a time, or perhaps by the week. It would be necessary to inquire to learn if any meals were included in such a deal.

A Ferienwohnung is typically a small apartment, and usually rented for more than one night at a time - perhaps by the week. Lodgers would prepare their own meals, or seek out restaurants in the area.

If business has a special focus or emphasis, this might be indicated. An Ausflugslokal might be located along a hiking trail, or near a lake, park or mountain. A Sportgaststätte offers a gathering place for people who enjoy watching sports, playing sports, or both.

Again, it’s important to allow for regionalisms and linguistic changes over time, but, generally, a Kneipe or a Wirtshaus or Wirtschaft (short for Gastwirtschaft) is probably more about beverages than food, although they will probably offer at least a few snacks, or a Kalte Platte - platter of bread and cold cuts (sliced sausage and cheese).

A Cafe is obviously more about coffee, but will usually offer a few pastries as well. A Konditorei specializes in cakes, tortes, and pastries. A Bäckerei is usually a place where you buy bread or rolls to take home, but many of them will sell you a cup of coffee and have a small area where you can eat a roll or pastry that you’ve purchased there.

Central Europe offers a broad spectrum of fine food, and a wide variety of establishments in which to eat it. After such excellent meals, you’ll sleep soundly in a variety of lodgings.

Bundesliga

To get the most fun out of watching the major sport in central Europe, it helps if you understand the Bundesliga system. While soccer is the most popular sport in Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and practically all European nations, the Bundesliga system governs soccer only in Germany.

The Swiss system is the Raiffeisen Super League, the Austrians have the Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, and in Luxembourg there is the Nationaldivision. Each European nation organizes its own top-level professional league.

Germany’s long tradition of being a powerhouse in the 90-minute game goes back many decades into history. In the modern era, that started with earning the 1954 World Cup.

By 1962, however, fans were concerned that the sport was languishing. In that year’s World Cup play, Germany suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Yugoslavia.

To ensure the sport’s future, and the quality of play, a system was designed to create a nationwide top-tier professional league, as well as a “farm team” system of two lower leagues. Previously, German soccer had been organized into an unwieldy system of regional leagues.

Originally, the Bundesliga had sixteen Mannschaften. Currently, it contains eighteen teams.

Sports fans in the United States are familiar with with the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB systems. But the Bundesliga does not have the same concepts of playoffs, standing, rankings, and league membership.

This can be, at first, confusing to American fans who are trying to watch German Fußball games.

But once you understand how it works, it’s as fun as basketball, baseball, football, or hockey!

What it means, for example, to be a member of the Bundesliga is different than league membership in the NHL, NBA, NFL, or MLB. The Bundesliga has, as mentioned, eighteen Mannschaften. But every year, it’s a different eighteen teams - the list of teams is never the same two years in a row!

Each year, two or three teams are demoted out of the ersten Bundesliga - the top professional league. The teams removed are those which have performed the worst. They are replaced by two or three teams from the zweiten Bundesliga - the highest group of “farm” teams.

To decide which teams will be replaced, a point system has been developed. For regular-season play, a team gets three points for a win, one point for a tie, and zero points for a loss. At the end of the season, the two teams with the lowest point totals are taken out of the ersten Bundesliga and placed into the zweite Bundesliga. At the same time, the best two teams from the zweiten Bundesliga are moved up into the erste Bundesliga.

The zweite Bundesliga also has eighteen Mannschaften.

While the two worst teams are automatically eliminated from the ersten Bundesliga, the third-worst team is placed into a game with the third-best team from the zweiten Bundesliga. If the third-worst team manages to win that game, it is retained in the ersten Bundesliga.

This same system also moves teams up and down between the zweiten Bundesliga and the dritten Bundesliga.

Unlike professional leagues in the United States, where a mediocre professional team can subsist at the bottom of its division for years, the Fußball Mannschaften in the Bundesliga change from year to year. This adds a special urgency for fans of teams near the bottom of the rankings.

There are other ways in which American fans will note that a different structure is at work.

Many professional Fußball players are simultaneously on the roster of two different teams. They are members of a professional Mannschaft in the Bundesliga, but they are also members of a Nationalmannschaft - a team representing their country in international tournaments. This team is also called the Nationalelf.

For example, the Mannschaft known as FC Bayern München includes, among its Spieler, two players named Manuel Neuer and Pepe Reina. As teammates, they work together in the FC Bayern München.

But these same two Spieler will play against each other at their “other job” - the national team. Manuel Neuer has German citizenship and is a regular on the German Nationalelf. Pepe Reina plays on the Spanish Nationalmannschaft.

So Neuer and Reina might play as teammates one day, and a week later face each other as opponents, only to play again on the same team a few days after that.

Differences between the organization of the Bundesliga and American sports are visible not only among the Spieler, but also among the fans. Attending a Fußballspiel at a German stadium, fans enter by separate entrances depending on which team they support. Once inside the stadium, gates and fences keep the fans separated.

The organizers of the German Bundesliga hope to avoid the excesses seen among the British and Belgian “hooligans” - soccer fans who engage in fistfights with anyone who supports a team other than theirs.

There’s at least one more aspect of Fußball that the novice spectator will find baffling: the “offsides” rule.

Viewers of American football will gain no help from the “offsides” rule found there. Offsides in American football is a different concept than offsides in soccer.

Watching a soccer game, you might see one player make a long pass to his teammate, who in turn kicks the ball smartly into the Tor. You expect it to be a point scored for the team, but instead, you hear shouts of “Abseits!”

What happened?

The Abseits rule means that at the moment when one player passes the ball, there must be at least one defensive player between the intended receiver and the defending goalie if the receiving player is to immediately make a shot on the goal.

The logic of this rule is to prevent teams from simply stationing one offensive player at all times near the goal.

Learning a few of these facts about Bundesliga play is effort well spent: it will be repaid with hours of fun watching Fußball action!