to be upset that Germany always seems to be getting such a bad press on MN?

[emkana]

The thing is, I can understand where people are coming from, as living here now I find quite a few things that many German parents (and non-parents) do quite bizarre as well.

But it still saddens me...

I think it's always upsetting to hear bad reviews of one's country. (i'm Italian Emkana, we are quite used to receive bad press )

I don't even know what you wrote on that thread tbh!

It's not you in particular, it's just a general thing... sigh.

We are living out in Germany and I love it. They are friendly, very environmentally friendly and so very lovely to the children.
DD keeps getting given buns and sweets in the shops and we were burdened down with stuff after Karneval.
Germany rocks!

Lovely to hear that, scootergirl!

awww emkana....don't let the xenophobes get you down....

germany leads the world in terms of green issues....and therefore has the moral high ground in the big big way.

I particularly love DM (the chemist).....
Germany is great for lots of reasons. I wasn't keen on moving out here - we're near Dusseldorf with the army - but I can see why people move out and never want to go home.
Is there anything you really miss? Can I send you any paprika flavoured crisps or lareg sausages...?

Katjes Lakritz...yummy!

Thanks for the offer, but we're going over soon anyway.

Have also discovered fantastic website where you can order Haribo, Katjes, Dr. Oetker stuff....great!

What are the katjes things?

Emkana, I buy dr oetker pizza quite often, when I can't be bothered to make it, after a good market research, we establisjed that it's the best pizza you can get in english supermarkets

images.ciao.com/ide/images/products/normal/302/Katjes_Kinder__628302.jpgyum

try again

Sweeties? I'll get some next time I see them and if they're horrid, I'll post them to you

oh emkana
there are so many great things about German culture
as well as lots of bonkers things

They sell paprika crisps in Lidl - DD2 had them on a German exchange and always buys them when we shop there

She likes frickadellen (??) too.

Must come across like that, Emkana, sorry I think because it's so concentrated; it's not just "this annoying teacher" but "German schools". If you read through the range of topics on MN about school/news/pregnancy etc here you'd find heaps of gripes about loads of things but wouldn't think England was all crap.
It's the school system that gets me down here as we've had problems with ds1/school/ed. psychs etc and he's had a really bad time the last 12 months.
I do try & balance it by saying that if we were elsewhere we'd doubtless have other concerns/complaints.
Did also post things which are good when someone asked for advice about moving to Munich.

Good to see a more positive thread on Germany - I'm moving to Munich around June/July for a few years and am having a mixture of feelings, mostly because of the negative stuff I'd read on MN. I'm looking forward to leaving the UK at the moment, what with the surge in gun and knife crime, robberies and general disgusting state of the city I live in! OK, moan over

i loved germany when i went (years ago!) what has happened to foundintranslation is she still about?

Ummmm paprika crisps aren't hard to get hold of in England! Pringles do them!

This is funny, but I was thinking about what it would be like to live in Germany the other day - apropos nothing at all! - that is just the way my mind works! And I concluded it wouldn't be that bad at all. German cuisine doesn't get a very good press over here, but I was thinking all that cheese and sausage - well, you could do a lot worse! I astonished my German hosts when I went on a school exchange by adoring sauerkraut! So Germany, gets my vote - obviously we are going to find some cultrual differences to shudder over but that isn't all a bad thing. It would be awful if we were all the same.

And as for the Italians having a bad press Franca, I have no idea what you are talking about! We all love Italian food, culture, climate and I personally fir right in with the Italian temperament!

fit

But look at the bashing the UK gets, too! Schools, NHS, the Gvt, rudeness, road rage, toddler parking space rage...

I don't think I've ever said anything about Germany on here.

Maybe I will start

Er... It's where a lot of German people live?

They call it Deutschland.

That's it, really!

Blu, yes, that's what I meant. Taking it personally is so understandable; same as when you moan about your family/town/country it's OK but the minute anyone else does you feel affronted and defensive. Don't mean to offend anyone
There are many good things about life here and schools. That the children can walk to school or take decent public transport. That they have the afternoons free for friends and activities. That they get so much sport which my dss love. No exams or SATs.
That said, the school system does have many deficits. I read on here about SENs (non-existent here) and IEPs (which ds1 would have) and I see my lovely ds in tears because his SN means he gets a mix of A, B & C grades. The Cs mean he can't go to grammar school with his best friends and do A-levels (and thus university) despite his higher-than-average IQ and being bilingual. Aged 9.
There is an alternative (but not near us) which I have praised so it's not all moaning