I'm going to Germany for a few days. Can anyone tell me what to expect?

I was an exchange student there in High School. Germans as a whole are very friendly. BUT, they are not so to strangers. In fact you address a german differently depending on the amount of familiarity you have with the individuals...literally, the pronouns and titles are different. But, once a German comes to know you as a rule, you have a loyal friend for life.

The food is sort of heavy stuff, we eat lighter meals here in the states. The Beer is absolutely, the best in the world. On this I don't care what anyone says. Some tips would be to learn how to address Germans both formally and informally. Try using their language to them. Even if you butcher the hell out of it, you will show them your effort and it will go a ways towards gaining their respect. They are proud people. Honor to them is important so don't pick a battle you are not sure you will win. They are impressed by honest effort and courtesy. They make the first move to friendship and will wait for your response. Be polite, hang back and go with the flow. You will see they are a wonderful and surprisingly warm people.

Hi I am from germany and I can tell you A LOT, Well first of all I have to disagree with Nick: Germans are generally known not to be most friendly ppl on this planet. Especially when you go to a restaurant dont always expect the overly friendly service you get here in the states. Us germans we also have a sometimes weird sense of humor. We get a bit suspecious, when strangers are too nice to us for example: I realized in the U.S. it's "normal" to say "How are you doing?" as a HELLO. Not common in germany!!! Kinda like "Who are you to ask me that?".
Me personally of course I love love love our food but for most americans that I know who went to germany it took 'em a while to get used to it. I dont know if you'll be interessted at all in the night life: IT'S AWESOME!!!! Clubs and bars dont close at 2.00 am some of'em are even open til the last guest decides to leave. And of course if you want to go sight seeing...Germany is one of the best places to go for that. You can learn sooo much about international history in very little time! Out of all the americans I know who've been in germany (wether for vaca or stationed there) 80% of'em loved it and dont want to go back to the states and the other 20% hated it so so much but that's their own fault, cause they didnt get to see alot...only one night club after the other and I'm pretty sure if that is all you know about a country it seems boring. I read that you are going to Berlin...well I've only been in Berlin once and only for 4 days. Well I hope I was able to help out a bit...let me know how it went.

An AMAZING xperience for sure! I spent a few days in Germany last summer (12 days traveling Europe). It was such an awesome experience! Some Germans however (no offense) seem to come across as 'rude' and 'impolite' towards travelers, they are also NOT afraid to tell you how they feel! Aside from this fact, many of them speak enough English to be able to interact with you and many of them are very open to travelers. So I wish you the best of luck on this most amazing trip and I hope that you have a wonderful time! :)

patatoes, beer and krauti:-)

I don't know where exactly in Germany you will be going, but you can expect mostly friendly and open-minded people, many of whom speak English well enough for you to get along. And, given the current exchange rate of Euro and Dollar, you can expect that prices will be a bit high.

Be cautious because Germans are used to eat foreigners on the spot.

Depends on what part you are going to go to. Each part is very different.

Uhm.. im also visiting for my third time in like eight years. From what i can remember it was amazing. I had alot of fun and the senery is absolutely STUNNING! I hope you and I both have an awesum time. =)

I love Germany. Been to Berlin, Dresden, Cologne, Frankfurt of course, Munich, and several other cities; and also to a village called Nattenheim, near Bitburg AFB.

Germans are NICE. They'll help you, but they may or may not smile. They aren't as smile-y as Americans are, and yes, as Fruity said, if they don't approve of what you're doing, they won't hesitate to tell you. BUT some Germans might come to your table in a biergarten, strike up a conversation, and ask to sit down with you. (This is great fun, when this happens.) The weather is about like the weather in, say, Kansas. Warm in summer, snow in winter - in April it'll probably be pretty nice weather.

There are a few differences in culture/behavior from place to place. Munich is pretty different from Hamburg - both very cool in their own way.

Berlin has so much to do and see. We were thrilled with Museum Island and the many other museums in this historic and modern city. If you can manage it, go to Dresden too, and see the things that have been rebuilt to the original pre-WW II specifications. I love the Frauenkirche, the main Protestant cathedral there.

I could go on! We've been there several times and we'll visit again. I hope you do, too. HAVE FUN!!