A guide for Australians on what australians miss most about germany after they come home.
## 32. What Australians Miss Most About Germany After They Come Home Ask any Australian who has lived in Germany what they miss, and the answers are remarkably consistent. Here is the unofficial list. ### The Bread This comes up first in almost every conversation. German bread is genuinely extraordinary β the density and variety of sourdough ryes, seeded loaves, and rolls that have no Australian equivalent. Australian supermarket bread feels like flavoured foam by comparison. The good news: specialty German bakeries exist in Sydney and Melbourne, and the craft bread movement in Australia has produced some very good alternatives. The bad news: they are not in every suburb and they cost three times as much. ### The Public Transport A Germany-to-Australia transition means accepting that public transport is, in most Australian cities, inconvenient, infrequent, and expensive relative to income. The German U-Bahn and S-Bahn that comes every five minutes at 11pm simply does not have an equivalent in Australian cities outside certain inner-city routes. The Germany-Australia returnee who previously lived in Munich or Berlin often ends up either in a very specific inner-city suburb or back in their car. ### The Wine and Beer Gardens The *Biergarten* culture β outdoor seating, communal tables, affordable beer, brought-in food accepted β has no Australian equivalent. The idea of a public space optimised for community relaxation and conversation, outside, in the afternoon sun, with very good beer, is one of Germany's great contributions to human civilisation. ### The Sense of History Australia's European history is 250 years old. Germany's recorded history goes back two millennia, and the built environment shows it β from Roman remnants in the Rhine and Mosel regions to medieval old towns, baroque architecture, and living 19th-century industrial heritage. Australians who come home from Germany often find themselves newly aware of how young Australian cities are, and how little visible history they carry. ### The Seasons Specifically: autumn. *Der Herbst* in Germany β the colours, the light, the *Kastanien* (chestnuts) on the ground, the smell of leaves and rain β is genuinely beautiful in a way that has no Australian parallel. Spring too: the sudden arrival of warmth and flowers after a grey winter produces a joy that subtropical Australians never experience. ### The Directness Coming home from Germany and encountering Australian workplace passivity β the feedback that is not quite feedback, the disagreement that is expressed as mild hesitation β can be frustrating after years of German directness. Some returned Australians find themselves with a reputation for bluntness they did not have before they left. ### The Proximity to Everything Returning to a continent where Europe requires a 24-hour flight and SE Asia is 7 hours. The ability to be in Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, or Vienna within a few hours of deciding to go there is something Australians from Germany consistently miss.Found this useful? Share it with other Australians learning German π¦πΊ
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B1 German / Beginner Swiss German
An Australian who learned German to B1 level without living in Germany β navigating the same lack of local resources that most Australian learners face. Currently learning Swiss German. This site is the resource I wished had existed when I started.
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