Hello all my friends,

I decided to write this for two reasons: 1) just to express myself and 2) to possibly help other American travelers to Europe. I encountered many things that may be interesting and maybe helpful.

I was initially very reluctant to go to Europe by myself. I have traveled a lot by myself, but it’s really not as much fun as going with a friend or companion. So, for 29 years, I did not go to Europe.

I’ve always wanted to go to Germany (my father’s family is from Silesia which was part of Germany until 1945, my father was in WW2, and I’m a big WW2 history buff), but held off due to the unaccompanied status and the money factor. Finally, in February 2018, I said ***** it, I’m not getting any younger or any healthier (yet), so I decided to go. Initially I was only going to go to Berlin to keep my costs down.

I left Orlando on Tuesday, February 20th. I was so excited about my trip that I got to the Orlando airport hours early and kept the bartender company at a bar there. My flight to Zurich was a real mess and I could not sleep on it. My Economy class seat was like a sardine can to me (I’m 6 feet 3 inches tall or 191 centimeters), so I got an expensive upgrade to Premium Economy. It was better but not much better. I still could not really sleep. You tall guys and ladies, seriously consider ALWAYS getting Premium Economy or Business or First Class on flights, unless your flight is really short, like an hour long. It’s just really miserable being tall in an Economy class seat.

First Day in the Deutschland Capital

I got to Berlin around 1400 (2 PM American-style time) on Wednesday, February 21st. I was very excited but a bit tired from no sleep on the plane. On the taxicab ride to my hostel ( https://www.ballhausberlinhostel.de/ ), I innocently asked my cab driver where he was from. I have done this routinely in the USA only to be friendly, and have always gotten a very polite and civil reply. The driver snapped “Why?!” Shocked, I said I was only curious and meant nothing bad. He finally told me he was from Iran originally and then “forced” me to watch this anti-American Youtube video. I say forced, because what the hell was I going to do being a captive in his cab. Whatever, it was only a few minutes to tolerate. I resolved after this experience to not ask any more people where they were from.

My hostel (in the touristy section called Mitte) was in a five story building, also occupied by the Ballhaus Bar, a Japanese self-defense school and a tango school. In the front of the property was an old bar apparently moved there from another location. Pieces of the old Berlin Wall were on the left of the long driveway/courtyard. You walk in the main door, walk down a long hallway, buzz the receptionist at the hostel and they let you in. You then walk up four flights of stairs or take the elevator. Many times the elevator was really slow, so I took the stairs.

The hostel was a really nice one, with 24 hour closed-circuit security. It was clean, well-kept up and had staff on duty at the front desk all the time. I was given a keycard to use on my electronic doorlock into my room. I had a bunk bed, with 7 other strangers in other bunk beds. I forget exactly what I did the first day, but I think I took a short nap then walked around on the streets outside.

Berlin was really freaking cold when I got there. The high temperature was only reaching maybe 0C with the low around -12C. My muffler, gloves, and two coats really came in handy. I did not wear thermal underwear, so, yea next time (if there is another wintertime visit) I would wear thermal underwear too. The subway stations, train stations and bus stations are all unheated, so it’s a good idea to dress really warmly. Staying in the McDonald’s at Berlin Haupbanhof (main train station) was a real lifesaver because it was always HEATED! Who said McDonald’s is so bad?

Impressions of Berlin

It’s really funny how fast you forget precise details. The first few days I was there, I just took cabs to various sites and parts of town to explore. Berlin is the German version of New York. If you’ve ever been to NYC, I do not need to explain further. If not, it’s huge, very busy, crowded and you have to fend for yourself pretty much. People were all polite and decent, in general. Germans and Berliners in particular are more direct and blunt than Americans, so I was prepared for this.

You will probably be asked about our current President. Have your answer or lack thereof ready. Of course, this only happens once you talk to a Berliner or German for a while.

They allowed a freaking Starbucks coffee place to go up very near the Brandenburg Gate. That just struck me as downright wrong, next to one of the most famous landmarks of Germany. Oh well, not my country, none of my business, free enterprise is wonderful, yada yada I did not go in there on purpose. The American and French embassies are very near the Gate as well, which seems very appropriate to me.

