Ask me about germany.

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yeah I eat ass: Mar 14, 2005; only people who enjoy my posting can replace this avatar

Does anyone know if anything was going on in Munich this past week? I went there for the first time and there were close to 100 police officers all over munchen Hbf in little circles with their backs to each other with riot-looking helmets staring off into space. It made me really nervous and I wanted to ask one what was going on but I also didn't want to get shot for approaching them.

# ? May 19, 2017 20:16

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 18:32

My Lovely Horse: Aug 21, 2010

Possibly football or a demonstration. You see it every now and then at train stations and usually it's one of the two. Keep in mind also that they like to show off their police in Bavaria :cop:

# ? May 19, 2017 20:31

mila kunis: Jun 10, 2011

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but a friend of mine in Berlin has pitched the city to me. I work in tech, how easy it get a work permit/sponsorship for a job as a non-EU national? Are startups there willing to do that, or do they prefer EU people?

# ? May 20, 2017 15:54

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

tekz posted:

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but a friend of mine in Berlin has pitched the city to me. I work in tech, how easy it get a work permit/sponsorship for a job as a non-EU national? Are startups there willing to do that, or do they prefer EU people?

Abandon hope ye who enter.

I at some point wrote a big effortpost to address this question, but I can't for the life of me find it. There's a really old one though from when I was still doing the IT-in-Berlin thing, and though it's a bit outdated now (in that it doesn't reflect my current living situation in Germany), it's still got good info, namely:

Drone posted:

Temporary work is pretty much right out unless you've got a skill and work experience that is in-demand, and have job offers already lined up. I'm an American living in Berlin on a freelance visa for IT work. When I came here, I had offers from two clients (one of them being my previous employer, the other a company that knew me through my previous employer). Note that English teachers/trainers are legally deemed "freelancers," so it's the exact same.

If you have such skill/experience/job offers and you're interested, the process itself requires a decent amount of paperwork, some of which you'll need/want to have before you leave the US. Americans (and Canada/Australia/New Zealand/Israel/some other affluent countries around the world) have the luxury of being able to apply for their visa after arriving in Germany. Most others are required to do this through their regional consulates back home. It may also vary depending on which state you're going to be living in in Germany, since you'll be applying at the regional immigration office for whichever Bundesland you're living in. For Berlin, as of last year, freelance visa requirements looks like this off the top of my head:

1.) Two offers of work from separate clients (translated into German, which doesn't need to be a formal or professional translation, just enough for the clerk to be able to get the gist of it)
2.) Copy of passport
3.) Two biometric ID photos (you can get these from automats in the U-Bahn here and they cost like 5 euro, not a big deal)
4.) CV/Resume (translated into German)
5.) Along with CV, you need two letters of reference verifying that your work experience is valid (translated into German)
6.) If you have a degree, you need to have proof from your university that you actually received that degree. In my case I just phoned the Office of the Registrar back home and they sent me an email on official letterhead confirming that I received a Bachelor of Arts on <date> from <college>.
7.) A copy of your birth certificate (less than 6 months old) -- not strictly a requirement, but I brought it anyway.
8.) Statement of clean criminal record from your state's law enforcement agency. Usually it takes awhile for your state government back in the US to get this to you, but I got incredibly lucky and got it within an hour two days before I left because I was nice to the woman behind the counter. This isn't really a requirement for the freelance visa, but it's also a good thing to have and is required if you ever plan on applying for permanent residency later.
9.) Proof of residence in Germany. This is your Anmeldebestaetigung from the Buergeramt. After you move into an apartment here, you are required by law to register your residence with the local Buergeramt. German citizens have 14 days to do it, foreigners have (I think) 60.
10.) Proof of health insurance in Germany. This is the real kicker, as explained below.

German law requires that all visa applicants have health insurance, either through their prospective employer or privately. They will NOT accept travel insurance. This is basically to ensure that you don't enter the country, let your travel insurance lapse, and then feed on the teat of the German health care system. The catch here, though, is that many German health insurance companies are either unable or unwilling to sell medical coverage to people without a visa, so it's kindof a Catch 22. No insurance, no visa; no visa, no insurance. To get around this, I got private insurance from the UK, which is valid here in Germany because of the EU. It's actually really convenient too, because my insurance agent handles everything in dollars for me, and it's cheaper than my US insurance was.

