Archive-name: german-faq Last-modified: 1995/04/06 Version: 1.17 ______________________________________________________________________ !!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAQ for SOC.CULTURE.GERMAN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!! !! -- general remarks -- !! !! !! !! !! !! All new lines are marked with a # sign as first character, !! !! open questions are marked by '?' as first character. (Use !! !! as search string and send/post answers!) !! !! !! !! !! !! DOWNLOADING the FAQ !! !! !! !! via EMAIL: (OK: 6/94) !! !! probably the easiest way to obtain the whole FAQ list is !! !! by email, send !! !! !! !! To: vogelges@physics.purdue.edu !! !! Subject: send faq !! !! !! !! or use the official FAQ server at: !! !! !! !! To: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu !! !! !! !! with message body: !! !! !! !! setdir usenet/soc.culture.german/ !! !! send FAQ:_soc.culture.german_Frequently_Asked_Questions_(!! !! posted_monthly)!! !! !! !! (One line! Expect to wait for more than a day at RTFM.) !! !! !! !! !! !! via FTP: (OK: 6/94) !! !! rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet-by-group/soc.culture.german/FAQ:_soc!! !! .culture.german_Frequently_Asked_Questions_(posted_monthly)!! !! !! !! !! !! via GOPHER: (OK: 2/94) !! !! == in EUROPE == !! !! URL: gopher://gopher.win.tue.nl:70/00/internet/archives !! !! /usenet/news.answers/german-faq !! !! == in NORTH-AMERICA == !! !! URL: gopher://jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca:70/00/FAQ/soc !! !! /news.answers.00526 !! !! !! !! !! !! Ralf Vogelgesang West Lafayette, Thu, Apr/06/1995 !! !!__________________________________________________________________!! !!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Month's Contributors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!! !! !! !! Special Thanks to: !! !! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ !! !! Benoit Carl Lips !! !! Brooks Haderlie !! !! Dennis Beach !! !! Ed Berger !! !! Gerhard Klimek !! !! Kai Talarek !! !! Markus Heupel !! !! Martin Ko"chy !! !! Philip Newton !! !! Sabine Tiede !! !! Sebastian Ruholl !! !! The Week in Germany !! !! Wolfgang Hink !! !! Wulf-Burkhard Goehmann !! !!__________________________________________________________________!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _______________________________________ !!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!! !! !! !! FAQ for SOC.CULTURE.GERMAN !! !! !! !!___________________________________!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ ....CITY !_ __! __/ @ KOPENHAGEN \ ...river `! !_\~~~~! ! /~ # ....lake ! / `\_ ! `~\ \ o s t s e e !-! `! ~` ___;~'~- '. ! `, \__! ,-\ ._! KIEL@--._\ ,\__\_! n o r d `\_ ,-'_ ,-~-~ `~---___--~ .............. /~~~`\ HAMBURG~ ~ ! s e e ..',------.!~~~~~U\! `\@_ \ ,' / U !weser `~-_ elbe oder/ /\ !_ @\ `-_ /' AMSTER! ,' _! BREMEN! `\ BERLIN \_ DAM /'@`-' / HANNOVER ! @ ! /_ rhein |_ @ / \___ ~~~~~----_ ! \___ DUESSEL`, @@ RUHR ! elbe~`\ DORF @!@@@@ POTT ! @ `\ @ @@ LEIPZIG `\ BRUESSEL `@KOELN `@ DRESDEN BONN`@_ _! FRANKFURT PRAG _- `\___@_ _ _ @ mosel_- `\ ~!__! `\_! ~~ ! main NUERNBERG SAAR @ `, @ BRUECKEN ,' STUTTGART donau NANCY ,' @ ___--~~~~-_ @ / _-~~ ~~--__ rhein' __--~~ ~~@--_-_ ! ----~~ @ LINZ `\___,-----### boden MUENCHEN @ BASEL @ @ ### see SALZBURG ZUERICH @ INNSBRUCK Table of Contents ================= # 1 Introduction 2 Soc.Culture.German # 2.1. What Language to use? 2.2. How to Type Umlauts? # 2.3. May I Copy the FAQ List? 3 Geographical Information 4 Mail Order 4.1. Books 4.2. Newspapers 4.3. Audio / Video Tapes 4.4. Miscellaneous 5 Addresses / Phone Numbers # 5.1. Consulates / Embassies 5.2. Goethe Institutes 5.3. Universities # 5.4. Miscellaneous 6 Short-Wave Radio / Satellite TV 6.1. Deutsche Welle 6.2. Regional German Radio Stations via Shortwave 6.3. TV via Satellite 6.4. Swiss Radio; Radio Austria 7 Phone System 7.1. Public Phones / Phone Cards in Germany 7.2. Nation-Wide Phone-Numbers (Emergency, Information) 7.3. Getting Phonenumbers via Internet 7.4. Adapters 7.5. Calling Germany Collect from Abroad? 7.6. Using US Phone Cards in Germany? 8 German zip codes (Postleitzahlen, PLZ) 8.1. Finding PLZs on the Net 8.2. The New Zip-Code System 8.3. The Old Zip-Code System 9 (Public) Transportation in Germany 9.1. Railways 9.1.1. Deutsche Bundesbahn AG 9.1.2. Which Train to Use 9.1.3. Ticket Prices 9.1.4. International Addresses for Railway Travelers 9.1.5. Timetables; Travel Information # 9.1.6. Railservers: Free Access to Timetables on the Internet 9.1.7. The "Poor Man's Version" of the "Kursbuch" 9.1.8. Fly and Ride (a Train) 9.1.9. Trains and Bicycles 9.2. Country-Wide/Continent-Wide Bus Travel like Greyhound? 9.3. Regional Bus Service 9.4. Regional Hiking Service ("Mitfahrzentralen") 9.5. Local Transport (Within Cities) 9.6. You mean I *Can* Get Around On My Bicycle? 10 Email in Germany 10.1. Finding Email Addresses 10.2. Getting Email Access 10.2.1. Universities # 10.2.2. Lists of Public Unix Systems # 10.2.3. Private Networks 10.2.4. Your Local BBS 10.3. List of Anonymous FTP Servers in Germany 11 Learning German as an Adult 12 Electronic Language 12.1. Dictionaries (Word Lists from the Net) 12.2. Encyclopedias, "Lexika" # 12.3. Translation Programs; Spell Checkers; Thesauri # 12.4. Tutorial/Educational Software 12.5. Computer Terminology Dictionaries 13 Fax Numbers in Germany 14 German News 14.1. Subscription via gopher/email 14.2. on WWW 14.3. Searching the Germnews Archive Notebooks 15 Ich lebe zur Zeit nicht in Deutschland. Wie kann ich... 15.1. ...meinen auslaendischen akademischen Titel uebertragen? 15.2. ...mein Wahlrecht wahrnehmen? 16 What else is on the Net? 16.1. "de" Newsgroups 16.2. soc.culture.german FAQ List on WWW # 16.3. World-Wide Weather 16.4. German Soccer Results 16.5. Text of the Grundgesetz # 16.6. German History on the Net 16.7. German Literature (Gutenberg Project) 16.8. German Cities 16.9. German Universities 16.10. German Schools # 16.11. Tell me about it! A German Oracle 16.12. German teletext (ARD/ZDF) 16.13. Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) # 16.14. A Random Selection... 17 Money Talk # 17.1. Sending Money To and From Germany 17.2. How to get German Stock Data, Exchange Rates? 17.3. How much is Gasoline in Germany? 17.4. Tax... 17.4.1. VAT in Germany? 17.4.2. Tax Treaty? 18 Questions and Answers 18.1. Taking American Electronic Equipment to Germany? 18.1.1. Importing Phone/Fax to Germany? 18.1.2. Video Tapes? -- Different Video Norms! 18.2. What presents to take to Germany? 18.3. Shipping Your Household US<->Europe/Germany 18.3.1. General Remarks 18.3.2. Cars 18.4. Buying a Car for Short Period instead of EuRail? # 18.5. What German Dictionaries are Available? (Deutsch-Deutsch!) 18.6. What German Books for Children? # 18.7. How do I Find Out About my Family Name? 18.8. Studying at a German university [To skip to a particular question, search for the question number followed by two blanks.] # 1 Introduction This posting contains answers to frequently asked questions in soc.culture.german. The answers are neither complete nor tested by me. All information in this FAQ list is free and everybody should feel encouraged to distribute it. Please check this posting first before you ask a question in soc.culture.german. This FAQ list was prepared by collecting different postings and email messages. Input is always welcome. Please refer to vogelges@physics.purdue.edu if you have questions about or additions to the list. # (Or if you maybe would like to volunteer for writing up a pragraph # or two? ,-) 2 Soc.Culture.German This USENET newsgroup was created to be an international forum for discussion of German culture, history, etc. # 2.1. What Language to use? # # I'd have never imagined, I'd write this paragraph...but hey!, after all, it # seems to be an FAQ, doesn't it? (If I may add a personal note: ) # # Picking up the previous, it should be noted that while a fresh discussion # of a nation's culture certainly is about its language, too, this does not # at all imply the sole use thereof. S.c.g is arguably a unique newsgroup # in the soc.culture.* hierarchy, featuring two main languages (German # and English) as widely accepted modi operandi. The vast majority of # s.c.g readers do read/write both German and English -- on varying levels # of mastery, of course -- and for posting to the newsgroup they use either # language at will. # # Now, this "ambiguity" of s.c.g frequently has lead someone to wondering # about two questions, for which ultimate answers have been found only the # other day: # # How did it come to be that way? -- Who knows? # Will it stay that way? -- We'll see... # # The third question, "Should it be that way?", is mostly a matter of taste, # since this is anarch..., pardon me, USENET! Looking up the "netiquette" # we find: a great big nothing in this case. My best answer would be the # old Lennon song: Let it be! # # As a suggestion about what language to use, please take the following # into consideration: # # * When starting a new thread, use whatever is more comfortable to you, or # what feels more appropriate. # # * As a courtesy to original posters post followups in the same language. 2.2. How to Type Umlauts? As you may have noted, there are various ways to write umlauts. There is no generally accepted way to do this in soc.culture.german. Periodically, therefore, you will observe hard-fought battles on this topic in this group. Here are the two methods most often used: "common" Version ae oe ue AE OE UE ss or sz TeX Version "a "o "u "A "O "O "s Please! if you have a German-style keyboard with umlauts, and if you're using it to post something in soc.culture.german, DON'T use the umlauts. They probably won't get displayed correctly on terminals in, say, North America. Call'em "poor user's of ancient equipment" or "victim's of lousy 7-bit administration" -- many people simply don't get the vital 8th bit...still...it's a fact, ey! For much more in-depth description of how to handle 8-bit characters (not only German umlauts) look at the FAQ-ISO-8859-1: ftp.vlsivie.tuwien.ac.at under the file name /pub/8bit/FAQ-ISO-8859-1 [6/94 mg] # 2.3. May I Copy the FAQ List? # # Yes, be my guest! :-) No objections whatsoever, as long as the text # is not modified in any way and the distribution is done free of charge # to anyone requesting it. # The maintainer of this list retains all copyrights. 3 Geographical Information The 16 Federal States State Area [km^2] Population Capital Schleswig-Holstein 15731.33 2679575 Kiel Hamburg 755.31 1688785 Hamburg Niedersachsen 47363.59 7577520 Hannover Bremen 404.23 685845 Bremen Nordrhein-Westfalen 34070.68 17679160 Duesseldorf Hessen 21114.35 5922639 Wiesbaden Rheinland-Pfalz 19845.78 3880965 Mainz Baden-Wuerttemberg 35751.39 10148708 Stuttgart Bayern 70553.97 11770257 Muenchen Saarland 2570.01 1084007 Saarbruecken Berlin 889.10 3465748 Berlin Brandenburg 29052.53 2548527 Potsdam Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 23598.21 1864815 Schwerin Sachsen 18337.74 4640997 Dresden Sachsen-Anhalt 20442.92 2796981 Magdeburg Thueringen 16251.36 2545808 Erfurt --------------------------------------------------------------------------- total 356732.50 80980343 Berlin residence of the parliament is still Bonn [12/92] Looking for detailed maps of a specific area? All of Germany is available on topographic maps of 1:25,000 scale, and quite a large part of it even on 1:5000 scale. Contact the corresponding LANDESVERMESSUNGSAMT; they are in the capitals. Another option is to contact an international mapshop, like RV Geocenter Munich, +49 89 43 18 9 0 [3/95] 4 Mail Order In this section you will find addresses of mail order stores which sell books or tapes either in German or about Germany (or both). This list is not necessarily based on the maintainer's personal experience. The maintainer of this list is not responsible for the accuracy of this information. You will find general mail order stores below. 4.1. Books For background and general information the German Embassies will send anyone a complimentary copy of the booklet "Facts about Germany." (See 5.1. for addresses.) German Information Center (see 4.2.!) [3/95] Der Buchwurm (German Books, Music Tapes, CD's, Journal Subscriptions, etc.) PO Box 268 Templeton, CA 93465 tel (805) 238-2353 fax (805) 238-9523 [6/94] Mary S. Rosenberg, Inc. 1841 Broadway New York, NY 10023 tel (212) 307-7733 fax (718) 857-7163 Mail order, but no credit cards! However, checks do not need to clear your bank before they send merchandise. [6/94] Schoenhof's Foreign Books 76A Mount Auburn Street Cambridge, MA 02138 tel (617) 547-8855 fax (617) 547-8551 Accepts Visa, MC, and AMEX. French, German, Italian, and Spanish books [6/94] Adler's Foreign Books, Inc. 8220 N. Christiana Ave Skokie, Illinois 60076 tel 1-800-ADLERS-1 Accepts major credit cards, no current catalogue! [6/94] Buch-Brueche 96 Sweet Road Ballston Lake, NY 12019 tel/fax (518) 399-6516 They have a very good selection of German language books, videos, cassette tapes, CD's, and magazines, at reasonable prices. A catalog is available. [7/94] International Book Import Service, Inc. 2995 Wall Triana Highway, Suite B4 Huntsville, Alabama 35824-1532 [6/94] Continental Book Company 80-00 Cooper Avenue Bldg. #29 Glendale, NY 11385 [6/94] MAIL ORDER KAISER Postfach 401209 80712 Muenchen Germany tel +49 89 362001 Mail order bookstore in Germany. Delivery worldwide at German domestic prices. Monthly newsletters. [6/94] ATS (Associated Technical Services) 855 Bloomfield Ave. Glen Ridge, NJ 07028 Technical Dictionaries [6/94] 2001 Ferdinand-Porsche-Str. 39 Postfach 61 06 37 60348 Frankfurt/Main tel +49 69 4208000 fax +49 69 415004 or: Kantstr. 