Is Bavaria like Texas?

[Fountain79]

I have some interest in traveling to Germany in a year or two. I have only been to Munich and when I tell people this, I am informed that Bavaria is its own country within Germany much like Texas is within the United States. Has anyone traveled extensively in Germany to confirm this?

[DemoTex]

1. No.

I have travelled all over Germany. Mostly as a JetStar-II driver for Ken Lay. Know him?

[Nevernose]

2. Their chicken fried steak's the same

I forget what they call it, though.

[nytemare]

3. Berchtesgaden/Obersalzburg is gorgeous.

It is just north of the Austria border. I have been to many scenic locations, and I can truly say that none was as beautiful as this. It is hard to believe that it was once Hitler's home. I can't understand how a person could have so much hate living in such an amazing place.

Here is an interesting link with photos. I enjoy visiting historic locations, so I found this location intriguing, as I did the London bunkers.

http://www.thirdreichruins.com/obersalzberg.htm

[Beware the Beast Man]

16. Yes, Berchtesgaden was the Hamptons of the Nazi party during WWII.

And Hitler's Eagle's Nest isn't far from there, either.

[nytemare]

17. When I was in the Army, I went to the "General Walker Hotel"

Which was a resort for military folk. I think it has been closed a while, now. It used to be the "Platterhof".

The Eagles Nest isn't far from there at all. When I visited, it was still winter, so they couldn't get up there.

[Fleshdancer]

4. did their village idiot become Chancellor of Germany?

If not, then you might be ok! :rofl:

[Kellanved]

14. Yes

In 1933. :hide:

[nytemare]

18. LOL.

Technically, Austria shipped in their village idiot. But, then with *, Maine just shipped theirs to Texas. So, I suppose it is the same thing.

[Buck Turgidson]

30. In Munich, they still brag about their most famous denizen.

On the tour buses, it's "Hitler, this"! and "Hitler, that!" Kinda creepy.

On the other hand, there's Oktoberfest.

[Vidar]

5. Only insofar as Bavaria has a distinctive culture as does Texas.

Bavaria his charming, friendly and somewhat slower-paced, IMHO nothing like Texas

[havocmom]

9. Havocdad says the music is WAY better in Bavaria than in Texas,

as is the beer. He spent 8 years in Austria and Germany (most of the time in Gemrany is Bavaria) I guess his opinion is based in some personal experience. ;)

[Vidar]

15. I agree--some personal experience but 25 years ago.

[doc03]

6. Was in Bavaria, beautiful place, never been to Texas.

Great beer & Weiner schnitzel

[CBHagman]

7. I lived in northern Bavaria.

Specifically, I lived in Franconia, which is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most beautiful and interesting places in Germany (not that I'm biased or anything).

The dialect took some getting used to (different vowel sounds, different R, different diminutives from what I was used to), but the people were fun and hospitable.

From what I understand, yes, the Bavarians are a really distinct group among the Germans. It's generally been a heavily Catholic area, though the Germans, at least when I was there, weren't an especially churchgoing bunch (Mostly older folks at Mass).

But by all means GO. See the villages, the fortresses, the churches, the monasteries, the breweries, the town squares. Drink the Rauchbier in Bamberg. Visit the Tilman Riemenschneider musuem in Wuerzburg. Have a wonderful time.

Wuerzburg:





Bamberg:

[nickinSTL]

19. I love Würzburg

One of my favorite German cities.

[pitohui]

8. munich is in bavaria

i don't get the question

bavarians think they are more fun-loving than the prussians, i get that, but i don't know what the prussians think of all that or how texas comes into it

[Kellanved]

13. Easy: we think the Bavarians are an embarrassment

The main regret is that the Bavarian culture was exported as the German culture - good food beat sophisticated humor.

[JVS]

20. Good food is a more appealing trait than horrendously belligerent and...

able to make good on that belligerence, which seems to have been the prevailing view of Prussians, who had set the norms for German culture, up to the point where the country was divided and the East German state was created as a type of Prussian holding-pen.

You were never famous for your humor. Maybe people were laughing because they were afraid to offend.

[Kellanved]

23. But you see: the Bavarians always envied that part

ANd sadly, when the Bavarians got to decide things (*cough* 1933), they only copied the parts of Prussia they understood: being belligerent.
After matters were taken from them, they exported that limited understanding - along with the food and folklore.

The GDR certainly continued a lot of the Prussian look&feel, certainly not the better things. As to the humor: there you are mistaken. The cool retort is an established form of humor; the major downside is that there is no way to translate the "Schnauze". You are insofar correct, as the Prussian humor works without laughs.

It is a strange quirk of Germany, that today Bavarians and Swabians (i.e. the Münchner Lach- und Schiessgesellschaft and Harald Schmidt) are the masters of the "northern" brand of German humor.


:P

[JVS]

24. You should cut bavaria some slack. They've dominated the BRD

with limited interruption since 1949 without any horrid incidents. It is only too convenient to blame the Bavarians for the events of the past. I've also seen so much hand-washing on this issue that it is no longer credible. How am I supposed to reconcile your claim that overwhelmingly Catholic Bavaria elected the Nazis with the common claim that the Nazis did better among non-Catholics than among Catholics? I take this claim rather lightly, considering that the Catholics had the Catholic Center Party as a way of not voting for the SPD (no voting for the SPD of course being the cornerstone of German political life for 2/3 of society in the first half of the 20th century). Even so, some of this just isn't working out.

As far as the GDR is concerned, I think you give them too little credit. The Prussians are (or at least were) always excellent at finding a task and sticking to it. How else can one explain their marvelous rise to the unifier of Germany? The thing is that even under Soviet occupation, the DDR was able to use that can-do spirit to become the best damn Soviet-satellite state ever!

[Kellanved]

29. I wouldn't say that Bavaria dominated the BRD

Bavaria was more like the industrial and political laughingstock until the late 70s/early 80s.

As to pre-war: Bavaria was the breeding ground for the NSDAP; it was a relevant movement there years before it became visible anywhere else. That's of course just a minor point; 32/33 the Nazis got almost as a big a share of the vote everywhere, as they got in Bavaria.

[JVS]

35. The BRD's politics have been dominated by the CDU/CSU...

particularly before unification. The black states seem to have called the shots and what state is blacker than Bavaria?

[Kellanved]

36. North-Rhine Westphalia dominated the BRD

By it's sheer size. Both major parties were centered around that state; despite the SPD's predominance there, the CDU still had/has a bigger base there than anywhere else. The unwritten rule that a Bavarian can't become chancellor is still valid (ignoring Erhard, who ran on a non-Bavarian ticket); especially the separate quality of the CSU has hindered Bavarian conservatives from ever reaching an important place in the history of the Federal Republic.

That minor objection aside, you are absolutely correct. We have Brandt to thank for the level of liberal freedom present in Germany; most things were done under conservative - including Bavarian members - administrations.

[bridgit]

10. sounds right...

[UncleSepp]

11. I can see the correlation

Personally, I found Bavarians to be more like Louisianans. Warmer than Texans, friendly in general, and just as hard to understand ;-)

[Kellanved]

12. In some ways: yes

Very religious, sourthern, at the brink of being secessionist, distinct dialect and an unique local brand of politics (almost a one-party system).

[izzybeans]

21. Better beer.

The beer travels to me so that's all I know.

[Aristus]

22. People use the "Bavaria is the Texas of Germany" for only a few

good reasons: One, it is a large state in the south, and it used to be a sovereign nation.

That's about it. I grew up in Texas and was stationed in Kitzingen, Germany, in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria when I was in the Army.

They are nothing alike. Germans are not gun-crazy lunatics. They DO drive awfully fast, but that's not against the law, and they are very polite and observant drivers for all of that. They DO love their beer, but Bavarian beer actually has a taste, and is not glorified piss-water like Lone Star and Pearl.

The Germans do not destroy their environment for the sake of a few filthy dollars. "Treehuggers" are not spoken about with utter loathing and contempt the way they are in Texas.

The Germans respect and honor their soldiers without turning the whole thing into a kind of creepy, fetishistic thrill-kill cult.

The Germans revere education, and don't see school as a nuisance to get your kid out of so you can go watch NASCAR together.

I'm proud to be an American, but if you held a gun to my head and forced to to live either in Texas or Bavaria, I'd choose Bavaria without a moment's hesitation. (To say nothing of the fact that if someone is holding a gun to my head and forcing me to make a choice, he's probably a Texan. B-) )

[UncleSepp]

25. What part of Texas are you from?

[Aristus]

27. San Antonio.

Now I'm a proud, unshakeable Washingtonian. B-)

[UncleSepp]

33. I survived Rockwall, Texas.

Washington's a dream compared to that! To be fair, though, there's Texas and there's Texas. Some parts and aspects of Texas are wonderful.

[Paladin]

31. Ah, Yes. The Inevitable Texas-Trashing Post

I've been waiting for it; any DU thread styled "Is_____Like Texas?" is going to attract such a response.

On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of loyal Texas Democrats---people like me, who aren't gun-obsessed, who are law-abiding, who respect and nurture the environment, who are well-educated, who are all the things your nasty little post claims we aren't---shame on you.

[wickerwoman]

26. Not really- there are a lot of cows in both

but I think the resemblance ends there.

Bavaria is very woody with mountains in the south and gets quite a lot of rain.

[LSdemocrat]

28. My non-Bavarian German professor thinks so

To clarify, my professor was from Germany and he used the Texas analogy to explain Bavaria and Bavarians. He said the analogy especially fit non-urban Bavarians.

[Orangepeel]

32. I've been told that New Braunfels, TX is like Bavaria

does that count?

[philosophie_en_rose]

34. Franz Liebkind thinks so.

They each produced a man he could sing about.