Whitney H. asks: Can anyone tell me any information on Germany? Likes or dis-likes? Experiences? Must knows? ETC. We just found out we are pcsing there and kind of "confused" on where to start haha. Thank you in advance :)

 

Gabi M. says: Check out "Live Like a German" on facebook. It has some good info. 

 

Andrea R. says: Good town good area! You can get to Garmisch Munich Crystal Factories Poland and Czech easily.

 

Chris D. says: Go to Bamberg Garrison's webpage on google. Bamberg is very nice kinda small in between Schwienfurt and Bayrueth. Very close to nurnberg too!! Car shipping takes 35 days HHG 45 days. If you live off post get a realtor to get what you want.

 

Monica D. says: Volksmarches and castles ♥

 

Nancy R. says: Rainy!!!! Make friends don't be afraid to get out and see Germany by yourself or with your husband. Try to learn some basic phrases because you will get more respect from the Germans. Eat a doner!!!

 

Christina D. says: LOVE LOVE LOVED IT OVER THERE! Haven't been back since my dad was in but Im sure hoping we do soon:)

 

Loyce F. says: Gosh!  I don't think I can add anything else to what everyone has already said! :D See as much as you can make plans every weekend to see Europe. Not sure if they still offer "USO tours" but those are pretty inexpensive and worth every dime when you let someone else do the drving. Go to Russia! We did a one week tour through the USO highly recommend that trip :D All the Best!

 

Friedhelm I. says: Great advice especially learning some basic language to use while off post. Germans do tend to respect the effort if not the outcome so much. Look into DB (Deutsche Bundesbahn) for Eurail Passes 9 days or more for really enjoying travel throughout Germany and the rest of Europe! In restaurants I recommend ordering what they are known for...fish in a fish restaurant etc. if you are not sure--ask them what their "Haus Spezialitaet is...they will tell you and round up the bill a little being careful not to tip like an "ugly American" who doesn't know any better. Enjoy Germany's scenery especially the clean streets and the mountains in the southern Alps!

 

Tabby R. says: we just left Germany and were in K-town as it is affectionately know to Americans. AKA Kaiserslautern. If you decide to live off post do not take the first house you are shown and be sure to meet the landlord and get references. they will screw you big time. we moved from off post to on and im glad we did. we had a townhouse on base. it was nice. do get out and travel but research where you are going before you go. amsterdam is not kid friendly at all. def get to garmish. lots to enjoy there. dont pay for tours just go yourself. youll save TONS. (in garmisch) the uso provides tons of tours that are inexpensive and its a great way to meet other folks too.

 

Christine S. says: Absolutely LOVE GERMANY!!! Do everything everyone has said most important get out and explore. You will fall in love. We bought a book called "365 days one day trips in Germany" and did it all! So much fun and my kids remember it all. I do recommend buying a couple of air conditioners before your household gets packed. It gets hot in Germany during the summer and most houses don't have central air. Buy the free standing portable ones. They are quite expensive in Germany and sometimes hard to come by I had two and I was so happy someone told me this in advanced. Have fun and God Bless :)

 

Tasha G. says: Lucky you get to go to Bavaria which can not be confused with the ktown area. People are very friendly and pro American in that part of Germany. Good luck you are going to love it.

 

Amanda K. says: It is awesome take advantage start saving now and travel lots while your here! Embrace the german culture and language. USO has german language classes I highly suggest taking one! We are in the Ktown area and it is good the christmas markets are awesome. Again just travel as much as possible. I hope you enjoy your time in Germany! :)

 

Jody St Clair I've never been but my best friend is there now and her advice is always do the EFMP and start the passport process ASAP if you don't already have them. They could cause a delay in you going. Good luck and enjoy your adventure!

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Veteran Military Wife says:
January 27, 2011 at 11:25 am

A few things to add to your post: Furniture ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú the military actually has IKEA-like loaner furniture?¢‚Ǩ¬¶we were able to use it our whole tour (tables, lamps, couches, hutches, etc)?¢‚Ǩ¬¶.BUT I know they are starting to scale back and stuff may only be available temporarily, such as 6 months or so?¢‚Ǩ¬¶.so check the post where you are going. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s called the CFMO office that loans this stuff out. If you live off-post, you are authorized to borrow a washer and dryer too?¢‚Ǩ¬¶they have both American and European styles?¢‚Ǩ¬¶European ones are smaller (so smaller loads), take less electricity/more efficient but take longer. The German dryers also don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t use heat but basically ?¢‚Ǩ?ìsling?¢‚Ǩ¬ù all the water out. I opted for the American dryer, cause I like hot fluffy stuff coming out of there (and to kill any lingering germs w/high heat)?¢‚Ǩ¬¶gotta make sure your home has access to run the dryer hose outside though (many do not). Off post people are also authorized the other furniture from CFMO.

