I want to spend the summer in Germany. Where should I go?

Having been on assignment to Berlin and Munich both for a few years I'd choose Berlin as the most interesting but it'll be expensive. Summer months in Germany can be a bit strange because of the exodus to the South. In the high German counties you're going to have a more infustrialised/neutral rebuilt setting. Not beautiful to the eye per se. Having married a South Tyrolean I would far recommend the Austrian Tirol/Bavaria/South Tyrol regions but as already alluded to above it's not really "German" language! My own once flawless German is now entirely dialect affected. These regions in the summer are great places to be though. Beautiful weather, lots of outdoor things to do, easygoing people, alpine architecture, arguably better food than the rest of Germany too. I guess it depends on your aims. For language and nightlife you really should stick to the high German counties but if you want an outdoor good time then the south might be better.

If you're after "pretty" then Heidelberg, Freiburg or Trier in the south might fit the bill. Not as big as Munich or Berlin obviously, but they're quite scenic. Heidelberg and Freiburg are big university towns, so there'll be lots of young people.
Summers in Southern Germany can be brutal though, hot and humid and midges everywhere at night. You're talking up to 40 degrees in late July/August.

The dialect thing has been mentioned already, the different Southern dialects are far removed from proper high German, so you might struggle in smaller places. In that regard you'd be better off in more multicultural places like Berlin.

iffandonlyif wrote: »

When put like that, maybe I'm adopting an overly touristic mindset. In choosing where to go, I don't really have any other criteria, so prettiness takes on outsized importance.

...

At least in a large city there's great variety of experience and I'm more likely to be able to fall back on an international community.

You really, really need to define your reason for wanting to go to Germany before you make a decision, otherwise you risk having nothing more than a three-month holiday and little to show for it other than some nice photos.

If you set out with the back-up plan to "fall back on an international community" you probably won't learn any more German than you did in school. It's hard enough to learn any language in three months if you're just winging it, and German needs a lot more investment than that. As soon as you start stuttering, the Germans will switch to English!

You'll also find that the "international community" is mostly based around drinks nights and social outings - not hugely different to life in Dublin. "Real" Germans largely do their socialising in the context of activities, i.e. events associated with their particular leisure interest, whether that be relatively passive like photography (could still involve a 20km hike), or more active, like dancing, mountain biking or skiing.

For the same reason, this "native" social life is not so limited by geography as you might expect. In the pre-corona days, I had (hopefully still have) a network of German friends based loosely around Freiburg. On any given weekend, I'm equally likely to meet up with them in Germany, France or Switzerland - or all three on successive evenings - according to where the most fun is to be found on the day in question.

In terms of prettiness, as has been mentioned, vast swathes of Germany are modern, having been completely destroyed in WW2 and subsequently rebuilt; the picturesque parts tend to be the most rural, and mostly towards the south. As it happens, that's where I spend most of my time in that area, straddling the borders with France, Switzerland and Austria. Language isn't too much of a barrier when you have a common interest, or when you keep life simple!

But if you really don't have any idea of what you hope to get out of your three months, you'd nearly be better off taking your bike (or the horse :rolleyes: ) to France and cycling across the continent until you run out of road.

visit Nördlingen, it's the town built in a meteor crater on millions of microscopic diamonds.

Heidelberg and Koblenz for pretty (and close to Frankfurt and Cologne respectively).
Hamburg - does not qualify as pretty as it is quite modern - plenty of things to see and do.

iffandonlyif wrote: »

The principal goal is to get out of Ireland, and with such a modest goal it’s hard not to succeed. I’m painfully bored at the moment and I’d rather be bored in Germany than here.

Genuine question: why Germany?

Obviously with all the travel restrictions in place, it's difficult for anyone to go anywhere and know what to expect when they arrive, but there are still programmes such as woofing and workaway offering bed and board in exchange for not-too-hard labour, in places all across the Continent. No reason to be bored anywhere!

iffandonlyif wrote: »

I’d prefer to be independent in Germany rather than relying on agencies that aren’t known for providing the best living conditions.

Workaway and woofing aren't "agencies" and anyone I know who's taken part would confirm that the living conditions are generally far, far, far, far superior than sub-sub-letting a room in a flat in a rent-controlled German town or city!

I'm not affiliated with either of those platforms, by the way - but as a couchsurfing host, I would have people stay with me who were between placements with one or the other.

There is a whole network of social collaboration and networking in continental Europe, dating back to well before the Internet, that is quite alien to people in Ireland. Don't make the mistake of transferring Irish (or British!) preconceptions onto practices and activities that happen to have the same label in France or Germany.

Plus 1 on Paderborn lovely city

krissovo wrote: »

German cities given their history would not be the most prettiest given the fact that most were re-built after world war 2 and built at speed to be functional. I lived in Germany for 7 years and most cities are spotless.

Munich would be the obvious start for me, still has a historic old area and lots of work opportunities in every area from finance, IT and Pharma but it is expensive. Munich has everything, the Alps are a short train journey away and great for summer activities but really come into their own for the skiing. Lots to do and see in the city itself.