41 10625 Berlin 12 tel +49 30 3125017 They deliver only to European countries. A Bill will be included on delivery. The value of an order to abroad must be above 50 DM. Only books are delivered abroad, no CDs, tapes or records. [6/94] Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Hindenburgstrasse 40 Postfach 11 15 53 64230 Darmstadt 11 Germany tel +49 6151 33080 fax +49 6151 314128 [6/94] Carl Hanser Verlag Postfach 86 04 20 81631 Muenchen Take major credit cars, and offer books from BASIC programming to Object-Oriented methods. Nice little catalog - these are the distinctive bright red books with blue trim. [6/94] "Die Weisse Rose" Rozengracht 166 Amsterdam The Netherlands tel +31 20 638 3959 Opening hours: Tue-Fri 10-18, Sat 11-17 [6/94] Deutsches Komittee fuer elektronische Buecher (German Electronic Book Committee GEBC) Bertelsmann Electronic Publishing fax +49-89-43189-737 [7/94] Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG fax +49-621-3901-389 [7/94] Langenscheidt KG fax +49-89-36896-258 [7/94] dtv (Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag) Friedrichstrasse 1a 80801 Muenchen [7/94] Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag Hedderichstrasse 114 60596 Frankfurt/Main [7/94] Suhrkamp Verlag Lindenstrasse 29-35 Postfach 10 19 45 60325 Frankfurt/Main [7/94] Verlag Philipp Reclam jun. GmbH Postfach 1349 71254 Ditzingen [7/94] Verlag R.Piper GmbH & Co. KG Georgenstrasse 4 80799 Muenchen [7/94] Diogenes Verlag AG Sprecherstrasse 8 CH-8032 Zuerich [7/94] 4.2. Newspapers GLP International (German Language Publications) 560 Sylvan Avenue tel 212 736 7455 Englewood Cliffs 201 871 1010 NJ 07632 email: 100064.3164@compuserve.com You can subscribe to many German publications, daily and weekly papers, as well as monthly magazines (altogether more than 150.) Ask for their catalog. They offer sample copies for most of the titles (for a price). Deutschland Nachrichten / The Week in Germany The German Information Center 950 Third Ave. New York, NY 10022 tel (212) 888-9840 "Deutschland Nachrichten" or its English version "The Week in Germany" is a free 8 page flyer. It features selected articles from various German newspapers, soccer results, and the $/DM exchange rate. The German Information Center also distributes lots of other information (books, maps, ...) for free. They are a particularly helpful resource for those who may have to prepare a school presentation about Germany. It's now available on the "net", too: ftp langlab.uta.edu; then cd to "GIC" (for German info center) Compuserve users may try Go "FLEFO". [3/95] Der Spiegel (see GLP International above) Published weekly, subscription price for the USA is $280 p.a. available via URL: http://www.hamburg.germany.eu.net:80/nda/spiegel/ For an excellent index that provides lots of pointers to many online available mags also check out: http://www.hamburg.germany.eu.net/nda/spiegel/medien.html [ok 10/94] Die Zeit Die Zeit 29 Coldwater Road PO Box 9868 Toronto, ON Englewood, NJ M3B 1Y8 07631-1123 Canada USA Costs: $54 for 1 year (52 issues) "Die Zeit" is available either via air mail or as international edition via surface mail from Canada. The international edition is much cheaper but contains less pages. The German Tribune does not exist any more ... Die Nordamerikanische Wochenpost Die Nordamerikanische Wochenpost 1120 E. Long Lake Road Troy, MI 48098 3 month trial subscription: $15, one year $42.95 This is a general interest newspaper. The front page generally features news from/about Germany. There are special pages for regional, domestic American news of interest to German speakers (e.g. Florida, New York, Chicago/Milwaukee, and Detroit). Additionally, there's a special page for news from/about Austria. All the major sections that you would expect in any newspaper are represented: politics, sports, the economy, fashion, cartoons, features, editorials, etc. There are also several short-stories and a serialized novel. There's a list of German-language radio broadcasts for North America (US and Ontario, Canada). It also contains a list of German-American associations. Tages-Anzeiger Tages-Anzeiger Abonnentendienst Postfach CH-8021 Zuerich fax +41 1 248-5055 prices (Sfr) for all countries, first four issues free. air mail surface mail 3 months 41.74 33.75 6 months 78.50 66.50 1 year 135.00 111.00 Tages-Anzeiger is one of the major Swiss daily newspapers (besides Neue Zuericher Zeitung). Their international edition is published weekly. German Life Zeitgeist Publishing 1 Corporate Drive Grantsville, MD 21536 tel 301 895-3859 fax 301 895-5029 Their introductory subscription is 6 issues for $15.95 It seems commercial but with beautiful slick paper and some interesting articles. An old map of North America all in German (Virginien, Pennsylvanien, Kanada, Chikago, ObererSee, etc...) articles about Berlin after WW II (e.g. die Truemmerfrauen,) Berlin in the 20's, etc [5/94] Washington Journal (est. 1859) 1113 National Press Building Washington, DC 20045-1853 tel (202) 628-0404 fax (703) 938-2251 German language weekly with European news, features, sports, ads of German clubs etc. Yearly subscription cost $32.00 to $34.00 in US; US$40 in Canada email for complimentary issue: 74273.1351@compuserve.com California Staats-Zeitung PO Box 26308 1201 N. Alvarado Street LA CA 90026 tel (213) 413-5500 A years subscription to this weekly paper is $25.00. It has all the local German events as well as all the Bundesliga action. [3/95] Others: Stern, Hamburg 100125.1305@compuserve.com Focus 100335.3131@compuserve.com 4.3. Audio / Video Tapes VIDEO: (For conversion of videotapes (NTSC <-> PAL) see 18.1.2.) German Language Video Center 7625-27 Pendleton Pike Indianapolis, Indiana 46226 tel (317) 547-1257 free catalogue; hundreds of movies; prompt and courteous service. The movies cost $10.50 to rent for 30 days (includes shipping time to and from you, so it's realistically about 2 1/2 weeks), with a $20 initial deposit (refundable when you decide you don't want to rent any more videos from them). [3/95] AUDIO: The Olivia and Hill Press PO Box 7396 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107 tel (313) 663-0235 fax (313) 663-6590 Selection of German-language cassette recordings of novels, plays, and radio plays, e.g. Duerrenmatt's "Der Richter und sein Henker". Free catalogue. Schau ins Land PO Box 158067 Nashville, TN 37215-8067 tel 1-800-824-0829 Monthly audio magazine of news, stories, music, etc. Comes with a written transcription including a vocabulary glossary. Approx. $120/yr. in the US. 4.4. Miscellaneous Quelle: W. Hoeffken Representative for QUELLE PO Box 999 Oceanside, NY. 11572 The catalogue is $20, which is refundable with the first order (DM 100 minimum). Payment can be made with a personal check drawn on a US. bank or with a credit card. English translations of the product descriptions are provided. 5 Addresses / Phone Numbers # 5.1. Consulates / Embassies The Consulates are very helpful in getting information about anything concerning Germany (travel, politics, laws ...) They're very thorough and supply lots of information in response to requests. The German Information Center (see 4.2.) is sponsored by them. There is a list of all embassies/consulates in the US. You get it from the Department of State. Its title is "Foreign Consular Offices in the United States" and it contains addresses, names of the staff and phone numbers. You might find the booklet in most public libraries. (FRG = Federal Republic of Germany) The German Embassy of the FRG, Washington 4645 Reservoir Road NW Washington D.C. 20007 (202) 298-8140 fax (202) 298-4249 [11/94] Consulate General of the FRG, Seattle One Union Square, Suite 2500 600 University Street Seattle, WA 98101 Consulate General of the FRG, Detroit 2100 Edison Plaza 660 Plaza Drive Detroit, MI 48226-1849 tel (313) 962-6526 fax (313) 962-7345 Consulate General of the FRG, New York 460 Park Ave. New York, NY tel (212) 572 5600 Consulate General of the FRG, Los Angeles 6222 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90048 tel (213) 930-2703 Consulate General of the FRG, Miami Miami, FL ? street, phone Consulate General of the FRG, Chicago 676 N Michigan Ave. Chicago tel (312) 580-1199 hours: Mon-Fri 8.30-12 CT # Consulate General of the FRG, Houston # 1330 Post Oak Blvd. 1850 # Houston, TX 77056 # (713) 627 7770 # [4/95] Deutsche Botschaft Singapur: Far East Shopping Centre 545 Orchard Road #14-01 Singapore 9124 tel +65 7371355 fax +65 7372653 Konsulat der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Via Solferino 40 20121 Milano, Italy tel +39 2 6554434 fax +39 2 6554213 Embajada de la Republica Federal de Alemania Agustinas 785 Piso 7 y 8 Casilla 9949 Santiago de Chile tel +56 2 335031/5 fax +56 2 336119 Office hours: 9-12 am Embajada de la Republica Federal de Alemania Villanueva 1055 CC 2979 Buenos Aires, Argentina tel +54 7715054, +54 7715059 Embajada de la Republica Federal de Alemania La Cumparsita 1417/1435 CC 20014 Montevideo, Uruguay tel +598 908041, +598 913970 Embajada de la Republica Federal de Alemania Av. Venezuela 241 CC 471 Asuncion, Paraguay tel +595 24006, +595 24007 Honorarkonsulat der Bundesrepublik Dtld. Jorge Memmel 631 Encarnacion, Paraguay tel +595 25567 Honorarkonsulat der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 208-310 Donald Street Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada tel (204) 947-0958 weekdays 9:00-12:00 Botschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 23 Belgrave Square SW1, London, UK tel 071-235-5033 5.2. Goethe Institutes The various "Goethe Institutes" are funded by the German government to provide an opportunity for people outside Germany to become acquainted with German culture. They offer exhibitions, movies, and German classes (of which readers of s.c.g report that they are "intense but really make you learn!") To get more information, call one of the following: Ann Arbor (313) 996-8600 Atlanta (404) 892-2388 Boston (617) 262-6050 Chicago (312) 329-0915 Cincinnati (513) 721-2777 Houston (713) 528-2787 Los Angeles (213) 854-0993 New York (212) 439-8700 San Francisco (415) 391-0370 Seattle (206) 622-9694 St. Louis (314) 367-2452 Washington DC (202) 319-0702 Montreal (514) 499-0159 Toronto (416) 924-3327 Vancouver (604) 732-3966 Kyoto 75 761218-889 Osaka 6 3413051-53 Tokyo 3 3584-3201 or 3 3584-3267 London +44 71 411 3451 (50, Princes Gate Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2PH, England) [11/94] Amsterdam +31 20 623 0421 (Herengracht 470) Singapore +65 3375111 Santiago de Chile +56 383185 Montevideo, Uruguay +598 405813 Wien, (Vienna) Austria +43/222/512-39-82/0 (Stallburggasse 2) (Goethe-Institut der Oesterr.-Amerikanischen Ges.) For those who consider a "total workout" in language training, contact one of the Goethe Institutes in Germany for their courses ;-) via the central registration at Goethe-Institut tel +49 89 15921-200/206 Zentrale Einschreibung fax +49 89 15921-202 Helene-Weber-Allee 1 Postfach 190419 D-80604 Muenchen Institutes can be found in: Berlin Frankfurt Muenchen Bonn Freiburg Purau Boppard Goettingen Prien Bremen Iserlohn Rothenburg Duesseldorf Mannheim Schwaebisch Hall [6/94] Staufen 5.3. Universities The most accessible listing of the many German universities is probably found in 'The World of Learning', which should be in the reference section of the libraries of most unis in the English speaking world. It lists Universities, faculties, departments, affiliated organizations, as well as academic staff with respective general areas of specialization (eg. structural mechanics). [3/94] Online you may find some useful information in gopher: try URL: gopher://serversun.mdv.gwdg.de:70 /11/.UNIVERSITY/Universitaeten in Deutschland for an alphabetical list of universities you can further explore. [6/94] # 5.4. Miscellaneous Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Kennedyallee 40 53175 Bonn 2 They are something like the NSF in the USA. Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD Kennedyallee 50 53175 Bonn 2 tel +49 228 8820 German Academic Exchange Office (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst DAAD) 950 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 tel (212) 758-3223 fax (212) 755-5780 # email: DAADNY@NYUACF.BITNET or DAADNY@acf.nyu.edu Very important for foreign students who want to study in Germany and also for German students who want to study in another country. They also have an office in New York (check the phonebook for German Academic Exchange Service) [4/95] Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes Mirbachstr. 7 53173 Bonn 1 tel +49 228 354091 An important source of scholarships for German students abroad and in Germany. Konferenz der Kultusminister Postfach 22 40 53012 Bonn This is the place where they decide about transferability of foreign academic degrees. Maybe they answer questions. ? Any experience how helpful this address is? Representative of German Industry and Trade One Farragut Square South Washington, DC. 20006 tel (202) 347-0247 Zentralstelle fuer Arbeitsvermittlung Feuerbachstrasse 42-46 60325 Frankfurt/Main tel +49 69 71110 fax +49 69 7111555 This is an important address for people who want to work in Germany. Association for International Practical Training (AIPT) 217 American City Building Columbia, MD 21044-3492 tel (301) 997-2200 Chamber of Commerce (Industrie- und Handelskammer) The German-American Chamber of Commerce 465 California Street, Suite 910 San Francisco, CA 94104 tel (415) 392-2262 German-American Chamber of Commerce 104 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 600 Chicago, IL 60603-5978 tel (312) 782-8557; (312) 641-6673 German-American Chamber of Commerce 909 Fannin Suite 3750 Suite 3418 Houston, TX 77010 tel (713) 658-8230 German-American Chamber of Commerce 3250 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1112 Los Angeles, CA 90010 tel (213) 381-2236; (213) 381-2237 German-American Chamber of Commerce 666 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10103 tel (212) 974-8830; (213) 582-7788 German-American Chamber of Commerce Peachtree Center Harris Tower 233 Peachtree Street NE Suite 2701 Atlanta, GA 30303 tel (404) 577-7228 Camera de Comercio Uruguayo-Alemana Zamala 1379 Piso 4 CC 1499 Montevideo tel 405813 Deutsch-Paraguayanische Industrie- und Handelskammer Camera de la Industria y del Comercio Juan O'Leary 409 Estrella Ed. Parapito Piso 2 Oficina 201 CC 201 Asuncion tel 446594 Deutsch-Argentinische Industrie- und Handelskammer Camera de la Industria y del Comercio Florida 547 Buenos Aires tel 3939006, 3939007 The Chambers of Commerce maintain a list of the German companies in the respective countries along with their addresses which you can purchase. The price varies according to how detailed a list you wish to have. Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk Bismarckstrasse 8 Postfach 1455 D - 32756 Detmold tel +49 5231 7401 0 fax +49 5231 7401 49 Germnany For national and international directories of youth hostels. The Conference of Americans of Germanic Heritage P.O. Box 20554 San Jose, CA 95160 tel +1 (408) 995-6545 fax +1 (408) 268-9535 email: GERMNHERTG@AOL.COM [7/94] 6 Short-Wave Radio / Satellite TV 6.1. Deutsche Welle The official German short-wave station is the "Deutsche Welle". It broadcasts worldwide in a variety of languages and also TV, using various satellites. It's there not so much for Germans in Germany, but for those people abroad (not only Germans) who would like to keep in touch with Germany. Radio Deutsche Welle gladly sends out a monthly magazine with times/frequencies and stories on broadcasts. If you would like to subscribe (for free) contact them at: Deutsche Welle Oeffentlichkeitsarbeit 50588 Koeln tel 49-221-389-0 Germany fax 49-221-389-4155 Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle Studio Washington 190 000 Sankt Petersburg P.O.B. 50641 Glawpotschtamt Washington, DC 20091-0641 Abonentnyj jaschtschik 596 USA Nemezkaja Wolna tel 1-800-392-3248 Russia tel 1-800-545-3765 TV: "deutsche Welle Nachrichten", News from Germany (not only about Germany) North-Americans find it on Mind Extension University (you will need cable), daily at 5:00pm ET, three blocks of 30 minutes: German-English- Spanish. DW-TV Berlin is on-line; their internet addresses are 100144.2133@compuserve.com sendeltg@dwelle.de and for WWW-enthusiasts they provide the following URL: http://www-dw.gmd.de/deutsch/ http://www-dw.gmd.de/index.html [ok 10/94] FTP-ler try: ftp://ftp-dw.gmd.de/dw/news/heute ftp://ftp-dw.gmd.de/dw/vorschau/tv/ ftp://ftp-dw.gmd.de/dw/vorschau/radio/ [3/95] Radio: Usually Radio Deutsche Welle comes in loud and clear. 6075 ( 0:00- 6:00) 6085 ( 4:00- 6:00) 6100 ( 0:00- 6:00) 9700 ( 4:00- 6:00) 9730 (22:00- 2:00) 9735 ( 2:00- 4:00) 11795 ( 0:00- 4:00) 11810 ( 4:00- 8:00) 13780 (22:00- 2:00) 13790 (14:00-16:00) 15270 ( 0:00- 2:00) 17715 (12:00-19:00) 17860 (18:00- 0:00) All times are UTC. [2/94] 6.2. Regional German Radio Stations via Shortwave Here are short-wave frequencies for some of Germany's "regional" programs. The stations are nationally operated and mostly serve one of the federal states. 