The question isn't "where's the elevator", the question is "Where's the slide?" They definitely missed an opportunity if there's none...

That guy's storytelling cracked me up, as did his Saar-casm joke. He would either be a really goofy teacher or a popular one😂

@Phelie315

5 ай бұрын

I've been following the Tim Traveller Channel for a while, he always brings interesting stuff in an entertaining way, can recommend! :D

As a child (in the early 70s) I heard the following message on the radio: "The telephone connection between Saarland and the Federal Republic of Germany is temporarily disrupted" An excavator had accidentally cut the main telephone cable. Yes, those were the days.😂

In Germany we need Saarland primarily to compare area sizes. Everything always has a size of x times the Saarland.

@seeMafufo

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, it's "size of ten football fields" big sibling :D

Anglo-Saxons really have trouble with geography. Tim made West Germany bigger than it was by adding half of Thuringia to West Germany, while, for example, TLDR made West Germany smaller and added parts of Schleswig-Holstein to the former East Germany.🙄

@citizenVader

5 ай бұрын

Funny. The original Anglo saxons are from Denmark and we invented "Maps" Maybe it's the historical known people who wanted to change maps 😂 Just joking of course, but the app was indeed made by 2 young guys from Copenhagen.

@u.p.1038

5 ай бұрын

@@citizenVader The Angles were partly from todays Southern Denmark but mostly from todays Northern Germany, the Saxons had nothing to do with Denmark at all.

@citizenVader

5 ай бұрын

@u.p.1038 and you forgot the jutes. No your not exactly spot on with what you write. Genum results show that the southern Danish islands are inclusive, so it most definitely have to do with Denmark. When you speak of Anglo-Saxon heritage I am sorry, but even English studies show that they are predominantly Danish.

@xaverlustig3581

5 ай бұрын

@@u.p.1038 Part of the migration were also the Jutes, who often get forgotten. They were mostly from modern Denmark.

@xaverlustig3581

5 ай бұрын

@@citizenVader Linguistically English is West Germanic though, not North Germanic. The Scandinavian influx on England is from later years, mostly the Danelaw, ie wikings rampaging :)

It is very rare that I spit my coffee right across my laptop. but when you said, "I never tried a Michelin Star, what does it taste like?" it was a very close call.

„Baumrwipfelpfad“ is another of those brilliant compound nouns for a complicated concept. Baum/tree - Wipfel/tree tops - Pfad/path… It is a path among the tree tops. Simple really if you know the individual parts of the compound…

I love that the "Saar-casm" joke completly went over his head.

@lisbetsoda4874

5 ай бұрын

A lot of stuff goes completely over both his and his brother's head.

@saladspinner3200

5 ай бұрын

​@@lisbetsoda4874 it would help if they didn't pause 87 times in a single reaction (not overstating the amount).

@lisbetsoda4874

5 ай бұрын

@@saladspinner3200 so true. They are nice enough and I enjoy the videos they put on but, good grief, how unworldly they both are. Also, if they wanted to learn more they really should read the comments section. So many people try to explain things that they don't get or misunderstand. I got so frustrated I stopped watching both of them for a while. His brother, Tyler does Canada, where I live, and the UK and Norway. And Ryan has three channels as well, Australia, Europe and Germany? I think. O am originally from Denmark so I like some of the Europe contents.

@MiaMerkur

4 ай бұрын

​​ Well, it is an REACTION video and he wants to learn about german and Germany, and he is such a likeable man, so I rather like his stop and learn reaction instead of just overseeing and ignoring. But you are right about he is not reading the comments enough and repeating mistakes. (With Bertrand Russell: Why repeating mistakes? There are still plenty enough!)

@ara1465

4 ай бұрын

@@MiaMerkur i dont laugh at him per se. Absolutly no hate meant. I find it extremly impressive to even learn german. I just found it funny.

1:56 Funny that in this graphic Thuringia was already reunited with West-Germany. 😉 Fun fact: The Saarland’s population is smaller than that of our four biggest cities. It‘s basically the Montana of Germany just about 147th the size.

@consyder7645

5 ай бұрын

Came here to say that first part

@walkir2662

5 ай бұрын

@@consyder7645 He didn't say Alabama.

@MichaEl-rh1kv

5 ай бұрын

Actually Thuringia was in the US occupied zone before it was reunified with East Germany in exchange for West-Berlin.

'how am I supposed to walk up there' struck me as funnier than it should have. It's not even stairs but an easy uphill slope 😂 great video 💜

1:44 On buses and long distance trains the driver opens the doors. On regional, metro/U-Bahn/S-Bahn trains and trams, you open the doors yourself with a button. Except when they are automatic as well. It's not very consistent.

