Morgan

I am really excited about going to Germany this winter. My only reservation is that I dont speak any of the language. Will people speak decent English like in most of Europe? I went to Spain two years ago and found it to be a problem. Very few spoke good English at all. Still had a good time and the people were very nice though.

achtung

You'll have a similar experience in Germany. And you will probably once again think that you are having a good time.<BR>

Art

Morgan, I heard more English in the Frankfurt airport in 1 hour than I did in Spain in 10 days. When I was at Oktoberfest last year I did not get a chance to practice my German much as the Germans wanted to practice their English. Many Germans speak English. You should not have any problems. <BR>

Ira

Guten Tag Herr Morgan,<BR><BR>Ja, in Deutschland Leute Englisch sprechen.

Russ

You should have little difficulty getting by with English if you're speaking with native Germans under the age of 50 or so - nearly all had to study English for years in school, and the schools there do an excellent job. The older generation, school dropouts, and immigrants that live there are sometimes quite another story, but in places that frequently get tourists, even these individuals will often be able to manage a few English words. The French, the Spaniards, and the Italians, on the whole, are much less able speakers of English than Germans and citizens of other northern European countries.

uncle sam

You had better get ready for text book perfect English without any slang.<BR><BR>However in the tourist areas it will be spoken.<BR><BR>Start by saying, &quot;Sprecken ze English?&quot; and close with &quot;Danke&quot; and &quot;Bitte&quot;<BR><BR>US

aunt samantha

Oh my, Uncle Sam, you really have grown. I thought you would tell the lad just to yell in English several times. Then eventually, they would get the message

xxx

<BR>One can get by with just English almost anywhere in Europe. Getting by, however, doesn't mean things will always be smooth. And it's always nice to try to at least learn the basic pleasantries in any language.

uncle sam

Aunt Samantha,<BR><BR>You really shouldn't let what you think you know about me overcome the reality of me.<BR><BR>I may be a very vocal conservative...but I am a very good traveler. <BR><BR>Read books about the history of a place before I go so I can better appreciate the cuontry or place in a country that I am visiting, try all the local foods and wines, appreciate the uniqueness of the culture, reduce the level of my voice and try, before I leave, to learn a little phrase or two like please and thank you in the applicable language.<BR><BR>I am actually a very good American ambassador. This little board gives me an opportunity to share my other side!<BR><BR>US

Mike F.

I found more people in Germany spoke English than in Spain. I do speak some German but sometimes get lazy or frustrated trying to think of how I'm going to say something so I sometimes use English. For example, I can ask for simple directions in German but if there's a problem with a rental car, it's difficult so sometimes I don't try.<BR><BR>Some Germans are sometimes snobbish, even worse than some French people. However, some Germans are very nice.

bhavana

Ok, i am in Germany right now, visiting friends in Dusseldorf. I have been here for a week now, and definitely find English is not so commonly spoken. However, if u ask a person in their 20s-30s chances are that they speeak more English than say the 40-50 yr olds.<BR><BR>My experience has been that in smaller shops, it´s difficult to find someone speaking English, but in the bigger stores, boutiques or dept stores, people in the shop more often understand English and can communicate fairly decently.<BR><BR>But i did learn a few german phrases which hv definitely helped make my stay and travel here better - start off with ´enshuldegung´ meaning &eacute;xcuse me´ or also cud mean ´sorry´. And then ask ´sprechen zie english ?´ meaning ´do u speak english ?´. Most of the time they reply with ´a little bit´. They actually speak better than they think, they´re just shy. And finally end ur conversation with ´danke´ meaning ´thanks´ or ´tchuss´ meaning ´cheers´ or ´bye´. ´Guten Tag´is a more formal way of saying ´good day´, more informal way would be to greet a person with ´hallo´. I also remember ´wo ist ....? meaning ´where is´, ´was ist´´meaning ´what is´ and then u can use sign language. train or bus stn wud be ´bahnhof´. <BR><BR>Good luck. I must warn u that generally i did not find them to be a very cheerful or forthcoming group of people all eager to help u, but more keep to themselves and put on grim faces. But that shudn´t affect ur visit so much.<BR><BR>let´s see if u concur with me after ur trip .

