laundromats in Germany

Quite frankly, I have only seen two laundromats in Germany in over 100 days of traveling there. That's why I have learned to wash as I go.

And FYI, washers and dryers in other countries operate differently than here. The dryers I've used in Germany dry on a much lower heat, which is better for your clothes, but takes about twice as long to dry.

I used a laundromat in Schlesswig (near the Danish border). When I asked about a place to do my laundry, everyone told me I was lucky because laudromats are rare in Germany.

I went with a German acquaintance. We were both scolded by an older gentleman because we took time to read the instructions before we started using the machines. I thought it was funny. Most people visit fun-loving Bavaria but miss the "serious" part - Northern Germany.

Not knocking the being green at all. Wish we did more here with that. I just remember one exhausted night at a hotel, having to stay awake since our clothes weren't dry yet ("they're still wet? It's been a hour and a half! When can we go to bed?"). Didn't help either that we tried to wash them in the dryer. :)

right outside the walls in Rothenburg is a great laundry....and very helpful.

Thank you all for the information!
Carol

"right outside the walls in Rothenburg is a great laundry"

That's one of the two I have found in Germany. I had to use it when, on the second day of a 2 week trip, I spilled something on one of the two pairs of pants I had brought. The other was in Koblenz. I saw it the day before I left.

Before I acquired fast drying clothes and learned to wash as I go, I used to ask TIs and my hosts, in advance, where I could find a Selbst Dienst Waschsalon. In most towns I was told there were none. In one place I stayed the nearest one was in another town, 8 km away, 10 min by train. In Würzburg, the host told me the nearest one was about 15 min away by tram. I once got a host to let me put my clothes in his personal washing machine.

We found one on a rainy day in Munich. It was just my wife and I and another surly gentleman. He could tell we didn't know how to operate the machines and were tourists. He had us show the coins we had for the machine and grumpily started sticking the coins and our clothes in the machine. Luckily, there was a store next to the laudndromat I picked up a couple of beers for myself and the man. He got a huge smile on his face and we spent the next couple of hours trying to make conversations with my language book while the clothes were drying. It was pretty good humor, and we picked up a friend along the way.

Reg, How funny! I'll remember that little ice-breaking tip.