Munich
Last year, at the request of my company, I went to Germany for eight months for training. I had a similar experience before, training abroad, and also went to Germany, only for a short time. So for me, last year was not the first time I went to Germany, but it was the first time I lived and worked in Germany for a while. Since the training period was longer than six months, we could only apply for a work visa, which is a visa that allows us to travel to and from Germany at any time during the period. Because it is a company training purpose, so the air ticket, hotel (actually it is an apartment, within six months you can stay in a hotel, more than six months you can only stay in an apartment) and insurance are all handled by the company, we just submit our own documents, and only appear when we need to face the visa. Therefore, this part has little reference value for those who are studying abroad or working part-time. If you need guidance, you need to seek professional help, or look up some strategies online and help from experienced brothers and sisters.
I think we are more concerned about what to do first thing in Germany, we will feel a little confused and even afraid (referring to those who have not been abroad before). We usually take a flight from Beijing to Munich at 2:00 am, and arrive there at 5:00 or 6:00 am in the morning. How to get from the airport to the hotel is determined by the purpose of each person’s trip. If it’s a business trip, you’ll probably be picked up and the pickup person will be waiting at the airport exit with a small sign in his hand. If it’s a tour, etc. without booking a pickup, you can go out and find a subway station and buy a ticket from the airport to the city. I don’t know what it’s like in other places, but the subway stations in Munich have automatic ticketing, so if you can’t read German, you can switch to English, or if you don’t speak English well, you can only ask for help.
For buying tickets, it is recommended to make a strategy before going abroad to see what kind of subway tickets you are suitable for. The overall ticket is divided into weekly, monthly and annual tickets, of course, the longer the time will be cheaper, but overall it is also quite expensive. We often buy monthly tickets, one to four laps, less than 80 euros, one is for business purposes, the other is reimbursable. The traffic in Munich is divided into four districts, one district four circles (from one to sixteen), one to four circles is basically the city center of the piece. If you buy a monthly ticket, it is equivalent to the area of one to four circles this month, all public transportation is available, usually without showing the driver, you just need to show it when someone checks the ticket.
In Germany, it is called “black car” to ride on public transportation without a ticket, which is different from our concept of black car. At least in Munich is not often check the ticket, check the ticket also usually at night, it is said that these check the ticket people are also part-time. Can you guess how many times I was checked in Munich in eight months? The answer is once, only once. Usually there is no check, but if you are caught evading the ticket, you will be fined 60 Euros. In addition to these time-based tickets, if you have to go out and have fun, you can buy a Bavarian state ticket, two people each for thirty something, three people for twenty something, at most if six people, each person seems to be ten dollars. This state ticket is very affordable, as long as it is within the time frame, in addition to similar to the train and ordinary train first class seat, all Bavarian transport can be taken without additional cost. For example, in Munich, we bought a state ticket to go to Lake of the Kings and Neuschwanstein Castle. It’s a bit further, but it’s cheaper. On a side note, if you are going to Lake of Kings, it is recommended to stay in Salzburg for one night so that you have more time.
Cabs in this place are more expensive and unlike in China, you need to make a reservation, so it’s a bit of a hassle. We only made an appointment for a cab when we went to the airport on our return, and we don’t know the usual state, and we don’t recommend taking a cab, it’s too expensive. Germany’s subway, bus and rail is very convenient, the route and time optimization is very humane, recommended this way to travel. From the city of Munich to the airport, the cab cost about eighty euros, and take the subway with a district to four district tickets, less than ten dollars, I remember is seven dollars nine euros.
After talking about travel, let’s talk about food. Speaking of food, we can not get away from going to the supermarket. German supermarkets have a sense of hierarchy, that is, some expensive and some civilian, but things are quite good, such as BIO eggs, milk, etc.. In general, meat is cheap, vegetables and fruits are expensive. It is recommended that when you go there, do not buy things silently converted into RMB, then you can not buy, only then you will feel that things are still very good value. It is indeed a good deal, the purchasing power of the euro is still very good. There is absolutely no domestic convenience of a variety of sweeping code payment, more cash and credit cards. Even sometimes will find you a bunch of coins, coins and one euro cent, two euro cent. The euro does not have the concept of angles, only dollars and cents. This past time to get used to, a thing they do not report a few dollars and cents, but say a few dollars and cents. There is no need to enter the password when using a credit card, some machines are inserted, some machines just stick it on, so you still have to be as careful as possible.
