Dialing and phone numbers - Don't be thrown if you notice two German phone numbers are of differing lengths. Telephone numbers in Germany have no fixed length; some may be 4 digits long, others may be 8 digits long, and the area code may be 3 or 4 digits long. Next, the way a phone number is written differs, as does the way it is dialed, depending upon where you are dialing it from. The most common printed format is <area code>/<phone number> with various spacing in the phone number, for instance: 06221/433 27 31. You may often see parenthesis around the first 0 because it may or may not be omitted depending on your dialing method. Another common printed format is: +49-(0)6221-4332731. The 49 is the country code for Germany (as indicated by the + sign). To dial a European phone number from the US, you must dial 011 to specify that it is an international call, then the country code, and then the area code and phone number, omitting the first 0. So, my home phone number would be 011-49-6221-4332731. To dial the same number from within Germany, you can omit the international prefix and country code, but include the first zero, so you would dial: 06221-4332731. To make an international call from Europe, you dial 00 (instead of 011) to specify that it is an international call, then the country code (1 for the US), then the area code (omitting the initial 0 if it's a European number) and the phone number. So, my former US phone number would be dialed from Germany as: 00-1-978-970-0570.

Land-line (a.k.a. Festnetz) phone calls

from a phone booth - As in America, telephone booths are vanishing from the German cityscape thanks to the overwhelming prevalence of cell phones. When you do find one, it often doesn't take actual currency, but instead requires a pre-paid telephone card that you can purchase at a post office. Luckily though, in high travel/tourist areas you will often find pay phones that do take local coins. They are scattered throughout the Frankfurt airport, and there are some in a number of the squares off the Hauptstrasse.

from your room - It's not uncommon in Europe to find no phone in your hotel. Those hotels that do have phones often charge high telephone fees even for local calls (sometimes several times more than the standard rates). To avoid unpleasant surprises, if you plan to use the phone, ask about rates when you check in.

Cell phone (a.k.a. Handy)

roaming with your cell phone in Europe - There are a few key differences between cell service in the States and here in Europe. It may be possible to use your phone here, but there are a lot of hurdles and you'll probably incur significant roaming fees. First of all, only GSM phones will work in Europe (no CDMA or TDMA as is popular in the States). If you don't have GSM service, abandon all hope of using your own phone here. Secondly, Europe uses different frequencies than the US. As long as your phone is tri-band or quad-band (and most are at least tri-band nowadays), it should work. The third hurdle has to do with ensuring your provider has roaming agreements and has enabled your account for international roaming. You'll have to call your service provider to verify this.

renting a local cell phone - Many car rental shops will rent cell phones with local numbers. For instance, Avis, at the Frankfurt airport, rents cell phones for 6 euro/day plus whatever minutes you use. However, be aware that in Europe, you are charged only for placing a call. It costs you nothing to receive a phone call, instead the caller incurs the charges for the airtime. So it costs a caller more to call a cell phone in Europe, than to call a land line telephone, but it costs the recipient no money/minutes to receive a call.

buying a local cell phone - At first glance, this may sound like overkill, but once you understand how the system is set up, it's not really much overhead. You can walk into a local T-Mobile or Vodophone shop (there are several on the Hauptstrasse), and a few minutes later walk out with a working cell phone. Most places have packages for 30 or 40 euro that get you a basic phone with a pre-paid service plan that includes 10 euro of talk time. In Europe, you pay to place calls, but pay nothing to receive them. So, for 30-40 euro, you will at least be reachable for the duration of your stay and you'll have 10 euro of credit for placing short calls to coordinate with people, and you can easily add more talk time if you need it. For even a one-week stay, buying can be more cost-effective than renting. And, if you might return later, you'll have a phone for next time, so you'll only need to reactivate the service. As in the US, most pre-pay plans evaporate if there is no activity for an extended period (six months or a year, or something).

Internet access

by wireless - Wi-Fi isn't too hard to find, but it may or may not be free depending on where you find it. Many hotels have wireless internet, check with yours, or ask me and I'll verify it for you. In addition, several coffee shops on the Hauptstrasse, including Star Coffee and Starbucks, offer Wi-Fi as well. And, you're welcome to free Wi-Fi at my apartment (you might even be able to get the signal from a nearby cafe or bakery). Just email me if you're interested and I can send the PID and WEP key. ;-)

by dial-up - I don't recommend using a dial-up modem here. Firstly, the phone plug in Germany is often different, although some hotels offer an RJ-11 dataport on the telephone. Secondly, as stated previously, calls placed from your room may have extremely high minute rates, another dissuading factor. I'd recommend sticking with Wi-Fi, even if it means walking a block or two to an internet cafe.