I spent a day or so traveling through Germany with my parents a few weeks ago as part of a (much longer) trip and a common refrain during that day was, "So much for German efficiency." Frankfurt's airport was a tiring and frustrating experience, with long delays on the tarmac, at baggage claim, at the check-in counter, etc. One rest stop on the highway was half way dismantled, with restrooms filthy enough that everybody who got a look at them turned right around and went back to their cars. And so on. I was surprised, having expected that things would be generally more functional than in the States. (I will say that the roads were in a much better state of repair.)

I come from Finland where (in my childhood) we used to say that education in Finland is the best in the world and there's really no racism or corruption.

I'm not gonna say the claims used to be true, but at least they used to be much closer to truth then than today. And I've long felt that having these kind of national beliefs can cause people/voters to neglect those things - e.g. all the bad claims about education can be just brushed off with "well we have the best education here so no worries!" - and few decades later they're not even close to true anymore.

Reminds me of a saying in poker, when many good players changed their style radically when playing against worse players and started playing way too bad starting hands (thinking they can just outplay them on the later betting rounds), something to the effect "It isn't enough that you know how to play better than your opponents, you have to actually do it"

>I spent a day or so traveling through Germany with my parents a few weeks ago as part of a (much longer) trip and a common refrain during that day was, "So much for German efficiency."

I've heard it said that the idea that Germans are efficient is a myth. (The new Berlin airport is one example.)

Germans are, rather, *rule followers*.

> I've heard it said that the idea that Germans are efficient is a myth.

I wouldn't say this either. Many people in Germany do care about efficiency, but they have nearly completely resignated about systemic problems where they can change nothing.

Individual Germans on the whole are very efficient, possibly because they have to be to survive the awful sclerotic bureaucracy in Germany. The country is a Darwinian training system. Possibly.

what a hilarious and seemingly accurate observation

German culture is thorough, not efficient.

Correct. German culture is to take any idea to its conclusion, until the idea is dead.

or someone else is dead

Had to transfer through FRA once, never doing that again. The passport control line was Mr Beast Hunger Battle Royale Games.

> that you can pay by card at market vendors

When I (German) was on vacation in the Netherlands, I found it dystopic that you could often not pay cash, but had to use card. This "I don't want to be tracked" mentality is deeply ingrained into the feeling of many Germans.

So, I would rather call this not a bug, but a feature.

Yes, I agree. Card-only, no cash allowed places are also discriminating against poor people who don't have bank accounts or who don't want to use a card, or who get paid in cash.

Eh, it’s mostly a combination of conservative anti-digitalisation plus low-key tax avoidance.

“Privacy” is a straw man argument.

>There’s a general sense that Germany is a prosperous, influential country. The reason for that must be that things are done correctly in Germany.

I'm from the Netherlands(also not living there anymore) and I recognize this arrogance there, too.

And at the same time, almost paradoxically, the Netherlands has an inferiority complex.

The "doing things correctly" mentality is the root of so many problems. Bureaucracy, "German engineering" (overengineering), cargo-culting, CYA, error culture, ...

where do you live now?