Germany is not a country renowned for having invented the world's most popular dance forms, but many people in the country enjoy shaking it when they hear music. In some cases, it might look a little awkward — or life-threatening — but that shouldn't stop anyone from moving to the beat.

You might be challenged in Germany when trying to get around with just a credit card — many shops and services take cash only. Most Germans are used to it, and carry around a lot of euro bills with them. They feel they can better keep track of the money they spend that way. Plus, paying cash keeps transactions more private...

You're allowed to wash your clothes, but not your car. In most of Germany's 16 states, car washes are closed on Sundays, as are supermarkets and stores. Sunday is seen as day of rest and relaxation in Germany, though cafes and restaurants remain open, so you can at least get your heavenly delights here on earth.

Bicycle helmets are not compulsory in Germany, but many people choose to wear one just the same — and an improvised version might be better than nothing at all. But if a Prussian Army Pickelhaube is easier to find than your usual bike helmet, you probably live in a museum...

Finally, you get some peace and quiet to devote time to your partner and his secret wishes. How unfortunate if they do not match your own ideas ...

The car has become a national fetish in postwar Germany. But though proud car owners still lovingly polish their vehicles across the nation on Saturdays, the mythic renown of the Made in Germany car has been smashed in the wake of Dieselgate. The climate crisis will also challenge that deep-seated German car love — at least until vehicles go completely electric.

The Germans are often conservative and pragmatic. Well, sometimes. Things can also get out of control. During their European Tour 2019, German band Rammstein raised their love of pyrotechnics to a new level as stages across the Continent became infernos, flamethrowers going off around the band. "You do not need a music critic but a grill critic," wrote one music reviewer.

If you can't stand your neighbor and don't mind a little extra concrete around your property, you might consider building a wall to clearly mark your territory. However, be aware that German municipal laws determine the maximal height and materials that can be used in fences — so don't try this at home without a written permission from authorities.

Decades before cartoonist Fernandez played with the idea that a crooked picture is intolerable for the German brain, cult comedian Loriot also showed in one sketch from 1976 how a simple attempt to straighten a painting on a wall can lead to disastrous results. If there's one lesson to learn from the act, it's that sometimes it's safer to simply ignore a crooked picture...

The German language has adopted so many English terms that the phenomenon has been pejoratively dubbed "Denglisch," which combines Deutsch and the German form for the word English. If you work in tech or advertising in Germany, you're bound to hear more than a few anglicisms — but you'll still need to keep studying German for a while to know that it's DAS Meeting.

Ahead of a long holiday weekend in Germany — when shops not only close for more than a day, but families are getting together for a series of big meals — you will notice a surreal atmosphere in German supermarkets: People seem to be buying enough food to fill a bunker. But there's nothing to worry about, it's just part of the way things work.

Couple therapists recommend to actually schedule regular sex dates with your partner to keep the flame alive. The appointments are well marked in this person's calendar — and according to the stereotype, Germans don't mess with their planned schedule. But should we ask how much time has been allocated to the big event?

Many Germans see their lawn as sacred — giving the impression that it wouldn't even matter if the police were to show up at the door to evacuate the area following a tornado alert. After all, real lawnmower addicts would never abandon their stretch of grass in a neglected state...

People living near airports want to sleep too. Most of Germany's airports have strict restrictions and curfews during the night — including at the country's largest airport hub, Frankfurt. So even if you're a friendly alien traveling through galaxies over decades, time your landing properly!

Germans on vacation, especially those on flat-rate tours, are notorious for their extremely high proficiency in stacking up edibles on tiny breakfast and dinner plates. Some take the famous "battle of the buffet" a bit too seriously: elbows, knees and cutlery are wielded as weapons, implemented with the goal of claiming as much booty as possible.

Germans are known around the world for their accuracy. And, as they say in German, "order is half of life!" What better way to keep things tidy than to use nail clippers to cut your grass?

White socks and sandals, the bum bag and the souvenir t-shirt purchased at the last package holiday on the Mediterranean: Although the Germans cannot compete with French haute couture, they definitely have their own distinctive and well-traveled style.

The Germans are not known for their humor. As the American writer Mark Twain observed nearly 150 years ago, German jokes are not suitable for laughter. And when they do try to show their funny side, it is invariably overplayed.

In Germany, you'll often hear the saying, "Five minutes too early is on time; on time is late; and late is unacceptable." The man in this cartoon perhaps hopes to be fashionably late — by getting to the meeting right on time.

National pride has been officially frowned upon in Germany since the Nazi era. That's why young people don't learn the national anthem at school. You usually only hear the German anthem before international football matches and other major sporting events — and even then it is not always played flawlessly. "Looking for freedom" might even be the better choice...

Everyone who has a dog knows the temptation, but maybe Germans are a bit weaker when it comes to their furry friends? The new masters of this household definitely know everything about the consequences of being too permissive...

Germans might like to boast about their country's beer or bread and how their national specialties are better than anything they'll find abroad. But if a suitcase gets lost or delayed on a trip, then they'll rather long for their belongings.

Germans love to go to the hardware store and add all kinds of tools to their collection. According to the stereotype, they'll also have an exaggerated tendency to insist on always having the right tool to do things properly, otherwise you shouldn't even start working on a renovation project. This child knows how it goes.

