Long time lurker

[Old Crank]

Hallo from Munich. I've been a long time lurker of this site. Back from the Top 10 Conservative idiots of the Week days. Finally joined the group. Been living in Germany for 2.5 years now. Fun times. Nice to be an ignorant immigrant. My wife is here for a permanent job and I get to cruise around. Attempt to learn German. Deal with German bureaucracy.

So if you have questions feel free to poke at me. If you are in the area feel free to poke at me and I'll buy you a beer. Plus I'm becoming an adequate tour guide.

[Raster]

1. Guten tag... welcome to DU!

[Va Lefty]

2. Welcome Old Crank!

[The Polack MSgt]

3. Hello Old Crank

I always wanted to go to Germany, but never got there, except for a few stops at Rhein Mein going in and coming out of the sandbox

[Old Crank]

10. Too bad

Frankfurt is a nice city. I have only been there about 4 days though.

[livetohike]

4. Welcome to DU!

[Kali]

5. willkommen

my best friend is from Germany, we have known and traveled together for 20 years and I barely have any vocabulary, much less grammar. good luck with that.

My favorite little language book has on just about every page a statement like "even native speakers don't get this correct, but will probably know what you mean."

[niyad]

6. welcome. glad you finally came in from the cold.

[AJT]

7. Welcome

I have a brother who has been living in Germany for many years, he's in Saarbruken. If you are ever over that way I'm sure he'd love to buy you a beer!

[Old Crank]

13. Hit Saarbruken

For a couple of hours after a train track malfunction leaving Strasbourg. If only We had know. Nice looking area. Close to French food....

[Ohiogal]

8. Hallo back atcha!

I had the good fortune to visit Munich back in the '80s. It was beautiful then and I hope it has stayed as beautiful now. I had the most luscious chocolate layer cake there at a little cafe ..... lol not far from the place where the big cuckoo clock is.

Have you found the language difficult to learn? My son was a prize winning German student in high school and is quite fluent, although he's never been over there but would love to go some day.

[Old Crank]

11. There are.....

Several little cafes near the Glockenspiel in the Neuerathaus. Your son should do quite well if he has kept up the speaking. I have a few problems. 1, I'm old and don't learn as quickly. 2, deaf in one ear and now have a cochlear implant so sounds are challenging... 2, many germans here speak english and want to practice..... thanks, grrrr..

[Ohiogal]

15. I would have a hard time, too

I don't hear as well as I used to, plus I'm "mature," too.

Son has tried teaching me the language a little bit. I do much better in vocabulary than I do with grammar. I commend you for trying. English speakers and all!

[TreasonousBastard]

9. Wie geht's...

Spent my Army time in the '70s in Bad Kreuznach and spent my off hours traveling. Ended up living there for a year after I got out. It was fascinating visiting all those places I read about in high school and college.

I was there during that Prague unpleasantness and the East German border was tense, to say the least. Been to Prague since, and it has recovered beautifully from Soviet rule.

I assume you've discovered the Romantische Strasse. Dinkelsbuhl (built in a meteor crater) has it's original wall and Rothenberg ob Tauber has some of the original Roman walls and aqueducts. Rothenberg also has "The Clock" which I hope is still working.

[Old Crank]

12. Haven't

gotten to most of those yet. So much to see. Been busy seeing more of Europe than expected last year. Prague is still wonderful was there just after Christmas. Just fought my way through the German driver's licence thing. (CA has zero reciprocity so I had to do everything.....) We will get to take a weekend trip a month around Bavaria with a rental car. That will help catch up. Currently it is train and bike.

[TreasonousBastard]

14. As you have no doubt discovered, German trains are an excellent way to get around...

The train from Frankfurt/Main to Prague was a long one, but a beautiful ride.

There are bike trails hundreds of klicks long, if you're up to that.

[Old Crank]

25. We brought our bikes

and our tandem so we have been hitting some of the local roads and trails. Great way to see the country side. Plus you are never too far from a Biergarten order Wirsthause...

[bigbrother05]

17. Be sure to stop in Bamberg, cool town and the beer is amazing

The US base closed a few years ago ('14) but most folks speak English and has many sites worth visiting.

[lillypaddle]

16. Welcome to DU

[Skittles]

18. you want I should poke you, Old Crank?

YEE HAW

[Aristus]

19. Welcome.

I envy you. I was stationed in Germany from 1989 (two days after the Wall came down) to 1991. Still one of the greatest experiences of my life. I miss it over there. Beautiful country. Wonderful people. Heavenly beer.

Get out and see the country. Learn a little German. The German people appreciate even a little effort, and will encourage you, no matter how badly you're speaking it.

