Stage 5 complete!
Luxembourg - TICK. Belgium - TICK. Next stop, Germany.
I don’t have too much time online so I’ll have to keep it brief, but thanks as ever go to all the folk on Couchsurfing who I’ve met and stayed with. Max, Sonia, Jacqueline and Clara in the last few days alone!
Over the next couple of weeks, I have a host in every major city I’m passing through as well as a couple of smaller towns. Gelsenkirchen is the only one where I’m struggling.
Luxembourg was very pretty (around 40% forest, I believe) and fairly flat aside from some uphill roads. Compared to the alps, these were pretty easy! Also, it’s not a bad country to walk through as most of the minor roads - best for walking along - run parallel to or meander around the more major ones. This makes navigation pretty easy when you’re walking without a map like *ahem* me.
Belgium is as nice as ever though the area around Liege seems to have a different “feel” to that near Brussels and Mons. Maybe it’s the weather or something. I’m looking forward to Germany, though I might pick up a small phrasebook before I get there as I simply don’t know the language. I’m glad to say I’ve gotten by with my limited French pretty well through the last three countries but I don’t think it’ll serve me well in Deutchland!
September 10th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Bitte - Please
Danke - Thank you
Guten Tag - Good Day
A few key ones to help you along!!!
German is one I do know, S
September 10th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
If you are who I think you are, S, then German is just *another* one you know! I do know those ones, though. Enough to be polite, but not enough to ask directions etc. That’s why I’ll need the phrase book.
September 10th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
lol, I don’t think its who you think it is… you did say you wanted more comments the other day though
Ich bin mude (moooda) I am tired
Wo ist … Where is?
Just remember that its a lot like English, but they string huge words together.
Take care S
September 10th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
And:
Bitte eine hamburger und cola
(one hamburger and coke please - especially useful in Burger King)
pomme frites (cheaps)
Otherwise tell Germans that you are Scottish (even if you are Geordie). They will love you
September 10th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
And, under no circumstances (!) do not tell them about ‘cutting mosquito’ or something like that.
I don’t believe it is a polite sentence that will make you a lot of friends… Unless…
September 10th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
A really useful one:
Krankenschwester! (nurse!)
Ich benötige Krankenschwester (I need nurse!)
This will bring you a female one ;)))
September 10th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
and the last one.
Do not try go inventive and do anything against their ‘order’.
They are really… Germans when it is coming to law…
Take care and have fun and lots of fab German bear and food.
September 10th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
sorry… beer I mean :-/
September 11th, 2007 at 7:05 am
And I’ve just saw where the stage five finishes and how much (or not!) is left still to walk
:))))))))))))
There is this small chance you will be back in UK before mid Oct.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
S - twigged who you are, sorry. Stayed with another “S” recently and she speaks at least three languages!
G - you have too much spare time and a dictionary I wish I could borrow. I can’t find a small phrasebook here.