On top of all that, as much as you would think German bureaucracy has a reputation of being incorruptible, that's not necessarily the case. Last year there was an incident in Bayreuth where the Auslaenderbehoerde was turning away pretty much every foreign applicant for a student visa at the university if they weren't white/were already from somewhere in western Europe. As bad as it sounds, that's unfortunately the case. Here in Berlin, the immigration office is divided into three sections: one for Europe, one for Turkey, and one for The Rest Of The World. The office gets very crowded very quickly, and the staff is often harrowed and in a bad mood (rightfully so, I've seen upset people screaming at them for things that were their own drat fault to begin with). Being a friendly, well-dressed American who at least makes an effort to do your business in German will go a LONG way.

After you send the mound of paperwork in, there's a 20 euro processing fee, and then you wait. The office doesn't make the decision themselves, they have to send it away to Bonn (which I guess is where the office still is) for approval. That process can take anywhere from 1-3 months, mine was three months to the day. Then you'll get a letter in the mail that just says "hey, we need to see you within 14 days." You show up, they tell you if you've been accepted or denied. If you're accepted, you pay anywhere from 60 to 120 euro depending on the type of visa, and you're out of there in five minutes. No idea what happens if you're denied, I assume they tell you to get out of the country within a reasonable timeframe.

As an American, you're legally permitted to stay here as a tourist for 90 days. If you're applying for a visa, this can be extended in 3 month increments at the discretion of the clerk at the Auslaenderbehoerde, again for a small fee, to account for the long waiting period.

There is always Schwarzarbeit (working under the table), but beware that this is a very bad idea. Not only does working under the table deprive you of legal labor protections, it'll also get you deported if you're found out.

As I wrote this post while I was still in Berlin, so I'd add the following.

I lived in Berlin for nearly two years. During that time, I had precisely one month's worth of actual IT consultancy that I was able to do. Of the two clients that offered me contract work (as I was applying for my visa), one of them bailed out, and the other one was so wildly successful that I finished the project I was assigned to within a very short period of time. The rest of that time? I lived off my savings. And when those ran out, I relied on my boyfriend (whom I was living with) to pay for rent and groceries. My connections to my family back in the States started souring quickly as they had to pick up my student loan payments for quite a long time, and I burned a lot of bridges. I was able to find some token work training English to a Greek woman (who already spoke English just fine, I think it was more a pity case than anything) for 20 Euros an hour, usually once a week. It was enough to at least let me help with the groceries.

Eventually, and through sheer luck, I was able to make contact again with a company that I had worked with previously in the States, and who had a German presence. It just happened that at that time, they needed some temporary contract help in our office in Darmstadt -- temporary, but full-time. I started commuting from Berlin to Darmstadt every week (Monday on a 4 or 5am high-speed train, then Friday afternoon back again). Did that for nearly six months before my partner and I just gave up on Berlin and moved to Darmstadt, because that's where the work wound up being. I then got an actual employee position at that employer a year later -- and then switched from a freelancer visa to a normal Arbeitserlaubnis (since I was an employee and was earning above a certain threshold -- though, since I hadn't been in Germany for a full three years yet, the authorities had to actually approve that I was allowed to take the job first).

I guess my tl;dr would be: do not move to Berlin without a job offer and a signed contract. Berlin is notorious for being a city with way more people than jobs, because like every 20-something in the world wants to go live that romantic bohemian Berlin lifestyle that hasn't existed for over a decade. It's an amazing city, but your chances of finding a way to get your foot in the door as a non-EU citizen are extremely slim. And if you did end up getting a job offer from some Berlin startup, be very wary, as they a.) may not have the experience needed to effectively help you through the visa process and b.) they may not exist a year from now :v:

IT work is in general in demand in Germany though, and it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility that you would find something elsewhere in the country. But not being a local applicant (and not already having a visa) will be working very strongly against you, unless your field of IT happens to be something so specific and high-skilled that the pool of applicants is smaller. And if you don't speak German the difficulty is multiplied -- even though IT as a sector is more saturated with English than most others, German knowledge could well be the deciding factor between your application and the application of some equally-qualified person from Ukraine or Turkey who also speaks A1-level German.

