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Longer-term trip advice?

Hello - I’m a college professor who will be on sabbatical in the fall of 2021 (no teaching or service responsibilities that semester so I can work on an in-depth research project.). Since I can work on the project anywhere, I’m thinking of heading to Germany for 2-3 months (staying under the Schengen limits for “tourism”) assuming Covid is under control by then. Has anyone done longer-term trips like this before? Any advice on things like longer-term rentals, transportation, packing / luggage handling, places to set as “home base,” dealing with things like banking, insurance, things you wished you knew, etc? Some things to note include:
-I’ve been to Europe approx. 10 times over the years, but never for more than 10 days per trip
-I’m a 44 year old male and plan to do this alone
-I love Baden Baden so plan to make that a base initially (but for how long?)
-I know elementary German, but plan on doing online lessons (what site?) in preparation for the trip.

Thanks!

Posted by
1443 posts

i haven't done a months long trip, but since your trip is work-related your university may be able to help you finagle a visa for an even longer stay. i don't know the rules for that but it might be worth looking into.

Posted by
3938 posts

We did a sabbatical semester in northern Germany many years ago. I think a great base for you, if you like Baden-Baden, might be Freiburg im Breisgau. It’s a wonder university town with good transportation connections near the border of France and Switzerland too.

Being a university town you might inquire about rentals or exchanges with other university professors. There is a site called sabbaticalhomes.com that I know some friends have used.

Set up your banking options in the US for all of your US bill paying. We had mail forwarded to a US work address where a secretary sorted and notified us about anything that needed our attention (we were gone for 4+ months, 4 different times over my husband’s career).

We did need a German bank account for paying for an apartment rental but maybe that can be done with an online payment system now like PayPal, Venmo, etc.

Consider buying a DB transportation card for reductions of fares.

Have a great time on your sabbatical.

Posted by
10118 posts

For researchers going to Germany, check the Humbolt Foundation. https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/
For housing, try Sabbatical Homes, https://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/ We got one sabbatical home through this site. There are probably more localized resources for housing, however.

Even for several months, you can get money from your US account via ATM. It’s unlikely that you would need a German bank account. It’s difficult for Americans to open accounts in Europe these days due to the US reporting requirements, FATCA. Keep your US health insurance going. Does your institution offer a travel insurance as part of your benefits? A lot of universities do.

Just pack what you’ll need, but carry on your research materials. If you have to bring an extra suitcase for your materials, it best to just pay for an extra bag. Shipping is expensive.

Have fun planning.

Posted by
26829 posts

I'm retired and spend 3 to 4-1/2 months in Europe every year (except 2020).

  • Set up all regular payments to be paid automatically via a credit card (this can be any card you use in the US, not necessarily one that's ideal for overseas travel). Set all credit cards up to be paid automatically via direct debit from your bank account. Be sure your paychecks are going into a suitable account, given that you'll be away. Figure out how you'll transfer funds if you need to.

  • Travel with ATM cards from two different accounts so you have a back-up. Both should provide no-fee access to European ATMs. You may find this feature at credit unions, Capital One, TD AmeriTrade and other online financial institutions. This won't protect you from fees charged by the ATMs themselves; I don't know whether that is common/allowed in Germany, but happens at some ATMs in many countries. Always specify withdrawal amounts in euros (Swiss francs if you cross that border).

  • Travel with at least two no-fee credit cards. I now take three, because I am careless when traveling. Always pay in euros (Swiss francs in Switzerland), not dollars.

  • Notify all financial institutions about your travel plans (often done online). Be sure you know how to report a problem when you're overseas; three times my credit union ATM card didn't work on Day 1 despite my having given proper notification. Regular toll-free numbers will not work from Europe (though I guess they would if you were using a US cell phone number--not sure about that).

  • Don't forget about infrequent payments coming due--insurance, property tax and the like. I pay my semi-annual property tax bill before departure if my travel schedule requires that.

  • Three months is long enough to experience noticeable wear to clothing. Make sure things are in good condition at the beginning of the trip. I ended up with really bad socks when I had to make a mid-trip purchase, but that wasn't as much of a problem as having broken-down shoes would have been.

  • Take waterproof shoes! Be sure you have appropriate outerwear and/or multiple layers. Germany can be quite chilly and wet in the fall. It might be worth posting a specific question about whether German rental units might tend to be too cold or too hot during the fall; that might affect your wardrobe. (I have no clue; I'm a summer traveler.)

  • You'll need at least one comprehensive guide book to Germany (and perhaps some for neighboring countries) to supplement Rick's books, which are great for details but leave many desirable destinations unmentioned. Many are available in ebook form. Scribd operates on a monthly-subscription basis and at times offers a 30-day free trial. In the past it had all the Lonely Planet guides available; I haven't confirmed that they are still included. I imagine you're already set up for electronic access to your university library.

  • In addition to verifying overseas coverage, if you take prescription medications, contact your health insurance company a few months ahead of time to find out what procedures you'll need to follow to get enough doses and have at least one week extra. Stay on top of that; some companies make it difficult and your may doctor may need to submit a renewal earlier than expected.

  • If you use quantities of OTC pain killers, vitamins, supplements, etc., consider taking a bunch with you. That sort of thing is often quite a lot more expensive in Europe. (I don't know about Germany specifically.)

  • The Postal Service only holds mail for 30 days.

  • Start exploring telephone options now. Just using your US phone service is easy but may be very costly (though T-Mobile and Google Fi are often recommended as reasonable alternatives).

  • Discuss your situation with your cable/satellite-TV provider to see whether you'll want to suspend service. Is there a date by which you'd need to do that to avoid paying for a full month?

Posted by
14801 posts

Prior to Covid-19, all of my European trips over the past few years have been around 3 months. Here's what I do:

Set up all of your bills to be paid automatically. You can monitor all of this on the internet.

Get a Private Mail Box with Virtual Mail (in the USA) and have your mail forwarded to it. With Virtual Mail, the people running the PMB take a photo of the front of each piece of mail you get (magazines, advertising flyers, and the like are usually not included.) You then log into their website and look at the mail. You can then tell them to forward it, keep it, shred it or open it up, scan it and email it to you. I use it and it' great.

As for banking, set up online banking and use your credit cards and debit cards just like you would at home. No need to fiddle with trying to get a German account. With online banking you can monitor your account and move money around if you have more than one account. (Make sure you alert your banks and credit card companies of your travels so they don't think using overseas is fraudulent.) Over the past few trips, I doubt I spent more than $50 in actual currency. Most went on my credit cards.

As for health insurance, check with your own provider to see if you are covered. Although I am technically covered, I always had an annual policy for health, theft, travel delays, and medical evacuation.

Some over the counter meds like Pepto are not easily available in Europe. If you want to have these, bring them. The basic toiletries can be found almost anywhere.

As for packing, I travel with just a carry on size bag and a small shoulder bag for my electronics. I just do laundry more often. If you plan to stay in one place, look for a rental with a washing machine. Whether it's three days or three months I bring the same. The only thing I bring more of is prescription medications.

Remember, there is no porter service on European trains so you are responsible for your luggage. If you insist on taking big luggage, you could look into a luggage forwarding service like sendmybag.com. I've used them and they are very efficient.

For my phone, I have T-Mobile which offers free data in Europe although it can be slow. For calls back to the USA, I used my hotel's wifi and Skype.

As for learning German, unless you plan to visit small towns where non-German tourists rarely go, you should be fine with English. It's always nice to learn some of the local language but for a short visit the basics will be fine.

If you don't have to be in one place, why limit yourself to that one place over three months? You could experience more places.

Posted by
548 posts

Acraven, you are always a fountain of information. Thanks for all your input to the Forum! Likewise Frank from Freedonia!

Posted by
980 posts

Wow you have already received some great advice so I'll just reinforce what others have said and add a few additions. We've done several months long trips and also lived in Munich for a few years.

