Hi All
We are thinking of spending a week in Bavaria (Ruhpolding) in June or July this year. The only thing that is worrying me slightly is that some reviews I have read say that you really need to be able to speak German to get the best out of the area. I am perfectly happy to dig out my phrasebook but I know from experience that this will only be of limited use. So can anyone who's been to this area clarify if our lack of German language skills is likely to be a huge problem or whether we'll be able to get by with a phrasebook and some enthusiastic pointing? I speak French and Russian - are either of them likely to be more widely spoken than English?
I can't say I've ever seen Russian in use in Bavaria and the only bits of French were in multi lingual information that also had English.
Full English printed info isn't that common outside the bigger cities but plenty of people speak it so if you keep things simple (ie don't talk like a 1950s newsreader!) and obvious it shouldn't be a problem. The good thing about German is that it is a language built up out of basic blocks so as you learn smaller words the bigger ones start to become obvious. And the first block to learn is Not - which means emergency and can confuse the English when it appears on signs. Ruhpolding's visitor website is available in English at http://www.ruhpolding.de then click EN at the top right.
How are you planning to get around? You need to get out into the surrounding area and we do know of cheap and easy ways of using public transport.
Full English printed info isn't that common outside the bigger cities but plenty of people speak it so if you keep things simple (ie don't talk like a 1950s newsreader!) and obvious it shouldn't be a problem. The good thing about German is that it is a language built up out of basic blocks so as you learn smaller words the bigger ones start to become obvious. And the first block to learn is Not - which means emergency and can confuse the English when it appears on signs. Ruhpolding's visitor website is available in English at http://www.ruhpolding.de then click EN at the top right.
How are you planning to get around? You need to get out into the surrounding area and we do know of cheap and easy ways of using public transport.
Hi Corinne 76
Congratulations on choosing such a beautiful part of the world. We had a week in Ruhpolding last Sept/Oct and it was simply fantastic. Gorgeous place, fabulous scenery, walks, culture etc. We cannot speak German, like you just have the phrase book but we managed to get by. The staff in the tourist office were very helpful and could speak English. Some of the restaurants also had English version of menus and we found most of the places we went we were able to communicate.
The only thing we weren't prepared for was the lack of "visa" use over there. We usually use our Nationwide credit and debit card for holidays, both of which are visa. On the first night we went to get our first lot of cash and the first bank we went in had a notice on the ATMs that Visa wasn't accepted. Major panic as we had our accommodation to pay for
. However the next morning we visited the other bank which did take Visa. Alot of the shops took cash only or maestro. Our problem was made worse as KLM lost our luggage for half of our week so we had to spend more than we planned in buying clothes and toiletries.
I did ask in a shop why Visa wasn't used much and was told that Visa charge the shops an extortionate fee for the facility and they don't get enough transactions to warrant the fee. Probably backed up that it is mainly German tourists that visit area and Germans tend not to use credit cards.
If there is anything else you need to know please just ask and I will try and help
Congratulations on choosing such a beautiful part of the world. We had a week in Ruhpolding last Sept/Oct and it was simply fantastic. Gorgeous place, fabulous scenery, walks, culture etc. We cannot speak German, like you just have the phrase book but we managed to get by. The staff in the tourist office were very helpful and could speak English. Some of the restaurants also had English version of menus and we found most of the places we went we were able to communicate.
The only thing we weren't prepared for was the lack of "visa" use over there. We usually use our Nationwide credit and debit card for holidays, both of which are visa. On the first night we went to get our first lot of cash and the first bank we went in had a notice on the ATMs that Visa wasn't accepted. Major panic as we had our accommodation to pay for
. However the next morning we visited the other bank which did take Visa. Alot of the shops took cash only or maestro. Our problem was made worse as KLM lost our luggage for half of our week so we had to spend more than we planned in buying clothes and toiletries.I did ask in a shop why Visa wasn't used much and was told that Visa charge the shops an extortionate fee for the facility and they don't get enough transactions to warrant the fee. Probably backed up that it is mainly German tourists that visit area and Germans tend not to use credit cards.
If there is anything else you need to know please just ask and I will try and help
Hi Both
Thanks very much for all this info. We are currently in the middle of moving house so haven't booked anything yet but if we do I'll be back with some further questions.
Thanks very much for all this info. We are currently in the middle of moving house so haven't booked anything yet but if we do I'll be back with some further questions.
