Originally Posted by
the810
Germany is a bit extremist when it comes to COVID, I don't see myself going there anytime soon (if I'm lucky, I will be able to check out BER before my status expires in 12/2023).
From my experience of visiting Munich last month, I think most of your fears are unfounded. Yes, Germany requires masks to be worn on public transport, but (whatever the regulations say about FFP2) a very large number of people wear surgical masks and I didn't see any objections through the many hours I spent on the Bahn network. Where mask wearing was legally required, the level of compliance was extremely high, so you'd probably be best advised to follow suit to avoid any misunderstandings.
However, outside a public transport setting life is absolutely normal, people aren't masked up in the street, or in the shops, or in pubs, or at events. When I was there Munich Pride was taking place, and I also attended a medieval fair about 30km outside the city. I really don't recall seeing anyone wearing a mask at those events - where you're talking about coming into contact with perhaps 100,000 people in total.
The restrictions are very, very minor and short-lived in the scheme of things compared to the number of hours in a day, and they're certainly not enough to persuade me that Germany doesn't have an awful lot going for it - including 9 Euro tickets for a month on public transport.