Traveling to germany tips?

Question

my family and i are taking a "cross country trip" through germany and austria. we arent backpackign or anything, rather, we are renting a car and taking trains and thigns to get from site singing place to place. we have been to spain and england before. any tips about being in germany and austria?

Answer 1

Im not sure if i have any good tips but i can tell you to get lots of Euro.  The exchange rate is outragious but you cant spend dollars.  Also it would be a good idea to dress like you are stuck in the 80's so you dont stand out. lol  Maybe not to the full extent but remeber, people in germany like tourists but they dont like to be able to pick them out of a crowd.  Oh and one more thing... You dont have to speak German but it is wise to attempt it because a lot of germans take offense to our lack of laziness and lack of knowledge.   A good thing to do is say Spreken Ze English?  That lets them know you cant speak it but you are willing to try by asking if they speak english.  If you order food and you want just one, dont use your index finger, use your thumb or you will get two.  Ok I hope I was a little useful.

Answer 2

Yes

Do your best to learn some phrases and words in each language so when you approach to tell them IF you do not already speak it can tell them that and they will take friendlier too you if you tell them in their own language you cannot speak their language and if they speak yours.

Other than that don't get arrested and I am sure you will have a blast

if you plan to use the trains a lot consider Rail passes!

Answer 3

Well, without knowing more about where you're planning to go, I'm kinda limited on the advice I can give.  That said, here's a few basics:

--Try staying in the local Gasthofe/ Gasthauses.  They're kind of the equivalent of a B&B here in the US. Not only are they frequently cheaper, they're often nicer than the generic international hotels.  Plus, in small towns, they may be the only option.

--Make good use of the Deutsche Bahn (http://www.bahn.de) website.  You can get every sort of information you might need for train travel, including custom timetables for all of Europe.  (For English, just look for the "language selector" drop-down menu on the upper right of the page.)

--The Germans in particular have a reputation of being cold and standoffish. While there are grumps in every nationality, and Germans might have *slightly* more than most, the majority of the Germans you'll meet are warm, friendly people.  However, they are considerably more formal-- considerably moreso than Americans.  So pull out your "Sunday church manners", and pick up a few key words in German ('cause it's only polite, really), and you'll do well.  You don't need to be fluent in German, but even a little bit will get you much farther than none at all.

---Do some research on what you'd like to see.  You don't have to have a rigid itinerary of every second, but try to be aware of your options.  There's nothing worse than getting home from a trip and realising you not only missed something really cool, but you were only 2 blocks away from it while you were there.

--I love traveling by train in Germany. Don't know why, but I just love it.   That said, be prepared-- you will be hauling all your stuff with you, and you may not have much time to get on/off the train.  Also keep in mind that if you ride one of the high-speed trains (ICE), you may have to make a seat reservation.  Check the DB website-- it will tell you when the itinerary comes up.

---Driving.....Okay.  First, I'm assuming you're from the US.  (If you're not, I apologise.)  Whoever is planning to drive needs to brush up their driving skills.  They may not need it....but you might also find yourself *very* glad you did. Also keep in mind that a lot of things we in the US consider "suggestions" (e.g. left lane for passing only, right-of-way, or merging by the 'zipper' method), the Germans consider written in stone.  (Yes, you can get a ticket for going too slow in the left lane--but you're much more likely to get in a near accident.)

Like I said, you weren't very specific about where you're going or what you might be interested in seeing, so I can't offer a lot of specific advice.  I do recommend you check out http://www.bensbauernhof.com ---it's a great little website all about travel in Germany, and there's a lot of useful info, too.

Answer 4

What is your family interested in? Castles? Lakes? Museums? Whatever it is, I would suggest you start of by making a list of those things and than pick the main points of interest (such as, if you are interested in castles, I guess you would like to go see Neuschwanstein.), than look around that base to check for other interesting things in the area (for instance, google: tourist information "name of town" and check out their web-pages. All tourist information pages are also available in English, though it might take you awhile to find the button, or the English is rather a friendly gesture than grammatically correct, but hey, they are trying!) Sometimes there are very interesting little museums or stuff right next to "the big tourist magnet", but they are just too small to get any attention by the "mainstream" tourists, even though they are more interesting.

And than, I guess you want to see some towns, such as Munich or Hamburg or Berlin. They all have tons of museums, but there is no reason why you shouldn't look into - say castles - while you are there. There are castles in towns (think "Residenz" in Würzburg, or the "Residenz" and the "Nymphenburg castle" in Munich, which are right in the middle of town!). And of course you should take some time (a day) to just walk through the town and enjoy it. To really create a great memory, sit down with the locals in the Biergarten at Viktualienmarkt, for instance (if you don't want any of the traditional food the beer stalls offer, know this: in Bavaria, it is perfectly legal to bring your own food to a Biergarten. So shop around the stalls on Viktualienmarkt (cheese, bread, hams, pickled olives, peppers and veggies...) and create your own little picnic) or walk through "Naschmarkt" in Vienna (the only place I know where you can buy exactly one praline without a wrapper because you want to eat it right there and than ("für auf die Hand" is the German expression. It means: "to put on the hand").

Also, don't stop at the known tourist  eras. Everybody loves the 200-400 y. o. castles, but what about older history? You can visit great stretches of Roman ruins in Germany. In fact, the limes is the longest monument on earth right after the great wall of China. Google it, there are great sites on the internet about it, and numerous places to visit throughout Germany. It will definitely be worth a visit.

And even though Germany and Austria are not blessed with too much coastline (though I do hope you are considering visiting the isle of Rügen and that area? Beautiful, by the way), there are loads of lakes where you can have a swim. Not only the big ones like Chiemsee, Bodensee, but also smaller local ones. In the Eifel region, they might also be called "Mar", and are lakes that formed in old vulcanic craters. Definitely something you want to look for when having a look at the local tourist information sites.

Another piece of advice: If you go grocery shopping, try to get your stuff from smaller bakeries and butchers shops, and don't hold yourself back from the experience by thinking: "My German is not that good, I will hold up the other customers." Rubbish. Go in there, take your time (if you haven't decided what you want yet, it's your turn and there are other customers, let them be served before you) and than order in what ever way you want (hand and feet will do. Pointing is always helpful). The other customers will understand that you don't want to eat the stuff from the supermarket. After all, they are buying their stuff from the butchers and bakery, too, and not in the supermarket! They will appreciate you to want to experience "their" food. Local green markets are also something you might want to check out.

All in all, I can just say: Don't pack too much into one day. You will need time to process it all( and sometimes you will need time to stand in line). But make that list of interests for your family, and go from there, so everybody will have some of what they wanted, and all of you will have a great trip. Have fun!