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German Travel Vocabulary, Part II

This week, we'll continue our work on travel vocabulary. The last lesson looked at words related to booking and traveling to a destination, so let's pick up there, and continue with types of accommodation.

 

When you book a trip, there's the question of both die Hinreise (the outward journey) and die Rückreise (the return journey). Depending on your mode of travel, you may instead talk about die Hinfahrt and die Rückfahrt for bus or train travel, or der Hinflug and der Rückflug for a flight. You can also say die einfache Fahrt for a single ticket, and der Gabelflug for a trip with multiple stops. Most of the time, however, you will be booking a round trip ticket:

 

Hin- und Rückfahrt kosten fünfzig Euro, und du musst nicht umsteigen.

A round trip costs fifty euros, and you don't have to change trains.

Caption 22, Nicos Weg: Bahnreisen

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Part of planning your trip is selecting accommodation (die Unterkunft), which is generally based on your chosen destination and budget:

 

Mit Hotel, Jugendherberge und Kapelle ist das achthundert Jahre alte Hospiz heute das Tor ins Innergschlöß.

With a hotel, youth hostel, and chapel, the eight-hundred-year-old former hospice is today the gateway to Innergschlöß.

Captions 26-27, Die letzten Paradiese: Die Schönheit der Alpen 2

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...und vor allen Dingen mit dem Komfort einer Ferienwohnung.

...and, above all else, with the comfort of a vacation home.

Caption 11, Glamping: Camping mit Stil

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Hierzulande hat zwar noch nicht jeder Campingplatz den Glamping-Faktor, aber schon im kommenden Jahr soll es in Deutschland soweit sein.

Here in Germany, admittedly, not every campground has this "glamping" factor, but it should already be available in Germany in the coming year.

Captions 34-35, Glamping: Camping mit Stil

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You will have to choose whether you require ein Einzelzimmer, ein Doppelzimmer, or ein Mehrbettzimmer, which is more often found at youth hostels and may involve bunk beds. At some types of accommodation, you can choose between die Halbpension, which includes breakfast and dinner, and die Vollpension, which includes all meals. More common, however, is a simple Übernachtung mit Frühstück

 

Für ein Einzelzimmer zahlt man siebzig Euro die Nacht.

For a single room you pay seventy euros a night.

Caption 32, Berlin: Indoor-Camping im „Hüttenpalast“

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Inklusive Halbpension, die Ihre Frau selber kocht.

Including half board, which your wife cooks herself.

Caption 54, heute-show Schule, Geschäfte, Urlaub: Leben in Zeiten von Corona

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In Germany, you may also find consider die Pension or das Gästehaus, which are generally smaller and less formal than a hotel. Of course, there is at least one mode of travel that eliminates the question of where to stay:

 

Mit dem Wohnmobil durch Luxemburg zu fahren bedeutet inzwischen, sich entscheiden zu müssen.

Driving through Luxembourg in a motorhome means having to make decisions these days.

Captions 31-32, Reisebericht: Luxemburg

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Further Learning

In addition to watching travel videos on Yabla German, go to a German booking website and do a casual search for flights and hotels in order to see the vocabulary above used in context. For an even more advanced exercise, have a look at this article on unusual places to stay in Germany

German Travel Vocabulary, Part I

While many people in Germany have just come back from their Osterferien, people in the United States and elsewhere may already be thinking about trips they might take during summer vacation (der Sommerurlaub or die Sommerferien). This month, we'll devote a few lessons to looking at essential travel vocabulary in German.

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You may remember how much trouble Jenny had deciding what kind of vacation to take. In German, a trip to a city is called die Städtereise, but many people like to keep things a bit more low key: 

 

Ah, klar, ich könnte eine Kreuzfahrt mit dem Schiff machen.

Ah, right, I could take a cruise with a ship.

Caption 32, Jenny: Reiseziele

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Strandurlaub bei Windstärke sechs...

Beach vacation with a wind velocity of six...

Caption 42, Traumberuf: Windsurfer

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Once decided, you'll have to plan your trip and make the necessary reservations: 

 

Ich möchte gerne eine Reise zum Europapark buchen.

I would like to book a trip to Europapark.

