What should I take into consideration when traveling to Germany?

Question

I'm from USA. I can speak a good amount of german. I'm going in the summer around July or August (next year)But what I'm wondering is..
What should I pack?
How much money should I bring?
What are some good places to go to? (i am mainly going up north, but might go down south too.)
What about their phone/internet services?
Whens the raining season?
How far apart is their time zone(I'm in PA)?
Any good scenic places/ family places? ( 2 adults 2 teenagers going)
Any bad places?
Is it easy to make friends with native germans?
Any good tourist websites?
Anything else i forgot?


Thank you so much!

Answer 1

Hi, I travelled to Germany from Australia last year and had a fantastic time. If you can already speak a good amount of German then you will have absolutely no problem at all concerning communication.
July and August are in summer, so expect a lot of tourists! You will have mild to warm to hot days, but be prepared for rain and cooler days/nights. I would suggest sunglasses, sunscreen, hat and a warm jacket (if you get desperate you can buy an umbrella or anything else etc while there).
The amount of money you bring depends on exactly what you will be doing. Take some euros (approx. 25-50/day or more) for day to day expenses (entrance fees, drinks and snacks, taxi fares etc and use VISA (or other) for hotels, restaurants and the unexpected. Dont forget that Supermarkets have much cheaper prices for cold drinks and snacks!
Up North you have Hamburg, Lubeck etc. which are nice. I particularly like the more southern and central areas (Bavaria) etc.
Germany has many beautiful places to visit, it all depends on your interests! It has a very interesting history with medieval, baroque and rococo architecture, and if you like castles and fortresses, palaces, churches, old houses and museums, then you will not be disappointed. Some of my favourites are Würzburg, Bamberg, Passau, the 12th century walled town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber etc etc. The choices are endless.

I would highly recommend the "Lonely Planet book of Germany" for fantastic detailed information (including maps, prices of train fares, entrance fees, hotel costs, restaurant prices, etc) and there are endless websites available. Most cities have their own webpage. Just do a Google search.
Most towns and cities have internet cafes, so no problem there. Dont forget to look for peoples travel photographs on places such as webshots.com, theworldisround.com.......etc. The train transport system is great! The beer is good, the food a little different! most locals are friendly, the scenery is lovely ....Have fun!!!

Answer 2

What should I pack?
July and august are usually vey warm, so pack tshirts and shorts, maybe some pullovers and jeans for colder/rainy days, and don't forget sunglasses.

How much money should I bring?
As much as you feel convenient with, you can withdraw money anytime you need it with the right card.

What are some good places to go to? (i am mainly going up north, but might go down south too.)
Well, the big cities like Berlin and Hamburg are never wrong otherwise it depends on your own taste whether you like to see historical things or something else.

What about their phone/internet services?
Most hotels have internet portals, and there is also a lot of W-Lan hotspots almost anywhere where there are many people, as at railway stations and McDonald's

Whens the raining season?
Whenever mother nature feels like LOL, you can be lucky and go weeks without a single drop, you can not be lucky and have a 2nd biblical flood, there's hardly a rule to follow.

How far apart is their time zone(I'm in PA)?
9 hours back, if I'm not mistaken, anyone might correct me.

Any good scenic places/ family places? ( 2 adults 2 teenagers going)
Theme parks? LOL

Any bad places?
None I could think of, though you MIGHT have some differences communicating with Bavarians, some have such a strong dialect even I cannot understand them LOL

Is it easy to make friends with native germans?
When they speak english, no problem, but not many elder people can, but basically, as logn as you're friendly, you should be fine.

Any good tourist websites?
None I could spontaneously think of, I never really tour my own country :-)

Anything else i forgot?
Please only enjoy limited amounts of beer...or any other alcohol for that matter ;-)

Answer 3

Hey! I think you have enough good tips now. But don't be afraid, that the Germans will not understand you. Nearly everybody speaks English here, some good and some bad. And we are not like the people in France who do just speak French even if they understand you or not.
http://www.berlin.de/english/index.html
maybe you can find some information on this page. Have fun!!

Answer 4

check out cologne,berlin,munich,liepzig,dresden,for great city life
garmisch- partenkirchen and bavaria for beautiful mountains train service is really reliable, food is excellent,Germany is on CET which will be 6hrs ahead of EST. I have found the German people to be very friendly and willing to help especially if you make an effort with the language.
Try www.tripadvisor.com

Enjoy the trip

Answer 5

meh. Deutschland and most of the neighboring countries reach out very much for typical American tourists, so dont worry about any of the typical travel mishaps to occur. as far as money goes, take alot if you plan to live in a hotel, take the U bahns to eat at fancy places. My advice rough it out and use the extra money to see as much as the country as possible. Viel Spass.

Answer 6

i think they are 6 hours different than your time zone. i know france is 6.

a good way to figuare out what to pack is to look on weatherunderground to see what the temperature is going to be when you will be there. because when i went to france i didn't want to pack anything until a day or 2 before because i know the weather can change.

Answer 7

my uncle lives there but i don't know anything about germany except that they'll NEVER respond if u speak to them english.

enjoy ur trip :]

Answer 8

Terrorist