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As a general rule, you should always stick == Road types ==To hitchhike efficiently in Germany it is good to know the "Autobahn" a long as possible three different kinds of roads between cities and try to change between major "Autobahns" as less as possible, even if this means some detourstowns. As soon as you By descending speed these are on the Highway and stick to service stations, you are hitching fast and reliable. In :* motorways or expressways called ''Autobahn'' with no general you may have to wait quiet long waiving your thumb at on-ramps speed limit (especially if its hard to stop there and/or you are malecan still be signs with speed limits), so if possible it often pays (* federal roads called ''Bundesstraße''* country roads called ''Landstraße''Their use in terms of time and frustration) to travel by foot hitchhiking is different and public transport to the closest service stations. Asking people directly just works better. Other good options are local petrol stations close to the Highway on-rampsexplained below.
Many German motorways have no speed limits=== Autobahn ===For more information, therefore you might wanna first try to get a ride hitching a personal car before asking truck drivers. Trucks are great for a night-ride; however, there are restrictions, like in see the article [[FranceAutobahn]], of when trucks are allowed on a motorway. In Germany most trucks aren't allowed on motorways on Sundays or public holidays before 22:00.
If you travel a specific motorway, have a look at the '''[[TemplateFile:Highways DEBundesautobahn_7_number.svg|"German motorways"thumb|left|150px|A traffic sign indicating Autobahn A7]]The autobahns in Germany are the fastest links between cities. Their numbers consist of an '''A''' page where you can find very specific information and hints about hitchhiking on German motorway ramps, etcthe number of the highway. - for example, On traffic signs the ''A'' is not mentioned but they can be distinguished by the route [[Amsterdam]]–[[Berlin]] along blue colour of the [[A2 (Germany)|A2]] and [[A30 (Germany)|A30]]sign.
* See also: '''Tips on Hitchhiking Germany''', an article The lack of a general speed limit is something most Germans are proud of demonstrating to you and what makes them the best choice for longer distances. Subsequently walking and hitchhiking is illegal on [http://www.digihitch.com/europe/western_europe/149_1_1_article.html Digihitch] by [http://www.digihitch.com/userinfo-dsmith4721.html David Smith]the autobahn and the emergency lane.
=== Legal stuff ===Hitchhiking in general is legal As trucks do not travel faster than 90 km/h you might want first try to get a ride hitching a personal car before asking truck drivers. Trucks are great for a night-ride; however, there are restrictions, like in France, of when trucks are allowed on an autobahn. In Germany. It is only forbidden to hitchhike most trucks aren't allowed on the highway itself, meaning you standing motorways on the highway (Sundays or its emergency lane)public holidays before 22:00. You are perfectly fine stopping at service stations and asking the people. If you want to start hitching at the highway ramps, make sure you stand before the rectangular blue sign indicating the start of the highwayAs most truck drivers stop earlier truck traffic already gets less on Saturday afternoons.
Police in general is really suspicous of hitchhikersIf you travel a specific autobahn, have a look at the [[autobahn]] page where you can find very specific information and hints about hitchhiking on German motorway ramps, etc. - for example, especially in the southern states of route [[BavariaAmsterdam]] or –[[Baden-WürttembergBerlin]]. Be polite and show them your ID along the [[A2 (which you should always carry while hitching in Germany) |A2]] and they will leave you alone [[A30 (after checking that you are no criminalGermany)|A30]].
=== Crossing Note that it is no longer required to change plates if you move, so a HH (Hamburg) car may very well belong to someone living in München (M). At the border ===Germany has signed moment this is not yet a [[Schengen Agreement]] which means big problem, but in due course it may lead to the situation that borders with license plates become as useless as those in many other Schengen countries are openfor determining the direction a car might be going.. Since 2009, all neighbour countries are Schengen members as well, so there are no border checks at all anymore.
At the Swiss border, there == Maps ==[[File:IMG 5392.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Tiziano]] hitching from [[Berlin]] to [[Munich]]]]Recommended maps for Germany are still custom controls, but listed in [[Maps#Germany|this article]]. You can easily hitch through Germany with just a map that will probably only affect you if you has all service stations along the Autobahn on it. There are maps at many service stations in a trucklittle free booklet which are quite misleading, they do '''not''' contain all service stations, just the ones belonging to one of the big companies running them. (Switzerland For more information look here: [http://www.tank.rast.de/standorte/servicenetz/index.php tank.rast.de]. For a good map to print out and bring with you that has joined all the Schengen Agreement in 2009!)service stations on it have a look here: [http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/rastekarte.jpg/ Rastekarte]. This is the same one you will find at the service stations as big overview maps, more often than not those can be nicked very easily as well.
