What German towns/areas can I visit where little English is spoken?
Jan 8th, 2016, 03:59 AM
#41
Wesser T:
Knock off the Muslim bashing or I am going to report you to the editors.
Your bigoted comments are absolutely disgusting.
Would you tell Peg not to go into the Kölner Dom because she could get molested by a Roman Catholic priest?
Do you point out that Lutheran men are rapists?
Many American college fraternities have been embroiled in rape scandals.
Do you tell women not to walk around Penn State because they could get raped by some WASPs?
Educate yourself.
Thin
Knock off the Muslim bashing or I am going to report you to the editors.
Your bigoted comments are absolutely disgusting.
Would you tell Peg not to go into the Kölner Dom because she could get molested by a Roman Catholic priest?
Do you point out that Lutheran men are rapists?
Many American college fraternities have been embroiled in rape scandals.
Do you tell women not to walk around Penn State because they could get raped by some WASPs?
Educate yourself.
Thin
Jan 8th, 2016, 07:43 AM
#43
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Cowboy: When I took the boat trip down the Elbe from Dresden a couple of years ago and went into the restaurant below deck, I didn't understand a single word of what the people were saying. Apparently it was Sachsisch.
There was even a Sachsish-German dictionary for sale in the wheelhouse (as I guess it was).
I'd had that experience before--listening to a woman who was talking to me. I caught the word "nicht" occasionally, but that was pretty much it. Her daughter reminded her she was speaking dialect, but after a brief excursion into Hochdeutsch, she went right back into dialect.
As my favorite German saying goes "Ich verstand nur Bahnhof."
There was even a Sachsish-German dictionary for sale in the wheelhouse (as I guess it was).
I'd had that experience before--listening to a woman who was talking to me. I caught the word "nicht" occasionally, but that was pretty much it. Her daughter reminded her she was speaking dialect, but after a brief excursion into Hochdeutsch, she went right back into dialect.
As my favorite German saying goes "Ich verstand nur Bahnhof."
Jan 8th, 2016, 03:41 PM
#46
Mel, great, no hurry, just so long as you do it 
I like your travel style, just not your choice of season, so the destinations really interest me.
Peg, my parents spoke Sachsisch, and it was our first language, imagine my surprise when I attended school in Adelaide and my German teacher (from Hamburg) was dismayed with my appalling dialect and found it a real challenge teaching me high German. I have been in small towns in Germany where locals said they found it harder to speak high German than it was to speak English.
I like your travel style, just not your choice of season, so the destinations really interest me.
Peg, my parents spoke Sachsisch, and it was our first language, imagine my surprise when I attended school in Adelaide and my German teacher (from Hamburg) was dismayed with my appalling dialect and found it a real challenge teaching me high German. I have been in small towns in Germany where locals said they found it harder to speak high German than it was to speak English.
Jan 8th, 2016, 04:23 PM
#47
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Adelaidean
LOL... I can imagine your German teacher's surprise when you talked to him in Sächsisch.
Whathello
The wurst expression works best when you don't pronouce it with a sharp "s" but a "sh" sound.. as in woorsht
And you would not say "Es ist mir ganz Wurst" but rather "Das ist mir Wurst". And the expression has lost most of its connection with the sausage, by the way.
And it has a slightly impolite undertone as in "Don't get on my nerves with that question - I don't give a f***".
So you would not use it when a waitress asked if you wanted tea or coffee and you didn't care.
LOL... I can imagine your German teacher's surprise when you talked to him in Sächsisch.
Whathello
The wurst expression works best when you don't pronouce it with a sharp "s" but a "sh" sound.. as in woorsht
And you would not say "Es ist mir ganz Wurst" but rather "Das ist mir Wurst". And the expression has lost most of its connection with the sausage, by the way.
And it has a slightly impolite undertone as in "Don't get on my nerves with that question - I don't give a f***".
So you would not use it when a waitress asked if you wanted tea or coffee and you didn't care.
Jan 9th, 2016, 01:07 AM
#50
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Thanks CowBoy.
Actually I heard it in business discussions ...
The guy kept saying it with his son - he is from Bavaria.
I think he said it 25 times over a discussion of 2 hours !
(Yet he knows I speak some German).
(Love these discussions actually).
Adelaide, you got me laughing - I can imagine your teacher's surprise...
Actually I heard it in business discussions ...
The guy kept saying it with his son - he is from Bavaria.
I think he said it 25 times over a discussion of 2 hours !
(Yet he knows I speak some German).
(Love these discussions actually).
Adelaide, you got me laughing - I can imagine your teacher's surprise...
Jan 9th, 2016, 08:45 AM
#51
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Of course, it is not pronounced "wurschtegal", but "wurstegal".
Only the people below the Weißwurstäquator say "wurscht".
