# German Dopers: Karlsruhe **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412 "2015-01-09T17:03:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Idilia\_Dubb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c2a13f/32.png) [@Idilia\_Dubb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idilia_Dubb)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/21 "2015-01-09T23:21:11Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Then I propose Cologne. Granted, it’s in my best interest cause it’s close to me. But it was already supposed in this thread (the cathedral!), is about in the center of Germany and has [great museums](http://www.museenkoeln.de/home/pages/2374.aspx?s=2374). The Roman Museum next to the cathedral is one of my favorite museums in the world! I love the idea of meeting in Koeln! (Can’t do the umlaut on this keyboard, sorry.) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/22 "2015-01-09T23:44:19Z")
> [@Idilia\_Dubb](#): > > The Roman Museum next to the cathedral is one of my favorite museums in the world! I love the idea of meeting in Koeln! (Can’t do the umlaut on this keyboard, sorry.) Ok, you’re still new here, so I welcome you to the concept of unrelenting nitpicking: it’s the [Romano-Germanic-Museum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romano-Germanic_Museum) :): Besides the Roman stuff, there’s also Germanic. I’ve never spend more hours in a museum than here. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/23 "2015-01-10T01:45:40Z")
> [@Idilia\_Dubb](#): > > You mostly won’t be called Frau Doktorin in the sense of being the wife of Dr. Black unless you run across some very old-fashioned people. That usage pretty much vanished in the '80’s and '90’s. If you have a doctorate yourself, you’ll also be Doktor Black in your own right. Or sometimes Doktorin Black, though the militant feminists don’t like it (the “-in” suffix) much. They think it’s infantilizing. It’s a “Don’t call me an actress, I’m an actor” kind of thing. Mostly, you’ll be Frau Black. Or Daphne. > > The Germans are (hallelujah!) a lot less stiff-rumped and formal than they used to be when I first arrived here in the '70’s. (Yes, I’m old.That’s why I’m sometimes grumpy.) They are also nicer than they used to be. > > Get used to being called Du by people you don’t know all that well. It used to be that Sie was the absolute rule and that two people making the transition from Sie to Du would to do so only after seeking mutual formal assent after an acquaintance of many years’ duration, but not any more. > > \ > > You asked about the ICE. I recommend it! I take the ICE fairly often from my home in the Rhineland to Berlin and back. It’s great service. Be aware, trains run behind schedule fairly often (yes, I know, there goes the great German stereotype) so book all the way through to your destination without connections if you can, or else allow plenty of time to make connections… > > \ > > Anyway, best of luck and lots of happiness. K’he may be dull and humid, but it’s centrally located and not unpleasant. And the local wine, Mueller Thurgau, is cheap. Thanks for more great info. Just to clarify, I do have a doctorate in my own right – glad to hear that Doktor is the preferred form for both sexes now, that is one less complication 🙂 Particularly interested in the change of du/Sie – I feel like that will be difficult to negotiate still. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/24 "2015-01-10T01:49:34Z")
And am definitely up for Deutsches Dopefest (gender? I hate gender in German, it’s the one thing I can’t get a good handle on)! Cologne, as previously mentioned, is a place I imagine I/we will be a lot. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/25 "2015-01-10T02:08:12Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > Particularly interested in the change of du/Sie – I feel like that will be difficult to negotiate still. Hah, that’s the German quirk no outsider really can understand because we don’t understand it either. The conventions around that change all the time between different social surroundings, classes, age groups or regions so that you can’t fix hard rules for it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/26 "2015-01-10T02:18:16Z")
To add: if in doubt, keep with the “Sie”. It’s more embarrassing to erroneously “duzen” a business manager than to “siezen” a student. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/27 "2015-01-10T02:20:21Z")
