Changes

|hitch = {{<good}}>|BW = DE

<map lat='51[[File:2003 Hitch-hiking in Germany.39920565355378' lng='9jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[User:Sigurdas|Sigurdas]] thumbing towards Nürnberg, 2003.9755859375]]' zoom='5' view=Germany'0' height='320' width='260' float='leftis 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 stations]], more seldom - parking lots) and local roads. Germans are a little bit suspicious, but nice if you get to know them. Thumbing makes it easier for them to say "no", because they do not even have to look at you. Those who will stop are often people who hitchhiked themselves when they were younger. Many of them have families, jobs and fast cars now.Because of the absence of speed limits on many motorways it' s a good country='Germany' />to hitchhike long distances in short time.__TOC__

'''== Road types ==To hitchhike efficiently in Germany''' it is a member state good to know the three different kinds of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]roads between cities and towns. It is a great country for hitchhiking. Just make sure you get on the By descending speed these are:* motorways or expressways called ''Autobahn'' with no general speed limit (motorwaythere can still be signs with speed limits)! There it is best to get to a * federal roads called ''Bundesstraße''* country roads called ''RaststätteLandstraße'' (service area) where drivers can legally stop and get from one to another. You will often find maps with the motorways and the service areas along them. On most on ramps you will get also reasonably fast a ride. Just make sure not to end up on a "Schnellstrasse" (leading to the on ramp), where cars go fast Their use in hitchhiking is different and cannot stopexplained below.

In '''Germany''' there are no speed limits on many highways. So you might first want to try to get a ride with fast cars before asking truck drivers! Trucks are great during nighttime=== Autobahn ===For more information, but like in see the article [[FranceAutobahn]], there are restrictions to when they might drive. In '''Germany''', most trucks aren't allowed to drive on Sundays or public holidays until 22:00.

If you are traveling specific highways, have a look at the '''[[TemplateFile:Highways DEBundesautobahn_7_number.svg|highwaysthumb|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 or at and the bottom number of this articlethe highway. There youOn traffic signs the ''A''ll find specific information about is not mentioned but they can be distinguished by the ramps and hints along blue colour of the highways, currently especially for the route [[Amsterdam]] - [[Berlin]] along the [[A2 (Germany)|A2]] and [[A30 (Germany)|A30]]!sign.

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 the autobahn and the emergency lane. 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]]. 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 most trucks aren't allowed on motorways on Sundays or public holidays before 22:00. As most truck drivers stop earlier truck traffic already gets less on Saturday afternoons. If 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, the route [[Amsterdam]]–[[Berlin]] along the [[A2 (Germany)|A2]] and [[A30 (Germany)|A30]]. ==== Getting onto the autobahn == License plates ==In Germany license plates start [[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 abbreviation of 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 region 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 car autobahn, it is registeredpreferable to be dropped off at a service station instead of a rest area as rest areas have much less cars stopping. So look out  [[File:Zeichen 448.1.svg|thumb|right|150px|Autobahn traffic sign of an Autohof]] The ''Raststätte'' is the usual choice for number plates starting with hitchhiking because most cars tend to refuel there. Make sure your ''Raststätte''Bhas not just a restaurant but also a petrol stations because more people stop there and they leave quicker. Most ''Raststätten'' if are on both sides of the autobahn and there is often a bridge or tunnel nearby to cross. Therefore youmight consider hitchhiking to a ''Raststätte''re hitching 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 === [[BerlinFile:Bundesstraße 42 number.svg|thumb|right|150px|A traffic sign indicating Bundesstraße B42]]! Have 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 look at [http:few exceptions to the rule. Their general speed limit is 100 km//enh 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.wikipediaPolice might consider it illegal to thumb in sites where cars cannot stop without putting the traffic in danger.org/wiki/German_car_number_plates German car number plates] and  [[httpFile://deZeichen 331.wikipedia1 - Kraftfahrstraße, StVO 2013.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kfz-Kennzeichen_in_Deutschland List svg|thumb|right|150px|A fraffic sign indicating the beginning of abbreviations useda ''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 German) front of a blue backround.   === Smaller federal ''Landstraße'' roads === These roads are not numbered on Wikipedia 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 more informationgetting from and to you final destination. == The Ruhr area warning ==

{{Template:Cities == 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.

== Border crossings ==Germany implemented the [[Schengen Agreement]]Just like other people, police may or may not be friendly towards hitchhikers. This means, It is said that police controls are more frequent in the border to other Schengen countries are open. Since December 21th 2007, southern states of [[PolandBavaria]] and [[Czech RepublicBaden-Württemberg]] are also part of the Schengen area and only . As a foreigner you have to carry your passport at the border to [[Switzerland]]) there all times; a national ID card is sufficient if you are still checkpoints and German custom officers or sometimes police might control your luggagefrom another EU country. If you want to hitchhike from a border check pointare being checked, it might be betterfriendly, show it to stand a little bit away from the check point, so them and they will leave you are out of the custom officers' sightalone.