7265 kHz SWF 3 Suedwestfunk / Rheinland-Pfalz and parts of Baden- Wuerttemberg Suedwestfunk Postfach 820 76485 Baden-Baden 6190 kHz Sender Freies Berlin & Radio Bremen Radio Bremen Heinrich-Hertz-Str. 13 28211 Bremen Sender Freies Berlin Masurenallee 8-14 14057 Berlin 6005 kHz RIAS Berlin (100 kW) RIAS has gone together with Deutschlandfunk to become "Deutschland- Radio." There are two stations now; the one that used to be RIAS has become "DS-Kultur" [9/94] Deutschland-Radio Hans-Rosenthal-Platz 10825 Berlin tel +49 30 85030 6030 kHz Sueddeutscher Rundfunk / Baden-Wuerttemberg (20 kW) Sueddeutscher Rundfunk Neckarstr. 230 70190 Stuttgart 6085 kHz Bayerischer Rundfunk (100 kW) Bayerischer Rundfunk Rundfunkplatz 1 80335 Muenchen Consult the "World Radio and TV Handbook" for a complete listing of all short-wave stations. The book is updated annually and can be found in many libraries. 6.3. TV via Satellite Europe: EUTELSAT II-F1 (13 deg. East) Transponder 27, 11,163 GHz, vert. pol, 15-05 UTC, PAL. sound: 6.65 MHz This is a low power satellite; Deutsche Welle broadcasts not for Germans in Germany and so it broadcasts not on the hot bird ASTRA satellite (see below) German TV in Europe / ASTRA There is a hot bird ASTRA TV satellite with nearly all German TV programs (public or commercial) but not with Deutsche Welle on it. An equipment to get all these German TV programs is much cheaper in many areas than an equipment to get Deutsche Welle. Ask local Germans or your satellite dish dealer for ASTRA service. [2/94] North/South America: INTELSAT-K (21.4 deg. West) Transponder H7, 11,605 GHz, North America: hor. pol. South America: vert. pol. Min. Dish Diameter: 1.3m or 4ft for reasons of further differentiation. Mail without the O/W letter took/takes significantly longer (weeks!) [Fall 1993] 9 (Public) Transportation in Germany 9.1. Railways The next major change of timetables will be on May/27/1995 (There will be also a minor change Sep/25/94 and some tiny-teenie one throughout the year.) Trains play a special role in Germany (and in Europe in general.) In terms of traffic they have top priority. They have right of way before any other vehicle. There are lot's of tunnels and bridges for trains and therefore they don't have to stop anywhere between railway stations and can go at rather high speeds... 120km/h (75mph) for regular trains, up to 250km/h (120mph) for the high speed trains. Statistics: former Western: 27,421 km government owned 12,491 km double track 11,501 km electrified 4,022 km non government owned 31,443 km total; former Eastern: 3,830 km double track 3,475 km electrified 14,025 km total; (1988) On a typical day an average of about 32,000 trains are scheduled. The railroad system in Germany is currently under constant change. Most important: there is a program to change the German railroads from a government owned and operated system to a free market. Private and foreign companies are now free to operate on the German railroad net. [2/94] 9.1.1. Deutsche Bundesbahn AG "Deutsche Bundesbahn" (former Western) and "Deutsche Reichsbahn" (former Eastern) joined to become "Deutsche Bahn AG". Despite unification there are still price differences between East and West! The Deutsche Bahn AG is forced to split into several branches (and later into several companies): "Fernverkehr" (Long-distance travel) runs all ICE, EC, IC, EN, IR and D trains. "Nahverkehr" (Short-distance travel) runs all the other trains. "Personenbahnhoefe" (Railway stations) runs the railways stations for all railway companies; rents shops in railway stations. (Remember: It is forbidden by German law to open shops in the evening and on Sundays. But it is legal to sell goods to passengers in airports and railway stations....) "Ladungsverkehr" (Big freight service) "Stueckgutverkehr" (Small freight service) "Netz" (Net) sells the right to travel to railroad companies "Bahnbau" (Track repair etc) "Traktion" (Traction) Rents out locomotives to railways "Werke" Repair of rolling stock material [2/94] 9.1.2. Which Train to Use For the last couple years the "Deutsche Bundesbahn" has been implementing a new philosophy in train travel. One very obvious sign of its modernization are the new cars, which have defined new colors outside and better seats inside. As this modernization is not quite completed, frequently mixed trains of old and new cars can be seen. All modern trains have special color codes: red-white = High speed trains (ICE, EC, IC) blue-white = long distance trains (IR, Talgo) green-white = regional trains (RSB, CB, RB) orange-white = urban train (S) It is a good idea to use these if possible. Foreign cars are also nice. Check the label outside! Only the silver cars ("Silberlinge") are real bad. Most trains have some cars where smoking is allowed... There are also first class cars in most trains. You don't really need reservation in most trains. If you found no seat you can ride without a seat or, if you think the train is to full, take another train an hour later... There is no reservation possible for any short-distance trains. Brief overview: Long-distance trains ICE -- "InterCityExpress"; the German high speed train. These trains are integrated in the IC network, but have higher prices than other IC. Ticket prices depend on ICE speed and the speed of other trains at the same distance. EC -- "EuroCity"; an international high quality train. In Germany most EC's are integrated in the IC net. IC -- "InterCity"; a national high quality train. Nearly all IC's run in the IC net. On most lines there is one IC every hour. ICN -- "InterCityNight"; a high quality night train; more silent rolling, "leans" into curves, you can sleep in even after arrival. EN -- "EuroNight"; a night train, there were only 4 such trains in 1994/1995. IR -- "Interregio"; similar to IC. The IR net is much longer and IR's stop at more stations IC's. On most lines there is one IR every other hour. D -- "Schnellzug"; a long-distance train which is not good enough for to be qualified as ICE, EC, IC, EN, IR. In May 1994 most of them will get modernized and become InterRegios. Some night trains or trains with foreign destinations will remain D trains. Short-distance trains RSB -- "RegionalSchnellBahn"; a semi-fast train with good material like a VT 610 (German pendolinio), VT 628 or other modern cars. Some of these trains are as fast as IC, others stop at every station. E -- "Eilzug"; a semi-fast train not good enough to be classified as RSB. Some of these trains are as fast as IC, others are slower and stop at every station. RE -- RegionalExpress; an E-train with modern cars, runs periodically. SE -- StadtExpress; a local train with modern cars, runs periodically. CB -- "CityBahn"; a local train with qualified good rolling material, runs periodically. S -- "S-Bahn"; an urban train in areas like Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich,... RB -- "RegionalBahn"; a local train with qualified good rolling material. () -- (no letter marking) "Nahverkehrszug"; local train with rather poor rolling material [2/94] 9.1.3. Ticket Prices 2nd class West 0.24 DM/km 2nd class East 0.17 DM/km 1st class is 150 percent. ICE price is a little more in 2nd and 1st class. There are special short-distance prices in many areas. In that case the ticket includes local bus and subway, but you can use all short- distance trains with a railroad ticket like Interrail etc or a long- distance train ticket. [2/94] 9.1.4. International Addresses for Railway Travelers USA Canada German Rail/DER TOURS GERMAN RAIL/DER TOURS 11933 Wilshire Blvd 904 The East Mail LOS ANGELES, CA 90025 ETOBICOKE, ONT. M93 6K2 tel (310)479-41140 tel (416) 695-1209 fax (310)479-2239 fax (416)695-1210 England Australia DER TRAVEL SERVICE THOMAS COOK LIMITED German Rail Sales Ground Floor 18 Conduit Street 257 Collins Street LONDON W1Y 7PE MELBOURNE VIC 2000 tel 071-499 0577 / 0578 tel (03) 6502442 fax (03) 6507050 more England... offers: German Rail Distribution Travel Planner: A 38-pade guide 18 Chertsey Road to services and fares to and within Woking in Germany Surrey GU21 5AB Continental Rail Agents Consortium (CRAC): A group of retail travel c/o 424 Chester Raod agents throughout the contry offering a Little Sutton specialist service for the continental Cheshire L98 RB rail traveller 051-339 6171 German Tourist Office Nightingale House 65 Curzon Street London W 1Y 7PE. 071-495 3990 [6/94] 9.1.5. Timetables; Travel Information There are many timetables you can buy or get for free in Germany. Prices will not be a real problem for travelers, but weight may be a concern, unless you are interested in transporting just timetables.... "Kursbuch Gesamtausgabe"; 15 DM; 3000 g All trains in Germany, no subways, no busses. "Auslandskursbuch"; 10 DM; 800 g A selection of long-distance trains in Europe outside Germany. "Fernfahrplan"; 7 DM; 800 g All long-distance trains in Germany. "Regionalkursbuecher"; 7 DM; 800 g (each) 12 books with timetables. "Regionalfahrplaene"; 5 DM; 300 g (each) 30 books with all trains and all federal bus. (But no local bus etc!) "Staedteverbindungen"; 0 DM; 300 g Trains from big towns to other big towns. "Staedteverbindungen von ... und nach ..."; 0 DM; 150 g 160 booklets about trains from the 160 most important stations to 60 even more most important stations ;-) Available only at local railway stations. "StreckenFahrplan Strecke ..."; 0 DM; 10 g Specialized table of all trains on just one line; hundreds of these papers exist. Available only at local railway stations. At some place also available for street cars and/or busses. "Oertlicher Fahrplan"; X DM; X g In all towns you can buy local timetables with all the local bus and subway and local trains and all trains from the main local station. Buy it if you plan on staying any longer than just a few hours in an area. In every major city you should be able to call the travel information service of the Bahn under [possible area code prefix to be used] 19419 [6/94] Additionally, electronic timetables for MSDOS/Windows are available. There are two versions: 1. "Elektronische Staedteverbindungen" comes on 3HD floppies, requires 7MB of hard disk space, 80386, 2MB RAM; includes 1000 Stations, 24000 Trains, covers about 90% of all inquiries, DM 29,80 2. "Elektronisches Kursbuch" comes on CD-ROM, requires 80386, 4MB RAM; includes ALL trains in Germany. Price is DM 50. They can be ordered at Deutsche Bahn AG Postfach 1157 53821 Troisdorf [6/94] # 9.1.6. Railservers: Free Access to Timetables on the Internet If you are looking for Austrian(!) timetables, you can try the following: http://iicm.tu-graz.ac.at/CBTX oder telnet fiicmds06.tu-graz.ac.at (login as obb) For the German part... Frederik Ramm has sedulously and diligently in persuit (yip, I enjoy using my thesaurus ;) set up an access to the electronic timetables of the Deutsche Bahn AG. Vielen Dank, Frederik. He offers: "The RailServer, a mail server for German railway connections, has all German railway stations and connections available, as well as about 4.000 other European stations (almost all large cities and the trains that run between them an Germany). The RailServer is not [not yet :-)] an online service; you have to send your queries by mail. However, there is a WWW gateway that not only allows to send requests but also contains lots of info on the server and on railroading in Germany in general. # Use your favorite WWW-browser to look up the RailServer main page: # http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~rail [4/95] The RailServer mail address is rail@rz.uni-karlsruhe.de The commands you can use to query the database all begin with a number sign (#). A simple query looks like this: #FROM Munich #TO Berlin #DATE 06-30-94 #TIME 12:00 You can also specify more details, time ranges, arrival time, and you can order various lists. But the most important command might be #HELP which sends you the RailServer help file (about 300 lines). The RailServer is my (a student's) hobby project and does not have commercial goals. If you have any suggestions for improvement, feel free to drop me a line: ule3@rz.uni-karlsruhe.de (Frederik Ramm). If you maintain any FAQ's or resource lists or other information documents that are traffic-related, I'd be glad to see a note about the RailServer included there." (Frederik Ramm, June/94) [6/94] 9.1.7. The "Poor Man's Version" of the "Kursbuch" The German "Kursbuch" exists on CD-ROM; but even without it one still gets along quite well, following these simple basic rules: - The service in the West is better than in the East. - You can rely on the backbone of the ICE/EC/IC/IR inner net with trains running at least every other hour, usually every one! (In some highly frequented areas three times an hour.) - Some ICE/EC/IC/IR may also connect to less important cities (outer net). - They always run at the same minute after the hour and they are very punctual. - On more than 90 percent of the railway lines there are more than just a few trains every day. Almost certainly there is a service of at least one train every other hour, usually there's better service. - Missed a train? You may or may not be well-advised to take the very next. On many lines there are different trains stopping not at the same stations. (Typically one train may stop at many stations and an hour later the next train stops at fewer stations and the next train after that one stops again *everywhere*... Because of this mixed service it is good advice to check if using a short-distance train is an option when you missed a long-distance train. Check first! Many short-distance trains stop at rural stations and wait to let a long- distance train pass. In that case it would be better to wait for the faster long-distance train.... - Short-distance service is somewhat limited on Saturdays and Sundays and public holidays (no rush hour back-up trains; usual trains run less frequently.) Nevertheless, nearly all long-distance trains usually do run on these days. Check before traveling on less important lines on weekends! [2/94] 9.1.8. Fly and Ride (a Train) Airports with railway stations near or under the terminals: Duesseldorf: S-trains to Duesseldorf und Duisburg and other towns in the area. Frankfurt: S-trains to Frankfurt, Mainz and Wiesbaden and other towns in the area. IC/EC Service to many German towns. Stuttgart: S-trains to Stuttgart and other towns in the area. Muenchen: S-trains to Muenchen. It is a good advice for travelers to the North to check the bus shuttle via Freising Be ready to have German coins. It is not legal to enter an S-train without a valid ticket. So you might want to use the ticket vending machines. Other airports can be reached by local public transport. Taxis cost a lot in all areas and may also be time consuming in some areas. [2/94] 9.1.9. Trains and Bicycles It costs 8.60 DM to transport a bike in an IR TRAIN with reservation and self service, but costs double price without reservation. NOTE: It is not possible to transport a bike in 95 percent of all LONG- DISTANCE, NON-IR TRAINS! Only the InterCityNights do carry bicycles. It costs 8.60 DM or less to transport a bike in any SHORT-DISTANCE train; no reservation necessary (or even possible). It is possible to transport a bike in 95 percent of all short-distance trains. Some of the RSB and E trains are real semi-fast trains. It is very easy to take a bike across Germany's border by train. Take a train to the last station before the border. Than ride across the border to the next station... It might be possible that there is another method... :-O ask! :-) In tourist areas it is possible to rent bikes at railway