You see English on signs all over town, or partial English. You also hear American music wherever you go. I thought to myself, “I can listen to American music back home, put on German music”. Again, not my country and none of my business. I admit, the English on signs was wonderful.

I ate by candlelight here more than in years back in the USA. They really like candles on dinner tables in Berlin.

Impressions overall of Germany

German men seem to be friendlier than American men. Why? No idea. All I know is a guy from Munchen offered to hang out more with me (fell through), a guy from Magdeburg offered to hang out more (a possibly Trump-loving German [ugh], met him on the train back to Berlin from Dusseldorf), and a sale rep guy from suburban Berlin just gave me his card to contact him if I was coming back to Germany. In the USA, I only get a fraction of this friendliness from other men.

German women ? I can’t say anything really, beyond that many were very attractive. Brown hair seems to be the default hair color of Germany, and blonde comes down the list a bit. The only German women I really talked a lot with were the Berlin bar owner and her friend, who did encourage me a bit to speak German but how can I speak German if I don’t know German?! I had my Google Translator thank god.

If everything was in English, you might think you were just in another former colony of the UK. It’s extremely similar to the USA.

Lots of Mercedes-Benz’s and BMW’s in Berlin and in Hamburg. Of course.

No billboards except government-sanctioned ones on the autobahn. Not all of the autobahn is unregulated, the parts I was on had speed limits.

All of the trains, trams and subways were clean and worked well. The seats were all clean. They were a real pleasure to ride.

Keep your voice down on trains or you will get publicly admonished. I learned.

German Public Transportation 

One skill I acquired pretty quickly was how to use the buses, trams (above-ground city-only trains), subways (U-bahns), regional trains (S-bahns and RE-bahns) and long distance trains (ICE). Here are the extremely important lessons for Americans: 1- Know precisely what train you have to catch, meaning the FULL COMPLETE TRAIN NUMBER; 2- KNOW THE EXACT PLATFORM it will arrive and depart on; 3- Make 100% sure it’s going in the direction you want to go; 4- Make 100% sure that the train in front of you is the 100% correct one. I emphasize all this because I got on the wrong train TWO TIMES. The first time was no big deal and my friend gave me directions by phone to correct things. The second time was a HUGE FREAKING MISTAKE. I really thought I had gotten on the correct train, but nope, the damn train stopped in a Hamburg suburb and I was told in German, in so many words, to get off. I had to scramble, find out how to get back to Hamburg, and buy a NEW train ticket back to Berlin.

It’s well worth your time to study up ahead of time and study the maps. It’s extremely easy in the rush of things to make a mistake. When I was in Rostock (part of the Hamburg train fiasco), I asked the minimal-English-speaking train employee if I was going to get on the correct train back to Berlin. He said, 99% in German, that yes it was the right train. I was really scared of making another mistake and ending up in Stuttgart or something. The reason I asked was, on the train schedule it gave TWO DIFFERENT TRAIN NUMBERS FOR THE EXACT SAME ROUTE and I saw the “wrong” train in front of me with a different number than what was on the monitor.

Also, don’t try to be slick and skip out of paying for subways and trains. On the subways, they have undercover officers who have quotas and will bust you for a 60 euro fine. On the trains, they almost always check your ticket. Definitely on the long-haul trains between, for example, Berlin and Rostock and Berlin and Dusseldorf. A short-haul subway ride is only 1.7 euros, so don’t be cheap and just pay it. Even the long-haul train rides are reasonable, to me.

 

Trip to Ratingen (Dusseldorf suburb)

I have a friend I know from a forum who lives with his wife in Ratingen. He invited me to come visit. I got on the wrong train at first, so he helped me by phone to get back on track. I had a lovely visit with he and his wife, stayed overnight in his home and they even treated me to dinner (yes yes I offered to pay my share!). He took me on a tour of the local castle, which dated from the 10th century. Very cool! I also got to see the markets of downtown Ratingen and see how the locals live. This trip occurred on the 24 and 25th of February. On this trip, yes indeed, I got the correct trains TO Dussedorf and TO Berlin. My friend in Dusseldorf is responsible for my inspiration to travel to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Malmo (Sweden), and Oslo. I was only in Europe for 28 days, so why not see as much as possible?

