After Abitur (spelled without an R) many students want to take a rest, find out who they want to be, what they want to become etc., so they travel around or work in other countries. Not all Germans do it, but I would say yes, it's kind of common.

Hi, I'm making a world tour since 2 years, and I noticed that : - Biggest travellers in the world are English, French and German. The behaviours are basically the same in those 3 countries in term of travel - Some young people make small travels between high school and university (because they are still young) - Many young people make a bigger trip (between a couple of months to 1 year max usually) between graduation and their first job, but still it's an European habit... I met a couple of Korean people who did that too - Some people take a free Year (sabbatic year) during their job according to some european laws that can permit it, and make from 6 months to 1 year maximum travel . Then they get back to their job. It's typically a couple that makes a short world tour. For Asia, Japanese and Korean are definitely the biggest travelers, but the culture of work refrains a lot the possibilities Hope it helps