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OptionalBreakfast posted:As for my wife, does anyone have specific information about the feasibility of teaching at an international school as a graduate with a Masters in Education from the U.S.? For general information and contacts you should have a look at this. http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Startseite_node.html As far as jobs go it really depends on the city you live in, obviously you´ll have a better chance in big cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and maybe Frankfurt) but even there i´d say you´ll have a pretty hard time to get anything besides helping out in hostels or being a tour guide. In most major cities you´ll find an alternative district that is more open to hire foreigners. If you want a "real" german low-income job in a super market or even as a janitor at least a basic grip on the language is generally expected. I´d be rather interested in how people in those positions would react to an american, quite a few of them are 3rd or 4th generation german-turks (at least in Hamburg and Berlin) that have some pretty interesting views on religion and world politics.  You are the bad guys, killing babies and skull-loving mohammed, all of you..For a typical german classified section check this ,don´t ever think about reading the actual newspaper they put out, it´s awful. There really is no need to get a hardcopy if you just want to have a look at the classifieds. Some other regional papers: Cologne = Kölner Stadtanzeiger Frankfurt = Frankfurter Rundschau Berlin = Berliner Zeitung Hamburg = Hamburger Abendblatt For your wife: Sadly I have no idea how the german schools work nowadays (they change that poo poo around whenever they feel like it) but outside of universities, some rare (and I mean rare as in, there are barely any) private schools I don´t really see much demand for her skill set if she can´t speak german. I don´t say there aren´t any jobs for her but they are not that common and there really isn´t that much benefit in hiring an american native speaker if you can get an english one with much less of a hassle. vvvv Depending on the region she is from she could be speaking Switzerdütsch which sounds to german ears about as recognizable as dutch. What she most likely considers high german is swiss high german which sounds really really odd to high german speakers. Mix that with the german attitude that anyone that has (with some minor exceptions for Bavarian and Low german) a dialect clearly is an uncultured brute and there you go. hankor fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Jan 24, 2011 |
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Jan 24, 2011 00:49
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Saladman posted:99% of Swiss Germans also speak High German, so if they couldn't understand Swiss directly speaking to them, that's because the Swiss were intentionally being dicks. Which wouldn't be the first time in history that's happened. It's also possible there is just a massive communication breakdown between the 2 cultures. My wife worked in an international office and tried to speak German with the Germans and on the support desk (she went to bloody gymnasium so she's obviously got a good education) and they would just laugh at her or ask for a German person on the phone. So it's either really really different, the Germans are just stupid and rude to people with less than perfect German, or a mix of both.
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Jan 24, 2011 00:54
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greazeball posted:There are thousands of people migrating from economically depressed areas of the EU to every city to fight tooth and nail for custodial jobs that pay 5x a good salary in Bulgaria, Romania or Poland. This is true. Keep in mind that there are also lots of Macedonians who hold Bulgarian passports as a result of the wonky rules of Balkan national identity, as well. You're going to be competing against EU citizens who have the right to work in that country, and the hiring manager will actually be breaking a law by hiring you over them. The only reason he'd do it is to be able to pay you under the table and below the minimum wage. I don't really understand the appeal of packing up and moving to Germany from the United States without any real definable goals for the move. German language proficiency probably isn't going to help you get into graduate school (unless you're studying German history, for instance) and you can learn the language in classes in the US. You probably saw a lot of cool stuff in Berlin when you were there for a week, but strip away the museums and touristy stuff and it's really not significantly different from most large American cities. If your desire is to get out of West Virginia into a more 'cosmopolitan' setting, why try to take a huge questionable leap to Europe rather than a short hop to New York, Boston, or Chicago? One possible option for Europe is applying for a Fulbright Fellowship; some countries provide a minimum stipend for dependents. I'm currently a Fulbrighter in Bulgaria. German Fulbrighters need to have significant background in the language, however. HeroOfTheRevolution fucked around with this message at 11:28 on Jan 24, 2011 |
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Jan 24, 2011 11:25
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Here's some Swiss German by the way,Some Swiss guy from Facebook posted:Hend ihr vilixh no es paar loeffeli vo ues? ... right.