BTW, according to a former chancellor, who ought to know it, wurst is one of the three things of which you better do not know how they are made.
Only the people below the Weißwurstäquator say "wurscht".
BTW, according to a former chancellor, who ought to know it, wurst is one of the three things of which you better do not know how they are made.
Jan 9th, 2016, 04:11 PM
#53
Sorry about the sidetrack, Peg!
After over 50 years in Australia, my parents now speak 'Germish', and don't even notice. Part German, part English in same sentence, then an English verb with ge- in front of it. And they still can't pronounce 'th', so 33 is 'sirty sree'.
But it's an amazing achievement, my Dad was a refugee after evacuating their home village (it's Poland now) in WW2 and settling in what became East Germany, escaping, leaving all family behind, then randomly choosing Australia with its' migrant program. No English lessons then.... arrive in Australia, get 'processed', and allocated a factory job. The newly graduated school teachers in the outback were ill prepared for the non English speaking children of Germans, Greeks and Yugoslavs.
(Since meeting me, my Aussie husband tried to learn German and had some curious conversations, mixing up 'nacht' and 'nackt' for example).
After over 50 years in Australia, my parents now speak 'Germish', and don't even notice. Part German, part English in same sentence, then an English verb with ge- in front of it. And they still can't pronounce 'th', so 33 is 'sirty sree'.
But it's an amazing achievement, my Dad was a refugee after evacuating their home village (it's Poland now) in WW2 and settling in what became East Germany, escaping, leaving all family behind, then randomly choosing Australia with its' migrant program. No English lessons then.... arrive in Australia, get 'processed', and allocated a factory job. The newly graduated school teachers in the outback were ill prepared for the non English speaking children of Germans, Greeks and Yugoslavs.
(Since meeting me, my Aussie husband tried to learn German and had some curious conversations, mixing up 'nacht' and 'nackt' for example).
Jan 13th, 2016, 03:09 PM
#57
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To answer your English question. I guess my German is so bad almost everyone switches to English either in pity or frustration. I asked one lady at a Christmas market if she spoke English and she had a cute answer, "yes, no, please, thank you." I understand.
Jan 13th, 2016, 09:07 PM
#58
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We visited these Bavarian towns where we had some trouble communicating with the locals. It was great fun, all in the spirit of travel.
Mittenwald has beautiful painted frescoes on most of its town buildings. If you're into hiking, there is a see-through metal bridge over a deep gorge nearby - walkable from Mittenwald, about an hour walk. For bragging rights, you could walk from Mittenwald to Austria via an arm on that trail. I walked into the bakery and spoke English (I don't speak German); the lady behind the counter grabbed someone from the kitchen who spoke minimal English. Appreciate her trying to accommodate me.
Fussen (home of Disney Inspiring Neuschwanstein) - not sure how much English is spoken but just a cool place to get lost amongst the quaint Bavarian alleyways. Walked along a beautiful teal blue river on a hike towards the Neuschwanstein Castle, where our relative peace was ended by the hoards of tourists. Really neat way to "discover" the castles though - our first sight of the castles were as they nestled in the lush green mountains.
Nuremberg (amazing medieval bridges that criss cross the River - we turned off GPS and just galloped along to try to get lost. Two old towns to explore, castle, city wall and cool churches. Again at the bakery, and point and pay. Lady behind the counter didn't understand my English.
Nordlingen- Town built in a meteorite crater with intact medieval city walls and gates you can walk on. We had difficulty communicating at the café we stopped for lunch.
Feel free to stop by my blog budgettravelwithkids.com for more ideas.
Mittenwald has beautiful painted frescoes on most of its town buildings. If you're into hiking, there is a see-through metal bridge over a deep gorge nearby - walkable from Mittenwald, about an hour walk. For bragging rights, you could walk from Mittenwald to Austria via an arm on that trail. I walked into the bakery and spoke English (I don't speak German); the lady behind the counter grabbed someone from the kitchen who spoke minimal English. Appreciate her trying to accommodate me.
Fussen (home of Disney Inspiring Neuschwanstein) - not sure how much English is spoken but just a cool place to get lost amongst the quaint Bavarian alleyways. Walked along a beautiful teal blue river on a hike towards the Neuschwanstein Castle, where our relative peace was ended by the hoards of tourists. Really neat way to "discover" the castles though - our first sight of the castles were as they nestled in the lush green mountains.
Nuremberg (amazing medieval bridges that criss cross the River - we turned off GPS and just galloped along to try to get lost. Two old towns to explore, castle, city wall and cool churches. Again at the bakery, and point and pay. Lady behind the counter didn't understand my English.
Nordlingen- Town built in a meteorite crater with intact medieval city walls and gates you can walk on. We had difficulty communicating at the café we stopped for lunch.
Feel free to stop by my blog budgettravelwithkids.com for more ideas.
