thoughtsky Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Oh yeah of course. Well it might be the best to use this card system! A lot of universities have those. Mine too although I barely never use it Yeah definitely. Never been to the US but I guess you have a lot of self checkout and stuff? Real (that's right ) and other bigger stores already have a few of those but most countries around us are much more further regarding the efficiency. Short description of mine regarding supermarkets: Real: Probably the biggest markets around and similar to walmart and tesco (UK). You'll find a lot of other stuff beside groceries there. Prices are midranged but they have a lot of offers which you can find in a little brochure which should be available at the entrance of the market. This goes for nearly every market that follows ! They are also included in many newspapers on the weekend but I guess you won't receive that much newspapers ! Kaufland: Beside Real this is the other big one but not that charming although a lot cheaper sometimes. In my area those are only found in bigger cities but I'm sure Mainz has one. Edeka / E-Center: Those are usually a lot smaller and only run groceries as most supermarkets around. Lately you sometimes find E-Centers or Edekacenters which are a lot bigger and similar to Real. The atmosphere there is a lot nicer but sometimes the prices are higher as well. Rewe: Another big chain comparable to edeka but from all the regular groceriestores this is the most expensive in general. It's nice there though. Aldi: you already seem to know this this is one of the cheapest but also plainest markets. Many groceries are really delicious even though they are cheaper but some are not as well so you'll need to try as everyone has a different opinion on this one. Lidl: a cheap one as well although I like it a lot better than Aldi. Definitely give this a try if you find one! These are definitely the biggest and probably most important ones. If you or your lady need a drugstore go with dm or Rossmann ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share Posted June 22, 2014 Oh yeah of course. Well it might be the best to use this card system! A lot of universities have those. Mine too although I barely never use it Yeah definitely. Never been to the US but I guess you have a lot of self checkout and stuff? Real (that's right ) and other bigger stores already have a few of those but most countries around us are much more further regarding the efficiency. Short description of mine regarding supermarkets: Real: Probably the biggest markets around and similar to walmart and tesco (UK). You'll find a lot of other stuff beside groceries there. Prices are midranged but they have a lot of offers which you can find in a little brochure which should be available at the entrance of the market. This goes for nearly every market that follows ! They are also included in many newspapers on the weekend but I guess you won't receive that much newspapers ! Kaufland: Beside Real this is the other big one but not that charming although a lot cheaper sometimes. In my area those are only found in bigger cities but I'm sure Mainz has one. Edeka / E-Center: Those are usually a lot smaller and only run groceries as most supermarkets around. Lately you sometimes find E-Centers or Edekacenters which are a lot bigger and similar to Real. The atmosphere there is a lot nicer but sometimes the prices are higher as well. Rewe: Another big chain comparable to edeka but from all the regular groceriestores this is the most expensive in general. It's nice there though. Aldi: you already seem to know this this is one of the cheapest but also plainest markets. Many groceries are really delicious even though they are cheaper but some are not as well so you'll need to try as everyone has a different opinion on this one. Lidl: a cheap one as well although I like it a lot better than Aldi. Definitely give this a try if you find one! These are definitely the biggest and probably most important ones. If you or your lady need a drugstore go with dm or Rossmann ! You're the best. Thanks to everyone so far for all the advice! Would love to know where you all think are nice places to take weekend trips to. I've had recommendations for places in Berlin and Cologne but I'm sure there's plenty more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoughtsky Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Of course hamburg! If you like you can make a stop in Hannover which is where I live. It is not as big as the other ones but quite beautiful in the summer ! If you want to go south Nürnberg and München are nice too ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Of course hamburg! If you like you can make a stop in Hannover which is where I live. It is not as big as the other ones but quite beautiful in the summer ! If you want to go south Nürnberg and München are nice too ! We may try and expand our Kiel trip into a weekend/half week sort of deal in which we could totally make a day stop in your area! I'll keep you informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fueledbymike Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Yo, I actually lived in Frankfurt teaching at an international school there. I wasnt a big fan of the city, mostly just bankers and business men. Not to much of