>The recipeient will see a +44 number
Problem ist, that the recipeient by default will not see any number anymore.

>Can you use a hotel address? The Reichstag...?
Yes, I usually use:
Angela Merkel
Willy-Brandt-Straße 1
10557 Berlin

You can enter any address you like.

Angela Merkel...hm seems to me I've heard that name before...let me see...is she some German politician?

I've used the ekit card...as I remember, the number transmitted is usually +44207xx...it's usually different each time (it's a London number)...some of the Isle of Man cards do transmit the correct number.

I called AceTelecom back and asked about the problem. The helpful customer service gentleman told me that with the phone I plan to use (Nokia) that I will not have that problem, but that it does happen with some phones and with those phones the numbers would have to be used. Let's hope
I will be ok without using additional numbers to call.

I purchased a phone from Telestial with the US/UK Passport SIM, nothing but trouble. I'd go a different route next time.

Anyway, the ekit by defaut doesn't transmit numbers anymore either. But default can be overridden with *31#. Unfortunately it doesn't store this setting.

The cheapest SIM rates are with Lebara, if you're going to spend any time in UK. The catch is the card must be activated by making a call while in UK. There's a least one online site that will allow you to purchase a Lebara sim and mail it to a US address. They will activate it for you a couple of days before your trip and you can use normal topups once you get there. Downside (may be my phone) was sometimes Vodaphone wouldn't register it unless I did so manually a couple of times; also no email gateway@lebara.

Lebara charges 4p/minute to call the USA and Canada and Australian landlines.....both T Mobile UK and Orange UK (and 3 UK) tie in with a firm called yourcallworld where you can make calls to landlines outside the UK for 3p/minute....vodafone UK and T Mobile UK without the intermediary charge, after sending an email to them, 5p/minute to call landlines outside the UK, Orange UK camel plan is 6p/minute....I usually don't make all that many cdalls within the UK but I think they're all pretty close.

All follow eu regulations regarding roaming in the eu and those rates are the same no matter the sim...

Violetduck - I didn't know ACE had a UK SIM as mine (about 3 years old) is an Estonian SIM. I will have to call and chat with the ACE people as we used the SIM in France previously. This time we will be in the Czech Republic and Austria. So I want to see if I'm okay before I reload it.

Good luck and be sure to post back after your trip!

blh-I was going to purchase the ES SIM and was told the UK would be better. I talked with Frank so you might ask for him.
He is quite helpful. When is your trip? We are going in September. Thanks again for your help.

We are going the 1st of October. I will watch for your report if you get back by then. Where are you going in Austria? We are going to Salzburg, Salzkamergut - Hallstatt,
Danube area, and Vienna.

Since I use and have used the ekit quite frequently in Germany (testing only), Austria, CZ, Italy and Hungary, I can tell you that it works at least for now. I have a callback "system" at home that when I call it from anywhere and let the phone ring two times, it calls me back via a German 010 number and then connects me. Total cost is about 10ct to reach the UK number plus local fees from my ISDN connection. The card roams on most networks in Europe.
Since the callback device needs to identify who is calling by checking the caller ID, this callback only works when there actually is a caller ID.

I'm not using this in Germany, because I can call German phone numbers for free thanks to a very nice phone company that seems to like me ;-) LoL

blh-We return 23 Sept so hopefully I will get the information to you. If I have a chance,I might even get on Fodors while on vacation, who knows?? :) Our itinerary is Lindau, Germany on Lake Constance,Fuessen,Mittenwald,St.Wolfgang(planning daytrip to Hallstatt)and Landshut,Germany last to be near the Munich airport to return home. We have been to Salzburg,Vienna and some places on the Danube. Your trip sounds perfect. Have a wonderful time!!!!

Thanks, violetduck! You have a wonderful time too!

For blh----promised to let you know about the AceTelecom card.
I made a call in states to try it out when received.
Then used it several times in Germany,
went to Austria and used Skype. Then back to
Landshut, Germany for three days and it would never pick up
a signal. Then we came home. Hope you don't
have any problems. We found the Skype app on
my iPhone to work great when we had wifi.
We looked like the people with metal detectors, but we were walking
around trying to pick up free wifi. : )

I was thinking about getting the Telestial Passport SIM card. Anyone have an opinion about it?

We want to get the card before we go to Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia.