Swabian Culture
When foreigners think of Germany, they typically think of Bavaria: Leather pants and low-cut dresses, huge tankards of beer and pretzels with Obatzda... okay, so the beer part is pretty much correct throughout Germany, but the rest? Not so much.
Swabia is a cultural and historic region of Germany with its own dialect and customs, and is mostly located in the state of Baden-Württemberg (which is adjacent to Bavaria). The dialect (Swabian German) is quite different from Standard German (Hochdeutsch, literally "high German") not only in pronunciation but occasionally in vocabulary and grammar. The simplest example is "we go" - "mir gangat", in Swabian German, is "wir gehen" in Hochdeutsch.
On the Wikipedia page for Swabian German, my favorite example is "A muggeseggele Zeit hetta miar no!", which would correctly be "Ein bisschen Zeit hätten wir noch" or "We have a little time left". A "muggeseggele" is the dirt a housefly leaves behind, and the word is used as a tiny unit of measurement. I do recommend a read through the Wikipedia page, particularly if you know the basic rules of pronunciation for Standard German, because it's hilarious!
Language aside, however, Swabians have a reputation throughout Germany - as the stingiest Germans in Germany. There's a phrase used to describe Swabians that translates to "work, work, build a house" ("schaffe, schaffe, Häusle baue"), which is actually from a song written about the Wirtschaftswunder following World War II. (Fun fact: The West German Chancellor who led the government at the time was the oldest democratically elected leader in world history, at 73 years of age - a title he'll lose if Bernie Sanders, currently age 74, should win his bid for president of the U.S.A.)
In my experience, Swabians certainly are thrifty, and occasionally overly serious or reserved, but also some of the most jovial and boisterous people I've ever met (particularly when beer is involved). They're people who are extremely informed on worldwide politics, economy, languages and history, generally very well-traveled, serious about their work but always good for a beer in a tavern or park after work hours. They tend to be penny pinchers and younger Swabians will expect you to pay them back exactly if you borrowed money from them, while older Swabians are likely to toss down a 20 euro bill and stuff your money back in your pocket when you try to pay for your drink. They'll shake your hand firmly, cook very heavy meals, use words you couldn't have made up drunk, recommend herbal teas with honey as their go-to medicine for every ailment, and get up far earlier in the morning than I care to even consider.
Swabia is green and lush, with rolling hills of fields, vineyards, and pine trees, with old stone churches and older castles or fortresses, cobblestone streets and unique regional dishes. If you should find yourself in the area (read: Germany, north-eastern France or Switzerland), it's worth a visit! I may be a bit biased, but Tübingen is one of the loveliest cities in Germany.
