Going to Germany
#1
06-22-2012, 10:00 PM
Going to Germany
So I haven't been on in a while (getting ready for college in the fall) but I just felt compelled to just say that I'm going to Germany on monday! I'm extremely excited (since Germany is obviously the center of happiness haha), but slightly disappointed that when we visit Muenchen we will only be 43 mi away from the Audi museum and factory in Ingolstadt D: So I'm still really looking forward to seeing everything over there, and I'm also excited to see Austria and Switzerland! My question: I've never been out of the country before (not even off the east coast), what should I expect? I'm nervous and all because it's a very new experience. That combined with extreme levels of happiness and excited-ness makes my head spin...
#2
06-23-2012, 08:53 AM
Senior Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lotsa places, currently Metro D.C., USA
Posts: 13,574
WOW! Glad onYA!
Hmmm...
Well, it's been about a dozen years (again, WOW! where does the time go?) since I lived in Germany. About 20 since I hung around the Munchen (Munich to You Americans) vicinity. Too long to remember any details. So, some general info about travelling around Deutschland...
ALL teh Autobahn exits lead to "Ausfahrt," whch means "exit" in German.
When driving on teh Autobahn, please, please, PLEASE keep to teh right lane, unless passing. The life you save may be your own. Oh, and, DON'T be like the Americans I see driving around America, on a daily basis; USE YER FOOKn TURN SIGNALS, ALWAYS!!! Check your mirrors BEFORE changing lanes to pass, and, as you're merging CHECK AGAIN! Those headlights flashing at you in your mirrors aren't a greeting! They're a WARNING to GTFOutta the way! 100MPH is generally waht you'll be doing, IN THE RIGHT LANE!!! Unless you want to drive 125, and are comfortable with it, stay the EFF outta the left lane, except for passing. Truck & busses are limited to something like 60, so you will get to pass something, at least.
Most Germans speak at least a little bit of English. Unlike here, they are REQUIRED to take it as a 2nd language, PLUS another language, in high school. Something like 2-3 years worth, IIRC. That being said, if YOU try, even a little, to speak German to them, they will be much more friendly to you (well, most will), and more helpful. Just don't over do it. Prolly too late to start trying to learn but I'll throw in a couple easy one for you, at the bottom.
At a restaurant you will need to ASK for water, if you want it... Oh, and, it costs EXTRA. Coke is often cheaper than water. No, REALLY! Trust me. Condiments cost extra, too! Ketchup packet? Prolly costs close to teh EU equivalent to $1.00, by now. Some McDonald's sell BEER!!! No, REALLY!!! Germany is frikiin' AWEsome, sometimes.
Stadmitte means: City-center and is pronounced: STAHD-MITT-uh
Fusganger (foot-powered) zone is an area (usually at or near the stadmitte) where no engine-powered vehicles of any kind are permitted. Walking, biking, blading ONLY. Generally, it's teh German version of a strip-mall, except some of the shops have been in that location since teh middle ages. Maybe not teh same owners, but... I once biked through a town that was celebrating it's 1100th anniversary. Think about it...
Every major German city has a red-light district. You'll recognize it if you see it by the scantily clad Women standing in shop windows.
Every major city also has a drugie-area. Usually somewhere near teh train station. The polizei (police) generally leave them alone as long as they don't bother anybody... YOU should too! The people in this area will look slightly teh worse for wear, collectively, than teh rest of teh Aber & Fitch-dress-alike locals.
Speaking of Der Poleizi, DON'T fookN **** with them. They are mostly a humorous lot, and prone to "beat-down FIRST, ask questions from your hospital bed" policing. You are a visitor to their country. Your "American" right don't mean schitt to them. But, if you do decide to challeng them, film it; the internetez is always looking for a laugh.
If you'd'a told us sooner I cudda offerend more hiints/advice. But, I gotta start my Saturday (some QT w/my Girl).
Take lotsa pics. You never know if you'll ever make it back!
Good luck!
Hmmm...
Well, it's been about a dozen years (again, WOW! where does the time go?) since I lived in Germany. About 20 since I hung around the Munchen (Munich to You Americans) vicinity. Too long to remember any details. So, some general info about travelling around Deutschland...
ALL teh Autobahn exits lead to "Ausfahrt," whch means "exit" in German.
When driving on teh Autobahn, please, please, PLEASE keep to teh right lane, unless passing. The life you save may be your own. Oh, and, DON'T be like the Americans I see driving around America, on a daily basis; USE YER FOOKn TURN SIGNALS, ALWAYS!!! Check your mirrors BEFORE changing lanes to pass, and, as you're merging CHECK AGAIN! Those headlights flashing at you in your mirrors aren't a greeting! They're a WARNING to GTFOutta the way! 100MPH is generally waht you'll be doing, IN THE RIGHT LANE!!! Unless you want to drive 125, and are comfortable with it, stay the EFF outta the left lane, except for passing. Truck & busses are limited to something like 60, so you will get to pass something, at least.
