[alamo5000]

Is anyone here from Germany? If so please post up or private message me.

I am considering taking a trip to there very soon but I am hoping to talk to someone from there to maybe answer a few more questions.

It is not a huge deal but it will make me feel better and will help me decide for sure if that's where I want to go.

It will also help me kind of plan things better if I know.

Thanks!

PS if you are from another European country in the area please contact me as well.

[robgski]

I lived in Germany for 12 years, you definitely should visit that country.

Poland is also beautiful, (and less expansive)

[Bromberger]

sure, here

[goatsNdonkey]

I believe there was a point around 1900 when most Americans had at least one German ancestor, largely because of the gigantic migration to the US from that area in the 1840s and 1850s, which continued after that though the numbers tapered off. I don't believe the German states were unified as a single nation at that time, and some of them might have later become parts of Austria or Poland, or the Netherlands. If people spoke German (or a German dialect) when they got here, they were called Germans. There were so many in the Midwest that places like Quincy and Peoria, Illinois, had German language newspapers...and also began brewing good beer of course! All of my grandfather's grandparents immigrated from Germany, but except for a couple of corrupted phrases he learned in his childhood, he never spoke German. I've always wanted to visit there.

[volley]

Feel free to pm me with any questions you may have.
It may take a few days to respond as I am on a business trip but I am happy to help.
Norbert

[alamo5000]

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...

[Bromberger]

Go to Berlin. It's by far the biggest and a totally unique city. To be in Berlin for a month totally makes sense: The main attraction for me in Berlin is its easy going lifestyle, and you will only get into that if you stay longer than just a few days, and meet some people. The quarters have actual street life (instead just people hurrying from A to B like im some cities). The stuff you discover in 3 days is only stupid touristy stuff but there's plenty of history and also general unusualness that in 1 month you will discover a lot of stuff. Small shops, street art, awesome variety of food, beach bars, ruins, etc
Don't go to Frankfurt. Go to Hamburg instead, it's 3 hours from Berlin and also an awesome city, only way more expensive than cheap Berlin.

[beholder3]

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?

German train system is nice. Here you can check connections and prices: https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml

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.

Probably similar to the US. You dont want to buy gas for a car though.

Hotel prices are lower here than in the US, look: HOTEL DE | Hotels günstig buchen | Hotelsuche, Hotelbewertungen

[Adam]

Germany is really fun to travel by train (more enjoyable and probably just as fast as flying short-haul; high-speed routes like Cologne to Frankfurt are way faster than flying). My suggestion would be to pick a few places that you want to visit over the course of your stay. Smaller towns can have lots of interesting museums and landmarks, too- you could stop those by without staying the night.

Nuremberg is one of my favorite places- it's got a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. I also enjoy Cologne and Munich. Austria is very scenic, so I'd say it's worth visiting while you're at it. Salzburg and Vienna come to mind there. Maybe spend 7-10 days in each major city that you choose?

I guess it all depends on what kinds of things you're interested in seeing!

Regarding train tickets, the cheapest option would probably be to get a long-term tourist ticket rather than buying a bunch of one-time tickets. It's been a while, but the type of ticket that I used to use basically let you ride anything to any destination for a pre-purchased number of days. You could use the day "credits" arbitrarily, which is perfect if you plan to stay somewhere in between trips. This also lets you change your plans on the fly without committing to specific times and dates. The catch (in my case) was that the tickets were not valid in the country in which they were purchased. I'm not sure if things work the same way today or not.

Specifically, traveling within Bavaria is also very cheap: it's about 20 euros for a day ticket that takes you anywhere within the region (great for visiting smaller towns).

[Bromberger]

trains are nice, but expensive, at least for me as a student. i prefer carsharing ("Mitfahrgelegenheit", www.blablacar.com), it's really cheap, flexible, and you meet locals.

[joergens.mi]

I think
Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich are nice towns to visit, especially with your way of visiting countries. all of them give you a good base to travel around a visit the country
For the prices and the living costs in germany use the Big Mac index which is 3.86$ Germany to 4.93% USA. I don't say that you should eat at McDonalds.
Connections between cities can be done by train, Bus, airplane. At the moment busses are one of the cheapest methods to get around, most of the cities are connected by busses. Train second class is not cheap, but there a lot of cheap special offers.

[clackers]

I should add that I if I have the chance I would absolutely LOVE to see Austria and Switzerland as well.

Bavaria's beautiful. You look south, and there are the Alps.

My wife and I stayed in Munich and did day trips to Neuschwanstein (you'll recognize it as the model for Disney's castle) and Salzburg in Austria, where you can get your Mozart or Sound of Music fixes.

The people were great, too ... a mix of country conservatives and city liberals.

If we were to go back we'd do a cycling trip down the Danube.

I'm sure Falconeye will put you up for a few weeks, he seems to be a warm, generous guy. 😉

[alamo5000]

OK guys...

Thank you ALL sooo soo much for offering tips and advice.

I am doing my around the world trip and I have been worrying and stressing a lot (It's a vacation!---I know right) about where to go next...

Anyway I made some reservations already... but the location is a surprise... but I am not going to Germany on this trip...

In the future I might plan to do a strictly Europe travel... but I have something already in the plans that seems to be working out well.

Thanks!

[robgski]

You could spend a lot of time in Istanbul alone, enjoy your trip.

[wtlwdwgn]

Don't forget the Rhein between Wiesbaden and Koblenz ant a side trip up the Mosel. Great wine (drinking ) country!