== Carpooling ''(Mitfahrgelegenheit)'' = Car registration/number plates ===Germany You can determine where a car is registered by its number plates. While tehre are certain plates on rented cars. (Europcar has a national carpooling website that gives the opportunity to the driver to post their journey in search of passenger to share the cost of the ride„HH“ (Hamburg), Avis – „EU“ (Euskirchen), Sixt – „M“ (Munich), Hertz „DN-H“ (Düren)), other plates are associated with areas [https://de.wikipedia. The websiteorg/wiki/Liste_der_Kfz-Kennzeichen_in_Deutschland - DE], called [httphttps://wwwen.mitfahrgelegenheitwikipedia.deorg/wiki/ MitfahrgelegenheitVehicle_registration_plates_of_Germany EN] . The first letter is usually the district where it is sadly exclusively in germanregistered. AlthoughIn addition, its system there is pretty basic as you can scroll search from your departure point ''(von)'' to a destination ''(nach)'' with a date and # of passengers. If little patch beside the number which tells you search for a ride going outside Germany or what state that number plate belongs to Germany from another [[Europe|european]] country, which is useful if you can simply click the ''Europa'' link. Then you simply have to contact the driver yourself (most of do not know the time through email, some does leave their phone number) and agree to a price and a departure point and time. This system can reveal a low expense alternative to hitching, a similar system also exists in [[Belgium]]district letters.

Experience showed that sometimes hitchhiking == License plates ==There are between one and three letters on a license plate which show the city or region where the car is even faster than registered. For example, look for license plates starting with '''B''Mitfahrgelegenheit'if you', because drivers sometimes drive 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 each city they pass to get Deutschland] (in new passengers or load them offGerman).

[[ImageFile:IMG 5392.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Tiziano]] hitching from [[Berlin]] to [[Munich]]]]If you're not staying very long Recommended maps for Germany are listed in [[Maps#Germany you |this article]]. You can make it easily hitch through Germany with any just a map of Germany showing you the gas that has all service stations on the highway. Go to any gas station along the highways and ask for a "Autobahn-Guide"on it. This "Autobahn-Guide" is for There are maps at many service stations in a little free! Youbooklet which are quite misleading, they do '''not'''ll get a booklet describing contain all Services and including a map with an overview service stations, just the ones belonging to one of all gas stations along the highwaysbig companies running them. More Information you can find For more information look here: [http://www.tank.rast.de/standorte/servicenetz/index.php tank.rast.de]. You For a good map to print out and bring with you that has all the 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. On the website: www.autobahnatlas-online.de you can also find more detailed maps there for ~listings of all Autobahnen, with all drive-ups, interchanges, all types of rest stops, tunnels, and bridges along their ways, with exact kilometer allegations. This comes along handy when hopping from station to station. On a longer journey with several route options, [https://www.diercke.de/content/deutschland-stra%C3%9Fenverkehr-978-3-14-100800-5 Euro-64-1-1 this map] showing the traffic volume of the different highways might help you deciding which could be faster due to more traffic.

Very good maps for hitchhiking are '''Michelin Regional'''For those using mobile app MAPS.ME, the orange ones you may download a .kml file with all the numbers 541-546service plazas for viewing on your map offline. There are six of them, each covering a different part of Considering Germanyis extremely well mapped on [https://openstreetmap.<br />They are org OpenStreetMap], these locations can be assumed to be very detailed, on the motorway they show every single gas station, hotel, restaurant, or parking place accurate and they also have town maps for any bigger town within up-to-date. You can view the covered area[https://overpass-turbo.<br eu/s/MGq data extract here] and click Export >Ratio is 1:350000Download as KML and then open the . You can usually get them kml file on your phone to be loaded in local bookstores for about EUR 8MAPS.ME

[[User:Platschi|Platschi]] suggests == Language ==Despite German being the ''Aral Straßen-Atlas Deutschland & Europa''. It contains a detailled map of '''Germany''' and bordering countriesmajor language, (with city maps over 95% of the biggest German cities and all service stations along population speaking it as a first language [http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/germany.shtml]) you will find that many Germans speak English or French as a second language. Other common languages in the highway. Costs EUR 7country are Turkish,95. Available at all ''Aral'' service stations Russian and bookstoresArabic.

== Eat = Learning to speak German ===Try to avoid eating on service stations on the motorways. They are very expensive (you even have to pay for the toilets) and the food is usually very bad.At some service stations with The basic hitchhiker needs can be satisfied by a ''Sanifair'' system you get a EUR 0,50 bill for the toilet. You can buy things for EUR 0,50 with it look at the petrol station shop and at the restaurant.You can drink water from the tap nearly everywhere in Germanyphrasebook [[western Europe phrasebook|here]].

Keep in mind When asking your drivers for help it pays off to know that most shops (including supermarkets) 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 allowed metal umlauts and thus they do affect pronunciation. If in doubt try to open on Sundayspronounce the word as if the diacritics didn't exist. There are For instance, if you pronounce the city ''Würzburg'' as ''noWurzburg'' 24h-shops, but gas stations often offer a limited food section.In bigger cities you can usually get the cheapest food at the various Turkish and Italian Restaurantswill probably be understood.

* [http://www.hitch-hiking.org www.hitch-hiking.org - Information all about hitchhiking (English and German language)]* [http://www.liftershalte.info/?country=DE world map with good places to hitch]* [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Autobahn_1-999.png Overview of highways autobahns in Germany]* [http://www.bestmokli-restaurantshelp.de] helps you find free showers/aurade.htm Highway restaurants in German]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)* [http://www.tank.rast.de/standorte/servicenetz/index.php/ Service stations on highways in Germany] == Trashwiki & Nomadwiki == {{nomadwiki}}

{{Hitchbase_country|73Highways DE}}{{Template:Cities Germany}}{{States Germany}}{{Template:Europe/countries}} {{IsIn|Western Europe}}