What Will It Cost?
– PLAN AHEAD. AVOID HOLIDAYS AND SUMMER
– Since holidays are a bad time for auditions you should be able to buy your tickets in
advance and book when flights are cheaper.
• $600-$1000 is about what your flight will cost.
– Stopovers are very common, but make sure it’s not an overnight!
• Try to keep them on the way to your destination
– Flying to Turkey or even Vienna to get to Germany makes for a long journey.
– There are cheaper flights, but be sure to take airport to destination
transportation into account. Taxis and trains aren’t free.
– Check connections and costs online!
Major German airports have reasonable public transportation to and from
the airport.
Everybody has their preferred apps and sites. I find Hopper a good app for and
overview of ticket price changes.
Ticketing sites are in constant flux but a good tactic is to find good fares and then go
directly to the airlines. They have fewer extra fees and may even find lower fares if
you’re persistent. Plus depending on the ticket, it is easier to change if bought directly
from the carrier.
CAREFULLY READ THE CANCELLATION, RETURN AND CHANGE POLICIES
OF THE TICKET YOU WANT.
Sometimes flights are so cheap it’s worth it to take a cheap round trip as
a one way.
Other times it’s better to spend a little extra to have some possibility of
changing your ticket.
– AirBnB is a good option
• The audition season mostly doesn’t coincide with the tourist season, and longer
term rentals can be an economical way to have a home base. Check location and
transportation times to the opera, where you might work with pianists, the train
station and a language school, carefully. You should consider whether you want to
spend all your trip based in one city or split it up, say between Berlin and
München.
• Wherever you are, buckle down and learn German.
• Don’t hang out with Americans because you’ll only speak English. A little beer is a good tongue loosener: you won’t mind making mistakes and the Germans will enjoy your trying their language. Go to a Kneipe to watch soccer matches!
– If you shop, food is reasonably priced.
– Try to eat breakfast and dinner at home. Lunches can be inexpensive: Germany is
famous for it’s Wurst, of course, but middle eastern Dörner is also good, and
depending on the city there are Asian food stands too.
• Many cities have farmer’s markets as well and produce stands are a regular feature
of pedestrian zones..