Tips básicos para tu viaje a Alemania

Tips básicos para tu viaje a Alemania

Are you ready to discover Germany? Well then. Hello everyone and welcome to Unknown Germany. The podcast that will take you to explore the most fascinating and least known corners of this wonderful country. Join us on this unique adventure as we discover together the cultural richness, daily life and best kept secrets of Germany. All from the eyes of Spanish speakers who live and explore this country. Join us in unknown Germany and let’s begin together this unforgettable journey through the diversity, tradition and modernity of Germany. Let’s go together to explore Unknown Germany. Hello Kumpels. Travelers, welcome to a new episode of Germany. I don’t know the podcast and I welcome my colleagues to Ale Hallöchen a Gibbo. Hi how are things? And Mafer Hello, if you haven’t seen episode number one, the previous episode of Unknown Germany the podcast. We invite you to watch it so you can get to know us, where we introduce ourselves and talk a little about ourselves. And well, in today’s episode we are going to talk about three recommendations that we currently consider that you should take into account before traveling to Germany, a topic that is repeated a lot in the questions on social networks, on the YouTube, on Instagram we have received many times those types of questions about what the recommendations would be, what would be the most important thing to be able to travel to Germany and get to know this country in an enjoyable way and without any problems. So we have decided that in this episode we will talk about this topic and tell you a little about these three, these three recommendations that surely there will be more episodes because there are many more topics to talk about so that you can enjoy your trip through Germany and not be miss out on any of the wonderful places in this country. So we are going to get into today’s topic to talk about this, this very important part for all our followers, for all those who listen to unknown Germany and we are going to give our advice also based on our experiences, what We have been learning, also through all the time we have been here in Germany. And well, we are going to start with the first recommendation and we are going to pass the microphones to Mafer, because she is the one who brings us the first recommendation. Hello Kumpels travelers, one of the important recommendations when coming to Germany, eh? I think that for us it is knowing a little about the basic vocabulary of German, so that you can feel a little more comfortable conversing with friends, acquaintances, even travelers themselves, eh? One of the basic words that you should learn would be like greeting, like Hallo, which would be hello or Guten Morgen for good morning, guten Tag which is eh, good afternoon. You can also learn some words like dismissal like tschüss or chao, Auf wiedersehen! Or the Pass gut, which are key words that you can use when saying goodbye and that German people take more cordially and it is important to know it. It is also important for me. I also think that for all travelers it is to learn some words like or some phrases like eh Können Sie mir bitte herlfen what’s like please can you help me or could you also go huh? If you don’t speak, you don’t speak German very well. Say Sprechen Sie Englisch or Spanisch? Because they have asked me a lot, they have told me, like, do you speak a little, do you speak English or Spanish? Mhm. And so the person feels a little more comfortable. I think it’s also very important for me, eh, to say in Wo Eh, Wo sind die toilet toilette? Where is the restroom? Because sometimes you don’t say EPA! Where? As? How can I tell where the bathroom is? So it’s important to know or, uh. Wo ist die U-Bahn o der Zug que? It is like. Where is the subway and train? So you can guide yourself a little, eh? And please, don’t make the mistake that I think all Latinos make, which is when they ask you the question of saying everything ha, ha, ha, ha or nein nein nein nein. What does yes or no mean because it happened to me that I don’t know about you, but it happened to me that at the beginning when I got here, eh, they asked me things like you’re married and I don’t have children and ha. And I really don’t even have the. In other words, I am married and I don’t have children, in other words, all things the other way around. So okay, it’s like I imagine it’s fear. In other words, not understanding saying please and ich verstehe nicht I don’t understand anything eh and I say again Sprechen Sie Englisch or Sprechen Sie Spanish? So that everyone knows and this also seems very important to me, the cordial greetings. Like the Bitte schön the Danke that is. Thank you. Yes, I think they are two magic words that we have to learn, right? As my mom would say, those two words are the key that unlocks many things, right? That is, just the Danke which is thank you and the Bitte which in one of its possible translations would be a please, right? Exact. I feel that they are very key words that you should learn here in German. And for example, when some phrases like to order a meal or in a restaurant say eh Ich hätte gerne bitte because it is like a please , like something like like, like cordial, eh, eine pizza, eh, bestellen