0:00:02 > 0:00:05Aren't you just sick of hearing
0:00:05 > 0:00:07German success stories?
0:00:07 > 0:00:09They always win the football,
0:00:09 > 0:00:10they're the first on the beach,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12and while Britain faces cutbacks
0:00:12 > 0:00:16and eye-watering debts, just look how well the Germans are doing.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19We need, frankly, to have a more Germanic approach.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24Employment is at record levels and it's a world-beating exporter.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28What's more, the Germans earn more than us AND work fewer hours.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31So how do they do it?
0:00:31 > 0:00:33I'm Justin Rowlatt, a journalist.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35..Do you speak English?
0:00:35 > 0:00:37And I'm Bee Rowlatt, a writer.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And we're on a mission to discover the secret of German success.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42It's like kid heaven.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46We're taking the kids with us and we're going in.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Yes, there'll be beer and sausages, but this is no holiday.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58We're going to work...
0:00:58 > 0:01:01- Just one text!- No, sorry.- No?
0:01:01 > 0:01:02No, you're here to work.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04..live...
0:01:04 > 0:01:07- It's too loud.- What, WE are too loud?- You're too loud.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09..and play...
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Red Army! Red Army!
0:01:11 > 0:01:14..just like average, ordinary Germans,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17because our challenge is to become German!
0:01:17 > 0:01:19# Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens... #
0:01:23 > 0:01:26- Daddy, I want soup! - You want soup? You've got...
0:01:26 > 0:01:27Hold on, you've got food!
0:01:27 > 0:01:32'I live in North London with my wife, Bee, and our four children.'
0:01:32 > 0:01:34- I'm not.- We are, in a week or so.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36They have socks in Germany, do they?
0:01:36 > 0:01:38They probably have better socks than we've got!
0:01:38 > 0:01:42There's quite a kind of tradition of, you know, two World Wars,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46one World Cup, you know, that kind of attitude to Germany in Britain.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48And I think it'll be quite interesting to see what
0:01:48 > 0:01:49the Germans think of us, you know.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52I mean, we've obviously suffered terrible industrial decline
0:01:52 > 0:01:55since the Second World War. The Germans have done pretty well.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57They're still a major industrial nation.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00It'll be quite interesting to see what they think of Britain.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03- Put those...- OK.- Can you put them in there for me?
0:02:03 > 0:02:05- Oh, yeah.- Oh, thank you.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I'm actually half German, but I never grew up there.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11I grew up in this country.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14My dad's German, but my parents separated when I was little.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16I don't want to be disloyal. You know,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19there's nothing wrong with being half German, so it's not a problem.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22But maybe there is a kind of... There are a few kind of...
0:02:22 > 0:02:24sort of Teutonic qualities that she has.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26I can't believe I'm sharing this,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28but I quite like sitting on the toilet with the door open
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and I'll just have a merry exchange with anyone who passes by.
0:02:31 > 0:02:32Justin thinks that's really German.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34I just thinks that's the way I grew up.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36I'm going to miss you.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39'What's also really German is small families.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43'The German birth rate is low and falling,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45'just 1.4 children per couple.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47'So the first step in making us German
0:02:47 > 0:02:53'is to leave our eldest two, Eva and Zola, at home with Granny.'
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I'm going to miss them, but it's quite nice to have a break sometimes
0:02:56 > 0:02:58from all the loudness and everything.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I think it's going to be brilliant
0:03:01 > 0:03:03and I'm not going to miss them at all.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09'First off, we need somewhere to live.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12'We've moved to Nuremberg, in the heart of Bavaria.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14'It's famous for its gingerbread...
0:03:15 > 0:03:19'..its sausages, and its Nazi history.'
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- Hello.- Hello, are you Mrs Holler? - Yes, yes.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25'We've rented a flat from Mrs Holler.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31'We Brits may be obsessed with buying property, but Germans aren't.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35'More than half of them rent, compared to just a third of us.'
0:03:36 > 0:03:39- That's really nice.- I really like this flat.- Oh, it's really warm.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41'And I can see why. Rents are cheap.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45'This two-bed flat costs 135 euros a week.'
0:03:45 > 0:03:48- Kinder, kinder? - Kinder bed.- Kinder bed.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50One kinder bed. Two kinder beds...
0:03:52 > 0:03:55In Britain, I think we're obsessed with ownership,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57and here in Germany, they seem happy to rent.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And they rent for, like, you know, a really long time.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03She was saying people would stay for 10, 20 years in a rented property.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05In Britain, there's this real kind of pressure
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and expectation that if you can, you'll buy, and I...
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Do you know what? I actually think it seems a lot healthier.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13- That's the one we looked at earlier today.- Wow!
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'It means the Germans don't saddle themselves with huge debts.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22'In Britain, the average family owes £53,000, including mortgages.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25'In Germany, it's just under £30,000.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30'The kids are making themselves at home
0:04:30 > 0:04:33'and I'm expecting our first German visitor.'
0:04:34 > 0:04:35DOORBELL RINGS
0:04:37 > 0:04:39- Hiya.- Hi, I'm PJ.- PJ!
0:04:39 > 0:04:42'PJ is an advertising guru.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46'His ad agency specialises in knowing exactly what the average
0:04:46 > 0:04:49'German does every minute of every day.'
0:04:49 > 0:04:51We did quite a lot of research on how
0:04:51 > 0:04:54the typical German lives, actually.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56I brought you some things
0:04:56 > 0:04:59to learn about a typical German in this area.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02'Und damit auch die Durchschnittsdeutschen...'
0:05:02 > 0:05:06And according to the film, the typical German is called Muller,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09the nation's most common surname,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12and lives in a 1970s apartment block...
0:05:13 > 0:05:17..like this, a flat just like ours.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Sabina is the most common female name, so that's me.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34And here's me. Thomas Muller is the most common male name.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39The Mullers only have one child, unlike us.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Germans certainly get up early,
0:05:45 > 0:05:4820 minutes earlier than the average Brit.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Let's talk about tomorrow morning.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Are you prepared to go a bit earlier than usual?
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- I don't know. 6:23? - 6:23? That is early!
0:05:59 > 0:06:01That's when you have to get up.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05And then, the good thing is, you can take a bit of time in the bathroom.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09The video goes into extraordinary detail.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11No surprise that I pee standing up.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14But then, I sit down and read
0:06:14 > 0:06:16the sports section of the paper.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18German men sit on the loo
0:06:18 > 0:06:21for twice as long as German women.
0:06:21 > 0:06:22And when it comes to loo paper,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25the Germans are folders, not crumplers.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30In fact, I get 24.6 minutes in the bathroom.
0:06:32 > 0:06:33I get to sleep a bit longer
0:06:33 > 0:06:37and spend 28.1 minutes in the bathroom.