stations or from private. [2/94] 9.2. Country-Wide/Continent-Wide Bus Travel like Greyhound? There is no national or private bus company like greyhound. There are, nevertheless, a few lines run by the European railroads or private companies. Some of the lines you can find in the *Kursbuch*. On many lines there is only one bus every day or even week. Some airport bus lines have real service. A return ticket Hamburg-Paris costs about DM 150. In towns with many foreign workers there might also be some bus services to the South, but you have to be a local to know about it. [2/94] 9.3. Regional Bus Service There are regional bus services run by bus companies of the federal railroad. Ask at a railway station about the service. EXCEPTION: In some areas, mostly in the Eastern, there is no regional bus service run by any railway related company. Ask for the local transport company. [2/94] 9.4. Regional Hiking Service ("Mitfahrzentralen") Hitch-hiking is not encouraged. It may or may not be more or less dangerous than in other places in the world. Do it on your own risk. There is a very reasonable alternative; the network of so-called "Mitfahrzentralen" ("centers for getting a ride.") Based on the idea that single drivers and hikers "just need some place where they can meet" these centers charge hikers a little fee for a successfull "match." Drivers don't get charged, because these centers live on their offers. The service bureaus usually note down the names, addresses, phone numbers and license plate numbers of the involved parties -- big plus, compared to conventional hitch- hiking! The general procedure is: - You call them and say what you want - They tell you what they've got, with an option to reserve a ride - You show up, pay the (modest) fee and get the name, phone # and licence # of the driver and the meeting time and place, plus a copy of the insurance that is included in the fee. - You show up at the rendevouz and pay the driver your share of the gas costs after he brought you to your destination. In the office they will tell you how much the driver may charge at maximum. All in all, you pay about 1/3 to 1/2 of the train fare. [5/94] Quite a number of the Mitfahrzentralen are connected by the so-called "Citynetz". The general phone number for all member centers of the Citynetz is 19444 It is available in the following cities (followed by area code prefix): Berlin(030) Bonn(0228) Braunschweig(0531) Bremen(0421) Dortmund(0231) Duesseldorf(0211) Erlangen(09131) Frankfurt/Main(069) Freiburg(0761) Goettingen(0551) Hamburg(040) Hannover(0511) Heidelberg(06221) Kassel(0561) Kiel(0431) Koeln(0221) Mannheim(0621) Muenchen(089) Muenster(0251) Nuernberg(0911) Osnabrueck(0541) Wuppertal(0202) Your requests are handled on a computer network -> return/continuing trip requests can automatically be forwarded; you may pay by "Bankeinzug" (only from German accounts) examples of price totals (including fee; VAT; gas share) Cologne - Paris DM 46,- Munich - Frankfurt DM 41,- Berlin Duesseldorf DM 51,- [from a brochure 3/94] There is also an internet address for the University Mitfahrzentrale (non commercial!) at Stuttgart; it's accessible at http://www.uni-stuttgart.de/Mfg/mfg.html or telnet www.uni-stuttgart.de login&passwd: mfg [10/94] 9.5. Local Transport (Within Cities) In all German towns there are local bus service or streetcars or subways. To get information about it ask local Germans. If this is not possible call the local railway station and ask them for the name and phone number of the local transport company. Then call the local transport. If you stay longer than a day in an area, it's a good idea to buy a local transport timetable and get a map of their local net. [2/94] 9.6. You mean I *Can* Get Around On My Bicycle? You may or may not be used to cycling at home - in Germany cycling is definitely worth considering: for your daily commuting, for short-distance errands, for pastime, or for longer vacation tours. Bring along your bicycle, or buy one in Germany. Prices range from under 100 DM on the fleamarket to several thousand DM. Cycling conditions in the cities vary between comfortable (Muenster) and horrible (?.) Ask your German colleagues for advice. Cycling is probably more regulated in Germany than in your country - which has both advantages and disadvantages. It's a good idea to know about German traffic rules regarding cycling and the required equipment of your bicycle! All kind of advice on cycling in Germany (among other: cycling maps) have the various bicycle clubs and traffic clubs. See also: 9.1.9. trains and bicycles, and the newsgroup de.rec.fahrrad (see 16.1.) with their very informative FAQ (also available via FTP at ftp.umu.se: /pub/doc/bicycle/faq and at speckled.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de: /pub/de.rec.fahrrad/de.rec.fahrrad.faq-*). [6/94, mw] 10 Email in Germany The pointers and tools described here are mostly of general interest in the sense that their scope is not restricted to Germany. 10.1. Finding Email Addresses Generally speaking, finding an email address is a non-trivial undertaking, but it's not impossible. Several tools exist and you ought to try to them first before you resort to posting a personal "I'm looking for a friend" - note on the net. These tool include: Netfind, X.500, rtfm's usenet-addresses search, and WHOIS. The more information you know about your associate (name, place of business or school, and so on) the better your chances are! = INTERNET IN GENERAL = read the newsgroup "alt.internet.services"!!! Get the FAQ-list from there. = EMAIL BASICS = FTP to ftp.sura.net:/pub/nic/network.service.guides/how.to.email.guide to learn the basics of email on the internet. = From NETWORK to NETWORK = If you have trouble navigating from one network to another (buzz-word "gateways"!), read the pretty extensive "Inter-Network Mail Guide" edited by Scott Yanoff (formerly edited by John J. Chew.) Fetch the electronic version of this document by anonymous ftp from csd4.csd.uwm.edu:/pub/internetwork-mail-guide = HOW TO FIND EMAIL ADDRESSES? = A very complete answer is the "FAQ: How to find people's E-mail addresses", frequently posted in the newsgroup "news.answers" and also available by sending email To: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with message body of: send usenet/news.answers/finding-addresses = COLLEGE STUDENTS' ADDRESSES = Anonymous-FTP to rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_Addresses or send email To: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with message body of: send usenet/soc.college/Student_Email_Addresses If you have a person's name and their academic location, you may try a netfind for the domain name uni-stadt.de for Universitaeten fh-stadt.de for Fachhochschulen th-stadt.de for Technische Hochschulen where "stadt" is to be replaced by the name of the town where the person lives. (example: the university of Karlsruhe is *.*.uni-karlsruhe.de) [4/94] 10.2. Getting Email Access Public Internet access is (still) nothing you could take for granted. Not even at German universities; although the general trend is going towards better service. Some universities provide it and some don't. The University of Bonn, for instance, provides public Internet access only since August 1993. Nevertheless, usually it should be possible to stay on-line in Germany. For a good overview try the following: gopher://klinfo.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/1M%20klinfo.unix-ag .uni-kl.de%209000%202794%20service or http://klinfo.unix-ag.uni-kl.de:1962/klinfo.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/9000/0 [3/95] Also try reading the newsgroup de.org.sub (see 16.1. for more) [11/94] 10.2.1. Universities If the university offers Internet access, you can be sure that the services are not very much like what American students are used to. For example FTP might be very(!) restricted. Usually you'll have to be a student, postdoc, etc. to be entitled for email access at your university. Ask for email at your local "Rechenzentrum". [3/94] # 10.2.2. Lists of Public Unix Systems Read de.etc.lists !! (see 16.1. on how) Look for Jan Richert's list "publicuucp". You may also get Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann's list via ftp from ftp.rrzn.uni-hannover.de /pub/special/lists PubUxDe (currently 55 unix machines; between 0 and 50 DM/month; generally including mail and news service; frequently other services such as UUCP, IP, ISDN) [10/94] Also try: http://klinfo.unix-ag.uni-kl.de:1962/klinfo.unix-ag.uni-kl.de /9000/2794.html [3/95] # And finally look for Benoit Carl LIPS' list of dial-in connections # in Europe. Obtain the latest version from the USENET groups # alt.internet.access.wanted, alt.internet.services # or via WWW: http://www.earth.org/~lips/ # or by FTP: sumex-aim.stanford.edu/info-mac/comm/information/internet- # dialin-Europe-2.1 [4/95] # 10.2.3. Private Networks There are a number of ways besides university connections to stay on- line. Truly commercial providers (like EUnet, etc.) may be a little too complete in service and price for one's personal email and news service needs. Private BBS-based networks like FIDO, MAUS, Z-Netz, Comlink... offer cheap connections to Internet and USENET. Their news and mail service should be satisfactory; IRC, WWW, FTP, and such services are usually not provided. Be aware; the telephone bills from the German TELEKOM could prove to be nasty. :-( = MAUS.NET, SUBNET, INDIVIDUAL.NET = To get access to a NON COMMERCIAL BBS (like MAUS-NET). You can only read or write messages or use email. Most of these feed into "SUB.NET" or "INDIVIDUAL.NET" (IN) ... which is why you might want to consider getting their services directly; their internet connection is also faster and more complete. Sub.Net SubNet e.V. Geschaeftsstelle c/o Heiko Rupp Gerwigstr. 5 76131 Karlsruhe fax +49 721 661937 email: info@subnet.sub.net [10/94] INDIVIDUAL NETWORK in-info@individual.net 40 DM/month for SLIP access 300k mail and news free. or: Individual Network e. V. Geschaeftsstelle Scheideweg 65 D-26121 Oldenburg GERMANY tel +49 441 9808556 fax +49 441 9808557 [6/94] MAUS.NET If you happen to know the license plate id ("KFZ-Kennzeichen") for the area of your interest try the following (note that this method is not guaranteed to work!) SYSOP@[license plate id].MAUS.DE example: SYSOP@K.MAUS.DE for service in the Cologne area. In the body of the message ask for the telephone number of your local BBS box. [2/94] # The following represents a condensed version of the dial-in access # posibilities in Germany as cited in Benoit Carl LIPS' list (see 10.2.2..) # # ** APC/Comlink e.V. # Emil-Meyer-Str. 20, D-30165 Hannover # support@oln.comlink.apc.org # # ** CUBENet GmbH # Ohlauer Str. 74, D-80997 Muenchen # info@cube.net # # ** DFN-Verein e. V. # Pariser Strasse 44, D - 1000 Berlin 15 # dfn-verein@dfn.dbp.de # # ** EUnet Germany (EUnet Deutschland GmbH ) # Emil-Figge-Strasse 80, D-44227 Dortmund # access: Kiel, Hamburg, Bremen, Oldenburg, Aachen, Frankfurt, # Dortmund, Berlin, Halle, Leipzig, Muenchen, Stuttgart, Bielefeld, # Nuernberg # info@Germany.EU.net # # ** GEONETn (GeoNet Mailbox Systems) # GmbH@geod.geonet.de # # ** Individual Network (IN) # Scheideweg 65, D-26121 Oldenburg # IN-Info@Individual.NET # access: Germany: Aachen, Augsburg, Berlin, Bielefeld , Boeblingen, # Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Chemnitz, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Dresden, # Duesseldorf, Duisburg, Erfurt, Erlangen, Flensburg, Frankfurt/Main, # Friedberg, Giessen, Goettingen, Halle, Hamburg, Hannover, Jena, # Kaiserslautern, Kassel, Kiel, Koeln, Konstanz, Leipzig, Ludwigshafen, # Luebeck, Lueneburger Heide , Magdeburg, Mannheim, Muenchen, Muenster, # Nuernberg, Oldenburg, Osnabrueck, Paderborn, Pforzheim, Pirmasens, # Rendsburg, Rostock, Ruhrgebiet , Saarbruecken, Sauerland, Schleswig, # Schwerin, Stuttgart, Tuebingen, Ulm, Weser-Ems, Wetzlar, Wolfsburg, # Wuerzburg, Wuppertal # # ** INTERACTIVE NETWORK INFORMATIONS SYSTEME GmbH i.Gr. # Spohrstrasse 24, D-60318 Frankfurt am Main # johnny@interactive.nacamar.de # # ** Interactive Networx GmbH (unlisys InterNET Services) # Hardenbergplatz 2, D-10623 Berlin # info@unlisys.net # # ** INS # Ruhr-Area, Germany # info@ins.net # # ** CompuServe Germany # tel 0130 864643 (free), +49.8966550 - 111 # # ** Lemke & Fuerst GbR # Kleinknechtstrasse 35, 70567 Stuttgart # info@lf.net # # ** NACAMAR Deutschland # Kirchweg 22, D-63033 DREIEICH (near Frankfurt) # landi@nacamar.de # # ** NCS GmbH # Amalienstr. 17-21, 26135 Oldenburg # info@nordwest.de # # ** NET GmbH # Figarostr. 3, 70597 Stuttgart # info@n-e-t.de # # ** Netzwerk und Telematic GmbH, Geschaeftsbereich Xlink # Vincenz-Priessnitz-Strasse 3, 76131 Karlsruhe # info@xlink.net, sales@xlink.net # [4/95] 10.2.4. Your Local BBS If you don't have email access, you might want to pick up the latest issue of C'T computer magazine to look up the list of phone numbers of all network systems. Then dial into the appropriate BBS and ask the local sysop about fees for connection. Cost? A typical user, reading news from de.* and sci.* might want to expect about 10DM connection fee and 15DM in telephone charges (using an off-line reader!) 