Or like I would like order a pizza. For me the key words are Danke, Bitte, Bitte schön are key to learning it. I don’t know. I, I, I have always been precisely of that idea. Maybe it’s not that you have to learn the language when you travel, that you have to learn the language of each of the countries you travel to, right? But maybe yes. Know a few words a little. Words that you know will open you a little at that moment and as you say, right? Those magic words of please, thank you, you’re welcome, at least in some other countries and also here in Germany Gibbo said it very well that they are the key, they are not the magic words of almost all or well, of Not all languages, huh? Being able to ask for things in that kind way, right? And I would also say that if you are not able or for some reason you did not learn that part of the language at least. Maybe also be prepared with your phone, with a translator where you can write, for example, an experience that I had a long time ago. One of the things I did was I went to a restaurant and I wrote things in my, in my, in my translator and I showed him, I didn’t say here, here, here and I showed the person, right? Or even read it and tried to talk about it. Talk about it, right? But because we also have to be aware, right? That perhaps people do not have the time or the possibility to learn it before arriving at the place. I don’t know how you see it, but try to have at least the basic concepts when you arrive. Because also when someone here in Germany hears you say a word in German, they have the habit of then starting to talk in German all the time, right? And they assume that you will completely understand everything. So I think Mafer said it very well too, right? The saying. Ich spreche nicht so viel deutsch Something like that or ask for another language, right? I don’t know how you see it. I think that this is also very important for those listening to us to consider, especially if you are not going to travel to a large city in Germany, right? In other words, it is not the same to come to Berlin or Munich or Hamburg, you are probably going to find in the city center people who speak English and who you can communicate in a language other than German. But if you go to a smaller city or leave the city centers, it’s very difficult, right? So, if you are going to have to face this situation of having to say Guten Tag or yes, that is, order a coffee, order your pizza as Mafer said, right? In German. And I think that’s our recommendation here. That’s why we came to this consensus of saying this language recommendation, because it’s like a, uh, correspondence or a sign of respect that you have for the country you’re visiting, right? And just to mention it, if anyone listening to us is interested in taking a German course, they can also write to us by message on our social networks, because we have some agreements with some schools with whom they could take some courses. They’ll give you some discount too, right? Exactly, exactly. Then you can write to us on social networks as you say, and we will gladly give you the information. Ale, are there any words that you have used from the beginning? Because precisely at some point we have talked, just as I think everyone else arrived too, well with the basics of the language here in Germany, right? Yes, I think that, as you said, I agree with everyone, showing interest in speaking a couple of things in German. The Germans like it a lot and I think that’s the case in Mexico or in any country where people go and try, it doesn’t depend. Maybe sometimes you get people who are eh, don’t have that much patience and are going to tell you everything in German and then you have to say sorry, I don’t talk much, I just want to know this, right? But I do think it is very important. I think the first words I learned were that, eh, precisely, please and thank you and and as Mafer said, I completely agree. Where is the bathroom? Hey, where can I buy a ticket? For example, when you are going to travel, right? That sometimes that is a little complicated or it was complicated for me because well in Mexico they are always like a person or eh, or the or or a machine, but eh, always this contact at the beginning is complicated, right? So we’ll talk about that later. But yes, thank you, please. Where are the main things in restaurants? Maybe he doesn’t stop to ask for something you want to eat. And if we now have the possibility of our smartphones, I think that before that was a limitation and maybe it made people a little more afraid, but now I think there is no longer a need. Don’t worry, there are always translators, there are even programs where you are speaking in your language and it is simultaneously translated into the language in the place where you are. That’s good, that’s not necessary anymore, right? But I say in cases where people are maybe going to stay two months and want, uh, to have a little more practicality. I could do it, couldn’t I? Exactly, I also stop to see a little more that part that many people say that the German language is very difficult, that it is heard very loudly. Very heavy. Very aggressive. No? Exactly, no. And for those who come to travel here to Germany to learn and taking into account this recommendation that they