Spending a month in Germany in Summer?

Question

Hi,

I would like to spend my summer holiday in germany to improve my german language n to visit the city. I am trying to figure out which city I should go but since I've never been to Germany, I don't have a clue which city to go to.

I want to go to a city that's small but enough to entain myself, historical, medeival and alot to see like Rothenburg Ob der Tauber. However, a friend of mine told me the Barvrian's don't speak the proper german accent than the northen cities (like Scottish and Britian). Is that true? Any recommendation of where I should spend a month in Germany and by which organisations?

I also wanted the city to be quite friendly and academic in a way like the university cities in Cambridge/Oxford in UK

Thanks guys for all the replies. I want to know the organisations becuase I am thinking to take a german course in one of the city but i only know the goethe insitut http://www.goethe.de
they organise quite a no. of courses but the cities are limited and the timing does't suit me v well.

and just searched http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en/languages/german/germany.phponline . Is it good?

perhaps some of u might know some good languae schools besides goethe institut?

Answer 1

I would suggest the town of Aachen.
I live nearby and I believe it is one of the prettiest towns in Germany.
http://www.aachen.de/EN/index.html
Another very pretty town is Brühl:
http://www.bruehl.de/

the surrowndings are pretty also and ýou can visit Düsseldorf and Köln and Bonn from both towns easily.

Have fun.

Hi Torsten the nothern part of Germany speaks only high German, what about PLATTDEUTSCH ?!

Look here: http://www.plattmaster.de/startenglish.htm

Every Part of Germany has its own dialect, the question is only in which area it is widely spoken. And if it is widely spoken how easy is it for forreigners to understand..

My friend is American and he thinks that the people in and around Düsseldorf and Aachen don't speak such a strong dialect.

Regarding language schools, it depends on the amount of money you want to spent. Group lessons are cheap, but you don't learn a lot, private lessons are expensive but with a good teacher much more succesfull and you would need less time to reach your goal.

Answer 2

As soon as I started reading, I had three towns in mind: Wittenberg, Passau and Tuebingen. All are (like Heidelberg and Erlangen) university towns with very good language courses.

I recommend that you take a look at the universities' websites to figure out whether they offer any language courses at the uni. The preparation courses for the TestDaF that foreign students need are usually very intense and focused. At the end you would be holding an acknowledged degree in the German language.

http://www.testdaf.de/

Note that a lot of these courses are during the academic year. It might take you a bit to find a uni that offers summer courses in German to foreign students.

Alternatively you could look for courses done by the local community colleges. I've heard from foreign students that the local "Volkshochschule" (=community college) in Passau is a very good option for language courses.

I wouldn't worry too much about the local dialect, because local dialect exists everywhere. The "best" German is considered to be spoken in southern-east Lower Saxony, northern Saxony-Anhalt and south--western Mecklenburg-Pommerania as well as western Brandenburg. Going by this, your choice of places that meet all your requirements is very limited, as this is also the area in Germany that has the lowest average population. A small medievial city there likely will not have the language courses you need. Braunschweig might be good, if you can find a decent language course and you don't consider the city too large.

Answer 3

I'm English and spent 7 years working in and touring around Germany. Like you I was keen to learn the language, but encountered dialects all over the place. After a lot of practice and a few years experience, I ended up taking german studies at university and learnt all about the dialects (including in Austria and Switzerland), so I feel slightly well placed to offer advice.
As for dialects, don't be put off by them. When in doubt, just explain that you are not german and can speak some Hochdeutsch. Your efforts will be rewarded. Germany is a huge country mind you, so if you want to see all the main sights, you'll encounter people who speak with different accents and dialects anyway. In any case, I found most germans spoke better english than many people I know!

With regards to where to learn and practice, I found the clearest "Hochdeutsch" was spoken from mid west to the north of the country. The Eifel region, on the central west border is picturesque (especially the town of Monschau) and not far from the cities of Cologne and Bonn, which are great to visit. However, my choice to stay would be in Aachen. It's a wonderful university city that has a great feel about it, especially if you're young. I live just outside Oxford and know that they are highly comparable. Aachen also lies in the "Euregio." This is a tri-national area where German, Dutch and Belgian citizens can freely trade, live, work, etc, without too many national regulations intervening. It is a truly cosmopolitan area that is well linked by travel means from each of the countries concerned, in addition to German domestic connections.

Although everyone has given their point of view, only you will be able to choose where to go. If you're looking at going to Rothenburg odT, Berlin, Cologne, the Black Forest, Neuschwanstein, and every other famous place in the country, you need to bear in mind that these are all quite far apart. It may be better to spend a few days travelling around each area and not basing yourself in any particular one. This might be more expensive in the long run, but at least you will see everything without rushing (too much). I don't know if you're on a tight budget, but it may be worth considering.

Whatever you do, good luck and enjoy yourself!