10.3. List of Anonymous FTP Servers in Germany This list is maintained by Christian Hettler (hettler@ask.uni-karlsruhe.de). FTP ftp.ask.uni-karlsruhe.de /pub/info/ftp-list-de URL http://askhp.ask.uni-karlsruhe.de/ftp-list-de.html email (leave subject blank) To: mail-server@ask.uni-karlsruhe.de begin send /pub/info/ftp-list-de end 11 Learning German as an Adult Summary of experiences as reported by various readers of s.c.g: (winter 95) COURSES and TAPES Recommended - Berlitz "Think and Talk German" - InLingua - The taped exercises with the Deutsch 2000 course; available at better stores in the US - The Goethe Institutes (see 5.2.) - Mind Extension University (cable TV) has about 1.5 hours of German language a day, and sometimes even have German classes; get info at 1-800-777-MIND READING Reading German as a means to learning spoken German was high on everyones list. The following were recommended: - children's books - comic books - trash novels - "Schau Ins Land" - a monthly small magazine and casette out of Nashville is good for building vocabulary once you are at an intermediate stage. - the German edition of "Mad Magazine." - annotated anthologies FACTORS TO SUCCESS - be motivated - set goals - some period of total immersion in the spoken language - visit Germany - unlike English, German is pronounced as written; learn the pronunciation of letters and dipthongs - work through and learn German grammar; there is no way to escape this - do a daily vocabulary list - work in a language course trip to Germany - let your ear govern whether or not your mouth is doing the right thing - remember the article for every noun!!! MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIENCES "I am learning German in the US, and though I have the benefit of a German wife, she speaks such good English, that we never talk in German. I get children's books from the library (including picture dictionaries!), and I try to watch as much German TV as we get on cable: (MIND EXTENSION UNIVERSITY.) We also get the international channel, which has other German shows. Also, get a short wave radio and tune into DEUTSCHE WELLE, which broadcasts worldwide. I decided that it's like learning a language as a kid. Kids hear the language constantly, and absorb it all like sponges; kids don't even speak until they've been hearing a language for 12 to 24 months, so i figured I'd do the same, and did a lot of listening, so it would seep into my soul, and now, about a year later, I'm starting, with croaking voice, to speak, and it's fun." ___ "I learned German as an adult through a language "school" called INLINGUA (they're like Berlitz). They offer instruction by native speaking teachers and it is taught by "total immersion", i.e., only German is spoken in class. This is the best method to learn although it can be expensive (my company picked up the tab). If taking a formal class such as I did is not an option, I strongly suggest that while you are learning German through tapes, community college courses, etc., take every opportunity you can to speak German. In the car, to spouse/kids/partner/roommate, family, or even to yourself. I would come home from class and tell my wife, in German, what I learned in class or did at work that day. I got some strange looks, but it really helped me to start thinking in German. When you start dreaming in German, you'll know you making good progress." ___ "I have had German exchange students, and have had great experiences with them. I would not recommend them as a way to learn German, however, as they are interested only in speaking English." ___ "I learned to speak German in a small village outside a city that had itself a rather boese dialect. I learned the local platt, and found that I got on better with that than I did with my attempts at high German. When speaking dialect I was always mistaken for someone from a farm town over the next hill, however on the rare occasions when I tried to speak High German, I was spotted immediately as an Ami." ___ "I've had good experiences renting from the German Language Video Center. (see 4.3.) They also sell documentaries from Deutsche Welle TV for US$16.95, which I think is the same price Deutsche Welle sells them for. You can also get the documentaries on some PBS (Public Broadcasting System) stations - in the San Francisco area, channel 60 broadcast two episodes of Schauplatz Deutschland starting last night at 11 p.m. It's in German with English subtitles." [3/95] 12 Electronic Language 12.1. Dictionaries (Word Lists from the Net) = gopher [OK 1/94] = There are on-line dictionaries available via gopher, e.g.: gopher.tu-chemnitz.de "Weitere lokale Infos (Woerterbuch)" gopher gopher.informatik.tu-muenchen.de 70 "ISAR Gopher"/ "Services"/ "Englisches Woerterbuch" = ftp [OK 1/94] = In general for ftp sites assume the following, unless stated otherwise; login: anonymous password: German word lists and German-English dictionary word lists are available via FTP from the sites listed below. for people in EUROPE ... ___site___ ___directory___ ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/doc/dict ftp.uni-kl.de /pub2/packages/doc.tum/dict ftp.th-darmstadt.de /pub/dicts/German ftp.uni-muenster.de /pub/comp/doc/dict mailserv.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de /public nestroy.wu-wien.ac.at /pub/lib/info/dict ftp.vlsivie.tuwien.ac.at /pub/8bit/dicts/deutsch.tar.gz and, for people WEST OF THE ATLANTIC... ___site___ ___directory___ coast.cs.purdue.edu /pub/mirrors/ftp.funet.fi/dictionaries/German = WWW = Langenscheidt's German-English/English-German Dictionary http://www.fmi.uni-passau.de/htbin/lt/lt2html (This has been discontinued!) [3/95] several other languages at (in experimental stage!): http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/~felix/eurodicautom.html [11/94] Also check out: http://www.uni-passau.de/forwiss/mitarbeiter/freie/ramsch /englisch.html http://gomera.fh-darmstadt.de:8000/dicti.html [3/95] = for ISPELL = ftp.informatik.uni-kiel.de:/pub/kiel/dicts/hk-deutsch.tar.gz [11/94] = CD-ROM (not verified 6/94) = Two companies might have CD-ROM versions of Collins German-English Dictionary: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A.Brockhaus AG Dudenstr. 6 6800 Mannheim 1 tel +49 621 3901 -81, fax -389 EBP - Electronic Book Publishing 52 Monmouth Street GB-London WC2H 9EP tel +44 71 2404 -292, fax -138 Collins themselves have two kinds of electronic bilingual dictionaries. They are only available on floppy disk (they intend to issue a CD-Rom in the future) 1. Collins On-line v2.20: >40,000 references; >70,000 translations; <1.5Mb disk space;#59 +VAT. 2. Collins Series 100 v1.1a: >75,000 references; >110,000 translations; <2Mb hard disk space; #69 +VAT. Both versions are supplied for use in windows and dos. I was told that the main difference between the two versions is that although the Series 100 is larger, it does not allow you to add your own entries, whereas the smaller On-Line is not fixed. The address is: Harper Collins Publishers, Electronic Reference, 14, Steep Lane, Findon, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 0UF U.K. tel +44 (0)903-873-555 fax +44 (0)903-873-633 Compuserve: 100317,1372 [11/94] There is a CD-ROM, originally put out by Sony in 1989, called "Languages of the World." This disk was in DOS format and cost US$800 back then, but now it's available for Windows with a better interface for about US$40, has German, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese (with limited character output), Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. You can go from any one to any other, but since mostly English-Other Language dictionaries are the base it is best to and from English. The dictionaries are decent student paperback type works, not the quality of the OED, Robert. For German specifically, it has Harrap's Concise, which I have found to have just about everything I have looked up (and I'm a German major), and Brandstetter's Science and Technology dictionaries. Again, it's top rate, and it can run as a TSR so you can pull it up in any other program, such as a word processor. [3/95] 12.2. Encyclopedias, "Lexika" There is a "Bertelsmann Universal Lexicon" available on CD-ROM, which can be ordered one from totronik Torsten Droste Rotebuehlstrasse 85 tel 0711-6271980 D-70178 Stuttgart fax 0711-616218 or Asix Technology GmbH Postfach 142 tel 07243-31048 76255 Ettlingen fax 07243-30080 The cost is about DM 150, and they take major credit cards. Airmail shipment arrived within a week. They carry a number of other CD-ROM's also, and a catalog on 3-1/2" disk is available. [1/94] # 12.3. Translation Programs; Spell Checkers; Thesauri Translators For MS-DOS * Translation by Timeworks Inc. For Macintosh and MS-DOS available (German-English) * Power Translator German (Globalink) # Cost in US: about US$120. Requires: Mac II or better, 31 MB of disk space, 2 MB RAM, System 7. Notes: There is also a Professional version (untested, about $475) for which subject dictionaries are available. * Language Assistant, German (Microtac Software) # Cost in US: about US$50 Requires: Mac II or better, 6 MB of disk space, 3 MB free RAM, System 7. Note: Comes with 90 day money back guarantee directly from company. Power Translator (PT) is designed for producing rough draft translations, whereas German Language Assitant (GA) provides reference tools in addition to translation. PT translates several times faster than GA. PT can (barely) be used as a bilingual dictionary, but GA's dictionary is much, much better. PT provides only a single word translation, while GA has multiple definitions and phrases as one would find in a real dictionary. GA also has a useful verb conjugation tool and grammar help. Generally speaking, in this price bracket the software translations range from poetic to horrible. [4/95] Spell Checkers and Thesauri For German on the Mac., look for EXCALIBUR. This is a spell-checker designed to work with LaTeX documents, but does also handle plain text very well. Communication with just about any editor via clibboard is possible! There are German, Dutch, French, Italian, and many other dictionaries available. (about $0) FTP-sites for that program: sumex-aim.stanford.edu mac.archive.umich.edu wuarchive.wustl.edu Word, WordPerfect and the like offer special modules for several languages, not only German. One can get spell checking and thesaurus modules for German. (about $100) [2/94] Accent 1.0 - Multilingual Word Processor Over 30 different languages. Needs IBM 386 with Windows, 6 to 25MB. Spellercheckers: 17 languages Thesaurus: 9 languages Hyphenation: 12 languages Berlitz(R) Interpreter(TM) (5 language translation tool) Accent file filters allow you to import and export documents to other standard Windows software you are using including: Lotus, Ami-Pro, Excel, Word, Wordperfect, RTF, and ASCIII text. The accentwm.zip file is 1.2m and is located on CICA: ftp.cica.indiana.edu /pub/pc/win3/demo/accentwm.zip For more information send email to: info@accent.co.il [4/94] # 12.4. Tutorial/Educational Software If you have an MS-DOS platform, an interesting place to look at might be the SimTel Software Repository at OAK.OAKLAND.EDU and its mirrors, directory: SimTel/msdos/langtutr/ There is free/shareware German, Spanish, Afrikaans, and other language software in this directory: * GERM1-23.ZIP and GERM2-23.ZIP cover German language topics (mainly verb CONJUGATION and vocabulary exercises). * VOCAB217.ZIP has basic VOCABULARY for several different languages. * GPLUS30.ZIP German Plus v3.0 is a language tutorial featuring review and exercises of over 500 nouns, adjectives, and verbs conjugated in the four major tenses. The program contains a look-up feature for use with the database. (about $0) * GI-ZERTI.ZIP Basic vocabulary German The official list of the "Zertifikat Deutsch als Fremdsprache" (ZDaF) of the Goethe-Institut and the Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband. You will find all the basic vocabulary with example sentences that show you how to use these words in a context. Very useful for beginners. About 2000 words in hypertext format. The program can be loaded resident. Features help, search, index, print and color options. IBM-compatible. (Shareware) * GI-LEHRW.ZIP List of teaching materials of German Helps students and teachers of German to find all kind of information about teaching materials of German. In hypertext format. IBM-compatible. The list is the official "Arbeitsmittelliste fuer den Deutschunterricht von Auslaendern 1994" of the Goethe-Institut including prices and publishers. (Shareware) * GI-DLAND.ZIP More facts about Deutschland (Germany) Helps students and teachers of German to find information about all kinds kinds of political, economic or social issues of German reality. Hypertext format. IBM-compatible. * GI-ADRES.zip 10,000 addresses of German institutions Helps students or teachers of German to find addresses in Germany by name, location or any other key word. Hypertext format. IBM-compatible. [3/95] You may also want to take a look at the following gopher site: gopher://isaac.engr.washington.edu:70/00/software/instruct Several German instructional software programs there. No idea what it is, though. There are text descriptions for each you can read before downloading. (about US$0) Berlitz offers a CD-ROM package for conversation practicing. The sound is played through a windows suitable sound card (like a Sound Blaster.) After a conversation, it will ask you questions about the conversation you just heard. While this method is good for beginners, it doesn't introduce or explain new or difficult grammar points very well. It does give one a good sense of sentence structure as well as some introductory grammar/vocabulary. Even though the package contains almost 17 (!) CD-ROMs it doesn't progress very quickly for those who already know conversational German. [10/94] For DOS and MAC available: Transparent Language version 2.0 1-800-332-8851 70541.3626@compuserve.com principle: "don't memorize -- get involved in a story!" main window shows story in original language, (French, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish) three other windows explain correct meaning of word in context, meaning of sentence, and notes on grammar/root words/etc. You get only three stories for free, additional stories are $15 to $35; they have 17 different German stories as of now, adding about 4 every year. Readers from s.c.g have reported positive experiences, esp. good for not absolute beginners. But the stories tend to be on the "serious" side. (Kafka didn't have much fun, either!) List price is $99 -- but mention that you heard of the promotional $30 price! A number of s.c.g readers have already saved good bucks and paid only $29.95 + $8.00 S&H. [4/94] # For Macintosh Computers: # # German Tutor -- A self-paced tutorial in German grammar fundamentals # # On error the program analyses the mistake and automatically generates # a review exercise based on the mistake. # Online help, list of all possible answers, glossary, and grammar references. # # RAM: >1Mb # System: >6.0.5 # (US$29) # [4/95] # # # MacLang 4.5 -- Create computer-assisted language learning exercises. # # Possible exercise types: vocabulary, fill-in-the-blank, paragraph, # multiple choice, jumble, multi-format. # Use English and any one of the following German simultaneously. (Also # good for a variety of other languages.) # # RAM: >1Mb # System: >6.0.5 # (US$25) # [4/95] other software... For the early stages "The Rosetta Stone" was recommend. Also an interactive program called "Herr Kommissar" has been seen. [10/94] ? (Where do you get these from, though??) 12.5. Computer Terminology Dictionaries IBM Germany used to publish and sell: Fachausdruecke der Informationsverarbeitung Woerterbuch und Glossar Englisch-Deutsch, Deutsch-Englisch IBM Form GQ 12-1044-1 ~1700 pages, copyright 1985, no ISBN # IBM Deutschland GMBH, Postfach 800880, 7 Stuttgart-80 (current status unknown) Complete Multilingual Dictionary of Computer Terminology English - French - Italian - Spanish - Portuguese 900+ pages, copyright 1984, ISBN: 0-8442-9108-0 Passport Books, Trade Imprint of National Textbook Company 4255 West Touhy Avenue Lincolnwood, Illinois 60646-1975 [3/95] 13 Fax Numbers in Germany Frederik Ramm generously offers to provide fax numbers of companies and institutes in Germany as they are printed in the official books by Telecom. Send an email like the following to his address: To: ule3@rz.uni-karlsruhe.de Subject: FAX request Name: Firma Tiny Ort: Klein-Hoppenstaedt 14 German News 14.1. Subscription via gopher/email NOTE: if you read soc.culture.german on a regular basis, please disregard this! The information available at these places is also fed into the newsgroup. You won't be missing anything! = gopher = [OK 2/94] gopher://news.gwdg.de Under menu point "Verschiedenes" you find *lots* of valuable information... a real gem among gopher services ;-) Proceed to "Aktuelle Nachrichten" for news transcripts in German These news are provided on a daily basis by a team of volunteers around Rainer Mallon. They take news from radio stations and type them in (yip; manually!). = email = [OK 2/94] send email To: LISTSERV@vm.gmd.de with body SUB GERMNEWS This will subscribe you to the list. DON'T DELETE THE AUTOMATIC REPLY! You'll need that information if you want to get off the list again. = the English version = The DE-NEWS mailing list is the English edition of GermNews -- the English translation of yesterday's issue of GermNews. To subscribe to DE-NEWS send mail to LISTSERV@vm.gmd.de, as seen above, with body SUBSCRIBE DE-NEWS first name last name [3/95] 14.2. on WWW You can also look at URL: http://www.