Language barriers?

Buy a pocket-size German phrasebook that includes German-English and English-German mini-dictionaries. (I like Lonely Planet's because their dictionary includes how to pronounce the German words, unlike Rick Steves.) Learn basic phrases like hello, please, thank you, where is the bathroom, goodbye. These will be in the phrasebook, along with pronunciation guides. Download Google Translate or a similar app, but don't assume that it will take the place of actually talking and listening. If you have time, consider checking out some Pimsleur or similar German-learning CDs from your library to help you practice and hear what the language sounds like.

You can assume that most people whose jobs include interacting with international visitors will know more English than you do German, but it's polite and respectful to make an effort to use their language when you can. Hand gestures and pantomiming can also be effective, not to mention entertaining.

I don’t speak German, except for very basic phrases (like good morning, thank you, good bye, etc.). I generally dealt with the language barrier by speaking English. Most Germans have at least a basic knowledge of English, especially the less old generations. You won’t find too many Germans under 40 who don’t speak English, often surprising fluently. Just learn the very basic sentences such as DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH? (Sprechen Sie Englisch?)

I lived in Germany for four years and most Germans speak some English. Most speak it rather well.

Still, learning a few key German phrases is good.

There's no serious language barrier if you speak English. English-speaking tourists might have trouble finding tours and such conducted in English, but on the street, it's sometimes hard to find people who don't know English.

I learned German in an era when English skills among Germans were much less common. But these days attempting to learn German just for a week of travel to Germany is both unnecessary and probably futile. Let's say you were to master a few phrases with perfect pronunciation, so good that your German-speaking listener believed you were German. The result would be a rapid-fire, unintelligible spilling of sounds and words from that person's lips - and zero communication.

English instruction and skills became important for business reasons after WW II in West Germany and in the former East Germany more recently. Since then, English has become even more essential for Germany, which in recent years welcomed mass numbers of immigrants from many different countries in the Middle East, northern Africa, and elsewhere. Today, roughly 1 in 6 residents of Germany are foreign-born. Only a handful of those immigrants knew German when they arrived. But many of them DID know English to some degree, so Germany has found itself speaking more and more English than ever, in more and more everyday situations, as this large part of the population becomes integrated and eventually learns German.

Germany has pretty much joined that group of nations - the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Scandanavia, mainly - where English as a second language is a natural part of everyday life. Polite phrases are good to learn. But pronounce them with your American accent and you'll move to English more quickly.

I agree with all the others above, but will say that a lot depends on where you are traveling to in Germany. You will have no problem in any of the major cities finding people who speak English; like Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. However, if you travel to the more rural and less touristed areas, you might come across locals who speak very little English. That is rare, though, so generally you should be okay.

I do speak German and had the interesting experience of translating a request from a young American couple to the bus driver in a small town who spoke no English. But again, those encounters are few and far between. Worst case, pull out your phone and use Google Translate.

I wouldn’t worry. My first real trip to Germany/Austria was a cycling trip with my brother, many, many years ago. We were not in cities of any size and staying in places where no English was spoken. I learned numbers, how much, thank you and very little else. We got by fine. My second trip was solo cycling. I had learned a few more words but part of the time I cycled in an area described in one book that ‘Even most Germans find the locals accent too thick to unerstand’! Still I got by.

Fast forward to today.. My German is much more fluent, but not perfect. My favorite landlady, who speaks very little English, is a whiz with the translator app on her Ipad.

There is no language barrier. Just about everyone will speak English.

Google Translate is a great app to have. Besides just typing in what you want to say and having it produce it in German, you can point it at signs or labels or menus and it gives you a decent translation (fun fact: I used it in Budapest on what I thought was a tube of toothpaste, but turned out to be denture fixative. thank you, Google Translate!)

I speak some German; I began learning it in anticipation of a trip through Germany, Austria and Switzerland about eight years ago. I'm not saying you should do that, but I would definitely learn the polite basics. Even if all you do is say "Guten Tag" and then switch to English, then end your transaction with a "schönen Tag noch", it's a respectful thing to do, not just in Germany but everywhere, of course.

If you are spending any time in Berlin, you will find that English is spoken everywhere. Someone might greet you in German, but as soon as you say "Hallo" to them they will switch to English.