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Jan 24, 2011 17:09
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The girlfriend and I were thinking of going to Germany this summer (I posted for recommendations about it a while ago, thanks for that!) but due to scheduling issues, we might not be able to make it in the summer. We're now thinking of doing a 2ish week trip to Europe in early December. Would Germany be enjoyable in December? I always hear great things about the German Christmas traditions. Will we freeze our asses off? Should we be looking at other destinations in Europe for that timeframe? (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Spain are off the list of choices)
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Jan 24, 2011 17:42
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scr0llwheel posted:The girlfriend and I were thinking of going to Germany this summer (I posted for recommendations about it a while ago, thanks for that!) but due to scheduling issues, we might not be able to make it in the summer. It depends where you go and where you're from, but yes, in general, Germany is quite cold in December. It's also pretty dark, like sunset of 4pm in Berlin in December. I would not go to Scotland in winter, because you'll get like 4 hours of daylight a day and it will be depressing, but on the other hand, everything touristy will be cheap and empty. I would recommend the French Riveria, Spain, or Italy, if you're going to Europe in winter. All of them will be dark, though—Naples is at the same latitude as NYC. Maybe I'm harping on light too much though—it won't matter quite as much for a tourist as a resident. Saladman fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Jan 24, 2011 |
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Jan 24, 2011 18:15
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Saladman posted:It depends where you go and where you're from, but yes, in general, Germany is quite cold in December. It's also pretty dark, like sunset of 4pm in Berlin in December. Light is definitely important -- We especially like being out and about so the sun setting at 4pm isn't ideal. And sorry if I was confusing but we've already extensively toured England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and Italy (which I forgot to mention) and have no great interest in going back anytime soon. We've also spent some time in Paris and the French Riveria (both are awesome) but we would consider going back for awesome Christmastime stuff. How about Austria? Would it be freezing and dark early, too?
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Jan 24, 2011 18:22
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Most of Europe is either damp and cold and dark early, or freezing cold and dark early, Austria included. Europe in December is not your best bet, but I'd imagine the Christmas markets in Hamburg would be lovely. I think the 4 hours of sunlight thing in Scotland is an exaggeration? I've been to Oslo in December, but the sun was up by 8am and down at the usual 4pm which is the same as we have here in London, I mean yes it's dark, but it's not ridiculous. But I think if you want to get away from that, you'd want to be looking at really quite southern Europe.
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Jan 24, 2011 18:27
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Neris posted:Most of Europe is either damp and cold and dark early, or freezing cold and dark early, Austria included. Europe in December is not your best bet, but I'd imagine the Christmas markets in Hamburg would be lovely. Sorry, I was exaggerating on Scotland a bit—it's actually ~7 (overcast) hours according to http://www.jgiesen.de/daylight/ (with sunset at 2:45pm if the UK decides to stop using GMT!) I went to Rome-and-environs last year for Christmas and it was awesome, lively, and light-jacket weather (~60F in the day, 45 at night), so that would be my vote. I went to the French Riviera this December for a week, and Paris for NYE, and neither was as fun as Rome, but YMMV.
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Jan 24, 2011 19:38
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I thought Germany and Prague and Vienna were fine in December... as long as it wasn't raining. Cold but very pretty and the Christmas markets are great. Does get dark early, and getting up early doesn't necessarily help.
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Jan 24, 2011 20:11
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smackfu posted:I thought Germany and Prague and Vienna were fine in December... as long as it wasn't raining. Cold but very pretty and the Christmas markets are great. These are the locations we're thinking about. How long were you there for?