Three genders, the interplay of prepositions, cases and adjective endings — German grammar is undoubtedly complex. "Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache," ("German language, difficult language") a saying goes. In his 1880 essay "The Awful German Language," American writer Mark Twain confirms "a person who has not studied German can form no idea of what a perplexing language it is."

The many restaurants in Europe's tourist hotspots that offer German bratwurst, schnitzel, fries and beer show that German tourists abroad like what they know and will happily choose familiar food over exotic local cuisine.

German tourists are infamous for marking out their territory on the beach in the early morning with a towel, and then heading off for breakfast. Here Germany's most famous dog seems to have inherited this territorial trait.

Too sunny, too rainy, too hot or too cold — Germans are known for their tendency to complain. They will find the fly in the ointment, and go on and on about it. But that doesn't mean they are unhappy: According to a 2017 survey by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), overall satisfaction levels are at their highest in Germany since German reunification.

Not everywhere is Freikörperkultur (or FKK, literally "Free Body Culture"), as widespread as in Germany. Here naked bodies are not only found on the beach, but even in the English Garden in Munich, or among the venerable oaks in Berlin Tiergarten.

In Germany, there are more than 3,200 types of bread — not to mention innumerable rolls. In 2014, German bread culture was even included in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural assets. If keeping track of them and choosing one at a bakery is too complicated, pointing and saying "that one there," or "no, that one next to it," will usually do the trick.

Punctuality is a virtue in Germany. But the compulsion to always be on time can also be nerve-wracking. As the popular saying goes: "German punctuality is five minutes ahead of time."

Despite the widespread stereotype, funnily enough, neither German airlines nor railways are among the world's top 10 most punctual. Placing value on something and actually living up to it are two very different things.

Even before David Hasselhoff's legendary performance of "Looking for Freedom" on the Berlin Wall during new year's eve in 1989, "The Hoff" was a star in Germany. While he saw success in the US as an actor in series such as Knight Rider and Baywatch, in Germany he was also taken seriously as a singer. Several of his albums went gold and platinum in the country — much to the amusement of Americans.

The German love of cars seems to know no limits. A 2017 survey came to the conclusion that every 10th German considers having a car more important than having a partner. But in these tough times of diesel scandals and air pollution, this love is being put to the test. Alas, a happy ending is not yet in sight.

Austria and Germany are so close to one another, yet so far away. Germans tend to be viewed as condescending to their neighbors, and Austrians return this condescension with words that are less than kind.

Germans are known for being direct and speaking their mind, a form of unfiltered honesty that can border on rudeness for people from other cultures. Being superficially polite is not a German thing, and they usually don't mince words or beat around the bush, preferring to cut to the chase and say what they mean.

Germans are football crazy. The earth may shake, World War Three may break out, or a wedding may be planned: But everything comes second to an important football match.

The train is running late, so there's enough time for a cigarette — theoretically at least. But since 2007, smoking is banned outside marked zones at German stations. Some in the rule-bound nation are nonetheless "rebels" who dare to dangle their toes over the line.

Germans take their train seat reservations very seriously. By paying a supplement when they buy a ticket, passengers are assured to have a free spot waiting for them when they board the train. If a reservation feels necessary before holiday weekends for example, sometimes the train is empty enough to improvise — but not everyone will be that flexible.

Garden gnomes are a ubiquitous part of typical German front gardens and come in endless guises: Gardeners, musicians, footballers, bikies. These gnomes have a long tradition and remain a kitschy mainstay of the German suburban landscape. They are also sometimes so weird that they've developed an ironic kind of cult appeal.

In Bavaria, a pair of traditional lederhosen, or leather pants, belongs in almost every wardrobe. But beware: The traditional garment may cause confusion in some circles. Members of German bikie gangs also wear leather pants — but they're not quite the same.

Granted, the spoken German language is not known for its melodious sound. On the contrary; if you do not understand the language, you might get the impression that Germans are constantly arguing. But what makes the German language sound so harsh? One reason, say linguists, is the relatively large number of consonants.

There is nothing more German than Birkenstock sandals and socks, worn often in unison with shorts. Even this German Shepherd has adopted the national stereotype.

Sitting on 220 kilometers per hour on the highway is no problem in Germany. The country's car lobby has successfully resisted highway speed limits that are routine in other countries. Hence visitors to Germany might be shocked when they are travelling at twice the legal speed limit set at home.

Anyone who has spent their lives racing down speed-limitless German highways will want to continue the national pastime into old age — though sensibly of course. For pensioners, 120 kilometers per hour seems a good compromise.

"Red means wait, green means go!" This national rule is drummed into German children, sometimes even before they can walk, meaning that as adults few citizens would dare disobey a traffic signal — even when it's broken!

What would the Germans be without their jobs? Maybe healthier? At any rate, being sick and missing work is not as option for many duty-bound Germans. Here the motto is not "get well soon," but "get well fast!"

When it comes to beer drinking, the Germans have a mythical resilience. No wonder. Eight billion liters of beer are consumed in Germany annually. The nation is especially proud of its beer purity law, which states that beer may only be made from hops, malt, yeast and water.

Germans might not always be on time, but they remain sticklers for rules — and regulations. So it wouldn't be surprising if a rule-heavy game like chess was invented by a German, despite its ancient origins.