Germans Always Tell You What They Feel

I'm still surprised when a German tells me exactly what they are thinking.  Let me give you a few examples.

1.  Last week I'm at the grocery store and this guy stops me and says something in German.  I tell him, in German, that I speak only a little bit of German.  No problem, he speaks English.  So he asks me if I think it would be okay if he puts this chocolate on his ex-girlfriends windshield for her little boy.  They broke up but he still loves her.  Not really sure how to answer this one.  I don't want to encourage a stalker.  He then proceeds to tell me that he hasn't had sexual relations with her since December but he really wants to get back together.  Now what am I supposed to do.  This is not something I need to know.  Of course to him its just part of the conversation and a vital fact I should know so that I can truly understand the situation.

2.  We are at the Heidelberg Castle having a tour and I ask the tour guide why the sundial clock doesn't have a 4 or a 5 on it.

Now in America the tour guide would say, "I don't know, but that's an interesting question.  I'll have to find out."  Here the tour guide says, "I don't know."  I say, "Oh, you'll have to find that out for the next group."  She says, "I don't zink so.  Zis is not zomething I care about."  Okay then, still don't know why there is no four or five on the clock.

3.  My favorite is how they want to make fun of my name.  I've gotten some really good ones.  I say, "My name is Nicki."  and I get, "Zis is not a name."  "Yes, it is, that's my name."  "No, we don't have a name like zis for a girl, only a boy."  The next person says to me, "Why did your parents give you a nickname as a name?"  By the third time I already knew what to say.  "Yeah, yeah, Nicki isn't a name you hear in Germany."  This guy says to me, "No, we hear Nicki, like the mouse right?"  "No, NICKI not MICKEY."  "Oh, yeah, that's not a name."  Are you kidding me people?  Like Edeltraud, Fieke, and  Waltruad are girls names that you hear every day.