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Jan 24, 2011 20:12
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There are actually quite a lot of tourists visiting Germany in december, with all the christmas markets everywhere. Although I guess that it can become a bit old after a few days... And then you have the problem that germans don't go out that much in december, except on the chrismas market or shopping for presents. December is the time to be gemütlich at home. €: arf, beaten. To complete: if you just want to visit cities and monuments, aren't afraid of the dark and don't care about coldness or meeting local people, then it's no problem going to Germany in winter I'd say. Chikimiki fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Jan 24, 2011 |
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Jan 24, 2011 20:22
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scr0llwheel posted:These are the locations we're thinking about. How long were you there for?
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Jan 24, 2011 21:13
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I'm going to Helsinki for four days in late February, is there anything relatively unknown in the area which I absolutely should not miss?
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Jan 24, 2011 21:32
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Honestly I don't think it's worth it to go out of your way to visit a Christmas market. There's a "world famous" Christmas market where I live now and it was nothing special. If you want an idea of what it's like, just think of an American style state/city fair. You know that section in the fairgrounds where they sell souvenirs and food? That's the Christmas market. Except everything is much closer together, the huts are decorated in Christmas decor, and the shops sell things you'll never buy like wooden carvings and candles. And there's more people crowding around everything. The fatty food is nothing special, just your regular all sorts of wurst, crepes, deep fried fish, pizzas, french fries, etc. I guess drinking Glühwein out of a tiny shoe shaped glass might be neat if you've never tried it before, but I hated the taste of it. If you happen to be in Germany during a Weihnachtsmarkt then it's worth the 30 minutes it takes to walk through one if you've got time, but I wouldn't leave a museum or landmark early in order to get to it on the other side of the city if you know what I mean. And I would never visit X city just for the sole purpose of checking out the Christmas market.
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Jan 24, 2011 22:57
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Ziir posted:Honestly I don't think it's worth it to go out of your way to visit a Christmas market. There's a "world famous" Christmas market where I live now and it was nothing special. If you want an idea of what it's like, just think of an American style state/city fair. You know that section in the fairgrounds where they sell souvenirs and food? That's the Christmas market. Except everything is much closer together, the huts are decorated in Christmas decor, and the shops sell things you'll never buy like wooden carvings and candles. And there's more people crowding around everything. The fatty food is nothing special, just your regular all sorts of wurst, crepes, deep fried fish, pizzas, french fries, etc. I guess drinking Glühwein out of a tiny shoe shaped glass might be neat if you've never tried it before, but I hated the taste of it. I completely agree. We're very interested in visiting Germany and Austria regardless of the season. I was simply asking if the advantages of visiting during Christmas (lower cost, less tourists, Christmas stuff) outweighed the disadvantages (worse weather, closed attractions). So far, it doesn't sound very encouraging.
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Jan 24, 2011 23:23
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^^^^^^^^^^^ In my opinion, spring and autumn are the best times to go, since there won't be many tourists, but the weather will also be nice and most things will still be discounted for 'off-season' before May 1 and after Oct 1 (except the high season of Dec 22-Jan3)Ziir posted:Honestly I don't think it's worth it to go out of your way to visit a Christmas market. There's a "world famous" Christmas market where I live now and it was nothing special. If you want an idea of what it's like, just think of an American style state/city fair. You know that section in the fairgrounds where they sell souvenirs and food? That's the Christmas market. Except everything is much closer together, the huts are decorated in Christmas decor, and the shops sell things you'll never buy like wooden carvings and candles. And there's more people crowding around everything. The fatty food is nothing special, just your regular all sorts of wurst, crepes, deep fried fish, pizzas, french fries, etc. I guess drinking Glühwein out of a tiny shoe shaped glass might be neat if you've never tried it before, but I hated the taste of it. Thank you—I thought I was the only person in the world who thought Christmas markets were not special or particularly interesting, since they have crap-markets that are 99% identical in the US. I do like being able to buy spice wine (I love it) and churros on the street, but I think that's the only thing I've ever done at a Christmas market.. Saladman fucked around with this message at 08:53 on Jan 25, 2011 |
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Jan 25, 2011 08:51
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Saladman posted:Thank you—I thought I was the only person in the world who thought Christmas markets were not special or particularly interesting, since they have crap-markets that are 99% identical in the US. I do like being able to buy spice wine (I love it) and churros on the street, but I think that's the only thing I've ever done at a Christmas market.. While I´m not a big fan of christmas markets myself I think it´s just a tradtion you do and nothing that´s the highlight of the season. I visit the christmas market at the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin every year, I eat a Flammkuchen (it´s awesome there), get smashed on Glühwein and enjoy the absence of rides, it´s not a big thing but fun nonetheless. Some of the stuff they sell is pretty good thought, they have little handmade glass figurines with beautiful color patterns, way to kitschy to buy, but very nice to look at.
