First thoughts when you hear germany?

[DementedSheep]

?If you want good quality scalpels and scissors for surgery you should always buy them from Germany?....yeah

Actually people say that about allot of things. Germany seems to have a reputation for high quality products.

 

[Uber Evil]

'Taking pleasure at other people's pain...?' ... That is German!

Schadenfreude!
I think of the language, since I'm learning it. Some of their words are delicious specific and cruel, such as backpfeifengesicht, meaning a face which should be slapped. Also, the fact that they have some very long compound words.

 

[aescuder]

Awesome beer!

 

[TheBestPieEver]

Wine of horrible quality but undeniable nice taste,

 

[Raregolddragon]

Went to Germany once for a week, felt like I was back in central Texas during winter and someone had changed changed all the street signs, did not bother me due to the effect I learned the lingo via Rosetta Stone.

 

[AngloDoom]

Schnitzal, the German language, clean water.

The stabbing guilty in my gut when I realise I spent nine years in that country without learning the language.

 

[Warforger]

The awesome language, it always sounds bad ass no matter who speaks it.

I think of the Holy Roman Empire and The Councillor Otto von Bismark.

Yah pre-WWII Germany is more awesome IMO since it was just a bunch of city states but under Bismarck became unified and so strong that it joined the Imperial club. Other countries like Italy or Serbia tried to replicate its success (with Serbia not achieving total unification of the peoples until after the territory was handed to them and Italy not being very strong) but not on the same success.

I am disgusted people only think of WWII-era Germany since countries indoctrinate their kids into worshiping that period as to boost their national ego and sell merchandise for it at the expense of an entire group of people. It's only Germany they think of "genocidal maniacs ", no one thinks that way for the British, or French, or Americans, or Russians and the list goes on to pretty much every country on Earth, the difference with those is that they can't take universal pride in stopping it thus they aren't made out to be as evil.

 

[Alssadar]

Unfortunately, I thought of the Wermacht at first (Just watched a short film of a WWI soldier)
But nonetheless:
Kartoffel, engineering, sham-wows, strong industrial backgrounds, castles, schnitzel, a language that always sounds awesome, Otto von Bismarck, Holy Roman Empire, the early Germanic Tribes and Oktoberfest.
Not in that order.

Edit: How could I forget Zweihänders?

 

[Berithil]

Strangely enough, the first thing that comes to mind are germanic fairy tales ( probably because I'm reading the complete grimm fairy tales right now). Second is good ol' german food. Mmmmm sausage. Oh, then Nazi Germany and the war. I like to keep a positive view of Germany due to the fact that I'm 50% German

 

[Mau95]

The color gray and a very angry-sounding language (butterfly, papillon, vlinder, SCHMADDERLING!) and people in lederhösen at the Oktoberfest, which is a little racist and inaccurate (damn you stereotypes!).

 

[kittii-chan 300]

Well in order...

"Shit!"

"Nein!" That's 9 in txt talk

And more recently:

Spoiler: Hetalia!

Guess who germany is?

 

[aprildog18]

The world "Berlin" and "Leck mich am Arsch" from reading http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110530-35347.html (took me some time to find that link again)

 

[Mister K]

Order, quality, discipline, beer. Those are the words.

 

[CODE-D]

1. the color green
2. genocide
3. cars
4. hitler
5. german accents, clothes, beer

 

[Major_Tom]

This:

Spoiler: G36

And this:

Spoiler: P99

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

The bread rolls. Seriously it's heavenly. When I lived there everyday day in the evening we'd go to a nearby shop to buy them. Cheap as hell and tastes like heaven.

After that, the flag, the castle near our former house there, and all the friends I used to have there.

 

[Khanht Cope]

First thought when I hear Germany is: "Eurozone crisis"

 

[Hip Priest]

'Krautrock' and Wagner.

 

[Xeldrak]

OH OH!!! and The Police dog REX!

Rex is actually austrian - but don't worry, most germans aren't aware of this aswell..

Beeing german too, I always ask myself how german sounds to an english or spanish speaking person...