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Hitchhiking in general is legal in Germany. It is only forbidden to hitchhike on the Autobahn itself, meaning you standing on the highway (or its emergency lane). 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 highway.
Police in general is really suspicious of hitchhikers, especially in the southern states of [[Bavaria]] or [[Baden-Württemberg]]. Be polite , and show them your ID (which you should always carry while hitching in Germany) and they will leave you alone (after checking that you are no your criminalhistory).
=== License plates ===
=== Crossing the border ===
Germany has signed a [[Schengen Agreement]] which means that borders with other Schengen countries are open. Since 2009, all neighbouring countries are Schengen members as well, so there are no fixed border controls anymore. At times, there are mobile checks at all anymoreby the police or customs, especially in border regions or on the autobahn.
At the Swiss border, there are still custom controls, but that will probably only affect you if you are in on a truck. (Switzerland has joined the Schengen Agreement in 2009!)
=== Maps ===
Hitchhiker [[User:Platschi|Platschi]] suggests that the ''Aral Straßen-Atlas Deutschland & Europa'' can be very good for hitchhiking trips, too: it contains a detailed map of Germany and of the bordering countries, with city maps of the biggest German cities, and all service stations located on motorways. Price: EUR 7,95. Available on all ''Aral'' service stations, and in German bookstores.
=== Eating Food ======= Autobahn ====Try to avoid eating on a motorway [[rest area|service stations]] if you want to save money and to if have a good taste of food. These restaurants are notoriously expensive (very often you have to pay for the toilet, too) and the food quality is quite low.
At some service stations with a [[Sanifair]] system you get a EUR 0,50 coupon for as part of the toilet service fee, which you can use as a valid equivalent to monetary payment redeem when buying things at the petrol station shop or in the restaurant. If you're lucky you can also find thrown away [http://hitchwiki.org/en/Image:Sanifair_voucher.jpg Sanifair vouchers] for free.
Drinking tap water is safe allover the country.
==== Off the autobahn ====
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).
See [http://trashwiki.org/en/Germany trashwiki] for info on dumpster diving for free food in Germany.
=== Speaking Language ===Despite German being the major language, (with over 95% of the 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 country are Turkish, Russian and Arabic. ==== Learning to speak German ====
Have a look at the phrasebook [[German|here]].
== Trains =Railways ===The country has an expansive railway network. As an alternative to the standard fare, you may also check offers and sales, for example regional or seasonal tickets. [http://www.bahn.com/i/view/DEU/en/prices/index.shtml] See also [[Deutsche Bahn]].
== Practical links ==