Yeah, it is annoying; they do sometimes have specials where the setup fees are waived or reduced. I have to say their service has been excellent for me though (I've used them for years).
Note that you might want to check if hosting in Germany has any legal implications for you - German data protection laws are vastly more strict than the US, say.
It's not just annoying it's counterproductive. In my head setup fees trigger warning bells on two areas:
1. The company is so un-automated that it actually needs considerable human intervention to prepare a server and doesn't actually bother to include this basic operation into their total cost (they sell servers after all).
2. It's a trick to squeeze at least the 150 euro from you. Because if I find out in the first months that their service is sub-par I can just cancel my subscription but I'm not getting my 150 euro back.
As lsc explained the setup fee is not normally for human labor but part of the hosts cost calculation.
Serious hosts will give you free trials (before you pay the setup fee) any time, unless you ask for special hardware that they themselves have to buy first.
Note that you might want to check if hosting in Germany has any legal implications for you - German data protection laws are vastly more strict than the US, say.