By treaty, you are permitted to live in Germany for 90 days out of every six months with only a passport (but you can't work), so you could theoretically save up money, make the move, and hope you find a job before your time expires. I've seen it happen, so it's possible, but you have to go into it expecting to fail. You are also permitted to request an additional 90 days, but I don't know what the requirements are for this.

Your best bet would be if your friend just flat-out offered you a job. The income requirements for the Vorrangpr�fung (the thing where the authorities decide if you're OK to take the job or not) vary by state, but I think the general tendency is a yearly income no lower than around 42,500 EUR (before taxes). Once you've lived here for a minimum of three years, this requirement drops, and you get unrestricted access to the job market (meaning you can switch jobs easily and don't have to prove that you're uniquely qualified over EU citizens anymore).

Edit: I just realized I assumed you were an American. If you are Australia (and I think maybe Canadian?) there is a third option available to you in the form of a special type of visa called a "working holiday". I unfortunately no absolutely dick about what this is, but it's a mechanism whereby young Australians (and Canadians?) are able to come here a bit more easily than normal and get work in cafes and poo poo on a temporary basis.

Drone fucked around with this message at 16:58 on May 20, 2017

# ? May 20, 2017 16:43

Randler: Jan 3, 2013; ACER ET VEHEMENS BONAVIS

Drone posted:

Your best bet would be if your friend just flat-out offered you a job. The income requirements for the Vorrangpr�fung (the thing where the authorities decide if you're OK to take the job or not) vary by state, but I think the general tendency is a yearly income no lower than around 42,500 EUR (before taxes). Once you've lived here for a minimum of three years, this requirement drops, and you get unrestricted access to the job market (meaning you can switch jobs easily and don't have to prove that you're uniquely qualified over EU citizens anymore).

The yearly income requirement is currently at �50,800 instead of �42,500. (West Germany)

The yearly income required varies every year, because it is generally 2/3 (52% for in-demand jobs) of the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze f�r die allgemeine Rentenversicherung (contribution cap treshold for the mandatory pension insurance system). A lot of things related to immigration, taxes and insurances hinge on the Beitragsbemessungrenze and similiar values (so-called Rechengr��en der Sozialversicherung). As a result it is very important to check that you have current information. Because even if those "Rechengr��en" only increase by 2-3% each year, you end up with significantly higher values if your information is only 2-3 years old.

# ? May 20, 2017 17:05

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

Glad I used the word "around" then :v:

When I switched over to a full-time employee position I was at 48,500 brutto, and that was a bit over two years ago, so I guess I just squeaked in.

# ? May 20, 2017 17:19

mila kunis: Jun 10, 2011

Yep, basically I'm only considering moving if I get a firm job offer. I wanted to ask around in a few different places and get a general impression before putting the mental effort in to seriously research this/apply to places.

# ? May 20, 2017 17:43

von Braun: Oct 30, 2009; Broder Daniel Forever

How widely accepted is paying with card in Germany? I'm asking mainly regarding Berlin. Or would it be wise to exchange some money to euro?

# ? May 22, 2017 09:06

Randler: Jan 3, 2013; ACER ET VEHEMENS BONAVIS

von Braun posted:

How widely accepted is paying with card in Germany? I'm asking mainly regarding Berlin. Or would it be wise to exchange some money to euro?

If you are talking about credit cards, I'd strongly suggest bringing cash. Even in larger cities you should not expect that credit cards are accepted everywhere. In particular when it comes to stuff like restaurants (though hotel restaurants might be more open to it).

If you are a talking about a European debit card, you'd probably be fine as long as it has V-Pay on it. Though I'd still bringe some cash just to be safe.

# ? May 22, 2017 09:10

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

von Braun posted:

How widely accepted is paying with card in Germany? I'm asking mainly regarding Berlin. Or would it be wise to exchange some money to euro?

Definitely keep some cash on you. The good thing is that if you have a debit card from a major US bank (assuming you're American), it should also be accepted at Deutsche Bank/Commerzbank/Postbank ATM's. Check this with your bank first though.