Most Germans speak at least a little bit of English. Unlike here, they are REQUIRED to take it as a 2nd language, PLUS another language, in high school. Something like 2-3 years worth, IIRC. That being said, if YOU try, even a little, to speak German to them, they will be much more friendly to you (well, most will), and more helpful. Just don't over do it. Prolly too late to start trying to learn but I'll throw in a couple easy one for you, at the bottom.
At a restaurant you will need to ASK for water, if you want it... Oh, and, it costs EXTRA. Coke is often cheaper than water. No, REALLY! Trust me. Condiments cost extra, too! Ketchup packet? Prolly costs close to teh EU equivalent to $1.00, by now. Some McDonald's sell BEER!!! No, REALLY!!! Germany is frikiin' AWEsome, sometimes.
Stadmitte means: City-center and is pronounced: STAHD-MITT-uh
Fusganger (foot-powered) zone is an area (usually at or near the stadmitte) where no engine-powered vehicles of any kind are permitted. Walking, biking, blading ONLY. Generally, it's teh German version of a strip-mall, except some of the shops have been in that location since teh middle ages. Maybe not teh same owners, but... I once biked through a town that was celebrating it's 1100th anniversary. Think about it...
Every major German city has a red-light district. You'll recognize it if you see it by the scantily clad Women standing in shop windows.
Every major city also has a drugie-area. Usually somewhere near teh train station. The polizei (police) generally leave them alone as long as they don't bother anybody... YOU should too! The people in this area will look slightly teh worse for wear, collectively, than teh rest of teh Aber & Fitch-dress-alike locals.
Speaking of Der Poleizi, DON'T fookN **** with them. They are mostly a humorous lot, and prone to "beat-down FIRST, ask questions from your hospital bed" policing. You are a visitor to their country. Your "American" right don't mean schitt to them. But, if you do decide to challeng them, film it; the internetez is always looking for a laugh.
If you'd'a told us sooner I cudda offerend more hiints/advice. But, I gotta start my Saturday (some QT w/my Girl).
Take lotsa pics. You never know if you'll ever make it back!
Good luck!
#3
06-23-2012, 11:33 AM
Thanks! A lot of great info there! The German shouldn't be a problem since it's a trip for my teacher's german classes (4 years of learning it for me, I weiss ein bisschen Deutsch, aber will ich mehr lernen). And the water, I have been told by one of the foreign exchange students that "Leitungswasser" is our water, but if I ask for just "Wasser" they will give me "Mineralwasser." But I had no idea that soda costs less than water! Do they still have Coke/Pepsi products?
And since my teacher has been to Germany a few times before, and it's a tour, I somewhat doubt we'll see the "underbelly" of Germany haha (though I will keep your advice in my head)
And if you guys never hear from me again, that means my friend who is going with me has gotten the both of us arrested... He's going to wear a shirt into Germany that says "I pooped today"... I have no idea what they will think of that, but I'll be bringing my plethora of Audi and Nuerburgring shirts, so I should be good
And I'm thinking of bringing a 16- or 32gb iPod (with camera), and uploading the pics every night. Will that be enough? Believe me, my memory sucks, so I want to take a couple thousand pictures so I never forget haha
Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate any advice I get, and I will keep it in mind
And since my teacher has been to Germany a few times before, and it's a tour, I somewhat doubt we'll see the "underbelly" of Germany haha (though I will keep your advice in my head)
And if you guys never hear from me again, that means my friend who is going with me has gotten the both of us arrested... He's going to wear a shirt into Germany that says "I pooped today"... I have no idea what they will think of that, but I'll be bringing my plethora of Audi and Nuerburgring shirts, so I should be good
And I'm thinking of bringing a 16- or 32gb iPod (with camera), and uploading the pics every night. Will that be enough? Believe me, my memory sucks, so I want to take a couple thousand pictures so I never forget haha
Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate any advice I get, and I will keep it in mind
#4
06-25-2012, 12:10 PM
if u walk around be cautious. The drivers wont respect a person walking on the road the way we do in america. If u arent on a crosswalk you are fairgame! I almost got run over when we first got into london and from there on respected the crosswalk and signs.
Last edited by pa4ul; 06-25-2012 at 12:12 PM.