0:06:39 > 0:06:40With two little children
0:06:40 > 0:06:43being in the family and not in school,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46the typical German wife would not go to work, actually.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49- Really? - Spend time at home with the kids,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51doing, you know, housework.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56Also, to teach the kids proper table manners, that is...
0:06:56 > 0:06:57That's important to Germans, is it?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- That is valued highly, actually, yeah. Yeah, yeah.- OK.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03There's a certain amount of good behaviour, and how you do things
0:07:03 > 0:07:06in a certain structure and order still is very important.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10'PJ gives us a German rule book which he wants us to follow,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12'a checklist, telling us everything,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16'from the amount of housework to our daily pork intake.'
0:07:18 > 0:07:20I just don't believe that most women want to do four hours
0:07:20 > 0:07:23and 11 minutes of cooking, washing and cleaning. I'll give it a go.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25I'll definitely try. I'm going to do my best.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- It doesn't look fair, though, does it?- It doesn't! You get to sleep
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and then you get to go out and eat loads of potato, pork, white cheese.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33I get brown bread, you get white bread.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35You get the same amount of pork, same amount of potatoes
0:07:35 > 0:07:36and same amount of beer as me.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39OK. All right. But your life looks normal.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41To me, that just doesn't look like a normal life.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43But that could be that I'm not typical. I don't know...
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Half an hour in the bathroom is a long time, isn't it?
0:07:47 > 0:07:50We've rented an average German car.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56A VW Golf is right there, bang in the middle of
0:07:56 > 0:07:59what the Germans would drive. It's kind of rock solid,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01it's not flash, but it's kind of well-made
0:08:01 > 0:08:03and, of course, they buy German,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05which is quite interesting, isn't it?
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Germany has one of the most successful car industries
0:08:10 > 0:08:14in the world, and here, success certainly starts at home.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Two thirds of all the cars on the road are German.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Will, do you want to choose an egg?
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Look! Which one was yours? Is this one yours, Elsa?
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Time to discover a bit more about Nuremberg's history.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Kaiserburg, the Imperial Castle.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37It was one of Medieval Germany's most important centres,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39but most of the Old City was destroyed
0:08:39 > 0:08:42by Allied bombing during the War.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Since then, the city has been rebuilt
0:08:43 > 0:08:46and many of the ruined buildings restored.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Really sharp roofs, haven't they?
0:08:52 > 0:08:55The city was a centre of the Nazi regime.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59The Nazi Mayor called it Germany's most German city
0:08:59 > 0:09:04and it is here that Hitler held his infamous Nuremberg Rallies.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- Hello.- Hello.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09'We meet historian Hans Christian Taubrich.'
0:09:09 > 0:09:13We are on the former Nazi Party rally grounds,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17- a huge area, covering some 11 square kilometres.- My goodness!
0:09:20 > 0:09:23It was created in 1933,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25when Hitler designed Nuremberg
0:09:25 > 0:09:28as the city of the party rallies.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34So the high-ups, the leaders of the Nazi Party, would be here,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36looking out on this kind of...
0:09:36 > 0:09:39It's a vast parade ground, isn't it?
0:09:39 > 0:09:41- So I'm standing where Adolf Hitler stood?- Yes.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I wonder, looking at this, cos obviously,
0:09:56 > 0:09:57- it's partly a lorry park, isn't it?- Yes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00And I wonder whether that doesn't reflect the, kind of,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04ambivalence about what you do with a historical site like this.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06This is not a memorial site.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Now, the whole grounds in the last decades
0:10:08 > 0:10:15have always been used for most profane purposes.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18For example, parking lorries here,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20race cars are touring around here,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23we have festivals - Bob Dylan had been playing here,
0:10:23 > 0:10:24and the Rolling Stones.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30In Britain, we still seem to be obsessed by our victory
0:10:30 > 0:10:32in the Second World War.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35It's so interesting to see here at the Rally Ground how Germany
0:10:35 > 0:10:39is still wrestling with the ghosts of its past.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42You can't help but feel that losing the war
0:10:42 > 0:10:45meant Germany had to pull together as a nation to rebuild.
0:10:45 > 0:10:46It couldn't be complacent.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51And while Britain's economy has faltered, Germany's has thrived.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57"The wild things," William.
0:10:57 > 0:11:04Like the Mullers, after our daily limit of .27 litres of beer,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06we're tucked up in bed at exactly 11:15
0:11:06 > 0:11:10for a bit of average German sleep.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17ALARM CLOCK BEEPS
0:11:17 > 0:11:20I'm working to German timetables now.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31I reckon that was seven minutes, eight minutes, maybe.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Nothing more than that.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I don't know what they do in there, what are they doing for 20 minutes?
0:11:36 > 0:11:38I've got to get some pork products going.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42I've got to eat 1.1 kilos of pork a week.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Nuremberg is an important manufacturing centre.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52There's Siemens, the electrical company,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Adidas and Puma churning out trainers.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I'm going to be a trainee supervisor at Faber Castell -
0:11:58 > 0:12:01the world's oldest pencil manufacturer.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04It produces a sixth of the world's pencils.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12Small and medium-sized businesses like Faber Castell
0:12:12 > 0:12:14are the backbone of the German economy -
0:12:14 > 0:12:18employing almost two-thirds of the German workforce.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21They're known as the Mittelstand and are mostly family-owned.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26The average German starts work at 7:49.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Already, I'm below average.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36- Hello, Justin.- Hi. How are you? - Fine, and you?- Yeah.- You are late!
0:12:36 > 0:12:42- I know. Bisschen spat. - Bisschen spat.- I'm very sorry.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46I had to catch public transport and I got a bit lost.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53'I'm doing an eight-hour day and that includes an hour for lunch.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57'That's almost an hour less than we Brits work.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01'How come they work less than us, yet are more productive?'
0:13:02 > 0:13:06- Guten morgen, hi.- Danny.- Danny.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10- Bit of German?- No, no, no, I have no German.- No German?- No German.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12OK, where do I start?
0:13:12 > 0:13:17The job for you is to check if those pencils might stick together.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20- They are OK.- As long as... You try.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25This one back, and green button. OK, now your job is
0:13:25 > 0:13:28just to keep an eye on the pencils and the machine.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30I work in the lacquering department.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32My job is to watch over the machines,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34in case something goes wrong.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38You've got to stay focused.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47Are they falling off?
0:13:47 > 0:13:49HE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:13:51 > 0:13:55It's making 336 pencils a minute.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00I mean, already, I've made 1,500 pencils.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06It's all going quite smoothly.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Although it seems I'm not paying enough attention.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27He said, "No, no, no, you don't rest."
0:14:27 > 0:14:30You know, "You are here to work and you should be sweeping the floor."
0:14:30 > 0:14:33He said, "If I see you doing that, I will just give you another machine
0:14:33 > 0:14:36"and then you will be really busy."
0:14:36 > 0:14:38He's doing well, but he is a bit slow,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40so I think he will run into trouble.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44He has a lot to do, and right now, he isn't doing that much.