Grüsse aus dem Saarland. Ergänzung: als ein Teil vom Saarland Preußen war, gehörte die andere Hälfte hingegen zu Bayern. Meine Oma erzählte mir immer davon, dass wir hier zum bayerischen Teil gehört haben. Das Saarland hat tatsächlich eine wilde Geschichte, was vielleicht der Grund dafür ist, dass im Saarland auch heute noch viel Wert auf Verbundenheit und saarländischen Zusammenhalt gelegt wird. Und ja, das Saarland war politisch ein Objekt der Begierde wegen Kohle und Stahlindustrie, die inzwischen allerdings auch nicht mehr existieren.

@thies7831

4 ай бұрын

Hurra, endlich der Kommentar den ich (nahezu verzweifelt) gesucht habe: Stahl und Kohle für Reparationszahlungen um dem Nachkriegsdeutschland eine Kontrollbremse beim Wiederaufbau anzulegen. Wird denn in der BRD keine Geschichte mehr gelehrt ??

@MiaMerkur

4 ай бұрын

Wie vermutlich viele Deutsche habe ich nie diese spannende Geschichte von Saarland gelernt. Ich wusste wie mit dem Elsass gab es ein DE-FR- hin und her. Aber, das ist superspannend. I would be proud being a Saar girl, too. 😊

@thies7831

4 ай бұрын

@@MiaMerkur Bis zur 1. Nachkriegsregierung der SPD-FDP Koalition war es für die Konservativen eine "Schande", dass das Saarland schon wieder als Reparationspfand gekrallt worden war und entsprechend wurde nicht viel zu dem Thema an Schulen gelehrt. Und quasi seit der "grossen Wiedervereinigung" von 1990 ist die Geschichte des Saarlands recht unbedeutend geworden. Überhaupt wird weniger Geschichte gelehrt als früher. Durch den multikulturellen Mix der Bevölkerung ist auch kaum einer interessiert "altdeutsche" Geschichte zu präsentieren. Zu imperialistisch und welt-dominant. Da werden zu viele peinliche Kontakte mit den Vorfahren der heutigen Bürger aufgewühlt.

@Germanlecraft

2 ай бұрын

Kann man so sagen. Eine lange saarländische Geschichte gibt es ja nicht wirklich. Man muss ehrlich sagen das das Saarland ein künstliches Land war. Bestehend, wie du sagtest aus Preußen und Bayern sowie ein kleiner Teil zu Oldenburg gehörte. Die Farben der ersten Fahne, blau weiß schwarz stellten ja auch die zwei Größen Teile da. Blau für Bayern und Schwarz wie Preußen. Weiß passte perfekt zu beiden

The sign under the round bicycle sign at around 4:40 says: "Gefährliche Wegstrecke Begehbar nur mit festem Schuhwerk und auf eigene Gefahr" Which translates to something like: "Dangerous walk path (or route) Enter only with sturdy shoes and at your own risk"

Do you know the meme "banana for scale"? In Germany, we also have Saarland for Scale. ;-)

@dpunktgehpunkt5876

4 ай бұрын

and football fields are also "common" scales in germany xD

The Saarland is our Rhode Island: Smallest federal state, often used for completely useless size comparisons, similar to the well-known SI unit "football grounds".

@laurazepam8382

5 ай бұрын

It's also kind of our Alabama. With all the incest

@CakePrincessCelestia

5 ай бұрын

But how many Belgiums is it?

@CamaroMann

5 ай бұрын

@@CakePrincessCelestia It depends. How many bath tubs is a Belgium?

@fabianweber6937

5 ай бұрын

Ich der Saarländer ist: 😐

@berlindude75

5 ай бұрын

The smallest federal state in Germany is Bremen, though. Both in territory and population. Even the much more populous states of Hamburg and Berlin are territorially smaller than the Saarland.

Funfact, the Saarland was not the only or the last part rejoined to germany. The Selfkant rejoined from Netherlands in 1963.

@Yulo2000Leyje

5 ай бұрын

And the town of Elten at the Rhein.

@gerhard6105

5 ай бұрын

And Tüddern/Tudderen. De Duivelsberg is wel nog steeds van Nederland.

Another topic you could watch is the history of Elsaß-Lothringen. Also an quite interesting piece of history.

@mariushorn8730

5 ай бұрын

Yeah, as a Badener myself, we could surely give back the Saarland to the French and exchange it with Elsaß-Lothringen :D (just kiddig, Saarländer are in my experience really funny people^^)

Mettlach is the site of the Villeroy & Boch company that is well known for their high quality porcelain. They are run by a german and a french family for centuries and have an interessting story. Every time one of the families came under pressure from France or Germany, they helped each other out and still today they are proud of their two country heritage.

