Germany Favorite Tips by 850prc

Talk to people and make friends

Favorite thing: Wherever we travel, we enjoy meeting the locals. It's a huge part of WHY we travel in the first place, the chance to spend time with and learn about other peoples.

So many of my favorite stories regarding places I've traveled include meeting someone and having a conversation.

Fondest memory: I am proud to see that my kids share the same attitudes about meeting and making friends abroad that my wife and I do. In the accompanying picture, my wife and I were sitting on one side of a tram stop, and my daughter sat on the other side. I looked around, and here is my daughter striking up a conversation in a foreign land with the lady sitting next to her. They talked for about ten minutes and both parted company with a large smile.

We asked Sara about "her friend", and she said that she was from Turkey but had lived in Frankfurt for a couple of years. Then, I think they talked about cats. Sigh.

Hello EURO, goodbye Geldwechsel

Favorite thing: With the advent of the single European currency, the days of changing your money at every border are long gone.

I will kind of miss all of the different and interesting bank notes..... the Deutsch Marks, the lire, etc.

But, you have to admire the ease of economics as you visit 21st century Europe.

Fondest memory: The day that I went into a bank in Munich to cash a traveller's cheque. I had been smart enough to buy cheques in Mark denominations instead of dollars, so I didn't have to get in the interminable wechsel line.

All in all, I think I DO like the Euro better than the old way. : ) Will Great Britain ever choose to shed a few pounds? ; )

Maybe Lawrence Welk wasn't all bad....

Favorite thing: My generation spent a great deal of time laughing at my parents' generation and their musical taste. How many times have any of us run screaming from the house when we saw the television tuned in to the "Lawrence Welk Show". Ol' cornball was, in our opinion, fit only for the funeral home.

But as it turns out, ol' Larry might have had something going with his signature polkas. The polka, especially when played by an oom-pah band, is a happy-go-lucky type of music. It's impossible to avoid tapping one's toe as the music spins through what is generally three separate little portions of each polka. (much in the same was as a march) In fact, the combination of lively music and lots and lots of strong beer can make even the COOLEST person get up and attempt the polka....which of course results in much laughter.

Funny thing, even when you're being laughed at for your lack of dance skills, it's still fun.

And a special note.... I hope my parents actually see this tip. ME praising Lawrence Welk's music would make them grin ear to ear.... And, I totally understand.

I remember when my boy said he really liked "I Fought the Law" by the Bobby Fuller Four. Now THAT's inter-generational understanding, friends.

Fondest memory: Listening to, drinking to, singing to and even trying to dance to the oom-pah polka bands.

Lovely wooden handicrafts, all over Germany

Favorite thing: Many of the small shops of Deutschland have a large selection of small wooden handicrafts for home decorations. They're what we, in the US, like to call "knick knacks".

A lot of these are themed towards Christmas, so it's a great opportunity to pick up a bunch of cute little Christmas decorations for increasing the holiday spirit around your home come December.

Fondest memory: Shopping in the tiny villages almost always yields something of interest. You can spend an afternoon doing this, and you won't deplete your wallet.

And, these are great little keepsakes to take home to your friends who weren't fortunate enough to be visiting Germany. Lucky you!