I had a chance to visit Germany as my hubby dear was assigned with a project in Germany.We
stayed in a small city called Darmstadt near Frankfurt which is just 20 mins from Frankfurt
Airport.
Oh my little Darmstadt how could I forget u....
And here comes an intro about Germany .....
City Center - All over Europe I have seen the concept of the City Center where in a center
place of the city all the shopping malls, dining outlets... are there.And good accessibility
is provided to this area.So u have every thing in this area.
People - Before visiting Germany I had an idea that the people will be so rude, ... but the
people in Germany are very friendly and helpful.There is lot of Turkish population in
Germany, settled for years.They wish u with Guten Morgen(Good Morning in german) where ever
they see u & they expect us also to wish them.
Transport - The main transport with in the city is thru Bus/Tram.There is a button to make
them incline, so that any person who is in the disabled wheel chair or a lady with baby in
the pram can get in to them easily without anyone’s help.Every body follows the traffic
rules properly, so no problem of TRaffic Jam.And the public transport is given preference
first like when the bus/tram passes by the car/truck gives way for them.
Entertainment - With my hubby dear going to office in the morning & returning back in the
evening, what can I do all the day alone ? I found a good entertainment.There is a
StadtBibliothek(City Library) where in u got lot of english dvd’s , books & novels for
free.U just have to become a member in this library with a copy of passport & borrow the
dvd’s for free.Beleive me u even get hindi dvd’s from that library.And please don’t envy me
i saw more than 80 hollywood movies borrowed from this library during my stay there.
Weekends - All shops are closed on Sundays.And offices are closed on weekends.And if u plan
for weekly shopping u should do it on saturdays as all shops even the supermarkets are
closed on sundays.People here enjoy their weekends with family.And most of the people stay
in their work place apart from family all the 5 days & they join their family in weekends.
Climate - There is a clear differentiation between all the climates here.If u r fond of
Winter them enjoy it as it snows for 3 months in Germany.All the places in Germany seems
different in each season.So the same street may look different in Summer, Spring, Autumn &
winter.It is very soothing to wlk in the snow the next day of snow fall.The emperature even
goes to -25C here.
Food - If u r a non-veg there is no problem here.For Vegetarians u get all stuff of
vegetables here, so better cook & eat.And u have a wide variety of dining out like
McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Subway...The bread varieties are very good here so try
the Croissants, Baugette ... when u stay here.
Currency - The currency used here is Euro.Previously it was DM(Deutsch Marks).The old people
even now compare Euro with DM and feel DM was better for them.Cost of Living is not too
high.U acn manage with 1000 Euros per month.
Indian Shops - U can find many shops selling Indian groceries.But these shops are basically
Pakistani/Afghani/Iraqi shops.They use the name of Indians as indians have got good
reputation among Germans.
Travel - u can get the monthly/weekely/Day passes to travel in any public transport with in
the city.So they have a concept that if u have a pass, say monthly pass a person can
accompany u before 9 in the morning & after 7 in the evening & in the weekends.So there was
no problem of buying tickets for me as my husband had a monthly pass & travel with him every
where for free.
Punctuality - Germans are very punctual, an attribute I admire in them.If a bus is supposed
to come @ 9.38, u can expect it at sharp 9.38.
Language - The only probelm here is the language.They speak one & only Deutsch.Only some
people knew English, but even they can’t speak English as fast as we indians do.If u r
planning to stay for a longer period, it is better to take a short deutsch course before u
travel to Germany.
Hope this review would have given u good intro about Germany.
Watch out for more reviews to come on the places I visited in Germany