Important information for new comers in Deutschland

Pre-check

1. Check the amount you have to pay per kg on excess baggage with the airlines in which you will be travelling.
2. In case you are travelling with an infant ensure that a baby seat is booked at the time of issuing the ticket.
3. Preserve the traveller’s cheque numbers along with the telephone numbers for reporting loss of traveller’s cheque in a secure place.
4. Carry a pressure cooker from India as you don’t get a pressure cooker here.
5. If you are staying in a furnished accommodation you need not carry the following
1. Non-stick cookware, pram
2. Utensils like plates, pans (not non-stick), mixer, gas, spices, quilt, pillows.
6. Please carry less number of sweaters and jackets as the sweaters of wool in India may not be very useful in India and unnecessarily increase the weight of the cargo. Preferably you can buy the sweaters in Germany.
7. Infants (i.e upto 2 years) are allowed only 10kgs as cargo luggage and no cabin luggage is allowed

Intial days

1. Open a bank account – preferably in LBW bank. Do not use internet banking option till you get the tan generator number as you wont be able to register. There is a monthly charges for maintaining the bank account approx 6 EUR per month
2. If you are from Mico-India then get registered in the employees list in De. Contact- Kulkarni Sanjeev (DS-CV/SVD62)
3. Fill in the re-imbursement form and send it to RBIN
4. Get registered with the local hospital.
5. Take a biometric photo from a local photo shop in Germany. Indian photo is not valid over here.
6. Get registered (anmeldung) with the Rathhaus of your locality. If you are travelling ahead of your family then you need get registered for all members of the family. Remember to collect the tax card when you do the stamping on visa for the residence permit. (preferably register at the place where you know you will be settling down)
7. Collect the tax card at the time of residence permit stamping and send it to RBIN
8. Understand and learn the platform (german word- gleis) where you need to board the train for your travel. Incorrect boaring of a train may lead to landing in a different zone for which you are not having the ticket. This can lead to a fine being charged on you.
9. Use internet facility to call from Germany to India if the following conditions are met.
1. You have an internet connection in your apartment and a mike
2. If the receiver has an internet connection and a mike
10. Always check for the system specifications when buying electronic items. Like some products (like webcam) may not work in the laptop as it may need XP and not windows 2000 pro or windows 98.
11. Preferably buy expensive items like a computer, mobile etc after thoroughly checking the various possibilities. (refer important links point 7)
12. Try and encash the traveller’s cheque from the banks which do not charge any amount for the conversion. Like Citibank in Konigstraße or in the bank in which you have the account like LBW bank etc.
13. Joining a video library is very cheap here. Approx around 12EUR per year for unlimited supply of movies and books
14. In case you want to make a personal call from your office. Please use the personal line to make the calls as there are separate lines for personal (like 03) and official calls (like 01). Like if you want to call your home then dial 03 (personal line) -followed by the number to which you want to connect.
15. How to check the insurance details in Mayfair : Please follow the documentation

16. You can read/take home books free of cost from the state library. However you have to return it once you go back to India.
17. The state run S Ban ie www.vvs.de provides some excellent schemes like
1. There are monthly pass which are normally 20 EUR cheaper if you travel after 9.00 am in the morning. Please note that for the weekend this time limit is not applicable.
2. You can buy a 25 % discount card for aound 53EUR (add 5EUR for your wife). This will entitle you to get a discount of atleast 25% in subsequent travels. This is infact very useful for the employees who travels a lot.
3. Please check for the various types of tickets available for travel.
18. If you shift your residential address then you need to do “Ummeldung” i.e change of address with the Rathhaus.
19. Do not use the internet facility on your mobile unless and until you are not very sure about the charges for the same. Sometimes it can be very expensive.
20. 
    

Useful information:

1. Normally, the Mico laptop is covered under the international IBM warranty. Toll free number is 01805253558.
2. Configure your Indian e-mail with the help of the hotline team. You need to dial the number 33122
3. Indian shop at Swabstraße closes by 7 pm.
4. No German shops are open after 8 pm and entire Sunday and holidays. Banks, Reiseburo will close mostly by 6 pm (except for Thursday wherein they work till 8 pm)
5. Internet software for calling India is yahoo messenger or skype or googletalk. Steps to follow is
1. Install the software
2. Add the receiving in the list
3. Use the tab “call” to make a call to the receiver
4. Disconnect the call when finished.
6. Bank normally charges a monthy fee for maintainence of the bank account. Approx 6 EUR per month
7. Some good shops are Mediamarkt, Plus, Saturn, Lidl
8. Ikarus is a good and cheap travel booking center. See important links for the website details
9. Infants upto 6 years do not require any ticket.
10. There are several Flea markets (second hand markets) around Stuttgart. Items are of relatively good quality. Check the time and the date at the Flea market as it may vary from place to place. Normally the Flea market in konigstraße is open every Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.
11. Your Indian license is valid for only 6 months, thereafter you have to apply for an extension or for a German license.
12. Some good Indian calling cards are – Namaste (3.5 EUR for approx 60 min) or Triks (5 EUR for approx 100 EUR). Use the landline tool free number and not the mobile number to dial the destination code. Also you can get more minutes if you call a landline then a mobile in India
13. Be aware of the weather as it is very helpful to dress in that manner. (see useful links for the website address)
14. Steps to get a driving license

