12 Things you NEED TO KNOW before traveling to Germany! *in 2026*

Travelling in 6 days to Munich. Looking forward to it.

The plugs in Europe are cold safe in USA the are really dangerous for kids. It's nots you have not sud the manufacturer of those dangerous you have in the USA for harming.

Love the videos. Truthfully, I did not find many people who spoke English in Germany--in a pizzeria, I communicated in Greek since the waiter did not speak English and I do not speak any German. Also, I like to stop and stay at private places, which I often found randomly when I saw a sign that said, "zimmer" or "gastzimmer." I noticed that the old ladies who rented the rooms (and, yes, it was always an old lady) loved it when I did not sign the register (which is a custom I learned in Latin America--I think they do it to avoid taxes).

I am glad to find you again as I enjoy your travel tips.

You cannot get by in Germany without German. Germans are very reluctant to speak English. Also in general Germans don’t even try, I have noted that they will speak even faster. Also in Germany cash is king, many restaurants don’t take cards.

35:00 Actually, that's regional. Store opening times are regulated at the state level (well, they set the maximum) and several states are more liberal with them than Bavaria. In Mecklenburg, for example, stores in touristy areas like Rügen or Usedom do in fact open on Sunday afternoons.

31:14 Tap water-quality is actually one of the most controlled things in Germany. The guidelines of controls are much stricter for tap water than for bottled water since everyone uses tap water everyday. For bottled water it is okay for private testing (often only once a year) by the owner of the spring which produces the water bottles or some private laboratory, for tap water there are mandatory testings at least once a week by official places like local waterworks or public health departments.

The Key Card-Topic is much easier - you can use ANY Card (I forgot to return a Hotel-Card on a Trip a while ago - and I still use the Card in any Hotel I have been since)

As someone who travels internationally frequently, and with over forty years of experience doing that, in regards to completing your declaration form... be completely honest when answering the questions, and if you're unsure of how to answer one of the questions... error on the side of caution. For example, if it asks if you're bringing food with you, and you're carrying some water flavouring packets... say yes, you're carrying food. By doing so, you may be directed to an immigration agent where you'll be asked for some more details. Even if what you're bringing in isn't allowed, by declaring it up front, all they'll do is confiscate it if its banned. If you don't declare it, they may assume you're trying to perform an illegal act... which will at best result in a scolding, and at worst, a fine and potentially being handed over to the police for formal charges. So in short, declare everything.

With regards to the device you have to slide your room card in to activate the power in the room, most of them are based on a pressure switch. What I'm trying to say is that you just need to be able to slip something in to the device. It doesn't need to be your key card. I've used business cards successfully. It's important if you're in a location where it's hotter than Hades, and you want the AC running to cool the room while you're out. Sure, you can ask for a second room card, but you really don't need one.

Language challenges? Just load a translation app on your phone. Google Lens is also great for reading menus or instructions in foreign languages.

Thanks for the discount codes. I just ordered the 105S.

Number 2 is a weird take.🧐

It is definitely not easier in Europe.

I live in Canada and I have never, ever seen the 2-hole model you shown.
Meanwhile, the
CIRCLE 🟡
vs. HEXAGONAL 🔶️
+ recessed (loathe) socket situation in Europe is all over 😮‍💨

+ Switzerland uses a unique socket (Type J) with three round pins in a shallow triangle.

Type C (the standard Europlug).
+
Type F (Schuko): A deep, circular socket with top/bottom grounding clips.

But Type E in super common un France: Instead of clips, it has a random male metal earth pin sticking straight out of the outlet.

Sorry, but dealing with hexagonal vs. circular models and recessed designs is a massive hassle. 😪 They might be sturdier, but they’re annoying.

sprich langsam UND erkläre ... oder bist Du auf der Flucht?

We drove all through Bavaria last year. A great refresher for my severely rusty German! Locals seemed to enjoy helping me with my German

Our so will be over there for a school trip in a few weeks. I forwarded this video to him.

Thanks for taking the time to put it together!

7:59 a lot of travel adapters are not safe and not according to code. Far safer and easier to buy a cable for 2,50€ or unplug a cable from a device at your hotel or borrow one from your host. Most appliances that you carry around will accept a cable with a IEC C7 connector, including that apple charger shown. Again, most travel adapters are dangerous fraud.

Du machst das immer so schön.

The reason why the light Switch is outside, in some places, is a DIN Norm.

You forgot to mention that if you say “Free Palestine” the German authorities apparently will beat you and arrest you….you know, typical Nazi behavior.

I just got out of jail and want to visit my brother in Berlin but I have gang related tattoos on my face, namely swastikas and SS lightning bolts. Will they be an issue?

Not having lived in Europe in 40+ years, this was very helpful. It’s enough to say one typed one’s dissertation. It was a “cutting edge” typewriter, I.e., it had a correction ribbon. Oooo! Cell phone? No.

Not much English spoken by folks in Rostock (Northern Germany), but very nice people nonetheless.

The EES system doesn't apply to anyone with an EU residency permit, too.

On a 2016 trip to Poland, Germany and France, the checkout clerk in the Polish grocery store got quite irritated because I didn't know that I needed to provide my own shopping bag. My Polish is very limited and I wasn't very good at conveying my apologies and that I didn't know. She reached down under her register and forcefully and very angrily ripped two or three of the small trash bags for her trash can off of the roll and threw them at me across the counter while muttering what I assumed to be some Grade A Polish swear words. I still laugh about that to this day, but I now know that you provide your own shopping bags in Europe.

Good job, Felis. Being German myself I can confirm that it's all true and helpful what she said. Just finding Germans who speak at least a little bit of English might sometimes be harder than Felis said. But although Germans have a reputation of being a little rude, we usually are quite willing to help, you'd just have to ask

I appreciate the fact that you didn't mention socks with sandals! As I've mentioned before the only two people that did this were my uncles, one from Austria and one from Belgium.

I love Germany. Luckily we have good friends there and stay with them. We usually get the Eurostar and then get further trains onward to Germany. One thing I noticed is how neat and tidy German graffiti is along the railway once we cross the border!

Very professional, respect.

should told me back when i was there in 1991 as gift from graduation from high school