@gluteusmaximus1657

5 ай бұрын

Porcelain? I think Mettlach, i think ceramics. That is quite different to porcelain, isn`t ?

@JakobFischer60

5 ай бұрын

They do both, but you are right, many people only know their ceramics.@@gluteusmaximus1657

It’s fun learning stuff with you, if not for the new information then for your comments.

I'm quite surprised seeing you react to the Saarland as someone who spent his whole life there. Greetings from Saarbrücken!

Hi Ryan, I'm not exactly uneducated (and I am a German, so I should probably know...). However, I must admit that 95% of this piece of history completely slipped my attention. Until now, that is. Shout out to you for educating me! BTW, always great to watch your videos -- fun, informative, insightful and humorous 🙂👌 All best to you and your family, and to Indiana

I really love @TheTimTraveller's videos. You can always learn so much about little known but often historically significant or at least quite interesting, sometimes even bizarre places in Europe. When I'm traveling, I like to visit these places myself. For example, I've already enjoyed Llívia and Pheasant Island, and I always watch his videos again right at the places where they were filmed.

The Saarland is also a "standard unit" for size comparisons. In ascending order there are: The Soccer Field, The Saarland, and The Federal Republic (this last name was chosen when "Germany" would have been too ambiguous)

Yeah Saarland used to be the competitor to the Ruhrgebiet in terms of iron and steel. We had lots of coal mines and iron / steel mills here that produced quite a good amount of metal. So of course the French wanted it. If you're interested in such things you might read up on the industrial families Röchling and Stumm. The two major players back then. Today not much is left of it.

The first pictures were the UNESCO World Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks (German: Völklinger Hütte). It is an absolutely impressive industrial monument and really worth a visit. There are also guided tours in English.

"How am I expected to walk up all of this?" With your feet. But you are free to take it on all fours... 😄

The Michelin star comes from the time when driving a car was a luxury. The tire manufacturer Michelin - you know, the one with the mascot that looks like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man went to the gym - came up with the idea to rate restaurants alongside the road and print a guide so people could see where they could take their brakes ...I mean breaks... on long drives and get the best food possible.

By the way, Saarland is also part of the Greater Region (former name: Saar-Lor-Lux). The Greater Region (French (la) Grande Région, Luxembourgish Groussregioun) is a European region formed by Saarland, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Wallonia. The European region (in the historical core of Europe) therefore includes regions from 4 different countries (Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium) and has a size of 65,406 square kilometers with around 11.6 million inhabitants.

Saarland, with its 2,569.69 square kilometers in the southwest of Germany, is regularly used as a reference point-often for crisis and war zones. Saarland has even been compared to an iceberg. In fact, the phrase "so groß wie das Saarland" - "as big as Saarland" appears more than 275 times in an internet database.

Nice video! greetings from saarland, wish you all the best👍

@twolff7194

5 ай бұрын

Also kind regards from Saarland

@elfes.schmitt2284

5 ай бұрын

Same here (Saarbrücken) ❤

@twolff7194

5 ай бұрын

@@elfes.schmitt2284 Lebach 🤓

@elfes.schmitt2284

5 ай бұрын

Ei, jo. Die gute Mitte! 😉

@SuperE1976

5 ай бұрын

Hallo Nachbarn, ich grüsse aus Schmelz - Limbach!

The "beautifull landscape" is indeed worth a visit. I was there last summer and it was so impressive to see this old industrial monument of the Völklingen iron works with my own eyes.

As a result, their language is so unique, you never understand them if they talk each in that speech... Btw, the Saarland is in Germany often used for comparisons, esp in case of disasters. Than U hear f.e. always in the news: "The area of ​​forest fire in Canada is twice as large as Saarland..." or " The amount of oil released covers an area half the size of Saarland" which frustrates a lot of ppl there.

@einwitzigenname585

5 ай бұрын

There are unofficial area measurements in Germany, for example "1 football field". The next unit is “the Saarland”. I still don't understand how many football fields makes 1 Saarland. Inbetween there is "1 Bremen", but I'm not sure about the relation.

@CakePrincessCelestia

5 ай бұрын

Measuring areas in "Saarlands" clearly has a massive advantage over measuring them in soccer fields. Just quoting Wikipedia: "Ein Fußballfeld beispielsweise darf laut DFB zwischen 90 und 120 m lang und 45 bis 90 m breit sein", although you could probably go by the most common size of 105 x 68m.

@MiaMerkur

4 ай бұрын

​@@einwitzigenname585 And the more little one is "car length".

