I always make it a point to learn between 50-100 words in the language of the country to where I am traveling. Most important are key phrases, like Where is the..., Please, Thank you, I'm sorry but I do not speak ____ very well.

Most airports will have signs in both German and English.

Just remember, talking loud does not help someone understand what you are saying.



dave

Airports are "tourist" areas. English are used everywhere.

Once off heavily tourist areas, written items, such as menus, instructions, cathedral signage, etc, were only in German. But most young people speak English.

The difficulty would not be in the language itself for menus. If you are not familiar with German food names in English, you will have difficulty understanding what you are ordering even if the waiter explains to you in English. You need a menu decoder.

I found that the differences were more cultural rather than the language.

In the airport there is English signage. Most menus are in German only so I would look up words for German foods on the internet and that would help you alot. Or just be brave and order something that sounds good, that could be fun!
If you are driving all of the signs are in German and the mileage and speed limits are in kilometers. If you are somewhere like Munich the public transportation is all in German. But you can find a local that speaks english and have them help you with the ticket machines.
Most people under 50 speak a little English so learn to ask 'sprechen sie english?'and they will either say no or answer in English.
Have fun on your first trip abroad and you'll probably find it won't be you last.

Please don't worry about not speaking German. I just returned from a trip where I visited about 7 different countries. I had the most success in France (thanks to a few years of high school French), but in a couple of the others I was lucky if I knew "hello", "please", and "thank you". Learning more words and phrases is great if you can do it, but I was moving too quickly to be able to learn such things since picking up new languages doesn't come easily to me. I didn't go to Germany, but I don't think you'll have any problems in airports or with most transportation. Menus were the biggest challenge for me, and a decoder is a great suggestion. Pointing and smiling works wonders in a lot of situations (buying tickets, choosing food, etc.) Have a great time!!!

Always carry a small English/German dictionary with you..have fun and dont worry about..

I am a teacher trainer, training EFL/ESL teachers, and as part of their training, I get teachers to communicate with each other without speaking. It is amazing to see how complex questions can be asked without words: "When you eat ice cream, how many scoops do you like?" When you went to school, did you wear a tie?" "Have you ever been arrested?"
So, personally, I would suggest leaving your dictionary at home. You should learn Danke (Pronounced Danka) 'Thank you' and the rest you can communicate with gestures, pointing at maps and a disarming smile.
Jeremy
www.jeremytaylor.eu

Remember that a smile is well understood in either language. Many (especially younger generations) do speak english and are more than happy to attempt english if you're friendly and attempt at least please and thank you in german. This is even more so in the tourist areas, they'll likely speak at least minimal english. Charades, a smile and patience will get you further than you think.

Here's a link to an article that lists some very basic words and their pronunciations. http://tiny.cc/SFsZZ

Have fun

I dont agree with jeremy at all..

I have lived and traveled in many parts of the world..Sometimes I could not even pronounce the language of the country that I was visiting or living ..many times I would look up the world and show to the locals what I wanted, never had any problems..Even while I lived in Taipei.

I still say that a small dictionary is very essential especially if you dont know the language of the country that you are visiting.
I would Not leave home without it..At least you can translate and know what you are eating at the restaurants..

Of course a smile is very essential, I should know it,I am the Queen of Smile..

I agree that a pocket dictionary is helpful. One other tip...if you ask someone if they speak English and they say, "a little," they are fluent.

If they say "nein" or "no," they speak enough to tell you what you need to know.

I like to make a small cheat sheet/index card (or write the list inside the cover of my dictionary or guidebook) of words I'm likely to see on signs, espeically those that have have opposites, such as
in, out
up, down
exit, enter
push, pull
wait, go

Many guidebooks have a menu decoder section; as well as basic words and phrases (with pronunciation). I either bring those guidebooks with me, or photocopy those pages. Bringing a dictionary is another thing to carry and adds on to the overall weight I'm carrying in my day bag, so I don't do that.

I don't speak German but have been to Germany quite a few times (both big cities and smaller towns), and never had any trouble. AFter a day or so, you'll get used to the basic terms, such as:

Entrance/Exit
Pull/Push
Toilet
Platform/track
Arrival/Departure
Open/Closed
Days of the week

As for language, I know the basic phrases, such as Good Morning, please, thank you etc. Another phrase I always learn is how to ask for the check at the restaurant, since the waiters don't bring the check over automatically. IME, as long as you're polite (using please, thank you), people are helpful. Since I'm female and travel solo usually, I also learn the words such as "Help", "Police" in German in case I need it. Fortunately, it hasn't come to that yet.