=== Maps ===[[FileOn the website:IMG 5392www.autobahnatlas-online.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Tiziano]] hitching from [[Berlin]] to [[Munich]]]]If you're not staying in Germany for long de you can hitch through having any map find detailed listings of Germany that has motorway petrol stations marked on it. For thatall Autobahnen, go to any petrol station located on a motorway and ask for an "Autobahnwith all drive-Guide" - it is for free. You'll get a booklet describing ups, interchanges, all services on German motorways types of rest stops, tunnels, and including a map bridges along their ways, with an overview of all motorway petrol stations and other service areasexact kilometer allegations. For more information look here: [http://www.tank.rast.de/standorte/servicenetz/index.php tank.rast.de]. While on a petrol This comes along handy when hopping from station to station, you can also find more detailed maps for ~5 Euro.
Recommended maps for hitchhiking are '''Michelin Regional'''On a longer journey with several route options, [https://www.diercke.de/content/deutschland-stra%C3%9Fenverkehr-978-3-14-100800-5-64-1-1 this map] showing the orange ones with traffic volume of the numbers 541-546. There are six of these maps, each covering a different part of Germany. They are very detailed and show every single petrol station, hotel, restaurant, or a parking place on German motorways. The scale is equal highways might help you deciding which could be faster due to 1:350000. Bigger city maps are included, too. You can usually get these maps in local bookstores for about EUR 8more traffic.
Hitchhiker For those using mobile app MAPS.ME, you may download a .kml file with all the service plazas for viewing on your map offline. Considering Germany is extremely well mapped on [[Userhttps:Platschi|Platschi//openstreetmap.org OpenStreetMap]] suggests that the ''Aral Straßen-Atlas Deutschland & Europa'' , these locations can be assumed to be very good for hitchhiking trips, tooaccurate and up-to-date. You can view the [https: it contains a detailed map of Germany //overpass-turbo.eu/s/MGq data extract here] and click Export > Download as KML and of the bordering countries, with city maps of then open the biggest German cities, and all service stations located on motorways. Price: EUR 7,95. Available kml file on all ''Aral'' service stations, and your phone to be loaded in German bookstoresMAPS.ME
At some service stations with a [[Sanifair]] system you get a EUR 0,50 coupon for the toilet which you === Learning to speak German ===The basic hitchhiker needs can use as be satisfied by a valid equivalent to monetary payment when buying things look at the petrol station shop or in the restaurant. If you're lucky you can also find thrown away phrasebook [[http://hitchwiki.org/en/Image:Sanifair_voucher.jpg Sanifair voucherswestern Europe phrasebook|here]] for free.
Nearly everywhere When asking your drivers for help it pays off to know that the German word ''Straße'' for street contains the weird letter ''ß'' which looks a bit like a B. If you pronounce it like an ''s'' Germans will understand you. Contrary to popular belief the diacritics on Ä, ä, Ö, ö, Ü and ü are not metal umlauts and thus they do affect pronunciation. If in Germany doubt try to pronounce the word as if the diacritics didn't exist. For instance, if you can drink water from pronounce the tapcity ''Würzburg'' as ''Wurzburg'' you will probably be understood.