Other cities that I would consider would be Cologne or Paderborn. The later is nice university city and a very young demographic.

A less obvious choice would be Austria, Vienna for example is probably the most beautiful city in Europe, spotlessly clean and safe.

Hi iffandonlyif,

good on you for getting going and exploring. Assuming everyone is vaccinated by then. I think Germany would be in full swing, assuming everyone still adheres to the usual social distancing precautions. Be aware in Germany, they do take mask wearing- seriously and you will be reprimanded quickly on trains etc if your mask does not cover your nose etc.
Regarding nice cities to live/work in. As has been said the southern cities are generally more attractive, also the surrounding countryside too. Northern German has its charms too - Hamburg is a big city, obviously not Alpine-pretty but it has its own Hanseatic Prussian style, as have lots of northern cities-. Flensburg- practically in Denmark. Also handy for exploring Denmark and the Low countries.
Then you have the north- and Baltic sea islands, Sylt etc. These have their own micro-culture and are packed in summer. Might be a bit limiting for you.
Berlin you know.
Muenster is a nice old college town in the north, has its own vibe.
The north-middle is heavily populated and previously industrial area of the Ruhr: Essen, Dortmund, Duisburg, not scenic at all. Even s Dusseldorf is trendy according to Dusseldorfers but not very scenic.
Hannover- meh. They say the best Hochdeutsch is spoken there but you can listen to that on the TV, podcasts, no need to live there.
Cologne is a nice big old city and is strategically located with great rail and road travel connections (also cheap flights to Ireland).
Trier, an old Roman city to the west is nice, close also to Luxemburg and to the Alsace region of France with Strasbourg.
Nuremburg is nice, mediaeval, maybe a bit small
Baden Baden- an old spa town. Still has a spa feel. Full of rich people, bit sedate.
The southern cities. German as you will know from your studies is composed of federal Laender and each Land/State has its own capital and several other large cities too in most cases, so there is plenty of choice. I think the south is nicer for many reasons, you are closer to the mountains, plenty of outdoor activites, vibrant scenic cities and good rail connections to Austria, Switzerland Czeck Republic and northern Italy.

The tri-state area around Freiburg in the south west is lovely ("Dreilander Eck") you can get around between Germany, France and Switzerland. Freiburg im Breisgau is a nice university town with a vibrant feel.
Lindau this is a smaller town on Lake Constance but attracts a large crowd of tourists (airport to Friedrichshafen).
Munich to the south-east of course which is big and cosmopolitan with lots of southern flair and with great fast links to the Bavarian Alps. Munich is very popular and is correspondingly expensive but as you are coming from Ireland that won't shock you. Munich has not just a great outdoor lifestyle but also good shops and museums etc. I would set Munich as my base and travel around maybe a bit from there.

You could also venture further south to Salzburg in Austria (packed with tourists), or over to the Austrian capital Vienna, very atmospheric (Hapsburg empire style). Graz is worth a mention too, or villach and Klagenfurth a nice place close to Lake Woerthersee, - what the Austrians consider their chic semi-Mediterannean resort in summer, definitely loads of tourist jobs around there.

I think you will find summer work easily. Try for a job in a city, that way if it doesn't work out you can always leave and get another. (I know a student from Ireland who got a job in a cheese factory in deepest Bavaria and was stuck there all summer, in the absolute back of beyond, barely a bus anywhere, they managed only one trip to see a city).

I wouldn't worry about the language and dialects too much. Some Germans will be delighted that you are trying to speak German. They will undoubtedly try and use you as practice for improving their English but you will pick up loads of the language from just living there.
Regarding travel etc. The German rail transport system is very good. You can pay more for fast trains EC and ICE, but the small regional trains s will get you around. If you plan to travel a lot by train you could buy a Bahn Card, there is a 3-month trial version, and you can get Bahncards with 25 and 50% discounts on travel. Deutsche Bahn often publishes discounted travel to nearby countries eg to Prague. The big cities all have their own underground and trams as well as buses. There are intercity buses too and plenty of private operators. For long distances look at Flixbus; very cheap long distance coaches. The Bayern Card gives you (and up to 4 friends) unlimited travel in the State of Bavaria for approx €28 for one day, up to 3 am on the following day. Other States have similar offers.
Lucky you. Go for it and enjoy the summer. You'll have a fabulous time.

Amadan Dubh wrote: »

I spent a few weeks in Germany last summer and just to note that they were no where near as bothered by covid as we were in Ireland. Life was essentially back to normal, you could go to any bar or restaurant you wanted without booking (just wearing a mask while walking to your table) and the streets and beer gardens were thronged. We even went to Erding, the giant spa near Munich, and there was no social distancing or anything like that even with hundreds of or even a couple thousand people inside milling about..

And you actually think that this was a good call by the government? The Covid cases went through the roof in Germany at one stage.