Postby garyb » Wed May 31, 2023 10:04 pm
I'm back! Time for a trip and language report.
Vienna
I loved it. It exceeded my expectations. Good size city, lots of culture and things to do, and it just seemed like a place where people enjoy life. I can see why it's been famously ranked as the best city to live in (and I have a friend who's been living there for a few years and whom I met up with one day, so I did get to hear a resident's perspective). I also got very lucky with the weather (maybe a bit too lucky the day it reached thirty degrees and I started to struggle, but I can't complain!) so got to make the most of the many outdoor activities. Amongst other things it's a great place for cycling (not quite up to Dutch standards, but light years ahead of where I live!) and watersports in the Old Danube.
On the higher culture side, I practised my Italian a bit at the Staatsoper (not that operatic Italian is very useful or even very comprehensible for me); they sell cheap standing tickets a couple of hours before shows start, but I'd advise getting a seat in advance if you can: standing was just a bit too much after a day of walking around exploring, especially in that weather. And I loved the Albertina museum.
Four nights there weren't enough. I could've spent weeks. Hell, I could live there. It's maybe my favourite city, or at least in the top three.
Only complaints are that the kebabs weren't as good as ones I've had in Germany, and the Naschmarkt is mostly a tourist trap with little interesting to offer. Which these markets often are, but earlier today I was at the Viktualienmarkt in Munich which was a lot more reasonable and varied.
Salzburg
A smaller town, but again not short on things to do, and it's surrounded by mountains and lakes easily reachable by bus so a great base for day trips. I also found that I met more like-minded travellers there, while in the bigger cities it was mainly just younger people wanting to get drunk and party. Which I did too at their age, but it's not really why I travel now. Again I could've spent longer there just because of all the nearby nature.
Munich
It seemed a bit meh after I had enjoyed the other two places so much. I'm not sure why exactly since it's beautiful and has plenty to offer, but it felt kinda like when you go on a date with someone who sounds amazing on paper but the sparks just don't fly. Maybe it's just because it was the last stop on my trip and I was starting to get tired, it's the kind of big city where a lot of your time is taken up just getting between places, and things were a bit overpriced. Two fairly laid-back days felt like plenty, and on my third day I took a day trip to Nuremberg.
One big highlight however was the Deutsches Museum, which was recommended to me and did not disappoint. Probably the best science and technology museum I've seen, and it even had a section on musical instruments. Another good tip I got is that some other museums only cost one euro on Sundays, so I checked a few out (although sadly the one I was most keen on, the Neue Pinakothek, was temporarily closed). And I had the obligatory visit to the Hofbräuhaus, as well as enjoying some other fine Bavarian beer, sausages, and asparagus.
Again though, it felt like a place where people simply enjoy life and spending time outdoors. The huge Englischer Garten exemplified that.
Speaking German
My experiences of trying to speak German were encouraging! Especially in Austria (maybe that's the secret for learning German: go to Austria rather than Germany!) but also in Bavaria. I've heard all these accounts of everyone switching to English upon hearing any imperfection or accent, but that just wasn't my experience. I'd say that around three in four times the interaction continued in German and people only switched to English once it became apparent that I wasn't understanding well or was struggling to find words - which, to be fair, did happen quite quickly and quite often. That's already a far better hit rate than my last trip to Italy, as well as much of my experience with French and Spanish, despite my German being a good few CEFR levels lower!
Even if I started in English because I didn't feel up to the task in German, it was fairly common for the other person to change to German, either right away or sometime during the interaction! This happened particularly with ice cream sellers, which I had also experienced in Berlin a few years ago, before I even knew more than a few words. So, purely in the interest of science and language learning of course, I bought a few more ice creams at different places and can indeed confirm that buying ice cream is a good way to practise your German. I suppose I'll just have to keep using that method.
It seemed like German speakers simply have a pragmatic attitude towards non-native speakers, based on their ability to use the language rather than their accent or appearance or even confidence. As well as stereotypical German practicality, it might well also be because non-natives speaking good German is pretty common nowadays: immigrants, foreign students, and even just enthusiastic learners like the ones from the meetup. I heard quite a few other non -native speakers interacting with customer service people in German without issues, including ones with obvious accents like American and French.
But still, these are just my experiences and I don't want to deny those of all the people who do say that everyone switches to English, and I may well have had some "beginner's luck" (i.e. natives being more kind with beginners than with advanced learners, which I've again experienced in my other languages). Or maybe my personality and demeanour just suit German more than Romance languages and people sense that - which sounds a bit silly but to be honest I do kinda feel that way... German even with my basic level somehow feels a bit more "me". And I know that it can vary wildly between different parts of a country, not necessarily even based on how touristy they are.
I also know that social interactions are a whole different ball game from customer service ones, and I can't comment on those yet. I did meet a few German-speakers in hostels, but always in groups with non-speakers so English was used, and my level still feels too low to bother trying outside of a meetup or lesson-type environment.
Even my basic knowledge made a huge difference to my trip. A lot of the info on places to visit, especially outside of the main attractions, was only in German or at least much more complete in German. Announcements were often only in German, or more detailed in German. Some museum exhibits were only in German. And as usual, being able to pick up significant bits of conversations going on around me just makes things a little more interesting.
Going to that meetup before the trip was definitely a good idea, just to warm up and to nip the Spanish interference in the bud.
As could be expected, I'm now feeling keener than ever to get my German past the basics, fill in gaps in everyday language, and gain more confidence. And the semi-immersion on my trip has no doubt given it a boost. Let's just hope I can keep it up; even with high motivation, life getting in the way could be a killer. But the trip has been another of these reminders that there's more to life than work and I feel happier when I have more balance and I'm able to pursue my passions. Not just languages, but also: the nature and outdoor parts; being in places where I felt that people live well; music (classical music is as big part of Austrian culture as I had imagined, and the hostels I stayed in had guitars that guests could play and I practised more than I had done at home for a few weeks!), meeting people who lead interesting lives; and just taking things more slowly in general.
10 x