Germany is not expensive, but it is not exactly cheap either. It falls right within the likes of western European nations, below the ranks of steep Switzerland and Scandinavia and above that of wallet-friendly Poland and other eastern friends. Germany loves its tourists and it is easy to get caught up in the when in Rome mentality
1. Grab Breakfast at a Bakery
Do as the Germans do, eat bread for breakfast (and dinner). There is a bakery on every corner in Germany offering everything from full loafs to pastries. Try out a traditional pretzel with butter (Butter Brezel) or a half-loaf of Roggenbrot (rye bread) or Vollkorn (whole grain).
Although the Germans sure can poke fun, resist the Berliner temptation and go for a less sweet option.
2. Do not pay over €3.30 for a half-liter beer. I forbid you.
Heck, if you play your cards right, you can find a 0.5L for €2 at a student bar. Isn't the cheap, tasty beer half the reason why you came to Germany? Please, do not drink the Heineken. Please, drink responsibly and grab a German beer. If those foggy-looking, unfiltered (Naturtrüb) Pilsners or heavy wheat beers intimidate you, grab a Beck's, it will be ok.
Exception: Oktoberfest
To avoid confusion, these are 1 Liter beers at Oktoberfest and will set you back €10 after tip.
3. Hang Out at a Park
When the sun comes out, so do the Germans. Parks fill up with slacklines, acoustic sounds, unicycles, and Flunkyball teams. Soak up some Vitamin D and enjoy a perfect afternoon in Germany. Grab a picnic blanket, some local brews from the grocery store, a deck of cards, and a book and relish in the relaxation.
Winter Alternative: find the nearest snow hill and enjoy an afternoon sledding
4. Snag a Cheap Train Ticket
Traveling by train in Germany is not cheap, particularly on the famed InterCity Express (ICE), the high-speed trains. If you do not have a rail pass, the ticket prices can cause quite the sticker shock. There are a couple of options to help avoid paying out-the-ass for a ticket on the DBahn.
Last Minute Train Tickets from L'Tur
If you plan a trip last minute, the last minute booking agency L'Tur can be a godsend. Search for your upcoming journey 0-3 days in advance and you may be able to purchase ticket for €26. I had to go to Düsseldorf last week. The DBahn website quoted me €130 round-trip and I bought round-trip tickets on the ICE from L'Tur for €52 round trip.
Regional Day Tickets
The DBahn offers Länder-Tickets, which are regional tickets that you can travel anywhere within the state on using regional trains (no IC or ICE trains). The tickets are valid for one day and begin at €22 and up to 5 people can travel on the ticket at once. They are a great way to get out of the city and explore nearby towns and sprawling countryside.
5. Carpool
If the train prices are still stinging, take to the Autobahn and ride along with a German. Mitfahrgelegenheit (and other online services) provide options for drivers to list empty seats in their car when driving from point A to point B. The driver sets the price and you meet them at a local pick-up point. While this concept might seem outrageous, it is a tried-and-true service and certainly a cheap way to get around Germany. The drivers and riders both need profiles to use the website and payments are made in person, so be sure to wait and make it until you've arrived at your destination. Plus, it's a great way to spend some time with a German citizen and get some insider facts and tips.
6. Go for a Hike
Germans love hiking, particularly in their Jack Wolfskin (not cheap) outdoor clothing. Germany is well-known for its forests (i.e., The Black Forest or Schwarzwald); 31 percent of the country is covered and forests and it is one of the few countries whose forests are actually increasing thanks to its renowned and inspiring reforestation efforts.
7. Ride a Bike Around Town
Biking is a popular form of transportation throughout the country. Bike lanes make for safe commutes and it is not merely a sunny day activity, rather a serious means of getting from point A to point B. If you're in a German city, you can get anywhere you need to with a bike, perhaps even faster than with public transit options. Enjoy experiencing the city like a local and beware to follow the traffic laws and stop at pedestrian walks; jaywalking is frowned up in Germany.
8. Grab a Meal at a Döner Kebab Shop
The Turkish influence in Germany is inevitable. In the 1960s, many Turkish people were invited to Germany to help aide in a shortage of laborers for rebuilding the country after WWII. Turks comprise 4-5 percent of the German population and Turkish food adorns every city street. The most well-known of them all is the Doner Kebab (or Schwarma in Arabic, Gyro in Greek). Doner comes stuffed inside a pita bread or wrapped up in a large tortilla (Yufka). The traditional toppings include red cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion, crushed red chilies, and a yogurt sauce. Doner Kebab yielded €3.5 Billion in sales in 2011, how's that for popularity (source)?
One Döner will cost you €4 and will stuff you silly.