0:14:49 > 0:14:50(Look outside, it's snowing.)
0:14:51 > 0:14:53'Unlike Justin, I've had a bit of a lie-in.'
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Some hot milk?
0:14:55 > 0:14:58'The average German mother with children under three
0:14:58 > 0:14:59'is a stay-at-home mum.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03'My task is to become more like
0:15:03 > 0:15:06'Mrs Muller, the average housewife.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08'She does precisely four hours and eleven minutes
0:15:08 > 0:15:11'of housework a day.'
0:15:11 > 0:15:13This is very different to my London life.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17To be honest, four hours of housework is a lot.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Should I be sort of hoovering the ceiling or something?
0:15:21 > 0:15:22To teach me some of the tricks
0:15:22 > 0:15:25of becoming a German housewife,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27I've got someone from the Hausfrauenbund coming round -
0:15:27 > 0:15:30the German version of the Women's Institute.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34DOOR BUZZES Oh, God, is that her?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Oh, yeah, to be honest, I'm a little bit on the defensive -
0:15:37 > 0:15:38I'm expecting to be judged.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41So, anyway, too late to do anything about all our booze.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47- Hello.- Hello.- Very nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49This is a big bag!
0:15:49 > 0:15:56Yes, for all the things we need to cook a typical German meal.
0:15:56 > 0:16:02The English says to the German, the "Krauts".
0:16:02 > 0:16:05The "Krauts". Yes, not very nice, but they do say that.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10- Yes, I thought, we cook kraut. - Oh, right! OK.
0:16:10 > 0:16:16My name is Eva Kerig, and I am...
0:16:16 > 0:16:23a Master of Housekeeping.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28Die zeit zu managen - time management.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- You correctly... - Yes. Das Budget zu planen money.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37So, first, you plan your time, then you plan you budget and your money.
0:16:37 > 0:16:44- Yes. Planen. We plan...- So you plan the cooking...for a week, or a day?
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- We see...- For a week?- For a week.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- You plan your cooking for a whole week ahead? I never do that.- Yes.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55I'm learning how to make a local noodle dish, efficiently - spatzle.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57I like this machine!
0:16:59 > 0:17:01- Would you like to...? - Shall I peel it?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09'I'm not much of a domestic goddess,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11'but I'm happy to learn.'
0:17:18 > 0:17:20- Shall we go to lunch?- OK.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26- Football, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Very good.- I didn't see it.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27And what was the score?
0:17:27 > 0:17:29HE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- 4-1.- 4-1 for Deutschland.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38'I notice a big difference down in the canteen.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44'All the meals are subsidised. My Leberkase only cost a euro.'
0:17:44 > 0:17:46It's like a whipped pork.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50'I'm discovering that building staff loyalty,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53'generating a sense of common purpose,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56'is an important part of the Mittelstand.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58'I sit next to Timo, who's 22.'
0:18:01 > 0:18:06I began to work in 2008 in the...learn job.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Like an apprentice, we call it in Britain.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12- You started only to learn. - To learn.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16- Yeah.- I learn a mechanic. - So, is this a good place to work?
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Yes, it is, a very good place. I love it.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25- How long have you been doing it? - Ten years.- Ten years! Yes.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- Ten years. - So you are quite an expert.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35'When Timo and Danny were 15 years old,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38'they went to a Berufsschule, 'an apprenticeship school.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43'In Britain, the emphasis is on going to university,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47'but manufacturing skills are highly regarded in Germany
0:18:47 > 0:18:49'and more than half of young Germans
0:18:49 > 0:18:51'join an apprenticeship scheme.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54'Most young trainees will land a job in the Mittelstand.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56'Often, for life.'
0:19:04 > 0:19:08It's just relentless, isn't it? The kind of sound of industry, isn't it?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10The parts just going on and on.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17This emphasis on training for industry certainly seems to work.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22Germany is the world's third biggest exporter, after China and the USA.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27This factory is a case in point.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31I'm amazed that Germany can still lead the world in a technology
0:19:31 > 0:19:34as simple and easy to copy as the pencil.
0:19:38 > 0:19:44I can feel it in my legs, you know, standing up the whole time.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Yeah, I really felt that people come in and work hard.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50There was very little chat and, what there was,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53when they talked to each other, it was always about work.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56It was always about work - really, really focused.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05On my way home, I meet the current head of the family pencil dynasty.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09He is the Graf, or Count, a direct descendent of the founder.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13I stick to hand-held products.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Whatever has to do with manufacturing computers
0:20:16 > 0:20:19would be suicidal, because we are a medium-sized,
0:20:19 > 0:20:24smaller company and we should focus on the traditional products
0:20:24 > 0:20:26we are really good at.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28So is that the secret of these German businesses?
0:20:28 > 0:20:32That they focus on one tiny bit of business,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34but do it on a world scale?
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Exactly. That's typical for Mittelstand companies -
0:20:37 > 0:20:41that they don't stick only to the German market, they transfer
0:20:41 > 0:20:45their know-how into other markets and they try to act globally.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'The Mittelstand philosophy seems to pay off.
0:20:49 > 0:20:55'The Graf's business is doing well and I get to go home early.'
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Hey, Elsa!
0:20:58 > 0:20:59'It's nice to have more family time.'
0:20:59 > 0:21:03KIDS CHATTER INDISTINCTLY
0:21:03 > 0:21:05So, listen, babe, how much housework have you done?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- Have you cooked me dinner? - No, I have not cooked you dinner!
0:21:08 > 0:21:10How much? You've done some vacuuming, yeah?
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- I've hoovered, yeah. - Have you really?- I've hoovered,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15given the kids a bath.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- About half an hour to 45 minutes. - Half an hour? You've got loads...
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Go back to the house! Get back and start cleaning!
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Better get cooking. Yikes, get the oven on!
0:21:27 > 0:21:31I've invited the neighbours round for some German hospitality.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I'm trying out a German menu - Nuremberg sausages
0:21:34 > 0:21:36and my granny's potato salad.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Justin's nipped out with the kids, and this is the annoying thing -
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Justin's really good at cooking, much better than me,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49so normally, if we were entertaining, having actual people round,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51especially people we don't know, he would do all this.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54DOORBELL RINGS
0:21:56 > 0:22:00- Hello.- Hello, come in, come in. - Thank you for the invitation.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04'Our guests are our landlady, Frau Holler,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06'and her partner, Werner, who's a decorator.'
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Thank you very much. Oh, it's German. Yeah, that's lovely.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11'There's Granny, known as Oma...'
0:22:11 > 0:22:14- Hello.- Hello.- Hi, I'm Justin.
0:22:14 > 0:22:15'..Jurgen, a policeman...'
0:22:15 > 0:22:18- Hi, I'm Tanya.- Hiya, Tanya.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20'..and students Tanya and Alex.'
0:22:20 > 0:22:21For starters...
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Four sausages for you?