Yeah really nobody talks about that, Even my Mother mentioned it only a few times in her life. My Grandma told me the Story when i was young - it was only mildly interesting to her. We have French Relatives and they've lived close to the Pfalz - Saar Border region. I'm of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland Origin, my own Dialect is a Mixture of both "Pfälzisch" and "Saarland" vocabulary. I'd say its probably 80% Pfalz and 20% Saarland in my daily vocabulary. I don't Speak French - have decided to learn English simply because i've always loved the Language and thought i probably use English more than French and i wasn't wrong. Seriously how do you expect me to write this in German or French it would minimize my influence!

Welcome to Saarland. Das schönste Bundesland der Welt👍👍❤

@VanHorsing

5 ай бұрын

Geliebte Heimat ^^

@marv1nperator

5 ай бұрын

"Nett hier, aber waren sie schon mal..." incoming...

@woodywoodverchecker

5 ай бұрын

Na moment, Salzburg is auch ein Bundesland.

@HallwiedasEcho

5 ай бұрын

​@@marv1nperatorIch kam mir gerade so clever vor weil ich genau das antworten wollte... Und wieder eine meiner Illusionen zerstört🫠

@franconianbike

5 ай бұрын

Glaubst ja wohl im Ernst nett.

Why they don't tell you about Saarlouis? 😢 Saarlouis is our American town in Germany. You would have been so happy!

@jfrancobelge

5 ай бұрын

By the way, Saarlouis was named after French king Louis XIV, "Louis of the Saar", during one of the French periods in Saarland. One prominent German politician, and mayor of Saarbrücken in the late 70's was Oskar Lafontaine who, as his last name indicates descends from French ancestors. He was born in Saarlouis. I've driven a couple of times on the highway from the border with Luxembourg to Saarbrücken, which basically follows the French border on the German side. This is the only Autobahn in Germany that shows touristic signs on the side in both German and French.

@CakePrincessCelestia

5 ай бұрын

Speaking of American towns in Germany, Pattonville has been founded by the US military and basically, the whole Ramstein AFB is also known as Little USA, it even has American Schools, a huge mall with American stores and also a Taco Bell which there's only 3 in Germany, the others being at Spangdahlem AFB (they also have the schools) and in Wiesbaden.

Ryan, you videos on Germany are excellent. They contain shock, surprise , information and humour. Great to watch mate. Keep it up. George Armstrong , Castle Douglas, Scotland

The little German reunification. After the war, Saarland was separated from Germany and came under French administration. The French made Saarland an independent state, recognized only by France. There was the international football match Germany against Saarland, Germany won. In the vote, a majority of Saarlanders wanted to return to Germany. Today Saarland is a bridge area to neighboring France, German, but with the charm of the French.

@jensschroder8214

5 ай бұрын

No, Thuringia (Thüringen) was occupied by American soldiers. This was important to them because there were secrets to be discovered there. When these secrets were transferred, Thuringia was handed over to the Soviets, who turned it into East Germany. This is how Hessen and Thuringia were divided.

You got the sign right Ryan! It's great to see you can keep this "useless" knowledge. Always fun to watch, especially when you watch the State I was born in. Mucb love!

Hello,Ryan...This Baumwipfelpfad also exist in the Bavarian Forest, near the Tschechoslowakia Border..;)

Glad you got some insight into the Saarland. It’s the smallest state in the nation and the most beautiful. And yes, we do have a bunch of excellent restaurants. Greetings from Saarbrücken ❤

We've had door buttons like this in Australia for at least 30 years

"Not confusing at all! I'm right there with you!" I hear you, my friend, I hear you. 😂 I love you, Ryan, I love you. ☺️💕

Hi Ryan! I don't know if you have talked about this yet, but do you have a PO Box? I would love to send you some east german specialties for you to try! Love your content, you are a very down to earth guy. Keep up the great work, cheers from Germany

1:22 Ryan, that button only works when the train/tram is standing still, so it's perfectly safe

Saarland is basically the third sister in the whole alsace and lorraine competetion between germany and france, the only reason for its seperation in history is that it returned to germany on its own every time while alsace and lorraine never really got the opportunity to do so.

@ravanpee1325

5 ай бұрын

Together with the 30 year wars and the Nine Year war France was the invader all the time...couldn't blame the people in 1871 or 1914 if they hate France

@laggeryt7558

5 ай бұрын

@@ravanpee1325 France wasn't even part of the 30 year war. Maybe double check.