Any advice on things like longer-term rentals, transportation, packing / luggage handling, places to set as “home base,” dealing with things like banking, insurance, things you wished you knew, etc?

-I’ve been to Europe approx. 10 times over the years, but never for more than 10 days per trip

-I’m a 44 year old male and plan to do this alone

-I love Baden Baden so plan to make that a base initially (but for how long?)

-I know elementary German, but plan on doing online lessons (what site?) in preparation for the trip.

  • Banking: I agree with the other to just use a US account and look around for options to get low/no fee ATM withdrawls. I had a German bank account for a few years and keeping up with the yearly reporting requirements to the IRS was a pain (no one prompts you to self report, you just have to remember to do it and if you forget you can forfeit everything in the account). At that time I found the cheapest way to transfer money was by withdrawing €s with my US card and then putting them back in the matching with my German card. I'm sure the person standing behind me in line a the ATM was pretty confused!
  • Medical: like others said bring any regularly taken OTC meds with you. Check with your insurance company about coverage while traveling. Once we had to purchase supplemental travel health insurance other times we just needed to keep receipts if we had any to put towards our deductible. If you do get sick in German a pharmacist can often cover what you would normally visit a doctor for (colds, intestinal issues, etc) so always go there first.
  • Mail/Bills: We forwarded all mail to a relative, but if this is not possible mail services are great as well. USPS temporary mail forwarding can last up to 6 months but if I recall correctly we had to renew it half way though our last trip (can be done online). We set up all bills possible for online auto payment and made sure we had access to all online billing accounts. I also turned off paper billing where possible. Even with all this some mail still come to our box and we arranged with a neighbor to collect it.
  • House in US: I didn't see this addressed above so thought I would add. We bought Nest thermostats and cameras for our house to check on them while we were gone and adjust the temps if needed. We also arranged for neighbors who checked the mail to have a key to leave it on our kitchen island and had a log book with a quick checklist of things to check if they had time (check for running toilets, leaks under sinks/bathrooms/laundry, etc). We scheduled a lawn service as well and paid them by check online. We also bought some outlet times that had random 7 day schedules and plugged in lights in different room plus a radio tuned to talk radio that would turn on to make it look "lived in". Any vehicles had a battery tender hooked up and we put some fuel stabilizer in the tanks.
  • Packing: I would keep it very light but that is my personal preference. Keep in mind you will likely area specific clothing and items for purchase in Germany that will suite you better than anything from home.
  • Phone: This has changed a lot in the last 2 years so I would recommend researching the latest options an see if you can make your existing phone work (Google Fi come up a lot).
  • Other: Check out the German expat community at http://www.toytowngermany.com. The folks there will be very helpful and knowledgeable with exactly the scenario you are planning. Create an account and start posting questions!

DJ

Posted by
2375 posts

What is your research on? Do you need to be in Germany? Baden-Baden is a little awkward for train travel since the station is out of town ( buses get to the station, however ).

Posted by
26829 posts

Topics related to insurance, ATM and credit cards, phone service, and cellular data usage come up fairly often. You can't be sure all the good and pertinent ideas will be repeated in each thread, so it would be a good idea--since you have a lot of time--to explore the "Money Saving Strategies" and "Technology Tips" sections of the forum.

Should you have a need for more money than you can easily obtain by tapping ATMs (such as for payment of monthly rent), you might explore TransferWise, which has been used by several people on the forum (not by me). Our TransferWise customers all seem to be satisfied with it and report that the fees are much lower than those charged by US banks. However, cash payments and transfers do not offer the protections you get with credit card usage, so those methods should be used with care.

Posted by
2 posts

Everyone - thank you so much! I’m pleasantly overwhelmed by the amount and wealth of information and tips here. It’s a lot to consider and plan for. But it’s also exciting, especially given the past 10 months.

Posted by
104 posts

Gsimon, you sure have been given great advice. I would add that you can contact your local police department and notify them of your travel plans. They are happy to periodically do a check on your home. I've done this several times when I was going to be out of town for an extended period of time. It's comforting to know they are checking up on your house.