13 things you NEED TO KNOW before going to Germany!
You wanna go to Germany? Here are some things you need to know before you go — from a German native!
Now, traveling isn’t really a thing right now, but I know many of you can’t wait until it’s possible again. I also know a lot of you are already planning your future trips in your heads. For all of you who’ve always wanted to visit Germany — or even move to Germany — I’m sharing some things you should definitely know BEFORE you go!
These are things I usually tell friends who go to Germany for the first time, but I’m sure many of you could benefit from this as well.
The first one sounds pretty obvious, but believe me, people forget about this ll the time — different countries have different outlets and voltages. So if you’re from the US, you’ll need to bring or buy an adapter if you wanna use your electrical devices because your American plugs won’t fit into a German outlet.
We also have a voltage of 220-230 Volt in Germany, whereas it’s only 120 in the US, and not all electronic devices can handle the switch. So be sure to do some research before you go. Especially hair dryers and hair straighteners usually don’t work with a different voltage — I actually broke a hair straightener once because I tried using my German one in the US, and that just made it stop working.
What does work usually, though, are laptops and phone chargers and those kinds of things.
And even though I’m obviously aware that the outlets are different, I totally forgot about it this past Christmas when I went home to be with my family. I got a new laptop recently in the US that came with an American charger, and I totally forgot that for the first time ever, I’d need an adapter that goes from an American plug into a German outlet, and not the other way around. But luckily, my dad has a BUNCH of travel adapters, and one of them actually fit.
Then, of course, we also have a different currency in Germany — it’s the Euro, just like in many other countries in the European Union — and at least compared to the US, we also use a different measurement system, the metric system, with kilometers instead of miles, etc. Even though for this, the US really is the odd one out here!
The next point causes a pretty big shock for many people who visit Germany for the first time: Stores are closed on Sundays. Even grocery stores. So make sure to plan ahead because the only places you’ll be able to find groceries on a Sunday are stores at train stations and gas stations.
This has a Christian background but also has to do with worker’s rights. In Germany, we believe everyone should be able to get a rest day on Sunday and spend time with their family. Restaurants, movie theaters, and those kinds of things are usually open, though.
Even if you’re only in Germany for a day, you should make sure to carry cash on you! Germany has a pretty big cash culture, and there might be quite a few occasions where you won’t be able to pay electronically, like when you wanna get something at a bakery, a kiosk, small stores that don’t accept card payments, or things like parking machines.
You can either get some cash from an ATM in Germany, but be aware that there will probably be an ATM and currency conversion fee if your bank account isn’t in Euros. Or you can ask your bank at home to get some Euros to you before you leave — that might actually be the best option because that way you’ll also have some cash right when you arrive in case you need it.
What you shouldn’t do, though, is exchange money at the airport because it’ll be a lot more expensive.
Now, let’s talk about what you need to know about driving in Germany because there are a few differences you should be aware of before you get behind the wheel.
The first thing is that gas is a lot more expensive in Germany than it is in the US — it’s about three times as expensive. So if you’re gonna rent a car and just drive around Germany or Europe, that’s not gonna be as cheap as you probably expected.
In fact, it might be a lot cheaper to get around by bus or train. We have a pretty good train system all over Germany and Europe too.
Especially if you’re just staying within one city in Germany, public transportation might be a more convenient and less stressful option for you, too, because traffic can be a little crazy, drivers can be aggressive, and parking in a German city is usually a nightmare.
When you need to get gas, you should know that you pump first in Germany and then pay afterwards. You don’t usually pay at the pump but have to go INSIDE afterwards to do so.
The regular gas in Germany is called “Super,” but of course, you can always look at what it says inside the gas cap as to what kind you should put in the tank.
Then, of course, there are different driving laws in Germany, so be sure to check those out before you get on the streets!
Two major things are that you can’t turn right on red, and you always need to watch out for cyclists and pedestrians — especially when turning right!
I’ve found that’s not really something people learn in Driver’s Ed in the States because in many American towns, people walking or riding their bike isn’t really a thing.
For everything else, like street signs, speed limits, and driving on the highway — the Autobahn — you can check out my video on driving if you wanna learn more!
This one might be kind of shocking to Americans: In Germany, it’s legal to drink alcohol in public, and Germans do that a lot too — especially in the summer. So don’t be surprised by that.
