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

[roadkit]

I travel overseas quite a bit for the Government, so I may take stuff like this for granted, but it's important for people travelling overseas to know how to get in touch with the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in case something goes wrong. I'm surprised by how many people I speak with who don't even know the phone # of the Embassy when they travel abroad.

Do yourself a favor and check out the State Department website: www.state.gov (http://www.state.gov)

Here's the link for the Frankfurt consulate (there are others throughout Germany, you can get the links on the State site):

http://frankfurt.usconsulate.gov/

Here's a little story about why knowing this info is important:

My cousin's husband was abroad a couple of years ago and was in an accident on a sailboat. He broke his neck and was taken to a hospital in the Canary islands. He was all ************ed up to put it mildly. My cousin flew there immediately (still took a couple of days). When she got there, it was a mess. Nobody in the hospital spoke much English, she didn't speak Spanish and they were basically clueless about what to do. I got a call from her Mom who was obviously in a panic. I got the name of the hospital and her cell phone #. I called the US Embassy in Madrid, and while I was still on the phone they had someone call my cousin, they spoke to the doctor and at the same time they had a team from the US consulate on the way to the hospital. Within an hour they had people at the hospital who could translate, etc. BTW, he's fully recovered.

I certainly hope nobody needs such assistance while visiting Germany, but as they say: "Better to have and not need, than need and not have."

Just take the phone number of the Embassy/Consulate closest to where you'll be and put it in your pocket.

[Galaxian]

Thanks man .

[TeamUSA]

Good post and good thought. Always find out where that US Embassy or Consulate is located.

[MarioKempes]

Good advice, although in Germany I doubt you will have any problems.

[JoeSoccerFan]

In addition make a copy of your passport picture page and store it somewhere else. It'll make it easier to get a replacement in case it's lost or stolen.

[Palermo10]

This is just another entry in a long list of posts that are helpful but will be lost among ALL the helpful threads on BS.

Maybe in May we can combine all the important information and print it out, or I'll just come to you guys when I havent read up on my info :)

[roadkit]

This is just another entry in a long list of posts that are helpful but will be lost among ALL the helpful threads on BS.

Maybe in May we can combine all the important information and print it out, or I'll just come to you guys when I havent read up on my info :)

I was thinking af putting a shorter post in one of the stickied threads to remind people. Hopefully nobody will need it but you never know.

[mad4footie]

Under the catagory of better to have it and not need it: Americans covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield can go to www.bluecares.com and get a list of hospitals in Germany that would be covered by most Blue Cross Plans. A lot easier to just hand over your insurance card instead of your credit card if you had an emergency.

[roadkit]

Under the catagory of better to have it and not need it: Americans covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield can go to www.bluecares.com (http://www.bluecares.com/) and get a list of hospitals in Germany that would be covered by most Blue Cross Plans. A lot easier to just hand over your insurance card instead of your credit card if you had an emergency.

Good point - I need to check with Aetna to see if they have the same sort of coverage.

[ChangeT]

In addition make a copy of your passport picture page and store it somewhere else. It'll make it easier to get a replacement in case it's lost or stolen.

Just a thought, get it scanned and upload it to your favorite web site (yahoo, email, etc.), you'll always have access to it.

[Thunderpac]

DON'T put your passport on the web...

You think it's secure? You have a password protecting it?

So you're in Germany and you walk into a place that has internet access. You view your passport image in your email folder and you're extra careful to log out when done. A person, any random person, comes in, looks in the browser cache, prints your passport out and does who knows what with it. The fact is that most people do not possess the expertise to protect themselves from ID theft. Data security is my job and I still do not trust myself enough not to forget one important step. Not to mention the fact that a photocopy will be available at times when the internet may not.

Which brings up another point. Bring a copy of the international contact info for your credit card company. The consulate offices, credit companies, and airlines can always be looked up online or at hotel directories or gotten from fellow Americans, but in cases of emergency it is nice to skip all that.

[210597]

Here's a random fact: Flares are expressly prohibited in Germany, at all stadiums. Meaning that if somebody lights up a flare or a smoke bomb, the police will enter your section, in riot gear, in order to find the guy. That's been the procedure in every 1. Bundesliga stadium for a couple of years now. Seeing as that the World Cup is going to be in completely CCTV-outfitted stadiums, I wouldn't try anything on that front.

On the other hand, the only thing I've ever heard of anyone getting for it, so long as nobody got hurt, was a five-year stadium ban in Germany and registration in the Germany national Sports-Event-Perpetrators-Of-Violence-Registry (how does one translate Datei Gewalttäter Sport?!), meaning you had to register with the police on matchdays and couldn't leave the country if Germany were playing internationally. So I guess there's reason to try your chances.

Overall though, don't count on any pyrotechnical fun in Germany.

[babytiger2001]

This is just another entry in a long list of posts that are helpful but will be lost among ALL the helpful threads on BS.

Very good point -- rep to both of you coming.

And even better than that, I'll sticky this thread to encourage more people travelling abroad to Germany to become familiar with the important information being preached.

Having done a fair bit of international travelling, and not to mention living in another country now, there is no such thing as unimportant information. And I'd hate to see this thread get buried once we get closer to May and June.

[Gioca]

Don't mention the war.

[Palermo10]

Don't mention the war.

Yeah, those purchased Hessian soldiers' descendants are a little sore on the subject of our independence. Bast*rds.

[Jabinho]

Don't mention the war.
Napoleonic wars?
The 3 against Norway?
WWI?
Kiel Mutiny?
WWII?
Vietnam?
WC 2002?
Iraq?

[gngrasso]

Napoleonic wars?
The 3 against Norway?
WWI?
Kiel Mutiny?
WWII?
Vietnam?
WC 2002?
Iraq?
Yes

[Jabinho]

Yes
Okay.. As long as the Germans don't mention David Hasselhoff...

[Shibb]

Under the catagory of better to have it and not need it: Americans covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield can go to www.bluecares.com and get a list of hospitals in Germany that would be covered by most Blue Cross Plans. A lot easier to just hand over your insurance card instead of your credit card if you had an emergency.

Along these lines, it's not a bad idea to

1. Figure out where a local hospital or clinic is. Just in case.
2. Find where the afterhours pharmacy for the area you're in is located.


Anecdotes to support 1 & 2 above:

1. The first day we moved to Switzerland, my wife dropped my 4 month old son and cut his head. This is a freaky enough thing to experience, and it's then we realized we had no idea how to ask for help or anything in French. We got him to a nearby clinic and they took care of him fine and spoke great English there, but you can't count on the average schmoe on the street to be calm or speak English just when you need them to.

2. While I was living in Germany by myself I once got horrible, debilitating abdominal pains in the middle of the night. I was in terrible pain. So I finally willed myself into my car and got to the pharmacy. Which was closed. I thought I was going to die. I sorted out, from a small sign on the door, where to go that day for the allnight pharmacy. When you get there you have to explain your problem and they will give you some medicine. You don't need to involve a doctor in most instance. In my case they gave me a herbal remedy that was very effective, and in a couple of hours I was fine. Also, the place will look like it's closed but you ring a bell and they will get up and help you out. I think the pharmacies in the main stations will be open 24 hours but I'm not 100% on this.

[Palermo10]

I'm having a "power lunch" with my Germany-bound friends on Friday, and I am giving them a lot of information collected from BigSoccer and elsewhere. I will post it in it's own thread, as it is a consolidation of sorts.

Unless you all want me to just post it here.