German bureaucracy is a bit of a tangle. It could be a Herculean effort just getting a telephone installed. But the trade-offs: clean, safe streets, national health care, a robust economy, worker safety protection, copious paid vacation time, etc., are more than worth it.

[Old Crank]

26. You don"t have to

tell me about Deutsches bureaucracy. Survived the KVR for a residence permit in only 3 tries. Just finished off the driver's licence requirements.... Good till I'm 82..... but...

We are learning German, started with the Volkhochschule. My hearing is bad and I have a cochlear implant (courtesy of the health system here) but the gramatik is brutal.

All in all it has been a good 2.5 years. We are probably staying until my wife can retire.

[Aristus]

28. German grammar can be a nightmare.

But German also has some interesting similarities to English. One of my favorites:

"Bitte, kommen Sie hierher." sounds almost nothing like "Please come here."

But Komm hier!" sounds exactly like "Come here!"

[Honeycombe8]

20. Wish you were here!

[world wide wally]

21. There are some great bands from Germany, several of which I have had the pleasure to meet

and work with. I hope you are getting to see some of them.
(Some of them are even still around!).

[SpankMe]

22. Maybe I'll look you up - I'm an adequate tourist! n/t

[Old Crank]

27. do so!

[NJCher]

23. when I worked in the automotive industry

I learned that there were high tolerance and low tolerance cars. A high tolerance car could be abused; think Japanese cars. You could get away without changing the oil for a long time, for example.

But German cars were known to be low tolerance cars, meaning the owner had to maintain them in accordance with what the manufacturer said. German cars would not, it was said, tolerate slovenly upkeep on the part of the owner.

So based on what you've seen about Germans, and assuming this is true (may not still be true--this was 20 years ago), why do you think that would be?

Also, Germans supposedly have a reputation for engineering.

I don't know that any of these things are true, since I have never been to Germany, but I have owned numerous German cars. And granted these are stereotypes. But I'd still be interested in your observations.

[Old Crank]

30. Not sure about

The cars. I don't have one and will just be renting to take trips for the foreseeable future. Helps keep costs down. They do like their engineering. I have seen some of the videos from automated car plants and construction block factories. They like to make things taht will last.

The cars have to be inspected on a regular basis. 3 years for new, 2 years after that until a certain age. They go over everything. A friend just had to have her wheels replaced because the person selling her the car new had put on the wrong wheels...... Inspector looked up the wheels and codes and they had to be changed. Cars of all makes are hugely better than they were before. The owner and driver is responsible for the vehicles condition. Modifications must be approved. I just got my driver's licence and they grill you on that also...

There is some truth to the German stereo types. My driving instructor said something about the road signs. I said I expected that they would be correct on the other side of the road also. He stated he would hope so. Then he said they will be correct. This is Germany....

[NJCher]

33. comparison

A friend just had to have her wheels replaced because the person selling her the car new had put on the wrong wheels...... Inspector looked up the wheels and codes and they had to be changed.

A (sort-of) version, USA style. I get my vehicle safety inspected. I'm not even warned about the tires, which are so threadbare as to be useless. I go into a skid on a NJ turnpike exit and almost lose control of my vehicle only a month or so after the inspection. Damn near killed myself and had it been a busier time, could have taken someone(s) else out, too.

I liked your last paragraph. Gave me a good laugh.

[DFW]

24. I'm up at the other end of Germany

Rheinland (Düsseldorf).

I get to Munich on rare occasions (don't drink beer, though). Learning German was a snap. Dealing with German bureaucracy less so. They know there's a double taxation treaty, but they don't much feel like honoring it. But my wife is one of the friendly natives, and doesn't want to move, so for now, no question of returning, and definitely not to Putin's (Trump's) America on a permanent basis.

[Old Crank]

31. Don't be a stranger.

I have trouble with Deutsch. Too many people speak English hier und mein Gehör ist schleckt. I don't drink beer either. So I've develped a taste for weinschorle. Wish the Apfelwein from Frankfurt made it down here but I have yet to find it in the Getranktladen. When will we return? Kein ahnung. Depends on my wife's job. She needs to get to retirement age. So 4-6 years.

We always wanted to tour around Europe when we retired and, this will come a shock, it is a lot easier to get around Europe from München that from San Francisco.....

[ailsagirl]

29. I lived in Tubingen for a year and loved it

Beautiful country with exceptionally nice people

That's "Tübingen "-- can't use the umlaut in the reply title, apparently

[Old Crank]

32. Thanks for all the greetings

Makes me feel a home.