Good morning! I am in need of some feedback and guidance and always find this community to be so helpful!
I just booked a very last minute trip to Dresden to take a 3 week long Germany language course at the Goethe Institute. I leave one week from today and have quite a bit of logistics to figure out. I am off from work right now recovering from total knee replacement and thought I should take advantage of this time, since the recovery is going much better than I thought it would!
Any suggestions on how to get from Dresden airport to neustadt area? Looks like there is no Uber in Dresden. There is an S-bahn, but I am not very savvy with using apps to ride public transport. I did figure it out in Berlin after some trial and error. I always worry I will not have the ticket properly validated, etc. I should mention that I am doing this trip solo (first time ever traveling solo to another country.....not sure what I am thinking)! Is the S-bahn easy to figure out and navigate to neustadt area? Which apps do I need to start getting familiar with?
My connection in Geneva is 1.5 hours (from Newark). Is this enough time to get through customs, etc? I did book a wheelchair just in case, but I am walking well, albeit slowly and cautiously. Next connection is 2 hours in Munich, which i am hoping will also be adequate.
Has anyone taken the Goethe Institute Language classes? I started German language school here at home a year ago and I love it, so thought I could improve my language learning through this 3 week journey. Please send any helpful advice and feedback that you might have!
Regarding my flight......I never booked a business class ticket, but chose this in order to stretch out for the flight on United from Newark to Geneva. Any thoughts on what I need to know about this? I likely will not even know how to make the seat go flat, but plan to watch a video about this prior to leaving next Tuesday.
Any suggestions on health insurance for Germany? Also any travel insurance companies you recommend other than what the airlines try to sell?
Please send any info that you think might help me with my 3 week solo trip to Dresden. I hope I don't chicken out!
Thanks in advance for your help!
Posted by
Schwerin
3719 posts
from Dresden airport to neustadt area?
and
https://www.dvb.de/en-gb/timetable/journey-planner
My connection in Geneva is 1.5 hours (from Newark). Is this enough time to get through customs, etc?
Better ask in Switzerland forum. In Geneva you will do Schengen entry process. In Germany you will do customs.
Gute Reise!
Posted by
Munich
663 posts
I would direct any questions about health insurance etc. to the Goethe Institute team: https://www.goethe.de/ins/de/en/ort/dre/uun.html
They certainly have a lot of experience.
You can definitely do it. Du schaffst das auf jeden Fall ... nur Mut :-)
Dresden and its surroundings have a lot to offer and time will pass so quickly.
Posted by
Green Bay
22056 posts
I do not see any direct flights from Geneva to Dresden. Are you connecting from there to Dresden?
I have not connected in Geneva, but Zurich was not a problem with a 1 1/2 hour connection.
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
34838 posts
Have a good experience at the Goethe Institute.
One of my best friends spent a summer at Goethe Institute in Bayern at Kochelsee in 1972 - she absolutely loved it and it really helped her.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thanks so much for all of this valuable information! I am looking forward to this experience :)