I’ll admit, a few years ago? I would have been screwed.
Living in any place in Europe has its icebergs of difficulty, but none as esoteric or technologically backwards as Germany itself. Germany is a majority cash-only society– unless you’re in a major city center (and even then, the dreaded “cash only” sign in a shop window is liable to ruin your day).
My partner once remarked that in Germany, your options are usually either through an app or everything is on paper. There’s no middle ground. You’re going to find yourself in a world of headaches, fees, high-ATM costs, VAT add-ons, and a variety of other problems– all mostly involving fees and that pesky, pesky US bank account. Dust off your PayPal account and get ready for that $4.99 fee per transaction, as you’re going to need it for a while.
While the new chip and contactless NFC chips on newer American debit cards are a great step forward in purchasing overseas, in actuality, the experience of actually using a US card is humbling at best. Even simple things, such as figuring out where to tap your card, is a mini-puzzle in itself. Take it from experience.
Lost? Me too, but not now since I had to figure it out on my own. Here is a breakdown of how I set up a majority of things to live relatively painless in Germany itself, and also get ready for traveling around Europe.
Ready? Let’s go. 👍
Using SIMs or using eSIMs in Germany?
AKA, getting comfortable with everything on my phone turning Polish.
While a SIM card is used for storing your phone and plan information (in simplistic terms), an eSIM is a digital version of a SIM card that can be loaded via an app or your carrier. No more fumbling around with tiny paperclips or SIM card ejector tools, you can easily purchase an eSIM card and load it to your phone, while keeping your old SIM card in. This is great for everyone using Two-Factor Identification with a phone number, or needs their phone number for recovery. (Although you shouldn’t be using SMS for 2FA login!)
Most newer iPhones (past the iPhone XS) come with eSIM slots by default, and modern Android phones (such as the Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, and other major flagships) do as well. A full list of phones (and laptops!) that support eSIM is here.
I’ve been using an eSIM with Airalo for the last few months, for strictly data in Germany, for a whopping $5 a month for 3GB/30 days. Using a referral code each month gives you a fantastic benefit, and also allows my phone to continue to receive US-based text and calls (free with my phone plan, but always check your plan’s details for specifics).
I haven’t ran into any major issues (yet) with a US phone number, because most Germans refuse to actually use their phone, instead asking you to use WhatsApp. (When setting up my phone for the first time, I actually remarked that my WhatsApp messages weren’t going through. The technician deadpan asked me “what’s WhatsApp?” and I awkwardly explained to her it was owned by Facebook and similar to Facebook Messenger, but used by everyone outside of the US. I still… don’t think she understood.)
A con: apps that rely on your SIM card to provide regional content instead of geolocating your IP address, such as TikTok or Twitter, will use Airalo’s regional partners as a go-between. In my case, Poland. 🇵🇱
If you’re interested in my blatant and nearly-shamless self-promotion, you can sign up with Airalo here for $3 off your first eSIM plan: airalo.com.
Getting another bank account with N26
An awkward Zoom call retrospective.
For Germany, and well, Europe in general, you’ll hear over and over again to pick up an N26 bank account.
N26 is a bit of a special case among its brethren of online-only banks. To work in Europe and in Germany, they need (and have) a banking license, there’s an unfavorable reputation around them being somewhat unreliable.
(And after reading further: everyone who has ever had a problem on forums like r/N26 either 1: was trying to purchase crytpocurrency from a shady site or 2: was trying to purchase NFTs from a shady site. In which case… carry on.)
I however experienced a lot of pain in simply trying to sign up. I ran into multiple cheery and obscure “Try again later” failures when it came to uploading information about myself. After I caved and signed up online, I then had issues swapping back to the app again to complete the in-person Zoom verification call, and then with transferring the first pre-payment to the account from my US bank account.
The upside is that N26 offers fully English service (something which is otherwise is very hard to find in Europe) and doesn’t charge any monthly account fees (unless if you want benefits or etc). I went with the N26 Business Smart plan, at a little over $4.35 a month for 12 month up front. It’s billed as “The clever business bank account for freelancers” which made me want to throw up slightly in my mouth, but will be useful for exporting freelance payments for tax purposes.