learn it, also get rid of that cliché about the German language a little . Something curious that when you leave a store, right? What Mafer was saying, learning the Tschüss is saying goodbye and also being able to be kind to the people here in the region. That Tschüss is heard many times, sometimes even very tender, right? I say for example, right? So let them lose that exact fear, let them lose that fear and let them lose that cliché and let them learn. Well, the basics, perfect. That’s one of the recommendations we have about the language. And anyway, any questions you have, any comments, um, even stories you have, write it here in the comments or write us a message and let everyone within the community of unknown Germany we can also improve the language we have and eliminate fear and expand these recommendations in language learning. Ok, let’s move on to a second, a second topic of these recommendations that we have and that would be I have one that would be the habits and customs that you have when you come to Germany, as well as the language. I think it is also very important to know what the country is like, what customs it has and even more so when you come as a traveler, right? Being able to integrate a little during your trip and not fall into some problem and not also be able to enjoy the trip you are taking, right? For example, one of the customs they have is the famous Ruhe Tag on Sunday. Sunday, which is a day where the Ruhetag is the day of rest where really almost everything if not everything closed. Sure, you will find restaurants, but what restaurants open later , even on Sunday, but if you need something in a shopping center you won’t be able to do anything because it will be closed. Plus the streets are going to be very quiet. There are going to be a lot of people walking around, but everyone kind of goes at their own pace, right? Like everyone is going very calmly, they are enjoying Sunday. Many people even go for walks in the forest, because it is precisely a day in which you have to consider if you are traveling through Germany, that on that day you have to prepare to buy something before because you are not going to find or It will be very difficult for you to find or go to a shopping center. In Mexico on Sundays, for example, you have to go to the mall , right? It’s like very very typical and here it would be the opposite. Here you should go to a museum, maybe go for a walk. What other custom? You find it important to know for those who come to travel and get to know this country. In the case of Sundays, when everything is closed, I don’t know what it is like in the cities that you are in, but here in Hamburg, where I live Hey, only four Sundays a year are the shops open, right? So, if it is part of the culture or customs of the city that have been known for a long time, when will the four specific dates be where the stores will be open, right? So it’s days. One of them always coincides with being the Sunday before Christmas, which is very pertinent, right? I mean, for gifts and such, but but yes. In other words, this issue of finding everything closed in general, because it is a very good Sunday to rest, to go to a museum, that is open. Not only the museums are open, you can go to a restaurant too, but from there pharmacies, supermarkets, shops in general are closed. So yes, it is a topic that as travelers we recommend that you consider. Yes, and also separately. Hmm. We say no, the restaurant is open on Sundays, but we must also consider that on Mondays the restaurants are normally closed and for the restaurants in its Ruhetag. So, if you want to eat something in a restaurant, normally on Mondays it’s going to be very difficult for you to find something, right? In my city, what you were saying, for example, in my city until now I have not known that businesses are open on any Sunday or on some special dates. Here every Sunday. Closed. There are no exceptions and to be able to go to eat on Sunday you even need to make a reservation preferably because it is very common for people to make their reservation, sometimes even up to a week or two weeks in advance. So, if you arrive at a restaurant, the first thing they will tell you is: Do you have a reservation? Mhm. And you arrive and say no, mmm. Normally you won’t have space. I don’t know if it happens to you too where you are, but here in the The city where I live, in Siegen, it is very common in a restaurant, at least more typical German in chains, in restaurants that are a chain. Normally it doesn’t happen, but hey, when you come on a trip you try to try the regional, right? I don’t know about you, something similar has happened to you and I remember that once near where I live, there is a slightly larger city called Mannheim, and I was determined because of course, I don’t think it had ever happened to me, eh, that they were closed, I mean that the restaurants were full, right? And then, of course, the crowd was on a Saturday and I said well, I’m going to the restaurant without a reservation. It was a small restaurant, it was not a German restaurant, it was a restaurant, I think, with Asian food but small. And well, I was already going like this, you know, right? When one is already programmed in my mind, I’m going to eat that. Are you already craving