People from Germany or those who have been to Germany recently:
How easy it is to get by in Germany for a person whose German is, sadly, dead? Do people understand English? Does that vary from one big city to the next? Which are the best cities to visit for an English-speaking tourist? Is March a good time to travel?
I have the same question for readers from and travelers to Amsterdam.
Also, I know that Germany is amazing in terms of food. Is Holland also worth it in the culinary sense?
I’m considering visiting these countries, so any suggestions will be welcome.
I’d also love to go to Prague, but I will have to choose between that and the Netherlands.
Clarissa's Blog 
Hi Clarissa,
as a German I can assure you that most people in Germany speak English fairly well, at least in the bigger cities. In fact, in Berlin no one will expect you to know German. As a former Berliner I can recommend this city most of all, even though there is not much traditionally German about it anymore. It’s just an iconic place. Travelling there in March will be fine, but you should be aware that it could still be really cold at that time. Amsterdam is also no problem for English-speakers. They have great pancakes there, and apple pie, but other than that I don’t know about Dutch food, but I might just be ignorant. Enjoy your travels!
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Thank you, HD! Cold is not a problem for me, i thrive in freezing temperatures. 🙂
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I can’t speak for the dutch (though I don’t think the situation is much different over there), but in Germany itself it usually depends on who you are talking to and how much english you need someone to understand.
Nowadays 80% of all pupils learn english in school, with 65% of them starting as soon as elementary school. English is also often an requirement when you go for higher education of an apprenticeship in something. Also, lots of business folks who do EU or International stuff have to speak english.
There are however lots of people who either never used their english skills for many years and have thus forgotten or actually managed to survive 4 to 10 years of english lessons without ever learning to actually speak english.
So if you just need directions or want to order something, you should not have much problem. If you are looking for someone to have a complicated political discussion with, you will have to look a little harder.
Stats from 2009/2010 from the Federal Statistics Office
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“English is also often an requirement when you go for higher education OR an apprenticeship in something.”
Minor correction.
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The good thing is that i will be traveling with my sister who will provide all the political discussions i might need. 🙂 A smart traveler brings the most important things with her.
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If you need a place to stay, let me know. By March, I should already have rented something in the town to which I am going to move next. 🙂
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Thank you, Bola! We will be staying with a Canadian friend who is doing a PhD in Germanic Studies.
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😀 I’ve been to Prague AND Amsterdam! I loved both cities–though I’ll be honest. I saw more of Prague than Amsterdam. Amsterdam was at the very end of my trip, and I was out of cash. They’re both fabulous–I can’t say that enough. I spent a month in the Czech Republic, and I still dream about that country. The food, the sights, the wine and beer, oh! The exchange rate is very good–when I was there we were able to go out for a nice meal, and then bar hopping all evening for $15-$20. This was in Olomouc and other small towns though–Prague, as its largest city and a huge tourist town, is a bit more expensive, but still cheap comparatively. In both cities, that is, Amsterdam and Prague, you don’t need to know Dutch or Czech. People in both areas are very friendly. I had a lot of great conversations with people in Amsterdam, especially.
I could talk about this all night, but I’ll stop. Let me know if you want to talk more!
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Ah, this is great to know! The Czech Republic is as far East as I am prepared to travel at this point without getting too close to my own country. I always wanted to go there. There are so many interesting places to see in the world.
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The population is in majority fluent in English in Netherlands. It is however hard to find anybody fluent in English in Germany. Like in all European countries, people have English class at school. But still, they are not able to make a sentence more interesting that “Where’s the cat? The cat’s in the kitchen.”.
Other countries with reputation of speaking fluently English are Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Flanders and Luxembourg. I think most of other European countries are just terrible in English (apart from UK and Ireland).
You will not find any country with good food AND where people are fluent in English. You have to choose.
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Of course, if I have to choose between fod and English, I will choose good food every single time. 🙂
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Hi,I’m german and live in England since 6 years: It is right that every pupil in Germany learns english, some of them even start with classes in kindergardens: That means that every young person up to 30 years will be able to communicate in english, It is easier, of course in big cities than in rural villages: Cities I would recommend are Cologne, Munic,Berlin and Hamburg for culture. Towns like Trier, Heidelberg, Dresden, Lübeck, Soest, Leipzig are also well worth seeing!
Areas with lovely landscapes are Allgäu, Bayrischer Wald, Moseltal, Schwarzwald and the area around the Bodensee:
About the food: In Germany you will find a great variery of interesting food,there are lots of specialities for every area, but the food is good everywhere. It is very different from english food anyway.
The Netherlands are not famous for their food, just for their chips and their beer. And cannabis is legalized,of course. You might want to visit a “Coffee Shop” ( not just for coffee, you can order all sorts of cannabis products too)
Amsterdam is a wonderful city, don’t forget to visit one of the amazing Flea-Markets, if you go there!
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Thank you, Antje! People always mention the weed in connection with the Netherlands but it is all lost on me because I am not into it. I’m also very indifferent to beer. For alcohol drinking purposes, my country of choice is Portugal. I love the port.
It’s great to know I have readers from these great countries.
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In Germany, especially older people are more likely to speak English in the west than in the east, for obvious reasons, and the Dutch are better at English than the west Germans. Cities are easier than the country side.
I know people who have lived in a city in east Germany for a year to two without ever learning much German. (They did not have complicated political discussion with locals.) So, you are almost certainly going to be able to get through a visit!
I admit that “amazing” is not the word I would choose first about Dutch cuisine, but then, I am not that huge a fan of German cooking either, so it may jut be my taste.
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Thank you, Schlupp! After these comments, my anxiety about being a non-German speaking tourist have been alleviated.
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In Germany people in touristy places will speak English. People at the train stations speak surprisingly good English, even if the station is in the middle of nowhere… Did not have much luck with the store clerks, though… With them I often had to turn to my well-forgotten German as it was better than their English. Even in big West-German cities, like Munich or Nuremberg.
Dutch are supposedly better, but my experiences are limited to Amsterdam airport.
In Prague they may even speak Russian. Start in English and ask if they prefer English or Russian. Maybe they even understand Ukrainian. Reading Czech is not a problem at all for a Russian-speaker; I found it much easier than reading Polish. Beware of same words having totally different meaning, though. 🙂 Allegedly, “dokonali tvar” is not what you think, but “perfect creature”. 🙂 🙂
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I just texted N. To tell him he’s my dokonali tvar. 🙂 let’s see if he reads the blog in my absence. 🙂
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He may read the blog… The question is – does he read my comments? 🙂 🙂 I would not presume to be as important to him as you are. 🙂
There were some other examples of Czech phrases meaning something bad in Russian… But they may be urban legends. And according to Google Translator “dokonali tvar” is “perfect shape”, not “perfect creature”…
My second best of those is of Estonian/Finnish variety. Despite languages being as close as Russian and Czech, “Hallitus” means government in Finnish, but mold/rot in Estonian. How appropriate…
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You won’t have any problems in Germany. Most Germans understand a least a bit English. It doesn’t really matter where you want to go. Even in the more rural areas you’ll always find someone who understands English.
Regarding Prague or Amsterdam. I’ve visited both cities more than once. But I have the fondest memories of Prague. It’s a such a amazing city with an interesting history, great architecture and the Bohemian cuisine is superb if you like substantial food. Prague is one of my favorite cities in Europe and I’ve visited almost every major city.
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Oh yes, substantial food is what I live for. 🙂
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The story I heard when I lived in Germany was that a bigger proportion of the Dutch speak English well because Germany dubs almost all of the American TV shows into German, but the Netherlands does not. In big cities in Germany, German was not essential, but in small towns, it would be hard to get by on just English.
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No problems with English in Germany/Netherlands and food is great! But I want to go to Prague.
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We were recently traveling in Munich. We needed some help with our tickets, so we asked one of the transit people at the train station: “Do you speak English?” The guy looked at us as if we were crazy: “Of course! This is Germany! Everyone speaks English!”
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