My 21 year old son is going to Hanover to do research for 2 1/2 months this summer. I think his stipend is 815 Euros a month. I'd love to hear some suggestions on what he needs to take with him.

Calling cards?
Money? How much?

I don't even know enough to know what questions to ask!

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Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive. - Theodore Roosevelt

http://www.germany-tourism.de/

Hope that help's.

And whatever you do, don't eat the Sauerkraut or the CurryWurst!!

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It's the difference between suicide and slow capitulation... - Jim Morrison

I dont know how expensive Hanover is but my lord, give the lad some money, €815 a month is nothing. Minimum - for a non-drinking, non-smoking upright young chap - I would suggest an absolute minimum of €1200 a month...but take some advice from our Finns here, as they will probably know best...

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"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

Thanks, Doc. I'll let him know. He's always been one to try new things.


Nawbut. Of course, he doesn't smoke, but I believe he'll be obligated to try every beer on the market there (hopefully not at the same time).


Money is my biggest worry. I'm thinking of selling his car. I need time to recover from paying for the plane ticket. I know he must have some literature about where he will live etc., but I haven't seen it. He said a trip to Mcdonalds cost the equivalent of about $10-12. EGADS! I want him to have enough money to get the most out of his time there.

I hope he'll be able to use his computer to keep in touch????

Apron strings. snip... snip....

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Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive. - Theodore Roosevelt

Germany is very technologically advanced as far as the net goes, chances are wherever he stays will have wireless access. If his computer is set up for wireless he'll be good to go. Piece of advice, if he plans to use his computer you'll need a voltage adapter, but piece of advice to invest in a surge protector. Those adapters are screwy sometimes and I know someone who lost a computer that way.

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JMS gets another English lesson:

Quote:

there is no "mostly unique;" thats like saying "sometimes always," its an oxymoron - its either one or the other.

The result:

Quote:

By the mid-19th century unique had developed a wider meaning, “not typical, unusual,” and it is in this wider sense that it is compared. The comparison of so-called absolutes in senses that are not absolute is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.

I lived in southern Germany for a year for the same reason your son is going. So if you have any specific questions about anything, I can probably help.


They are really relaxed about drinking there. But tell your son to be careful about over drinking (unless of course he can handle lots) - they really do not like that there. And while I'm on the subject of drinking...Germans may be a bit more prone to fighting than what your son may be used to.

When I was there, the dollar was worth a bit more than it is now (and I was there when they switched to the euro), but even so, you'll probably be surprised at how reasonable the cost of living there really is. Certain things are a little bit more expensive (like soft drinks, beer, fast food), but a lot of other things are cheaper. So a trip to the grocery store will end up costing just about the same there as it would here. So anyway, 815 euro is like $1000. Once you subtract the cost of his room (housing is more expensive there), then the remainder will get him just about as far as it would here.

Of course I don't know what your financial situation is, but if at all possible, try to scrape together enough for him to get down to Switzerland for a few days.

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Tiger got to hunt, Bird got to fly, Man got to sit and wonder 'Why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, Bird got to land, Man got to tell himself he understand.
~Bokonon

Switzerland? I might die from jealousy!!!!

He plans on starving if that's what it takes for him to get to the World Cup though.

The switch to euro, was that 2002? You may be the fount of information I need! Now I just have to figure out what to ask you.

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Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive. - Theodore Roosevelt

I have relatives in Germany, but I have never been there.. My cousin and her boyfriend actually visited last summer, and they recommended some beer/wine festivals, but unfortunately I don't remember the names

Overall, I don't know about money.. I can live with about 300-500€+rent per month here in Finland.. If your son will be like moving around, eating someplace or drinking, he obviously needs more..

I suppose there is rather many places to see in Germany.. Even more, the central Europe is really full of old cities and wonders, considering its size.. It should not be a big problem to visit France, Swiss or Austria from there, depending where he will live.. Commonly, German (& other Europe) has very functional public transportation system (~bullet trains etc.)..

Instead, I have been in France and that trip was astonishing.. The area around the hotel (in the southern France) was extremely beautiful with its mountains, verdant canyons and old castles..

- BtD

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"Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."
[George Orwell, 1984]
"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows."
[George Orwell, 1984]

Of Germany's easily accessable neighbors, Switzerland was the coolest in my opinion. My 2 recomendations would be Luzern (sp?), this really cool old city built on top of a lake. The second would be just to find a nice tall mountain to climb to the top of. As warning, things are much more expensive in Switzerland, and the people are pretty unfriendly.

Within Germany, I would suggest attending some religious services in some of those cool old cathedrals they have all over the country. I went to one on some significant observance, and the whole service was in Latin or something...it was very cool.



I'm not entirely sure how exactly it went, but they were using the euro for some transactions the whole time I was there, but they changed the physical currency over on Jan 1, 2002. Something that Americans may not know regarding the switch was right after 9/11, Germany was creating this huge botanical exibit to commemorate the switch to the euro. They changed it at the last minute though to commemorate all of those Americans lost.

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Tiger got to hunt, Bird got to fly, Man got to sit and wonder 'Why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, Bird got to land, Man got to tell himself he understand.
~Bokonon

I love Switzerland too, Zurich is a beautiful city, sitting right on the lake and everything. St Moritz is beautiful as well, very very scenic. Lots of snooty rich people there though, which I think reflects poletree's comment of them not being too friendly.

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JMS gets another English lesson:

Quote:

there is no "mostly unique;" thats like saying "sometimes always," its an oxymoron - its either one or the other.

The result:

Quote:

By the mid-19th century unique had developed a wider meaning, “not typical, unusual,” and it is in this wider sense that it is compared. The comparison of so-called absolutes in senses that are not absolute is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.