Berlin's endless rows of tenements were once horribly overcrowded, with large families often living in one- or two-room flats. But in recent years, these so-called Altbau, or old buildings, have enjoyed a rapid renaissance. These blocks in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin were, until the early 1990s, often empty and in a state of severe disrepair. Now everyone wants to rent an Altbau.

In former East Germany, where nearly all accommodation was rented from the government, prefab concrete housing blocks known as Plattenbau rose up across the communist nation. Not only were they cheap, but they were often preferred to Altbau apartments because they offered all modern conveniences like new plumbing that didn't leak, reliable electricity and hot water.

According to the most recent statistics from Statista (2015), 48 percent of Germans rent and 52 percent are home-owners. Most renters live in apartments - and make the most of their balconies. Some barbeque or lounge, while others grow overflowing gardens that utilize every last inch of precious outdoor space. Balconies can be veritable ecosystems that become rather bleak in the winter months.

In some Germans cities, particularly Berlin, rental houses are made up of front and back buildings separated by an inner courtyard through which the life of these rental communities ebb and flow. They are unique communal spaces across which people view each other's lives, and where they interact as they park their bicycles or access their numerous garbage bins.

Only the names of residents are used to identify the flats inside a building in Germany. These names on the intercom of a Hamburg apartment building typically have no corresponding flat number. That means you have to address letters to Germany clearly because the mail carrier only has the name to go by.

Known as WGs, or Wohngemeinschaften, shared apartments are popular in big cities where apartment prices are rising and availability is shrinking. People who share flats often also rent out the living area to bring prices down as much as possible. This is especially so in Berlin, a city full of artists, students and people on low budgets.

Painting the apartment before you leave is another German rental tradition. Leaving the walls shiny white for the next residents isn't such a bad thing - but it means you have to spend days preparing walls and climbing ladders before you move out. Not all rental contracts force tenants to paint the apartment - however they are obliged to leave it as they found it.

In some German cities, kitchens and appliances are not included in rental properties. That means the tenant has to purchase their own and have it installed at their expense. Alternatively, some people buy the previous tenant's kitchen at a discount if they aren't planning on taking it with them to their next living space.

Among the quirks of Altbau apartments is that many didn't use to include facilities, which were sometimes shared communally. That means that you'll find bathrooms today that are wedged into the smallest - and oddest - spaces. Or, in some cases, they might be huge and replace an entire former room. This shower in a Berlin flat was built in the kitchen cupboard.

When scanning apartment listings in Germany, you'll generally find the sizes given in square meters and the number of rooms. The latter includes not just bedrooms, but also living space. The kitchen and bathroom(s) are listed separately. Apartments are most expensive in Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, where new tentants pay on average 16.55, 13.37 and 12.95 euros per square meter respectively.

A proper German breakfast includes a perfectly soft-boiled egg. And to hold those eggs, most German households have a variety of egg cups, some even coming with their own spoon and miniature salt shaker. There's even a specially designed egg-cracking device, known as an "Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher," or "eggshell breaking point causer," something that could only be invented in Germany.

Germans take recycling seriously, especially when it comes to "Pfandflaschen," or deposit bottles. These glass and plastic bottles are collected at home and then lugged in heavy bags back to the supermarket where they can be returned for cash. They're not worth much - usually only 8 or 25 cents - but everyone does it anyways. After all, they take up a lot of space at home.

Admittedly, Germany isn't the only country with kitchen towels. But you'll find an amazing collection of them in most households. A typical German kitchen is filled with towels - hanging over a chair or drying on the radiator. Although newer models can feature unusual designs, checked patterns have ruled for decades. And they are more economical and ecological than paper towels.

If you spill something inside a German household, you're in luck. Many Germans are equipped with a cabinet full of cleaning supplies for literally every surface in their homes. There are cleaning products for glass, tile, ceramic, wood, faux wood, metal and even a cleaner specifically designed for electric stove tops. Happy scrubbing!

Although this object, the "Klobürste," is also typically available in most countries, somehow it seems far more prominent in Germany. Germans often have to "educate" foreigners on the fact that it's not just reserved for weekly cleaning chores. Because of the particular shape of many German toilet bowls, those brown stains won't just "flush away" on their own, so everyone has to do their part.

Germans aren't very big on showing off, except when it comes to their books. Inside nearly every German home you'll find a shelf - often reaching from floor to ceiling - filled with books, whether classics written by German philosophers or coffee table books on the latest architectural trends. A visitor will never know how many of them their owner has actually read - but at least they can be seen.

Even with so many books, Germans still find extra shelf space for their most prized possessions: documents. Germans love their documents - certificates, tax returns (10 years' worth, no joke), contracts, bank statements, insurance papers. They all need to be properly sorted, filed and stored. So you'll often find an army of specially designed binders lining the walls of German homes.

Germans' penchant for privacy is well known and you can see it best by looking at (but not through) their front windows. Many households have metal window coverings called "Rollladen" (no, the three L's are not a typo) that roll down to completely cover the window and block out the outside world. They do a great job of shielding your home from the pesky early morning sun - and that nosy neighbor.

In many countries, people take off their shoes when they enter a house. Still, many foreigners are impressed by how systematically Germans slip into more comfortable footwear as soon as they arrive home or get out of bed. And in most cases, they're so much more than just slippers - they're proper "Hausschuhe," or house shoes.

German beds prioritize practicality over romance, especially when it comes to blankets: Couples sleep with two blankets on a double bed. Why share one when each person sleeping in the bed can have their own? Of course, you won't find this setup in a single person's home - but bachelors shouldn't laugh, as they might get there one day.