Germany Travel Guide – German or English for travellers

This Travel guide Germany recommends tourists and visitors to learn German, at least the basics. This knowledge will come handy during your trip to Germany. English is accepted as a universal language and is spoken widely in Germany.

Germans love to show off their ability to speak in English, hence if your German speaking ability is poor they will steer the conversation in English. But you stand to gain more if you can converse in the local language. The following points will clarify whether it is best to speak German or English during your trip to Germany.

Big Cities v/s Small towns

If you are planning to spend your time in Germany traveling to the main cities like Frankfurt, Cologne or Munich language will not be a problem if you know English. These cities are more open to visitors. The main tourist attractions and road signs are tourist friendly. The restaurants in these areas have their menus in both German as well as English. But if you are planning on visiting the small town located in the interiors of Germany then it would work to your advantage to know the language. These towns and villages are the heart of Germany and you will be able to understand it better if you speak the local language.

Self Tours v/s Guides

As far as attractions are concerned certain Museums offer audio guides in the language of your preference and hence make it easy to navigate and understand the offering. There are several guides available who have a good grasp of the English language and will take you on a tour of Germany. But this could turn out to be an expensive affair in comparison to self guided tours. Visitors should understand that not knowing the local language makes your trip that much more difficult. The language barrier could result in a lot of stress and miscommunication.

Purpose

As mentioned earlier if you are visiting Germany on pleasure trips there are certain advantages involved with knowing the language but it is not a do or die situation. But if you are going on a business trip and have to interact with German clients it will definitely play to your advantage to learn German. The travel guide Germany believes that a feeling of mutual trust is built in the mind of the client when you speak their language.