83
votes
Friends girlfriend's parents preventing her from returning to UK from the UAE (Abu-Dhabi)
This is not an answer but (IMO) too important for a comment: you really need to run the specifics of this case by a lawyer that's an expert in UAE law & customs. This is already a precarious ...
- 91.1k
40
votes
Accepted
How can remove unnecessary connections using bahn.de?
I didn't find a way to tell DB to book a certain train. However, I found a solution to your specific journey, because it is indeed possible to select / deselect certain train types only for parts of ...
- 4,296
36
votes
Accepted
German guesthouse asking for date of birth
It is required by the German law to obtain such information from guests (source):
Meldescheine
Durch den § 30 kommen die Besonderen Meldescheine für
Beherbergungsbetriebe ins Spiel. Diese sind auf ...
- 801
33
votes
What does ggf reserviert mean on DB trains?
“ggf.” stands for gegebenenfalls or “possibly”. It means the seat has been set aside in the railway booking system for last minute reservations. The official website recommends not sitting there ...
- 104k
31
votes
Friends girlfriend's parents preventing her from returning to UK from the UAE (Abu-Dhabi)
I fully agree with the answer that a lawyer is going to be necessary to do anything here, but first your friend needs to establish something very clearly which is:
Is your friend's girlfriend actually ...
- 63.8k
30
votes
What does "Ruhebereich" (quiet zone) mean on German ICE trains?
Here's what DB says about them:
Ruhebereich
Für Fahrgäste, die sich mehr Ruhe und Entspannung wünschen, haben wir unsere Ruhezonen optimiert. Sie befinden sich entweder in Abteilen, den ICE Lounges (...
- 11.8k
29
votes
Travel from Munich to Scotland avoiding flight
Maybe not the cheapest but possibly the quickest, easiest, and most comfortable is by train. Munich to Paris. Paris to London via Eurostar through the tunnel. London to Edinburgh.
You can ...
- 6,461
27
votes
My cancelled flight caused me to overstay my visa and now my visa application was rejected
Actually, you did overstay. Your best defense is that it was negligent rather than intentional, but you are responsible for reading the regulations. For the benefit of other readers of this Q&A:
...
- 35.8k
27
votes
Booked Lufthansa Flight + Train, where do I go for baggage reclaim?
To supplement @deceze's answer,
I fly with similar connections in Frankfurt frequently. The baggage is inconsistently routed to the air terminal baggage claim or the rail terminal baggage claim. I ...
- 371
26
votes
Accepted
Overstayed Schengen visa by 1 day because of delayed flight, consequences?
So I'm at airport right now past the passport control. The guy on passport control told me that it's a criminal offense that I have overstayed and I will need to write a report. He gave my passport to ...
- 129k
21
votes
How can I know if a seat reservation on ICE would be useful?
If you use DB's online search (reiseauskunft.bahn.de), you will see an estimate right underneath the travel times.
Orthogonal to your question title, but given that you debate getting a reservation, ...
- 4,296
21
votes
Accepted
Are there any (non-touristic) stations in Germany that cannot be reached by the Deutschland Ticket?
The Bahnhof Limburg Süd is only served by ICE trains, so you can not take a train to that station on the Deutschlandticket. It is, however, served by some local buses, so it is possible to visit the ...
- 13.1k
20
votes
Accepted
Frankfurt to Prague layover in Schwandorf
I am not sure why the other answerers can't find your connection. I suppose you are aiming for one of the connections leaving Frankfurt hh:53 (hh being an even hour) by ICE, then with a connection in ...
- 53.6k
20
votes
Gifts in luggage
The rules for importing goods to Germany as a traveller are here. Since none of the special categories apply to the goods you've brought (ie, they are not tobacco or alcohol) and you are travelling by ...
- 14.7k
20
votes
Can I enter Germany as a tourist without a return flight with my German husband and kids and apply for family reunion visa there?
will they accept that I'm eligible for a Family Reunion Visa
Citizens of certain countries may apply for a residence permit while in Germany.
