You are rigtht, I do understand correctly that BBQ'ing is much more like smoking. The Germans had a large influence in the production methods of smoked / cured meats. Alas, German properties are quite small, most neighbors would not be very happy, complaining about the smoke.
We do occasionaly "grill" when the weather allows for it.
In Germany, that is not the case very often. Our weather is almost the opposite of that in the USA. We have mostly cloudy, often rainy weather. When the sun shines I think often of my better days in the states.
Pierre