Does that mean I wasn't supposed to have been saying that about all the Navy for the last 10 years?
I am definitely excited about all the travel opportunities!
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Anyone in Stuttgart?
- Thread starter villanelle
- Start date
Does that mean I wasn't supposed to have been saying that about all the Navy for the last 10 years?
I am definitely excited about all the travel opportunities!
The Army is worse, a lot worse. Be afraid, be very afraid!
1. Get a GPS. Trust me the Autobahn doesnt work the way a US Highway system does. Just because you can get off doesnt mean if you miss an exit or take the wrong one it'll be a short run to the next clover leaf and head back the other way. Ive taken 30-35 minute detours in some places because there was just nowhere to go. Also its critical in helping you find an Esso station (the only gas you can buy at US Price) so when your out of your normal 30K area your not running around frantic because there is not a gas station in every town and if they have one thats usually good enough for the germans but it may not be Esso. Near the borders this becomes even more critical as you cant gas up tax free in other countries so you'll want to tank before crossing the border and the closer you get to other countries (Austria in particular) the fewer they are to find.
2. Carry cash everywhere. Credit only works in cities, most places other than hotels wont take plastic in the smaller towns. Europeans are paranoid about ID theft in a way you wouldnt believe.
3. English will get you by, German will get you better service and for day to day interaction its easy to learn (restaurants and shopping).
4. You can take your dog anywhere except a grocery store. We take ours out to eat all the time. The Caveat to that is Germans expect children and animals to be quiet and well behaved. Your dog will be expected to sit/lay quietly on the lead while you eat for an hour and a half so if it cant do that, dont take it. But most hotels allow pets so its easy to travel without worrying about the animals.
Ive gotta run but Ill come back for more stuff.
2. Carry cash everywhere. Credit only works in cities, most places other than hotels wont take plastic in the smaller towns. Europeans are paranoid about ID theft in a way you wouldnt believe.
3. English will get you by, German will get you better service and for day to day interaction its easy to learn (restaurants and shopping).
4. You can take your dog anywhere except a grocery store. We take ours out to eat all the time. The Caveat to that is Germans expect children and animals to be quiet and well behaved. Your dog will be expected to sit/lay quietly on the lead while you eat for an hour and a half so if it cant do that, dont take it. But most hotels allow pets so its easy to travel without worrying about the animals.
Ive gotta run but Ill come back for more stuff.
Totally agree - I think the whole whole point of a joint tour is to realize that the Army way of doing things is less than smart.....
Pretty much!
My preferred way of expressing this is that none of the services are better or worse than each other; we're all just "different-screwed-up."
This sounds frighteningly like Japan, where I'd still be driving lost in Tokyo after an airport run during the evacuation if I hadn't have my iPhone with maps, where credit card acceptance is definitely not guaranteed, and where English often gets me by, if it must. The gas card (and, if the rumor mill is correct, coffe ration card???) is going to take some getting used to, but being able to buy off
Sadly, we aren't yet grown up enough to own a dog, though I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out.
Any recommendations for a language learning software or program? I tried Rosetta Stone for Japanese and wasn't impressed, especially for the price. My current German consists of "danke", "guten tag", and the names of various German beers.
First off, Beer in Germany isnt about who you know its about your style/taste on beer. Other than the big national chain brands like Becks or maybe Warsteinter, the beers will change with the province and even town your in. Best thing to do is figure out your style of beer (Heife, Dunkel, Pils, etc) and go from there. Usually in a bar they will have that type of beer but the brand will be the local brewery. Me Im a fan of the dark smooth taste of a Dunkel or a Heife (wheat beer) if they dont have that. Mix cocktail type girly drinks your used to in the states (Long Island, Cosmo, etc) dont exist outside of the disco's in major cities over here. Liquor is usually consumed as a separate straight drink be it whiskey or amaretto or gin.