If you plan on using it at stores/restaurants, acceptance of it may be a little spotty, but it's not as bad as it used to be. You will also need to make sure that your card is one of the new ones with a chip in it -- older ones without the chip aren't gonna be accepted pretty much anywhere.

# ? May 22, 2017 10:06

von Braun: Oct 30, 2009; Broder Daniel Forever

I'm from Sweden and have a Debit Master Card. I was thinking how common it is to pay with card since here it's more available than using cash.

# ? May 22, 2017 10:57

Hollow Talk: Feb 2, 2014

von Braun posted:

I'm from Sweden and have a Debit Master Card. I was thinking how common it is to pay with card since here it's more available than using cash.

Echo'ing what others have said, it's not Scandinavian-levels of common. Or rather, credit cards are not. EC-Cards (V-Pay/Maestro) are readily accepted pretty much everywhere and people use them a lot, but actual credit cards (Visa/MasterCard) are not as universally accepted because they charge vendors much higher fees. For generalised shopping in big-ish chains etc., the credit card will be alright, but for other things, it might now. Case in point: I went to Bamberg a while ago and the restaurant (Schlenkerla, which is quite famous for its smoked beer) didn't take any card, just cash.

# ? May 22, 2017 14:16

von Braun: Oct 30, 2009; Broder Daniel Forever

Hollow Talk posted:

Echo'ing what others have said, it's not Scandinavian-levels of common. Or rather, credit cards are not. EC-Cards (V-Pay/Maestro) are readily accepted pretty much everywhere and people use them a lot, but actual credit cards (Visa/MasterCard) are not as universally accepted because they charge vendors much higher fees. For generalised shopping in big-ish chains etc., the credit card will be alright, but for other things, it might now. Case in point: I went to Bamberg a while ago and the restaurant (Schlenkerla, which is quite famous for its smoked beer) didn't take any card, just cash.

Alright, thanks. I will exchange some money at the air port then.

# ? May 22, 2017 14:23

Waci: May 30, 2011; A boy and his dog.

Just withdraw some from an ATM, it will be much cheaper. And a debit master card will be fine much more often than a credit one.

# ? May 22, 2017 16:48

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

Anyone switched over to that new Freenet thing? Ever since the switchover to DVB-T2 I haven't had any TV and I see this poo poo advertised everywhere. Basically over-the-air TV, but somehow better? Like a mid-point between antenna and cable?

# ? Jun 19, 2017 10:32

Welsh Rarebitch: Jun 5, 2011

Overall quality is same or better than cable/satellite.

You need a receiver (may be integrated in TV) with DVB-T2 and H.265 to receive the state run channels over air for free*. (They mostly upscale 720p to 1080p right now).

The private channels adopted the name moronic name freenet to get themselves paid 70 bucks a year for their retarded clown shows. You need the above and a CI+Card (and Slot in TV/receiver) to receive them over air as well. (true 1080p)

There is also freenet connect, some sort of internet connected app on some compatible TVs/receivers to watch additional channels like France24 without having to pay for freenet. Might be worth it, if you want to watch over air.

Watching tv over chromecast/fire stick with apps like zattoo or magine is also feasible (state run channels are free to watch).

# ? Jun 19, 2017 11:23

Austen Tassletine: Nov 5, 2010

At the risk of sounding like an uncultured barbarian, is Neuschwanstein worth it? I'm planning on going to Munich later in the year and it's on my radar, but it looks like �25 for the train there and back and another �13 to get in, which would feel like a lot if it turns out to be an overpriced tourist trap.

# ? Jul 17, 2017 22:15

Babies Getting Rabies: Apr 21, 2007; Sugartime Jones

I'm not sure it's worth it, not necessarily because of the price but because your time is likely limited. Getting there will take a while. Don't get me wrong, Neuschwanstein looks nice, especially when viewed from a distance in the setting it's in. But the interior remains only partially finished and honestly, if you are into culture, Munich and surroundings offer plenty of better options.

When I went there, it was a distinctly meh experience. It's pretty Disneyland and does feel very touristy.

# ? Jul 17, 2017 22:33

bronin: Oct 15, 2009; use it or throw it away

Seconding this. On the other hand the surrounding scenery is beautiful and well worth a trip.
Sorry can't help myself, I'm from these parts. Allg�u owns. :cryingcow:

Edit: gently caress Munich. Goddamn city folk :arghfist:

bronin fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Jul 18, 2017

# ? Jul 18, 2017 22:09

uli2000: Feb 23, 2015

Austen Tassletine posted:

At the risk of sounding like an uncultured barbarian, is Neuschwanstein worth it? I'm planning on going to Munich later in the year and it's on my radar, but it looks like �25 for the train there and back and another �13 to get in, which would feel like a lot if it turns out to be an overpriced tourist trap.

I went a couple of months ago. Did both Neuschwanstein and Honshwangau, and if I did it again and only had to pick one, Honshwangau hands down. Neuschwanstein tour was gigantic and rushed thru. Honschwangau was quite a bit smaller and the group was 1/10th of the size, and there was time to linger and really look at some of the stuff. Plus, it was an actual residence and had a cozy lived in feel to it. Neuschwanstein wasn't finished before Ludwig died and still isnt finished to this day. We had also booked the Bavarian Kings museum but when they confirmed our booking they said there was no time to do all 3 in one day and didn't charge us for it.

Book your tickets online in advance so you don't have to wait in line. Also, unless you like walking 3km uphill, pay the 3 Euro to take the horse carriage up. Doesnt take you all the way up but about 2/3rds of the way.

# ? Jul 18, 2017 23:25

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

Random shower thought from earlier this morning: why is it that there are (were?) no arcades in Germany? The whole gambling stigma? I've definitely seen arcade cabinets / pinball machines here and I know there are like... retro gaming Vereine or whatever, but after all these years here it still seems strange to me that that market just seems to be completely absent in this country.

# ? Jul 24, 2017 14:37

Gatac: Apr 22, 2008; Fifty Cent's next biopic.

Because decent German kids spend their free time out in the sunshine and fresh air playing soccer!

...or because pinball machines and arcade games kinda got lumped in with slot machines and gambling, and would be found in licensed Spielhallen, where surprise surprise kids weren't allowed. Germany has historically been fairly alarmist about protecting the youth from the ills of gambling, and don't get me started on the evils of video games. By the time we chilled out a bit, classic 70s/80s arcade gaming as you might expect from the US or Japan was way out of favor. That said, there are some places that have a large assortment of these old video games, but it's more explicitly "retro" and museum-ish.

If you want to talk to Germans about electronic gaming from that era, find a Commodore 64 or Atari fan. That's where it was at, back in the day. Quote this if you had a floppy disk box full of pirated games.

# ? Jul 24, 2017 15:04

My Lovely Horse: Aug 21, 2010

Partly the gambling stigma, partly this is what you get when people who want "murder simulators" banned are successful, although in this case the buzzword was more "war simulators". Early 80s Germany wasn't such a good place for games with names like Missile Command. There used to be arcade machines around, but having them available to minors was made illegal in 1985. Theoretically from that point you could still have them in a Spielothek but it turns out you can make a lot more cash with slot machines than video games (as the owner, that is), especially since there's a tax on both that doesn't distinguish between games for money or for entertainment.

I very faintly remember playing games in what must have been an arcade, although I also remember that one of them was Afterburner from 1987, so something doesn't quite line up there.

e: I say playing, at that age probably more like sitting in front of it, and in all likelihood just pressing buttons randomly while watching the attract mode.

# ? Jul 24, 2017 15:05

Zwille: Aug 18, 2006; * _{For the Ghost Who Walks Funny}

There are some (ancient) arcade gaming machines to be found on the Reeperbahn, in one or two halls in particular. Dunno if they're still there, last time I checked was around 2008. But yeah, gambling stigma and war games = bad checks out.

# ? Jul 24, 2017 15:14

nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

Looking at coming to Germany during my winter break from school for our honeymoon. We've decided we want to go somewhere that we can eat, drink, and ski, and it seems like Germany can fit that niche pretty well.

We'd be flying into Munich and then renting cars, taking trains as much as possible to get where we need to go.

List of things we want to do/see so far:

1) Check out a few beer gardens and go to some monk breweries, if available.
2) Go to Dachau for a half-day trip
3) Go skiiing (not sure where, but it seems like there are places fairly close by that should be accommodating for this)
4) Eat awesome food everywhere we go.
5) Maybe visit Prague for a day or two
6) Salzburg maybe?
7) Visit lots of little shops

We'd be looking at about 2 weeks total time, probably try and ski 2-3 days perhaps? Maybe a bit more if time allows.

I'm not too sure how much our travel is going to be hindered due to the weather in mid-December (we'd be staying over Christmas), so that might throw a wrench in things.

My fiance has been to Prague and Germany before, though she was only in Munich for a day.

Definitely a work-in-progress on our arrangements, but some general questions...

-I've read in this thread about carrying cash. Would this be mainly for smaller stores and restaurants? I would imagine ski resorts would take credit. Is ApplePay viable?
-What's the viability of Airbnb in Germany? It seems like this might be a cheaper/better option than hotels, but I'm open to hearing from others on this.
-Is eating with your hands ok? Some sites say absolutely not, others say pretzels/pizza/etc are ok to use hands with.

edit: Hey, there's a whole nother megathread....I'll check that out.

nwin fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Aug 19, 2017

# ? Aug 19, 2017 15:09

Zwille: Aug 18, 2006; * _{For the Ghost Who Walks Funny}

nwiniwn posted:

-I've read in this thread about carrying cash. Would this be mainly for smaller stores and restaurants? I would imagine ski resorts would take credit. Is ApplePay viable?

Dunno about ski resorts but Apple Pay is only really viable with bigger supermarket chains like Aldi, dm and stuff. Lately there has been a boom in NFC equipped card readers, but small shops still have a minimum transaction amount if they even have card readers and even then they only accept EC/Maestro and no CC. Restaurants are hit or miss. If they have a NFC equipped CC unit Apple Pay should totes work.

quote:

-Is eating with your hands ok? Some sites say absolutely not, others say pretzels/pizza/etc are ok to use hands with.

Who on earth doesn't eat pretzels with their hands? I imagine the etiquette is about the same as in the US.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 09:03

Vodos: Jul 17, 2009; And how do we do that? We hurt a lot of people...

nwiniwn posted:

-Is eating with your hands ok? Some sites say absolutely not, others say pretzels/pizza/etc are ok to use hands with.

If the place you're eating at provides utensils, it's generally expected that you use them IMO.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 09:54

bronin: Oct 15, 2009; use it or throw it away

Also there are no beer gardens in the winter.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 10:14

Libluini: May 18, 2012; I gravitated towards the Greens, eventually even joining the party itself.

The Linke is a party I grudgingly accept exists, but I've learned enough about DDR-history I can't bring myself to trust a party that was once the SED, a party leading the corrupt state apparatus ...; Grimey Drawer

Gatac posted:

Because decent German kids spend their free time out in the sunshine and fresh air playing soccer!

...or because pinball machines and arcade games kinda got lumped in with slot machines and gambling, and would be found in licensed Spielhallen, where surprise surprise kids weren't allowed. Germany has historically been fairly alarmist about protecting the youth from the ills of gambling, and don't get me started on the evils of video games. By the time we chilled out a bit, classic 70s/80s arcade gaming as you might expect from the US or Japan was way out of favor. That said, there are some places that have a large assortment of these old video games, but it's more explicitly "retro" and museum-ish.

If you want to talk to Germans about electronic gaming from that era, find a Commodore 64 or Atari fan. That's where it was at, back in the day. Quote this if you had a floppy disk box full of pirated games.

And Amiga. Don't forget the Amiga! (For some reason lots of people I knew back then had one, and I wanted one, too! Never got one, though. The best I could get was an aunt letting me borrow her Amiga for half a year.)

I also had a C64 at one point, like probably every German had. The twist was, before I could get one, my parents "gifted" me an Amstrad CPC 464 because all computers are the same and there was a "C" and a "64" in it, so same thing, right? (The CPC 464 was published by Schneider over here for some reason. A company normally known for publishing board games.) Still, I got a lot of use out of my absurd machine, like programming headache-inducing hypnosis programs, overwriting my mother's music cassettes with dumb poo poo and playing the tons of games I got with the system to death.