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Jan 25, 2011 09:08
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jeoh-kun posted:I'm going to Helsinki for four days in late February, is there anything relatively unknown in the area which I absolutely should not miss? What are you looking for? Bars, galleries, clubs, food? What are you planning to hit? It's sort of hard for me to say what's unknown, having lived here for a while.
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Jan 25, 2011 10:00
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I wouldn't go back just for the Christmas markets, but I do think they are a legit tourist thing that you can't see in the other seasons. Depends on whether you have them locally I guess... I've never seen one on the East Coast US, but I know they have one in Chicago. The hostels were super-super cheap in the winter too, although the food was still pretty pricey.
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Jan 25, 2011 14:54
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Saladman posted:^^^^^^^^^^^ In my opinion, spring and autumn are the best times to go, since there won't be many tourists, but the weather will also be nice and most things will still be discounted for 'off-season' before May 1 and after Oct 1 (except the high season of Dec 22-Jan3) I absolutely, completely, 110% agree and wish we could go back again during these seasons. Our schedules just won't allow us to take extended time off anytime soon except during Christmas 2011. Thanks guys for all your input. We'll have to consider our options. Maybe Europe just doesn't fit as our international destination this year.
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Jan 25, 2011 16:12
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scr0llwheel posted:I completely agree. We're very interested in visiting Germany and Austria regardless of the season. I was simply asking if the advantages of visiting during Christmas (lower cost, less tourists, Christmas stuff) outweighed the disadvantages (worse weather, closed attractions). So far, it doesn't sound very encouraging. You may want to precise what kind of attractions you are looking for. If you want to enjoy big monuments or museums they are open the whole year, as are nice city centers, even though the latter aren't that common except for cities that were lucky to escape the bombs in WW2. Bars and restaurants are also open the whole year, except the Holidays of course. The only things closed in winter are big festivals like Oktoberfest and the like, but they are more or less replaced by christmas markets (to be honest, they are quite tacky but they are fun nonetheless, especially if you are a big child at heart). And the weather and short days aren't that bad, it just takes getting used to. Although that may be a bit harder if you come from a hotter area, I don't know how it's like in West Virginia 
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Jan 25, 2011 16:22
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scr0llwheel posted:I absolutely, completely, 110% agree and wish we could go back again during these seasons. Our schedules just won't allow us to take extended time off anytime soon except during Christmas 2011. Yeah, I'd recommend skipping Europe in favor of somewhere else like Morocco or Thailand or Mexico or Oz or wherever. Europe for the Christmas season is actually more expensive even than summer, but many things will still be closed for the holidays and it will be dark and cold. (Although if you're from WVA, it will probably be pretty much the temperatures you're used to.)
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Jan 25, 2011 18:36
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I was actually in Vienna, Salzburg and Berlin a couple years back right around Christmas and it was completely fine - you shouldn't go expecting warm weather of course, but virtually everything is open and tourist crowds are pretty much non-existent. To be honest, I had a better time in Vienna around Christmastime than I did during warmer times - the Christmas markets are very nice, and the only thing we really missed out on was the gardens at Schloss Schonbrunn. Spain is also a great option during colder months - you shouldn't expect to hang out on beaches or anything like that, but it's not busy and it's basically the equivalent of perfectly fine spring weather.
