Life in Germany Versus Life in Portugal
Before I moved to Portugal, I had a lot of questions (surprise surprise). And honestly, it seems I’m not the only one, seeing as one of my most popular blog posts of all time is this one, about moving to Ericeira, Portugal. In short, I had absolutely no idea what I was in for, but I knew I wanted to live in Europe. Having stayed in Hamburg, Germany for a few months’ time, I thought I had a decent understanding of general life in Europe. And while I may have been right about a few tiny things, boy was I wrong about SO MANY OTHERS. Because Germany is nothing like Portugal, and living in Ericeira, a funky surf town by the beach, is nothing like living in the bustling, artsy city of Hamburg.
So I decided to do an unofficial comparison of life in Germany versus life in Portugal. I won’t be able to cover everything, and I personally might think talking about coffee is way more important than you do, but let’s consider this a small piece of the European comparison pie. So without further ado, let’s dive in!
1. Greetings
On my very first day in Portugal, I found myself at a party filled with locals, expats, and randos, and set about my extroverted way introducing myself to everyone. With my hand outstretched to the first person I saw, I was immediately met with a chuckle and an, “oh, you must be new here!” Then, my hand was gently pushed aside, and I was led through the typical Portuguese greeting of one kiss on each cheek. I must’ve kissed about 50 strangers that evening. After having worked in Germany for awhile, this was a weird one to get used to. But after a few days, it started to settle in, and I began to enjoy the fact that this one simple Portuguese custom is adopted by literally everyone, foreigners and locals alike. How nice is it to meet someone and immediately greet them with a lil’ love?
As you can imagine, in Germany there’s no kissing strangers upon first meeting. Handshakes are the way to go, unless your name is Emily Claire Hughes and you revert to hugs 7 times out of 10.
2. Time
In New York, I lived by the rule of being fashionably late, in order to avoid being the first one at a party. And it seemed the big apple’s 8 million other residents had the same thought as well. Everything in New York kicks off a wee bit later than it’s supposed to.
Not in Germany!
One of my favorite, predictable things about Germany is how timely everything is. Buses arrive on the dot. Table reservation times are treated with the seriousness of a marriage certificate. And dates happen exactly at the agreed-upon time. In essence, Germans get sh*t done on time. And as a pretty prompt, organized person, I absolutely love this. It’s a German stereotype that I’ve found to be 99.9% true, with the exception of a few train delays due to bad weather.
Tip for people visiting Germany:
Being fashionably late isn’t a thing. Show up on time, friends.
Portugal, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. At one of my first Portuguese lessons, the teacher rocked up 15 minutes past the starting time, shrugged her shoulders and enthusiastically yelled to the group of German and American students patiently waiting on the steps, “What?! This is Portugal! I’m 15 minutes late, so I’m actually EARLY!” And honestly, that about sums up the punctuality in Portugal.
3. Language
Here is one situation where Germany and Portugal are on the same page, despite being wildly different languages. If you travel to Portugal or Germany, you’ll find that young people almost everywhere, from big cities to small towns, speak English. In both countries, the older generation might understand you, but not feel comfortable responding. And in every country, you should learn the language. (Or make an effort to pick up some key words and phrases if you’re only visiting.) 10 times out of 10, I’ve found that attempting to speak in the language of a place translates to more meaningful experiences and conversations, even if some words are missed here and there. That being said, I’ve personally found German to be a much easier language to learn than Portuguese, but I’m sure there are plenty of people who could say the exact opposite. The last thing I’ll say is that language lessons are a great place to meet people! Bottom line: No excuses, learn the language y’all!
4. Locals
Something I’ve always tried when moving to a new place, is to not just exist in the bubble of foreigners- a very easy trap to fall into. I hesitate to write this, because it’s a sweeping generalization, but in Ericeira, I found it really difficult to make friends with locals. There was a lot of tension between foreigners and locals, and despite my enthusiastic efforts, it took me months to even go for coffee with a Portuguese person. In full transparency, I think Portugal, in general, has a lot of problems with foreigners waltzing in with deep pockets and creating entire communities in Portugal where most Portuguese people can’t even afford to buy a hipster latte, so I understand the slight resentment.
In contrast, while Germans aren’t stereotypically warm and fuzzy people, I’ve found that 9 times out of 10, when you ask a local to go for coffee and cake (Kaffee und Kuchen: a big tradition in Germany), they’re happy to sip and chat for about 30 minutes. 30 minutes is the allotted coffee and cake time, and no, I’m not kidding. It is Germany after all. We’re on a schedule, folks!
5. Food & Drink
In the coming weeks, I plan to do an entire post on this topic, but I’ll do my best to sum it up here. If you’re a person who likes fresh fish, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better food options than in Portugal. Surprisingly, I’ve been incredibly disappointed by the fish scene in Hamburg, which, to me, is really confusing because Hamburg is a massive port city, chock full of fishermen. Not sure where they’re sending all of the fresh fish, but they could sure learn a thing or two from the Portuguese fish restaurants. I miss sitting down in a local fish restaurant in Ericeira and enjoying grilled fish, served with a simple salad, potatoes, and a mix of veggies. It used to be a weekly treat, and while I do enjoy the homey, hearty German food, I’m craving a good ol’ Bacalhau!
My Favorite Ericeira Fish Restaurants:
Prim
Tik Tak
Tasca de Boa Viagem
And while this definitely isn’t a competition, Portugal knocks the socks off of Germany when it comes to wine as well. The wine selection and quality in Portugal is out of control. And while Hamburg supermarkets still have much better variety and prices than every New York wine store, I do wish more Douro valley wines would start appearing over in Deutschland. PSA: Ask for a Portuguese wine the next time you’re on the hunt for a glass of something lovely!
This list could go on and on, based on the experiences that have made my time in both Portugal and Germany so memorable. Ah yes, like trying to receive a package in Portugal from outside of Europe, having the mailman stand at your door and demand customs taxes of 30 euros before handing over the package, and being wildly confused. Good times, good times…
Anywho, while I plan to cover more of the differences of living in multiple countries, please keep in mind that these are my personal experiences, and apply to my wacky, hyper-organized yet wildly creative soul. I’m sure there are good fish restaurants I’ve yet to discover in Hamburg, just like there might be incredibly punctual people in Portugal. But this is what makes the experience! Diving into a new place, finding out every country’s quirks, and chocking it all up to some pretty awesome life experiences and a few blog posts to share with y’all!
Cheers to the differences that make every person and place unique.