Many appliances are dual voltage these days?¢‚Ǩ¬¶just look at the charger or back of the appliance. Laptops are dual voltage automatically, meaning you just need an adapter to change the plug. Most desktops have a little switch in the back where you switch from 110 to 220 volt?¢‚Ǩ¬¶don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t forget! Always check the back of everything before plugging it in or you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll see smoke and sparks and a dead appliance!

You can use some 110 volt appliances over here IF you buy a transformer?¢‚Ǩ¬¶a heavy metal box?¢‚Ǩ¬¶the more expensive, the heavier the load it can carry. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll blog later about how you can tell if the transformer can handle the load of whatever appliances you plug into it (or maybe Jennifer, you can add that?)?¢‚Ǩ¬¶for TVs and such, many use the 700-1000 watt transformers?¢‚Ǩ¬¶you can get them second hand over here from a variety of sources?¢‚Ǩ¬¶.don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t buy them new?¢‚Ǩ¬¶very expensive as opposed to used. You?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll only need a few in the house?¢‚Ǩ¬¶maybe one or two?¢‚Ǩ¬¶.and then maybe a 300 watt transformer for little stuff?¢‚Ǩ¬¶many don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t like using their standmixers or anything that cycles, as even with a transformer, they can get damaged?¢‚Ǩ¬¶even in housing, where you have both 220 and 110 volt, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve seen appliances ruined.

Another TV choice is SkySat, satellite?¢‚Ǩ¬¶google it. Many also use Slingbox.com. This means you need someone in the US willing to put a Slingbox in front of a dedicated cable box at their US home as your Slingbox will transmit signals over the internet for you to watch over here (you can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t both change channels, just one of you). You can watch on your computer or you can run cables from your computer to your TV or use something called a Slingcatcher to get the signal to your TV. All those Hulu.com sites and all you can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t watch over here cause we are not in the US, although some people will mask their IP address to access them?¢‚Ǩ¬¶don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know if this is legal or not!


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Amanda Zustra says:
June 15, 2010 at 11:21 am

Hello.
My family & I have been stationed here at Bamberg, Germany the past 3 years. 2007 is the year we arrived in Germany with orders to Mannheim. Army didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t want my husband there, so we were deferred to Bamberg. This happened to set a trend of dependents being sent to Bamberg later on with traveling.

Bamberg city itself is a beautiful city! Great history is here due to the old city and the new city that was split by the river. Great layout to ride your bike as a family even with a tailor for the little ones to ride in. Very easy to take the city busy from post to get to downtown to see things. Even taking the train from the city to Nuremberg is wonderful! We took a bus to the train station, then off to the Nuremberg Zoo. You can get directions from their website here http://www.tiergarten.nuernberg.de/v04/. Hi highly press taking the bus from the Warner Barracks to the train station and ride the train to the stop it tells ya on that website. Worked great for our family of 6! I did it with my 2 yr and 1 yr old in a small stroller.

As for places to eat, there is 2 that is my favorite! One that is on the same street that comes from the walking off gate I believe is gate 5. Pass the stop light then on the right hand side is a great pub that has horse back riding lessons too. I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t have their brochure on me. Just remember to check them out!! The other great place near the post is the Pizza Italia outside gate 3, 2 more streets up then a right hand turn. One more block up should be on the right hand side of the corner (if I remember right). My husband normally goes there to pick our food up. This place caters to many American?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s here! They are custom to seeing American?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s here. Their website address is http://maps.google.com/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Pizza+Italia+bamberg+germany&fb=1&hq=Pizza+Italia&hnear=Bamberg,+Germany&cid=4657386131659607391

[Please look at the individual tabs for more wonderful information from Amanda on Bamberg.Thank you, Amanda! note by editor]


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