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

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 :D, 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.

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

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.

If you are curious enough to travel, surely at least every now and again you will want to know what some of those strange words mean, confirm the vaguely familiar (good for the self esteem when you are feeling a little overwhelmed), or discover the real meaning of those 'false friend' words (useful smarty pants ammunition). Learn the basics of social niceties and take along something like The Rough Guide dictionary phrasebook, which includes pronunciation, basic grammar and a menu reader.