I posted on here ages ago because my father was coming to visit me from America. My dad is a farmer who has lived in the same two-mile radius his entire life. His only outside experience of the world comes through Fox News. He was therefore convinced I had gotten myself into a socialist hellscape overrun by communist anarchists. Needless to say, I was terrified for the visit.

I asked this subreddit for help and I greatly appreciate the advice you gave me. I kept it in mind as I scheduled our trip. He was coming here for four days. During that time, I showed him around my city, took him to Munich, and went to Mittenwald. I had planned to take him to Oberstdorf as well, but construction made the trip too difficult.

My dad LOVED the canals flowing through Augsburg and marveled at how clean they were and that there are even fish swimming through them. He was a bit nervous walking through the old town at night, but he quickly realized that he and I were perfectly safe. I also took him up to see the Danube and he was quite impressed.

He‘s not a city guy but thought the subway system in Munich was great—he kept talking about how clean everything is and how everything is so much more modern and efficient than New York City. (He‘s been there before. Did not like it.) He also loved the churches I took him to. Though there was an anime convention in the Englischer Garten, which confused my dad to no end (“These kids are pretending they’re animals?“) he loved the canals flowing through the park and all the little winding trails in the foresty areas. He said it would be a great place to go for a run and it was way better than Central Park in New York City. I also took him to the Biergarten and he got a brat and fries and, of course, a beer. He thought it was too hoppy but later in the trip had an Augustiner Helles and thought that was pretty dang good.

My dad also loved Mittenwald. I didn’t take him to GP because there are just too many tourists and locals fed up with tourists, and I figured that would give my dad an unpleasant view of Germans. My dad is a pretty fit guy (you do a heck of a lot of walking and lifting when you’re a farmer) and was able to climb up to the gorge, no problem. He was astonished by how blue the river is and how deep the gorge is. And he couldn’t believe we had just walked into Austria. He kept asking me where the border guards would be at. We also paid extra to go see the waterfall and he loved it. He said that if we had something like this back home, admission would be an arm and a leg snd the walkways would be packed with all sorts of tourists. He took so many pictures and videos of, well, everything.

My dad also LOVED the trains. He kept saying they are so clean and feel so smooth when you’re riding in them. He thought the red (DB) trains were maybe a smidge worse, but adored the Arverio trains. I also got him on an ICE and he just had the time of his life. He took pictures and videos of everything on these trains. The schedules. The seats. The windows.

There is also a farm in my neighborhood so of course I took my dad to check it out. He did a walkthrough of an entire corn field. His verdict is that the farmer planted his corn too closely together, which makes the corn plants shorter. But he was impressed by how weed-free the fields were and how everything still stays growing after thousands of years of crops being grown on the same soil. I am now meant to research the types of fertilizer used here. We also saw a tractor going through town and my dad just thought that was the best thing. He said the tractors here move faster than the ones back home.

And my dad also met some great people. He befriended some guys when he complimented their bicycles. I also taught him the tried and true art of befriending any Bavarian by telling them you love their state way more than Berlin. He was also astonished that there are so many malls here; the ones we have in my state are all closed or closing, but the Arcaden and City-Galerie are running smoothly. He said it was just like when he was a kid. He also told me one night, “These people have their income taxed half to death, but it seems to me they’re living just fine!“

Overall, my dad loved it. He said he wants to return. So thank you all to everyone who gave advice or support. And to any of you who need to hear it, you’ve got a pretty good life here in Germany. Just ask my dad!

EDIT: Yes, my dad knows I post his picture online. Yes, he‘s fine with it. I did not tell him about my first post, but he’s cool with me sharing his experience.

Text says: "We're doing it for the nice taste"

Every year, for roughly 2 weeks in mid to late April, cherry trees bloom in front of an old building at the bus stop Westfriedhof in Munich and it looks completely surreal. I've lived here for years and only just discovered it. The kind of thing that makes you wonder how an ordinary public transport stop can look like this.

