A friend of mine at Eielson (he’s civilian, wife is officer) just got back from a few years in Germany. Its all he can talk about how great it was, the people, etc. I think it helps to be liberal politically as an American.
[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
Yeah in regards to German being really easy to learn? No but then again he Marz has been proven a moron on this site multiple times.
That aside, I spent this past summer in Germany and it was awesome. The food takes getting used to being that your American and we have such a variety here. The gyms are not as good in my opinion, and many use olympic bars in the 35lb region. The women are hot but much more liberal and not the same as American women. Lots of punk culture. Berlin night life is great and areas such as Weimar and Munich are much more chill and have great biergartens. The beer is amazing and is easy to go crazy on. Just have fun and dont be shy up there. Also a note: Germans, especially Berliners, are very blunt about stuff. Therefore they speak there mind so dont take shit personal.
The language is not super difficult if youve studied languages before and know how to approach them. Its definitely not Manderine Chinese but dont think it will be as easy as say Italian or Spanish.[/quote]
I’m the moron and your the one who thinks german is a difficult language to learn? Oh yeah i forgot your from America, you guys seem to struggle with English. [/quote]
Conversational German is Easy, Learning the language completely is not simple. Its one of my minors so eat shit. And yes i think you are a moron. You troll around this site, give shitty advice, send out a failed lifting challenge and dont even have the balls to accept the challenge yourself. You are also a sub par lifter in mediocre shape that has no right to be posting advice to anyone on this site. For fuck sakes you failed at the simple V-diet. Eat shit[/quote]
Ahh, it seems i have acquired a new fan. Good times. 
[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
Conversational German is Easy, Learning the language completely is not simple. [/quote]
That’s all you need to get by though. He just needs enough to be able to order food, catch the train, and strike up some conversations. He’s not going to be writing a thesis on Theo Breuer right?
Regarding getting into fights. My dad was there in the late 50’s and ran into that, I was there in the late 80’s and ran into it, and you’ll run into it. It’s not that big of a deal though and if you act like a normal person you’re not going to get into trouble. The guys who get into trouble are the guys who act like total assholes.
james
German is very phonetic, so it’s easy in that regard, but the grammar’s tough. I took it all through high school and passed a national exam to get college credit, and even then I really struggled with the grammar.
Great stuff from everyone. I know this sounds like a silly thing to worry about, but I take it I can kiss good supplements goodbye for awhile. I’ve seen people complaining about the shipping rates for Biotest at least. Give and take, I suppose. I’ve seen pictures of our gym there, and it’s up to standard.
What about vehicles? I’m told I’ll need one. Should I try to get one here or can I buy some POS over there that will get me around?
I just learned I have unlimited access to the Rosetta Stone, so I’ll be giving that a go.
You don’t need a vehicle but it’s handy to have one for local travel. I don’t know the Wiesbaden area at all but we typically just took a cab into Wurzburg and caught the train if we wanted to go anywhere. A bunch of us did chip in on a van which we drove around and that worked out really well to go to places that weren’t necessarily served by train.
I rode a bike around a lot too and that’s a great way to get to and from any winefests that you might go to.
james
Cars there blow, gas is expensive, and Germany is very strict on emissions. Certain cities have colors for each car(a sticker) that are required to allow your vehicle in. Meaning if the car has sucky emissions and such it wont be allowed. Supp wise i recommend buying in bulk since the shipping will rape you. I had a couple friends who are staying there for another year through study abroad and are buying their shit through France.
Shit … supplements … you won’t need them! Enjoy the food. Meeting your daily protein needs is easy. Nutrition supps like fish oil, multi, etc. should be readily available.
Seriously don’t worry about it. Plenty of people can speak english there and you will be surprised how fluently some germans speak it. More fluent than a lot of native english speakers!
DO NOT GO TO GERMANY!
The language sounds like barking and the women that are not hideous are insane…
Trust me, I know…
[quote]orion wrote:
DO NOT GO TO GERMANY!
