r/germany

What are some must-try dishes from these communities? It could be street food or even home-made dishes, etc. There's no preferences.

So this is an update to my post from 5 days ago. After making that post, I didn’t see any roaches for around 3–4 days. Then I saw one again yesterday in my room, and today I’ve seen two more within maybe 1–2 hours of each other.

The last three I’ve seen (yesterday and today) all look basically identical in size and appearance, except the most recent one had a black/dark thing on the bottom/back area of its abdomen.

Regarding the comments about the German roach stripes, I’ve been paying really close attention to that whenever I see one before getting rid of it. I’ve gotten as close as I could and used my phone flashlight, but I still haven’t been able to see the two dark stripes behind the head. What I keep seeing instead are what look like two black dots on the head. I’m not sure if those are actually eyes or just markings, but I definitely haven’t seen the typical German roach stripes.

That makes me think they might be Waldschaben/forest cockroaches, but the thing that’s confusing me is why I keep finding them specifically in my room. Basically every one I’ve seen has been in my room, except for one in the nearby hallway.

Also, if they’re coming from outside, I’ve barely had the windows open this past week. I’ve probably only opened the bathroom window 2–3 times for a few minutes, and my two living room windows have insect screens that seem pretty well sealed.

Almost all of the sightings have been at night too, except for one during the day.

I’m attaching pictures of the three most recent ones. Any thoughts on whether these look like German roaches or Waldschaben, and why they might keep ending up in my room?

A month has passed since the contract was signed. The technician’s visit was postponed by another month due to bad weather. After the connection was ready, we waited 10 days for the router to be delivered, but we now have a Glasfaser connection. I’m not criticising the provider, but is this a normal waiting time in Germany?

After living in Munich for several years, I realized that to experience deep nature, raw wildlife, and expansive waters for sailing, you usually have to leave the city. Yet, right here strictly within the city limits of Berlin—specifically in Spandau/Wilhelmstadt—I've found an unmatched summer blend of all this. Now I understand why Einstein fell in love with Scharfe Lanke.

I'm here with my daughter for a week.

The much-needed rain is coming right now, of all times.

I just finished a lovely, mostly solo vacation in Germany (from America). I’m a big walker, and walking around European cities is my favorite. This trip took me to five of them, and I spent each day exploring a city on foot. This is the best way for me to take a city in - it yields a slow pace, near infinite flexibility, and allows full attention on one’s surroundings compared to, say, having to dodge other people when biking/scootering/etc.

The timing of the trip was due to two concerts that I wanted to attend, on two consecutive days. This limited me to a particular area of Germany, from which I selected cities to visit that were reasonably proximal by train. My goal was to see some interesting places, while minimizing the number of hours spent on trains. My aim was to combine the downtown/central/mitte/altstadt areas of each city with nearby parks and nature areas. 

Also of critical importance was brezel consumption - I’m a huge fan - as well as dark chocolate truffles/pralines. 

In sequential order:

Frankfurt
I landed here at 7am, got to the Hbf at around 8am, and spent the day walking around until getting to the hotel at around 7pm. I headed east along the river, eventually ending up in Offenbach for some refreshments. I took the S-Bahn back towards town, walked around the “ring” of greenery/trails that surrounds the downtown area, and then walked around the Innenstadt. 

This was last Thursday, and it was a hot one - 35C at peak. But I found myself pretty comfortable overall, on account of the humidity being much lower than I’m used to at home. That being said, there was no greater relief than the hotel’s air conditioning once I arrived. 

Koblenz
Next up was Koblenz, on the hottest day of the week (37-38C). The train ride from Frankfurt along the Rhein was lovely. The number of castles on the other side of the river - particularly near cliffs - was a sight to behold.

I walked south along the Rhein for some time, then crossed it and came back. The rest of the time was spent in downtown/altstadt. This was a shorter day than the one before, due to the combination of the heat and a concert that evening. The concert was at the Ehrenbreitstein fortress, and the cable car ride over the river was lovely.

Münster
This was on a Saturday, and with great luck it happened to be the day of their huge flea market (which I’m told occurs 4 times a year), as well as a pride event. The city was packed - the flea market was remarkable for its size and variety, and seeing everyone decked out in pride clothing/gear was wonderful. (Not to exclude the one guy with a “Fear Jesus” sign - I haven’t forgotten about you!)

I also walked around the city’s “green ring”, the lake, and marveled at the beautiful architecture downtown. It was much cooler today (and for the rest of the trip). A few raindrops were about, but not enough to warrant getting the umbrella out.

Essen
Ahh Essen. Chosen for its proximity more than anything, this one earned me some chuckles from a friend I met up with in Münster, and apparently a friend of hers too (who she told about my plans). They couldn’t believe I was going there, and I can understand why given that the downtown area isn’t so pretty like many other German cities. But I was determined to make the best of the day.

I headed south from the Hbf, to Stadtgarten and then the lovely Grugapark, which requires a fee (5 Euro) and thus only has a few entrances/exits, which took me quite some time to find (both when entering, and then when trying to leave the other side). From here I took an Uber further south to Essen-Werden, where the bulk of my day was spent walking/eating along the Baldeneysee. I ended up in Kupferdreh all the way to the east, where I then took the S-Bahn to the hotel downtown. 