that ? No, but this time it was our turn. I mean, they told me not everything has been booked for days and we had to go all over the city looking for a restaurant. Well, I won’t tell you, we spent, I think, for about an hour looking for where we could even find a place and from then on it doesn’t happen to me, right? I mean, from there I learned, I said okay, whether it’s calling because well, I know that sometimes calling can also be complicated, right? But you always make your own script, if in some cases they are not afraid that the reservation will not be able to be made due to the language. You write what you need and make your reservation by calling or in some places it is a little more modern and you can make it by WhatsApp or. But well, it doesn’t depend on where they are, but yes, I would tell them that always make a reservation, always consider that there are two or three options, not in case you no longer find a place in one, because if it’s like you don’t go, maybe you have so much time and then be Searching everywhere is like a little bit. Well, inconvenient, yes. I think it is also very important to know that Germans really like to have time to program. I’m good too because I like it. For example, if they tell me let’s meet three weeks later, I say I’m going to check my calendar, see what I have here, see if I’m free. And I say okay, yes, and at that moment they make the reservation. I would also like to say that reservations are also very punctual. When you say a time it means you have to keep it because if you don’t they will close your reservation. It happened to us that we arrived ten minutes, 20 minutes late, says Entschuldigung, but the reservation has already been made. For other people they didn’t arrive on time and look, you have to find another restaurant. But yes, I also agree with Ale. I think that Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays are the most difficult days to find a restaurant that has a table and it is preferable to look for a reservation much earlier or in advance. Excellent, well, maybe here leave us some comments, some experiences that some of you who are listening to us or watching on YouTube might tell us, what happened to you, right? What has happened to them? Ehh, Inside some story inside your trip in Germany on a Sunday or a Monday, what we are talking about today and before continuing with the. The last recommendation of today, I want to remind you that you can follow us on all social networks on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify with the symbol Germany unknown where you can also write us your questions, you can write us your comments or however you like. I mean, also some of their stories from their trip through Germany and being able to share and eh, learn more travel stories through this beautiful community of unknown Germany. So let’s continue with the third tip, the third recommendation from this episode of Unknown Germany the podcast and this one. This recommendation is brought to us by Ale and talks about public transportation , which is also another of the questions that moves a lot on social networks, right? Transport in Germany What is it like? How does it work? What do you recommend Ale? Okay, well, first you have to, uh, know that there are different types of transportation and depending on your destination, one or the other will suit you, or you may even have , uh, several options, right? Here in Germany we have a Deutsche Bahn application, this system that allows you to know what transport you can take to certain places, you enter where you are, where you are going and it gives you options for both train and metro. Well, the train is the Zug, the metro would be the U-Bahn and the eh, well, what would we call it? Like the tram it would be Straße Bahn, right? In addition, there are also buses and here I would tell you that it is important. First, know where they are from and where they are going. And then there are different types of tickets or tickets. And there is, for example, the option of traveling alone to one place and it would be like the individual ticket. And there is the option for that ticket to be a round trip, which in many cases is convenient, right? Because you plan to return or maybe if you go to another place, well , you’re just going to buy the one-way ticket. And one very important thing is that there is the option to buy group tickets. That is super important because I didn’t know it at the beginning and when my family came to visit me we went on a trip and hey, well here we are very happy. I knew the price of my ticket because I did travel round trip and then I said well, well, we each bought our round trip ticket , when suddenly I see that there is the option of, eh, a group ticket, right? And then familiar oo something like that. And then where you can travel with more people and it is obviously cheaper, up to five people is one, it is 2 to 5 people. Exact. And then, of course, I mean, there were three of us. But well, regardless of that, it was much more convenient for you and well, after I drowned the child, they covered the well and later I knew that this option exists, right? So, for example, I know that many people do not travel alone and if they travel alone, well, of course this ticket is, but the family