My experience this summer was the same as yours – as soon as people realized how minimal my German was after a 15 year break, they immediately used English. I did use German though in some towns, and we got by – and that was with no “refresher” course when we went.

Whew.

Ok, back to the comment I was going to make before I read the comments here and got all flustered by Mr. Riesling.

August. You’re wearing a sweater. And in St. Goar. I’m so jealous, I could almost cry. *sigh* What a lovely area. I think that there is a return trip in future, with at least a week spent in that region alone. Two thumbs up for the hostel in Bacharach too (forgive my spelling if it is wrong) – we really enjoyed it there and I would definitely return!

And while I certainly regret not having learned the language, it was simply not necessary. Every time I attempted to speak German to a German, they immediately switched to English. Every. single. time. Sure, I was probably butchering the language, but, hey, I tried.

But you, of course, must speak multiple languages. And you, of course, whoever you are, must be so superior to us mere military families. What is it you do for the Rhode Island Journal? It’s so easy to be insulting when you can hide behind anonymity.

My husband and I are both well educated and intelligent people. We do our best to not be the “ugly American” wherever we are. In fact, my German landlady frequently goes on about how “normal” (German) she and the neighbors think we are. We are not perfect, but I am extremely proud of my husband and the fact that he has chosen to serve our country.

Thank you, Riesling, for your correction on my misspelling. I chose not to delete your unkind comment as I wanted you to see my response (and you left me no way to contact you). Future comments from you, needless to say, will not be approved.

It’s Riesling. Germans pronounce the second vowel.