Bob Brown

I think you can get by with only English, probably you can do more than just get by. <BR><BR>My wife does not speak German at all, but the hotel desk staff in Salzburg, Munich, and Vienna was more than able to respond in English to the normal questions. <BR><BR>In Bavaria and Austria in general, I find that if someone can speak 10 words of English, he or she will help you out, if possible. <BR><BR>In Das Haus der Musik in Vienna, the educational staff members were usually more than willing to explain some of the technological displays, in English.<BR><BR>And waitstaff members in the better restaurants were usually able to get the job done very well in English.<BR><BR>And, as a related fact, so many people speak such very good English that you dare not assume that your conversation is not being understood. Hence it is pretty dumb to go about making unflattering remarks on the assumption that no one will understand you.<BR><BR>This level of English understanding is commonly found at concerts, opera performances, and nice restaurants. I know I attended a performance of Falstaff at the Munich Opera. Our tickets were such that our German friend's seat was directly in front of ours. During intermission, I leaned over and asked our friend a question in English about the performance. She did not know the answer, but the man seated beside her did!! And he answered quite well. Turned out his wife, also German, spoke English even better than he did!!<BR><BR>And two years ago, when we were touring the Festspielhaus in Salzburg, the guide was giving the lecture in both German and English. There were only 7 of us, 4 English speakers and 3 German speakers. Soon after we started the tour, the German speakers told the guide that she need NOT repeat her comments in German because they could understand English just fine. Because the guide did not have to take the time to give the same information twice, we got a more detailed description in English!!<BR><BR>

c

Hi,<BR>I took my two kids on a driving tour in Germany last year, with maps and pre-determined hotels.(About 5 hours driving per day with stops along the way.)<BR>The problem came when we got lost- (which was more often than I would like to admit.)<BR>The people at the gas stations, small stores, etc. spoke almost NO English.<BR>I assume that they were the less educated people, though I never thought about it in advance.Made for some interesting times! Especially when it was snowing heavily and we could barely see the signs!

tony

C. Why is it that a German who does not speak English is &quot;less/poorly educated&quot; when it appears that totally acceptable that almost every &quot;well educated&quot; American speaks no foreign languages at all ? <BR><BR>Most Europeans do not only have a good grounding in English, but often speak another 1 or 2 languages as well - statistically Netherlans is the most polygot with 60% odd of the total population speaking 3 languages or more <BR>(Usually English, plus French + German)<BR>In Germany approx 65% of the people can converse in English, about 35% - 40% have French as well.. <BR>Almost anywhere one goes in the world, particularly in tourist centres and large cities one can &quot;get by&quot; in English, French or Spanish - the so-called 3 international languages. But no matter how conversant the local population may be in any language, the entire key and secret to any nation and culture , to its richness , it to have the capacity , no matter how siomple , of undertsanding and communicating in the local lingo. No matter how many and how well, Germans speak English , they will not be speaking it in the, street, local bars, restaurants, and beer-gardens...And thats where the difference lies - between getting by and really experiencing the culture.<BR>Guten Reisen &gt;<BR><BR>

Simone

Hi Morgan! You shouldnt have any trouble at all. I've been to Germany several times and not once did I encounter some pretending not to understand English. I know that in other places people might refuse to speak English to you but not in Deushland. Gueten Fahrte! Have a nice thip, dear.

k

Morgan, you will be fine. The other posters here are right. In the big cities, people speak English. Out in the countryside, maybe not so much, but to me that is half the fun! <BR><BR>I have been to Berlin and Frankfurt and never had any problem. I agree it is nice if you can say a few polite phrases in their language, or ask some basic questions.<BR><BR>As an aside, just to share, I have been in some smaller towns in Italy and spoken to people in Spanish, because some of them knew more Spanish than English (and no, my Spanish is not that great, it was difficult but kind of funny), and on the train from Berlin to Prague I spoke to the conductor in French (very poor, stilted, broken French), since it was the only common language we had. You will manage!<BR><BR>Karen

Patrick

Tony, you paint a very black and white picture. I think there are a lot of other ways to experience a culture between those two extremes --just getting by and really absorbing the culture. I thought I really enjoyed and absorbed a lot of culture in Slovenia, in Poland, in Greece, in Turkey, in Finland, in Croatia and others, but I don't speak a word of those languages. I guess I should have stayed home since I couldn't &quot;really experience&quot; their cultures. I don't deny that being fluent in a language gives you a greater benefit, but wouldn't it be sad if we didn't visit those places where we can't speak the language. I hate to think of all that I would have missed. I'm perfectly happy absorbing what culture I can, rather than having to limit my travles to those places where I'm fluent in a language.

Linda

We spent six days in Germany this summer. Knowing only the basics, we got along fine. Hotels and restaurants are no problem, shopping is hit and miss. But even then, the shopkeeper would simply point out the total number on the cash register if he or she didn't speak English. And I have to disagree with one previous poster who said most Germans were not friendly. We had many people go out of their way to help us, or just to have a brief conversation (including one woman who didn't speak English, but her 12 year-old son did, and he did all the translating). So go and have fun.

CharlieB

Morgan - part of the enjoyment of travelling in Europe or any foreign country is becoming involved as deeply as possible in the local culture - including language. Do try to make an effort and you will be rewarded! On a recent trip to Germany, at a restaurant in a very small town, I ordered roast venison in faltering German. The waitress took my order but returned shortly and in faltering English stated stated that they were &quot;all out of deer but ( after thinking a while) smiled and said they had roast &quot;bunny&quot;.