Coffee/Smokes/Hard booze over 80 proof is rationed but its not that bad. I dont drink coffee so my individual ration buys the coffee for the office and we've never had a shortfall on it. The booze is the only one Ive ever topped out on and that was just stocking my bar and not wanting to pay the German prices for what would normally be cheap if it wasnt American liquor. Wine however is dirt cheap over here, and good too.
I tried Rosetta stone when it was free and it wasnt bad, but honestly the most German I learned was from living off post for 3 weeks in a hotel and not having any choice but to go out to eat every night. The one thing I would definitely do is keep the Iphone as there are a ton of useful apps for it that will help you shopping, dining out, or trying to make sense of the rail system. Itll also in the case of the train help you during any of the frequent reroutes they do at the station where suddenly your platform changes and you dont know why everybody is leaving your just sure you should probably too. Its also great for conversion of metric to english or for quick translations on what exactly is the type of flour your about to buy etc. German really isnt impossible on its own since a lot of our words came from it and the sentence structure is identical.
Coffee/Smokes/Hard booze over 80 proof is rationed but its not that bad. I dont drink coffee so my individual ration buys the coffee for the office and we've never had a shortfall on it. The booze is the only one Ive ever topped out on and that was just stocking my bar and not wanting to pay the German prices for what would normally be cheap if it wasnt American liquor. Wine however is dirt cheap over here, and good too.
I tried Rosetta stone when it was free and it wasnt bad, but honestly the most German I learned was from living off post for 3 weeks in a hotel and not having any choice but to go out to eat every night. The one thing I would definitely do is keep the Iphone as there are a ton of useful apps for it that will help you shopping, dining out, or trying to make sense of the rail system. Itll also in the case of the train help you during any of the frequent reroutes they do at the station where suddenly your platform changes and you dont know why everybody is leaving your just sure you should probably too. Its also great for conversion of metric to english or for quick translations on what exactly is the type of flour your about to buy etc. German really isnt impossible on its own since a lot of our words came from it and the sentence structure is identical.
Absolutely, but as is evident with some of the people I work with, some dont like German coffee. I use the commissary for meats (steak/beef especially) and for some of the dairy items and junk and processed foods I cant get on the economy. For vegetables/fruits, bread, lunch meats... Its the Kaufland (German version of Kroger).
Also something else about Germany, the selection your used to in a type of store in the States has little to no bearing on what will be there in a German store. Ive seen computers for sale in Hardware stores, Bicycles for sale in Grocery Stores, etc. You kinda have to learn where stuff is through experimentation and accidentally stumbling upon it.
I strongly recommend the Michel Thomas audio series. The learning style is great—he talks to two students and they "learn with you." It's hard to explain how awesome it is, so I highly suggest you get your hands on it somehow. I've gotten a pretty strong foundation in basic German just from using that series, and I did most of it while I was working out or doing my job (I'm non-military, applying for OCS so I lurk these forums like whoa).
By the end of the MT series, you will have a pretty good grasp on basic vocabulary and an incredibly strong grasp on German grammar. In other words, you aren't taught how to say a million "common restaurant phrases," but you'll know how to actually plug in and use vocabulary that you pick up from that point on. This is where Michel Thomas shines.
MT does other languages too. He's a polyglot (i.e., fluent in at least four or five languages) and he used those skills in WWII. You can read about who he is and the method at this Wikipedia link. If you have any questions about the Michel Thomas method, feel free to PM me.
Wow, I feel like I'm being a salesperson. I get hyped on the German language. I've been really into German music (Rammstein, Oomph!, Megaherz, Eisbrecher) for nearly 10 years and I've been teaching myself German over the past two. A German exchange student is moving into my house on Saturday and I'm super stoked to have a conversation partner. But now I'm totally veering off topic...
EDIT: Here's a Wikipedia link on the Michel Thomas method specifically. One of the biggest things about it is that you will feel good and you will feel like you are learning. I was never, ever bored listening to those recordings, and I always felt like my German was a little stronger after every session.
Father in Law had a reserve gig where he would go as a watch o type deal for a few weeks every other month or so. He loved it.