Trip Report: Canberra to Berlin - with a few stops along the way!

[OATEK]

I'm glad things are working out for you Matt. Moving out of one's comfort zone is quite an experience.

Yes, its good to know you have something sorted, even if not the ideal. Enjoying the trip reports too!

 

[craven morehead]

Great experience I am sure you will never regret

 

[jastel]

Need a TR of Oktoberfest!!

I remember going into a KFC in a smaller town in France, having prepared in my (poor) school boy French to order 3 bits of chicken and chips.

The girl comes back with a perfect New York American accent "So ya wanna Dinner box then"....
Now I speak English and point at pictures if that doesn't work.

Don't judge a book by its cover is the motto I guess.

 

[Mattg]

Need a TR of Oktoberfest!!

I remember going into a KFC in a smaller town in France, having prepared in my (poor) school boy French to order 3 bits of chicken and chips.

The girl comes back with a perfect New York American accent "So ya wanna Dinner box then"....
Now I speak English and point at pictures if that doesn't work.

Don't judge a book by its cover is the motto I guess.

I guess a TR of Oktoberfest could be arranged - watch this space.

Love that story - it basically explains 50% of English-speaking customers. If I can tell they're struggling with German I'll speak to them in English. As I said, most of them are pleasantly surprised and yesterday I had this guy that became really happy all of a sudden and said "Thank God! I can finally have a proper conversation in English!"

The other 50% of English customers don't even bother with German and just speak English, but it's usually very slowly to make sure I can understand.

 

[jastel]

You can have some fun with people who don't think you can understand them....

My sister is tall and blondish who speaks Japanese, there are some pretty shocked Japanese people when she talks to them.

 

[JessicaTam]

Great to hear things are going well for you, Mattg.

When are you planning on being in IST? I am there on the 11th and 12th November (two separate transits).

 

[Mattg]

Great to hear things are going well for you, Mattg.

When are you planning on being in IST? I am there on the 11th and 12th November (two separate transits).

Wow, so close! I will be in Istanbul from 14-19 November.

 

[JessicaTam]

Wow, so close! I will be in Istanbul from 14-19 November.

"Bugger"!!

 

[Plutonus]

Sounds like you're having an amazing time and I'm totally jealous! Thanks for the great updates.

Most Germans and Brits think I'm American, and all the Americans think I'm British. It's quite funny actually.

It's odd, isn't it? I actually spent a good 30 minutes discussing it with some Germans when I was last there. They explained (in their opinion) it's because it's difficult to instantly identify where it's from (compared to British), so they assume American because of the diverse range of accents from there.

Unfortunately I only speak a little German and it's so difficult to maintain and increase fluency when not speaking it regularly. I wish I could go for a year.

Happy travels and keep the updates coming

 

[Mattg]

It's odd, isn't it? I actually spent a good 30 minutes discussing it with some Germans when I was last there. They explained (in their opinion) it's because it's difficult to instantly identify where it's from (compared to British), so they assume American because of the diverse range of accents from there.

I actually had a similar conversation with a German friend of mine recently. He can't pick an English speaker's accent and seems surprised how I can tell if someone's Australian, Kiwi, British, American etc. after about one sentence. We were at a café together recently and the girl behind the counter there was also an Aussie. As soon as she said "hi" I could tell and we chatted for a while. My friend couldn't believe that I'd picked up on it so quickly!

It works both ways though. My friend can easily tell the difference between a Northern German, Bavarian, Austrian accent etc. whereas I'd have no idea.

 

[KitKat]

Hi Matt, thanks for the TR..

Love reading it.

Do you have any tips for getting a prepaid SIM card in Berlin? more for data for unlocked iPhone 5, better if it will allow hotspot, will be in Berlin for a week.

Thanks

KitKat

 

[Mattg]

Hi Matt, thanks for the TR..

Love reading it.

Do you have any tips for getting a prepaid SIM card in Berlin? more for data for unlocked iPhone 5, better if it will allow hotspot, will be in Berlin for a week.

Thanks

KitKat

Thanks! And excellent question. I personally bought a new phone and got a monthly plan with a German telco. But even if you're going to be there for a week, you should be able to get a prepaid sim card for about 10 Euros. These are available from lots of stores: o2, Ortel Mobile, Deutsche Telekom and many others from memory. I think Aldi actually has a particularly good sim card deal and you can purchase one from most Aldi supermarkets or their website. I would personally go for an Aldi 30 day prepaid sim card deal like this: https://www.alditalk.de/nord/Telefonieren_Surfen/aldi_talk_paket_300.php

I'm sorry, I can't seem to find an English version of the website, but basically you get 300 minutes of calls and/or SMS in all German networks, plus 300MB of data for 7.99 per month. You can order online but you might be better off just going to an Aldi (or any other) store after you arrive. If you don't speak German, just ask for someone who speaks English. There will probably be at least one person there who does.

My personal opinion though is that you don't really need to worry about that. You should be able to make calls using Skype or similar, and there are wifi hotspots all over the city. Your hotel will probably offer free wifi and there are countless cafes that don't mind you using their internet for hours. (If you like, I can give you a list of my favourites. )

Have a fun time!

 

[KitKat]

Thanks! And excellent question. I personally bought a new phone and got a monthly plan with a German telco. But even if you're going to be there for a week, you should be able to get a prepaid sim card for about 10 Euros. These are available from lots of stores: o2, Ortel Mobile, Deutsche Telekom and many others from memory. I think Aldi actually has a particularly good sim card deal and you can purchase one from most Aldi supermarkets or their website. I would personally go for an Aldi 30 day prepaid sim card deal like this: https://www.alditalk.de/nord/Telefonieren_Surfen/aldi_talk_paket_300.php

I'm sorry, I can't seem to find an English version of the website, but basically you get 300 minutes of calls and/or SMS in all German networks, plus 300MB of data for 7.99 per month. You can order online but you might be better off just going to an Aldi (or any other) store after you arrive. If you don't speak German, just ask for someone who speaks English. There will probably be at least one person there who does.

My personal opinion though is that you don't really need to worry about that. You should be able to make calls using Skype or similar, and there are wifi hotspots all over the city. Your hotel will probably offer free wifi and there are countless cafes that don't mind you using their internet for hours. (If you like, I can give you a list of my favourites. )

Have a fun time!

Thanks for the info...

Will use google translate to help.