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/misc/germnews/ [ok 10/94] 14.3. Searching the Germnews Archive Notebooks All messages to GERMNEWS are saved or "archived" in units called NOTEBOOKS or LOGS each month. You can search these Notebooks for references using the powerful database searching function of LISTSERV to get the information you want. There are two steps to searching the archives. First put your search together and send it to LISTSERV@vm.gmd.de which will return as mail an index or list of the messages that meet your search criteria, each with a unique item number. Using this item number, you then send another request for the specific messages you want, which will be returned as a longer DATABASE OUTPUT file. To find out more about this process send the following email: To: LISTSERV@VM.GMD.DE // Database search DD=Rules //Rules DD * Search * in GERMNEWS Print 112 /* [ok: 6/94] 15 Ich lebe zur Zeit nicht in Deutschland. Wie kann ich... (Because this is only important for Germans, I write this in German. There are just too many special legal terms involved to do it in English ...) 15.1. ...meinen auslaendischen akademischen Titel uebertragen? Es gibt jetzt eine Broschuere, "Anerkennung auslaendischer Studienleistungen und auslaendischer Hochschulabschluesse", welche kostenlos vom Bundes- ministerium fuer Bildung und Wissenschaft, 53170 Bonn, angefordert werden kann. Dort drin sind dann auch Adressen von verschiedenen Behoerden zu finden. Generelles zum Thema: - Zustaendig ist das Bundesland, in dem man seinen Wohnsitz hat. - Die Regelungen der verschiedenen Bundeslaender sind _nicht_ einheitlich. - Das "Fuehren auslaendischer Titel und Grade" ist ohne vorherige Genehmigung durch das zustaendige Bundesland _strafbar_ ! - In Bayern sieht es so aus: - Auslaendische Titel duerfen nur in der Originalform gefuehrt werden - Eine Konvertierung auslaendischer Titel (also z.B. M.S -> Dipl.-Ing. Ph.D. -> Dr. etc.) ist in Bayern lt. Auskunft des Kultusministeriums _nicht_ moeglich. - Mit der Fuehrungsgenehmigung ist keine Anerkennung verbunden. Weitere wichtige Fakten, die ihr wissen solltet. Fuer alle Bundeslaender: - Um einen auslaendischen akademischen Grad in seiner Originalform fuehren zu duerfen, bedarf es einer "Erlaubnis zum Fuehren ..." - Diese Erlaubnis erteilt das Kultusministerium des Bundeslandes, in welchem der erste Wohnsitz liegt. Fuer Personen, die nicht in Deutschland wohnen, erteilt das Land NRW die Erlaubnis. - Die Erlaubnis kostet etwa 100-150 DM Bearbeitungsgebuehr. Die Bearbeitung dauert etwa einen Monat. - Die Erlaubnis besagt nichts ueber eine Gleichwertigkeit. Sie stellt lediglich fest, dass der Titel rechtmaessig erworben wurde und gibt an, in welcher Form er verwendet werden darf. Zum Beispiel wird aus einem Master of Science, der an der State University of New York at Albany erworben wurde, ein "Master of Science at State University of New York at Albany". Gleichzeitig werden auch zulaessige Abkuerzungen mitgeteilt (Bsp: M.S. (SUNYA)). Fuer alle Bundeslaender ausser Bayern: Es gibt noch den zweiten Weg (ausser in Bayern): Ihr koennt einen im Ausland erworbenen Titel als einem deutschen gleichwertig anerkennen lassen. Die Bearbeitung ist dann im allgemeinen etwas aufwendiger (laenger, teurer). Das Ergebnis ist, dass ihr euch dann statt Ph.D Dr. phil nennen duerft (oder auch Dr. rer. nat.). Die Details sind von Bundesland zu Bundesland sehr verschieden. Diese Anerkennung kann auch abgelehnt werden. In einem Beispiel (Baden-Wuerttemberg) wurde ein amerikanischer Master (in Computer Science) in einen Magister umgewandelt. Dies wurde mit der Studienzeit begruendet, welche kuerzer war als die Regelstudienzeit fuer einen Diplom-Informatiker. Wer nicht in Deutschland gemeldet ist, muss sich an das Kultusministerium von Nordrhein-Westfalen wenden. Es wird dann ein Nachweis verlangt, dass man wirklich im Ausland lebt. Da es in vielen Laendern (speziell USA) keine Meldepflicht gibt, muss normalerweise der umgeschriebene Pass vorgelegt werden (Kopie reicht). Andere Nachweise sind zum Beispiel ein Auszug aus der DMV-Kartei (im wesentlichen besagt dieser, dass man einen amerikanischen Fuehrerschein hat, welcher auf eine amerikanische Adresse ausgestellt wurde). Die Adresse in NRW: Ministerium fuer Wissenschaft und Forschung des Landes NRW Postfach 101103 (Voelkinger Str. 49) 40002 Duesseldorf tel +49 211 896-4335 fax +49 211 896-4555 Verlangt wird in NRW (wie sonst auch): Beglaubigte Kopie des Abiturzeugnisses und der Verleihungsurkunde fuer den amerikanischen Grad, Kopie eines Wohnsitznachweises, ausgefuelltes Antragsformular. Nach der Bearbeitung wird eine Gebuehr verlangt (war 150 DM). Ein Ph.D. wird in Dr. rer. nat. (USA) umgewandelt. Die Bearbeitung dauert etwa 3-4 Monate. 15.2. ...mein Wahlrecht wahrnehmen? Jeder Deutsche im Sinne des Grundgesetzes mit staendigem Aufenthalt im Ausland ist wahlberechtigt, wenn er sich nicht laenger als 10 Jahre im Ausland aufhaelt. Waehlen darf nur, wer in ein Waehlerverzeichnis eingetragen ist. Da man bei staendigem Aufenthalt im Ausland nicht automatisch in ein Waehlerverzeichnis (ueber das Einwohnermeldeamt) eingetragen wird, muss man einen foermlichen Antrag auf Eintragung in ein Waehlerverzeichnis stellen und gleichzeitig eine Versicherung an Eides Statt abgeben, dass man Deutscher im Sinne des Grundgesetzes ist, einem das Wahlrecht nicht aberkannt wurde usw. "Fuer jeden Antragsteller ist ein besonderes Formblatt (in Erst- und Zweitausfertigung auszufuellen. Sammelantraege sind nicht moeglich. Der Antrag sollte fruehstmoeglich gestellt werden; er muss spaetestens bis zum 21. Tage vor der Wahl bei der zustaendigen Gemeindebehoerde eingegangen sein. Die Antragsfrist kann nicht verlaengert werden. In das Waehlerverzeichnis eingetragene Wahlberechtigte erhalten ueber die Eintragung keine Benachrichtigung. Ihnen werden - bei fruehestmoeglicher Antragstellung - der Wahlschein und die Briefwahlunterlagen ca. 1 Monat vor dem Wahltag uebersandt." "Zustaendige Gemeindebehoerde, an die der Antrag zu richten ist, ist - die Gemeindebehoerde der letzten - gemeldeten - Hauptwohnung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, - der Oberstadtdirektor der Stadt Bonn - Stadthaus, Berliner Platz 2, D-53103 Bonn, wenn der Wahlberechtigte noch nie fuer eine Wohnung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland gemeldet war." [5/94] 16 What else is on the Net? 16.1. "de" Newsgroups If you would like to know more about Germany and you are able to read and write German try the newsgroups in the "de" hierarchy. Those newsgroups are available in Germany and at some sites in the US. Specifically parts of the hierarchies maus.*, fido.* and cl.* are fed into international news channels. (Note that these groups usually converse in German-only mode...) You can also send mail to info@world.std.com, see about getting a private account on this commercial provider (about $1.00 per hour). You can telnet login from your current system: they have ALL the newsgroups, includeing several hundred (!) from Germany, Switzerland, Austria. [11/94] = NNTP = (unchecked 2/94) You could try "news.fu-berlin.de" for this purpose. But be aware that this is a ... let's say ... not very responsible use of the transatlantic lines if you read de.*-groups regularly this way. They *do* feed these groups to US servers and you may ask your news admin to contact one of the servers to get a feed of de.*. = email = (unchecked) You can also subscribe to a special service that lets you read those newsgroups by email. Send a mail to CHAMAS@DOLUNI1.Bitnet. Send a mail like: To: CHAMAS@DOLUNI1.Bitnet (<- you might not have to use 'Bitnet') Subj.: CBM help email to: CHAMAS@vmxa.hrz.uni-oldenburg.de = gopher = ? Does anybody know of gopher sites outside of Europe which carry the ? de.* hierarchy? Currently the only remedy is to connect to a news feeder in Germany. Please use these services as little as possible if you are located outside of Europe...for sake of satellite bandwidth! Note that gopher provides only reading permission. You cannot post to "de" newsgroups. "Kleopatra" in Trier has retired...(didn't know, queens were allowed to do so)...or simply doesn't talk to anyone anymore (ah, that's it!) Instead you may choose to deal with a more obedient example of the burrowing rodents (family Geomyidae): gopher://gopher.urz.uni-heidelberg.de:4323/1nntp%20ls%20de%20 gopher://otax.tky.hut.fi:4320/1nntpnntp%20ls%20de%20 [Ok: 7/94] In Japan you can use: gopher://gopher.cs.reitaku-u.ac.jp/Internet News/ [3/95] 16.2. soc.culture.german FAQ List on WWW Yes it's true... we're going to go on the Web. For now there is only a sort-of test version available, which Martin Weichert has painstakingly and meticulously (don't you love big words:) put together -- Thanks a bunch for your efforts, Martin! Anyone who wants to try it out is warmly and genially affably invited (don't you really love big words? ;) to have a look at: http://www.cs.chalmers.se/pub/users/martinw/www/scg-faq.html#8.1. Said "anyone" (that is YOU ;-) is also encouraged to send any comments to me at vogelges@physics.purdue.edu! (Oh, btw, Martin converted the previous version of the FAQ, and since I'm not yet able to generate a common source for this text-version and the WWW version it will take a little while before I can offer the most uptodate version... but it's on its way!) [6/94] # 16.3. World-Wide Weather For quick international weather reports (including Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt, Munich) look at: gopher://wx.atmos.uiuc.edu/ 00/International/Foreign%20Temp%20and%20Weather For weather over Germany you may also try: Meteofax Wetterdienste; http://www.meteocon.nl/meteofax/index.html [ok 10/94] # or: http://www.met.fu-berlin.de/english/Wetter/index.html [4/95] 16.4. German Soccer Results If you ask Thomas Hofmeister (hofmeist@zorro.informatik.uni- dortmund.de) he will send you the most recent soccer results via email. His postings are also archived on a WorldWide-Web-Server: URL is http://ls2-www.informatik.uni-dortmund.de/Buli/Buli.html. [2/94] 16.5. Text of the Grundgesetz URL's http://www.informatik.uni-dortmund.de/Vermischtes/GG.html http://www.cs.tu-berlin.de/pubdoc/GG [ok 6/94] # 16.6. German History on the Net "Guide to German History Resources on the Internet" by Katie McBride kmcbride@umich.edu gopher://una.hh.lib.umich.edu:70/00/inetdirsstacks/germanhist%3amcbride Historical records about the anti-Nazi resistance group known as "Weisse Rose" ftp://RASCAL.ICS.UTEXAS.EDU/misc/gs/The_White_Rose.cpt.hqx # gopher://mimas.acs.unt.edu/Files/Hyper/The White Rose.sit It's hypercard stack usable only on a Macintosh, created by Brian Thomas. It contains leaflets they handed out, court records, and letters, etc. written by the Scholls and others. [ok 4/95] 16.7. German Literature (Gutenberg Project) Try going to the Human Language Resources page and going to their German listings. It's at http://www.willamette.edu/~tjones/Language-Page.html 16.8. German Cities Berlin: http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/adressen/berlin.html Hamburg: http://www.uni-hamburg.de/ [11/04] quite a few more are to be found at: http://www.leo.org/~klimt/guide.html [3/95] 16.9. German Universities "Universitaeten in Deutschland" gopher://serversun.mdv.gwdg.de:70/11/.UNIVERSITY /Universitaeten%20in%20Deutschland "Information Servers in Germany" gopher://solaris.rz.tu-clausthal.de:70/11/Gopher-de http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/user/biocheag/sonstiges.html "Info aus Fachbereichen deutscher Universitaeten etc." gopher://sun3.urz.uni-heidelberg.de:70/11/extern/fb [ok 7/94] 16.10. German Schools gopher://klinfo.unix-ag.uni-kl.de:71/0D%20klinfo.unix-ag .uni-kl.de%209000%206740%20autonews or http://klinfo.unix-ag.uni-kl.de:1962/klinfo.unix-ag.uni -kl.de/9000/6740.html [3/95] # 16.11. Tell me about it! A German Oracle Just for fun email to: # orakel@tik.ethz.ch with subject: "sag mir" or "frag mich", depending on whether you want to get a question answered or asked, respectively. [4/95] 16.12. German teletext (ARD/ZDF) In late summer '94 the following service was introduced: http://info.et-inf.fho-emden.de/cgi-bin/vt/vt.sh However, the popularity of this service grew so rapidly that it became necessary to cut the line off -- a new version is under development. [10/94] 16.13. Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) The "Kurznachrichtendienst" features articles from Germany's premier news agency. The articles, transmitted and displayed in German, are categorized into Headline News Summaries (Schlagzeilen), Politics (Politik), Business (Wirtschaft), Sports (Sport), Culture (Kultur) and Miscellaneous (Vermischtes). The news service delivers more than 60 news stories a day, 24 hours a day. (05/94) Compuserve offers DPA News Headline Serviceas as part of its 'basic services'; Compuserve members access the service with the command 'go DPANEWS'. A warning from CompuServe: The information contained in the Deutsche Presse-Agentur news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise redistributed without the prior written authority of the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. [3/95] # 16.14. A Random Selection... # http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/adressen/bl/bundeslaender.html # an overview of all German states [4/95] http://www.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de/~muh/Stachel/ Oldenburger STACHEL [3/95] http://www.germany.eu.net/nda/spiegel/ DER SPIEGEL [3/95] http://www.venture.net/spektrum/index.html Spektrum der Wissenschaft [3/95] http://www.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/isar/WWWother/demap.html Karte deutscher WWW Server [3/95] http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/netzbuch/netzbuch.html Maier/ Wildberger, In 8 Sekunden um die Welt -- 3. Auflage 1994 [3/95] http://www.nordwest.pop.de/nda/cz/index.html Computer-Zeitung [3/95] http://www.NordWest.Germany.EU.net/nda/ Norddeutsche Datenautobahn - Hauptseite [3/95] http://www.artcom.de/CCC/ Chaos Computer Club [3/95] ftp://pfsparc02.phil15.uni-sb.de/pub Orakel Archiv: pfsparc02.phil15.uni-sb.de/./pub [3/95] gopher://alpha.cc.utoledo.edu/ 11GOPHER_ROOT%3a%5bREFERENCE-MATERIALS.REFERENCE-BOOKS. german-dictionary%5d Language- Dictionary German/English [3/95] gopher://gopher.edvz.uni-linz.ac.at/ gopher://gopher.edvz.uni-linz.ac.at gopher://gopher.htwm.de:4320/1nntp Zugang zu den Netnews (news.htwm.de ) [3/95] gopher://gopher.uni-heidelberg.de/ Heidelberg: Gopher server [3/95] gopher://gopher.win.tue.nl/00/internet/archives/usenet/ news.answers/german-faq German FAQ [3/95] gopher://serversun.mdv.gwdg.de/11/.NATIONAL Medizinischer Gopher [3/95] gopher://wx.atmos.uiuc.edu/ gopher://wx.atmos.uiuc.edu [3/95] http://cui_www.unige.ch/w3catalog CUI W3 Catalog [3/95] http://gpu.srv.ualberta.ca/~mprokop/homepage.html DEPARTMENT OF GERMANIC LANGUAGES [3/95] http://hyperg.tu-graz.ac.at/970B4E26/A0x00000024 collection: Meyers Lexikon - Das Wissen A-Z [3/95] http://hyperg.tu-graz.ac.at/970B4E26/A0x00000027 collection: Austrian Videotex Service (BTX/PAN) [3/95] http://hyperg.tu-graz.ac.at/AC04615D/Ceulenspiegel collection: Eulenspiegel Wissenschaftsmagazin [3/95] http://hyperg.tu-graz.ac.at:80/CD10B584/CCOMPUTERJ collection: Computerjournals [3/95] http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/Overview.html World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Subject Catalogue [3/95] http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/blacklist.html Blacklist of Internet Advertisers [3/95] http://mercury.ethz.ch/hotlist.html Useful Tools [3/95] http://peel.lili.uni-bielefeld.de/foebud/foebudHome.html FoeBuD WWW-Service [3/95] http://rektorat.wu-wien.ac.at/Default.html WU-Rektorat homepage [3/95] http://rzstud1.