Caption 4, Reiseplanung: Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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In der Hauptsaison empfiehlt es sich zu reservieren.

In high season, it is recommended to make a reservation.

Caption 37, Reisebericht Luxemburg

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Part of the planning is figuring out how you are going to get to your destination. 

 

Stattdessen mit Bus und Bahn zum Reiseziel fahren.

Instead, travel by bus and train to your destination.

Caption 44, WissensWerte: Tourismus und Nachhaltigkeit

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Also mit dem Auto würde ich heute nicht fahren.

So, I wouldn't go by car today.

Caption 45, Deutsch mit Eylin Das Wetter

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Von dort können Sie ein Auto mieten oder mit dem Bus fahren.

From there you can rent a car or travel by bus.

Caption 13, Reiseplanung: Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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Damit höre ich manchmal Musik, wenn ich im Zug oder im Flugzeug sitze.

Sometimes I listen to music with them when I'm on the train or on a plane.

Captions 23-24, Deutsch mit Eylin: Denk schnell!

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Auf dem Schiff haben fünfhundertsechzehn Gäste Platz, richtig viel Platz.

There is room on the ship for five hundred and sixteen guests, really a lot of space.

Caption 10, Kreuzfahrtschiff: An Bord der Europa 2

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Hallo, liebe Yabla-Schüler, ich stehe heute hier auf einer Fähre.

Hello dear Yabla students, I am standing here today on a ferry.

Caption 1, Unterwegs mit Cettina: an der Rheinfähre

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Further Learning

More travel vocabulary is coming! In the meantime, we have so many fun travel videos on Yabla German. Just do a quick search and you'll quickly find yourself in HeidelbergInnsbruck, or the Alps! You may want to also check out this video on tourism and sustainability.

Speaking German in Brazil

The German language is not nearly as widely spoken as some other languages, like Mandarin Chinese or Spanish, for instance. According to a list of languages spoken around the world on Wikipedia, German is the 11th most-spoken language on the planet, with 89 million speakers or about 1.27% of the world population. Still, many people are surprised to hear that German is an official main language in six countries. Let's start with the obvious: 

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Deutschland geht es gut,

Germany is doing well,

auch wenn das nächste Jahr ohne Zweifel schwieriger wird als dieses.

even if next year will undoubtedly be more difficult than this [year].

Captions 44-45, Angela Merkel - Neujahrsansprache

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And in second place, Austria:

 

Am nächsten Wochenende werde ich in Österreich sein.

Next weekend I will be in Austria.

Caption 49, Konjugation - Das Verb „sein“

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Followed by Switzerland: 

 

Der Rhein entspringt in den Alpen, also in der Schweiz.

The Rhine has its source in the alps, well, in Switzerland.

Caption 12, Unterwegs mit Cettina - an der Rheinfähre

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So far, so good. Most people know that German is spoken in the three countries listed above, but have no idea where to go from there. Let's start with the small country of Liechtenstein: 

 

Schweiz [die Schweiz], Deutschland, Liechtenstein, Österreich

Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria,

und die Niederlande.

and the Netherlands.

Caption 15, Unterwegs mit Cettina - an der Rheinfähre

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And in place number five:

 

Ein scharfer Abschluss einer überraschend interessanten

A spicy ending to a surprisingly interesting

Reise durchs unbekannte Luxemburg.

journey through unknown Luxembourg.

Caption 62, Reisebericht - Luxemburg

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The national language of Luxembourg is Luxembourgish, but German is also an officially recognized language. And the last country where German is, surprisingly for some, considered a nationwide, co-official language: 

 

Vor allem aus Belgien...

Above all from Belgium...

kommen immer mehr Campingfans.

more and more camping fans are coming.

Captions 38-40, Reisebericht - Luxemburg

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French and Flemish are the dominant languages in Belgium, but some districts near its eastern border with Germany speak predominantly German. German is also a co-official language in provinces of some other countries, including South Tyrol in Italy, the Opole and Silesian districts of Poland, and the Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul districts in Brazil

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Further Learning
Read this article on Wikipedia about places where German is spoken throughout the world, and look for further examples of where these countries appear on Yabla German.