or group ticket is very convenient for you when you travel with more people, right? There is the option, eh? When exactly was it? Three years ago, four years ago, when we were there, I think after the pandemic there was a €9 ticket, which was a sensation because it was a €9 monthly option, right? Currently the government put this Deutschland Ticket, not like the German ticket. It is a monthly subscription that allows you to travel with all local and regional transport, except for these high-speed trains and buses, for example, like Flixbus, these are not included in this subscription, but all others allow you to travel by these €49. This is one. As I said, it’s a subscription. So ideally this ticket is designed for residents, right? Well, to try to get people to use their cars a little less and move around using public transportation. However, we know that for the people who come, it will be a week, because it might not suit them that much. And there is also this situation that if you do not reside in Germany, probably someone who does reside in Germany can buy it for you and put it in your name. Don’t do this. You can cancel this one-month subscription on the first ten days of the current month, but wow, it is an option to consider. However, when you come on vacation you do tourism. The most convenient thing would be, because this transport is local and regional, in which you can get information either at the train stations or on the buses, at the sorry stations, at the bus stops. Here come the plans for how the buses are arriving, eh, and leaving. or in the application that is, hey DB is very easy to download and there you can find all the options. It seems to me that there is the option in English, if I’m not mistaken, to translate everything into English. In Spanish I don’t believe or I don’t know, I actually use it in German, it is in Spanish. Oh, look, perfect. Well, since I almost always got used to forcing myself to put everything in German, I have it in German, but look how convenient. So it’s super good because then you can guide yourself, eh? Very much. I think eh, it’s definitely the best option. In other words, for those who listen to us normally, who travels to Germany, at least they come for many days . In other words, what would be best for them would be, first of all, the day ticket, which I don’t know how much it costs in their cities, but at least in Hamburg , it’s approximately €7, hey that’s what the ticket for the day costs. And that includes all public transportation in Germany within a, uh, fairly large space in Germany, sorry, in Hamburg. What is also important to mention and which is a peculiarity here, I also did not know it at the beginning when I came to live here, is that it also includes public transportation from the boats that connect you on the river. So that’s also something very interesting. So, if you buy that €7 ticket in the morning when you leave your hotel, you can use it and you can make all the connections you want, including the boats, right? And there are a couple of routes that we will talk about in a chapter dedicated only to Hamburg that take you to the most touristic spots on the river. So you have some spectacular photos, right? So just to recap, definitely public transportation Yes, we recommend it because it’s very good in German cities, uh so in Hamburg it costs approximately €7 for an individual and I’m almost sure it costs like €15 or €18 for a group. And that is very convenient. No? Because five people, up to five people, can travel with that ticket throughout the city. The subway, the commuter train, eh, and the buses, right? So it’s super important. Me too. Sorry, sorry, Mafer, I wasn’t going to tell you that there is a ticket here called the Bayern Ticket, which is also used as a group ticket, it is only used for regional trains and you can use it for five people, families, if you want to tour only Bayern, or That is, if you want to go to Munich, if you want to go to another place here in Bayern, but they only use the regional trains and you can also use them on the buses or metro from the entire city. A moment ago Gibbo you mentioned it, it is not a very good option to get to know the city, because yes. Although there is public transportation, there is also tourist transportation . There are no such things as the Turibús in Mexico City, right? The Berlin City Bus, well, here in my city there is also a little truck that you take and it takes you. It has a price, but I think that the option of taking public transport with this ticket, for example daily or regional, also gives you the possibility of sightseeing, of getting to know the tourist places, of getting to the places faster. But it also gives you something that I have always said, that it is very important to know the reality of the country as well, and that also brings you a lot closer to that custom and that reality of what the country is like and to be able to have another vision of how a country moves. city, how a country moves, what it is like, the characteristics of the people who already live in that place, to something that we also have to recommend to them and that is very important and that cannot be overlooked because they could be infringed. or with or have a fine. The thing is that when you buy this