Trip to Deutschland?

Question

I've learned to speak German and am considering taking a trip to Germany. Where can I go to (a) find people who are friendly to an American, (b) not have to deal with an accent drastically different from the neutral one I learned in school, and (c)be around clubs, good restaurants, and good hotels?

Answer 1

Every german speaks Hochdeutsch (high german) and no matter where you are, people will understand you. Don't worry. I'm  originally from germany so I know. Every german will be friendly to americans. Germans are in fact extremely curious about people from other countries, no matter where they come from. Just be prepared to answer a lot of questions if you open up that you're from the USA :) I would recommend to visit Bavaria. That's the place where I grew up and it's really wonderful. You should see munich. Pretty citys like Rothenburg. I'd go and see something typical german rather than places like Frankfurt .. just high rised buildings..  you got enough of them here in the US :) How about a nice river cruise? It's also worth to see vienna in austria if you've got the time. And don't forget to check out the Alps. You will remember them forever.

Answer 2

As for a) many people like Americans, no problem here

b)you might go to Hannover/Hamburg and surrounding area, they speak "Hochdeutsch" there, without accent, whereas in Bavaria you will be in trouble, eben I have problems understanding them.

But there are beautiful sites all over Germany , in Bavaria as well... I recommend Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl, Meersburg/Bodensee, Nürnberg.

Answer 3

Definitely not Dortmund. You will be pretty bored there I would say.

Munich is nice and Bavaria is beautiful overall so if you are into beautiful scenery and a very classical city (munich) you are right here. I definitely DON't agree that every German speaks hochdeutsch (or neutral german). This is not true and in Bavaria people actually do speak with accent but in Munich not as bad as in the countryside.

You are looking for good hotels, restaurants and clubs then there is only one place to go to: Berlin. Its the only real international city in germany, 3 times as big as Munich and has that special flair that makes it very different from other German cities. Some of the best hotels in Europe are here and for prices that are cheaper than in any other major city in Europe. Living costs are MUCH cheaper than in the rest of Germany even thoug its the capital. Expect to pay half of the money for food, living etc than you would do in Munich or Hamburg.

People are definitely friendly to Americans. Normnally Germans have a problem wit Bush, and NOT with Americans in general. Considering our history, Berliners have the Americans a lot to thank for. I grew up there with American soldiers around em all the time and was happy that I was not on the Russian side of the wall. Most people here feel the same.

Clubbing in Berln is second to none and makes every other city in Germany apear pretty boring. There is no closing time law, too so nights in Berlin are long as clubs and bars not close, sometimes for several days.

Because of this, the city attracts a lot of artists, musicians and foreigners and thus is the bst place to be. Besides a few people speaking with the "Berlin accent" most people (90%) will always speak "neutral german". its the official german spoken in schools in berlin so you will not have any problemns understanding people.

(As you can probably see, Im originaly from Berlin although I don't live in Germany anymore). I definitely know all the cities I talked about and even though I might be prejudiced I think most peopel coming to Germany feel like me.

Answer 4

Berlin. The best places to hang out, a different accent (though many people also speak hochdeutsch) and a cool city in general.

Answer 5

Berlin,its beautiful

Answer 6

Dortmund. No accents up there. Or Koblenz.

Answer 7

Don't tell them you're american, really...not a good way to start off your trip to Germany.

Answer 8

i know several fun cities other than berlin.

stuttgart is great, meinz/wiesbaden is beutiful, and frankfurt is awesome.

you shouldnt have any bad times in these cities.

Answer 9

Gutten tag, vie geiten est einen?

Try Deutsch Direkt from the BBC.

You will find it to be good spoken German.