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GERMANY
- COSTS, MONEY AND BANKS |
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Despite the cost of unification,
Germany is still one of the world's
most industrialized and wealthiest
consumer societies, and its
currency, the Deutschmark (DM) was
one by which international financial
standards were set. However, it was
replaced by the euro, along with ten
other European currencies, in 2002.
Although a pet German project, the
new currency failed to win the
confidence of the international
financial markets, and the once
mighty Deutschmark spent its final
years declining steadily in value.
Another point to note is that
Germany is a cash society: people
carry money with them, rather than
rely on credit cards. Outside the
major cities, it's a surprisingly
affordable country to travel in,
with the reasonable price of food
and accommodation in popular holiday
areas helping keep costs down.
The euro
Germany is one of twelve European
Union countries which have changed
over to a single currency, the euro
(?). All prices are given in
euros.
Euro notes are issued in denominations
of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500
euros, and coins in denominations
of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents
and 1 and 2 euros.
Costs
If you're prepared to cut every
corner by staying in youth hostels
or campsites, and never eating
out, you could get by on as little
as DM70/?35 (just over £20/$30)
per day, though DM100-150/?50-75
is a more realistic budget on
which to enjoy yourself properly.
Should you have the means to spend
a bit more than that, you will be
able to live really well. Bear in
mind that visiting cities will
cost far more than staying in the
countryside - a gap that is
widening - and that a trip to
Berlin is guaranteed to knock a
large hole in any budget. If you
intend to base yourself mainly in
one or two rural areas - even ones
as famous as the Alps or Black
Forest - as opposed to travelling
around a lot, you should be able
to reduce the above figures by a
quarter.
Accommodation costs per
person can be confined to an
average of about DM25-30/?12.50-15
per day for youth hostels, around
DM30-40/?15-20 for rooms in
private houses and around
DM40-60/?20-30 for guesthouses,
pensions and the more basic
hotels: double rooms cost on
average a bit less than twice the
above rates. Food prices in
shops are slightly lower than in
Britain, and eating out is
markedly cheaper at every level -
except for the scarcity of bargain
lunches. North Americans, however,
will find prices slightly higher
than at home, as will Australians
and New Zealanders. Snack bars
abound, and for
aroundDM10-15/?5-7.50 you can put
together a very filling meal.
DM25-30/?12.50-15 should buy a
hearty German meal plus drink in a
traditional Gaststätte, while a
decent dinner in a more upmarket
restaurant can be had for around
DM35-40/?17.50-20. Drink is
marginally more expensive than in
Britain, Australia or the US, but
the quality, especially of the
beer, is significantly higher.
Though seldom a major expense, admission
charges for museums vary
markedly, and tend to reflect
whether the relevant authority
regards them as a social service
or an exploitable asset, rather
than their intrinsic quality.
Moreover, temporary exhibitions do
not always have separate entrance
fees: often the normal cost of
admission is bumped up instead.
The free museum, which was quite
common in western Germany a decade
ago, is now a rarity. Historic
monuments tend to charge around
DM3-10/?1.50-5, comparing
favourably with similar places in
Britain, Australia and the US.
Wherever you go, a student card
usually brings a reduction in
admission costs, often
substantial. It's always worth
asking about combination tickets
or museum passes to several sights
in the same city, which bring
substantial savings.
Public transport is the
one area where prices are likely
to present a problem. A single
fare within a city, for example,
is generally around DM3/?1.50,
while a sample single train fare
from Munich to Frankfurt would be
DM147/?73.50. The only ways in
which you can soften these costs
are to use rail and other passes,
confine your travel to a limited
area or make use of the organized
hitching alternative, the Mitfahrzentralen.
Currency and the exchange rate
The German currency is the Deutschmark
, which comes in notes of
DM5 (rarely encountered), DM10,
DM20, DM50, DM100, DM200, DM500
and DM1000; and coins of
DM0.01 (one Pfennig), DM0.02,
DM0.05, DM0.10, DM0.50, DM1, DM2
and DM5. The exchange rate for the
Deutschmark is fixed at DM1.96 to
the euro.
Throughout the Rough Guide
, prices are given in both
Deutschmarks and euros, using a
straight two to one conversion.
However, it is fair to anticipate
that the introduction of the new
currency will lead to prices being
rounded upwards far more often
than downwards, so expect to pay a
bit more than the amounts quoted.
Credit cards, changing money and
banks
Unusually, for such a
consumer-oriented society, credit
cards are little used in
Germany, at least by British,
American or Australian standards.
Though they are growing in
popularity, plenty of shops and
restaurants still do not accept
them.
Where they do come into their
own, however, is for obtaining cash
advances , and this is now by
far the quickest and most
convenient means of changing
money. Provided you have a
Personal Identification Number
(PIN), there's no longer any need
to go to a bank counter to make
this transaction, as ATM machines
accepting a wide range of credit
cards are now ubiquitous features
of German shopping streets, even
in quite small towns. Mostly, they
are just holes-in-the-wall outside
banks, though some are located in
secure areas which require a swipe
of the card to gain admission. The
machines invariably offer the
option of instructions in German
or English, and sometimes other
languages as well. Typically, you
are offered a choice of sums of
money which can be withdrawn; the
upper limit is normally DM500/?250
or DM600/?300, though there is
often the possibility of
requesting more. American
Express card holders can take
advantage of the full range of
that company's facilities in the
major cities.
In comparison to credit cards, travellers'
cheques now seem a cumbersome
option, though they remain a safe
and reliable way of carrying
money. Theoretically, they can be
cashed in any bank or exchange
office, though banks in small
towns can be very choosy about
which travellers' cheques they
will accept, often refusing even
some of the best-known names. In
contrast to the United States,
very few stores accept them in
lieu of cash.
Banking hours are Monday
to Friday 9am to noon and 1.30 to
3.30pm, with late opening on
Thursday until 6pm. In the cities,
these hours are often extended and
you'll always find at least one
bank open on a Saturday morning,
as well as the Postbank in
the main post office. If you're on
a tight budget, it may be worth
shopping around several banks
(including the savings banks or Sparkassen
), as the amount of commission
deducted varies. Commission tends
to be charged at a flat rate,
meaning that small-scale
transactions are not
cost-effective.
Exchange facilities for
cash and travellers' cheques can
be found in virtually all high
street banks as well as in
commercial exchange shops called Wechselstuben
, usually located near stations
and airports, though often also in
city centers, on the main shopping
street. The Reisebank has
branches in the train stations of
most main cities; these are
generally open seven days a week,
and until quite late in the
evening.
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