ticket, the ticket that those we have mentioned now buy, whether it is an individual ticket, the simple trip Simple, the one you decide to buy. My recommendation would also be to buy it directly from the. If they are not so technological that they can buy it at any subway station, there are machines, eh, and you can also change the language, so there you can choose, it will print the paper and with that piece of paper you have to activate it. When entering the station, right? So there are some machines that you can activate the ticket because otherwise they can check you during the trip, but if it is not activated they can fine you, right? It is also important to say that unlike our countries, in Latin America, at least those that I have been able to visit in Germany, the stations do not have turnstiles to enter the station. In other words, they start from the idea that all the people who are going to take transportation pay and buy it. This civic education is really impressive because I do not doubt that there are people who do not pay the ticket and get on without paying but assume that everyone is paying. So our recommendation is that when you buy the ticket you go through the machine to activate it and start your day, you don’t have to activate it every time you get on one of the transports. If you do it once it is activated for the whole day. Come on, there’s something else I want. There is another thing I would like to say about Germany. It doesn’t happen to me. In my country, when I passed the buses, you would raise your hand, so that the bus would stop, right? And what I would like to tell you, that doesn’t exist here, you don’t have to raise your hand, only the bus will come to you, to the stop automatically. It would be here, but when you want to get off you don’t have to press the little button. Well, in my city, in my city, if you don’t press the little button on the train you don’t get off, the door doesn’t open, you have to press a button in front of you so you can get off. If not, it is not that you ask for the stop, rather it is for you to open the door. Ale you wanted to say comment something if what you said. Gibbran, it is also important to comment that if you don’t have your ticket, if you don’t buy it because maybe you say well, well, if no one checks, it’s already night or it’s a Sunday, no one is going to check. Unfortunately, I have had to see how there are people who They got on without a ticket and then even on the bus or train it tells you what the fine is, how far I stayed, which was about two years ago, which was when I saw that. It was €60. Yes. So I think so. And I say no, maybe it could sound, eh, like tempting, not that good, because if they don’t review me I’ll already save €10 or €15. Well, don’t do it because I have to see. Maybe it was not intentional, which I think it was, because well, for people, I mean, transportation is not free like in Luxembourg, for example, right? And then you know that you don’t have to buy it and when you don’t have it, they check you out, they don’t always check it out. That’s true, there are times when no one, no one checks that you bring your ticket, but when you do, then €60. I do n’t think it’s worth the risk, right? Mhm. It’s definitely not worth the risk of paying €60. Excellent recommendations that have been brought to us today. Well, I also brought one, uh I hope everyone who is listening or watching this episode liked the recommendations. And here we are going to leave the recommendations in this episode today , because as we told you at the beginning, I think there are many more recommendations that we will give little by little in future episodes and we remind you to leave us your comments, doubts Everything you want on our social networks, I repeat, everywhere you find us like unknown Germany on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify. All the doubts you have about traveling in Germany. If you have any recommendations you can also follow us at each of us on our social networks. Ale your social network please sign ale point by point. Germany arroba mon on Instagram and TikTok Mafer arroba Mafer Barreto Very good and they find me as arroba padrón and well, as I say, I hope that you liked today’s episode that these recommendations have been useful to you, that these recommendations have been useful to you so that you can enjoy your trip through Germany with everything to the fullest and then we’ll see you until the next episode. See you Kumpels travelers. Bye Bye Bye. Thank you for joining us on this trip through Germany. We hope you enjoyed the episode and that we inspired you to explore more of this wonderful country. Don’t miss the next episode of Unknown Germany, where we will continue discovering together the treasures that this place has to offer. Until the next adventure. You meet travelers.

Te compartimos 3 tips básicos que deberías considerar antes de viajar a Alemania por primera vez.

Conoce más de Alemania desconocida y encuentra más recursos de viaje en nuestra página web ⁠⁠https://alemaniadesconocida.com/⁠⁠

Conoce más de los integrantes:
MaFer https://www.instagram.com/mfrbarreto/
Ale https://www.instagram.com/ale.en.alemania/
Gibbo https://www.instagram.com/gibmon/
Omar (Herr Padrón) https://www.instagram.com/herrpadron/