Answer 4

You are going to get a lot of answers on this one. It would be the same if I asked you where should I spend a month in America to improve my English......
So, before you end up in some little village milking cows I would suggest you go for Heidelberg. It is a student town, centrally located that you can easily get around Germany. There is an American Army Base near by in case you get homesick(oh, I know that will not happen, but you never know). Mark Twain lived there for a few years, there is a neat castle on the hill, very postcard picturesque.
Now, everybody is going to say 'OH No, You will learn the wrong German there!'. No matter what German you learn I can assure you a German will correct you - Doch. If you wish to do the total immersion thing then by all means go to Hannover and learn 'Hoch Deutsch'. But, Hannover is in North Germany and does not have the number of tourists that Frankfurt(because of the airport), Heidelberg(because it is between Frankfurt and Bavaria), and Munich have. Of course the reason Munich has so many tourists is because that 'castle' is nearby, Oktober Fest, and it is on the way to Salzburg where all the Americans go looking for the hills that are alive with the Sound of Music(Don't even try to explain that to a German). In other words Heidelberg would be more friendly as they are used to students and tourists. Trust me it makes a difference if you have never been to Germany.
Anyway back to your question. I love all the info you are getting and some of it is useful. But, I am basing my answer on other students that I have helped in coming over to good Ole Deutschland to learn the Language. You can email me if you have more detailed questions.
P.S. 'Thanks Guys' , oh the feminists are going to have fun with that one! *smile*

Answer 5

A cool place to hang out, that is international enough to welcome strangers? Dialects are spoken everywhere in Germany, the northern dialects are actually quite "thick" and difficult to understand even for Germans from other parts of the country. If you go to an university town you will find that most people come from all over Germany and abroad and locals avoid speaking in their dialect as they are not understood and many think it's "common".

What about Freiburg im Breisgau? Big University, lovely countryside, friendly people. Many things to see and do, better weather than the rest of Germany (they have a funny micro climate that gives them he most sunny days in Germany).

Cologne is a little bigger but the language is more "high German" apart from a few locals who talk in a funny accent that only they themselves can really understand. It's an open and friendly city with many things to see and do. But you won't find medieval architecture, apart from the cathedral (all bombed to bits in WW2).

Hope this helps, enjoy your journey - where ever you go, you will come back richer in experience and grasp of the German language.

Answer 6

I prefer small towns over big cites, reason is in most big cities the pace is faster and everyhting is more expensive. I like Bavaria, although there is a slang/dialect most people speak hochdeustch as in any other part of Germany. I would look for a University town and maybe even enroll in the local volkeschule to reenforce the proper german over the slang.

I found the towns of Erlangen or Bamberg very interesting. Especially Bamberg. The town was almost completely untouched during the war so most of the buildings are orginal and not rebuilt. Both of these towns are small enough to be safe and friendly and yet big enough to where you have theaters, concerts, and plays. The little towns and dorfs around have very good and very inexpensive food. And plenty of bike paths if biking is something for you.

http://www.stadt.bamberg.de/index.phtml?NavID=332.2

http://www.erlangen.de/en/Desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-2/

A couple links.

Have fun.

Answer 7

So, let me answer, too!

If you like Cambridge, I would suggest Heidelberg. It is a rather small town with an university, it is nice and shows a typical German outfit. There are plenty of students of different countries, so they are prepared to deal with foreigners, nicely.

Myself, I'm a German from the Rhine-Main-Area. I can assure you that the clearest German is spoken in the north, around Hannover. Bavarians have a rather heavy slang which sounds more like Austria. So middle or north would be your choice and since I was in Cambridge (GB) before, I still suggest Heidelberg.

Hannover is a nice town, too. They have a nice heathland southwards, with moorland, nice nature. Near to it is Walsrode with a famous "Vogelpark" (like a zoo with birds).

Or Worpswede, a little town with plenty of artists living there, in the north.

My own area, "Rhein-Main" is rather business orientated with Frankfurt/Main, Wiesbaden and Mainz, but also has it's nice spots and a lot of history to look at and learn (i.e. the Romans have been here).

It would be helpful to know, how you like to spend your time in order to give you some good advice.

I can not suggest an organization, but do you require one? Book a flight and a hotel for one night, and then you will see yourself. There are plenty of American hotels over here, so you can use an American chain like Hilton, Hyatt, Ramada etc.

Enjoy your time. If you run into questions while you are here, get into an internet cafe and mail me!

Answer 8

Is there a certain point why you want to spend all the month in just one city? There's plenty of regions where German beginners might have trouble with the native accents ;-) Not only in Bavaria people speak heavy dialects. I'd suggest Hamburg as the most beautiful and Berlin as the most interesting cities but both are pretty big of course. But there's smaller cities around both of them like Luebeck, Kiel and Flensburg at Hamburg or Potsdam and Brandenburg at Berlin. Tourists always concentrate on Bavaria and the Black Forest, that's a fault definitely!

Answer 9

I would suggest either Múnster or Osnabruck in Germany. Both friendly places, Múnster is more of the old town with the only Church still standing from the ww2. Múnster has the universaties and is overall a very nice cty. Osnabruck is bigger than Múnster but has quite alot of history here too. in the town they have a night walk that shows you around (never been on it but have seen them), thre is Hitler's home as he was born in Osnabruck. Osnabruck does have the history and is very nice, the people are friendly enough to help. Most talk english but better to ask in german as they can give you the help or they will turn and aslkyou in english.

Answer 10

Hi ! I´am German and I had lived in some Citys from Flensburg to Munich. In my opinion is the best way to spend your holiday if you are visit different places in germany. A cheap way is to live in our hostels ( They are very clean and comfortable,you can stay for one day or longer) And with a Deutsche Bahn Wochenendticket you can change your place very fast and inexpensive or you us the Mitfahrzentrale and drive by car (is more inexpensive than Deutsche Bahn, you will find that in all Big Citys in Germany). Hope you don´t visit one place in Germany :-) Germany have more Hotspot do you mean!! Good Luck


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