people into the music scene, and a lot of people concerned about money. Tons of great people too, but if i were to give the city an quick view thats what i would say. As for moving. Ive moved abroad 3 times. You really dont need much at all. Spend a week and write down what you use. pack light you wont regret it, and you will always be able to buy anything you forgot while you are there. as for getting around check out http://www.carpooling.co.uk/ (german site, does the same thing http://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de/) but you can put where you are and where you want to go and people list a price of when they are also driving. So its a huge car share service. People can host / join a car and was super easy and super cheap. During the summer its super easy to get anywhere. Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Munich all under 5 hours. I was away almost every weekend! Enjoy it, I miss it there. Also drink Apfelwine on the Main in Frankfurt! I lived there for a year so if you need more advice send me a pm. I leave tuesday for a 7 week backpacking trip so wont have much internet so let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 Trip Update: Going to Cologne this weekend, just spending one night there since its a fairly quick journey (and cheap thanks to you guys!) journey via train and my research is picking up fairly rapidly right now. Obviously going to see the Dom and some of the other touristy attractions. We also plan on drinking lots of Kolsch. Always welcome your guys' input! Oh, and we are just using airbnb to rent an apartment for the one night, girlfriend is a bit too skiddish for hostels even though I've heard Cologne (Koeln?) has a nice one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoughtsky Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Nice! If you don't have anything against going by bus you should also checkout services like flixbus! Sometimes you can snag a drive for around 10-20€ and the bus has wi-fi...dude..wi-fi!! I'm also too skiddish for hostels but those are really famous here in Europe. I guess in every big city there is a new hostel every day! If you really want to stay in one I can recommend a chain called Generator Hostels. Those are a bit more expensive than some other hostels but they are clean and nice. I prefer hotels though ! My girlfriend just told me something regarding the Dom. Take a close look at this but don't pay to go up on the roof. The stairs up their are narrow as fuck and it's the only way up there and down. She said it freaked her out and it took really long to go up there just because of all the people. The view is also said to be not as cool as it seems. Another nice thing for your girlfriend might be a big bridge which name I don't know right now next to the train station. There are padlocks all over the bridge with names of couples on it. As a sign for their love and stuff ! It's really a huge amount of padlocks! If you have any other question, put it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somber_silt Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Trip Update: Going to Cologne this weekend, just spending one night there since its a fairly quick journey (and cheap thanks to you guys!) journey via train and my research is picking up fairly rapidly right now. Obviously going to see the Dom and some of the other touristy attractions. We also plan on drinking lots of Kolsch. Always welcome your guys' input! Oh, and we are just using airbnb to rent an apartment for the one night, girlfriend is a bit too skiddish for hostels even though I've heard Cologne (Koeln?) has a nice one. Since you're staying in Mainz, I just wanted to propose Cologne. Of course, Hamburg and Berlin are probably Germany's most exciting cities; however, both are way too far away from Mainz for a weekend trip. For instance, a trip by car from Mainz to Hamburg as well as to Berlin would take at least five hours. If you can spend four or five days there, it is definitely worth the effort. This is a music messageboard and thus I can recommend to check out the following page for shows in your area: http://www.schlachthof-wiesbaden.de/ Within the last one and a half years there have been a few nice shows there. I am in the north of Hesse, approximately 2 hours away from Frankfurt. If you ever make it there, feel free to hit me up for further advice. Another nice thing for your girlfriend might be a big bridge which name I don't know right now next to the train station. There are padlocks all over the bridge with names of couples on it. As a sign for their love and stuff ! It's really a huge amount of padlocks! this is the romantic spot thoughtsky was referring to. it is the Hohenzollern Bruecke: http://www.koeln.de/service/themen/hochzeit/liebesschloesser_an_der_hohenzollernbruecke_314483.html thoughtsky 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoughtsky Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Dude are you fine? There was this huge storm around your area yesterday and I just wanted to hear if you and your girl are fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Dude are you fine? There was this huge storm around your area yesterday and I just wanted to hear if you and your girl are fine? Yeah we are fine! Actually we were on our train back from Koeln around 