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Table manners in Germany


Table manners in Germany

At very formal events and in high-end restaurants, a few deviations of German customs from western standards should be noted:
  • It is considered bad manners to eat with your elbows resting on the table. Keep only your wrists on the table.
  • When moving the fork to your mouth, the curved end should point upwards (not downwards as in Great Britain)
  • When eating soup or other food from your spoon, hold it with the tip towards your mouth (not parallel to your lips as in, again, Great Britain). Spoons used to stir beverages, e.g. coffee, should not be put in the mouth at all.
  • If you have to leave the table, it is fine to put your napkin (which should have rested, folded once along the center, on your lap until then) on the table, to the left of your plate, in an elegant little pile -- unless it looks really dirty, in which case you might want to leave it on your chair.

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    Germany Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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