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Would you say that Nuremberg is a typical German city?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32- Yeah, a traditional city.- What kind of a neighbourhood is this?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Seems good, I like it.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38- It's difficult.- Why?
0:22:38 > 0:22:45There are many different cultures here and there are many immigrants.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48- Where do they come from?- Um...
0:22:48 > 0:22:55- They are Turkish, I think.- And that makes it difficult living here?
0:22:55 > 0:22:57A little bit, but not...
0:22:57 > 0:22:59It's not a problem.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Can I ask - what do you think of Britain?
0:23:01 > 0:23:04You know, is it doing well? How successful...
0:23:04 > 0:23:09- I think it's rainy and boring. - Don't hold back, will you?!
0:23:11 > 0:23:13You hear nothing about Britain.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15You don't hear anything about Britain?
0:23:15 > 0:23:19- No, not really.- Sometimes of the Queen.- She was in the hospital.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21That's right, that's right.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24- That's all we hear. - What about things like hard work?
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- Do Germans work hard?- Yes. - So we work the same hours as you,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- but we're not as successful. - We work more hours.- Yeah?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Yeah, we work more hours and we produce less...
0:23:33 > 0:23:35What are we doing wrong?
0:23:35 > 0:23:40For example, I was in England... I was in England for an...
0:23:40 > 0:23:44- Exchange.- ..exchange, and I was in the office
0:23:44 > 0:23:48and the people are talking all the time about their private things.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53- Gossiping?- Yeah. "What did you do at the weekend?"
0:23:53 > 0:23:57"Oh, what's the plan for tonight?" All the time, and drinking coffee.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59In Britain, it's quite common for people to be doing Facebook
0:23:59 > 0:24:03- in the office. - It's not allowed.- It's not allowed?
0:24:03 > 0:24:05- OK.- No private e-mails. - No private e-mails?
0:24:05 > 0:24:09- No private e-mail?- No.- Gosh.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11- Good to meet all of you. - Thank you for the invitation.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13- The eating was great.- Oh, really?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Thank you very much.
0:24:15 > 0:24:16Auf wiedersehen.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21- They were really nice. - That went really well.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Tanya was horrified when she'd gone to Britain
0:24:24 > 0:24:28to see how little people work, and the fact they're all on Facebook,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30texting their friends,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33e-mailing their friends, making personal phone calls from work.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37She clearly thought that was really bad discipline and that was...
0:24:37 > 0:24:40It was very good to meet ordinary Germans
0:24:40 > 0:24:41and hear what they have to say.
0:24:47 > 0:24:53At work, I'm checking out the German attitude towards texting and calls.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Justin, you need to care for your work, not for your cellphone.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- Really, you're not allowed to use your phone?- No.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06- Just one text.- No, sorry, you're here to work.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09You care for those pencils, not for the cellphone.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Only one text...
0:25:18 > 0:25:21I've managed to find Elsa, who's six,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25a place in a Waldkindergarten just outside Nuremberg.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27It's a forest kindergarten -
0:25:27 > 0:25:30a particularly German approach to education.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34I think we're going to be about a quarter of an hour late.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37I hope that's going to be acceptable in a German kindergarten.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40One thing German success is not based on
0:25:40 > 0:25:42is hot-housing young children.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44German kids don't even have to go to school
0:25:44 > 0:25:47until they are six. Ours are mostly in class by four.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05El-fa, so El-sa.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09And what time do the children arrive?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11SHE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:26:11 > 0:26:14From eight o'clock. So they arrive at eight o'clock,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16So they have lunch here?
0:26:16 > 0:26:20- Ja.- And it's all outside? Alles ist drausen?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24There are no primary school SATs here.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Children spend the day out in the forest, whatever the weather,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and even go to the toilet in the woods.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Toys are banned and children create their own games
0:26:33 > 0:26:35and interact with nature.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39This is just great for Elsa,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43she won't want to go back to her normal, central-heated classroom.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46I love it - a tree full of children, it's fantastic.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49It's like kid heaven.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55How much does it cost for a child to come to waldkindergarten?
0:26:55 > 0:27:00The price in the month is 159 euros.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Every day, coming every day?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06- That's... For a British person, that's astonishingly cheap.- Really?
0:27:06 > 0:27:11That's a fraction of what we pay for nursery - for a private nursery.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15That's just over £25 a week.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17I'm beginning to see a definite upside to life here.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25- Good morning, hello, I'm Justin. - Annelore Hogernann.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27So you are going to give me a check-up?
0:27:27 > 0:27:29If it hurts, you tell me, please.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33'This morning, I am reporting to the company doctor for a health check.'
0:27:33 > 0:27:37- Yeah, it's OK.- I hope so.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Now I want to look at your legs.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Varicosus, you don't have.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45- No, I don't have varicosus. - You don't have, your legs are OK.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48- My legs are good.- And they are not... Yes, they are good.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Could you try to do this?
0:27:50 > 0:27:53HE STRAINS
0:27:53 > 0:27:58- Is it possible that your left leg is a bit shorter?- No!- No?
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- Do you smoke?- No. - And how is it with alcohol?
0:28:02 > 0:28:06- It's good, yeah, I like it. - Do you drink it every day?
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Yeah. Probably every day. Most days, not every day.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12I drink probably too much.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Everything I did was OK.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16OK, thank you very much indeed. Thank you, Doctor.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18- I wish you the very best.- Thank you.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21That was much more thorough than I expected.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26Then I'm reporting to HR to discuss my salary.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30So, Justin, if you look here, you can see your basic salary,
0:28:30 > 0:28:34it's around about 2,250 euros.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35That's not bad.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39Transport allowance and money for working in shifts -
0:28:39 > 0:28:44all in all, it's 2,802 euros this year.
0:28:44 > 0:28:45That's per month?
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Which just happens to be the average full-time salary in Germany -
0:28:49 > 0:28:50so I'm bang-on the average.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53And how much holiday... How much holiday will I get?
0:28:53 > 0:28:56- 30 days.- 30 days, six weeks' holiday?
0:28:56 > 0:28:58- Six weeks holiday. - That's really good.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03- I see this tax here.- First of all, you have to pay income taxes,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06health insurances, pension insurance
0:29:06 > 0:29:07and unemployment insurance.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09And, last but not least here,
0:29:09 > 0:29:13Pflegeversicherung means nursing-care insurance.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16That seems quite a good package to me.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20I pay less tax because Bee's not working and we've got kids.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24And there's a decent pension and nursing-care when I'm old.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27You will receive an additional bonus
0:29:27 > 0:29:32that depends on the performance of the entire production team.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39I wonder if this is part of that Mittelstand communal ethos -
0:29:39 > 0:29:44collective responsibility rewarded with a shared team bonus.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49'William and I have been invited to a mother and toddlers' group
0:29:49 > 0:29:51'by one of the mums at nursery.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54'I want to understand why so few mothers
0:29:54 > 0:29:56'with young children here work.'