Who knows, maybe you’ll try it too and get a cool experience out of it if you can just sit by the river on a warm summer night with a 50-cent beer from the corner store.
And yes, beer is pretty cheap in Germany but is still very, very good.
Now, if you visit Germany as a tourist, you’re probably gonna spend a lot of time at restaurants, so here are a few things you should know about that.
When you walk in, you can usually just seat yourself and don’t have to wait for someone to show you to a table.
Then, you won’t get ice in your drinks unless you ask for it, but even then, it’ll probably just be a couple of ice cubes.
The sizes of drinks are also pretty small compared to the States — just like almost everything in Germany.
And water is NOT free at German restaurants, so if you order water, you’ll usually get bottled water — either still or sparkling, which Germans are huge fans of!
Once you’re done, you have to ask the waiter for the check — they won’t bring it automatically.
And you’re probably gonna have to flag them down because they’re not going to check on you all the time.
They’ll usually have you pay right at the table — either with cash or card in most restaurants — but you’ll have to let them know because they’ll have to get the little device first.
When it comes to tipping, we tip around 10% in Germany, and the way it works is that you just tell the waiter directly what you wanna round it up to.
So if your check is 20 Euros and you wanna tip 2 Euros, you just tell them to make it 22, and you’ll get the change for that.
It works the same way with card payments, so make sure to tell them the tip BEFORE you insert your card.
Also, just a heads up — the waiters in Germany might seem kind of cold compared to the ones in the US.
You’ll have to flag them down if you need something, and they’re probably not gonna be as friendly, which has to do with the fact that they don’t have to rely on tips as much, but also with German customer service in general.
Please don’t let it scare you off, but the customer service in Germany is pretty bad compared to the US, at least in my opinion.
I know many Germans are gonna disagree with me in the comments, but if you’re used to American standards, it’s very likely some people working in German customer service will make you feel like you’re bothering or annoying them.
If that happens — please don’t think it has anything to do with you being a tourist or not speaking German. It’s nothing personal. They treat me like that too.
Of course, there are many great people working in customer service who are lovely to talk to, but unfortunately, that’s not the standard in Germany.
One of the most popular complaints among tourists is that you have to pay to use the bathroom in Germany.
Now, it’s POSSIBLE that that’s gonna be the case — like at rest stops on the highway, you’ll find bathrooms with turnstiles, and at some public bathrooms, there will be a person sitting with a tipping plate.
But that’s not ALWAYS the case, and at restaurants, it’s usually free.
But yes, sometimes you’ll have to pay for using a public bathroom, so it’s always best to carry some change just in case.
Germans like rules and like to follow the rules, and that includes stopping at a red pedestrian light.
So no jaywalking in Germany!
And by that I mean you won’t see a lot of Germans jaywalking, and many don’t like it when others do it either.
Which, by the way, applies to other rules too.
You may even get reminded by strangers to follow the rules.
Besides the whole no jaywalking thing, some of these rules are to stay right on escalators to let people pass on the left AND very, very important, don’t walk or stand in bike lanes.
Next to the sidewalk, there’s usually a bike lane, and there are many, many cyclists in German cities.
If you block the bike lane, you may cause an accident, or you’ll probably have a person on their bike ring their bell at you or even yell at you.
In case you happen to turn on the TV or wanna go see a movie in Germany, don’t be surprised if your favorite American actor suddenly speaks German because almost everything is dubbed in Germany.
We do consume a lot of American movies and shows in Germany, but Germans aren’t big fans of subtitles.
Even though more and more people watch English movies in their original version nowadays, the norm in Germany is dubbed versions.
Some movie theaters do show movies in the original versions too — you just have to look out for the little addition behind the title that says “OV.”
Many of you have probably heard the cliché that Germans are pretty reserved and rather cold, and there’s actually a lot of truth to that.
So before you go to Germany, you should definitely know that Germans don’t usually talk to strangers a lot, and we aren’t big on small talk, so don’t expect to have nice conversations with people at the store or something.
It depends on who you interact with, of course, but at first sight, Germans can come off as unfriendly — especially compared to Americans.
It’s nothing personal, though — it’s just a cultural difference.
But if you ever have a concrete question, don’t hesitate to approach a German and ask them because Germans are.
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