 

Private Nazi-era tour with tour guide

This was a six hour tour with a Cologne native. She was very knowledgeable and took me to the most important sights in central Berlin having to do with the Nazi era. She used her Ipad to illustrate things and knew all the answers to my questions. The most important part of the tour was the the Topography of Terror Museum , which will satisfy pretty much any Nazi-history-buff’s curiosity. Janna Ressel was my guide and did an excellent job. We also saw some remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

 

Impressions of Copenhagen

February 28 – March 3: I left Copenhagen on March 2nd for Malmo, Sweden and then off to Oslo. I enjoyed Copenhagen and the people were friendly. I saw the famous Little Mermaid and lots of Copenhagen by bus. I will never forget seeing the mothers (or nannies or au pairs) pushing around their babies in a well-covered insulated baby-stroller. It was cold outside but the babies were very warmly dressed and protected from the winds.

Impressions of Malmo, Sweden

I don’t have much to say here, except it was very cold, very snowy and the people were great. I made travel arrangements here to go to Oslo, Norway overnight. It was so cool to be able to just take a train over a bridge from Denmark to Sweden. I then dashed back to my hotel in Copenhagen, checked out, and got on a plane for Oslo.

 

Impressions of Oslo, Norway

Again, I don’t have much to say. I was only here overnight, and of course it was quite cold and snowy. The airport and hotel people were great. I stayed at the hotel right next door to the airport. The airport is 22 miles from the city, which seems like a very long way if you look at a map. So, check off one more country for me, Norway.

 

Impressions of Amsterdam

March 6 to 9th: The 6th and 9th were mostly spent traveling or in airports, since I really really hate dashing to airports at the last minute. The Dutch all know English, are friendly, use the Euro, and love tourists. I saw the Royal Dutch Palace (wow!), the Rijksmusem (another wow!) and the Anne Frank House (sad but informative). Amsterdam seemed like the most expensive city on my trip. The canals are really cool to see and the houses are beautiful next to them, some of them really quite large. I purposely avoided the cannabis shops (don’t smoke) and also the red-light district (don’t pay for sex). I’ve already seen photos and videos of the RLD, so I knew basically what it was all about.

 

Impressions of Prague

The old sections of Prague are incredibly old and beautiful. Prague did not get bombed as much during WW2, and it shows. They have buildings dating back to the 9th century. I took a grand tour of old Prague which included a riverboat ride down the Vltava River and lunch in this dungeon/basement kind of restaurant. You can tell that the Czech Republic is not as wealthy as Germany just from seeing the non-touristy parts of town. All the Czechs were great to me.

Our poor tour guide felt abused by his company, so he felt comfortable venting to me about it. No one else on the tour was friendly, so, enough said.

 

Impressions of Potsdam

My friend in Ratingen had a friend in Berlin, who was willing to give me two tours. The first tour was central Berlin landmarks, which was great and all on foot. We ate at a Bavarian restaurant after this. The second tour was of Potsdam, which is the home of many German kings and royalty palaces. I saw the Sanssouci palace at length, which was great, and the Cecilienhof Palace, which is where the 1948 Potsdam conference was held to determine the fate of Germany. My tour-guide friend (Ingo) and I were the only ones on the Cecilienhof palace tour, so that was very cool.

Impressions of Hamburg

I can’t say much here, because I was only in Hamburg for several hours. I had a nice dinner and some cake with a forum friend, along with good conversation. It seems like a very modern and beautiful city from what I saw.

Travel advice tips

A- You’re going to walk and stand a lot in Germany. Moreso than in the USA. For whatever reason, chairs and benches are more optional in public places. So, wear your most comfortable socks and shoes when out and about. I wore great ice-gripping boots (which really came in handy in Sweden, Denmark and Norway but not Germany) but they were pretty hard on my feet, plus I was quite out of shape for all this walking and standing. My feet hurt a LOT during my trip. Eventually I figured ice was not going to be a possibility any more, so I ditched the boots and wore my black running shoes. They were MUCH more comfortable, but my feet still hurt.