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Thanks for having us here, this is really nice.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03Can I ask, do any of you work at all?
0:30:03 > 0:30:07- Not at the moment. - I think German mothers
0:30:07 > 0:30:12don't want to give their children in nurseries
0:30:12 > 0:30:15or kindergartens for the whole day.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19- Right.- They want to keep them at home.
0:30:19 > 0:30:24I think it's a traditional problem of German mothers.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27'In Germany, two thirds of mothers with children
0:30:27 > 0:30:31'under three are stay-at-home mums, compared to a third in Britain.'
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Friends of mine who don't work, who are mums in Britain,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39have sometimes said they hate the question, "So, what do you do?"
0:30:39 > 0:30:43Because they feel that saying, "Oh, I'm a mum" is not enough.
0:30:43 > 0:30:49You have to organise the whole life of a family and this is a hard job.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53- So, you wouldn't go, "Oh, I'm just a mum"?- No.- You'd go, "I'm a mum!"
0:30:53 > 0:30:54Exactly.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58'It's great that motherhood is a source of pride here in Germany,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01'but there is a stigma attached to being a working mother.'
0:31:01 > 0:31:06They're called "rabenmutters" - raven mums that neglect their young.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10The German school day doesn't help working mums either.
0:31:10 > 0:31:16It's not possible, my daughter's school starts at eight o'clock.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19And three times in the week,
0:31:19 > 0:31:24she comes back at a quarter past eleven.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26- Seriously?- You can't work part-time.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30- And that's not nursery, that's school?- That's school!
0:31:30 > 0:31:34There's a big contrast with Britain that, financially,
0:31:34 > 0:31:39it's much better not to work as a mum here than in Britain.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43You get good tax breaks and you get benefit.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47When I go to work, I pay so much tax that
0:31:47 > 0:31:53- it's nothing at the end of the month in my hands.- There is nothing left?
0:31:53 > 0:31:55No, nothing left, really left.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58So I stay at home and be with my kids.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03That kindergarten is amazing, but there's something that's still
0:32:03 > 0:32:06bothering me and it's that German women or, more specifically,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09German mothers aren't getting back into the workforce.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12They work less than all of their European counterparts.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15And even more alarmingly, I've read that at boardroom,
0:32:15 > 0:32:20at CEO level, representation of women is 2% in Germany.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24I mean, in Britain, we manage...I think it's about 14%, so I find that
0:32:24 > 0:32:28really shocking and I think that whatever the push-pull factors are
0:32:28 > 0:32:32that keep women at home - be it financial incentives or the strange
0:32:32 > 0:32:36German school day that starts early, but finishes at lunch time -
0:32:36 > 0:32:37Germany needs to address this,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40so that women can have a fulfilling career.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44To keep up with Sabina Muller,
0:32:44 > 0:32:46I've still got three of my four hours
0:32:46 > 0:32:47of housework to do.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Germans are well-known for their recycling -
0:33:01 > 0:33:03half of all municipal waste is recycled,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06twice as much as in the UK.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10- It's the blue, paper.- Paper?- Yes.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21I've just done a bit of hoovering, chucked a few things in the sink.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23I definitely haven't been doing my four a and half hours,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26or 4.28 hours a day.
0:33:26 > 0:33:32Not even close, so that's a big fat fail on the hausfrau front.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38It's tea-time and I'm already on my way home.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40You can learn quite a lot about a culture
0:33:40 > 0:33:42when you get behind the wheel.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47Obviously, it's a new car and I'm a little bit nervous.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Other drivers are really on your case, if you make a slight mistake -
0:33:50 > 0:33:53you leave your indicator on for too long -
0:33:53 > 0:33:56they'll start beeping their horns and telling you.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58You don't want to read too much into it,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02but I think it says a lot about the way that German society is ordered.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04If you transgress, if you make a mistake,
0:34:04 > 0:34:06then people will point it out to you,
0:34:06 > 0:34:09and that's one of the reasons why it works so well.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13I think there's a bit of my Anglo-Saxon nature
0:34:13 > 0:34:15which doesn't want to be told, you know.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29Because my challenge is to be more German,
0:34:29 > 0:34:34I've got to do what Germans do, and that means joining a club.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37There are over half a million of them across the country.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41I'm trying out one of the most traditional - a singing club.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Hi, I'm Justin. I'm Justin, thank you very much
0:34:44 > 0:34:47for letting me join you tonight.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50'The problem is, I'm not much of a singer.'
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Justin, do you want to sing in the bass?
0:34:53 > 0:34:58- Sorry?- In the bass, or in the tenor? - I think I'm probably a tenor.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Tenor, tenor?
0:35:00 > 0:35:01EVERYONE MUTTERS
0:35:01 > 0:35:05- You're on this side.- I've come to the right place, good, good.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09PIANO AND SINGING STARTS
0:35:38 > 0:35:41JUSTIN LAUGHS
0:35:41 > 0:35:45- Tongue-twister. - Yeah, I got completely lost.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47JUSTIN LAUGHS
0:35:47 > 0:35:49So how popular are clubs like this?
0:35:52 > 0:36:00There are a few more here. I think between 100...
0:36:00 > 0:36:05- 100 clubs?!- Singing clubs, just around Nurnberg.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07- Wow.- You don't go home and go to bed
0:36:07 > 0:36:09and go to work and go home, go to bed.
0:36:09 > 0:36:14You go and be here and have some fun and meet other people,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17and also sing - it's good for the feeling.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19And it's nice... You like it also because
0:36:19 > 0:36:21- there's something purposeful about it?- Yeah.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24You're not just coming and having a drink or eat...
0:36:24 > 0:36:26- No, we have that anyway. - You can do that any...
0:36:26 > 0:36:29- So you like the sense of purpose - communal purpose.- Yes, yes.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36'It seems this is about more than just singing.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39'I get the sense there's also something about wanting to be
0:36:39 > 0:36:40'part of a community -
0:36:40 > 0:36:44'doing something together with a group of like-minded people.'
0:36:44 > 0:36:48THEY SING IN GERMAN
0:36:48 > 0:36:51'Britain seems a lot less community-orientated -
0:36:51 > 0:36:53'much more individualistic.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05'I hope my voice didn't ruin a great evening.'
0:37:15 > 0:37:19INDISTINCT SHOUTING
0:37:22 > 0:37:26To be honest, I think Bee's getting a bit annoyed.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28I mean, normally, the kids would be at nursery.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30She wouldn't have to look after them every day.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32She wouldn't have to do this 4.5 hours of housework.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34And I think it's getting a bit tedious.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36I think she's getting a bit bored of it all.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38And a bit annoyed, to be honest.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Tensions are rising in the Rowlatt family.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Where shall I go? Which one for me?
0:37:53 > 0:37:55- Where shall I work? - HE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Shall I do these two? OK.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02Just like at the choir, the emphasis is on the team, not the individual.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04And they are giving me more responsibility.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08I'm now looking after three machines under the supervision of Danny.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14There does seem a sense of common purpose and pride in what they do.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17In a way that does make it feel...