2200ish last night when (I'm assuming) it was bad here. When we pulled into the Mainz Hbf we were really confused why there were hundreds of people sitting inside the station and it was still raining pretty hard for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 And by the way we had a great time in Koeln, on Saturday we took a guided tour of the Dom and explored the downtown city area quite a bit on foot. Ate a lot of food. On Sunday we did some more sightseeing and spent a couple of hours at the Koelner Zoo (the girl loves red pandas so we make it a point to visit every zoo that has one). We bought a 24 hour ticket for the buses/subways (left us about 4 hours without a valid ticket) and had our first almost getting caught without a valid ticket experience on our last subway trip to the train station, but we used our ninja-like quickness to switch routes before that happened. I'm officially a criminal now . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoughtsky Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Food's good! Always ! Zoo as well! I've never been to the Koeln Zoo but I heard its nice! I'm also really glad that you guys are fine already planning the next trip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Food's good! Always ! Zoo as well! I've never been to the Koeln Zoo but I heard its nice! I'm also really glad that you guys are fine already planning the next trip? Yes actually this week I am getting ready to make my trip to Kiel for some productive sciency traveling. However, we are there Friday-Monday with my only work days being on Friday/Monday so we will have the weekend to do a bit of sightseeing. We're seriously considering Hamburg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somber_silt Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Yes actually this week I am getting ready to make my trip to Kiel for some productive sciency traveling. However, we are there Friday-Monday with my only work days being on Friday/Monday so we will have the weekend to do a bit of sightseeing. We're seriously considering Hamburg. if you're not sure that you can make it up north a second time during your stay, you should definitely go to Hamburg. Hamburg is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Vool Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 if you're not sure that you can make it up north a second time during your stay, you should definitely go to Hamburg. Hamburg is great. qft. best city in Germany beside Cologne! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somber_silt Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 qft. best city in Germany beside Cologne! Berlin and Leipzig are great, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Well it is settled then. We just might only get a day out of it, otherwise we will be double paying for accomodation on saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
̮ ɤ ̮ Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Berlin and Leipzig are great, too. Yes! I may be biased as Leipzig is my hometown, but if you have enough time you should really try to get there. Same for Dresden, which isn't that far away from Leipzig. Both cities are beautiful and definitely worth for a weekend trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinacaper Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 We have so many places we want to see but realistically only 4 weekends left in this trip after Kiel! Also, money has been a tricky issue here due to how my stipend is paid out. I'm trying to remind myself however that this is a trip I won't get to do again for a long time so I should just spend the money regardless. Being an adult is hard! (I sense a pretty intense record sale coming from my end when I get back to the US) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoughtsky Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I can definitely recommend hamburg! I don't exactly know which kind of music you're into but if you like hardcore / punk / alternative you should check out burnout records. There is also a nice record store just a few streets from central train station but I don't know the name right now. Found a couple gems there too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Vool Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Berlin and Leipzig are great, too. Haven't been to Leipzig, yet, but Berlin (IMO) sucks...can't stand that city! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somber_silt Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Haven't been to Leipzig, yet, but Berlin (IMO) sucks...can't stand that city! Berlin is my favourite German city, but I have to admit that I've just learnt to love Berlin during my last two visits there. All you have to do is to avoid any tourist spots. Apart from those, Berlin is so lovely. Maybe I am quite a bit biased since I am vegan and Berlin is the best place for vegan food in Germany, closely followed by Leipzig. But that is not the reason why I like Leipzig, too. My girl and most of my friends live there, so I spend a lot of time there. And if you're into hardcore and punk music as well as any other music apart from the mainstream, Leipzig offers many good options to go out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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