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Jan 25, 2011 19:19
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scr0llwheel posted:The girlfriend and I were thinking of going to Germany this summer (I posted for recommendations about it a while ago, thanks for that!) but due to scheduling issues, we might not be able to make it in the summer. I got back from my trip just a few weeks ago. I spent december to january scooting around central europe but I spent most of my time in germany. I even went so far north as Amsterdam. It was cold but it wasnt bad. My wife and I loved it. I think the worst day was a rainy afternoon in prague, the rest was just brisk weather and alot of snow in berlin. Honestly it was colder here in the north east of america. I recommend going in the winter, the way they do christmas in europe is insane. Lights and trees everywhere but its all tasteful. Every time I turned a corner there was another 100 foot xmas tree in yet another square or platz or whatnot.
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Jan 25, 2011 20:31
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I need some help with Copenhagen in February. It's my mothers 60th anniversary and my parents, my sister and I are going to Copenhagen for the weekend (Feb 11th-13th). I really wanted for us to see a show at the opera house, but everything seems to be sold out there. An alternative I've found is the JazzHouse but their own description of their Saturday concert says it "fuses concert and nightclub", and I have reservations about bringing my parents, and especially my father to a nightclub. I'm looking for jazz concerts, classical music concerts, ballets and operas, but I will consider other options as well. I wonder if any goons have any suggestions as to what can be enjoyed in Copenhagen during a February weekend. I would really appreciate it! fish and chips and dip fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Jan 26, 2011 |
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Jan 26, 2011 01:23
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Looking for advice on a bicycle trip. I'm thinking about taking a trip for a little over a week in the late summer/early fall probably solo. I've been through most of western Europe before so I'm comfortable traveling most places. So far I've been looking at companies that offer both group and solo itineraries but am also considering just making my own plan outside of them. The one I've been looking at most heavily is a trip between Passau and Vienna. Takes about a week and seems to be pretty easy. I'm in good enough shape now to make that trip but will be in better shape to maybe do something more challenging if anyone has any suggestions.
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Jan 28, 2011 07:41
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I don't know much about that route specifically, but taking a week comes down to about 50km daily. Even in the Alps that seems quite low. You might consider a transalp route, they usually take a week and are more challenging. Personally if you're flexible with your starting point I'd consider starting in Venice and then biking to Rome taking the (challenging, hilly) route over Florence and Sienna. That's gonna be a proper challenge and some beautiful cities and country side.
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Jan 28, 2011 12:20
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jeoh-kun posted:I'm going to Helsinki for four days in late February, is there anything relatively unknown in the area which I absolutely should not miss?
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Feb 1, 2011 11:58
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pigdog posted:Helsinki is a nice place, but frankly, rather boring as a tourist destination. Hop over to Tallinn for a day or two, it's just a 2 hour ferry ride away. You don't need a visa (if you needed one for Finland then it will work thanks Schengen rules) or even change the currency as of this year. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I heard there's even helicopter rides from Helsinki to Tallinn, and since I've never been in one I'm definitely going to check that out.
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Feb 1, 2011 17:26
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Sadly the helicopter that serviced the line crashed a couple of years ago (because of a technical problem). The operator and families of the deceased sued Sikorsky who made the chopper, but didn't have enough cash and lawyer power to finish the court saga in the US, and had to fold.
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Feb 2, 2011 10:55
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Look what I just found! http://www.athensguide.com/segway-tours/index.htm
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Feb 5, 2011 13:17
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several wet dogs posted:Look what I just found! http://www.athensguide.com/segway-tours/index.htm There are actually quite a few cities proposing city tours on segways around here. Looks dorky as hell, but I'd like to try one just for shits and giggles.
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Feb 5, 2011 14:38
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Rojkir posted:I don't know much about that route specifically, but taking a week comes down to about 50km daily. Even in the Alps that seems quite low. You might consider a transalp route, they usually take a week and are more challenging. I'll look into them. I'm not overly concerned about the challenge, just thought it would be a nice way to see a few areas I hadn't been to before.
