Hello, everybody!
Because the board's currently in hibernation, let's spice up things a bit with a list of pitfalls and other fun things going wrong that happened to people and (unless you read this thread, of course) may be happening to YOU, too.
Yes, it's time for
Eurofurence Essentials
(or: Things You Should've Found Out By Yourself, But Were Too Lazy To.)
In this thread, I will ramble endlessly about things that may seem ever so obvious to a large part of our attendance, but may quirk a brow with people from strange countries. This isn't going to be an one-sided lecture though, so feel free to chime in if you've got fun facts that you learned the hard way.
Today's Lesson is about
money.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade or so, it should be known as a fact that Germany uses the euro. That makes life for anyone from the Eurozone much easier in the first place, however, this advantage comes with a few strings attached.
- Credit and debit cards:
Generally speaking, credit card acceptance in Germany is not universal. While most hotels, high street stores and many restaurants will take your Mastercard or Visa, you'll be hard pressed to find a supermarket or smaller shop taking your card. It is always best to ask in advance. If you have a Maestro card however, you'll be better off, as Maestro is nearly universally available through the German girocard system.
- Cash machines:
Unlike other countries (yes, I'm looking at you, Britain), German cash machines are easily identified by the old Eurocheque "ec" sign (if you don't know what that is, ask your parents) and there generally are plenty around. Fees, however, may vary. For banks based in the Eurozone, cash withdrawals usually yield a fee between €0 and €5, much higher for accounts held in a different currency.
Cash machines are now required to show the cost of the transaction in advance, but it might be worth checking with your bank in advance how much that foreign withdrawal will cost you, or you might be in for a nasty surprise.
- Cash:
Always accepted, however, still not without its pitfalls. The easiest way to identify yourself as a tourist is to wave those large, green 100 euro bills around. While they're still money, most retailers don't like them that much, and paying for your coffee with that is the best way to make enemies.
As for the really large denominations, the 200 and 500 euro bills, just don't. Many shops, especially petrol stations, flat out refuse to take these notes (which, by the way, is perfectly legal) and you'll end up having to come up with alternative methods of payment.
A good measure for filling your pockets is about €10 in coins (you'll end up with more of these anyways) and whatever amount of money you desire in denominations up to 50 euro, which coincidentally is usually the largest note cash machines will dispense.
Now that we've got the basics dealt with, some insider location tips:
The area around the Maritim Hotel is plastered with cash machines. However, just don't use the nearest one - sometimes, a simple walk around the street saves you a lot of money. For example, if I used the Santander machine next to the hotel, I'd be charged 5 EUR for it - but if I use the Sparda machine in the mall, it's completely free.
Kaufland doesn't take credit cards. Some people learned that the hard way.
They DO take Maestro/Girocard, however.
I'll add further posts about other topics over the next few days. Feel free to chime in if you have stuff to share.