Keep in mind that most shops (including supermarkets) are not allowed to be open on Sundays. There are no 24h-shops, although non-stop petrol stations often offer some food choices (very limited, though). When in bigger cities, you can usually get the cheapest food at Turkish and Italian restaurants.== Useful links ==
See * [https://warmroads.de/en/hitchhiking-in-17-germany/ Comprehensive guide about hitchhiking in Germany] by [[User:Korn|Korn]] on https://warmroads.de* [http://trashwikideu.anarchopedia.org/enindex.php/Deutschland:Trampstellen Hitchhiking spots in Germany trashwiki] for info , in German, on dumpster diving for free food a GFDL wiki* [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Autobahn_1-999.png Overview of autobahns in Germany]*[www.mokli-help.de] helps you find free showers/food/emergency accommodations, some of the listed ressources are aiming to ‘solve the problem of homelessness’ - just pick what suits you (please delete if it doesn’t belong here)*
== Practical links ==* [http://deu.anarchopedia.org/index.php/Deutschland:Trampstellen Hitchhiking spots in Germany], in German, on a GFDL wiki* [http://www.hitch-hiking.org/ www.hitch-hiking.org], general information on hitchhiking (in English and German)* [http://www.liftershalte.info/?country=DE A map with good/bad places to hitchhike]* [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Autobahn_1-999.png Overview of motorways in Germany]* [http://www.best-restaurants.de/aurade.htm A map with motorway restaurants in Germany]* [http://www.gastro-stars.com Best Restaurants in Germany]* [http://www.tank.rast.de/standorte/servicenetz/index.php/ Service stations on German motorways]{{nomadwiki}}
{{Hitchbase_country|73}}
[[wikipedia:Germany]][[trash:Germany]][[digi:Germany]]__NOTOC__
→Useful links
|pop = 82,314,900
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|hitch = {{very <good}}>|BW = DE
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[[File:2003 Hitch-hiking in Germany.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[User:Sigurdas|Sigurdas]] thumbing towards Nürnberg, 2003.]]
'''Germany''' is a member state of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. It is a great country for [[hitchhiking]], both on motorways (via [[on-ramp]]s, [[rest area|service stationstations]]s, more seldom - parking lots) and local roads. Motorway is called ''Autobahn'' in GermanGermans are a little bit suspicious, while a [[service area]] is ''Raststätte''but nice if you get to know them. Latter one is a very common place Thumbing makes it easier for hitching a ride - many drivers stop there for re-fuel and some restthem to say "no", because they do not even have to look at you. There you Those who will stop are often find [[maps]] people who hitchhiked themselves when they were younger. Many of Germany them have families, jobs and surrounding countries that indicate every single petrol station or any other service area located on motorways; in addition, there are map stands (usually by fast cars now.Because of the main entrance to a petrol station) that give a general overview absence of all service areas speed limits on the territory of Germany. Motorway ramps usually are many motorways it's a good option country to get a free ride, too. One has to make sure, though, not to end up on co called ''Schnellstrasse'' (it usually leads to motorways) where cars go fast and can not stophitchhike long distances in short time.__TOC__
As a general rule, you should always stick to the Autobahn as long as possible and try to change between major autobahns as little as possible, even if this means some detours. As soon as you are on the Autobahn and travel between service stations, you are hitching fast and reliable. For more information about this kind of hitchhiking, see the article on [[petrol station hitchhiking]].
==== Getting onto the autobahn ====[[File:Zeichen 330.svg|thumb|right|100px|The on-ramp sign of an autobahn]] To get onto the autobahn either hitch a ride from a city, thumb at the on-ramp '''before''' the sign or go to a service station by public transportation and walk there. A good possibility is to look for a street with traffic lights that leads to an autobahn. Wait for the red light, then knock at the windows (do not forget to smile!) and ask for a ride. If you look neither like a homeless nor like a drug dealer, they will be happy to help you. ==== Service stations and rest areas ====You have various possibilities for being dropped off along the autobahn to look for your next ride. As petrol station hitchhiking is faster, try to avoid being dropped at on-ramps where you have to thumb. On the autobahn, it is preferable to be dropped off at a service station instead of a rest area as rest areas have much less cars stopping. [[File:Zeichen 448.1.svg|thumb|right|150px|Autobahn traffic sign of an Autohof]] The ''Raststätte'' is the usual choice for hitchhiking because most cars tend to refuel there. Make sure your ''Raststätte'' has not just a restaurant but also a petrol stations because more people stop there and they leave quicker. Most ''Raststätten'' are on both sides of the autobahn and there is often a bridge or tunnel nearby to cross. Therefore you might consider hitchhiking to a ''Raststätte'' in the opposite direction first to get onto the highway quicker. At the entrance of the petrol station shop there are usually map stands that show the surrounding area and other service stations in Germany.With a few exceptions all service stations can be entered by foot from the side and feature