Are you saying that there's no free refills on this stuff in Germany?
Oh, well then I don't want it. You can have it back.
Hey everyone! I'm Dana and you’re watching Wanted Adventure Living Abroad.
So of course nothing in this world is really, actually free; you pay for the stuff one way
or another.
But that being said, here are a few things that are free in the U.S. -- you don't expect
to pay extra for them -- and not free in Germany.
So, if you’re in Germany, don’t be surprised when you have to pay for these things up front.
And if you’re in the U.S., don’t be surprised when you get these things for free!
As I mentioned in my video on toilets, in Germany there’s often a person sitting outside
of the restrooms collecting money on a plate.
Sometimes it will say how much you should pay to use the restroom, but sometimes it
doesn’t and you’re just supposed to leave whatever you want to, I guess.
And sometimes you have to pay for the restroom, you can’t go in there without paying, and
then other times you’re just, you know, kind of, sort of supposed to pay, but you
aren’t really forced to do it.
In the U.S., I don’t think I’ve ever had to pay to use a restroom.
And from my experience, I’ve never really seen a difference in cleanliness between paid
restrooms in Germany and the free ones in the U.S.
Even along the highways in the U.S.
During the last two summers Mr. German Man and I went on a road trip through the U.S.,
and all the restrooms were free, and they were all pretty fine in my opinion.
I was actually quite surprised and impressed.
Always clean, hygienic, not really smelly.
But I would say, I don’t really mind paying to use the restroom on a hiking trail or a
restroom for tourists in the city center.
I am happy to have those, and I'm fine paying for them.
But what I do mind is paying to use a restroom if I'm a customer somewhere, at a restaurant
or in a shopping mall, at a store, for example.
If I’m spending my money there, or even just trying on clothes, looking at products,
and thinking about spending my money there, then I think those restrooms should be free.
In the U.S. shopping bags are free.
One bag, two, bags, three bags, paper or plastic...take however many you like, there’s no extra cost.
Except there is an extra cost.
There’s an extra cost to the planet.
Here in Germany bags at the grocery store usually cost 25 euro cents, and it used to
be that plastic bags in retail shops were free in Germany, but now those bags are 10
euro cents per bag, and I love it. I think it is so great.
We are clogging our world with this stuff.
So yes, charge 10 cents or 25 cents per bag and hopefully people will then think twice
about taking a bag.
If you know you’re going shopping, maybe that small fee will encourage people to remember
to bring a bag with them, or if you make a last minute shopping trip, hopefully it will
encourage people to pack as much as they can into one bag rather than use three or four
of them and only fill them halfway.
In general I love the restaurant experience in Germany. It’s laid-back and chill.
You can order as little or as much as you want.
And once you’re done eating, there’s usually also no pressure to leave quickly so that
the restaurant can seat someone else at your table.
You’re welcome to sit there and enjoy your time for as long as you like.
But one thing that I really dislike about the restaurant experience in Germany is how
dang expensive water is.
For a little bottle, it costs, like, three euros.
Which is really expensive when you compare it to the fact that you can get tap water
for free in restaurants in the U.S.
I have tried asking at restaurants here in Germany if I could just have a glass of tap
water with my meal, but from my experience, nine times out of ten I am told no.
I can buy a bottle of water, but I can’t have a free glass of tap water with my meal.
I've noticed, though, that the exception to this seems to be if I’ve already spent a
pretty good bit of money on food and other drinks like sodas or alcoholic beverages,
and then if I ask, in addition to all of that, for a carafe of tap water for the table,
then it's usually given to me. But also sometimes not.
Sometimes they will say I can buy a larger bottle of water for the table, but still not
get a free carafe of tap water.
But in the U.S., sometimes servers will just show up at the table with tap water for everyone,
which also isn’t great because then if people don't actually want the water and then they
don’t drink the water, it’s a waste.
But I do appreciate that in general tap water is free at restaurants in the U.S.
Going along with the last one, tap water isn’t free in Germany and neither are refills.
You get one, two, three glasses of soda, you will have to pay for each and every drink.
And that adds up quickly!
So keep track of how much you’re drinking, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Whereas in the U.S., fountain soda, coffee, and iced tea are usually free refills at restaurants.
In the U.S., I grew up with libraries just being free.
That’s what they were.
Free, for everyone.
The library card was free. Using the computers and the Internet was free.
Checking out books: free.
The only thing that you had to pay for was if you wanted to make copies on the copy machine.
When I first moved here to Munich, then, I was surprised when I went to go get a library
card at the local library branch near my apartment and found out that you actually had to pay
a yearly fee.
And I just looked it up; according to the München Stadtbibliotek website, it costs
20 euros per year for a membership, and it costs 50 cents per 30 minutes to use their
Internet on the computers.
In the U.S., when you go to a grocery store you just grab a cart.
So I was surprised when I moved to Europe and realized that the carts here are often
strung together and you can’t take out a cart without putting a coin, here in Germany
50 cents, one euro, two euros, or the handy little fake plastic token that some people
carry around to use instead of coins, into the cart.
Then when you bring the cart back get your money back.
So as long as you bring the cart back this one actually is free in Germany too.
Same goes with cups and glasses at festivals or Christmas markets, for example.
In the U.S., drinks are usually given in throwaway cups, but in Germany it’s really, really nice.
You get a nice mug for your Glühwein or glass for your beer, but whatever cost the drink
is advertised at, you should add one or two, or three, or I’ve even paid as high as four
euros in Pfand.
You pay extra for the glass and then you are often given the glass and a little token to
prove that you got the glass at that place.
Then when you’re done drinking you bring the glass and the token back for your extra Pfand.
So again, in the end the glass is also free, but the problem here is, the more alcohol
you drink, the more likely it is that you will lose that little token that went along
with the glass, and with it bye-bye to your Pfand.
And before we go, one quick bonus: something that is sometimes free in Germany but not
in the U.S. Tissues at the pharmacy.
If you buy something at the pharmacy in Germany, sometimes you will get a little packet of
tissues with your purchase. Not always. But sometimes.
And when it happens, when I get that little free packet of tissues, oh that always makes me so happy.
It's fun getting stuff for free, even if it's a packet of tissues.
So my question for you is: what are some things that are "free" in your country, and what are things
that you have been surprised about having to pay extra for in other countries?
Please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching.
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Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
I'm easily made happy. Just tissues.
Or I've even paid as high as five, four, five, four euros. Four.
In the U.S., shopping bags are free.
One bag, two bag, three bags...two bags. Did I just say one bag, two bag?
So, if you're visiting Germany, don't expect, ah...don't ah...bleh.
Ah! Got it in the eye!