Spending July in Hamburg (Northern) Germany?

Question

I will be spending all of July in Germany and am so excited! I've taken three years of German and am fluent enough to read novels but will that be enough for conversation? Any suggestions on how to improve my vocabulary and speech comfort before the time comes to get going?

Any suggestions for what to do during my month there? About how much American dollars shouls I bring to transfer into Euro's? Keep suggestions cheap, I'm only a student!

^_^

--Jesse

I will be spending the month in an immersion study program. This means that I will be living with a family there. Does the 700 estimate include room and board, if so than I do not need that much.

How much should I bring just to have fun. Room and board is already taken care of! Please and thankyou! So far the answers to the question have been a great help!

--Jesse

Answer 1

Well, first of all, Germany is much cheaper than most Americans might believe -- when you're in Germany and compare the prices in a German supermarket with prices over there in the U.S., you'll be surprised how cheap & inexpensive Germany is!!!! And, I am really not kidding. You pay much more for food and other daily products in America as in Germany.

The only expensive thing in Germany is the train!!! Travelling across Germany by train can be very expensive - that's true.

Do you have a highspeed Internet access? Then, I advice you to listen to German radio & TV stations online, like http://www.wwitv.com (go to Germany) or listen to German radio stations at http://www.surfmusic.de or http://www.mikesradioworld.com - and also read German newspapers online as well.

For a month in Germany, you should calculate with $500 or $700 or a bit more. If you don't spend too much money for souvenirs and other expensive stuff, $700 should be more than enough.
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If you have more questions, you can email me - just click at my profile and send an email to me, if you want...I'll be glad to help you if you have any more questions before you're leaving for Germany.

Answer 2

This is a very good choice. Hamburg is such a nice place, you loved that. Don't worry about the language, most Germans speaking English, but try do learn some few words. Get a small dictionary. You know with Euro is everything so expensive in Europe, and the US $ is so low. You can use the ATM's here. I hope you find a cheep place to stay or are you staying by some nice German family??? I guess you need so estimate for the whole month 1000-1500 $.

Answer 3

You might have some trouble with the dialect at first, but I'm sure you'll get used to it quickly.

You should rent German films and watch them in German, to get used to conversation speed. If you can, find some native speakers to practice.

In Hamburg, you HAVE to do a boat tour of the harbor! :) ( I think they even have them in English, but of course, doing it in German will help you improve.)

Hamburg is also famous for its nightlife (clubs, discos, and also some...ummm... "racier" things), and its SHOPPING! So clubbing and shopping are definitely recommended - even if budget restraints force you to window shop.

Another highlight is the Völkerkundemuseum (Anthropological museum) - it's one of the best museums every, imho, so you should definitely check it out!

Do you have a credit card? If so, you can pay with it almost everywhere, and, if you have a PIN, also get cash from the ATM (ask your bank for details) - so you wouldn't have to take much cash at all. :)

Here's a website with lots of info - if you click the little British flag to the left, you can get it in English, but you might want to try and see how you do with the German version first. :)
http://www.hamburg.de/

Enjoy your trip! :)