an unlocked door in the fence or wall. The off-autobahn ''Autohof'' is a local fuel station that is marked on traffic signs on the autobahn. Food and fuel is cheaper there but most car drivers don't bother and thus mostly trucks stop there. This means that they are okay on weekdays but have to be avoided on Saturday evenings and Sundays at all cost. Another disadvantage for continuing on the autobahn is that local traffic also stops at the ''Autohof''. === Federal ''Bundesstraße'' roads === [[File:Bundesstraße 42 number.svg|thumb|right|150px|A traffic sign indicating Bundesstraße B42]] The federal ''Bundesstraße'' roads are indicated by yellow signs and carry numbers like ''B6'' or ''B49''. Like in the case of the autobahn the ''B'' is not written on traffic signs, but federal roads can be distinguished by the yellow colour of the sign. As they are smaller and carry more local traffic they should only be used to get from and to the autobahn, though there are a few exceptions to the rule. Their general speed limit is 100 km/h and they usually have no emergency lane so they are difficult to thumb. To get a ride either try petrol stations or choose a place where have a lot of space to see you and stop or where they are going slower, e.g. town exits. Police might consider it illegal to thumb in sites where cars cannot stop without putting the traffic in danger. [[File:Zeichen 331.1 - Kraftfahrstraße, StVO 2013.svg|thumb|right|150px|A fraffic sign indicating the beginning of a ''Kraftfahrstraße'']]To make it more complicated some of the ''Bundesstraßen'' are a so called ''Kraftfahrstraße''. For them most of the ''Autobahn''-rules apply (e.g. no pedestrians and bikes allowed). You can recognise a ''Kraftfahrstraße'' by the sign of a white car in front of a blue backround. === Smaller federal ''Landstraße'' roads === These roads are not numbered on traffic signs and usually connect minor towns. As most of them have lower speed limits thumbing is likely to work. As they might not have a lot of traffic coming through they should only be used for getting from and to you final destination. == The Ruhr area warning == When hitch hiking towards and from Belgium, be carreful passing the Ruhr area (Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg). Once you get in, it's difficult to get out. Raststättes are rare and passing traffic avoids this region. We tried on several places and had to take the train to pass this area (lost 5 hours). There are sufficient work arounds to avoid this area. See also the hitchwiki page of the [[Ruhr Area]]. == Legal stuff ==Hitchhiking in general is legal in Germany. It is only forbidden to hitchhike on the Autobahn itself, meaning you standing on the autobahn or its emergency lane. It is also forbidden to walk on a ''Kraftfahrstraße''. You are perfectly fine stopping at service stations and asking the people but keep in mind that service stations are private property / leases. It occasionally happened that owners try to get rid of hichthikers at "their" service station. If that happens, just move to the parking space and hitchhike there.If you want to start hitching at the on-ramps, make sure you stand before the rectangular blue sign indicating the start of the autobahn. Just like other people, police may or may not be friendly towards hitchhikers. It is said that police controls are more frequent in the southern states of [[Bavaria]] and [[Baden-Württemberg]]. As a foreigner you have to carry your passport at all times; a national ID card is sufficient if you are from another EU country. If you are being checked, be friendly, show it to them and they will leave you alone. === Car registration/number plates ===You can determine where a car is registered by its number plates. While tehre are certain plates on rented cars. (Europcar has „HH“ (Hamburg), Avis – „EU“ (Euskirchen), Sixt – „M“ (Munich), Hertz „DN-H“ (Düren)), other plates are associated with areas [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kfz-Kennzeichen_in_Deutschland - DE], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Germany EN]. The first letter is usually the district where it is registered. In addition, there is a little patch beside the number which tells you what state that number plate belongs to, which is useful if you do not know the district letters. == License plates ===
There are between one and three letters on a license plate which show the city or region where the car is registered. For example, look for license plates starting with '''B''' if you're hitching to [[Berlin]]. Have a look at the articles on Wikipedia for more information: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_car_number_plates German car number plates] (in English) and [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kfz-Kennzeichen_in_Deutschland Liste der Kfz-Kennzeichen in Deutschland] (in German).
=== Eating =Language ==Try to avoid eating on motorway Despite German being the major language, (with over 95% of the population speaking it as a first language [[rest area|service stationshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/germany.shtml]] if ) you want to save money and to have will find that many Germans speak English or French as a good taste of foodsecond language. These restaurants Other common languages in the country are notoriously expensive (very often you have to pay for the toiletTurkish, too) Russian and the food quality is quite lowArabic.
== Trains Trashwiki & Nomadwiki ==See [[Deutsche Bahn]].
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