9. Vorglühen
Vorglühen is the German word for pre-party or pre-game. As in any other country, you can save some serious dough by not waiting until going out to get your buzz on. Buying alcohol in German is particularly cheap. At the local discount super markets, you can buy a 0.7 L of vodka for €5 (hangover included), a 0.5L beer for €0.50, and a 1L half-decent bottle of wine for €3.50.
If the cups are not big enough, there's always vases.
10. Stop By the Supermarket
Venturing into local supermarkets is one of my favorite things to do in new countries. The supermarkets really give you a good grab bag of local culture, drawing from the people around you and the food selection. Many supermarkets in Germany have little to go salads and packages to provide a quick snack.
Large 1.5L bottles of water cost less than 20 cents at a German supermarket, so by no means should you ever purchase one from anywhere else. Beware of purchasing Mineral/Sprudelwasser, it has bubbles. The Medium also has bubbles, but less. For you still water drinkers, look for Stilles on the label. Plastic bottles in Germany come with a Pfand, or deposit, of up to 25 cents that is charged with your purchase. You can return them to the store for a refund or donate them to a local homeless person.
Asparagus season is a very special time in Germany, especially if they are white and phallic.
The German deli counter will surely draw at least one "what the hell?" out of anyone.
How do you travel cheap?
43 comments
This is a marvellous list, and I'm happy to say that I partook in a few of these items when I was in Germany oh so many years ago. Particularly the bakery, beer and kebabs.. haha! But bikes too. And I have to say I laughed at the vases!!
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the schönes Wochenende tickets. The Länder ones are just for one state, with Schönes Wochenende you could theoretically travel the whole of Germany (verrrry slowly! lol).
ReplyDeleteFor cheap food/drinks, find the university then look for restaurants and cafes near there. They'll be catering to students, with prices to match!
These are really great tips Alex! You basically described the essence of my life here ;)
ReplyDeleteMy newest money-saving highlight: The Turkish / Middle Eastern supermarket in front of my house -- cheap but really fresh fruit and veggies, spices from all over the world, and THE best Fladenbrot.
WHY WOULD ANYONE PAY FOR BALONEY IN THE SHAPE OF A BEAR. That is freaky! Anyway, I always gasp at German prices because Spain is so much cheaper. 10 euros to get to the city center on the Ubahn from an airport? RIDICULOUS.
ReplyDeleteThese are such great tips!... and there's a chance that I'll be in Munich in June, so I may have the opportunity to put them to use sooner rather than later :)
ReplyDeleteYeah any train transit is ridiculous. One ride on the tram in my city is 2.30 Euro, insanity. Thankful for my bike every day!
ReplyDeleteThis market sounds like a dream, especially with the lackluster produce selection in winter here. I'd be extra happy about the spices and oh that bread!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea about the university.
ReplyDeleteAnd definitely know the Wochenende tickets but VERRRRRRYYY slowly is the rough point haha, but for travelers it's probably a good one. Thanks for bringing it up.
Thanks for the L'tur tip I'm really excited to try it out!
ReplyDeleteThe train system can be so confusing sometimes so these are some great tips to keep in mind! Glad the alcohol is cheap in German cause here in Iceland it is insanely expensive!
ReplyDeleteThere's a Turkish supermarket on Werderplatz in Karlsruhe.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, on y year abroad we used Schönes Wochenende tickets to go to Oktoberfest... from Karlsruhe. We were drinking wine on the train at 8 a.m.!
ReplyDeleteYeah I've been to that one, but it doesn't seem to measure up to Julika's wonderful one.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I looked at that option once and it was what, 8 hours or something? Impressive!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that! When all my Icelandic friends go home their parents make them grab stuff at duty free. I tried some Icelandic black schnapps once... it was not an enjoyable experience.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips! I've never used L'tur before, I'll have to check it out. I just recently discovered that you can catch a very cheap train ticket to Paris from Stuttgart. They started the TGV aka bullet train (it take 3 1/2 hours to get there) last year from Stuggi to Paris but all the tickets I've seen are pretty expensive. However, I found that if you book 90 days out (as far as you can book) you can get a round trip ticket for around 80 Euros.
ReplyDeletethis sounds great and all but i filly expect that when i visit you will be my personal tour guide.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, but please... don't order a Beck's. Germans don't drink it, it's only for tourists. In fact it's like Heineken because it's much more popular abroad than in the home country. At first you couldn't even get it here because it was only produced for export.
ReplyDeleteGrab whatever the local beer in your town is (and there is at least one local beer in every German town). For Karlsruhe it would be Hoepfner, Tannenzäpfle, Hatz or go to the Vogel brewery if you want to try that amazing unfiltered beer. Weizen (wheat beer) is great if you're hungry and want to get drunk at the same time. ;o)
Ha! The word for pre-game, I love it. Using it from now! And the fact you're drinking out of vases is priceless.