@ravanpee1325

5 ай бұрын

@@laggeryt7558France supported Sweden as proxy in the war and declared war in 1635 and tried to invade the southern rhine area. "Swedish defeat at Nördlingen triggered direct French intervention and thus expanded the conflict rather than ending it. Richelieu provided the Swedes with new subsidies, hired mercenaries led by Bernard of Saxe-Weimar for an offensive in the Rhineland, and in May 1635 declared war on Spain, starting the 1635 to 1659 Franco-Spanish War" Maybe you learn more about history. Good example for a French intervention is the "Battle of Kempten" in 1642

Love how Saarland sounds like "Sorrowland" if Ryan says it 😂 Will definitely let all my english and american friends say BAUMWIPFELPFAD for the rest of eternity 😂

@marenhuwald1445

5 ай бұрын

Just like 'Eichhörnchenschwanz'.

9:08 I had a colleague who lived through the occupation of the Saarland by France after WW II. She said that the people were quite content because they lived like in France with soap and silk stockings and what have you in France at the time. While in the rest og Germany everything was scarce. People were starving and had to sell their heirloooms to the farmers in oder to get some food. So when the "reunification" happened they were thrown back to the level of the rest of Germany with erveything only to be had on the black market.

Cool! Greetings from Schmelz, the center point of Saarland!

For future reference, map is Landeskarte in German (literally land card). Baum means tree (it's related to the English word beam) and pfad means path. I wasn't sure about wipfel. The rivers of western Germany (Rhein, Mosel, Saar) are very scenic. If you're ever in Germany take a trip along the valleys of these rivers (trains and river boat services are available).

One reason France gave up is that the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community made it less important to control the Saarland.

Salü and many greetings from beautiful Saarland to Indiana 😊. Love your videos please keep on.

Look at how the map in Middle Europe, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Switzerland and parts of other countries changed over the centuries.

As a Saarlander, I can only say that the language or what is spoken here is still very much influenced by French. SALÜ is one of the better known examples of many words that have their origins in French.

The map of split Germany was not right. It showed Thuringia / Thüringen as part of West-Germany, but it was part of East Germany. :)

@silkwesir1444

5 ай бұрын

Another commenter has pointed out that the map is not wrong, in fact it is "too correct", as it indicates the zones as they originally were, before Thuringia was "traded" for West Berlin.

13:30 - don't forget, that you already have to walk up there from the river valley in the first place...😂

Baum/wipfel/pfad = Tree/top/path or route... a scenic route with a natural or artificial observation platform at the end that allows you a viewpoint like the name say´s from obove the tree tops....simply said somwhere were you can get a birds eye view of the surrounding landscape.

Thanks for the video. I was born in Germany but knew nothing about the topic.

I was born 1963 im Saarland, visit it, it's modern with some industrial Unesco site word to see need an tour guide go to a local Taxi or pick it up in cafes and Kneipen.

You should look up Südtirol / South Tirol.

I grew up just next to Saarland in the Palatinate Forest. There's a little bit of a rivalry between those two states and I heard a lot of jokes from either side. Like "What's the only sign that allows a U-turn on the Autobahn? 'Welcome to the Saarland!'" or "Did you hear? The Saarland became French again. They're restorating the Eiffel Tower and therefore need one million 'Nieten'." That one doesn't translate quite as well because "Niete" can mean three things: a rivet, a pointless person or a losing lottery ticket.

There actually was a 3rd reunification in Germany which happened on August 1st 1963 when the Netherlands gave back the Selfkant (pronounced: self "c-word" 🙂) area. Germany paid 280 Mio Marks as compensation to the Netherlands for that.

not sure if its the same in germany but i would assume so, here these buttons do 2 things, let the driver know that you want to get out at the next stop (in rural areas when there is nobody waiting at the stop and nobody pressed the button the bus just goes by without stopping) once the bus stopped the button turns green and switches the function to opening the door, the same button is on the outside incase somebody wants to get in. i think the purpose of that one is that you dont always open all doors so that in winter it doenst get cold inside and in summer it doesnt get hot inside :P

@seorsamaclately4294

5 ай бұрын

That wasn't a bus but a train. In trains and trams in Germany, all doors have to be opened with a button by the passengers.

@marv1nperator

5 ай бұрын

It depends on the local trains. We have a few around here (Rurtalbahn) for which there are distinctly seperated buttons for opening the doors and for signaling a stop. Really great concept for tourists, because the latter aren't even next to the doors and you need to search for them. At least they are colour coded.

@Elholz

5 ай бұрын

We have buttons in busses that tell the driver to stop, but this was a train. A train unlike a bus stops on it's own but doesn't open it's doors automatically. There is another button on the outside and if someone wants to go through the door they have to press the button.

@JohnDoe-xz1mw

5 ай бұрын

@@Elholz really? here the trams trains and busses all work the same

@Elholz

5 ай бұрын

@@JohnDoe-xz1mw Here in Germany they work differently. I assume it's because a bus driver has an easier time checking the doors than a train driver. On most trains there would have to be personnel outside to check and then signal to the driver that the doors can be closed (which is how it works on long distance high speed trains I think) while a bus driver just has to check the mirror to see if anyone is still in the door.