This day was unique in the sense that I felt like the only tourist around, which is a different experience. I quite enjoyed it - and my focus on the green areas didn’t disappoint.

Köln
My last day took me to lovely Köln, which to me earns the top spot for beauty amongst these 5 places. The endless cobblestone streets with cafes/restaurants and car-free areas are what I picture when I imagine a European city. 

From the Hbf I crossed the river and headed north to Rheinpark. My plan was to take the bridge there back, but I was surprised to see cable cars going over the river - somehow my research had missed this. It was a lovely - albeit a bit misty - ride back to the west side of the Rhein, where I checked out the Flora Garten before heading west along the “inner green ring”, at which point the rain stopped. I found this ring really special - every individual part of it looks (and feels) different, yet all aligned in a sequence. 

I followed the ring to its midpoint at Aachener Str, where I headed east towards downtown in order to make a very important trip to a chocolate store before they closed at 4pm. From here I bounced around the inner city, in wonderment at the architecture and beauty. I was struck by how crowded the main walking street was, yet once you go 2 blocks in another direction (e.g., east), there was hardly anybody around. 

From here I headed south along the river to Südstadt, and I’m glad I did - the river walk is great, and seeing Südstadt was a wonderful bonus. A really cool place, probably far enough south that most tourists stay away. From there it was back north to the Hbf to head to Frankfurt for the flight home the next morning.

A few more notes
- With the exception of a couple S-Bahn trips, I was outside for 10-12 hours straight on most days. That the weather was cooperative enough for this, I can’t be more thankful for. Such an enjoyable experience.

- My first trip to Germany was in 2005, and this is probably my 10th one or so. As I’ve never had a problem with train rides on prior trips, I’ve been a long-time defender of DB in the face of what I perceive as non-stop complaining about it from Germans. (I say this with the utmost humor.) But on this trip I can perhaps attest to what my friend in Münster said - that they’ve gotten worse over the years. Most of my trains were delayed - including a 45min delay out of Köln - and my early-morning train to Koblenz got cancelled, which I discovered when I woke up that morning (the notification came in at 4am), forcing me to scramble for an alternative. So I’m starting to see the other side of it :)

- This post is an ode to Germany. I look forward to coming back again! 

Germany uses only white paint for lane markings. In the upper two photos, both the road for one-lane for each direction, and the divided highway with two lanes going in the same direction, the lane markings look the same.

On US roads, white lane markings are used, and yellow is used to signify the left edge of the direction of travel. That is, if the yellow painted line is to your left, you are driving in the right direction. In the bottom two photos of US roads, there is a yellow painted line in the middle of the road, showing that the left lane is for oncoming traffic, and for a divided highway a yellow painted line on far left tells the driver that all lanes travel in the same direction.

So, is there something that indicates if the road has oncoming traffic or is divided?

This comes from my experience a few years ago driving in Germany on unfamiliar roads, at night and in the rain. I turned onto a road, and I wasn’t sure if the left lane was for oncoming traffic or not.

EDIT: Thanks for all the replies. It is as I assumed, about context. The linked photo below shows the entrance onto the B257 that I took one rainy night that made me wonder if this was a divided highway or not. I drove as recommended in the comments: I stayed right until I was sure.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TLk5vFxn1xug3zrt9

So about 2 weeks ago a 72+ year old german guy contacted me through my ad on WG-Gesucht (I'm the one looking to rent, he had a place). His rent was out of my budget. (I clearly mentioned in my ad about what my max rent was) I considered it for a moment as it was cheap for the living area it offered. We shifted our conversation from WG-Gesucht app to WhatsApp. I asked for the pictures. He sends me pictures of the place except the bathroom ones. I ask him where are the bathroom pictures. He says Germans don't usually ask for those pics. I say that it's okay but I want to see them so can you send them. Then he says there's some communication problem between us and it's not going to work out and I say okay thank you for your offer but I have to decline.

I thought that's the end of it and deleted his WhatsApp chat from my phone. But a few days later he sends me this racist message. Mind you I have been nothing but respectful to this old guy. What's wrong with people?

What do I do in this situation? I'm not going to reply to him again. He's clearly threatening me because his ego is hurt or something. I have already started to keep all Screenshots and screen recordings of the chat as proof that I have not altered anything in the chat. Do I need to lawyer up in case he does something?

He doesn't even know my full name or my new address in Germany but still bothering me. How can people say whatever they want and think that the law is gonna be on their side. I haven't even entered Germany yet and I'm already experiencing racism. I really really hope that it's not the case with the majority of the people there.

Edit - to all the people saying I'm hiding something and have not posted the full conversation.... DM me I'll send you the entire long screenshot. It's just those 4 messages in that order. That scroll down mark you see is the 4th message in the second picture. I have nothing to hide here. I cropped the pictures to hide his phone number.

Hi everyone, I recently visited an eye specialist here in Germany for regular checkup of my eyesights.

These are the values for my left and right eyes. Due to the language barrier, I could not understand and ask a lot of questions. So, taking my chances here, could anyone explain me what these values here?

I am particularly confused about these two values for same parameter for same eye. For example: A for <L> has 108 and 129. Also, Pup for both <L> and <R> are also different. What are these two different values?

Thank you for your responses!

EDIT: I already wear glasses. I was in Apollo for this eyesight test because I had done it 2 years ago in my home country. i am 28