There are more discount stores in Germany, so if you have the opportunity to visit them, be sure to check them out. Those stores are usually no clerk to come over to the warm and fuzzy, basically self-help slowly pick. If you come across a brand name in the discount store is still a good deal. There are some discount stores there in Maria Square, they put a lot of shoes together, all brands, most of them are famous brands, all we need to do is to take our time and pick there. Some of the stores in the city center and in the surrounding shopping villages are able to use Alipay. As long as you see the Alipay logo placed on the counter, then you tell them you want Alipay when you check out. If you are on a short term visa, don’t forget to open a tax return and get a refund at the airport when you leave the country. If you buy something more than a few dozen euros, you can get a tax refund, and if you buy a brand-name watch or bag, the amount of tax refund is also very substantial. Some supermarkets in Germany also offer tax refunds, so remember to look for the signs in the stores.
When you go out to eat, there are also many options, from cheap “Turkish burritos”, ham and elbows in butcher stores (five euros or less), to the more commonplace restaurants “Big Elbow” (more than ten euros), and some more expensive “steakhouse” (fifty or sixty euros) and so on, this will require you to discover for yourself. Germany’s beer is really good, if you like to go more than one taste, there are white, clear, black, and some like paste, there are also some refreshing. There are also many brands of beer, Munich is more Plauner, there are also domestic called the cleric, but similar to the cleric logo of at least four kinds of beer, are a cleric with a beer belly carrying a glass of beer. The prices of these brews vary, but all in all they are better and cheaper than the domestic ones. If you catch the Oktoberfest, you can also try a variety of beers, which are stronger. One Mass is equivalent to one liter, but it is very good. Red wine can also go to the supermarket to buy, there are more varieties, expensive dozens of euros cheap more than one euro are available.
Other miscellaneous items. Developed areas will be more expensive houses, apartments will be relatively cheap. You can book on which website, the specific need to see the strategy, I dare not say blindly. Germany’s local bank card, my colleague has done a, when doing not trouble, but after returning home, I do not know whether you need to deal with the extra. The reason is that we do work visa, insurance is also local to do, other details really do not understand. The insurance should be handled by a special agency. Lastly, if you like to drive, make sure you get a few people together to carpool, because it’s cheaper to rent a car together, just be careful driving, the cars are fast there.
A little experience when you first enter Germany
Munich
Last year, at the request of the company, I went to Germany for eight months of training. I had a similar experience before, going abroad for training and also to Germany, only for a short time. So for me, last year was not the first time I went to Germany, but it was the first time I lived and worked in Germany for a while. Since the training period was longer than six months, we could only apply for a work visa, which is a visa that allows us to travel to and from Germany at any time during the period. Because it is a company training purpose, so the air ticket, hotel (actually it is an apartment, within six months you can stay in a hotel, more than six months you can only stay in an apartment) and insurance are all handled by the company, we just submit our own documents, and only appear when we need to face the visa. Therefore, this part has little reference value for those who are studying abroad or working part-time. If you need guidance, you need to seek professional help, or look up some strategies online and help from experienced brothers and sisters.
I think we are more concerned about what to do first thing in Germany, we will feel a little confused and even afraid (referring to those who have not been abroad before). We usually take a flight from Beijing to Munich at 2:00 am, and arrive there at 5:00 or 6:00 am in the morning. How to get from the airport to the hotel is determined by the purpose of each person’s trip. If it’s a business trip, you’ll probably be picked up and the pickup person will be waiting at the airport exit with a small sign in his hand. If it’s a tour, etc. without booking a pickup, you can go out and find a subway station and buy a ticket from the airport to the city. I don’t know what it’s like in other places, but the subway stations in Munich have automatic ticketing, so if you can’t read German, you can switch to English, or if you don’t speak English well, you can only ask for help.
For the ticket buying part, it is recommended to do a strategy before going abroad to see what kind of subway ticket you are suitable for.
