10 tips on travelling in Germany

Cheap airline tickets
I usually book my tickets in advance with Lufthansa/Swiss Air. They have offers for open-jaw round trips between Singapore and Europe at around SGD800. These include meals, 23kg checked in baggage allowance and 7kg carryon baggage allowance.

Where to stay?
For hotels, I would recommend Motel One which has several chains throughout Germany. If you are looking for something even more affordable, B&B is good as well. Wombats hostels in Germany are clean and very popular.

Good walking shoes
Besides uneven cobblestones, broken pieces of glass can be found anywhere on the streets of Germany. Expect lots of walking and climbing of stairs. Good walking shoes (preferably covered) are recommended and practical. No German would be seen with flip flops on the streets in Germany.

Buying train tickets

You can buy train tickets online from Deutsche Bahn website or from the ticketing machine. Usually, you get a discount for purchasing train tickets in advance. The ticketing machine generally do not accept big notes like 50 Eur. Remember to validate your ticket before boarding.

Train seat reservation

Long distance trains like Intercity Express (ICE), Intercity (IC) and Eurocity (EC) allow you to make seat reservation at around 4.50 Eur. Is it necessary? Nope. You can save money if you know which seats are not reserved. In the photo below, the window seat is reserved from Hamburg to Berlin while the aisle seat is available. If a seat is reserved from B to C and you are travelling from A to B, you can still sit down at that seat. Of course, that requires you to know the train route well enough.

Do I really need to buy a ticket? They don’t check anyway!

Yes! You wouldn’t want to be caught as a Schwarzfahrer (a person without ticket). It is good to plan your itinerary and purchase a day ticket on days that you would be doing lots of travelling within the city. You never know when you would get checked. I had a day ticket in Berlin and was taking S and U Bahns like nobody business and never got checked. However, I was checked shortly boarding the train in Hamburg.

The guys in the photo did not have the correct ticket and were each fined 20 Eur. If they did not have a ticket, they would each be fined 60 Eur. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Toilets

Generally, you need to pay 0.50 Eur to use the toilet. You can save money by using the toilet at the restaurants which you dined in, at the museums which you visit or on the trains. Note: you would need to pay to use the toilets at the train stations, but not the ones on the train.

In Europe, toilets are usually labelled as WC which stands for water closet. Ladies are also labelled as Damen while Gentlemen as Herren.

What to eat besides pork knuckles and German sausages?

You can try roast pork, Donerteller, and for Asian food fried duck with curry. Portion is huge by the way. If you have enough of meat, you can go for soup too. For authentic bayerisher cuisine, you can go to beer houses like Augustiner, Paulaner, Höfbrauhaus or Löwenbrau.

By default, water is sparkling. Order stilles Wasser if you don't want carbonated water.

Gelato and good quality ice cream can be purchased at 1 to 1.50 Eur per scoop. Get it in a cone.

Bayerischer Krustenbraten at Augustiner

Dönerteller 

Fried duck curry rice

Shopping

Generally, the same shops can be found in any city in Germany. Tourists can get VAT tax refund on items which cost at least 25 Eur. Bring your passport with you whenever you go shopping. In generally, plastic bags are chargeable. Hence, bring your own reusuable bag when you go shopping.

Besides chocolates (Ritter Sport) and sweets (Haribo), you can find lots of goodies at the supermarket. I like to buy wine at Rewe (a supermarket) and you can buy multivitamins at the drugstore (Rossman) at 0.40Eur. Compare that with the multivitamins from Watons which are also made in Germany.

At supermarkets, the cashiers do not pack the items for you. You would have the pack the items into the bags yourself. Make sure you pack the items fast enough as you would not want to be holding up the line.

Jay walking

There is no German equivalent of the word jay walking because the Germans do not jay walk. When in Germany, do as the Germans do. Do not jay walk.

Bonn, Germany

I have been learning German language at Goethe Institute Singapore since 2012 and earlier this year, I received an email on a scholarship to do a 4 weeks intensive German language course at Goethe Institute in Germany. This was an golden opportunity and without a doubt, I applied. I remembered clearly that I couldn't understand one of the interview questions and I sought clarification. At the back of my mind, I thought, oh nein, I wouldn't stand a chance as I couldn't even understand the question. Imagine my surprise when I received notification that I won the scholarship! I was exhilarated! Looking back, I was glad that I answered honestly and sincerely during the interview instead of trying to bluff my way out. Perhaps, that's why I got the scholarship. They might be thinking, she really need an intensive course to brush up her German! :)

In September, I set off to Bonn. You might wonder why I picked Bonn out of the many cities in Germany. I've been to a few cities in Germany and personally, I prefer smaller cities. Bonn is the former capital of West Germany, the headquarter of Haribo and Deutsche Welle and the birthplace of Beethoven. It is located in Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen, west of Germany. I chose Bonn as I would like to experience a different lifestyle, from a hectic, fast-paced lifestyle to a more peaceful one; and to escape from the crowd and have more space to myself. 

 Haribo macht Kinder froh, und Erwachsene ebenso 

There is a Haribo shop in Bonn city center and a factory outlet which is accessible with U-Bahn

Bonn is the headquarter of Deutsche Welle (Germany's international broadcaster) and Deutsche Post. It is a well known secret that the food at the canteen at Deutsche Welle is super delicious! You would need to make an appointment to visit DW though. Here comes the good news! You can walk in to their canteen during lunch time and get a guest card to eat there. I can attest that the food is yummy! Lecker!

 Beethoven Haus

As I arrived in Bonn a few days before the German language course began, I stayed at Sylvia's house at Landgrabenweg. You can find her on airbnb. Her house was really cozy and clean. It is located next to River Rhein and when the weather is good (sunny), I loved to jog or stroll along the river. Sylvia has two cats, Mia, which stays indoor and another cat which stays outdoor. I had fun playing with her cats, especially Mia. Sylvia has a garden and I could understand why the Germans love to suntan in their garden or balconies. Unlike in Singapore where it is so hot and humid, it is much cooler and dryer in Germany. Without the sunshine, it feels cold and gloomy. Everyone is drawn to the sun as the sunlight makes the surrounding more pleasant. I too, had an enjoyable time suntanning in the garden with Mia. The downside of Sylvia's house is that it is not located in the city center. However, it can be reached by a bus from Bonn bus terminal and the bus stops directly outside her house. Bus/tram rides are expensive in Bonn. It starts from 2.80 Euro for a ride within the city. I remembered I walked for about 45 min from the city center to her house once just to save on the bus fare. 

The bedroom and bathroom at Sylvia's house

Mia and me

Rheinpromenade

Coming up next.... My adventures at Goethe Institut Bonn