Baumwipfelpfad is a "canopy walkway". Baumwipfel (Baum+Wipfel = Wood + Canopy/tree crown) + Pfad= Path. "Woodcrownpath" literally 😁You can also use Baumkronenpfad (Kronen meaning Crowns).

@lulaa123

5 ай бұрын

Baum is tree not wood, wood would be holz

Greetings from Saarbrücken, Saarland 😇

wow I am from Germany and I did not know that!

6:18 Nah, "map" just means "Karte" in German or "Landkarte". When going for the more complicated, you'd probably be happy with "Messtischblatt", which literally translates to measure table sheet, and was a 1:25.000 scale map type.

5:00 The words beneath the "Bikes prohibited" sign say: Dangerous path. Baumwipfelpfad: Treetop path - an elevated pathway leading through the treetops. Thuringia: Actually Thuringia was in the US occupied zone before it was given to the Soviets in exchange for West-Berlin.

That's how it was for a country located right at the center of a continent - you either screw the others or you get screwed yourself. I'm pretty grateful we managed to overcome this dynamic lately..

@MiaMerkur

4 ай бұрын

Maybe that is why Switzerland keep saying: " No, we stay neutral (walk around our borders). 😅

@kai_plays_khomus

4 ай бұрын

@@MiaMerkur Indeed, worked out pretty well for them for centuries. One shouldn't underestimate the swiss' defensive strength though - it's not a coincidence that the Vatican once decided for swiss soldiers for the papal guard, after all Switzerland, a backwater mountain region inhabited by peasants, miners and subsistence scale cattle herding at the time and relevant mainly for its strategic position for transit across the alps connecting the mediterranean world to central Europe at the one hand and as a natural bullwark between some of the big players of the time on the other hand, in addition to the geological resources of the alps such as copper and salt as well as other stuff. For this reason and because of its proximity to the dynasty's homeland it held some relevance to House Habsburg which provided the German Empire's emperors during this period - but the swiss weren't happy at all with impirial rule, different regions with at times different languages and cultures founded an alliance against the Habsburg rulers (that's why there are four official languages spoken in Switzerland, german, italian, french and rhaeto-romanic) who had been within the most powerful people in the world and certainly the most powerful as such in Europe and eventually actually managed to overthrow the Habsburgs in their own frontyard. Such an uprising of villagers without any external big player activly supporting their effort openly or "behind the curtains" and not even to establish their own monarchy or coming under another empire's rule but to establish an independent federation of democratically ruled smaller states by oath was absolutly unheard of before and for centuries to come, a thorn in the flesh of the great european houses. House Habsburg was an absolutly massive political force - while its austrian branch ruled over pretty much all of central Europe, huge territories in eastern Europe, the Balkans and Italy a different branch of the family would become the ruling dynasty of Spain including its american colonies and all within, and just for good measure House Habsburg provided more than one pope at the peak of its power which made the family supreme in both spiritual and worldly matters - and yet the swiss somehow managed to rip the Habsburg lands apart right in the middle which should tell us something about their resilience. Since then Switzerland didn't just rely on its neighbours respecting the status quo - instead they quickly gained some notoriety on the battlefields of Europe when their swiss pikemen got employed as highly requested mercenaries across the whole continent where they would face off the Habsburgs again and recommended themselves as fierce and reliable warriors - this as well as the fact that they weren't associated with any aristocratic house or owed alligience to some other worldly power but as catholics acknowledged god's supremacy alone led to swiss pikemen getting chosen for the papal state's guard. At home the swiss hadn't been lazy either and developed a military approach with emphasis on defense - today central Switzerland is one gigantic bunker system to fall back to in case of an invasion. Located in the mountainous regions of the alps this swiss heartland as picturesque and idyllic it may seem at first is an impregnable stronghold - there are valleys where what looks like groups of traditional houses and farms from afar turns out to be camouflaged bunker vents and entrances, all while the construction of new houses is regulated to include civil bunkers from a certain treshold of people supposed to live there and each household with a member of the military reserve if I remember correctly which amounts to a huge amount of swiss civil population is required to keep a sub-machine gun at home ready to defend the country at any time in case of attack. Because of its famous neutrality and idyllic landscape Switzerland isn't exactly associated with martial prowess in the public eye, but it would be a fatal mistake to not take the swiss seriously and decide to invade - they wouldn't have maintained their independence over centuries with the most greedy and brutal neighbours you can imagine surrounding them if they weren't capable to _enforce_ their independence and neutrality in the end. Recently Switzerland is weakening its priviously firm stance on neutrality in context of the ukrainean war though. Of course Switzerland still tried to maintain at least appearence and refrains from supporting Ukraine directly by delivering war-relevant goods - but it supported Ukraine in the _most direct indirect way_ they could find by participating in chain exchanges where they would give country A the weapons system X so country A can give its older weapons system to country B in order for country B eventually giving its even older (often soviet era) system to Ukraine. And though random russian oligarchs still can rely on their fortune being more secure in Switzerland than anywhere else I'm pretty sure that Switzerland behind the curtains is heavily involved in securing funding for Ukraine by bringing "the right people" together, finding financial solutions and putting risk capital into Ukraine with its already established and growing arms industry when corporations such as Rheinmetall and other joint ventures are planning to set up whole tank factories in Ukraine while Switzerland as an international hub for arms trade will help to sell the product while pocketing the interests adding up from the huge invested sums. Neutrality certainly isn't all of the swiss' secret, after all there had been plenty of neutral countries getting outright ignored and run over in the past including WW1 and WW2 when Switzerland remained the rock in the surf.. No, it also has to do with the fact that respecting a neutral Switzerland had been useful for all parties of a conflict to this day. The elites came to what amounts to an informal customary agreement on a neutral country which would serve as a vault for their private fortunes and as a hub for backdoor deals - if all would put their wealth, secrets and alternate passports into the same place they all would have some sort of ensurance in case their political gambles wouldn't play out, they all would have equal reason to respect Switzerland because this way all would gain a lot while otherwise all would risk everything at all times. Obvious decision if you have enough to lose.. And this way you even can grow your wealth by participating in deals and banking even though you might be under international sanctions, you can collect interest, avoid taxes and even flee there in case of need when a buried chest of gold would either quickly dwindle, get lost/stolen or inaccessible in times of crisis or in the best case sit there completly useless. You could barely transport your physical fortune of gold particularly without calling attention to begin with not to speak of passing international borders after making it through a land in turmoil after losing your bet on the latest conflict - but nobody would need to worry about stuff like this with a whole country as a vault. Switzerland on the other hand profits of the immense sums of money and treasures from all over the world as well as its function as a financial and trading hub - and it is in the particularly advantageous position to sell weaponry and other war related materials to both parties of a conflict at the same time without having to fear any consequences if a little restraint is practiced for alibi because everybody wants and needs to remain on good terms with Switzerland. There are historical precedents for all of the above. Swiss neutrality isn't nearly as fluffy and peace-loving as it might appear at first glance..

@kai_plays_khomus

4 ай бұрын

​​@@MiaMerkurP.S.: Sorry for this novel of a reply - I'm a neurodivergent history and politics enthusiast and if something fascinates me I get carried away quite easily, especially when reflecting on something makes me realize something new. I was aware of the facts before, but the broader historical implications only fully occured to me while replying, so I'm commenting to explain stuff to myself at least as much as it is explaining stuff to others..😅

@13:29 : Elevator? It says BaumwipfelPFAD (= path or walkway)!! Not Baumwipfeld tourist sight seeing park. It's made to walk to the top of the trees.

@Qiunell

5 ай бұрын

Ryan is self-aware, he knows that and says things like that to bait engagement, he is a smart man haha

@franconianbike

5 ай бұрын

@@Qiunell well, I'm able to tell.

Fun fact: "Re-Unification" is not an accurate term for both events in German history. From the beginning, the Grundgesetz (constitution) contained a paragraph that allowed other terretories to join Germany (literary: To join the area where this constitution is in force). This article has been used for the Saarland and for East Germany as well. In the early 1990's it has been replaced by something different. Sorry Scottland, no shortcut here to re-join the EU.

@silkwesir1444

5 ай бұрын

Uh.... that is wrong. There's some half-truths to it, but I think you were confusing a few things. Look it up again.

Ha! I'm very glad to see a video about the region I call my home. Saarland's ever changing history is the reason why I have both the German and the French nationality. In fact my family's history seems at least as complicated as the history of the Saarland ... Unfortunately this video didn't really show much of the Saarland apart from the "Baumwipfelpfad" and the "Saarschleife" ...

the view from the building is so great; also without an elevator 😂

"Saarland" not Sauerland "Sauerland" is in the middle of West-germany. Saarland is the land at the river"Saar" one of the 16 "Bundesländer"

i am looking your channel from saarland wright now 🙂

Because of the Button on the beginning. On most German Trains doors don't open always the Driver only gives them free to open So people have to push the button to open the for. I don't know the exact reason. But it saves a lot energy and gives higher comfort to the Passengers staying in the train. Because the for don't open in cold or Warm weather when nobody want to use it. On busses most time you have to push a button too. but most time the "hold wish" button opens the nearest door too. (As soon as the driver gives the door free.

There was also another reunification with the Selfkant from the Netherlands

I lived in the Saarland as a child in the fifties and it was pretty much 50:50% French and German. When people were talking, they sometimes mixed both languages. Unfortunately the Saarland has become quite poor now that coal and heavy industry are no longer the thing. Thanks for bringing up some nice memories!

You should also watch his video of the Völklingen steelworks.

1:35 Australian trains are having such buttons too ...4:54 It does ! Saarland is one of the Federal States forming Germany. Therefore, it is a standard German road sign, prohibiting using bikes on that road or path. 6:45 BULLDUST !! THAT flag was representing Imperial Germany from 1871 to 1919 only. After losing WW I and disposing the Emperor into exile in the Netherlands, where his body is still stored in a shed, the Weimar Republic was proclaimed and from 1919 to 1933, the current flag was declared as official : Black, Red and Gold in horizontal stripes. Saarland, meanwhile, kept separate from Germany under the administration by the League of Nations, had the Blue, White, Black design flying from 1919 to 1935 when it was incorporated by a referendum into the Nazi Empire, up and running under the Swastika rag since 1933. 7:10 EXACTLY. It's coal and steel. The French tried to set a control brake on Germany's industrial power again and right after the loss of WW II, Saarland was snatched for gaining some reparation payments for the damage done by the Nazis. 14:00 By 1956 Germany and France were the founding members of the European Union and the threat of another revenge war had seized. These days there are no national border controls within the EU anymore. Anyone can work, shop and live in each other's territory. It wouldn't make any sense whether Saarland is French, German or Independent.

Greetings from Saarlouis, Saarland.

My German friends from Saarland always told me that the French (who have a rather bad reputation in that area) keep coming over for their brothels, as they are illegal in France. 😂 I was in Saarland a couple of times and I did notice that there were neon-pink lit brothels right in the heart of the city center in Saarbrücken.

I think you ended up with a very nice 'ch' on 'Mettlach'. Since it seems like you're actually learning German: You're definitely getting better. Keep it up. Grüße aus Mühlheim (bei Frankfurt am Main)

My home! Born and live there, in the middle of Europa. The smallest part (after the big cities) of Germany😊

Even I didn't know about that... and I am German 🙈

I learned about the Saara country 40 years ago in geography class in Poland , only this land was treated as part of the Ruhr area

Where does this map come from? Strange shape!! The knob at the inner train doors (train!!) Turn from red to green when you may press it to step out

1:12 That train just went through my hometown, where I am currently sitting, watching this video - greetings from Saarland, Ryan ^^ You'd like it here, if you like BBQ's in summer - we're doing that A LOT :D

If you want to occupy Saarland you're welcome. I invite you to come and take you around. Greetings.

Ryan! When will you finally visit Germany?

@davidmalarkey1302

5 ай бұрын

He will never leave his little American bubble.

Saarland, my homeland 😊

Your CH has become really good.

compliments on your sign knowledge. Cycling on this path is prohibited. Like this region the " Saarschleife " and the Baumwipfelpfad is amazing . I think you should travel to germany to see all with your own eyes. Greeting from Germany.

Sad fact: I did not know anything about Saarland even though I am German. XD Maybe I did sleep through that part at school, have always been more interested in other places rather than my own country. But I did wonder for a time why a very famous politician from Saarland in my childhood/teenage time had the French last name Lafontaine. I must clearly be as ignorant as you Ryan, only with less of an excuse. XDDD

@Elholz

5 ай бұрын

I went to school about 10 minutes away from the Rheinland Pfalz - Saarland border on the RLP side. I majored in history in highschool but I don't think it was mentioned in more than an offhand comment.

3:46 gotta love the illustration of the "Franks".

The map at the beginning was wrong, the state of Thuringia was formerly part of the GDR.

I just love Michelin star restaurants

The button belonged to a train. If you're very unlucky and live a bit away from the cities, sometimes an old train comes along with some kind of big lever that you have to push down. Sometimes it gets a bit stuck. Get a stomach ache every time.

@GuardianOfRlyeh

5 ай бұрын

man, I know these doors! In my younger years I was afraid of travelling by train every time, just because of this. I didn't went by a train with such a door for over a decade, now, though ;)

@steemlenn8797

5 ай бұрын

I haven't seen such a thing for nearly 20 years!

One Saarland is about the size of one Saarland! Greetings from the Saar :-)

Beautiful pronounciation of Mettlach! 👍😉

A cook can earn a Michelin star, if he makes his dishes in a very french way. With Bratwurst and Grünkohl (or Hamburger and spare ribs😉) no one will ever gain a Michelin star.