Experience from Germany
1. Transportation
German trains are so precise and accurate that you can almost set your watch by them to a fraction of a minute (well maybe not quite, but still darn good). You do not need a car in Germany (unless you want to dare the infamous autobahn and drive over a 120mph). The trains run even to very small and isolated villages and areas. You will have little to no problem seeing the country from the comfort of German engineering.
2. Language
German is one of the hardest languages to learn. Luckily, most Germans speak English! With all of the Americans in Germany (over 50,000 American soldiers and almost 100,000 American civilians today, not to mention 10,000,000 G.I.’s during WWII) the Germans decided to make learning English a priority. German schooling requires the learning of a foreign language and most students choose English. Therefore, almost everywhere you go, most Germans know English. Ironically, this made learning German harder for us because we did not have to learn it.
3. Sensitivity
This may be a difficult subject to understand for visitors. However, for Americans especially visiting Germany, try to avoid conversations about “the war.” This is still a sensitive subject and not lightly talked about. Please be respectful.