This is my final post about our trip to Germany & Austria, because by now you’ve probably already booked your own trip to Deutschland or you’re thinking “Clare, stop talking about Germany — I’m having nightmares of weinersnitchels attacking me!”
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed following along as Eric & I traveled to Salzburg to Obertraun to Füssen to Munich & to Freising. We learned a lot & I’d love to hear about your own experiences in this region or answer any questions you might have. I’ll leave you with a little helpful humor…
Last Thoughts & Observations of Austria & Bavaria:
- Graffiti is everywhere, on buildings centuries old. Best to expect it so you’re not disappointed.
- The German language is beautiful when spoken by native speakers. I always thought of it as a harsh guttural language, but it was smooth & slow here.
- Be prepared to sleep naked — there are no ceiling fans & very few rooms with AC.
- BYOWC — Bring Your Own Washcloths — don’t expect to purchase them there (like we did) & end up using kitchen sponges (like we did).
- Sunday laws mandate quiet & many businesses are closed — locals can’t even mow the lawn on Sundays!
- If you’re planning to eat traditional cuisine, I don’t recommend this for a romantic trip — nothing worse than lots of carbs & cheese to set the mood.
- Eric loved the European style of 2 separate comforters on every bed. I wasn’t a fan at first but quickly realized the benefits of not having my blanket pilfered in the middle of the night.
- I want to be a teen in Austria or Bavaria. They get off at 1:00 & seem to be completely unsupervised as they hop off trains –smoking, flirting & eating street food.
- Everything is under construction, which I guess makes sense when you realize how old the buildings & infrastructure are.
- Water is never free, unless you order coffee in a nice place, in which case they give you a shot glass of water…to wash away the coffee stains (I suppose).
- You are pretty much guaranteed a coffee house & pastry shop around every corner (might want to start fasting now).
- Tipping remains a mystery.
- Bees are everywhere, especially in pastry shops.
- Bring over-the-counter meds with you — don’t expect to find Pepto or Tums here; instead, you’ll find natural remedies with ingredients in a language you can’t speak. You don’t want to be that gal who takes a pill (thinking it’s for indigestion) that’s actually for toe fungus! [No, I didn’t do that…but it COULD happen very easily.]
Words to Learn before you Go:
- grüss gott (hello) & chow (goodbye) — frequently used by locals in Austria & Bavaria
- Die rechnung, bitte = the bill, please (we noticed they rarely brought the bill unless you asked for it or if you were really good & implemented the savvy head nod with a quick hand up gesture)
- kreditkarten = credit card (very important, as many businesses didn’t accept credit cards)
- toiletten = toilet (most signs simply say WC)
- Bahnhof = train station (Bf.); main train stations are called Hauptbahnhof (Hbf.)
- Deutschland = Germany
- Österreich = Austria
- München = Munich
- Postbus = public buses operated by post office
- U-Bahn = subway
- S-Bahn = suburban train
- richtung = direction
- bitte = please
- ja / nein = yes / no
- Sprechen Sie Englisch? = Do you speak English?
- danke = thank you
I HIGHLY recommend getting Rick Steves’ German Phrase Book & Dictionary — it explains some of the cultural issues surrounding the language & is organized in a perfect way for travelers. It’s also very small.