ReplyDeleteI love all of these suggestions! Have you tried blablacar in germany yet? It's the same as your #5. The best blablacar was when Juan and Maria (both pushing 100) picked us up in their black PT Cruiser!
ReplyDeleteReally? Teddy bear-shaped bologna? :-) Great list! Grocery stores are always my favorite whenever we travel, and I still wonder what half the stuff is in my Polish stores. Well, mainly all the different kinds of cured meat products. And we still pre-game as well!
ReplyDeleteI definitely didn't know about the L'Tur, gotta check it out. The thing about carpooling is I find that it's sometimes pure luck you can find someone to go with, so not a really good option if you plan your travel a while before... Or am I not searching it correctly? Lol.
ReplyDeleteLol I live in Bremen and everyone drinks it here. I don't drink beers so I don't know its popularity in other parts of Germany.
ReplyDeleteI literally laughed out loud at the teddy bear shaped meat. When I was an au pair in Amsterdam, 'Bob de Bouwer worst' (Bob the builder, sandwich meat), was always on the shopping list.
ReplyDeleteNooo, not Hatz! Their beer is awful!! Vögelbräu beer is delicious, Hoepfner is alright (the Kräusen is my favourite), everyone I know swears by Tannenzäpfle but I personally don't like it, but I think most people agree that Hatz is by FAR the worst. Plus you missed Kühler Krug (also excellent).
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, it's even themed?! Too funny.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that point was more for people deciding to go where next on a whim :) Of course, L'Tur is the same, too. Definitely give it a try though, it can make for a great spontaneous trip!
ReplyDeleteIf I had not lived with a German family upon moving here, I would definitely still marvel at the grocery store since I wouldn't have had to try all these weird... err... different items.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried Blablacar but so glad you gave it a look, will have to keep it in mind. Mitfahrgelegenheit is the original and founded in Germany (rather than the UK), so it usually offers the best variety. Blablacar will tend much better to my English-speaking ways though :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend drinking the local stuff too, but of course someitmes those beers are a little much, particularly for the unexperienced American beer drinkers who are used to the likes of Bud and Coors Light, so at least Beck's offers a German-friendly alternative :)
ReplyDeleteAh ok, then I'd rather check out some Kölsch (the local beer of Cologne, no Pilsener), it would be my suggestion if you prefer those light american lagers. There's a nice Kölsch Bar south of the Mainstation in Karlsruhe, called the ExilCölner: http://www.exilcoelner.com/ For most Germans it tastes like dishwater. ;o)
ReplyDeleteBesides the beer, you'll get some pretty authentic food from the Rheinland over there. The best thing: Kölsch comes in this ridiculously tiny glasses so you can tell your friends you had 10 German beers the other night without even getting drunk.
I don't like Hatz as well, was just listing the first brands that came to my mind. I missed a lot more like Michels, Andreasbräu, Christoph, Amadeus and of course Alpirsbacher, one of the few remaining monastery beers in Germany.
ReplyDeleteBesides Kühler Krug and Vogel there's also the Badisch Brauhaus in the city, but Vogel is still my favourite.
Bremen might be a special situation, because Beck's is from there, so actually it's their local beer. ;)
ReplyDeleteDidn't know about that bar in Karlsuhe, but then again I'm never south of the train station, pretty cool though!
ReplyDeleteI actually really like Alpirsbacher beer, but it's not as easy to get hold of as the others.
ReplyDelete(Technically, there's also Wolfbräu but that isn't really worth mentioning).
Sorry for taking over your comments, Alex!
German bakeries definitely are the best! I need my broetchen in the morning! And yes, Vorgluehen is important too! Great post!
ReplyDelete[…] best tip for budget travel is to eat and drink from the local supermarkets. If you want to get a taste of the local flavor, […]
ReplyDeleteFor as much as I use the rail system, I've never seen L'Tur before. That's brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a minor gotcha- the rates went up for most transit items in the beginning of this year- a Länder ticket now starts at €23, not €22. ::cry::
I have been having a love affair with German bakeries ever since I lived there as a teenager. It is a good thing that I also kept my love of bicycling and being in the mountains to balance out those to frequent visits to a good bakery.
ReplyDeleteTo travel cheap in Spain, I also recommend going to the supermarket! Buy breakfast supplies especially. Eat at the bar for generally cheaper prices than on a terrace or at a table.
ReplyDelete„In the 1960s, many Turkish people were invited to Germany to help aide in a shortage of laborers for rebuilding the country after WWII.“
ReplyDeleteI do not know, if my post was deleted but that is still wrong.
Perhaps I could have worded it better, but this is what I am referring, too. Sorry if my information mislead. http://www.globalization101.org/post-world-war-ii-migration/
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, I was maybe wrong using the word rebuild, but there was an influx of Turks to the labor force in the 50s and 60s to work.
ReplyDelete