0:38:17 > 0:38:19It makes you want to work hard yourself, you know,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23you don't want to let down Danny and Brigitta by kind of slacking,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26because they're working hard and putting a lot into it.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Like Mrs Muller, I'm off to a discount supermarket.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Germany has the tightest profit margins in the retail trade.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Germany's relationship to money has its roots in the past.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50The memory of post-war hardships lives on
0:38:50 > 0:38:52and even now, they're cautious about spending.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58The German word for debt is 'schulden,' which means guilt.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01So credit cards aren't popular and most people pay in cash.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06And Germans save much more than we do -
0:39:06 > 0:39:1110% of the family budget, compared to the 1% we Brits manage.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14That means German banks have more capital -
0:39:14 > 0:39:16more money to lend out to German companies -
0:39:16 > 0:39:19which has helped them invest and expand over decades.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Actually, it was quite decent value, you know,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25cos I had to buy things like nappies and toothpaste.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27I bought a few beers, as well, and I was surprised -
0:39:27 > 0:39:29I thought it was going to cost more.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Getting home early gives me plenty of time
0:39:34 > 0:39:36to catch up with my TV quota.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Hey. Hello, how are you doing? Hey, Elsa.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47She's really tired and he's really, really tired.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52After bargain-hunting in the shops, there's still work to do
0:39:52 > 0:39:55to meet those demanding German targets for housework.
0:40:08 > 0:40:09Grr!
0:40:11 > 0:40:13It's time to check our guide book.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15We're trying to be average Germans.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18So how average are we?
0:40:18 > 0:40:19I'm going to... I can't...
0:40:19 > 0:40:22No, absolutely, I've failed to spend four hours, 11 minutes
0:40:22 > 0:40:25doing cooking, washing and cleaning. I just don't see how anyone can.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27There seems to be a real emphasis on parents
0:40:27 > 0:40:29spending time with their kids in Germany.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32And that's, you know, I think that's really impressive
0:40:32 > 0:40:34and that seems to be encouraged by the state as well.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37They are encouraging mums to stay with the kids,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40- not so much the dads.- Mostly mums, yeah, I suppose so, mostly mums.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43But that's, you know... That's not a bad thing, is it?
0:40:43 > 0:40:46To offer women the choice not to work and to be at home.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48It's about prescribing other people's lives.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50You clearly don't have a problem with that
0:40:50 > 0:40:53because it hasn't happened to you. Your life has not been prescribed
0:40:53 > 0:40:56or dictated by someone else. Or dictated by society.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59So you seem quite happy to impose that on others. What I'm saying is
0:40:59 > 0:41:02I'm not entirely convinced they all want to stay at home.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05Some of them might do, and if people want to, that's great, go for it!
0:41:05 > 0:41:08- But if, you know...- But can you see that if you provide the money,
0:41:08 > 0:41:14the support for women by giving them money and subsidised child care
0:41:14 > 0:41:17and wholly open their jobs, you give them freedom of choice
0:41:17 > 0:41:21so they can choose? That's what I'm saying. It's the freedom of choice.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24- Coming from you, I think that's an outrage.- Coming from me...
0:41:24 > 0:41:26- Don't make it personal. - Well, it IS personal.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28The political is personal, isn't it?
0:41:28 > 0:41:30From the little boy who said to his mother,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33"You're not as important as Daddy, cos Daddy goes out to work."
0:41:33 > 0:41:36You said that to your own mum, didn't you, Justin?
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Yes... Oh! You just want someone else to pay for it.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41You think if the state pays for it,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44- then that's a good thing. Well, you know...- Absolutely...
0:41:44 > 0:41:47I put it that women should be functioning members of society.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51You know, you're not... You're not debating.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54'I don't sign up to that and I think most women wouldn't...'
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Oh, gross, danke schoen!
0:42:10 > 0:42:13'It's time for me to get personal with my colleagues too.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16'I want to know how much they earn.'
0:42:16 > 0:42:21- The German economy is doing very well...- I think so.- ..worldwide.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24- Compared to the rest of the world. - OK, yeah.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27But how are wages, what are wages like here?
0:42:27 > 0:42:29Are wages going up rapidly as the German economy grows?
0:42:29 > 0:42:31- Not really, no.- No?
0:42:31 > 0:42:36No, it's roughly the correction of the inflation, not more.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- Right, so nobody... - Actually, no win.
0:42:39 > 0:42:45I don't see any boom or success right now.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48'That's true for most German workers.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51'The German economy may be doing well internationally,
0:42:51 > 0:42:55'but in real terms, wages haven't gone up in 20 years.'
0:42:59 > 0:43:01One reason is reunification.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04The West had to bear the burden of modernising
0:43:04 > 0:43:06the economy of East Germany.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08It affected everyone in Germany.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13Often, workers traded wage increases for job security.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19Now German taxpayers are picking up the tab
0:43:19 > 0:43:21for the debts of the eurozone.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29'Ever since Danny came over from the East, he's had a steady job.'
0:43:29 > 0:43:31When did you come here?
0:43:31 > 0:43:34HE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:43:34 > 0:43:351989.
0:43:35 > 0:43:40- 1989, when the Wall first came down? - Yeah, yeah.- You came?- Ja, ja.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44Und no, no money, no...
0:43:44 > 0:43:48Null, einfach nur the...100 Mark...
0:43:48 > 0:43:51- 100 Marks, it that all? - Genau. Pro...
0:43:51 > 0:43:53- Per person.- Per person, yeah.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03HE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:44:03 > 0:44:05THEY CHUCKLE
0:44:05 > 0:44:08They were, like, wide-eyed to see you coming. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13Reunification is another example of
0:44:13 > 0:44:17the Germans' ability to overcome adversity,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20but it seems that their sense of community
0:44:20 > 0:44:23does not apply to all Germans.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25We live in Gostenhof,
0:44:25 > 0:44:29a trendy area of Nuremberg that's often called GoHo,
0:44:29 > 0:44:31like SoHo, in New York.
0:44:31 > 0:44:37It's multicultural, 40% of residents here aren't ethnic Germans.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40There's been a lot of immigration to Germany over the years.
0:44:40 > 0:44:439.1% of the population are from abroad,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46compared to 7.6% in the UK.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51Most immigrants to Germany are Turkish.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55They first came over in the '60s as "Gastarbeiter," or guest-workers,
0:44:55 > 0:44:58when Germany had a labour shortage.
0:45:02 > 0:45:03'I'm meeting Alev,
0:45:03 > 0:45:06'a local writer who was born here to Turkish parents.'
0:45:06 > 0:45:09What was the attitude when you were growing up?