The N26 account includes a cool transparent physical card, five ATM withdrawals a month in Germany (important!), free payments worldwide in every currency, and a massive chip on the card that is so comically large, I had to share it with a few of my friends. It also supports Cash26, a program to withdraw money directly from grocery stores and shops if there’s no ATMs around, but unfortunately (and frustratingly) does not provide routing numbers for US bank accounts.
This is not N26’s fault. However, to transfer money from a US bank account to a SEPA account, you’ll need to use a service such as Wise (formally Transferwise) or Revolut. As you can imagine, legally trying to transfer US dollars out of the United States, regardless if you’re spending it on obscene Munich rent prices or spending it on shady brownie purchases in Amsterdam, is a difficult task.
Converting paper vaccinations to an EU digital COVID Pass:
It’s barely slightly kinda legal, no matter how you slice it.
For traveling within the EU, there’s no better alternative than loading up a digital EU vaccination certificate. While you can show your American passport and paper vaccination card together (and most venues will resolutely sigh, mumble something about “Americans” under their breath, and let you inside), it’s better to not risk it for stricter screening places, museums, sport venues or at the whim of a particularly “by the book” employee.
There are a variety of private apps to host your EU Digital COVID Pass (or Green Pass, as it may sometimes be called), but I would recommend CovPass specifically: https://www.digitaler-impfnachweis-app.de/en/
CovPass is an app for residents of Germany… but can load an EU Digital COVID Certificate from COVID-19 vaccinations onto your smartphone It’s free service provided by the Robert Koch Institute, but most importantly: it’s commonly accepted within the EU and available on US mobile app stores. Joy of joys! 🎉
- CovPass on the US App Store
- CovPass on the US Google Play Store
Getting your CDC paper certificate converted to an EU Digital Certificate is another problem all together. It’s technically frowned-upon to import a non-German resident’s COVID information to an EU Digital Certificate, but don’t let a stern German frown stop you.
The German frown towards strangers is legendary.
Let me be clear and in short: German pharmacies can and do offer transcription of CDC paper vaccine cards. Do so so, however, you’ll first need to hunt down a pharmacy that offers digital transcription of paper vaccination records.
I would first suggest trying the My Pharmacy Manager search here: mein-apothekenmanager.de and searching by “COVID-19-Impfzertifikat” and your post code.
It’s up to the pharmacist on staff if they want to convert your CDC card or not, and you’ll need an international form of identification such as a passport. And if they reject you, don’t take it personal. Try to find a different pharmacy or try again at a different time.
Pharmacies located closer to a US military base or inside of an airport may be more familiar with U.S.-standard vaccination cards, if you’re not finding any luck elsewhere.
For me, I was rejected again and again from local pharmacies and (shockingly) at the Munich Airport with silly (or flat out illegal) requirements. A few of the choice rejections: transcribing your CDC card to an EU Green pass isn’t a thing, transcribing a CDC card is highly illegal, transcription is only available with German health insurance and your German travel insurance isn’t valid for this, you need a German residency permit/German visa, we don’t accept CDC cards, etc).
Finally, at a SaniPlus Apotheken chain store: I was able to walk in, hand over my CDC card, and receive my EU vaccination certificate and QR codes in less than ten minutes. Figures. 🙃
Other Recommended Apps
- For Munich itself, MVG Fahrinfo. (Note: there’s two apps, one for timetables and one for purchasing tickets.) (Note note: grab the IsarCard 7 and you’ll pay a flat fee for unlimited travel for a week.)
- Wolt and Lieferando are the easiest food-ordering services for English-speakers (and Wolt even offers English menus by default!).
- TooGoodToGo is a great app for combatting food-waste and also grabbing bakery and grocery store mystery boxes for a low cost.
- If you don’t have a pocket-native to speak German for you or you’re unsure of exactly what you should order on a menu: Google Translate offers a “live lens” view that translates text for you on the go, using your phone camera. If you don’t have a data connection abroad, download the language pack you’ll need in-advance in the app and it will be valid for live lens translations for around 90 days.
Brin Bliss 
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