This week, thanks to a DM from our listener Mark, we are reacting live to a German article titled "Benehmen wie Gott in Frankreich" (How to behave in France).

If you want to avoid embarrassing yourself on your next trip to Paris, this episode is a survival guide. We cover the absolute necessity of saying a polite "Bonjour", the intense mathematics of the German getrennte Kasse versus the French way of splitting a restaurant bill equally, and the ultimate culinary crime: putting butter on your baguette at dinner time.

Words you’ll learn (and actually remember):

• 🇩🇪 Das Fettnäpfchen (Literally "the fat bowl" – the German idiom for stepping right into a social blunder).
• 🇩🇪 Der Banause (An uncultured person—exactly what you are if you ask a fancy French chef for ketchup or Maggi sauce).
• 🇫🇷 Le Faux pas (A social blunder, though Colline clarifies the French mostly use this strictly for fashion mistakes).
• 🇫🇷 Un Malotru (Supposedly a word for a rude person who doesn't say hello... except Coline claims this is fake news and has never heard it in her life).
• 🇫🇷 Œufs à la coque (Soft-boiled eggs—the only acceptable meal where you can eat bread and butter outside of breakfast).

Also: The anxiety of navigating the French bise versus the German handshake, why bringing wine to a dinner party is actually totally fine (despite what the internet says), and the shocking website tracking German history.

Plus, the great Spotify Playlist Rivalry continues! Coline is currently beating Alex in followers, but Alex fights back with his latest German playlist addition: the Italian-inspired Schlager-pop track "Bella Napoli" by Roy Bianco.

Find the playlists here

BANGER SONGS TO LEARN GERMAN (Alex)

BANGER SONGS TO LEARN FRENCH (Coline)

New episode every Monday! Please consider leaving a 5-star review, share the podcast to help us reach our 100-country goal (shoutout to our listeners in Cambodia, Bahrain, and Kenya!), and let us know: do you secretly calculate exactly what you ate when splitting the bill? 🧀🥖

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Happy Monday! This week, Colline reports back from her trip to Heringsdorf on the Baltic Sea, where she experienced "peak German culture": beautiful nature, 90s-style hotels, and the deeply unsettling German obsession with shaping basic vanilla ice cream into clowns and Mickey Mouse.

Then, we dive into the ultimate fashion clash. Why do older German couples love wearing matching Jack Wolfskin windbreakers? Why did Alex feel like a homeless person while walking around Paris? And why do Germans have a highly specific word for a jacket you only wear for three weeks out of the year?

Words you’ll learn (and actually remember):

• 🇩🇪 Die Übergangsjacke (The legendary "transitional jacket" meant exclusively for that awkward weather between winter and spring).
• 🇩🇪 Der Zwiebellook (The "onion look" – surviving unpredictable German temperature swings through extreme layering).
• 🇩🇪 Funktionskleidung (Functional outdoor gear worn completely casually, whether you are hiking the Alps or just going to the supermarket).
• 🇫🇷 Être sur son 31 (Being dressed to the nines—a phrase likely born from dressing up for New Year's Eve on December 31st).
• 🇫🇷 BCBG / Bon Chic Bon Genre (The classic, preppy, and stylish Parisian aesthetic).
• 🇫🇷 Ringard (Outdated, passé, or tacky – basically how a Parisian views most functional clothing).

Also: Our growing global listener map (shoutout to Kenya, Cambodia, and Bahrain!), why Birkenstocks are technically a French luxury good now, and Colline's playlist addition: the melancholic, timeless 2005 French indie-pop hit "Caravane" by Raphaël.

Colines Playlist: BANGER SONGS TO LEARN FRENCH

Alex Playlist: BANGER SONGS TO LEARN GERMAN

New episode every Monday (even if we accidentally recorded it thinking it was Friday)! Please consider leaving a review, tell us your country to help us reach our 100-country goal, and let us know: do you secretly wear socks in your sandals? 🧥🍦

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This week, we tackle Coline’s absolute biggest culture shock in Germany: why on earth are Germans eating dinner at 5:30 PM?

We dive into the completely different daily clocks of France and Germany. From the sacred 4:30 PM French snack time that pushes dinner to 9:00 PM, to how German prime-time TV starting precisely at 8:15 PM literally dictates the nation's evening schedule.

If you’ve ever tried to grab a coffee with a French colleague or find a restaurant open at 3:00 PM in Berlin, this episode explains everything. Plus, we are officially launching our "Banger Songs to Learn German/French" Spotify playlist, starting with an indie rock classic!

Words you’ll learn (and actually remember):

• Le goûter (The holy 4:30 PM sweet snack break that explains exactly why French people can easily survive until a late dinner).
• La pause café (The French coffee break—an organized, frequent social event for office gossip, not just grabbing caffeine and running back to your desk).
• Bon vivant (The French philosophy of prioritizing pleasure over efficiency and enjoying the moment rather than watching the clock).

Also: The Parisian magic of service continu, why the French spend their entire Sunday revolving around a poulet rôti (roasted chicken), German 8:15 PM prime time, and our very first German song recommendation ("Deiche" by Kettcar).

New episode every Monday! Please consider leaving a 5-star review, tell us your country's TV prime time, and let us know: are you a 6:00 PM or 9:00 PM dinner kind of person? 🕰️🍗

Check out the new playlist "Banger Songs to Learn German", our new way of helping you to get more exposure to the German language ;)

Follow us for more

instagram.com/hellocoline

instagram.com/alex.von.mydealz

tiktok.com/@hellooco

tiktok.com/@alex.von.mydealz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.