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Germany
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|pop = 82,314,900
|currency = Euro (€)
|hitch = <rating country='de' /good>
|BW = DE
}}
[[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 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 usually often people who hitchhiked themselves when they were younger, but there are only few . Many of them have families, jobs and today it is not common any morefast cars now.* See also: '''Tips Because of the absence of speed limits on Hitchhiking Germanymany motorways it''', an article on [http://www.digihitch.com/europe/western_europe/149_1_1_article.html Digihitch] by [http://www.digihitch.com/userinfo-dsmith4721.html David Smith]s a good country to hitchhike long distances in short time.__TOC__
== Road types ==
To hitchhike efficiently in Germany it is good to know the three different kinds of roads between cities and towns. By descending speed these are:
* motorways or expressways called ''Autobahn'' with no general speed limit(there can still be signs with speed limits)
* federal roads called ''Bundesstraße''
* country roads called ''Landstraße''
=== Autobahn ===
For more information, see the article [[Autobahn]].
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 Autobahn as long as possible and try to change between major autobahns seldomlyas little as possible, even if this means some detours. As soon as you are on the autobahn 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.
==== Getting onto the autobahn ====
[[File:Zeichen 330.svg|thumb|right|100px|The on-ramp sign of an autobahn]]
==== 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. If you don't have to leave the autobahn to get to the service station it is called ''Raststätte'' whilst service stations up to about 500 metres from the autobahn are called ''Autohof''. 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.
[[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 color 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 after checking that you are not wanted.
=== Crossing the border Car registration/number plates ===Germany has signed You can determine where a [[Schengen Agreement]] which means that borders with other Schengen countries car is registered by its number plates. While tehre are opencertain plates on rented cars. Since 2009(Europcar has „HH“ (Hamburg), Avis – „EU“ (Euskirchen), Sixt – „M“ (Munich), all neighbouring countries are Schengen members as wellHertz „DN-H“ (Düren)), so there other plates are no fixed border controls anymoreassociated with areas [https://de.wikipedia. At timesorg/wiki/Liste_der_Kfz-Kennzeichen_in_Deutschland - DE], there are mobile checks by the police or customs, especially in border regions or on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Germany EN]. The first letter is usually the autobahndistrict where it is registered. At the Swiss borderIn addition, there are still custom controlsis a little patch beside the number which tells you what state that number plate belongs to, but that will probably only affect you which is useful if you are on a truckdo not know the district letters. (Switzerland has joined the Schengen Agreement in 2009!)
== 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).
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 moment this is not yet a big problem, but in due course it may lead to the situation that license plates become as useless as those in many other countries for determining the direction a car might be going...
== Maps ==
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 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.
== Language ==
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 doubt try to pronounce the word as if the diacritics didn't exist. For instance, if you pronounce the city ''Würzburg'' as ''Wurzburg'' you will probably be understood.
== Other possibilities of transportation Useful links ==
=== Carpooling =Trashwiki & Nomadwiki ==
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* [http://www.bibione.com/upload//sito_bibione/162sito_bibione.jpg Bibione Strand]
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[[Category:Germany| ]]