Ah, the memories of eating suicide-pills in a video game because you have no idea what an adventure game was or what those strange foreign words mean... :allears:

# ? Aug 20, 2017 11:19

System Metternich: Feb 28, 2010; But what did he mean by that?

bronin posted:

Also there are no beer gardens in the winter.

There's at least one “indoor beer garden“ in Munich where you can bring your own food too. Beer gardens live of their atmosphere though, i.e. sipping a litre of delicious beer whilst sitting beneath a huge chestnut tree shading you from the summer sun, so that kinda defeats the purpose

# ? Aug 20, 2017 11:31

MrYenko: Jun 18, 2012; #2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

Vodos posted:

If the place you're eating at provides utensils, it's generally expected that you use them IMO.

If the place you're eating at serves pretzels, it's generally expected that no one gives a gently caress what you do with your utensils.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 11:55

frankenfreak: Feb 16, 2007; I SCORED 85% ON A QUIZ ABOUT MONDAY NIGHT RAW AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY TEXT

#bastionboogerbrigade

Vodos posted:

If the place you're eating at provides utensils, it's generally expected that you use them IMO.

Most d�ner places give you knife and fork when you're eating in and I've never seen anyone use them for anything but picking stuff that fell out off the plate.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 12:52

System Metternich: Feb 28, 2010; But what did he mean by that?

When I'm eating in at a döner place I probably have ordered something I can't eat with just my hands, like a Dönerteller.

# ? Aug 20, 2017 13:17

bronin: Oct 15, 2009; use it or throw it away

System Metternich posted:

There's at least one �indoor beer garden� in Munich where you can bring your own food too. Beer gardens live of their atmosphere though, i.e. sipping a litre of delicious beer whilst sitting beneath a huge chestnut tree shading you from the summer sun, so that kinda defeats the purpose

Relevant video: https://youtu.be/fpFAXi74q6k

# ? Aug 20, 2017 13:58

Quandary: Jan 29, 2008

I finish up a work trip on Friday in Hanover and meet my buddy for vacation in Berlin on the following Tuesday; where should I spend the middle days? More into nature and scenic stuff than cities, but not opposed to cities either

Quandary fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Sep 4, 2017

# ? Sep 4, 2017 16:27

Honj Steak: May 31, 2013; Hi there.

If you want to see something really unique visit the Wasserstra�enkreuz Magdeburg. It's on the way to Berlin from Hanover and something you won't see in a lot of places. Magdeburg itself is good enough for a short visit, too. The surrounding countryside is flat but quaint.

# ? Sep 4, 2017 20:54

Peggotty: May 9, 2014

Could you be a bit more specific with what you want? There's no place in Germany that you couldn't reach in that time.

# ? Sep 4, 2017 21:25

Libluini: May 18, 2012; I gravitated towards the Greens, eventually even joining the party itself.

The Linke is a party I grudgingly accept exists, but I've learned enough about DDR-history I can't bring myself to trust a party that was once the SED, a party leading the corrupt state apparatus ...; Grimey Drawer

Quandary posted:

I finish up a work trip on Friday in Hanover and meet my buddy for vacation in Berlin on the following Tuesday; where should I spend the middle days? More into nature and scenic stuff than cities, but not opposed to cities either

If you find yourself in Hamburg, go visit the Palaeontological Museum there. It's rather tiny, but is has some neat stuff (like Dino-eggs) and entry is free.

# ? Sep 5, 2017 17:57

VelociBacon: Dec 8, 2009

Visiting Germany for 2 weeks in late November: a bad idea? I've got vacation to use. I'm not scared of the cold but if it's not funnier November then I'd rather visit another time.

# ? Sep 11, 2017 17:48

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 18:32

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

VelociBacon posted:

Visiting Germany for 2 weeks in late November: a bad idea? I've got vacation to use. I'm not scared of the cold but if it's not funnier November then I'd rather visit another time.

Late fall/early winter is grey and somewhere between cold and cool. Where are you coming from, and what were you looking to do while here?

Outdoor activities in late November are gonna be pretty meh, but if you're here in early December, you'll get in on prime Christmas market season, which is one of the best times of the year.

# ? Sep 11, 2017 17:57

The Something Awful Forums > Main > Tourism & Travel > Ask me about germany.

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