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Feb 5, 2011 14:40
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Any Czech goons around? My job is taking me to Prague for a few years. There will be a couple other Americans making the voyage with me, but I have only visited Prague once for like four days. I know Prague is a very expat friendly city, and I have definitely been reading and learning, but I still have a lot of questions and it would be awesome to make a few contacts and connections in the area. I'll be moving around the end of March, and then the adventure begins 
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Feb 6, 2011 06:16
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hootimus posted:Any Czech goons around? You might try the LAN Eastern Europe thread, although it seems to be mainly populated by Romanians: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3032562
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Feb 7, 2011 01:38
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I'm going to Paris with my family for an extended weekend trip (Thursday noon - Monday noon) next week. Two of us have been to Paris before, three haven't. I have been considering visiting Versailles. On the one hand I'd like to actually see Versailles, but on the other hand it's over an hour in total travelling time back and forth and it might be the wrong season (bare gardens and similar) so I'm currently leaning against it. Any thoughts? Also any suggestions on what to see beyond the standard fare (Eiffel tower, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame...), perhaps the catacombs?
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Feb 26, 2011 18:39
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kissekatt posted:I'm going to Paris with my family for an extended weekend trip (Thursday noon - Monday noon) next week. Two of us have been to Paris before, three haven't. I have been considering visiting Versailles. On the one hand I'd like to actually see Versailles, but on the other hand it's over an hour in total travelling time back and forth and it might be the wrong season (bare gardens and similar) so I'm currently leaning against it. Any thoughts? If the weather is nice and sunny and warm, Versailles might be nice, but if it's rainy and/or cold then I'd skip it. Also it's the wrong season for the gardens (as you said), though they can still be nice if the weather is. I went there in November a few years ago and enjoyed it. The Louvre, Rodin, or whatever museums could fill up as much time as you're interested in. Also you could just walk around the Moulin Rouge area (near Sacre Coeur).
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Feb 26, 2011 22:37
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kissekatt posted:I'm going to Paris with my family for an extended weekend trip (Thursday noon - Monday noon) next week. Two of us have been to Paris before, three haven't. I have been considering visiting Versailles. On the one hand I'd like to actually see Versailles, but on the other hand it's over an hour in total travelling time back and forth and it might be the wrong season (bare gardens and similar) so I'm currently leaning against it. Any thoughts? Beyond the standard: The Musee Clemenceau. This is the house in which the guy who led France throughout World War One lived (and died). It's a nice snap shot of France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and people barely go there. It's not as flashy as the big museums (I remember the shop only having four different books for sale and nothing else), but it does offer audiotours in French and English. Another actual house: Jacquemart-André. This one is a little more opulent, being a villa, or rather a city palace. It has art (a regular collection and I think there's also always a travelling exhibit), but is also just a nice building.
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Feb 26, 2011 23:19
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kissekatt posted:I'm going to Paris with my family for an extended weekend trip (Thursday noon - Monday noon) next week. Two of us have been to Paris before, three haven't. I have been considering visiting Versailles. On the one hand I'd like to actually see Versailles, but on the other hand it's over an hour in total travelling time back and forth and it might be the wrong season (bare gardens and similar) so I'm currently leaning against it. Any thoughts? I went to Versaille a few weeks ago. I've also been in Summer/Autumn a few years ago. Whilst the weather wasn't great you still see a lot of the gardens as so much of it is greenery anyway. All hedges and trees and stuff. A lot of the statues are covered up but all the fountains were still out there to see. Its still a very nice place to walk around and the inside of the palaces is quite cool to see. Although the wind can really hit you if its a poo poo day so try to go when its calm and at least half sunny or something. Also remember that the first sunday of every month means free visits to Paris's museums. The queues will look horrendous (mainly to the louvre) but they move really quickly as no one is buying tickets. We did a few and it means you don't really feel the need to spend more than an hour or two in some. Just checked out a few paintings. Did an hour in a specific section and moved on.
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Feb 27, 2011 06:14
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