#5
07-12-2012, 10:54 PM
Just got back a few days ago! I'll put my "Supercars I saw" list online soon And pa4ul, a few members from my group learned the hard way. Although none of us got hit, the second that crosslight turned, we booked it over to the other side! If that doesn't condition people to watch traffic, then I don't know what will
And pa4ul, a few members from my group learned the hard way. Although none of us got hit, the second that crosslight turned, we booked it over to the other side! If that doesn't condition people to watch traffic, then I don't know what will
#7
07-13-2012, 11:42 AM
Senior Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lotsa places, currently Metro D.C., USA
Posts: 13,574
^^You're in Weinheim?!?!? Small world. I used to live in Laudenbach. 111hauptstrasse, to be exact.
Day job was in Stuttgart, for a while. used to leave late, on purpose, just so I'd hafta push 250kph +, to get to work on time (drove a Calibra Turbo, at the time)
Summers, on Sunday's, I'd flip a coin and ride my bicycle either north, to Darmstadt or south, to Heidelberg, along the B3.
I miss CHERR-muh-Nee
Day job was in Stuttgart, for a while. used to leave late, on purpose, just so I'd hafta push 250kph +, to get to work on time (drove a Calibra Turbo, at the time)
Summers, on Sunday's, I'd flip a coin and ride my bicycle either north, to Darmstadt or south, to Heidelberg, along the B3.
I miss CHERR-muh-Nee
#9
07-16-2012, 02:28 PM
I wish I could have, but I was with EF tours, so I wouldn't have been able to leave to see the Audi museum not matter how much I wanted to...and believe me, I really really wanted to... Anyway, here's the list, hope you all like!
Maserati Merak
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Weismann MF3
Weismann MF5
Ferrari Dino
Ferrari 308
Audi R8 4.2
Audi R8 5.2 (and possibly a GT, but it was going by too quickly for me to identify)
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati GranSport
Maserati GranTurismo
Maserati GranTurismo S
Porsche Carrera
Porsche Carrera 4
Porsche Carrera S
Porsche Carrera 4S
Porsche 911 Targa
Porsche Panamera
Porsche Panamera 4
Porsche Panamera S
Porsche Panamera 4S
Porsche 356 Speedster
Porsche Carrera Turbo
Ferrari F430
Ferrari F430 Spyder
Ferrari 458 Italia
Caterham 7 Fireblade
Aston Martin DBS
Aston Martin DB9
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Cabrio
Volkswagen Kubelwagen
Ferrari FF
Ferrari California
Maserati GranCabrio
Audi S4
Audi S3
Audi S5
Audi S6
Tesla Roadster
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
Rolls-Royce Phantom
Ferrari 599 GTB
Ferrari 599 GTO
Ferrari 575 Maranello
Nissan GTR
Porsche Cayman R
Audi RS3
Audi RS5
Opel Speedster
Porsche Carrera GTS
Bentley Continental
Bentley Continental GT
Mercedes-Benz 190E Touring
Ferrari 458 Spyder
Porsche GT3
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Fisker Karma
That's the list! And note that for a lot of these, they were seen on the Autobahn, so the exact model might be off (for example, the Porsche Cayman R could have been a regular Cayman with an aftermarket body kit). And also, I saw quite a few classic le mans cars on the road in Liechtenstein, but I couldn't identify those!
Maserati Merak
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Weismann MF3
Weismann MF5
Ferrari Dino
Ferrari 308
Audi R8 4.2
Audi R8 5.2 (and possibly a GT, but it was going by too quickly for me to identify)
Maserati Quattroporte
Maserati GranSport
Maserati GranTurismo
Maserati GranTurismo S
Porsche Carrera
Porsche Carrera 4
Porsche Carrera S
Porsche Carrera 4S
Porsche 911 Targa
Porsche Panamera
Porsche Panamera 4
Porsche Panamera S
Porsche Panamera 4S
Porsche 356 Speedster
Porsche Carrera Turbo
Ferrari F430
Ferrari F430 Spyder
Ferrari 458 Italia
Caterham 7 Fireblade
Aston Martin DBS
Aston Martin DB9
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Cabrio
Volkswagen Kubelwagen
Ferrari FF
Ferrari California
Maserati GranCabrio
Audi S4
Audi S3
Audi S5
Audi S6
Tesla Roadster
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
Rolls-Royce Phantom
Ferrari 599 GTB
Ferrari 599 GTO
Ferrari 575 Maranello
Nissan GTR
Porsche Cayman R
Audi RS3
Audi RS5
Opel Speedster
Porsche Carrera GTS
Bentley Continental
Bentley Continental GT
Mercedes-Benz 190E Touring
Ferrari 458 Spyder
Porsche GT3
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Fisker Karma
That's the list! And note that for a lot of these, they were seen on the Autobahn, so the exact model might be off (for example, the Porsche Cayman R could have been a regular Cayman with an aftermarket body kit). And also, I saw quite a few classic le mans cars on the road in Liechtenstein, but I couldn't identify those!
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