B- Your USA cell phone sim card will probably be worthless in Germany. I called up my cell phone provider, explained my travel plans and requested help. They sent me a new sim card. When I landed in Germany, nope, it was worthless. Pretty quickly I went to a Vodafone store down the street from my hostel and bought a sim card with lots of data and international phone-calling privileges. If you buy a German sim card, do NOT just assume you can call internationally on it. Ask! I had to pay an extra 50 euros for this privilege, which to me is a huge ripoff.

C- Here’s how to call the USA: with Android phones, click your Contacts app. Fill in the phone number part with +1(areacode)phonenumber or +14073456789 for an example. No spaces or hyphens. Then, to make your call, you simply click the very small phone icon and click the appropriate call button. The “+1” part is the international country code for the USA. Make sure you know how much per minute your calls are, to avoid a nasty shock. You can try calling with Whatsapp or Skype also, but my experience with Skype was not wonderful. I have no idea how great Whatsapp calls are.

D- Carry your USA passport at all times, but MAKE SURE IT IS SECURELY LOCATED WHERE YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHERE IT IS. I kept mine in my left front pants pocket at all times, and I had to use it to buy my German sim card (?!, a security thing I guess and yes I was paying in Euros) and also for a few credit card transactions and money-buying transactions. I think I’ve read some people say not to carry your passport, but you’d be surprised that it IS requested at times.

E- If you need to buy Euros on your credit card, your USA credit card will probably require a PIN number to do so. I had to call back to the USA and request a PIN number, which I received immediately. At the Deutsche Bank in western Berlin (Charlottenberg), they sent me to the ATM machines, because they had no human tellers.

F- Have lots of Euros. Yes, credit cards are accepted in the airports and at some stores and bars, but not everywhere.

G- It will make your trip more fun if you know more than 3 words in German. I knew more than 3, but not many more. Yes, the younger people and the people in the airports tend to know English. Some cab drivers know NO English. If you know German, you won’t feel so detached from the local people. It’s a bit awkward to always use sign language and have to use your Google Translate app.

H- Despite my bad experience at an eastern Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg) sports bar, no one will harass you for using English in public. Long story short, I wanted to talk to this guy from Munchen about the Russians and his English was pretty good, so we used English. The female bar owner got upset (born and raised, I think, in east Berlin and taught no English by the GDR schools) and demanded to him, in German, that we do not use English any more. He was astounded and every German I’ve asked has also been amazed. Her bar, her rules, HER PROBLEM. I never went back, despite a warm initial reception.

I- Use a cell phone with a gigantic battery (5000 maH or so) or just carry around a few fully-charged-up spare batteries. I was constantly using my cell phone and it was a hassle to always be searching for an electric outlet to use to recharge my battery or to ask a bartender to charge up my phone. You’ll be REALLY glad you followed this advice.

J- Do not simply assume that you can get in and out of your shower safely. I almost fell down 3 freaking times in my bathroom in Prague. The first time, OK, maybe I was a tad careless, but the other 2 times no. I complained to the hotel management, so hopefully they will make the bathroom floor less slippery. I’ve traveled around the world and that was the FIRST time I had that problem.

K- Europe is expensive, period. If you can save money by cooking your own food, using hostels, taking public transit and other measures, do so.

L- You cannot use Euros in Sweden, Czech Republic or Denmark. Just buy the currency at the airport. If you’re not going by plane, the bus or train station might have a currency exchange place or your local city or town might have one. In Prague, my hotel was willing to sell the Czech korunas for no commission.

M- Get to the airport, bus station or train station EARLY to relax, get your bearings, read all the important signs and just to know what the hell you’re doing. It can be a bit overwhelming to figure out everything in a foreign language. Also, at the airports you have to go through security and sometimes passport control and they can be very slow. One last tip, no liquids above 100 milliliters in carry-on luggage. I forgot this and just to save a lot of hassles, just threw all mine away.

N- Take an electricity-converter for your cell phone charger. They do not use the same plugs as we do in the USA and the voltage is different. You can easily get one on Amazon or just wait till you get there. I would just get one in advance to save the hassle. They are easy to lose (I lost mine and had to borrow one), so keep an eye on it.

 

I could probably write more, but 3608 words is enough, for now anyway. Thank you for reading.

Steve

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