WC 2006: It's in Germany, not America; Important Information

[KarlMai]

Germany has changed alot in the last 20 years, in ways that
I won't go into without having to resort to stereotyping.




Oh please DO resort to stereotyping. By any means. We always love that. :)

[donofrioms]

Pre-paid sims are the way to go, you can have it sent to you in the states before you leave and you know your number. Calls from the states are free to you in Germany. You just need an international phone. Here is a link for the service, if your fluent in german you can do the tmobile link for prepaid

http://www.telestial.com/products/germany_sim.htm

https://www.t-mobile.de/privat

If you have a phone with Cingular or T-mobile in the states you can have your internaional roaming turned on but you will pay about a dollar a minute plus the monthly fee.

[Gioca]

If you have a GSM tri-band phone, make sure it's UNLOCKED. If you're a Cingular customer, borrow someone's T-Mobile SIM, pop it in, see if it works.

You can buy prepaid SIM's very easily anywhere in Europe.

Lrn 2 txt b4 u go.

[ilidav]

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/internationalsvcs/index.jsp

[ilidav]

Also...........

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/internationalsvcs/index.jsp

[pepper96]

German beer is stronger, and their glasses bigger than you think.


I know. I checked.

Then I passed out.

take some doppelbock beer. thats fun.

yes, real big glasses. One has 10 litres. :D

not only dancing on busses also playing king kong on my lamp in the living room.:mad:

[Frankie Boy]

I was just looking at a site, www.vacationvillas.net , which was posted in the K-Town lodging thread. Great looking places. But please, be aware of what kind of person you are. If you're looking for non-stop, round the clock action, these places may not be a good fit. Most I see are off the beaten path, in idyllic settings. Great for those who prefer the country side, want some quiet time with their family, or just prefer a relaxed pace with quiet evenings. It's probably a VERY BAD fit for someone who wants to drink until late at night, scream obscenities at the referee, or play drinking games while practicing their Sam's Armies chants.

Net, know who you are. Don't pick a charming dorf if you prefer the big city. Likewise, don't get a place in Frankfurt if metropolitian living gives you the heebie-jeebies. Or mix it up and see some of both.

Aside: There are laws in Germany, and Switzerland for that matter, about noise after 10 pm or so. Sundays, too, IIRC. They expect you to be quiet. This can even include stuff like flushing the toilets late at night. In the cities I don't know this is followed, but in little villages it will be expected and at least polite to do so.

My wife and I found a 1 bedroom apartment in the old part of Heidelberg on this site for 2 weeks-a steal compared to the prices of hotel rooms this summer...great location, not only for tourism but for getting to/from USA games (Gelsenkirchen will be a little tough, but the others are straight shots)...

[Palermo10]

Heidelberg!!! I was just there two weeks ago. I loved it!!! I was on the side of the river with the castle... thats definitely a great place.

[colins1993]

take some doppelbock beer. thats fun.

yes, real big glasses. One has 10 litres. :D

not only dancing on busses also playing king kong on my lamp in the living room.:mad:

just 'bout busted a cajone after reading that.....
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif
Snide

[Brook]

If you have a new passport, or a recent renewal, the Department of State sent a wallet sized card for you to write your passport number on it. Also useful to write the US Embassy's phone number on.
Also, those who have US T-Mobile, it is easily transferable to Europe if you set it up before hand with them. I dont remember my calls back to The States being outlandish price wise.

[ck105]

I have a quick Passport question: Does Germany require that U.S. visitors have a valid Passport for >6 months before they enter the country? I recently renewed my Passport, and it will only have been valid for 4 months by the time the WC rolls around. Does anyone know if I'll be okay or not?

Thanks!

[soccerelvis]

I have a quick Passport question: Does Germany require that U.S. visitors have a valid Passport for >6 months before they enter the country? I recently renewed my Passport, and it will only have been valid for 4 months by the time the WC rolls around. Does anyone know if I'll be okay or not?

Thanks!

The only passport restriction is that your passport must be vaild for the length of your stay,(maximum 90 days in a 6 month period without obtaining a visa).

Elvez

[roadkit]

I have a quick Passport question: Does Germany require that U.S. visitors have a valid Passport for >6 months before they enter the country? I recently renewed my Passport, and it will only have been valid for 4 months by the time the WC rolls around. Does anyone know if I'll be okay or not?

Thanks!

I think you're confused - if your passport is less than 6 months old, no problem.

Many countries restrict entry if your passport will expire within 6 months.

You should be good to go.

One other point on passports - not a bad idea to get a color copy of the main page of your passport (the one with the picture/inof on it). Fold it up and put it in your wallet/purse/money belt. If you lose your passport, you can use it until you can get a new one issued by the consulate/embassy.

[REVS FAN 1]

For all you smokers out there.....SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM..

From SOCCERAMERICA:

WORLD CUP FRONT: No smoking, pretty please

German World Cup organizers prefer that fans didn't smoke, but they're not going to get vigilant about it.

Spectators will be encouraged not to smoke in stadiums with "No smoking, please" signs, anti-smoking ads on the big screens and PA announcements.

Security personnel, however, will not enforce a smoking ban.

While many European nations have implemented smoking bans - Britain recently banned smoking in bars, restaurants and other public indoor spaces - the German government's anti-smoking efforts have been limited to educational campaigns asking smokers to voluntarily refrain.

German Hotel and Restaurant Association has said its members plan on creating non-smoking areas by 2008.

[Frankie Boy]

For all you smokers out there.....SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM..

From SOCCERAMERICA:

WORLD CUP FRONT: No smoking, pretty please

German World Cup organizers prefer that fans didn't smoke, but they're not going to get vigilant about it.

Spectators will be encouraged not to smoke in stadiums with "No smoking, please" signs, anti-smoking ads on the big screens and PA announcements.

Security personnel, however, will not enforce a smoking ban.

While many European nations have implemented smoking bans - Britain recently banned smoking in bars, restaurants and other public indoor spaces - the German government's anti-smoking efforts have been limited to educational campaigns asking smokers to voluntarily refrain.

German Hotel and Restaurant Association has said its members plan on creating non-smoking areas by 2008.

My Cubans will get a workout :)

[roadkit]

For those of you who care what time the sun rises and sets, here is the data for Frankfurt for June, 2006:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=83&obj=sun&month=6&year=2006&day=1

This means all of our first round games are during the "day" except Italy which starts at 21:00 - but my guess is it won't get dark until well into the second half.

[dfb547490]

For all you smokers out there.....SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM..

I wonder if that goes for any kind of smoking, if so too bad Jamaica didn't qualify, they'd have a great home-field advantage

[WLDBIL6]

https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/

Germany has changed alot in the last 20 years, in ways that
I won't go into without having to resort to stereotyping.

In 2002, the world was in our court. In 2006, it's a different world.

-bs

You should use caution and be "low keyed" in any country where you are not very familar with the language and customs, but Americans don't need to be paranoid just because European generally disagrees with current American foreign policy.

I've lived in Switzerland and Ireland, worked in Germany, and spent the last few years exploring the rest of Europe. I've only come across a handful of people who have made a negative comment to me about being an American.

My tips:

1) Practice speaking softer than you normally do. It's not intentional, but American do tend to be louder than Europeans and this will bother some people and make you stand out. I didn't notice until after I'd live in Europe for a year and had some friends and family come to visit me.

2) Watch what the locals around you are doing. The Germans are great for partying, but make sure the time and place are appropriate.

3) When your near the stadium or another WC event, cheer your country all you want, but tone it down away from the games and just enjoy meeting people from all over the world. This would be a good lesson for supporters of all teams (especially another English speaking country).

4) Do not, repeat, Do not discuss WWII. This is not a joke. Most Germans feel shame or embarassment for their past (and a large percent of them lost family members), why would you want to intentional upset your host. (I once made a casual reference to a friend about a book I had read about Dresden and the look on her face at just the mention of the war broke my heart). The nazi salute will get you thrown in jail. I think this violates a person's right to free speech, but if you're dumb enough to do it, I won't really care how long you sit in a holding cell.

I don't mean to be a killjoy, but the fact that we like fussball puts us in a great position to change the general perception that Germans and other countries have of Americans. Let do this and have a great time in the process.

[Frankie Boy]

I wonder if that goes for any kind of smoking, if so too bad Jamaica didn't qualify, they'd have a great home-field advantage

The USA still wins in Kingston routinely..the fans are too wasted to cheer!

Anyone want to share Cohibas with me in Kaiserslautern?

[SnakeEyes]

Are fireworks/flares/smoke etc still legal all over the country?

Yes I know inside the stadiums will get you in trouble, I am talking about outside :D