OK I am finally back home now where I can type on something other than my phone
Here is my basic situation...it might be sort of long but I will try to keep to the point
I quit my job in the US and am on an around the world vacation for however long. I have no time limit only a money limit LOL! So far I spent a month in Africa and soon it will be a month in Istanbul. For my next stop I am thinking Germany. The problem is, I don't know where in Germany would be the best. That is kind of a loaded question though because the way I am traveling is different than usual and it depends on the person.
Most people will just go a day or two or a week or whatever. But me...I like to see how it is to live in a place that is why I stay a little longer... but at the same time I want to have a fun time. When I went to Nairobi my friend had an apartment so I had a place to stay. When I came here to Istanbul I rented an apartment for a month. Pretty much every where I go I do not want to stay in a hotel if I can help it... I do that for a number of reasons. For one it is cheaper and for two I do not want to be that guy running around trying to see 15 sites in 3 days just so that I can say that I did it...to me that is not enjoyable to rush around so much. And lastly it is more relaxed. I can just do whatever.
So basically if I go to Berlin for example (not saying I am going to Berlin)... if I stay there for a month is that cool? What about other places? Or will I pretty much see everything in a week and be ready to go? Keep in mind I kind of like to get in and see what it is like to live in a place... not just be a regular tourist for 3 days and leave. I will do tourist things... but I might go to one place per day.... and I will probably take a day off to just relax every now and again... I might take day trips or whatever... but I want to have fun but still have things to do.
Basically what I don't want to happen is to go to a place and it turn out to kind of suck or be boring...so I am asking for opinions on that. If I was a tourist and I went to Houston (where I am from) for a month I would probably go nuts. I want to avoid that. Also if the only thing to do is sit around and drink beer I need to know that.
Depending on what kind of answers I get it could impact how I travel around. I would prefer to have one place but if I have to I can also do the AirBNB thing and just go a week at a time or whatever is recommended.
Supposedly the transport is pretty good there so getting from city to city shouldn't be a problem but I think it's pretty far (like 5 or 6 hours) from Berlin to Frankfurt or whatever.
Basically I kind of want to make sort of a game plan and have some idea about what I am getting into and how to plan it so I can do it with the least hassle and the most fun.
That's the basics.
Other questions I have would be how hard is it to get a sim card for my phone? I read online that you have to be a German citizen to get it but I don't know if that's true. Also if I am taking the train from city to city... lets say Berlin to Frankfurt (just as an example)... how much would a train ticket cost?
Also I am kind of wondering about the basic cost of living... obviously I have money saved otherwise I wouldn't be going but I want to know what to expect.
Depending on what you guys tell me and the feedback I get I might either get an apartment for a month and use that as a base... or I might couch surf a little. I will still probably couch surf some but how I do that will be different depending on what kind of opinions I get. If ultimately it is not worth the hassle to get an apartment I need to know that. But if it lets me get there and relax and I can have fun while having an apartment I will find one for my stay. If I really like it I can stay a month or maybe even two...
A friend in the US has relatives in Germany and she said I can stay with them but I have never met them so I don't know how that will go... but the basics are I am going for fun but I am on a budget more or less so I am not going to stay in a 5 star hotel for a month. In my mind I think I can stay in an apartment and then maybe take some side trips and visit my friend's brother or sister or whoever that is so I can see other parts of Germany...most of them live in small towns so that is ok...
As for me I don't smoke, I don't drink so much... and generally I don't hang out in night clubs that much. I am not opposed to go if I have friends or whatever but just me sitting around a club or whatever not so much. 90% of the time I will only be going out doing stuff in the day time... although if something cool is happening I will stay out until 4am if I am having a good time...but it is not a regular thing....
Generally getting an apartment has worked out good because I can eat out when i want to or I can just make something simple at home or if I want to sit around all day catching up on email I can...from time to time it's good to just have a relax day...
Overall though my style is to not just go see a tourist site and then leave. People come to Istanbul for 3 days and they run from place to place... and I just don't get it. Well if that is all the time you have then yes... but me... I have all the time I need so I act like I live here. Plus it is a lot cheaper... and in Istanbul in about 3 weeks I am finally going "I have seen a lot of it"... but there is still a number of things I haven't done. I can easily put another week into museums or whatever... There is A LOT of things to see and do here...
Anyway please just share thoughts. I don't mind staying in a small town or a big city. I will probably stick the bigger cities because in my mind there is more to see and take photos of. But that said I can see myself going to small towns for 2-3 days or whatever just to have the experience and to mix it up some...
It is kind of hard to say what I am trying to ask... but I think you get the idea...
Hopefully you can give me some idea of what to expect and what to plan for... Maybe a small discussion about a good 'game plan' would be useful... in other parts of the world its not so much an issue but I am making an effort to go to and experience new places on this trip....
---------- Post added 04-20-16 at 12:26 PM ----------
I should add that I if I have the chance I would absolutely LOVE to see Austria and Switzerland as well. I will concentrate on Germany first I guess and then go from there. If I have the chance to see the other places as well if even for a 3 or 4 day weekend... or if can ride the train and see them for a week or just a few days that would be great...