One last point, there were a few times in smaller towns in Germany I couldn't quite figure out what's going on (security guards at museums/palaces speaking to me in German), but with the universal sign language of pointing and gesturing, everything worked out fine.

I don't speak German and didn't find it much of a hindrance when traveling in Germany. Ditto for Switzerland. There are enough people that speak English that you will usually be able to find someone to help you.

I usually rely on context, visual clues, and other tricks to help figure things out and find that consciously paying attention to things like this is invaluable when traveling, and gets me further than learning a handful of phrases. For example: I was at a store today where you have to take a number. Unfortunately, they didn't have the screen working, and only announced the numbers. Not speaking German, I simply glanced at the numbers others were holding and found one that had a 56. I was holding 58. I watched until that person went up. I then knew I would be the second number called after that one.

Thanks to all for the helpful tips! I will try to at least learn please and thank you etc but I have a feeling I will "butcher" the pronunciation of even those simple words.

Where do I get a menu decoder???

The SMILING will be easy because we are BLESSED AND EXCITED to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<Are there any hints for a first time traveler that you would like to share? We are excited but will certainly be out of our small town, midwest comfort zone! >

http://www.fodors.com/community/travel-tips-trip-ideas/your-best-tip-for-1st-time-or-not-so-savvy-travelers.cfm

As I said, many guidebooks have a menu decoder in the "language" section or "food and drink" section. Go to your local library and look at various guidebooks from different companies.

I have never been in an airport that didn't have asic signs in English. As for menus - avoid restaurants that have them in multiple languages - since they are usually tourist traps - poor food and high prices. Get a menu reader so you can red the menus in German and you'll get better, more authrntic food.

I think phrase books are very useful when visiting a country where I don't speak the language. They usually include a section on menus as well as other useful tourist information. They try to give phonetic spellings so that you can pronounce things better. However, my experience is that when I am most successful in using these phrase books I manage to get the phrase out relatively well then cannot understand the response!
Ideally I also like to have a small dictionary along since the phrase books are not designed to let you look up a specific (usually key) word

Many libraries have language videos with which help you feel more comfortable with a few basic phrases and help with pronunciation.

I speak German reasonably well. When I was first learning, I found that people were very forgiving about mistakes. Many people do speak good English

for general tourist tips I would look through libraries and bookstores for books that look helpful. Some have a lot of good practical information about the country as well as descriptions of tourist sites.

We were in Germany three years ago and did not find that most young people spoke English. But maybe our sample size was too small. And after the first day I find we just relax and muddle through wherever we are.

Being able to count to six in the local langauge has always helped us (six of us travel together).

I took a conversational German class before a trip to Austria a few years back, and "German Phrases for Dummies" was the book she asked us to purchase for the class. You can get it on Amazon, and it has useful phrases for getting directions, eating out, and more. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764595539. It's not a very big book at all, so it would be something you could easily carry around and reference.

We were in Germany three years ago and did not find that most young people spoke English.

English language skills in German-speaking countries are not as good as many would make them out to be. Most of these countries cling to a belief that German is a major language. Not dubbing TV and movies (or translating them to Mandarin or Arabic) would probably be a bigger investment in their countries' future than anything else they could do.

Nonetheless, they are better than France, Spain, or Italy, yes, but light-years behind Scandinavia, Benelux, or SE Asia. Nonetheless, I find you can get bye. You can't have a deep conversation like you can with a Swede or a Dutchwoman, but you can get bye. The key is keeping your expectations in check.

I'm just a typical American when it comes to learning foreign languages - LAZY! I learn just a couple of phrases, just to get by. In most circumstances my English and Spanish have been more than enough. Don't sweat it.

IMO, more people speak English - and well - in Germany and Austria than in any other non English speaking countries I have ever visited - Spain, Italy (numerous times), France, Switzerland, more. Denmark is another country where English is very widely spoken.

I do speak enough German to get by but my traveling companions on the last two trips did not and there were no major issues. In the smaller villages it was not as widely spoken as in the major cities though.

Signage and public transport was easy to use as well.

If you want to hear spoken German, and learn some basic vocabulary, visit www.travlang.com. It's not a particularly hard language to pronounce, once you get that a v is pronounced like out f and a w like out v. I think the BBC has some online language programs too. Just 10 minutes a day before your trip and you'll have mastered enough to get by with the basics.

I went to Germany for the first time this year, and used the free BBC language course at http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/. It gives you basic German, with pronunciation, is interactive and fun, and best of all, gives you information on culture and customs. For example, I learned that if you want to add a tip to a server in a restaurant (service is always included on the bill) you should give it to the person, not leave it on the table, which is considered rude. Also, in Europe it is customary when you enter a shop to greet the person there, often the owner, with a "Good day" greeting in their language. Ask first before handling merchandise in a boutique.

I found Germans very friendly and helpful, and almost all young people speak English. I spent time in Berlin, where many speak English, and Essen, not so many, as it's a much smaller city.

Part of travel fun, I think, can be trying out another language. I find that others appreciate even minimal effort. Too many Americans have had a "We rule the world" attitude; being polite, and, of course, smiling, goes a long way to changing this image.

Carry a phrase book that has a restaurant section in it for menu translations.

If/when you are confused stop and watch what other people are doing (like in a grocery store or post office).

People tend to 'freak out' if no one speaks English, but there's really a lot you can figure out if you stay calm.

>post office
Form one line
>grocery store
Pick the line you like best, it'will always be the slowest moving in the whole store. At least I do always pick that line.

And yes, at a post office, you do not need to stick the stamps onto the envelope by yourself. You just give the letters and the money to the friendly person behind the counter and all will be done. They don't lick the stamps , they have a small sponge or those stamps stick by themself, VERY sophisticated.

anyone concerned about reading the menu should consider "Marling's Menu Master." It is a 3" x 5" pamphlet that translates many of the items you'll find on a menu. It is laid out by course...that is, soups, appetizers, main course, dessert, etc.

The thing we laugh about most when discussing past holidays is trying to speak the host language. Like trying to tell the restaurant staff in Xian that we had left our son's hat in the restaurant and were wondering if anyone had turned it in. This was in mandarin, or so we thought. The manager called a meeting of his staff to see if anyone had the foggiest idea what we were trying to say. The answer was nein.

It may not seem funny at the time, but language challenges are good for years of laughs.

Actually English is most widely spoken in Netherlands and Denmark, but Germany/Austria ranks very high. (It's been required to learn English in high school since my greatgrandfather emigrated more than 100 years ago.)

You shouldn't have any trouble speaking English in a town of any size but I always learn a little whatever - perhaps 30 or 40 words (greetings, basic questions etc) before going anywhere.

Separately, English is a Germanic language and you can intui a lot of basic things just by looking at it (days of the week etc are just like ours - since they're named after the Norse gods).

Even in places where you wouldn't expect, you will probably find some people who speak English. As mentioned, most young people know English even if they are a little hesitant to use it sometimes.

Besides, it's amazing what you can accomplish with a couple of words, a few smiles and a lot of sign language.

IMO, more people speak English - and well - in Germany and Austria than in any other non English speaking countries I have ever visited

I think you need to visit more countries. There is a night and day difference between Holland/Scandinavia and Germany. Heck, most of SE Asia is easier to get around as an English-only speaker than Germany is. This isn't to say that Germany is tough if you don't speak German - it isn't - but this idea that every German speaks fluent English is not really true. I have some highly educated German friends that have studied in the US, and their English is worse than the average Swede or Dutchman.

Give the 100 million people that speak native German in that area, who needs to know another language anyway? Noone! If tourists don't understand a single word, there's always sign language and that works quite good.

To get back to your question about trips for a first time traveler, you might want to check your library for a copy of Rick Steves' Europe through the Back Door which he describes as a "travel-skills handbook." I started traveling in Europe as a college student using Let's Go and have never really used Steves' books myself, but many people find them very helpful. His website also has a fair amount of basic travel tip information.
I don't think his actual travel guides are good--they don't have enough detail for me and are not very comprehensive (he picks and chooses places he likes/has researched and leaves out an awful lot).

Well, travelgourmet, I hope to visit "more countries" though not the ones you list.

My statement was based on my personal experiences - not on yours.