Side question. When you get there, please verify this for me. I’ve heard that native German’s can’t pronounce the word _squirrel._ Is this true? Sorry for the interruption. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/28 "2015-01-10T02:31:13Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Side question. > > When you get there, please verify this for me. > > I’ve heard that native German’s can’t pronounce the word _squirrel._ > > Is this true? > > Sorry for the interruption. Well, I guess most Germans do better than English speaking folk when pronouncing [Oachkatzlschwoaf](http://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Oachkatzlschwoaf). ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/29 "2015-01-10T05:12:38Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Side question. > > When you get there, please verify this for me. > > I’ve heard that native German’s can’t pronounce the word _squirrel._ > > Is this true? > > Sorry for the interruption. I have tested this with native German speaking friends before. It’s true! But in my mind, UK English speakers also fail on this one… Needless to say, English speakers have a great deal of difficulty with lots of German words too. I am a confident speaker of foreign languages, but only because I don’t mind making embarrassing errors all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Idilia\_Dubb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c2a13f/32.png) [@Idilia\_Dubb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idilia_Dubb)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/30 "2015-01-10T06:03:52Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Side question. > > When you get there, please verify this for me. > > I’ve heard that native German’s can’t pronounce the word _squirrel._ > > Is this true? > > Sorry for the interruption. My husband can say it without any trace of an accent. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/31 "2015-01-10T19:14:15Z")
More questions: Good recent films? Is it possible to watch the BBC legally? Best ethnic food (aside from doner)? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/32 "2015-01-10T20:27:31Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > More questions: > > Good recent films? > Is it possible to watch the BBC legally? > Best ethnic food (aside from doner)? BBC is freely broadcast over the Astra satellite, I guess it’s also available in cable networks (I don’t watch it much; I suspect it’s a special program for the European continent, but it’s in English). My favorite Ethnic here is Italian, the Pizzeria with an Italian patron is a staple here even in the tiniest podunk town. It’s been a time since I’ve last had a pizza in Italy and probably it’s even better there, but you’ll get good Italian food here everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/33 "2015-01-10T20:35:20Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > My favorite Ethnic here is Italian, the Pizzeria with an Italian \*\*patron \*\*is a staple here even in the tiniest podunk town. I meant Italian \*\*owner \*\*here, but shitty Tapatalk wouldn’t let me edit it. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/34 "2015-01-10T22:15:53Z")
Good to hear about the BBC, as I have missed it rather since I’ve been back in the States. Recommendations, **Einstein** , for banks or Internet providers? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/35 "2015-01-10T22:43:54Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > Good to hear about the BBC, as I have missed it rather since I’ve been back in the States. > > Recommendations, **Einstein** , for banks or Internet providers? Well, for good basic service and availability, you can’t go wrong with the good old [Sparkasse.](https://www.sparkasse.de/). My own internet provider for years is [http://www.unitymedia.de/](http://www.unitymedia.de/); I’m very content, it’s reliable and affordable, but it’s restricted to cable. ---
**Author:** ![Idilia\_Dubb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c2a13f/32.png) [@Idilia\_Dubb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idilia_Dubb)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/36 "2015-01-11T08:35:32Z")
**Daphne** , Here’s a site listing K’he rentals: > **[Wohnung mieten in Karlsruhe](https://www.immowelt.de/liste/karlsruhe/wohnungen/mieten?extcid=sem-google-3-karlsruhe-wohnung_miete-karlsruhe-wohnung_mieten-broad)** > > Wohnung mieten in Karlsruhe. Wohnimmobilien zur Miete findest du bei Immowelt ⇒ Jetzt dank großer Auswahl Wunschimmobilie finden! You might also start reading the _Badische Nueste Nachrichten_, the local newspaper, to a get a flavor of what’s happening in the city: > **[Badische Neueste Nachrichten - Ihre regionale Tageszeitung für Karlsruhe und...](https://bnn.de/)** > > BNN | Badische Neueste Nachrichten – News aus Karlsruhe, Mittelbaden, dem Kraichgau und Pforzheim | Bleiben Sie Tag für Tag aktuell informiert mit bnn.de. My husband is going to visit a friend in K’he later this month. I’ll get him to ask his friend for a list of good restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Butterfly\_s\_Ghost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_butterfly_s_ghost/32/3462_2.png) [@The\_Butterfly\_s\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Butterfly_s_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/37 "2015-01-11T21:07:11Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > And am definitely up for Deutsches Dopefest (gender? I hate gender in German, it’s the one thing I can’t get a good handle on)! Cologne, as previously mentioned, is a place I imagine I/we will be a lot. Yay for a German Dopefest! 🙂 I live in Cologne and will gladly help organize a meeting! Daphne - if you are in Cologne and want to have a beer with a fellow doper, just send me a message. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Idilia\_Dubb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c2a13f/32.png) [@Idilia\_Dubb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idilia_Dubb)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/38 "2015-01-11T21:42:57Z")
> [@The\_Butterfly\_s\_Ghost](#): > > Yay for a German Dopefest! 🙂 > I live in Cologne and will gladly help organize a meeting! > > Daphne - if you are in Cologne and want to have a beer with a fellow doper, just send me a message. 🙂 Well, that’s a start … Butterfly’s Ghost, EinsteinsHund, me and I know there will be others. Cologne is the place! I’ll start a thread over at MPSIMS and we’ll get this thing off the ground. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/39 "2015-01-11T22:03:42Z")
Awesome, and thanks **Idilia** for those links. A list of good restaurants will also be much appreciated. Thanks everyone though, you are all being very kind. Any more tips and recommendations still would be great! Cologne seems like a great place for a Dopefest. I was lucky enough to spend one night there on the way to Budapest in 2008. Stunning cathedral and I had a little time in the museum, but haven’t a chance to see much else. As I said, I hope to be able to get there fairly regularly. I’ll be arriving in late October most likely, so sometime in. November would make sense. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412/40 "2015-01-12T07:50:58Z")
Most questions have been adressed; I’d just pitch in with a few points (German living in Tübingen and Stuttgart) [ul] [li]There definitely is no requirement to have an Internet connection (I suspect in **Idilia Dubb** ’s case there has been a misunderstanding (the [residence permit application form](http://formulare.landkreis-muenchen.de/cdm/cfs/eject/pdf?MANDANTID=1&FORMID=3531) asks for an e-mail address but that’s optional and for administrative convenience only). You are, of course, pretty much at a disadventage w/o Internet connectivity for most day to day business.[/li][li] Karlsruhe is near (by US standards)/middling far from (by German standards) the northern Black Forest - you get by train or tram to Bad Wildbad (do try the _Palais Thermal_ spa there) or Forbach in just over one hour, and to Baden-Baden in 15 minutes (by ICE) to 33 minutes (tram)[/li][li]Good train connections to major cities - the fastest connections are Hamburg 4 h 44 min/Cologne 2 h 5 min/Stuttgart 43 min by IC/Munich 3 h 5 min by IC/Paris 3 h 2 min by direct TGV/Zürich 3 h by ICE[/li][li]Du/Sie: Du between acquaintances (acquaintances in Germany people who haven’t known each other more than a few years and/or have only occasionally slept with each other 😉 - a friend in Germany is only someone who you’d rely on to hide you when on the run from the law) has grown a bit more widespread in the last few decades but when in doubt esp. in a professional environment it’s still better to err on the side of formality (there is still a clichéd putdown occasionally used to people who have used Du without being invited: ‘_Mein Herr, ich erinnere mich nicht mit Ihnen Schweine gehütet zu haben_’ (Sir, I do do not recollect having herded swine with you). With manners i’s a bit like with formal/informal clothing: better to arrive overdressed the first day in a new job and then adjust to informality than to begin too informally and have to adjust up.[/li]When an executive of Ikea stepped down some time ago a German business article mentioned as an advantage: Well, at least she has got her last name back. [li]Outside academia your doctorate has significant social cachet; do use it e.g. when looking for an apartment.[/li][/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-dopers-karlsruhe/709412.md?page=3)