Unfortunately we didn't make it to Ruhpolding last year but I am now looking into going there this June. I've had a poke around some websites and I can see that there are a couple of cable cars in the area and a indoor swimming pool but I'd like to know what else there is to see and do. Any suggestions?
hHi Corinne
Have you had a look at http://www.Ruhpolding.de click on EN (top right) for English language pages. Will you be hiring a car? if so you are within easy reach of Salzburg or Chiemsee ( a large lake) though without a car I'm sure you can get a tour to either of these places. Herrenchiemsee (one of King Ludwig's castles)on the lake is well worth a visit. Berchtesgaden is also within reach if you have a car, where you can visit the Salt MInes, take a ride up to The Eagles Nest(Kehlsteinhaus) and/or a boatride on Königssee to St. Bartholomä.
Judith
Have you had a look at http://www.Ruhpolding.de click on EN (top right) for English language pages. Will you be hiring a car? if so you are within easy reach of Salzburg or Chiemsee ( a large lake) though without a car I'm sure you can get a tour to either of these places. Herrenchiemsee (one of King Ludwig's castles)on the lake is well worth a visit. Berchtesgaden is also within reach if you have a car, where you can visit the Salt MInes, take a ride up to The Eagles Nest(Kehlsteinhaus) and/or a boatride on Königssee to St. Bartholomä.
Judith
When we were there for our week we didn't have a car so relied on public transport ie trains to get out and about to different places. We also did lots of walking in and around Ruhpolding.
We went to the lake at Chiemsee (by train) but was quite disappointed with it as it felt very lacking in something. Had a morning shopping in Traunstein (by train) as we needed to get some clothes and toiletries.
We did both the cable cars and can highly recommend this. There are also lots of walks once you get to the top of the mountains.
Our week was hindered due to us waiting around the first few days for luggage therefore we did not do as much as we had planned.
We went to the lake at Chiemsee (by train) but was quite disappointed with it as it felt very lacking in something. Had a morning shopping in Traunstein (by train) as we needed to get some clothes and toiletries.
We did both the cable cars and can highly recommend this. There are also lots of walks once you get to the top of the mountains.
Our week was hindered due to us waiting around the first few days for luggage therefore we did not do as much as we had planned.
For trips by public transport you need to see http://www.bahnland-bayern.de/bahnland-tickets/bayern-ticket - the map only shows the rail routes, buses would make it unreadable!
A €29 Bayern Ticket covers a group of up to 5 people for virtually all public transport in Bavaria after 9am Mon-Friday and all day weekends and public holidays. That price is only at the easy to use ticket machines, there is a slight surcharge at ticket offices.
Includes all regional trains in Bavaria (leaflets are branded DB but all operators are covered). This means the journey between Munich airport to Ruhpolding can be done quite easily as long as it's after the 9am threshold on weekdays.
All underground and trams in big cities, like Munich.
All normal scheduled buses, city and regional, in Bavaria
Regular BLB trains crossing the border from Freilassing to Salzburg main station (the previous station Salzburg Mülln/Altstadt is closer to the old town).
Does not include Intercity/Eurocity/Railjet trains, buses to Austria after the border (you can use it to the border then pay the extra). Usually doesn't include special tourist buses such as those that link town centres to a place of interest on the outskirts although several will do discounts and one route just asks for the toll on one section of mountain road.
The free Ruhploding Xtra card you should get when you arrive also covers some local bus routes.
A €29 Bayern Ticket covers a group of up to 5 people for virtually all public transport in Bavaria after 9am Mon-Friday and all day weekends and public holidays. That price is only at the easy to use ticket machines, there is a slight surcharge at ticket offices.
Includes all regional trains in Bavaria (leaflets are branded DB but all operators are covered). This means the journey between Munich airport to Ruhpolding can be done quite easily as long as it's after the 9am threshold on weekdays.
All underground and trams in big cities, like Munich.
All normal scheduled buses, city and regional, in Bavaria
Regular BLB trains crossing the border from Freilassing to Salzburg main station (the previous station Salzburg Mülln/Altstadt is closer to the old town).
Does not include Intercity/Eurocity/Railjet trains, buses to Austria after the border (you can use it to the border then pay the extra). Usually doesn't include special tourist buses such as those that link town centres to a place of interest on the outskirts although several will do discounts and one route just asks for the toll on one section of mountain road.
The free Ruhploding Xtra card you should get when you arrive also covers some local bus routes.
Thanks for the replies everyone - it definitely sounds like somewhere we would like but I've got some other ideas in the pipeline too. If we do go then I will let you know how we get on.
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