QUICK GUIDE TO SURVIVAL IN GERMANY
After 7 months of living in Germany, I feel like I can give some tips for who's coming here for a period or for the rest of the life, and why not, to whom are already here!
1. THE LANGUAGE
German (Deutsch) is damn difficult. The 4 conjugations (dative, genitive, accusative, nominative) are simply a nightmare. Even if you practice, it can be very hard to have a feeling of understanding something at the beginning - but don't get frustrated. I started using Duolingo (an excellent free tool to learn at least some basics) and I took a 6-months course with Babbel (I didn't use it a lot, though. If you're constant in studying, this is a very useful platform where to learn languages!). Many universities offer free courses to international students and newcomers. The best way is always to try speaking, speaking, speaking even if you're alone in the bathroom. A shared flat with German people may help you a lot.
2. THE PEOPLE
People is overall friendly. Friendlier if you try to speak German! (1). They really appreciate your effort to speak their idiom and they'll try to help you. Most of them do know English, however 1) there's a little percentage which doesn't know it; 2) it can happen that they pretend not to speak English. Once I met a 20-years-old girl working in the supermarket and, asking for something, the answer was Ich spreche nicht Englisch - I don't speak english. This was utterly false. Anyway, they are helpful, even though sometimes you feel them quite distant.
3. THE FOOD
Germans love potatoes, and we know this. Here in Bremen the most typical dish you can find are the Kartoffelpuffer (potato and onion crumpets usually served with apple cream - apfelmus), then there are boiled potatoes, salted potatoes, pommes frites (fries) and many others. Vegan and vegetarian lifestyles are becoming established. You'll find a lot of ethnic food (thai, indian, turkish, greek, italian) and Doner Kebab are particularly abundant in every city. Maybe you won't find a post office, but you'll surely find a Doner imbiss. Furthermore, Germans love barbecue. They just love it. As soon as it is sunny, they'll fling themselves to parks and open spaces to barbecue and play frisbee.
4. DRINKING
Rivers of beer! That's the national beverage, as the worldwide-famous Oktoberfest in Munich bears witness. Liquors and spirits are also common, especially in the mignon size; you'll find them in a lot of supermarkets near the cashier. Wine is mainly imported. You can freely drink outside, there is no law against it. When you buy a beer, you'll pay for the pfand as well, from 0.08 to 0.25 € per can/bottle: if you bring it back, you'll get the money back. That's a clever method to go green. When you're merrily drinking outside with your bunch of friends, remember that it is a good practice to leave the beer' glass bottles and cans outside the bins: a lot of (poor) people wander around the city looking for them. Do not get angry and think 'how dirty are these Germans!' (as I did!) if you see them just outside the rubbish. :D
5. TRAVELLING AROUND
Germany is such a beautiful country. Of course, if you're living in the North you cannot climb everyday. But it's plenty of things to do, to see, to experience! I'm travelling Germany mainly by bus. Flixbus offers shit loads of connections to EVERYWHERE. This is nice, and cheap. The drawback is that they can be pretty slow, but no matter what you'll get to your destination. It can sometime happen that they go up in flames...:) Read here! Another useful website is Busliniensuche, where you can compare bus, train and car sharing fares all around Germany and borderiring country, to find the best deal. From the North sea (and the Baltic) to the Black forest, landscapes are amazing and I'm looking forward to visit and get to know more and more!
To be continued....
German (Deutsch) is damn difficult. The 4 conjugations (dative, genitive, accusative, nominative) are simply a nightmare. Even if you practice, it can be very hard to have a feeling of understanding something at the beginning - but don't get frustrated. I started using Duolingo (an excellent free tool to learn at least some basics) and I took a 6-months course with Babbel (I didn't use it a lot, though. If you're constant in studying, this is a very useful platform where to learn languages!). Many universities offer free courses to international students and newcomers. The best way is always to try speaking, speaking, speaking even if you're alone in the bathroom. A shared flat with German people may help you a lot.
2. THE PEOPLE
People is overall friendly. Friendlier if you try to speak German! (1). They really appreciate your effort to speak their idiom and they'll try to help you. Most of them do know English, however 1) there's a little percentage which doesn't know it; 2) it can happen that they pretend not to speak English. Once I met a 20-years-old girl working in the supermarket and, asking for something, the answer was Ich spreche nicht Englisch - I don't speak english. This was utterly false. Anyway, they are helpful, even though sometimes you feel them quite distant.
3. THE FOOD
Germans love potatoes, and we know this. Here in Bremen the most typical dish you can find are the Kartoffelpuffer (potato and onion crumpets usually served with apple cream - apfelmus), then there are boiled potatoes, salted potatoes, pommes frites (fries) and many others. Vegan and vegetarian lifestyles are becoming established. You'll find a lot of ethnic food (thai, indian, turkish, greek, italian) and Doner Kebab are particularly abundant in every city. Maybe you won't find a post office, but you'll surely find a Doner imbiss. Furthermore, Germans love barbecue. They just love it. As soon as it is sunny, they'll fling themselves to parks and open spaces to barbecue and play frisbee.
4. DRINKING
Rivers of beer! That's the national beverage, as the worldwide-famous Oktoberfest in Munich bears witness. Liquors and spirits are also common, especially in the mignon size; you'll find them in a lot of supermarkets near the cashier. Wine is mainly imported. You can freely drink outside, there is no law against it. When you buy a beer, you'll pay for the pfand as well, from 0.08 to 0.25 € per can/bottle: if you bring it back, you'll get the money back. That's a clever method to go green. When you're merrily drinking outside with your bunch of friends, remember that it is a good practice to leave the beer' glass bottles and cans outside the bins: a lot of (poor) people wander around the city looking for them. Do not get angry and think 'how dirty are these Germans!' (as I did!) if you see them just outside the rubbish. :D
5. TRAVELLING AROUND
Germany is such a beautiful country. Of course, if you're living in the North you cannot climb everyday. But it's plenty of things to do, to see, to experience! I'm travelling Germany mainly by bus. Flixbus offers shit loads of connections to EVERYWHERE. This is nice, and cheap. The drawback is that they can be pretty slow, but no matter what you'll get to your destination. It can sometime happen that they go up in flames...:) Read here! Another useful website is Busliniensuche, where you can compare bus, train and car sharing fares all around Germany and borderiring country, to find the best deal. From the North sea (and the Baltic) to the Black forest, landscapes are amazing and I'm looking forward to visit and get to know more and more!
To be continued....
Check my other articles about Germany and share if you like!