It made me wonder: Is this Germany's most beautiful bus stop right now?

I'm a photographer based in Munich. If you'd like to see more, you can find me on Instagram: nickpic

Quite interesting

I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was 17 during my study abroad program.

And many of you amazing Germans will be watching this British Comedy :) Im from Britain and I’ve visited Germany twice in the last two years and I absolutely love it!! 🇬🇧🇩🇪

THE GAZA CONFLICT WAS COVERED BOTH IN 2024 AND 2025, HERE IS NOT THE PLACE TO TALK ABOUT IT, PLEASE DO THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE. We all know there is violations of human rights on a daily basis, you dont need to drag it here as well.

basic description of the floats:

1; Trump and putin trying to swallow Europa

2; Merz and Söder sticking with combustion engines, even if it is a dead end.

3; Epstein, everyone protects the culprits, everyone ignores the victims

4; Jacques Tillie's answer to the Russian arrest warrant against him because of his satire floats.

5; Childhood...today

6; Trump is violating the teachings of jesus

7; A further Russian warcrime in Ukraine

8; Putin controls the AFDrone to wage hybrid warfare on germany.

9; 2 big mustard producers leave Düsseldorf.

10; Opression of women in Afghanistan.

11; The Mullah regime is slowly desolving.

12; The future generations have to carry the burden of pensioners

13; Rising rents are oppressive

Danke Euch!

I don't really have anyone to share this with, but today I became a German citizen!🇩🇪

Found this attached to my bike one day. Maybe act of kindness or something sinister black magic attempt?

Hello!

Why do you have emojis as road signal? And how should I interpret them? This one I suppose means that there is a bad road for another two km. The ones before were red and the one where the bad road ended was green. Why do I need the emoji? :) is it just for fun?

I know a lot of other immigrants are going through this process. So I’m going to answer questions if I can help!

Here’s my backstory.

Nationality: USA (S4)

Moved to Germany eight years ago. Got my B1 a while ago, took the citizenship test in January 2023 (anticipating the new law) and applied for citizenship as a permanent resident.

• 05.03.2024 - Applied online

• 23.04.2024 - Proactively sent in my Loyalitätserklärung using the contact form (https://www.berlin.de/einwanderung/ueber-uns/kontakt/artikel.1394181.php) and LEA responded, acknowledging receipt

• 27.06.2024 - Proactively sent in a new Arbeitsbescheinigung (using the same contact form) and my three most recent payslips on the day the citizenship law changed

• 02.07.2024 - LEA responded, letting me know my case number and that my application was being processed, but warned it could take a while due to the high demand (it read like a form letter)

• 15.07.2024 - Not so long after all, LEA! They wrote asking for proof of rent payments (I sent a screenshot of my bank statement) and any dates I was on unemployment. I responded with those details within the hour.

• 16.07.2024 - I received my inviation to pick up the Urkunde

• 31.07.2024 - Urkunde received (and the appointment was super easy, just as others have described it in this group)

Tips!

• BE PROACTIVE! I see a lot of people lamenting how long it will take to get citizenship. If you label all of your documents clearly that you submit online and proactively send information, it seems like you'll speed things up quite a bit.

• Book an appointment to get you passport/ID ASAP. I booked some backup appointments as soon as I got my Urkunde invitation, but I also looked for appointments opening up the day of my Urkunde pickup to see if I could get something the same day. (I read somewhere that the Amts release same-day appointments between 7am - 8am.) Luckily, I was able to get a Reisepass Termin. And I learned at that appointment that you can do both (Reisepass + Personalausweis) at the same appointment. No need to schedule two separate appointments. Currently, passports take about 10 weeks to process. I'm leaving the country shortly, so I paid double for express and will pick it up one week from tomorrow.

I think that's everything! But happy to answer any questions.

Cheers and good luck to all the other applicants! May the Deutsch be with you. 🇩🇪 🖖