Germany For Work

[Fonzie]

Daayumm you a lucky little SOB!

I think you should bring your buddy Fonz over so we can hit up Oktoberfest

[Exit Wounds]

Ummm… what I remember from the Army.

Hope you like beer. It’s everywhere, got one out of a pop machine and at McDonald’s for lunch just to say I did it.

Had the best Chicken Cordon Bleu in Nuremburg ever... sorry can't remember the restaurant. All chicken place, downtown.

Red Light district... usually after all the beer. Careful…

I think that about covers it.

Oh... don't drive to slow on the freeways, you'll get run over.

[Tigerpaw]

I was stationed 20 minutes north of Aachen '00-'02, at Geilenkirchen AB. You will have a blast. You will be in the Tri-Border area, Germany/Holland/Belgium. The sky is the limit on your travel options(or your calendar/wallet).

Get a German train pass, and an international one(crossing countries there is like us crossing states).

Get your Passport ASAP.

Get an International Driver's License. The hardest part is some of the wierd ass signs. Definitely good knowledge to have.

There are speed limits. Even on sections of Autobahn.

Use a nice small camera that you can always have it with you, it sucks trying to lug around a big camera...and you never know when good photo opportunities will be.

Don't expect or look for WalMart/Mcdonald's/Target etc... They have those things, but that's not fun. Experience the smaller local options, so you can have good stories to bring home.

Learn some German phrases, but don't stress over it. Most people in Europe will speak a fair amount of English(sometimes they are shy though).

If your residence is not geared towars international travellers, don't bring too many electronics. The electricity is different and you may require transformers. On larger items see if you can switch the voltage.

See if you can use your cell phone in Europe, change to an international plan before you leave.

Germany is known for beer, but have some of the best wines as well. Try eiswein(ice wine), it is sweet as apple juice. Bittburg, Erdinger, Paulener are all popular in that region. The Heineken brewery(with tours) is in Amsterdam.

Check out the festivals, Oktoberfest, Christmas markets(Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt).

OK. Someone else chime in now.

Have Fun. PM if you want some more details. I have an American friend that lives there permanently if you want a POC.

[jschaf]

I spent 5 weeks in Northern Germany, traveling by myself for work, a few years ago. The president of the company I was visiting picked me up at the airport in his AMG Mercedes & I remember doing a sustained pace of about 250 kph while slower vehicles actually got out of our way. The level of driver awareness in that country is great. We could take a lesson. They set me up with an Audi to drive (Wish I could have rented a motorbike) The people were very friendly & it seems that everyone wanted to practice their english on me. I hope you aren't a vegetarian. Happy travels.

[tyler524]

So I found out some more details. I have a few options as far as reimbursement and my room goes. I can find a place that I pay for myself and get reimbursed, have them make reservations, or I can get paid upfront for whatever length at a time. There will be two of us going but I don't know if the other guy will want to travel on the weekends or anything but I imagine we will have a decent time. I have all my information for my passport ready and it gets sent to the expediting company that we use on Tuesday. I wish I had an endless wallet to go with but I should still have a pretty good time. All meals paid for and all makes it nice. I hope I end up getting a decent car while I am there, maybe and Audi or Beemer. Work is supplying me a global phone to take with me, so I don't have to worry about that. I don't plan on taking too many electronics, maybe just the laptop, camera, electric razor. I don't think I need much more than that, probably the Ipod. I was considering taking my Xbox with me since I will more than likely be bored some evenings but I don't know it seems wrong to take it with me to Germany. I have been considering taking all of my bike gear with me but that will take up some luggage space but I do plan on renting a bike for atleast a weekend at some point during my stay.

I am hoping for some good food and beer that will be well free once the company pays me for it.

Anyone know if I will be able to watch NFL games while over in Germany, my guess is probably not but I can only hope. I am going to miss that and riding my bike for the rest of the season.

Get an International Driver's License. The hardest part is some of the wierd ass signs. Definitely good knowledge to have.

What are you talking about with the International Driver's License? I read that you can use your US license for up to 6 months while in Germany.

[Fazerlady]

Hi Tyler, I am German and have only been in Ohio since last year. You can leave your Xbox here. Germany has 220 Volts, unless it is dual voltage of course, but then you will need an adapter for the plugs, as they are different. :-)

Right now is still a good time to go. September still has wine fests going on, which are always a blast. German cities have Fussgaengerzonen "walkplatz" as Americans call it, which is a car free zone in the inner city, which are usually hosting all the fests throughout the cities. The clubs are usually great!

Oh and by the way, Germans know how to party. None of that 1 day crap they do here in the US...lol... Christmas is 3 days, Fasching in 3 days, Easter is 2 days, FAirs are usually 4 or 5 days, Winefests last 3 days, etc...End of Sep Monschau has a big Fair going on.

Try to see Trier...my hometown...Oldest City in Germany. Lots of Roman ruins and great wine! :-) it is about 2 hours from Monschau.

Yes there are speedlimits, however the autobahns have great stretches with no speed limits...watch out for this sign "end of all restrictions"...but try not to kill yourself! lol

[Tigerpaw]

Ditto on Trier. Went to visit a friend there, walked through the Christmas Market. Felt like I walked through a time travel portal. Absolutely awesome.

Don't bring the XBOX. Spend as little time in the room as possible.

NFL games will be tough, with the time difference(and lack of interest). If your hardcore, work out something on the laptop and watch.