New Zealand is one of these countries.
You enter Germany ...
- 23.8k
20
votes
Accepted
Is there any way to find the distance covered by a train in a particular rail route between two stations?
You can use a routing engine that allows routing on the train network.
E.g. bikerouter.de will do the job as long as all the tracks are available in OpenStreetMap. It usually needs some fine tuning to ...
- 3,211
19
votes
Is there a passport control at Hamburg Airport or at German airports?
Norway and Germany are both in the Schengen Area, so there should be no systematic checks for immigration purposes. However:
There can be random spot checks
Both have announced the temporary ...
- 67.1k
19
votes
Accepted
Does one need to buy tickets in advance for Deutsche Bahn train?
You need to buy the train ticket before entering the train (the option to buy it online is switched off around departure; and only on some trains you are allowed to buy the ticket onboard against an ...
- 1,936
17
votes
How can remove unnecessary connections using bahn.de?
Sabine's answer is clever and seems to solve your problem, but, in general, if you're trying to book a train ticket and the website simply isn't doing what you want, you can also try calling Deutsche ...
- 13.1k
17
votes
Accepted
Who counts as a pupil or as a student in Germany?
It is difficult to give a short and consistent English translation of the German words Schüler (here, translated as pupil) and Student (translated as student). The English words pupil and student are ...
- 53.6k
17
votes
Travel from Munich to Scotland avoiding flight
As usual The man in seat 61 has lots of advice on the subject.
See the section London to Stuttgart & Munich which gives 4 options to London:
TGV to Paris, Eurostar to London
ICE to Cologne, ...
- 67.1k
16
votes
Have I been deported from Germany? Can l apply for study Visa in UK
However, the German immigration authorities did refuse the extension of my residence permit and l was ordered to leave. I obeyed the order, paid my flight expenses myself and left country within the ...
- 23.8k
16
votes
Travel from Munich to Scotland avoiding flight
The comfortable route, if you can sleep on a train:
NightJet 468 from Munich East to Paris.
EuroStar from Paris to London
Caledonian Sleeper from London to Glasgow/Edinburgh/Inverness/Aberdeen/Fort ...
- 1,689
14
votes
What does "Ruhebereich" (quiet zone) mean on German ICE trains?
Don't expect anything. It's sad but true; if I had time to think about it, I would probably come up with dozens of examples where Germans just ignore rules that are not enforced by anyone.
I'm not ...
- 4,296
14
votes
Overstayed Schengen visa by 1 day because of delayed flight, consequences?
FWIW, you will technically be overstaying and violating the visa conditions even if it is because you missed your outbound flight. It is for this reason never a good idea to fully utilize a visa and ...
- 53.6k
14
votes
Can I enter Germany as a tourist without a return flight with my German husband and kids and apply for family reunion visa there?
I can add my personal experience having been in a very similar situation.
My wife and I are US citizens, and she started a job in Germany a few months ago. She applied for an EU Blue Card while still ...
- 443
14
votes
Accepted
Accidently drove through Umweltzone Munich without sticker
There's no automated checking. This would require a database of license plates storing whether the requirements for the sticker are fulfilled, and this doesn't exist.
Umweltzone violations are mostly ...
- 2,995
13
votes
Is there any way to find the distance covered by a train in a particular rail route between two stations?
One option if you know with lines we’re used (there are sometimes many options from A to B) is to use Wikipedia and a calculator.
At least in France, but this is probably true elsewhere, Wikipedia has ...
- 67.1k
12
votes
German guesthouse asking for date of birth
Is this request for personal information a legal requirement and/or normal practice for guesthouses in Germany?
Yes, it is normal after your arrival to fill on a special registration form, that will ...
- 23.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Uber in Germany (esp. Cologne and Frankfurt)
Uber is available in Cologne. Those answers provided by google should always be taken with a hefty pinch of salt - if you click through you'll see that the source for the quote in your first ...
- 11.8k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible