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3.8 Unterwegs

Lektionsüberblick

So far, we have worked on increasing our active and passive vocabularies with travel words related to kinds of travel, methods of transportation, lodging, and sightseeing so that we can plan and book travel. Now we will turn our attention to some of the language necessary when in the process of the travel, checking into flights and hotels, navigating delayed train connections, asking for help, and understanding directions. At the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand key vocabulary and interact with German speakers 1) during travel/transportation to and at your destination, 2) at your lodging, 3) while sightseeing and participating in activities, and 4) following directions.

1) Transportmittel benutzen

Remember that many of the students in this unit are making travel plans. Claudia is traveling to Mallorca, while Sebi and Katelyn are traveling to Liechtenstein. Read and listen to the information on each slide to see how each student might communicate with staff on the ground at the airport, train station, and bus station. Try to guess what the purple highlighted words mean based on the context and your expectation of what might be discussed in these situations.

 

Let’s practice!

Kleiner Hinweis

At a train station, you might hear the words das Gleis or der Bahnsteig to indicate the platform from which a train is arriving or departing. Technically, der Gleis refers to the track itself while Bahnsteig is the platform for boarding or exiting. You might hear:

Der Zug hat Einfahrt auf Gleis 5!

Der Zug hat Einfahrt am Bahnsteig 5!

die Einfahrt – the arrival

Kleiner Hinweis

Remember the prefix changes the meaning.

einsteigen = to board, to get in: Ich steige ein.

aussteigen = to exit, to get out: Ich steige aus.

umsteigen = to transfer, change busses or trains: Ich steige um.

 

Jetzt bist du dran!

With a classmate or friend, practice reading aloud each of the dialogs that appear in the presentation above. When you feel confident, record yourself in your audio journal. Which questions or statements do you think will be most valuable to know when you are traveling? Write those down in your written journal.

Then, for extra practice, listen to the podcast below. Thomas muss nach Frankfurt fahren. Wie komme ich am besten dahin, denkt er sich… Er hat kein Auto. Ist das ein Problem in Deutschland, dem Land der Autos?

You can follow along with the transcript. Was verstehst du?

2) An der Unterkunft ankommen

Once you have arrived at your hotel or other accommodations, you will most likely have to interact with an employee at the front desk. Read and listen to the dialog below. See if you can guess what the highlighted words mean based on the context and your expectation of what might be discussed at check-in.

 Ein Gespräch an der Hotelrezeption

Rezeptionist: Guten Abend! Willkommen im Hotel Sonnenschein. Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?

Kunde: Guten Abend! Ich habe eine Reservierung auf den Namen Müller. Ich möchte einchecken.

Rezeptionist: Sehr gerne, Herr Müller. Darf ich bitte Ihren Personalausweis oder Reisepass sehen?

Kunde: Ja, natürlich. Hier ist mein Ausweis.

Rezeptionist: Vielen Dank! Ihr Zimmer ist Nummer 205. Hier ist Ihr Schlüssel. Sie können auch den Türcode 3742 benutzen, um das Zimmer zu betreten.

Kunde: Super, danke. Und wie ist das mit dem Frühstück?

Rezeptionist: Das Frühstück wird von 6 bis 9 Uhr im Frühstücksraum serviert.

Kunde: Perfekt! Und falls ich zusätzliche Handtücher brauche?

Rezeptionist: Sie können an der Rezeption Bescheid geben, dann bringen wir Ihnen welche aufs Zimmer.

Kunde: Sehr gut, danke! Und wann muss ich auschecken?

Rezeptionist: Der Check-out ist bis 11 Uhr.

Kunde: Alles klar! Vielen Dank für die Infos.

Rezeptionist: Gern geschehen! Ich wünsche Ihnen einen angenehmen Aufenthalt.

Let’s practice!

 

Jetzt bist du dran!

Remember that there is often more than one to say something. You are at the stage in your language learning in which you might choose to use a different variant of a question or statement. For example, in the dialog above, notice how you could use other variations to express the same idea using the language that you know.

Wie ist das mit dem Frühstück?  → Wann ist Frühstück?
Gern geschehen! → Bitte!

Using the dialog above between the receptionist and the customer, create a revised conversation. It can be quite similar but notice places where you could make a statement or ask a question in a varied way.

3) Bei den Sehenswürdigkeiten

Remember that earlier in this unit Sofia planned to travel to Liechtenstein to see many sights. Review her travel plans below. Then, consider some important words and phrases, she might need to know in order to interact with others at these sights.

 

Let’s practice some phrases.

Jetzt bist du dran!

Review again the vocabulary and structures in the dialog cards above. Practice saying each one aloud in your audio journal. What other phrases or sentences could you create about sightseeing? Write those down in your written journal.

 

Deutsch IRL

Read and listen to more on travel in German-speaking Europe:

4) Wegbeschreibungen

Knowing how to follow directions in German is an important part of traveling in a German-speaking country. Let’s review with the flashcards below and then expand upon your skills.
To successfully complete the following activity, first orient yourself with the map and the features on the map. Finde bitte die beiden Parkplätze, die Brücke, den Park, den Fußweg usw. Dein Ziel ist die Pizzeria. Now see if you can complete the directions (be sure to click through to each slide to see a new challenge on each one).

 

Jetzt bist du dran!

For extra practice with directions, you can check out this activity from Deutsche Welle. When you are done, write down any key words or phrases you learned in your written journal.

Jetzt kombinieren

In this lesson, you learned how to understand key vocabulary and interact with German speakers 1) during travel/transportation to and at your destination, 2) at your lodging, 3) while sightseeing and participating in activities, and 4) following directions.

Imagine you are the publisher of an upcoming online German phrase book for travelers. The book is organized by themes (bei den Sehenswürdigkeiten, im Fluhafen, im Hotel, usw.). Choose a theme and write down 8-10 phrases that you would be sure to include in this chapter of the phrase book. Since this is an online dictionary/phrase book, you will need to record the audio for each phrase, as well. You can do that in your audio journal.

When you are done, and you’ve checked your written work, record yourself in your audio journal.

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Deutsch im Alltag III: Heute und morgen Copyright © by Rebecca Steele is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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