Pretty much all German hotels have an English website. It‘s extremely easy to make a reservation. But in some of the smaller cities you might have to make a reservation via phone.
You‘ll be asked at what day you‘ll arrive. They will probably ask you: „An welchem Tag werden Sie anreisen?“ (At what day will you arrive). And you should answer:
Monday: Montag
Tuesday: Dienstag
Wednesday: Mittwoch
Thursday: Donnerstag
Friday: Freitag
Saturday: Samstag
Sunday: Sonntag
In Germany, they use 24 hours for a day: 1PM being 13h, 2 PM being 14h, and so on till 11PM being 23h and 12PM being 0h. This is important to know so you wont be confused when they tell you the check-in and check-out times. In order to tell them how long you‘re going to stay you should know that, „ein Tag“ means one day, „zwei Tage“ means two days, „eine Woche“ means one week, and „einen Monat“ means one month.
They will also ask you whether you want an „Einzelzimmer“ (single room) or a „Doppelzimmer“ (double room). Usually you have your own „Badezimmer“ (bathroom) with „Toilette“ (toilet) and „Dusche“ (shower) and/or „Badewanne“ (bathtub). Most hotels offer „Halbpension“ (half board). In most places you have to pay an extra fee if you want to use the hotels WiFi. If you visit Germany during the summer you might want to ask whether the hotel has „eine Klimaanlage“(aircon) or not.
In most hotels breakfast will be in form of a „Frühstücksbuffet“ (breakfast buffet). They usually offer a wide variety of cereals, fruits, bread, spreads and sausages. They‘ll also have coffee, tea, cocoa and orange juice.
You should also check if they have „ein Schwimmbad“ (a swimming pool), „eine Sauna“ (a sauna) or „ein Spa“ (a spa).
If you‘re in a wheelchair you need to know whether the hotel is „behindertengerecht“ (handicap-accessible) or not. Another important thing to know, in case you‘re traveling with your pet, is: „keine Haustiere erlaubt“ (no pets allowed)!
If you‘re on a tight budget you might want to look for alternatives to an expensive hotel. You‘ll find „Jugendherbergen“ (youth hostels) all over Germany. They‘re cheap but they don‘t provide much comfort. But if you want to save some money and you don‘t mind sleeping in a dorm room, you should check them out. All „Jugendherbergen“ are members of Hosteling International. So if you have a membership card of another Hosteling International member like for example YHA Australia, you‘ll save a few bucks every night.
Another alternative would be a „Gästehaus“ (guest house). It‘s not that cheap but you‘ll have your own „Küche“ (kitchen) so you can save some money by cooking for yourself.
„Camping“ (camping) is very popular during the summer. If you don‘t mind bringing your own „Zelt“ (tent), this might be the cheapest solution. You‘ll also need to look for „einen Campingplatz“ (a camping ground) if you plan on renting a caravan because wild camping is „verboten“ (prohibited) in Germany!