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/~ule3/railserv.html Bahnverbindungen in Deutschland [3/95] http://tommy.informatik.uni-dortmund.de/WWW/PLZ.html Das Postleitzahlenbuch [3/95] http://www-dw.gmd.de/cgi-bin/listfolder/deutsch/news.html Gesamt|bersicht Nachrichten [3/95] http://www-dw.gmd.de/deutsch/index.html Deutsche Welle radio & tv - Deutsche Leitseite [3/95] http://www.artcom.de/ping/mapper Ping datascape welcome [3/95] http://www.ask.uni-karlsruhe.de/books/inetwd.html Internet: Werkzeuge und Dienste [3/95] http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/index_e.html FUB CHEMnet WWW Entry Point [3/95] http://www.cs.chalmers.se/pub/users/martinw/www/scg-faq.html German soc.culture.german FAQ [3/95] http://www.eunet.ch/freihofer/3bkatlog.html Freihofer AG Verlag und Buchhandlung: Homepage [3/95] http://www.fh-wolfenbuettel.de/cgi-bin/AllCachedHTMLs All HTML-Documents in server cache [3/95] http://www.fmi.uni-passau.de/htbin/lt/ltd German-English Dictionary [3/95] http://www.freinet.de/htbin/misc.pl?ACTION=FORM Sammelsurium [3/95] http://www.germany.eu.net/ EUnet Deutschland Informationsdienste [3/95] http://www.germany.eu.net/shop/aw/index.html ADDISON-WESLEY (German) [3/95] http://www.germany.eu.net/shop/jfl/jfl_kat.html JF Lehmanns Fachbuchhandlung [3/95] http://www.gmd.de/GMDHome.german.html GMD im WWW [3/95] http://www.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/weiter/firmen.html Firmen-Informationen [3/95] http://www.ix.de/ iX-Leitseite [3/95] http://www.ix.de/ct/default.html c't-Redaktion [3/95] http://www.cs.tu-berlin.de/bibliotheken/ German Libraries [3/95] http://www.laum.uni-hannover.de/iln/bibliotheken/bibliotheken.html Verzeichnis der online-Abfragbaren Bibliothekskataloge [3/95] # http://www.laum.uni-hannover.de/iln/bibliotheken/buecher.html # Verzeichnis online-kopierbarer Buecher [4/95] # http://bib.informatik.uni-dortmund.de/SFgate/UNIDOlit.html # Online-Katalog der Universitatetsbibliothek Dortmund [4/95] # http://www.Germany.eu.net/shop/JFL/ # Verzeichnis einer Fachbuchhandlung [4/95] http://www.nordwest.pop.de/nda/index.html NDA - Hauptseite [3/95] http://www.ping.at/ PING Homepage - Personal Internet Gate Austria [3/95] http://www.ping.at/international/interindex.html PING4s Global Connections [3/95] http://www.rz.tu-ilmenau.de/~hsf/hsf.html Das hsf-studentenradio [3/95] http://www.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/Hotlist.html Hotlist [3/95] http://www.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/Outerspace/VirtualLibrary/ World-Wide Web Virtual Library: German Subject Catalogue [3/95] http://www.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/misc/germnews/ German News, Jahres|bersicht [3/95] http://www.tu-graz.ac.at/ Hyper-G W3 Entry Point (Informationssystem der TU Graz) [3/95] http://www.tu-graz.ac.at/ Hyper-G WWW Entry Point [3/95] http://www.uni-paderborn.de/arbeitsgruppen/fiff/fiff.html FIFF-Regionalgruppe Paderborn [3/95] http://www.uni-passau.de/forwiss/mitarbeiter/hiwis/gehmeyr/ kramkiste.html Andi Gehmeyr - Internet Goodies [3/95] 17 Money Talk # 17.1. Sending Money To and From Germany Getting money across international borders can be tricky. The following hints are mostly based on experiences of posters on s.c.g who needed to send money to mail order places in Germany / to transfer their funds when working abroad / for their own or their relatives' travelling needs / etc. = To Germany = Ruesch International Financial Services will issue a draft in DM (and other currencies) at the current rate of exchange, plus a service charge of only $2 per transaction. Telephone the U.S. headquarters (in Washington, DC) at 1-800-424-2923 to set up an account. Regional offices: Atlanta (404-222-9300) Boston (617-482-8600) Chicago (312-332-6900) Los Angeles (310-277-7800) New York (212-977-2700) Washington, DC (202-408-1200) Switzerland: Ruesch Devisenhandel Schipfe 7 CH-8023 Zuerich tel 01-212-5300, fax 01-212-5406 (They charge 5 sfr for a check.) Other ways to get US$ across the ocean are: == TO OTHERS == * sending an (e.g. American) personal check may or may not work for paying bills....if you like to gamble then this is your way ;-) * sending your own Eurochecque Send one of your own "Eurochecques"; possibly you can get them from a German bank's branch. Catch: Need to have a German bank account. * deposit with foreign branches of German banks if you are lucky enough to find a major German bank's branch in your city you might be able to direct deposit money. * international money orders International money orders *are* issued by American post offices, too, but the process is very bureaucratic (surprise!) You pay at the local P.O. in US $$ (you have to guess the conversion), mail your receipt to St. Louis, which office in turn issues the M.O. in foreign currency direct to the party you name. The service fee is supposedly $7.50. [10/94] * travellers checks Go to a local American Express (e.g.) office and purchase DM travellers checks. You can get single checks, 20's and above. No service fee, but a few points off the bank exchange rate. Make sure to fill out the "Pay to the order of:" field for security! Problem: You may not get the exact amount you need (DM 57.89) when paying, say, a mail order bill. * American Express money orders Are well accepted by German banks. For long term you might consider opening a Germann bank account and depositing a regular payment with American Express money orders. Then you can pay German bills off of that account. == TO YOURSELF == People have been able to transfer money from their American accounts to their German ones (notably a "Postgirokonto" and "Raiffeisenbank".) It's possible to cash a personal check from a U.S. to a German account -- Postgiro charges a fee of only DM 3 for one check, Raiffeisen takes out DM15. No other hidden costs, but, alas, you probably need to have an account with the respective institue for using this service. US checks must be made payable to the bank that cashes them. [11/94] * American ATM's: if there is some US military close by, they might even have American ATMs, so that your Cirrus or whatever card should work there properly. [11/94] = From Germany = * international money orders Available at every post office. Charge is about $5 for small amounts. * have a credit card withdrawing from your German account. Try to avoid cash advances (extra fee) but buy things with your card # (note: not only the currency exchange rate is applied, but also # an extra fee of typically 1%.) [4/95] 17.2. How to get German Stock Data, Exchange Rates? If you can, check the newsgroup: de.etc.finanz.boerse (see also 16.1.) [3/95] For WWW-browsers available... use URL: http://www.wiwi.uni-frankfurt.de/AG/JWGI/JWGIhome.html (daily updated info; the data seem to come from www.win.tue.nl) ? when I checked, I didn't find any direct exchange rates ? and what is "mrt" anyway? [2/94] For exchange rates in Amsterdam: http://www.win.tue.nl/cgi/tt2www/nos/tpage/569 [unchecked 4/94] US$ <-> DM exchange rates of the federal reserve bank, New York: gopher://una.hh.lib.umich.edu/00/ebb/monetary/tenfx.frb [Ok 7/94] 17.3. How much is Gasoline in Germany? Diesel ~DM 1,15/Liter Benzin bleifrei 91 octane unleaded ~DM 1,49/Liter Super bleifrei 95 octane unleaded ~DM 1,55/Liter Super plus bleifrei 98 octane unleaded ~DM 1,59/Liter Super verbleit 98 octane leaded ~DM 1,68/Liter (Assume a range of about 0.10DM more or less throughout Germany.) [5/94] 17.4. Tax... 17.4.1. VAT in Germany? In Germany every retail price includes 15% (1993 value) Value Added Tax (Mehrwehrtsteuer, MwSt). If you buy goods in Germany and plan to take them with you to a foreign country it is possible to get a refund for the VAT. In some places you even get a discount in the shop. To get the VAT refunded you usually need some proof that you life not in Germany (Passport ...) and a special receipt from the store. It is possible for Germans to get a refund if their Passport shows a foreign address. Then ask for your refund at the border or airport (if the store did not deduct the tax already). Please ask the customs people for details. This refund might be not available for residents of European Community member states. 17.4.2. Tax Treaty? The US and Germany have a tax treaty. This means that, as a US citizen, you only pay taxes to the IRS if your US taxes would be higher than your German taxes. So if your US taxes under your income would have been $1000, and you paid $900 to the Finanzamt, then you'd owe $100 to the US government. On basis of this tax treaty German students, studying and working in the US, might be able to claim tax exemption for a portion of their US income (up to $5000 per year, I believe.) However, if you stay longer than four years, you might have to pay those taxes afterall! Just remember that taxes were not meant to be comprehensible and..... keep smiling !-) [3/95] 18 Questions and Answers 18.1. Taking American Electronic Equipment to Germany? If you wish to use domestic American electronics in Germany you will encounter difficulties such as: - German plugs have a different shape. - The medium wave (AM) frequencies have different spacings (9 kHz vs. 10 kHz). This will cause problems with digital receivers. - The voltage / frequency in Germany is 220-240 V / 50 Hz and not 110 V / 60 Hz as in the US. Improper voltage / frequency could result in serious damage. - TV uses the PAL norm. American TV uses the NTSC norm. These two norms are incompatible. Therefore an American television will generally not work in Germany and vice-versa, although multi-norm TVs are available in Europe. 18.1.1. Importing Phone/Fax to Germany? You may own any phone but you may not connect it to the public system unless it has a BZT number (Old phones: ZZF). You may not own radios or cordless phones which are not approved. The number is usually found on a sticker at the back of the case. Pulse dial phones should work in Germany. Tone dial is not yet available in many areas. This is changing, however. If you plan on using a modem, make sure it's 14,400! (You'll remember this advice when you get the next telephone bill ;-) Soon 28,800 baud will be standard... Cordless phones are a real problem. In Germany, cordless phones operate on different frequencies (900 MHz) than in most other countries. In the bands that many foreign phones use (80 MHz for US-phones) are a number of official channels (police, emergencies, radio, TV ...). It is punishable to own and use a cordless phone! Therefore, use only approved cordless phones !!! or they _will_ get you !!! Problems are possible with Hong Kong or British pulse dial phones because the pulses there are not exactly the same as in Germany. But the phone system is very tolerant and with most of these phones you can switch to the other system anyway (same for Modems). The wall outlets for phones in Germany have a different shape than the usual modular plug. Adapters are available in Germany (from 2.50 to 20 DM). These adapters are no problems with phones. But legal and illegal things might not work together on the same line. Fax machines usually work in Germany, too. Typically you'll need a new power adapter, though. Both phone and fax should have pulse mode, though. [3/95] 18.1.2. Video Tapes? -- Different Video Norms! PAL format videotapes will not display properly using an NTSC based VCR and vice-versa. There are services where video conversion from any format to any other format can be made for a fee (VHS, VHS-C and 8 mm types of cassettes.) This will allow playback of videotapes made overseas using US TVs and VCRs (PAL, SECAM --> NTSC) and vice-versa (NTSC --> PAL, SECAM, etc ...) It is also not too expensive to get a VCR which is able to play NTSC and PAL tapes. Only very few VCRs are able to record and play VHS tapes in NTSC and PAL (e.g. Panasonic AG-W1, about DM 5000). Cheaper VCRs are able to play different formats (NTSC, PAL, SECAM). DO IT YOURSELF With this setup you can transfer from NTSC to/from PAL at reasonable cost. Dont expect studio quality though: Akai VS R110EM is a three system unit - PAL, NTSC, SECAM , costs about US$200 mailorder (smile video, nyc). Or AKAI VSX-560, *HiFi-Stereo*, tuner, features include NTSC playback on PAL TV, US$500 (mailorder from 47th St Photo) AIWA MG360S also 3 systems, costs about US$450 (mail order, j/R music world, nyc, 1 800 221 8180) [3/94] Another VCR that is "reasonably" priced is sold by Radio-Shack. The VCR is available through special order only; and not all Radio Shack employees know that this machine even exists. If they don't, have them look in the current catalog for #16-706. The cost is $600. (Need a second VCR for conversions.) [3/94] COMMERCIAL CONVERSION International Video Conversion 520 Harvest Lane Raleigh, NC 27606-2217 tel (919) 233-8689 Fees: $25 + $5 S&H (Price of a High Grade Cassette Included, 2hrs or less) Delivery: Mailed back the next day, express shipping at request. Payment: Check, Cash or Money Order mailed with tape. sasjrm@unx.sas.com does it for $5 per hour + $3 for the blank tape. (Formats: NTSC, PAL, NPAL, MPAL, SECAM, MSECAM) Soffel VDO 2250 Monroe St #263 Santa Clara, CA 95050 tel (408) 985 2098 $20 per tape (up to 2h, each add. hour $ 10). Tape, S&H included. Mail only, next day shipping, overnight available. Check, cash, money order. Does: NTSC (8mm, Hi8, VHS) -> PAL (VHS) Give your local shops a try! I found a *Camera Shop* that does PAL <-> NTCS conversions; a bit expensive, though ($20/h). But if you need something the very next day... [1/94] 18.2. What presents to take to Germany? JEANS: A pair of l...'. is about $30 in the U.S., while you pay around DM 150 in Germany... T-SHIRTS, sweat-shirts, baseball-caps, mementos from such places as the Monterey Sea-Aquarium or the Museum of Modern Arts or the Air & Space or Smithsonian museum (or whatever is in your neighborhood) COMPUTER: software and paperback books about software and hardware. publications by your favorite computer users group (BMUG, BCS, whatever) BOOKS: paperbacks (non-fictional mostly), cartoons, cooking, travel guides, historical, biographies, etc... MUSIC: CDs are much cheaper in the US, especially if you do one of those mail-order 'buy 8, pay for 1/2' (and what do you mean I forgot to tell you about shipping&handling), and some cannot be easily found overseas. support your local starving-musicians and buy some of their stuff (CDs, Tshirts) at the next gig you in your favorite music hang-out... POSTERS: from museums, art boutiques, Natl. Geo, Smithsonian, MAGAZINES: Sunday NYT, last years Natl. Geo., Air&Space, Smithsonian, Architectural Digest, Texas (or whatever is published monthly with your state's name on it - with lots of pictures and local lore...) RAGS: CACM, IEEE, Foreign Affairs,... specialty rags (Private Pilot, Sailing, WoodWorking, Beer and Wine Making,...) and if you are a photographer, why not make a couple of 8 x 10" prints of some of your best (sign them and put them in a frame) ?!? 18.3. Shipping Your Household US<->Europe/Germany [Summary of a thread from Winter 1995.] 