Tips for visiting Germany?

[iLoveFoood]

Me and Dp are off to Germany this week and have never been. Any tips for visiting the country? What beer, food is good? What is the culture like? The transport system?

Whereabouts? I think there’s still a big difference between the old East Germany and the old West.

Food's good but traditional German food is very meat and potatoes based.
Beer is larger rather than ale or stout but lots of diff varieties. I quite liked the Bavarian wheat beers back in the day.
Lots of public transport everywhere. Trams common in bigger centres.
Most people speak at least some English.

Where exactly are you going?

You’ll need to be more specific!

First maybe pick an area or a city...!
I've been a bit for work in the last year.
Food: fast food sausage, mustard and sauerkraut. Great breads and sandwich shops.
Transport: it's massive. Train or plane to get from city to city unless you got a car and are happy at 90mph+ on autobahn.
Beer: best in Bavaria, loads to try.
Culture: very nice people, less laughs in conversation than Brits but they do try.
Fewer people in old West Germany speak English.
Overall though I like it and it's v underrated by Brits.
Enjoy!

South east germany (I think?!) so think Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Heidelberg

Paying by credit card isn’t as common as here so be prepared.

Sorry my geog isn't the best. South west :) so Frankfurt we are visiting for 4 nights and into Stuttgart for 3. I realise these aren't the most exciting places in Germany I've been told but we are visiting because of DPs work and making a holiday out of it!

Any recommendations? We would love to try German food and lots of beer.

Don't walk in the cycle lanes or you'll be shouted at.

It's a lovely place and we found the people to be polite and friendly. Clean and tidy as well.

You must have coffee and cake in a proper coffee house. Just amazing!

The Black Forest is beautiful.

Public transport is great, cheap and really easy to use.

Have a great time!

Nice people, who will politely let you practise your German (and not rudely grimace whilst you do so, unlike the French!), fantastic public transport that actually turns up on time, beautiful cities and architecture, interesting culture and loads of walking tours in each place if you’re up for that (I loved this).

If you have time, from Munich you can pop to Austria (Salzburg is stunning), and from Karlsruhe (in between Strasberg and Munich), you can easily reach Switzerland.

I adored Munich, Karlsruhe and Berlin. Enjoy!

Find a Turkish / Arab / Indian restaurant if you want consistantly tasty food. There are lots of them even in places you think there wouldn’t be.

If you can get that far out in Frankfurt (maybe depending on where DH is working) try the Best Curryworst in Town (google for address). Fast food but amazing! Also try the local wines - you'll be pleasantly surprised

The transport is amazing! Very efficient and easy to understand.

Lots of people in the big cities speak English. If you try speaking German, people may reply in English because it’s quicker and easier for everyone rather than struggling through a strilted German conversation. Don’t be offended
Generally, people are polite, friendly and helpful.

As a Brit, Germany is the country where I feel most at ease. I feel like socially we have quite similar expectations, so it’s not overwhelming like other countries can be.

OK, I’ve been to Munich. Everyone speaks English. In the summer it had a sort of European cafe culture vibe - outdoor eating and drinking in charming squares.

This time of year, it’s probably more about the beer halls.

I love Germany! You lucky things... I've only passed through Frankfurt so can't help with specifics there but Stuttgart is a great place to visit. If you're into cars, the Porsche and Mercedes Benz museums are worth a visit. There's a lovely park near the station which is worth a walk through. If you want to experience oldy worldy Germany, go to Tubingen for the day, it's so pretty.
The bakeries are fantastic, they take bread and cakes extremely seriously! Kaffee and Kuchen is almost compulsory every afternoon You will probably find food from virtually every country there but if you want traditional, then sausages (Wurst) are a good choice. Also Maultaschen are a local speciality - ravioli type parcels filled with a mushroom or meat filling or Kase Spaetzle is a yummy macaroni cheese equivalent.
Beer you can't go wrong with! I think the one I liked the most was Dinkelacker Schwaben Brau which is local to Stuttgart.
Have a lovely time!

@gleegeek thanks for that! Exactly what I was looking for.. those ravioli style parcels sound yummy, definitely be trying those. Glad you like Stuttgart as I struggled to find positive recommendations online! Really really excited as I've only ever been to Spain, UK, Denmark and Netherlands. Think I'll love germany!

Thanks everyone!

Any ideas for bar snacks? Like the way you have bitterballen etc in Amsterdam, any recommended bar snacks for germany?

I wouldn't have any German at all! So hoping I get on ok..

Glad it helped! I don't know if they're classed as bar snacks but pretzels are really popular. Big doughy salty yummy things, not the little crispy things you get in bags here.
There are snack stops everywhere called Imbiss or Schnellimbiss where you can buy sausages and fries with garlic mayonnaise (yum)
I think you'll be too early for the Christmas markets? If not, they are perfect for trying local food and drink. Gluhwein is delicious if it's cold.
Stuttgart isn't a pretty tourist town, Tubingen is that, but it's a lovely friendly place for a few days visiting. Good museums and galleries too if I remember correctly.

Zwiebelkuchen is good. It's like an onion quiche. Delicious!

I am German and one thing I always miss when I'm abroad is German bread and the rolls we have for breakfast.
I am from the North and have never been to Stuttgart and only twice to Frankfurt. Stuttgart isn't too far away from the Black Forest so you might be able to get some great Black Forest cake there.

Hello! Try der fette bulle in Fft for a great burger, also make sure to go for a walk round the old town -romer Square I think it’s called? The church on the square has music playing at certain times of the day and is very sweet. Also go and see the old church behind the square. If you are in to running go for a jog down the river, it’s beautiful in the mornings. If you get a mild day, main nizza is nice to sit and watch the world go by. German bakeries are the best for a breakfast roll/ pastry, and there’s a decent beer hall from r traditional food called ‘zu den 12 aposteln’ which is round the back of the shooing district.

Please be aware near to the main train station, the red light district is located here (either side of kaiserstrasse) and whist it’s not the worst one you will have seen, it’s worth being vigilant. Ditto what others have said re credit card use, cash is king in Germany! Have a fab time - I love Germany!

Shopping district ^ 🤦🏻‍♀️

You should be able to get to the Christmas markets, there are some great ones down there, if you can get to Rothenberg ob der Tauber it's wonderful, may be a bit early though, looking again at your dates. As well as food try the German red wines from the Ahy valley if you can find them.
If you're invited into a German's home it used to be correct to take flowers but to remove the outer wrappings as you gave them, this was further north, may have been a local custom.
You will, if you have any sense, visit a Kondietorei for Kaffee und Kuechen, coffee and cakes. The custom used to be that you chose your cake at the shop display cabinet and they gave you a slip of paper which you then gave to the waitress when you ordered your drinks at the table.

Learning please and thank you in German will help.

Look up the local sausage and bread specialities.