0:45:09 > 0:45:12The Turks, I mean, they are uneducated,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16they don't speak German very well,
0:45:16 > 0:45:20criminals, lower class.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22It was actually pretty difficult,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25because I was born as a Turkish citizen,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27because Germany didn't claim us at the time,
0:45:27 > 0:45:29only when I was 28 years old.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31- When you were 28?!- Yeah.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33- Despite being born in Germany? - Yeah, definitely.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35So you didn't have proper rights as a German citizen
0:45:35 > 0:45:37- until you were 28 years old?- Yeah...
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Germany is a country that's based on exclusion.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42What do you mean by that?
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Exclusion, as in they like to separate,
0:45:45 > 0:45:47they like to select the best.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50But, I mean, Germany is a multicultural society, right?
0:45:50 > 0:45:52I mean, the people are here, we are here,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56but are we represented in the top positions,
0:45:56 > 0:46:00are we represented in organisations, are we represented in politics?
0:46:00 > 0:46:03Absolutely not, we are excluded.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Mass immigration has been a challenge
0:46:05 > 0:46:07for many European countries
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and it's certainly causing tension here.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13'Now it's my turn to do some housework.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16'Even Thomas Muller does an hour a day.'
0:46:16 > 0:46:18'I'm cooking one of Germany's
0:46:18 > 0:46:20'most celebrated national dishes,
0:46:20 > 0:46:22'no less - sauerkraut!'
0:46:22 > 0:46:27Ready-made sauerkraut, it's not going to be gourmet cuisine.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28DOORBELL RINGS
0:46:28 > 0:46:33'Andreas Falke is an economist at a local university.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35'His wife is a teacher.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39'I've invited them round because I still don't fully understand
0:46:39 > 0:46:41'why German workers are so productive.'
0:46:43 > 0:46:45We have some statistics about Germans
0:46:45 > 0:46:48and we learned how much pork and potatoes Germans eat -
0:46:48 > 0:46:51- a kilo a week of each.- Oh, yeah!
0:46:51 > 0:46:54So we need to get our pork and potatoes in.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56We have a quota that we have to fulfil.
0:46:56 > 0:47:01Is there a different attitude, I wonder, to kind of industrial work?
0:47:01 > 0:47:05I know that the label 'Made In Germany' is not what it used to be,
0:47:05 > 0:47:07but I think many people
0:47:07 > 0:47:12still have that image of belonging maybe to a company
0:47:12 > 0:47:15that produces something that is really good
0:47:15 > 0:47:17and really competitive on the market.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20They are proud of working there, and other people,
0:47:20 > 0:47:24if the company has a good name, then they are proud to work for them.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27You look at the steady growth of the German economy,
0:47:27 > 0:47:29but that hasn't been reflected in real incomes,
0:47:29 > 0:47:33so ordinary Germans haven't seen, you know, they don't feel wealthy.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38Because in the end, the ordinary German would say,
0:47:38 > 0:47:40"I'm happy to keep my job
0:47:40 > 0:47:44"and just have additional income maybe of 1%."
0:47:44 > 0:47:48- I find that very striking.- It's this steadiness, you know, it's this....
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Germans want to have a steady, calculable...
0:47:52 > 0:47:55They won't go for the 10%.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58- Security is important, I think. - Yeah.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01They'd rather go for the steady, steady improve...
0:48:01 > 0:48:03It's like in the companies, no big...
0:48:03 > 0:48:06There's no Apple, there's no Amazon, no...
0:48:06 > 0:48:09So instead of Amazon or Microsoft, you have the Mittelstand.
0:48:09 > 0:48:10The Mittelstand.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14All these small businesses that do little things very well.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19Also, this emphasis on really quality, things work.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24'But unfortunately, something isn't working - my sauerkraut.'
0:48:24 > 0:48:28The sauerkraut is... Is there a reason why you served it cold?
0:48:28 > 0:48:31Oh, are you supposed to serve it hot? I had no idea.
0:48:31 > 0:48:32THEY LAUGH
0:48:32 > 0:48:36- I'm just asking, I was wondering. - It's an English tradition.
0:48:36 > 0:48:37THEY LAUGH
0:48:37 > 0:48:39I thought it was supposed to be cold.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44It's the weekend.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47I'm beginning to get a handle on
0:48:47 > 0:48:50why the Germans beat us in the workplace,
0:48:50 > 0:48:52but what about on the pitch?
0:48:56 > 0:48:59'I'm off to Munich to watch the footy -
0:48:59 > 0:49:01'Bayern Munich versus Hamburg.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07'I'm meeting my workmates Danny and Timo at the match.'
0:49:07 > 0:49:09German football is really interesting,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12because it's yet another German success story.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15Look at this, I've got tickets for this big game,
0:49:15 > 0:49:1915 Euros for really good seats.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22I mean, that's way cheaper than the Premier League.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26Unlike the freewheeling world of the English Premier League,
0:49:26 > 0:49:27where anyone can own anything,
0:49:27 > 0:49:31the German Bundesliga is a bit more restrained,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35a bit like German Mittelstand companies like Faber-Castell.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38Who owns the club here, who owns Bayern Munich?
0:49:38 > 0:49:40I mean, the members do, really.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43I mean, it is possible to sell shares of the club,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47but only to a certain extent, so we have the so-called 50+1 rule,
0:49:47 > 0:49:52which means that 50% plus one share have to be owned...
0:49:52 > 0:49:55By members of the club, so by ordinary fans?
0:49:55 > 0:49:58So how does that change the way, do you think, that decisions are made?
0:49:58 > 0:50:02I think things like what's happening in the English football teams,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05some billionaire from Russia, or be it Malaysia or wherever,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09can change everything about the football team and has full control,
0:50:09 > 0:50:14and in Germany, this isn't so easy to do for the people with money.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18It's more of a fan-based structure, really.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21So I just got a Chili-Knacker, it's like a chilli sausage.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Typical football weather, to be honest.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27Tod und Hass dem TSV! Tod und Hass dem TSV!
0:50:30 > 0:50:32- Which supporter are you?- Arsenal.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36- I have been there...- Yeah, you were there last week, two weeks ago!
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Do you know? Arsenal! Arsenal!
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Arsenal! Arsenal! Arsenal!
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Red Army, Red Army!
0:50:45 > 0:50:48Hey, Timo, how are you? Very good.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52- Hey, Danny, how are you?- Hi.- What about the weather? It's cold, kalt.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55- Ja, kalt, kalt, kalt. - Yeah, it's very kalt.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59- Oh, thank you, thank you. - No problem.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05CHEERING
0:51:05 > 0:51:09It was a historic game - 9-2 to Bayern Munich.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11CHEERING
0:51:14 > 0:51:18BELLS CHIME
0:51:20 > 0:51:23Sunday still plays a special role
0:51:23 > 0:51:25in German life.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27Over half of Germans are religious
0:51:27 > 0:51:28and, according to German law,
0:51:28 > 0:51:31Sunday is a day of rest
0:51:31 > 0:51:33and virtually all the shops are shut.