18.3.1. General Remarks There are different shipping methods (airmail excluded): o regular shipping company, o special discount shipping company, and o The US postal service. (1) Regular Shipping The regular shipping companies charge about 80c per pound for shipping from NY to Frankfurt. The more you have to send, the cheaper the rate gets. For shipment of less than 500 lbs, they usually use flat rates. For example, INTERNATIONAL SEA & AIR shipping Co. (212-766-1616) charges 1-100 lbs 101-200 lbs 201-300 lbs 401-500 lbs $247 $273 $352 $445 501-1000 lbs 1001-2000 lbs 2001 lbs & over 89c/lb 77c/lb 73c/lb If you live far from NY, you have to pay more. If I ship my stuff from North Carolina, the rate is much higher than the above rates. For example, DEHAVENS (919-220-5441) in NC charges $1.48/lb for 500-700 lbs, and $1.35/lb for 701-1000 lbs. Several other local places have the same or higher rates. The good thing about these places is that their rates include door-to-door service. (2) Discount Shipping (Hey, let's gather more information on this!) There are some outrageously cheap shipping options for those who live in NY or other big cities. (See below.) (3) US Post Office The regular shipping service by the US-POST is much more expensive than the above mentioned shipping service, but their book shipping option, known as M-Bag, is the cheapest way (under any ordinary circumstances) to ship books from anywhere in the US to anywhere overseas. They charge only 72c per pound. Each bag has the minimum weight of 15lbs and the maximum weight of 66lbs. You can put books and periodicals in these bags. The regular printed matter is excluded from this service, although its rate is still lower than those for other materials. Time to Germany varies from 2-6 weeks, so plan ahead. But for the price, you can't beat it. It is especially good for shipments of books and notes. Other experiences: "I had about 800lbs of stuff to ship. I called several hauling companies and they would charge me between $1000-$1500. Almost as expensive as by mail. A friend gave me a number to call, where they charge only about $250 per cubic meter (it's in a container on a ship). I called them and they confirmed the price. I think you should get something similar from the east coast." --- "Don't know about NC, but if you can get your stuff to NYC, there is a guy called K.D. Marreck who does shipments to Germany for an outrageously cheap price (I shipped my 5 large boxes with books, printer, PC etc for $100). He cooperates with the German mover's company KUEHNE&NAGEL; I think what he does is he includes your handful of boxes in large containers paid for by companies doing large int'l shipments. First I was sort of suspicious since the warehouse, to which I had to take my boxes, was in one of the worst neighborhoods in NYC and looked rather run-down. But everything arrived complete and intact. Besides, I had gotten the address from the German consulate in NYC, so I guess this guy is not known as a crook. The address: KD Marreck Intl and Domestic Moving Services PO Box 43 Manhasset NY 11030 tel (516) 627-0845 fax 627-6143" --- "Contact PANALPINA in Washington DC. But make a conscienscious decision what you want to send. Basically the bulkier an item, the more expensive it is per pound." --- "My advice is to send as much stuff as you can through the mail, with the U.S. POSTAL SERVICE. Ask your local branch about book rates, and rates for sending things through surface mail. It may take a little longer to get your stuff once you are in Germany, but the savings are worth it." [3/95] 18.3.2. Cars "What I've learned is that to ship your car over, in very broad terms, there are two ways of going: 1) ship your car door-to-door with your furniture and 2) shipping it separately. I chose the latter because it is much less expensive. When they ship your car with your furniture, you need a big container and in my case that would have meant wasting a lot of space. Another thing I did to save money is to drop off my car at the port and pick it up at the port in Germany. Finally, I learned there are potentially two middle men on the sending side - the moving company and the freight forwarder. I decided to eliminate the moving company and go directly to the freight forwarder. The freight forwarder does things like store your car until the next shipment and fill out paper work. The one I used is called "SEA BRIDGE" in Baltimore. No matter which way you go you'll need three copies of your title notarized front and back. In my case, the freight forwarder is going to make those notarized copies for me. In my case the charge for sending my 1992 VW Jetta GL from Baltimore to Bremenhafen is $744 plus the insurance. The insurance costs 1.5 % the estimated value of your car. If I'd gone through the moving company, the insurance would have been 2.5% the value. I understand that when I go to pick up my car in Germany I'll need to pay some German port taxes. The agent at Sea Bridge advised me not to get an agent on the German side. He says that I could do the paper work myself in about 2 hours." --- "I shipped a car to Paris. There are three ways to do it. First, you can have the car sent on a car-carrier. This is the most expensive way. Would have cost me about $2000 to have the car delivered to Le Havre, France. Second choice, have the car shipped as if it were household goods - ie, in a 40 foot container. This way they deliver it to your city, and maybe even to your home. Cost runs about $1000. Final way, and the way I did it - I had the car shipped in the 40 foot container WITH my household goods. Ran me an extra $600 and I simply picked the car up at the shipper's warehouse in Paris. Call any major moving company for details. In Washington, try SECURITY STORAGE, VICTORY VAN, or COLONIAL STORAGE." --- "For shipping cars US --> EUROPE you can try SUNSHIP INTERNATIONAL Harry Zaki (?) 1-800-344-9428 Aug '92: $900" --- "[in 1992] I selected pick-up at home (in the US) and delivery to the harbour in Antwerp; it did cost around US$ 1000. I had it organised RAINIER MOVERS(?) (somewhere in Washington state); can recommend them." --- "Last year I shipped my Mazda from Portland, Oregon to Bremen, which the following costs: - Truck to San Francisco $250 - Schip from SFO to Bremen (via Panama) $800 - Handling in Bremen DM300 - Costums and Tax ("Umzugsgut!") zilch - remodeeling for Tuev DM600 Transport: BOSSI & CO. (USA) Inc., 80 Park Avenue, P.O. Box 69, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, tel (201) 659-4471, fax 659-4325. Costums: Since I had owned the car for more than 6 months, and my residence was in the US, I was excempted. Otherwise it would have been 15% tax, 10% costums (22% for pickups) based ont the value of the car. Insurace: my German insurance insured the car temporarily for remodelling. Remodelling: the car is a Mazda Miata, 1990. It's sold just the same in Germany. I had to change: bright lights to H4, turn signals separate from parking lights, brakelights need individual fuses." [3/95] 18.4. Buying a Car for Short Period instead of EuRail? [Summary of a thread from Fall 1993.] The overall tone of the responses was pessimistic. In particular: * REGISTRATION and INSURANCE are difficult to arrange for FOREIGNERS without residency * GAS is expensive * PARKING can be a hassle. Here are selected parts of the responses: Driving in Germany is not cheap! A tank of GAS that would cost you about $12 (~20 DM) in the USA would cost you about $50 there (~80 DM) in Germany (Assuming a rate of 1.60 DM per 1$.) --- If you don't buy a car from a dealer you do not pay VAT anyway. For that kind of money [DM 2000-2500, USD 1200-1500] don't bother about SHIPPING it to the States. It would be so old that it wouldn't have a catalytic converter. --- Your INSURANCE will be astronomical just because you're a foreigner. [...] You've also got to pay property TAXES on the car. That means you must have an address in Germany where you are "angemeldet" [residency]. There also may be some legal hang-ups against buying a car if you're just using it to travel. In addition to these thoughts, the BUYING process is also quite different. You can't just walk into a car dealer and come out with a car -- like you can in America. There's quite a bit of paper work that needs to be done before you can even test drive the car. You'll have to come back a couple of days later to do that and then afterwards you can negotiate the transaction. --- Primarily central parts of the CITIES are closed for cars. --- PARKING can be a hassle. --- To my knowledge, you have to be RESIDENT of the Fed. Rep. of Germany in order to REGISTER a car. [...] RESELLING the car can be quite a hassle. There are times (not particular seasons, though) when the market is not really in favor for sellers. [...] RENTING a car might be worth considering. --- It should be no problem to get a car which is still running for this price. Make sure it has some state inspection time left, otherwise it will not be REGISTERED. [...] You will need INSURANCE, of course. This is based on the hp of the car. For 40 hp it will be about 100 DM per month. You must also pay car TAX, this is based on the cc of the engine. For 1 liter is it about DM 200 per year. You get a refund, if you sell the car earlier for the unused time. --- I personally would not recommend buying a very cheap car, because it will likely BREAK DOWN. --- I would look for a REALLY CHEAP CAR (<1000 DM), which will last for the time you are in Germany. --- > Are there Mercedes diesels from the 70s that are reasonably priced? They are about DM 2000-6000 [USD 1200-4000] ... maybe more if in very good shape. --- I lived in Germany for over a year and one of the nicer things [...] about living there is the fact that you DON'T NEED a car. Addendum: In July/94 the insurance market will become more liberal (following an EU guide-line.) Whatever the consequences -- probably it's going to be more diverse and less transparent to the customers. # 18.5. What German Dictionaries are Available? (Deutsch-Deutsch!) # Der Brockhaus in einem Band: $39.95 (US) # Wahrig (Bertelsmann) $48.95 # Wahrig DTV Woerterbuch (paperbound) $21.95 # Deutsches Woerterbuch von H. Paul (Niemayer) $68.95 # Duden deutsches Universalwoerterbuch $49.95 # Knaurs grosses Woerterbuch der deutschen Sprache $45.95 # [4/95] 18.6. What German Books for Children? by Ottfried Preussler Die kleine Hexe Das kleine Gespenst Der starke Wanja Krabat Der kleine Wassermann by Max Kruse Urmel aus dem Eis (and more Urmel books) by Michael Ende Jim Knopf und Lukas, der Lokomotivfuehrer Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13 Die unendliche Geschichte Momo Der satanoluegenialalkohoellische Wunschpunsch by Erich Kaestner Das fliegende Klassenzimmer Emil und die Detektive Puenktchen und Anton der kleine Mann by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg Der kleine Vampir [10/94] # 18.7. How do I Find Out About my Family Name? Read the newsgroups soc.roots and soc.genealogy.german and get their FAQ list. Try the gopher site gopher://Alpha.CC.UToledo.edu:70/11GOPHER_ROOT%3a%5b RESEARCH-RESOURCES.genealogy%5d (make this one line!) You may also try to ftp to vm1.nodak.edu, which has a wealth of information about genealogy under subdirectory "roots-l". In the USA you may also want to... # 1. go to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints # (LDS.) and visit one of their Family History Centers (FHC) and # run a computer check to see if your family name appears # on the International Genealogical Index (IGI.) This may provide # you with the general kingdom, duchy, province, (whatever) where # your family name appears. It is then up to you to contact the # genealogical association from that area. [4/95] 2. be sure to check all available U.S. sources: local church records, citizenship papers, census reports, passenger lists, social security files, war records (civil, WWI, WWII, etc) which may list the origin of birth. [11/94] # # Also try to inquire at the "Deutsche Zentralstelle fuer Genealogie" # Kaethe Kollwitzstr. 82 # 04109 Leibzig # Germany # tel +49 341 401 1113 # The Center won't provide you with your family tree, but promises to # answer specific questions (the more specific, the better your # chances of success!) Their collection includes 100,000 personal # documents and 16,000 church registers (dating back to the sixteenth # century) and basic information on more than 1.4 million people # is available. # [4/95] 18.8. Studying at a German university Foreign students from a large number of countries who want to study AFTER HIGH SCHOOL at a German university or "Fachhhochschule" need to attend the "Studienkolleg" for two semesters and pass an examination. Tuition at a "Studienkolleg" is free. Information about "Studienkollegs" in Germany: Guenther Miklitz Studienkolleg fuer auslaendische Studierende an der Universitaet Bonn e-mail: usa000@ibm.rhrz.uni-bonn.de" [11/94] Although the German educational system is quite different from the US System (no degree until a Masters equivalent etc.), one can obtain a degree. The Persons you want to contact is the "Auslandsamt" (foreign office) of the involved universities. Usually it is easier to just go with an organized program. Especially since these programs usually guarantee some sort of credit transfer which is (depending on your home university) hard to impossible to get otherwise. Some programs also include special classes (sometimes in English, sometimes German classes for foreigners...) which will otherwise not be offered --- German students are supposed to find their own way through the "university jungle"... The big advantage of going alone is the financial aspect. Education in Germany is *free* i.e. students pay a nominal tuition of approx. $30 a semester for their education (plus books, living expenses and usually public transportation all of which adds up to an (estimated) $600-$900 a month, less in the eastern part of Germany). Students in Germany typically live in (shared) apartments, dorm rooms are only available for about 3-8% of the students (these numbers being higher in the east). Getting a dorm room is often included in organized programs, I suppose it will be hard to find one, if you're on your own, but your can always try. (Getting a dorm room will probably save approx $100/month.) [3/95] A specific remark: For students of subjects related to economy the AISEC organisation may be a valuable pointer! ? Any address available? 18.9. Upcoming Election dates? DATE STATE, KIND OF ELECTION PERIOD [YEARS] -- 1995 -- 14.05. Nordrhein-Westfalen, Landtag 5 Sep Bremen, Buergerschaft und Bezirksversammlung 4 Fall Berlin, Bezirksparlamente 4 Dec Berlin, Abgeordnetenhaus 4 -- 1996 -- Mar Bayern, Kommunal 6 May Rheinland-Pfalz, Landtag 5 Spring Baden-Wuerttemberg, Landtag 4 Schleswig-Holstein, Landtag 4 Fall Niedersachsen, Kommunal 5 -- 1997 -- Spring Hessen, Kommunal 4 Fall Hamburg, Buergerschaft und Bezirksversammlung 4 Dec Brandenburg, Kommunal 4 -- 1998 -- Spring Niedersachsen, Landtag 4 Schleswig-Holstein, Kommunal 4 Summer Sachsen, Landtag u. Kommunal 4 Brandenburg, Landtag 4 Sachsen-Anh, Landtag, Kommunal 4 Mecklenburg-Vorp., Kommunal 4 Fall Bundestagswahl 4 Mecklenburg-Vorp., Landtag 4 Bayern, Landtag 4 -- 1999 -- Spring 11.Bundesversammlung (Wahl des Bundespraesidenten) Hessen, Landtag 4 Summer Baden-Wuerttemberg, Kommunal 5 Rheinland-Pfalz, Kommunal 5 Saarland, Kommunal 5 Fall Europaeisches Parlament 5 Saarland, Landtag 5 Thueringen, Landtag 5 Nordrhein-Westfalen, Kommunal 5 -- 2000 -- Summer Thueringen, Kommunal 6 [3/95] -- * * *Q * *_/|- ralf vogelges@physics.purdue.edu / ! calvin-and-hobbesessed...