15. Following countries can be visited for tourist purpose when the residence permit is taken for Germany
1. Belgium
2. Finland
3. Greece
4. Iceland
5. Luxembourg
6. Portugal
7. Spain
8. Denmark (except Greenland and Faroe Islands)
9. France
10. Neitherlands
11. Italy
12. Norway
13. Sweden
14. Austria
15. Switzerland *

* - It is possible to travel to Swis with a valid residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) for Germany. However, the passport must be valid for 3 months after the date
of departure from Switzerland.

Note: For countries other than the one mentioned above visa is mandatory for which having a German residence permit is mandatory

16. Drink lots of water in Germany as the air is very dry and you may feel dehydrated a lot during the day.
17. For short sightseeing places within Stuttgart, you can refer the Stuttgart website.(see important links for the webaddress)
18. If you want to do some shopping then one of the good time is after Christmas i.e in Jan as there are lots of clearance sales and you can buy the winter clothing also very cheap.
19. There are several swimming pool for infants. Infact kids of age from 3 months can enrol in the swimming courses. The temperature of the water is quite warm and the teachers are very good.
20. Check for TUV certificate validity when you plan to buy a car. It is mandatory to have TUV to drive in Germany.
21. Check for the insurance amount to be paid for the car. Sometimes the car may come cheap but the insurance is very expensive.
22. Plan for long distance trips well in advance to get good offers. Deutsch Bahn provides good offers if the travel reservations are done well in advance
23. The maximum pre-booking that can be done in Deutsche Bahn is 3 months. There are several trains available. Like the CN(city night line), ICE, RE, IC etc..The details for the same can be found in the Deutsch Bahn website. (refer the link under the category “Important links”)
24. You can check the time table of “S”, “U” , “Bus” timetables anytime in the VVS website.
25. There are several courses offered by VHS (volkholkschule) in Charlottenplatz. The members of the family can enrol in several courses.
26. If you are a short termer, then remember to collect the tax refund certificate for items bought by you. You can get back a proportionate amount of the tax paid for the item at the time of leaving the country. Unfortunately this is only applicable for short termers who come to Germany for not more than 3 months
    

Important links:

1. Mico - http://micoweb.in.bosch.com/
2. RBIN - http://www.intranet.ban.in.bosch.com/
3. LBW bank - https://banking.bw-bank.de
4. Rules for travel.
5. Connecting to internet using dial-up.
6. Rates for connecting to internet. (please note that the rates may go on changing with time)
7. Some good price comparison sites are www.amazon.com or www.ebay.com
8. Health insurance website www.mayfairworldwide.com
9. Link to ikarus. www.ikarus.com
10. Link to second hand cars http://www.autohaus.de/
11. Link to weather information www.wetter.com
12. Use the website www.map24.de for planning your routes in Europe.
13. Use the website www.leo.de as a translation tool
14. Use the website www.autoscout.de for looking for second hand cars
15. Use the website http://www.efa-bw.de/nvbw/index.htm for planning tours in S ban or by bus
16. Link to UK embassy http://www.britischebotschaft.de/en/
17. Link to the Stuttgart website http://www.stgt.com/stuttgart/homee.htm
18. Link to the table for the train timetable https://vvs.de/en/index.php

Intresting stuff:

1. There are some shops in Konigstraße wherein you can eat as much as you can to the extent you can fill in the small plate (for 4.5 EUR) in a single round. The big plate will cost you 7.8 EUR but you can go the buffet table and have food as many number of times as you want.
2. Few Indian restaurants in Stuttgart area are:
1. Hotel Ri
2. Hotel Indian palace
3. Delhi palace
4. Ganesh

Dont’s

1. Travel without a ticket however adventurous you may be. First time fine for ticket less travel is 40 EUR. Second time is jail and third time they can send you back to the country you came from.
2. Try to bribe anyone over here. You can land in jail
3. In case you are driving do not honk unnecessarily
4. Try to tease a girl. Police here are very efficient. A warm smile or a greeting from a lady must not be misunderstood as a welcome offer. Here it’s normal to greet strangers in the office lift or in your workplace etc…
5. Try to engage in some discussion with some people who color their hairs and wear chains etc... some of these people believe in Hitlerizm and can be mischievous
6. Don’t leave the apartment unclean. Like bed sheets not folded, Bathroom not clean, kitchen area having oils stains, basin not clean, dropping food materials on the carpet and leaving it there for some time.
7. Empty your dustbin regularly as the stinking smell of the garbage can be comfortable to you and your neighbours.
8. Proper ventilation is very useful hence must be frequently done during the day.