The language sounds like barking and the women that are not hideous are insane…
Trust me, I know…[/quote]
Haha. I don’t have a choice! Orders are orders. I’m looking forward to it though; the language can’t sound worse than Arabic and how could the women possibly be any more insane than those I encounter here?
[quote]Ambugaton wrote:
[quote]orion wrote:
DO NOT GO TO GERMANY!
The language sounds like barking and the women that are not hideous are insane…
Trust me, I know…[/quote]
Haha. I don’t have a choice! Orders are orders. I’m looking forward to it though; the language can’t sound worse than Arabic and how could the women possibly be any more insane than those I encounter here?[/quote]
loool
Just don’t go getting married and you will be fine.
I refuse to get married to a German woman…
Deutschland ist ja super toll!
Conversational German, like the others said, is definitely easy. The grammar is another tough story. As long as you don’t have to write a thesis on how to find your way around, you should be fine.
My favourite things about Germany: the autobahn(oh yeaaaah!!), the mountains, the fresh meat and sausages…
It’s always a good idea to at least try to learn the language of a people (although most will be somewhat fluent in english) one is interacting with; shows respect. Learning german will also allow you to communicate with and understand dutch and to pick up scandinavian languages more easily.
I lived in Wiesbaden back in 2002-2003. I’m guessing you’re in the military? You’re going to be in a great area!
The City of Wiesbaden is BEAUTIFUL. Very clean and modern. Mainz, which is about a ten minute drive (and across the Rein River) is another beautiful, clean, and modern city. The ICE (inner city express) train runs from Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Rudeshiem Dusseldorf, Koln, all the way to Holland.
Amsterdam is about 4 hours away. You’re also very close to Frankfurt, maybe 30 minutes. And about two hours from Strassburg in France. Trains are cheap, clean, and a very efficient way to travel. Learn the trains!
Keep in mind you’re in Western Germany. Very modern compared to the east. You travel a few hours east and you’ll see the difference. English is spoken by just about everyone in Mainz/Wiesbaden but try to learn some basic German before you start jabbering away at someone in English. The ladies…yeah…tall, lean, and beautiful. Downplay being a soldier to up your chances with them. A man in uniform does well in the bar…not so well in the brauhaus!
Anyway, that’s all you need to know. Explore, and find out for yourself!
^^ X2 for Western modernization. When I was studying in Berlin out flats where in the East (off Tierpark) and the University was in the West Friedrickstrasse. Its crazy the difference between the east and west. GDR was slowww
I’m currently stationed in Vilseck. You’re going to a good spot. A few notes:
-Stop stressing about supps. You can order them and shipping isn’t bad at all.
-The women are…different. This is largely due to the cultural differences, so take that for what it’s worth. If you want easy, you’ll find it. If you want good, you’ll find them, as well.
-Makeup and hair coloring are HUGE here.
-Food ain’t bad, but you’ll be looking for American stuff quickly.
-Do not stay in your barracks room every weekend.
-The Deutsch Bahn is not as cheap as some may think. The USD to Euro conversion can hurt.
-The east side is not as behind as some may think. The women there are especially stunning.
-The best way to learn the language: FULL IMMERSION. Not everyone will be eager or confident enough to speak English.
-Save your money. Awesome vacation spots here.
-Beer!!! BEER!!! And since it’s going to be holiday season soon, GLUHWEIN!!
I haven’t been to Germany, but I have spent quite a bit of time in Europe in general and worked in Italy for a spell. I think you’ll like it. Europe seems to be more relaxed in general than here. Just the pace of life in general is more mellow and people are definitely not as guarded as they are here.
Plus you’re a train ride away from half of Europe so you can see a lot of it if you have 3 years to kill. You can walk or take a subway or tram anywhere you want to go locally. There’s always something really old to see. It’s just a lot of fun. Just don’t act like a tourist and make every effort to learn the language. They really appreciate the effort usually. They also have gyms there so you’ll be able to train.
Hell, I am jealous?.Send me a Porsche will ya?