I'd often joked with my friends that Germans consider it polite to offer the traditional (Goodbye) term of Tschus or Auf Wiedersehen for their goodbye but they never do much to say "Hello" or smile at anyone. They are rather stoic in their personal and professional demeanor. This applies to meeting people on the street or walking down the hall at the office.
When you did meet up with someone that you are familiar with, we as Americans are accustom to saying things such as "How are you?" or "How have you been?" While in America, we discard this greeting as nothing but a formality with no real expectation to share details. In Germany, you can expect a different reply.
When you ask somebody "How are you?", Germans normally use this as a literal question that expects a literal answer, in contrast to the common English usage of "How's it going?" simply meaning "Hi". It might, therefore, be considered strange or superficial to ask the question and keep on moving without waiting for an answer. In Germany, many people, when asked, will, in fact, give you a very detailed answer, including why they are not doing well at that moment or, why they are doing very well -- which can end up in an even longer answer. Just be ready and be polite.
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