N.B. Frankfurt has Trade Fairs, congresses and events. These takes place at the Messe. When they come to town, the hotels are booked up months in advance. This means prices are very high for some weeks, as well as the rental prices on AirBnB. Messe Calendar
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Eschborn Poster Eschborn Poster 2
Try asking for the Deutsche Bank Rate. See if you get it cheaper.
Eschborn About
Tickets work for U-Bhan, S-Bahn, trams, buses, and possibly other public transport services. You can buy daily tickets using machines available at most S-Bhan and U-Bhan stations. And ticket machine can be changed to English, so no need to speak to ticket staff.
Single to Frankfurt from Eschborn Sud is €2.80, or €7 for an all day multiple journey ticket.
To buy a monthly ticket, you can do so at the VGF/RMV office at Hauptewache. Monthly tickets cost €87.40, or €69.90 if buying a ticket you can only use after 9am. You should receive a plastic card, which you can then top up at ticket machines.
Warning - If you do not have a valid ticket and get stopped by the ticket inspector it is an on the spot fine of 60 Euros. (You might be able to pull a fast one and say you are a tourist but you are on your own).
Station closest to the Office is Eschborn Sud, 5 minute walk away. This is the S-Bahn. It is a light rail train service. This runs frequently. S4, S3, S5 run from Frankfurt to Eschborn Sud. Sud means South. Dont confuse this with Eschborn stop as it is further north.
Bus tickets can be bought at ticket machines, so show ticket to driver and go. Check maps for routes
The Germans drive on zee right.
Frankfurt is a walking friendly city, lots of pedestrian crossing points, similar to pelican crossing in the UK. Mind the Germans drive on zee right so look both ways. And if it is traffic light for pedestrians dont walk on red and the Germans stare at you defying the process, this is known as bean bagging the process. See process.
Start at Hauptwache and enjoy. Its one of the key Shopping areas and quite central to a lot of other interesting areas.
Germany shuts down on a sunday. Supermarkets are closed. Only places open will be 24 hours garages, kiosks in city centre, macdonalds, burger king, starbucks, in fact any American Mega Corp will be open. Some cafes may be open. Ikea is closed. Its Germany not Sweden.
The following Apps are very useful.
Offi Germany Journey Planner for Android Only
WhatsApp - Team use this to communicate
Messenger
Viber
Google Translate
mytaxi - Book a Taxi in Frankfurt
Allo - Google
AirBnB
DB Navigator - Train and Transport App for Frankfurt
Google Maps
Duo Lingo - Learn German.
You are likely to be using Pay as You Go sims for a while. There are data sims for tablets that you can use on the phone - Ortel is good. 5Gb per month for €20 euros pay as you go.
Ortel is best if change the provider on your hand set to use the o2 network. 4G in Eschborn and Frankfurt.
Place to buy an ortel data sim is near mainbahnhoff train station - Internet cafe
A sim for calling back home, a cheap lebara or Lyca can be picked up for €8-10 euros. Dump it when you are finished and get a new one. This has 500Mb data and 250 minutes calling.
You may end up have 3 sims and or 3 phones. Your back home sim, a German phone call sim and a German Data Sim
Bank account requires a valid passport, and proof of residence. This can either be your agreement with your land lord or the local council registration documents. The bank will then post out your stuff to your address.
the best banks in Germany.
Bank Details
Deutsche Bank · Types o AktivKonto (Premium account) § Fee: 4.99 EUR/Month § Advantages: Online banking, Paid Telephone Banking, Paperless Bookings, German Bank Card, o BestKonto (Basic account) § Fee: 9.99 EUR/Month § Advantages: Online banking, Free Telephone banking, 2 MasterCard’s Gold, Cash Insurance
Commerzbank · Types o Basic Account § Fee: Free of Charge if at least 1200 EUR/Month will be paid in the bank. § Notice period: 2 Months § Advantages: Online banking, 12 free withdrawals o Premium Account § Fee: 9.90 EUR/Month § Advantages: Online banking, Insurance Cover for client and family, two debit cards and two PremiumKonto cards *Application just in person possible
Postbank · Types o Giro Basis § Fee: 5.90 EUR/Month § Advantages: Online banking, visa debit card o Business Giro § Fee: At least 9.80/Month § Advantages: Online banking, business visa credit card with 40 day payment terms, travel insurance, two debit cards, interest-free credit
Hypovereinsbank · Types o HVB AktivKonto § Fee: 2.90 EUR/Month § Advantages: Bank transactions flexibly online, Free SMS services - for more security, Free Personal Finance Manager (PFM), [Brochure] (https://www.hypovereinsbank.de/content/dam/hypovereinsbank/shared/pdf/Produktprofile/PP_HVB_AktivKonto_UK.pdf)
o HVB PlusKonto § Fee: 7.90 EUR/Month § Advantages: Free standard ec card and transfers, Free SMS services - for more security, Free Personal Finance Manager (PFM) [Brochure] (https://www.hypovereinsbank.de/content/dam/hypovereinsbank/shared/pdf/Produktprofile/PP_HVB_PlusKonto_UK.pdf)
o HVB Exclusivkonto § Fee: 14.90 EUR/Month § Advantages. Free HVB ec card and transfers, Free HVB MasterCard Gold with exclusive insurance package, Worldwide free money withdraw with the HVB MasterCard credit cards, Free SMS services - for more security Brochure
Germany loves its processes and is ruthlessly efficient at following them. Unfortunately this is not to be confused with ruthless process efficiency. Expect things to take a while ... like bank accounts.