0:51:36 > 0:51:37Snap!
0:51:37 > 0:51:39CHILDREN SCREAM: No!
0:51:39 > 0:51:40Give me that!
0:51:40 > 0:51:42DOORBELL RINGS
0:51:43 > 0:51:46- Hi, how are you doing? - Good morning, how are you?
0:51:46 > 0:51:49'Jurgen, the policeman we had over to dinner, has come to call.'
0:51:49 > 0:51:53- Because I'm here, we have a little problem.- Uh-huh.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55- Hi, Jurgen.- Morning.- Morning.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57- It's too loud. - What, we are too loud?
0:51:57 > 0:52:01You are too loud, especially your children, they cry.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05It was too loud, the neighbour said to me that she heard,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08and all the time since six o'clock in the morning.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10- Well, they did get up quite early. - Yeah.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12I actually thought they were being quite good,
0:52:12 > 0:52:14they were just kind of playing and jumping around.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18Yeah, it's not a problem, you don't understand me,
0:52:18 > 0:52:23but it's good behaviour in Germany on Sunday to be quiet,
0:52:23 > 0:52:27- because it's a holy day and... - And it offends other people.- Yes.
0:52:27 > 0:52:32Also, there are rules that you aren't allowed to do works,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34like drilling, or...
0:52:34 > 0:52:36which make noise.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38Nothing, no housework, no cleaning?
0:52:38 > 0:52:43Cleaning is OK, but nothing which makes noise.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46- Saturday...- I won because I found 27 snaps!- Shh.
0:52:46 > 0:52:50So it's an offence in law, do people really observe it?
0:52:50 > 0:52:54- Yes.- People really pay attention to this?- Yes.- Really?
0:52:54 > 0:52:57- People... You would be called out as a policeman?- Yes.
0:52:57 > 0:53:04- Sometimes, it costs 50 Euros until 2,500 Euros.- Really?- Yes.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06Jurgen, you haven't come to arrest us, have you?
0:53:06 > 0:53:09- THEY LAUGH - No, I said to you friendly.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah, that's very good advice.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16But here, in the city, there are, as we said, many foreigners
0:53:16 > 0:53:18and they don't know this law
0:53:18 > 0:53:21and sometimes, they don't know the neighbour,
0:53:21 > 0:53:25and so they don't care and do whatever they want.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28That must cause, you know, trouble between neighbours.
0:53:28 > 0:53:35Yes, trouble begins with little things like the Kinder shouting
0:53:35 > 0:53:38or you also play a music instrument,
0:53:38 > 0:53:40it's low, and then it goes...
0:53:40 > 0:53:43- It escalates. - It escalates more and more.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46- So it's a question of respect.- Yes.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48And just respecting the traditions and conventions.
0:53:48 > 0:53:49Yeah, that sounds...
0:53:49 > 0:53:52That's OK. OK, Jurgen, thank you very much indeed.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57To keep the neighbours AND the children happy,
0:53:57 > 0:54:02we're going to Germany's largest amusement park - Europa Park.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04During my time in Germany, you know,
0:54:04 > 0:54:06we started with the kind of stereotypes,
0:54:06 > 0:54:07the average German and, you know,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10I suppose the experience has been a move away,
0:54:10 > 0:54:13so it's quite ironic, really, that we've ended here at Europa Park,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16which is a celebration of European stereotypes,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20but brilliant, wonderful, and kind of loving of Europe as well.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50There's an Easter egg hunt at the Waldkindergarten.
0:54:53 > 0:54:58- Is that mine?- Yes, look, it's from the Easter Bunny.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01I want to find out how Elsa got on.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04I would like to keep her here.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08Oh, she is so happy, it makes me wish I was a child.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10I think it's really beautiful.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13There is a strong environmentalist message in this.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15It's about respecting nature.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19So, you know, there's no trace left behind, they don't drop any rubbish,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22so I think that's a very typically German thing,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24and also, I think there's a sense of
0:55:24 > 0:55:27an idealised version of childhood, you know,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31without the being measured for their literacy and their maths
0:55:31 > 0:55:33and without being, you know,
0:55:33 > 0:55:37placed in a sort of artificially-lit, enclosed environment,
0:55:37 > 0:55:41that I think is quite, quite typical in Germany.
0:55:42 > 0:55:47It's my last day at the factory and time to hang up my pencil.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50To be honest, I've good quite used to it, I quite enjoy it.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53And, you know, I can run three machines quite well.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56So I'm hoping that they are pleased with me.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00The only problem I think has been a bit of an issue with punctuality.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03It has been quite hard to get here on time.
0:56:13 > 0:56:18I think he improved, he did well with his three machines.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21Well, he had lots of help by Danny.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28- Better than expected.- Sehr gut.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35Yeah, good job.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37- Thank you, Danny.- Thank you.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39Thank you, it was very... You were so helpful.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42- You were helping me with the machines.- Very, very gerne.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46No, it was good, it was really good. Thank you, Alex.
0:56:46 > 0:56:47How did I do? Was I OK?
0:56:47 > 0:56:49- Yeah, it was OK, really OK. - Yeah, good.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52I wish you would stay a bit longer, actually, yeah.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54DOORBELL RINGS
0:56:54 > 0:56:57- Oh, hi, how are you?- Hello!
0:56:57 > 0:57:00'Just before we leave, PJ the ad man is back,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03'and he wants to know how successful we've been
0:57:03 > 0:57:05'at becoming average Germans.'
0:57:05 > 0:57:11So, the, like, the big goal in this, behaving a bit like the Mullers.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13I didn't excel in the Hausfrau stakes.
0:57:13 > 0:57:19I like to go out and work, you know, I find my work-life balance somehow
0:57:19 > 0:57:22and I don't think that really fits into the mould, as was set out to me.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25Did you become Thomas now?
0:57:25 > 0:57:27You only have to look at our diary of being a German
0:57:27 > 0:57:29to see that we didn't achieve that.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31I mean, I'll tell you the things that
0:57:31 > 0:57:33I managed to achieve religiously, without fail -
0:57:33 > 0:57:35I hit my pork quotas,
0:57:35 > 0:57:39I hit my potato quotas, and I exceeded my beer and wine quotas.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41- That's good!- Good man, Justin!- Yes!
0:57:41 > 0:57:43'We're not quite the Mullers yet,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46'but we have learnt a lot about being German.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49'About how their hard work, efficiency and orderliness
0:57:49 > 0:57:52'spring from a deep sense of community
0:57:52 > 0:57:55'and responsibility towards each other.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57'But something else has really impressed me too,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00'and this may be to do with their country's history.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03'They don't take their success for granted,
0:58:03 > 0:58:06'and I think that's why the country is so good
0:58:06 > 0:58:08'at focussing on the long term.'
0:58:08 > 0:58:11- We did it!- We certainly did!
0:58:11 > 0:58:13Cheers!
0:58:36 > 0:58:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd