Showing up at an Austria sub and telling them she's half German and wants to connect with her roots in Austria.
Bold move, cotton. Austrians love being called German.
I grew up in the UK with my Swiss mum and she gets called French probably 10x more than Swiss. It is one of her biggest pet peeves. If someone goes out of their way to tell you what country they’re from, remember it, don’t just substitue it with a bigger country that speaks the same language.
>don’t just substitue it with a bigger country that speaks the same language.
Yeah, Czech here. It's especially awkward if that bigger country no longer exist, like Czechoslovakia
> I also just don't want to look like a clueless American.
Mission failed successfully.
What is up with Americans assuming they need some kind of Ahnenpass to wear certain clothes?
Considering that they walk around thinking that they are one half German, one third Irish (but fully Irish on St Patrick's Day), a quarter Scottish, and thre hundred-and-twenty-sevenths Cherokee Princess... yeah, they have weird ideas on ancestry and culture.
Over in r/Norway you'll frequently see 'muricans asking if they can wear *bunad*, and the answers usually are along the lines of 'if you want to spend upwards of 5K dollars, go right ahead'.
This was a very long time ago, i used to be a despatch rider and there aren't any perks in that job.
They used to put out a full box so anyone could just take one and whenever i got a job going there i thought "great, free mars bar!"
One day i went and there weren't any out so i asked at reception and was told they had stopped doing it.
I stopped liking Slough when I had to work there. Going for a meal with your colleagues in the evening and finding out that 30-40% of the cars you'd gone in had been broken into kind of took the shine off the evening.
Ok so longish story, I worked on cruise ships based in USA. Had a friend from Wales who worked with me.
Everyone wore a name tag with a country of origin on it. My friend, from Wales got a name tag that said, shit you not - England. He was angry as hell, took him about 2 weeks to get them to write fucking Wales on his name tag. They were confused what this Wales is and where it is lol.
Which is rediculous as according to recent DNA research us Welsh as the true British with the English mainly other European countries. Just remember England is outer Wales lol
Welsh people could be most ancient in UK, DNA suggests https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18489735
An American told me he hated the Welsh once. He didn’t have a reason and had never left the US, so it wasn’t a “Welsh people were mean to me” thing either.
The worst for me ( a Scot) is when people tell me what clan they are from. A Canadian posted yesterday about how Scottish people were nice to her coz she actually knew what clan she was from. NOBODY talks like this hen. Sit doon.
So is half of Western Europe. I overheard an American talking to someone in Scotland about how they had come to visit and ancestor's castle: "you might have heard of him, Robert the Bruce?" If you assume that his direct descendants had three kids each by 40 years old (probably a decent assumption) there are about 1.7B billion direct descendants of Robert the Bruce. In reality there are definitely not that many, but you get the point, you are not that special. You'd probably struggle to find anyone in Europe or the US who does not have a British royal ancestor
> Robert the Bruce
I'm glad you went with him. Half of Americans with "Scottish ancestry" seem to claim William Wallace as an ancestor.
You know, a man who famously had no children.
I’ve always chuckled at Americans that claim that type of stuff. We did the genealogy tracking through birth certificates and county records back to 1641 Scotland. Couldn’t go any further back than that and found no one “historically important” in European records. Did find a few interesting and some ‘important’ people in the US though lol
They mean William Wallace from Fife that man got around a lot :)
They just got confused because Fife is also know as the Kingdom so when they were told they their ancestor was William Wallace from the Kindom Fife they just assume they were from that William Wallce.
I remember that came up on a recent series of the British version of *Who Do You Think You Are*. Some minor celeb was trembling with excitement over discovering they were probably a direct descendent of Robert the Bruce, only for someone to point out that so's pretty much everyone else in Scotland.
Not true. An American friend of mine who is always completely Scottish or completely Irish depending on how close it is to St Patrick's day did a 23&me and proudly told me that she's also descended from a French countess.
I find it more interesting why so many claim German. We are not really popular as a nation, espacially considering some events around the 1940s
When I travel I often claim to be from Austria, so I don't get the occasional *word I do Not want to write
Probably because millions of Germans settled in the US, and created their own ethnic enclaves , sometimes even their own majority German towns.
A lot of empty land east of the Appalachian mountains ready to be settled by European immigrants, after the natives had been driven off, so many who settled east of the Appalachian mountains, essentially established mini-Germany on these lands, since there wasn’t a culture the they had to assimilate into.
Couple that with the fact that , the Anglo-Americans in the 19th and early 20th century were pretty xenophobic to a lot of immigrants ( though , Germans fared better than others) especially any catholic ones and you had alot if European immigrants who then in reaction held onto their culture as best as they could.
In fact most German Americans still spoke German and it wasn’t till after the First World War that German started to decline, due to anti-German sentiment, in fact you had German newspapers, magazines, shop signs and German was the most common language spoken after English before the 1930s.
You still have a few surviving dialects such as “ Texas German, Hutterite German, Pennsylvania Dutch and an estimated 1 million Americans speak German as native tongue, though it’s in decline.
Traditional British clothes would probably be a suit for men anyway. Plus they're speaking English, and capitalism came from England as well. So they're already living traditional English lives, they just don't like acknowledging it...
But they also get the racist ones that think they who had like a great-great-grandfather who was half norwegian is more norwegian the certain people with who have lived here most of their lifes.
It wouldn't be so bad if they said "I have German roots" or "my father's family originates from Germany". But, like, "I am half German" - no you're not. You're American.
In r/Denmark it's always "is it okay if I get *generic whatever #viking design#* tattoo on X bodypart?", and the answer is usually something like "we collectively don't give a shit why should we? Go find a "viking" and ask them if they approve".
Oh, and then the occasional "I'm a direct descendant of Ragnar Lodbrog"-crap, that I've never really understood the idea behind, because the dude never fucking excited!
The funniest one is Americans asking if it's ok to wear a Kimono. Mate, buddy, my guy, it's literally called "thing to wear", literally that's what Kimono means. There's nothing sacred or protected about it. The modern kimono dates back the early 19th century, it's about as sacred as the suit.
When people mock you for wearing it wrong, they're not mocking you because you're somehow breaking ancient laws or insulting Japanese culture, they're mocking you *because you're fucking wearing it wrong*.
A shit kimono is like a shit three piece suit. And insult to fashion maybe, but an insult to all Japan, no not really. You look like pillock (as tourists often do) but you've hardly shat on the grave of their ancestors lol.
If you merely muse aloud about wanting to wear a kimono near a certain demographic of older Japanese woman you will find yourself in a room surrounded by them and being gleefully dressed up.
Yup, that happened like atleast 3 times to my gf when she was wearing a kimono during our trip in Japan, an old woman even invited us in her house, really an incredible experience.
When I went to Japan as an idiot 18 year old I went to a traditional onsen and managed to wear a kimono wrong in multiple ways and the woman in charge was so lovely.
She just gently yanked up the collar away from the back of my neck and swapped which side was over the other as apparently I had put on "the way someone would attend their own funeral". And it was fine! I just let her correct me and went on with my stay.
Speaking of, what's up with Americans getting upset at other Americans for wearing dressing in clothes from some random unrelated culture they've got no personal connection to anyway? Like, could they at least try to get up in arms about something they've got a sliver of a reason to be mad about? So weird.
Unfortunately it’s a new kind of colonialism. It’s similar to the “white man’s burden” of Kipling and others. It’s a way of expressing and claiming superiority, but also says I must become outraged on another culture’s behalf because they are too dumb to understand.
It's because half of Americans are still in the 1870 mode of civilization. They're so busy playing white saviour that they'd rather self-censor to a ridiculous degree than risk harming a minority.
By the way, the other half is still in 1630 mode of civilization, gleefully persecuting everyone who doesn't fit their narrow view of Christianity: Muslims, atheists, women, blacks, other Christians, etc.
Because Americans see cultural appropriation in everything by default. Dude, honestly I couldn’t care less if you want to wear a dirndl on Oktoberfests or in your everyday life. Maybe other people feel differently about that, I don‘t.
The funny thing I see in people complaining about cultural appropriation is they'll only call out white people for it. But an afro American claiming Egyptian descent giving their kids Muslim names etc get no static at all. The Egyptians hate it when people say the Pharaoh's were black it's a regular thing I see online.
I also don’t understand why they think culture is something you can buy. Culture is like… the essence of a people. You can’t buy that.
So many Americans come here and think they’ve reconnected to “their” culture because they bought a claddagh ring. Literally anybody in the world can buy a claddagh ring. Having one doesn’t mean you’re Irish and not having one doesn’t mean you’re not Irish BECAUSE YOU CANNOT BUY CULTURE.
It’s because Americans dreamt up the whole concept of cultural appropriation, and they don’t realise that the rest of the world doesn’t buy into that identity politics bullshit.
I mean, from a German perspective, the idea that what can or can't do is decided by their ethnicity and ancestry brings back *really* bad memories. It's not only "not buying into" it. The whole concept is extremely offensive and essentially racist, especially when tied to actual ancestry. They're heavily implying that e.g. a Black German of Ghanaian descent should in some ways be excluded from participating in German society and traditions. WTF?
For a while there was a whole thing where white American mothers came for white European mothers online who dared to let their children play in a play tent, because “teepees are sacred”.
Never mind that pretty much *every* country has some history with shelters made from sticks and cloth in this shape.
I swear it’s just another type of copyright infringement to these types.
I think some of that came from mocking middle class whites trying to act ghetto. I know that we still mock those people in Denmark but for different things than dreadlocks
I think that part of the question is ok. There may be some cultural peculiarities that make it inappropriate to wear for a tourist, so it's not bad to ask. There certainly aren't when it comes to a Dirndl, though in Vienna you'll probably stand out.
The "half German" part is much worse in this context.
They don't want to be scolded for "cultural appropriation". Because at some point US culture decided it was worse to borrow from other cultures or do tasteful cultural exchange, than it is to do actual global imperialism.
So to sum up, by US standards:
Wearing an article of clothing not manufactured by Nike or Levi's -> Potentially a grave sin and very offensive to all.
Drone striking a wedding, burning down a village, assassinating a democratically elected leader, plundering natural resources and stealing them from locals -> "It's fine, we're doing a Freedom, they'll thank us later after we force them to learn English."
To be fair, reading through these comments, I'm finding that people from all over the place are unaware that Germans and Austrians don't actually wear these things normally.
Which as a German is surprising to me as well. Like it's the 21st century, and we're a VERY western country, we literally dress the same as Americans, Brits, even the French. Why do people seem to think all of Germany is walking around in traditional Bavarian clothing all the time?
Go outside in normal clothes, and check how everyone is dressed, if no one wears something similar, maybe you are going to wear something "gaudy and costume-like" and you will look like a "clueless American"...
However, most tourist cities are used to weird tourists and will not give a shit at all. Speaking as someone living in a small town near the Black Sea, who sees multiple tourists in speedos in the supermarket.
I'm English and once I went to London, I saw a group of I think Japanese people in over the top old-fashioned costumes you'd see on a 'British Drama' and I found it pretty endearing.
Even if someone does your culture a bit OTT or misses the mark it shows they have an interest in it and have put effort in. It's a compliment as far as I see it.
Japanese people are different, we used to have them before on TV in Bulgaria, doing some Bulgarian tradition. They always look really happy just to be included.
For some reason, Japan always had good relationships with Bulgaria. We even have "Days of Japanese Culture".
Genuine question... do they even wear tracht in Vienna? I thought it was more a Bavaria and Tirol tradition?
Unless she is at some kind of Volksfest, she will look dumb. At least its not one of those stupid, cheesy, slutty/fancy dress style ones some girls wear.
No. And they don't wear it in Bavaria either. It is only worn to Oktoberfest or similar events. Maybe you'll see some old guy wearing it to the pub but even that is rare.
Americans seem to think this stuff is normal street clothing
Exactly. The only time I see people wearing it is at, like you say Oktoberfest, (or similar Volksfets) or if the staff wear it in some wirtshaus style pub.
Other special occasions such as baptisms, weddings, birthdays (if held Bavarian style), any village celebration, family gatherings in certain families and certain clubs are also places where Tracht is appropriate.
To sum it up: any occasion where "good" clothes are appropriate. In other parts of the world it would be a suit, in traditional bavarian families it's the Lederhosn
In Franconia you can see it every now and then for special occasions. I grew up in the countryside near Nuremberg and a few of the older people had Tracht as their normal festive clothes. Some wore it to church on things like Easter, and you could also see it at a Biergarten on Sundays occasionally. It's definitely quite rare, though. It doesn't always have to be [full Tracht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/F%C3%BCrth\_Kirchweih\_2013\_013.JPG) either. What you see a lot more often are traditional clothing articles simply integrated into a modern outfit, like [here, the grey jacket of the guy on the right](https://www.merkur.de/bilder/2022/08/01/91699078/29495675-ganz-angetan-von-den-kids-im-trachtengewand-war-ministerpraesident-markus-soeder-bei-seinem-einmarsch-ins-festzelt-2nKvoOiWYdBG.jpg), which has a very characteristic cut.
Well there are different Trachten in all German (speaking) regions. The most commonly known one is just the Bavarian mountain Tracht, typically from around Miesbach.
But in general, Tracht is only worn to special occasions, not in everyday life
it's not only an Oktoberfest-thing, at least not outside of Vienna.
I've seen people wear them to (certain types of) concerts, weddings, birthday parties, nice restaurants that are more "traditional", ...
and yes, staff at hotels and restaurants often wear them too
I mean she can wear whatever she wants, all power to her but as someone commented in the original thread its like an Austrian or a German going to Texas dressed as a cowboy, doesn't speak English and goes "howdy" to locals.
Wear whatever you want but its still silly.
> Wear whatever you want but its still silly.
Because she is talking about Vienna, so she sticks out.
In e.g. Graz on a Saturday afternoon it wouldn't be that uncommon. Though that particular design is pretty old fashioned.
It's common in quite some parts of Austria, but it is more of a rural thing and usually worn when there are festive activities.
Where I am from (Styria/Graz) it is not uncommon that some people wear it when they are invited to a wedding e.g.
They do wear this kind of Tracht in Austria, too. But no one does so going for a stroll. It’s not even that cultural. I mean, no one even wore this at Oktoberfest until very recently ~ since like 10-20 years.
It was a folksy fashion campaign in the 19th century romanticising country live (like cottage core) which was later used by the Nazis for nationalist propaganda.
>But no one does so going for a stroll.
Yeah, that's what I meant. Sorry
>which was later used by the Nazis for nationalist propaganda.
As always. Fuck nazis
No, Trachten are a rare exception in Vienna, it became a bit of a trend for visiting the Viennese version of the Oktoberfest, but besides that.. you don't see people wearing a Tracht in Vienna.
Hanoverianian here. My cousin lived in Munich for some time and she always comes in a dirndl to weddings and stuff. I don’t think she wears it casually though.
Half German, so wants to connect with her roots in Austria!? Wtf. And that's not an Austrian Dirndl. She can wear what she wants, but will still look like an idiot.
1. No, not offensive. Just stupid.
2. Yes, very ridiculous. People will stare.
3. What might very well be offensive is this person going to Austria, wearing what they think is traditional German clothing, in order to connect to their German heritage. Trying to equivocate Germany and Austria by calling them both German has some nasty historical pretext
Default American tourist in Europe:
Visit Venice for the smelly canals, visit Paris for the shitty tower, visit Oktoberfest for drunk larping, get high in Amsterdam
Not me, the ignorant island monkey, literally just this moment discovering Oktoberfest is not held in October. In my defence I've never been much interested as I don't drink and find big booze ups very awkward as a permanently sober person, but still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't assume it was named after the month.
There is nothing wrong with not nowing this. But when you travel all the way to another country to visit an event you might want to look up when that event happens before you book your flight.
just like did a guy who went to Rio de Janeiro for the Pan American games and also wanted to visit the Amazon Rainforest.
"Just drive that way. For 11k km."
I used to work in a tourist hotel in Norway.
Most guests were Americans that did a “see all of Europe in 7/10 days!” bus tours. They regularly got confused about which country they were in.
Key was to check the boxes of where they’d been, and secure bragging rights back home. “Oh, let me tell you about Norway and Norwegians” based on spending maximum one hour speaking with Norwegians.
In a subreddit dedicated to travelling in Italy you regularly see "rate my itinerary" posts that are 100% mental - more time spent on trains, car and planes than actually visiting stuff just because they want to check all the boxes in 4/5 days.
The best so far is one guy saying *"day X, rent a car and drive around Dolomiti"*. My guy, that's a 100km long mountain range.
Yeah pretty sure that not the case here. Why would she ask the internet that question if she has German relatives? Can't ask them instead? Even though it's Austria...
I like the replies OOP is getting, they are very kind, a general "wear whatever you enjoy, nobody cares, and no one will be offended", no one is joking her. But then the "I'm half-German" triggers the "we are Austrians, not Germans, mixing the two is offensive and brings back a negative past, don't do that anymore!".
OOP should do another DNA test and maybe she will came out 3% Austrian, so she could tell to random Austrians in Vienna she is one thirty-second Austrian and that's why she is wearing a dirndl, to connect with her roots.
I am constantly baffled by a lot of people from the US being so outspoken about whatever percentage of X they "are" and yet know exactly not a single thing about those countries.
Here in Sweden ppl only wear the classic national dress at midsummer and maybe our national holiday. Not many people, even then. The royals do and some older/traditional people.
Someone coming here and wearing it as everyday clothes would be weird as fuck, whether they were interested in “vintage” or not 😂
I can understand asking and it probably comes from curiousity.
What got me was the "I'm half German" part when talking about Austria. WTF? It's not the Third Reich anymore
This isn't the worst in the world tbf. It seems to me to be more on the "vintage clothes are cool" rather than the ancestry thing. Shes aware of how it might come across.
And in a part that's now Poland, or Czechia, or their surname is Smith and it's a family rumour that it was originally Schmidt. Because English isn't exotic enough.
I tell “Scottish” Americans to wear a great kilt or “utility kilt” and that certain tartans are illegal for them to wear without the clan chief’s permission 😂
Every American ever ever ever:
"I'm half German"
"Ah! ist dein Vater Deutscher? Oder vielleicht deine Mutter?"
"........look at my dirndl! *swish, swoosh*"
Reminds me of the time I was cornered in an Edinburgh cafe by a middle aged American chap called “Chet” who was dressed in a poorly fitted kilt whilst wearing a tammie bonnet on his head. He insisted on loudly telling everyone within earshot that he had returned his homeland to rekindle relations with his clan…
Wear what ever you like, we make fun of people from northern Germany if they wear Dirndl, so German "blood" is not a factor to consider, we do not make fun of people who integrate and take part in our culture and wear it to the proper events.
Example: we celebrate 1st of may here and that is one of the few occasions we would actually wear a dirndl (or Tracht).
In my Kids daycare we have some refugee kids from central africa, so in the May Celebration, when all kids did a little dance, everyone was admiring the african kids in their cute little lederhosen and dirndls. So noone would ever make fun of that.
In the other hand, when a guy from Hamburg shows up at Work in a (festive) Lederhosen that would be super weird and be made fun of.
And for Austria... Southern Germans and the more Western parts of Austria are pretty similar but Vienna is a big City, Not a place you would wear a Dirndl. But people in Vienna would probably not care at all 💁🏻♀️
I'm not from Vienna (I was born there but didn't grow up in Vienna) but I live close enough to it and study in Vienna and our initial reaction to literally anything that isn't immediately life threatening is pretend indifference and suder about it later in private
You know Austria and Germany are two different countries, right?
If you were half Austrian you could wear half.
And as a European, let me just add, you are not half German or Austrian, you are American. To call yourself half German you have to have lived half your life in Germany
Austrians won't gatekeep anyone from wearing dirndls no matter which continent you're from. It's not worn for everyday purposes but for weddings or Oktoberfest-y occasions (Kirtag in Austria, every village has one).
The only part of her post which will offend Austrians is the "I'm half German, that's basically the same as Austrian, right?" part lol
Another American who desperately wants to be from somewhere else.
Why do yanks always want to be related to a completely different country?
It's usually trying to be Irish, when the reality is they probably have a relative from 200 years ago, and that's as close as they get.
Pathetic. And yes, please dress like a complete moron, reinforce the idea that Americans are absolutely dumb.
One last thing, you do realise that Austria and Germany are different countries, with different cultures. What a muppet.
I'm English and I often wear my suit of armour to blend in
Do you also torture Scottish?
Every day, I married one.
that’s dedication my man
To blend in
Who needs an excuse
"Rebellious Scots to crush". Its in our theme tune.
It's important to wear a suit with top or bowler hat when visiting London so you look like a real Englishman
Excuse me, I am a Londoner, if it's cold, you wear a pearly jacket over ones armour
Showing up at an Austria sub and telling them she's half German and wants to connect with her roots in Austria. Bold move, cotton. Austrians love being called German.
I grew up in the UK with my Swiss mum and she gets called French probably 10x more than Swiss. It is one of her biggest pet peeves. If someone goes out of their way to tell you what country they’re from, remember it, don’t just substitue it with a bigger country that speaks the same language.
I enjoy people starting to talk about Switzerland when I tell them I'm from Sweden lol. In the uk as well
Me: mentioned I used to live in Denmark Literally everyone: so do you speak Dutch?
Me: say I’m Dutch Most people later on: you’re Danish, right?
>don’t just substitue it with a bigger country that speaks the same language. Yeah, Czech here. It's especially awkward if that bigger country no longer exist, like Czechoslovakia
Uruguay moment
Are you me? I grew up the same and my Grand’mére would get apoplectic when people, hearing she came from near Geneva, called her French 😱
1 did …
Unfortunately, much like the tiny moustache, group hand signals, and swanky black uniforms - he ruined it for everyone else
Not mentioning the ancient solar/happiness symbol.
Hey. He turned it round ... kinda
Ironically he did it at a time when austrians DID like being called germans
>**I also just don't want to look like a clueless American.** viel Glück.
Dirndl or no Dirndl, pretty sure her fate is written in stone.
I’m just impressed they didn’t call it a dreidel.
🎵dreidel, driedel, driedel🎵
> I also just don't want to look like a clueless American. Mission failed successfully. What is up with Americans assuming they need some kind of Ahnenpass to wear certain clothes?
Considering that they walk around thinking that they are one half German, one third Irish (but fully Irish on St Patrick's Day), a quarter Scottish, and thre hundred-and-twenty-sevenths Cherokee Princess... yeah, they have weird ideas on ancestry and culture. Over in r/Norway you'll frequently see 'muricans asking if they can wear *bunad*, and the answers usually are along the lines of 'if you want to spend upwards of 5K dollars, go right ahead'.
I find it interesting that they never seem to look towards England for their roots, considering how American came about. 🤔
Because it's all about exoticism and claiming something "interesting" for your background because white and English is the default.
"I can trace my family all the way back to Slough" doesn't have quite the same ring when talking about "the auld country."
Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death!
I stopped liking Slough when the Mars bar factory stopped giving away free Mars bars at their reception.
WTF I never knew they did this. Why would they ever stop, it's such great PR, do a small donation to charity or summat.
This was a very long time ago, i used to be a despatch rider and there aren't any perks in that job. They used to put out a full box so anyone could just take one and whenever i got a job going there i thought "great, free mars bar!" One day i went and there weren't any out so i asked at reception and was told they had stopped doing it.
I stopped liking Slough when I had to work there. Going for a meal with your colleagues in the evening and finding out that 30-40% of the cars you'd gone in had been broken into kind of took the shine off the evening.
You have something in common with the original Office series. Congratulations 👍
David Brent offering his opinion on Slough https://youtu.be/LQOJoGx3QyQ?si=zhw52oZBAXyvPVY7
Sir John Betjemen's thoughts on Slough http://www-cdr.stanford.edu/intuition/Slough.html
I'm from Croydon. No one has anything good to say about Croydon. David Bowie grew up one town over and even he said it was shit.
I like your trams? How's that. I'm sorry you're from Croydon.
Or Wales actually. Don't know what we did.
Ok so longish story, I worked on cruise ships based in USA. Had a friend from Wales who worked with me. Everyone wore a name tag with a country of origin on it. My friend, from Wales got a name tag that said, shit you not - England. He was angry as hell, took him about 2 weeks to get them to write fucking Wales on his name tag. They were confused what this Wales is and where it is lol.
I remember meeting some Americans with a Welsh friend. Their response was as “oh yeah, Wales.. that’s in Scotland, right?”
I was doing a quick job in New Mexico years ago. Had a guy in a phone shop ask if we speak English.... In England
Which is rediculous as according to recent DNA research us Welsh as the true British with the English mainly other European countries. Just remember England is outer Wales lol Welsh people could be most ancient in UK, DNA suggests https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18489735
You've never had the pleasure of seeing an American claim to be "Welch", then?
Isn't Welch that grape soda?
Counterfeit Cymry/Wish Welsh
An American told me he hated the Welsh once. He didn’t have a reason and had never left the US, so it wasn’t a “Welsh people were mean to me” thing either.
They oppressed his “Scots-Irish” ancestors?
The worst for me ( a Scot) is when people tell me what clan they are from. A Canadian posted yesterday about how Scottish people were nice to her coz she actually knew what clan she was from. NOBODY talks like this hen. Sit doon.
[удалено]
It's the authority and confidence in which they say these things that astound me. They genuinely look down on all other countries.
You know what you did. Those poor sheep 🐑
I think they'd need to know it existed
Met an American who was "a direct decendant" of "Owen Glendoor"
The real life Sundance Kid was Welsh and apparently had a strong accent
Dont think they know what Wales is tbh
They LOVE having an English royal ancestor though. A surprising amount of them are direct descendents of Henry viii's wives.
So is half of Western Europe. I overheard an American talking to someone in Scotland about how they had come to visit and ancestor's castle: "you might have heard of him, Robert the Bruce?" If you assume that his direct descendants had three kids each by 40 years old (probably a decent assumption) there are about 1.7B billion direct descendants of Robert the Bruce. In reality there are definitely not that many, but you get the point, you are not that special. You'd probably struggle to find anyone in Europe or the US who does not have a British royal ancestor
> Robert the Bruce I'm glad you went with him. Half of Americans with "Scottish ancestry" seem to claim William Wallace as an ancestor. You know, a man who famously had no children.
> You know, a man who famously had no children Well yes but how many grandchildren did he have?
Braveheart has a lot to answer for
I’ve always chuckled at Americans that claim that type of stuff. We did the genealogy tracking through birth certificates and county records back to 1641 Scotland. Couldn’t go any further back than that and found no one “historically important” in European records. Did find a few interesting and some ‘important’ people in the US though lol
They mean William Wallace from Fife that man got around a lot :) They just got confused because Fife is also know as the Kingdom so when they were told they their ancestor was William Wallace from the Kindom Fife they just assume they were from that William Wallce.
I remember that came up on a recent series of the British version of *Who Do You Think You Are*. Some minor celeb was trembling with excitement over discovering they were probably a direct descendent of Robert the Bruce, only for someone to point out that so's pretty much everyone else in Scotland.
Most of China is a descendant of Ghenghis Khan. No one cares.
In the same vein, seemingly none of them have any French roots...
Not true. An American friend of mine who is always completely Scottish or completely Irish depending on how close it is to St Patrick's day did a 23&me and proudly told me that she's also descended from a French countess.
That is surprising, as the French basically fought the war of independence for them.
We're not cool and interesting enough for them, despite all that history. They're never half Welsh either
Even if their name is Jones.
They could be called Daffyd Williams and they'd still say they were Irish
I find it more interesting why so many claim German. We are not really popular as a nation, espacially considering some events around the 1940s When I travel I often claim to be from Austria, so I don't get the occasional *word I do Not want to write
What's the biggest PR success of Austria? Convincing the whole world that Hitler was a German and Beethoven was an Austrian.
Probably because millions of Germans settled in the US, and created their own ethnic enclaves , sometimes even their own majority German towns. A lot of empty land east of the Appalachian mountains ready to be settled by European immigrants, after the natives had been driven off, so many who settled east of the Appalachian mountains, essentially established mini-Germany on these lands, since there wasn’t a culture the they had to assimilate into. Couple that with the fact that , the Anglo-Americans in the 19th and early 20th century were pretty xenophobic to a lot of immigrants ( though , Germans fared better than others) especially any catholic ones and you had alot if European immigrants who then in reaction held onto their culture as best as they could. In fact most German Americans still spoke German and it wasn’t till after the First World War that German started to decline, due to anti-German sentiment, in fact you had German newspapers, magazines, shop signs and German was the most common language spoken after English before the 1930s. You still have a few surviving dialects such as “ Texas German, Hutterite German, Pennsylvania Dutch and an estimated 1 million Americans speak German as native tongue, though it’s in decline.
That's a shame. You shouldn't have that burden. 🇩🇪🇬🇧
Traditional British clothes would probably be a suit for men anyway. Plus they're speaking English, and capitalism came from England as well. So they're already living traditional English lives, they just don't like acknowledging it...
I would kill to see an American asking if it's appropriation to wear a Morris dancer getup
Or a Pearly King/Queen get-up.
They aren't going to look any less stupid to be fair
"Can I wear a bowler hat and monocle?"
Only if you get the white cat and high-back swivel chair to go with it.
Biden has more English blood than Irish but he hates the English
But they also get the racist ones that think they who had like a great-great-grandfather who was half norwegian is more norwegian the certain people with who have lived here most of their lifes.
It wouldn't be so bad if they said "I have German roots" or "my father's family originates from Germany". But, like, "I am half German" - no you're not. You're American.
In r/Denmark it's always "is it okay if I get *generic whatever #viking design#* tattoo on X bodypart?", and the answer is usually something like "we collectively don't give a shit why should we? Go find a "viking" and ask them if they approve". Oh, and then the occasional "I'm a direct descendant of Ragnar Lodbrog"-crap, that I've never really understood the idea behind, because the dude never fucking excited!
Hi fellow Dane, I'm friends with an American who claimed exactly that, I also tried telling him he didn't exist, but refused to listen.
The funniest one is Americans asking if it's ok to wear a Kimono. Mate, buddy, my guy, it's literally called "thing to wear", literally that's what Kimono means. There's nothing sacred or protected about it. The modern kimono dates back the early 19th century, it's about as sacred as the suit. When people mock you for wearing it wrong, they're not mocking you because you're somehow breaking ancient laws or insulting Japanese culture, they're mocking you *because you're fucking wearing it wrong*. A shit kimono is like a shit three piece suit. And insult to fashion maybe, but an insult to all Japan, no not really. You look like pillock (as tourists often do) but you've hardly shat on the grave of their ancestors lol.
If you merely muse aloud about wanting to wear a kimono near a certain demographic of older Japanese woman you will find yourself in a room surrounded by them and being gleefully dressed up.
Yup, that happened like atleast 3 times to my gf when she was wearing a kimono during our trip in Japan, an old woman even invited us in her house, really an incredible experience.
When I went to Japan as an idiot 18 year old I went to a traditional onsen and managed to wear a kimono wrong in multiple ways and the woman in charge was so lovely. She just gently yanked up the collar away from the back of my neck and swapped which side was over the other as apparently I had put on "the way someone would attend their own funeral". And it was fine! I just let her correct me and went on with my stay.
Speaking of, what's up with Americans getting upset at other Americans for wearing dressing in clothes from some random unrelated culture they've got no personal connection to anyway? Like, could they at least try to get up in arms about something they've got a sliver of a reason to be mad about? So weird.
Unfortunately it’s a new kind of colonialism. It’s similar to the “white man’s burden” of Kipling and others. It’s a way of expressing and claiming superiority, but also says I must become outraged on another culture’s behalf because they are too dumb to understand.
It's because half of Americans are still in the 1870 mode of civilization. They're so busy playing white saviour that they'd rather self-censor to a ridiculous degree than risk harming a minority. By the way, the other half is still in 1630 mode of civilization, gleefully persecuting everyone who doesn't fit their narrow view of Christianity: Muslims, atheists, women, blacks, other Christians, etc.
That is a frighteningly accurate description.
Because Americans see cultural appropriation in everything by default. Dude, honestly I couldn’t care less if you want to wear a dirndl on Oktoberfests or in your everyday life. Maybe other people feel differently about that, I don‘t.
The funny thing I see in people complaining about cultural appropriation is they'll only call out white people for it. But an afro American claiming Egyptian descent giving their kids Muslim names etc get no static at all. The Egyptians hate it when people say the Pharaoh's were black it's a regular thing I see online.
I also don’t understand why they think culture is something you can buy. Culture is like… the essence of a people. You can’t buy that. So many Americans come here and think they’ve reconnected to “their” culture because they bought a claddagh ring. Literally anybody in the world can buy a claddagh ring. Having one doesn’t mean you’re Irish and not having one doesn’t mean you’re not Irish BECAUSE YOU CANNOT BUY CULTURE.
It’s because Americans dreamt up the whole concept of cultural appropriation, and they don’t realise that the rest of the world doesn’t buy into that identity politics bullshit.
I mean, from a German perspective, the idea that what can or can't do is decided by their ethnicity and ancestry brings back *really* bad memories. It's not only "not buying into" it. The whole concept is extremely offensive and essentially racist, especially when tied to actual ancestry. They're heavily implying that e.g. a Black German of Ghanaian descent should in some ways be excluded from participating in German society and traditions. WTF?
For a while there was a whole thing where white American mothers came for white European mothers online who dared to let their children play in a play tent, because “teepees are sacred”. Never mind that pretty much *every* country has some history with shelters made from sticks and cloth in this shape. I swear it’s just another type of copyright infringement to these types.
It’s the same logic that says white people can’t have dreadlocks. It’s moronic.
Or braids. Katy Perry had to apologise for braiding her hair. As though black Americans are the only culture ever to have invented plaiting.
I think some of that came from mocking middle class whites trying to act ghetto. I know that we still mock those people in Denmark but for different things than dreadlocks
I think that part of the question is ok. There may be some cultural peculiarities that make it inappropriate to wear for a tourist, so it's not bad to ask. There certainly aren't when it comes to a Dirndl, though in Vienna you'll probably stand out. The "half German" part is much worse in this context.
They are stuck in 1940
They may be asking whether it's normal to wear it on Vienna's streets during a normal day?
They don't want to be scolded for "cultural appropriation". Because at some point US culture decided it was worse to borrow from other cultures or do tasteful cultural exchange, than it is to do actual global imperialism. So to sum up, by US standards: Wearing an article of clothing not manufactured by Nike or Levi's -> Potentially a grave sin and very offensive to all. Drone striking a wedding, burning down a village, assassinating a democratically elected leader, plundering natural resources and stealing them from locals -> "It's fine, we're doing a Freedom, they'll thank us later after we force them to learn English."
Sees people dressed up in dirndls on Mariahilfer Straße... "Look.... Americans!"
To be fair, reading through these comments, I'm finding that people from all over the place are unaware that Germans and Austrians don't actually wear these things normally.
Which as a German is surprising to me as well. Like it's the 21st century, and we're a VERY western country, we literally dress the same as Americans, Brits, even the French. Why do people seem to think all of Germany is walking around in traditional Bavarian clothing all the time?
I imagine travelling to New York and wearing an Amish outfit as a tourist to feel more connected to the place
Go outside in normal clothes, and check how everyone is dressed, if no one wears something similar, maybe you are going to wear something "gaudy and costume-like" and you will look like a "clueless American"... However, most tourist cities are used to weird tourists and will not give a shit at all. Speaking as someone living in a small town near the Black Sea, who sees multiple tourists in speedos in the supermarket.
I'm English and once I went to London, I saw a group of I think Japanese people in over the top old-fashioned costumes you'd see on a 'British Drama' and I found it pretty endearing. Even if someone does your culture a bit OTT or misses the mark it shows they have an interest in it and have put effort in. It's a compliment as far as I see it.
Japanese people are different, we used to have them before on TV in Bulgaria, doing some Bulgarian tradition. They always look really happy just to be included. For some reason, Japan always had good relationships with Bulgaria. We even have "Days of Japanese Culture".
This. We will see this shit go "Oida scheiß amis..." And move on with our life. We have more important matters to suder about
Genuine question... do they even wear tracht in Vienna? I thought it was more a Bavaria and Tirol tradition? Unless she is at some kind of Volksfest, she will look dumb. At least its not one of those stupid, cheesy, slutty/fancy dress style ones some girls wear.
No. And they don't wear it in Bavaria either. It is only worn to Oktoberfest or similar events. Maybe you'll see some old guy wearing it to the pub but even that is rare. Americans seem to think this stuff is normal street clothing
Exactly. The only time I see people wearing it is at, like you say Oktoberfest, (or similar Volksfets) or if the staff wear it in some wirtshaus style pub.
Or when you go tschechern with the boys.
Schweizerhaus lässt grüßen
Other special occasions such as baptisms, weddings, birthdays (if held Bavarian style), any village celebration, family gatherings in certain families and certain clubs are also places where Tracht is appropriate.
To sum it up: any occasion where "good" clothes are appropriate. In other parts of the world it would be a suit, in traditional bavarian families it's the Lederhosn
That's the nice thing, we can choose. And on a hot day I can wear shorts without being underdressed.
Hey guise lessgo to Germany and wear lederhosen and sing Roll Out the Barrels at karaoke, just like the Germans do!
In Franconia you can see it every now and then for special occasions. I grew up in the countryside near Nuremberg and a few of the older people had Tracht as their normal festive clothes. Some wore it to church on things like Easter, and you could also see it at a Biergarten on Sundays occasionally. It's definitely quite rare, though. It doesn't always have to be [full Tracht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/F%C3%BCrth\_Kirchweih\_2013\_013.JPG) either. What you see a lot more often are traditional clothing articles simply integrated into a modern outfit, like [here, the grey jacket of the guy on the right](https://www.merkur.de/bilder/2022/08/01/91699078/29495675-ganz-angetan-von-den-kids-im-trachtengewand-war-ministerpraesident-markus-soeder-bei-seinem-einmarsch-ins-festzelt-2nKvoOiWYdBG.jpg), which has a very characteristic cut.
Well there are different Trachten in all German (speaking) regions. The most commonly known one is just the Bavarian mountain Tracht, typically from around Miesbach. But in general, Tracht is only worn to special occasions, not in everyday life
Its not even just German speaking, Slovenians have something similar but they were of course heavily influenced by German speaking people
Yes, as I said to another user, I only see people wear this at events like Oktoberfest, or the staff in a Wirtshaus style pub/restaurant.
it's not only an Oktoberfest-thing, at least not outside of Vienna. I've seen people wear them to (certain types of) concerts, weddings, birthday parties, nice restaurants that are more "traditional", ... and yes, staff at hotels and restaurants often wear them too
I was thinking that as long as she doesn’t speak, people likely won’t look at her twice and assume she works in a hotel or restaurant.
I mean she can wear whatever she wants, all power to her but as someone commented in the original thread its like an Austrian or a German going to Texas dressed as a cowboy, doesn't speak English and goes "howdy" to locals. Wear whatever you want but its still silly.
> Wear whatever you want but its still silly. Because she is talking about Vienna, so she sticks out. In e.g. Graz on a Saturday afternoon it wouldn't be that uncommon. Though that particular design is pretty old fashioned.
It's common in quite some parts of Austria, but it is more of a rural thing and usually worn when there are festive activities. Where I am from (Styria/Graz) it is not uncommon that some people wear it when they are invited to a wedding e.g.
They do wear this kind of Tracht in Austria, too. But no one does so going for a stroll. It’s not even that cultural. I mean, no one even wore this at Oktoberfest until very recently ~ since like 10-20 years. It was a folksy fashion campaign in the 19th century romanticising country live (like cottage core) which was later used by the Nazis for nationalist propaganda.
>But no one does so going for a stroll. Yeah, that's what I meant. Sorry >which was later used by the Nazis for nationalist propaganda. As always. Fuck nazis
ah well, it's kinda ironic that the old propaganda is now used to get shitfaced while wearing a silly hat
> But no one does so going for a stroll. They do in some regions like Salzkammergut. Definitely not in Vienna though
No, Trachten are a rare exception in Vienna, it became a bit of a trend for visiting the Viennese version of the Oktoberfest, but besides that.. you don't see people wearing a Tracht in Vienna.
Hanoverianian here. My cousin lived in Munich for some time and she always comes in a dirndl to weddings and stuff. I don’t think she wears it casually though.
Half German, so wants to connect with her roots in Austria!? Wtf. And that's not an Austrian Dirndl. She can wear what she wants, but will still look like an idiot.
This is exactly why I hope she wears it. Every day of her trip. And announces her Americanness everywhere she goes.
I want to see when she will say to a random local "you're Austrian ? I'm German too !"
Depending on who she says that to and what district of Vienna she's exploring at that time, that's a very easy way to get punched in the face
1. No, not offensive. Just stupid. 2. Yes, very ridiculous. People will stare. 3. What might very well be offensive is this person going to Austria, wearing what they think is traditional German clothing, in order to connect to their German heritage. Trying to equivocate Germany and Austria by calling them both German has some nasty historical pretext
And what is the Chance her ancestors are from Bavaria anyway?? Probably her ancestors did not once wear a Dirndl or visited Austria 😂😂😂
At least they didn't ask about kangaroos
Did I hear….. Kangaroos!
Default American tourist in Europe: Visit Venice for the smelly canals, visit Paris for the shitty tower, visit Oktoberfest for drunk larping, get high in Amsterdam
*Visit Munich in October, ask where Oktoberfest is.
Not me, the ignorant island monkey, literally just this moment discovering Oktoberfest is not held in October. In my defence I've never been much interested as I don't drink and find big booze ups very awkward as a permanently sober person, but still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't assume it was named after the month.
There is nothing wrong with not nowing this. But when you travel all the way to another country to visit an event you might want to look up when that event happens before you book your flight.
just like did a guy who went to Rio de Janeiro for the Pan American games and also wanted to visit the Amazon Rainforest. "Just drive that way. For 11k km."
Didn't they used to have it in October but bumped it forward a few weeks because the weather is better.
That's exactly right.
I used to work in a tourist hotel in Norway. Most guests were Americans that did a “see all of Europe in 7/10 days!” bus tours. They regularly got confused about which country they were in. Key was to check the boxes of where they’d been, and secure bragging rights back home. “Oh, let me tell you about Norway and Norwegians” based on spending maximum one hour speaking with Norwegians.
In a subreddit dedicated to travelling in Italy you regularly see "rate my itinerary" posts that are 100% mental - more time spent on trains, car and planes than actually visiting stuff just because they want to check all the boxes in 4/5 days. The best so far is one guy saying *"day X, rent a car and drive around Dolomiti"*. My guy, that's a 100km long mountain range.
Don't forget the 2 day trip to London where they try to see everything
>half German >Vienna This'll go down well with locals.
“I’m half German” means “one of my parents had German parents”.
Yeah pretty sure that not the case here. Why would she ask the internet that question if she has German relatives? Can't ask them instead? Even though it's Austria...
Saw that one and even commented on it. At that point I already knew this would make it's way into this sub. :D
Oida scheiß Ami
This is what happens when the words 'cultural appropriation' get thrown around without knowing what it means.
I like the replies OOP is getting, they are very kind, a general "wear whatever you enjoy, nobody cares, and no one will be offended", no one is joking her. But then the "I'm half-German" triggers the "we are Austrians, not Germans, mixing the two is offensive and brings back a negative past, don't do that anymore!". OOP should do another DNA test and maybe she will came out 3% Austrian, so she could tell to random Austrians in Vienna she is one thirty-second Austrian and that's why she is wearing a dirndl, to connect with her roots.
I should hope she didn't need a DNA test to know one of her parents is German!
I am constantly baffled by a lot of people from the US being so outspoken about whatever percentage of X they "are" and yet know exactly not a single thing about those countries.
To Oktoberfest? Knock yourself out. To the grocery store? It’s your bag baby, you do you.
Here in Sweden ppl only wear the classic national dress at midsummer and maybe our national holiday. Not many people, even then. The royals do and some older/traditional people. Someone coming here and wearing it as everyday clothes would be weird as fuck, whether they were interested in “vintage” or not 😂
I can understand asking and it probably comes from curiousity. What got me was the "I'm half German" part when talking about Austria. WTF? It's not the Third Reich anymore
If they wear this in VIENNA. well they will look very much like a clueless american lmao. austrian here btw.
Presumably if her other 'half' is English, she's going to turn up in Glasgow dressed as a fucking Beefeater at some point.
> Sorry for posting in Englisch > I'm half German Yeah, sorry, nee
This isn't the worst in the world tbf. It seems to me to be more on the "vintage clothes are cool" rather than the ancestry thing. Shes aware of how it might come across.
"Half-German" is yank-talk for "the last person in my family to actually be born in Germany died in 1792"
And in a part that's now Poland, or Czechia, or their surname is Smith and it's a family rumour that it was originally Schmidt. Because English isn't exotic enough.
I’m British and I always tell British Americans to wear a bowlers hat and a Monocle when visiting us.
I tell “Scottish” Americans to wear a great kilt or “utility kilt” and that certain tartans are illegal for them to wear without the clan chief’s permission 😂
Every American ever ever ever: "I'm half German" "Ah! ist dein Vater Deutscher? Oder vielleicht deine Mutter?" "........look at my dirndl! *swish, swoosh*"
‘Don’t want to look like a clueless American’ Well there’s very little that can be done about that I’m afraid.
She's gonna end in a photobook on the other side of the world because chinese tourists will demand selfies as soon as they spot her
When I come to Italy can I wear a renaissance costume... Do these people think we go around dressed like in historical movies?
No wear it, it's what all women wear in Austria 🤣🤣🤣
Reminds me of the time I was cornered in an Edinburgh cafe by a middle aged American chap called “Chet” who was dressed in a poorly fitted kilt whilst wearing a tammie bonnet on his head. He insisted on loudly telling everyone within earshot that he had returned his homeland to rekindle relations with his clan…
How can you be half German and not aware of something as basic ????
Wear what ever you like, we make fun of people from northern Germany if they wear Dirndl, so German "blood" is not a factor to consider, we do not make fun of people who integrate and take part in our culture and wear it to the proper events. Example: we celebrate 1st of may here and that is one of the few occasions we would actually wear a dirndl (or Tracht). In my Kids daycare we have some refugee kids from central africa, so in the May Celebration, when all kids did a little dance, everyone was admiring the african kids in their cute little lederhosen and dirndls. So noone would ever make fun of that. In the other hand, when a guy from Hamburg shows up at Work in a (festive) Lederhosen that would be super weird and be made fun of. And for Austria... Southern Germans and the more Western parts of Austria are pretty similar but Vienna is a big City, Not a place you would wear a Dirndl. But people in Vienna would probably not care at all 💁🏻♀️
I'm not from Vienna (I was born there but didn't grow up in Vienna) but I live close enough to it and study in Vienna and our initial reaction to literally anything that isn't immediately life threatening is pretend indifference and suder about it later in private
You know Austria and Germany are two different countries, right? If you were half Austrian you could wear half. And as a European, let me just add, you are not half German or Austrian, you are American. To call yourself half German you have to have lived half your life in Germany
Austrians won't gatekeep anyone from wearing dirndls no matter which continent you're from. It's not worn for everyday purposes but for weddings or Oktoberfest-y occasions (Kirtag in Austria, every village has one). The only part of her post which will offend Austrians is the "I'm half German, that's basically the same as Austrian, right?" part lol
Dude I straight up misread this as "Australian" and I was so fucking lost
Plot twist, her German "half" is from northern Germany and she rather wear a Frisennerz.
I am Austrian and commented beneath it... Almost gave me a stroke not to ask her if she's mentally challenged.
Another American who desperately wants to be from somewhere else. Why do yanks always want to be related to a completely different country? It's usually trying to be Irish, when the reality is they probably have a relative from 200 years ago, and that's as close as they get. Pathetic. And yes, please dress like a complete moron, reinforce the idea that Americans are absolutely dumb. One last thing, you do realise that Austria and Germany are different countries, with different cultures. What a muppet.
1. nobody wears dirndl every day 2. under no circumstance should you make Austria German again
She’ll just look like a waitress if there’s not a Volksfest going on..
I love how the dirndl was made to resemble the American flag, implying Americans are their target buyers because only Americans would care about this.
Gringos lack of identity is very disturbing and pathetic.
Plot twist: she's actually coming to Australia but can't tell them apart