German may well be related to English, but when you are already hangry* and receive a menu that contains about 900% more letters than you are used to, those shared linguistic roots aren’t enough to get you fed.
I’ve been travelling in the North of Germany for five days now and have come to the conclusion that English is as scarce as green vegetables ‘round here.
Now, when you go to Germany, a dozen or so know-it-alls will probably say: “don’t worry, they speak English better than Americans.” Little do you know, your sources probably WERE talking to Americans, but were so drunk** they mistook them for Germans.
In any case, I strongly urge you to bring a phrasebook. Conveying “just a minute” with your index finger and flipping through numerous pages in order to find the translation for “one” is character building. Especially when you realize that you were ALREADY expressing “one” with that very finger.

Failing that, here’s a list of some phrases you might find useful:
Hello. Hallo.
I don’t speak German. Ich spreche kein Deutch.
Do you speak English? Sprechen sie Englisch?
Yes!? Ja!? Thaaaank you. Daaaaanke.
Which way is a public toilet? In welcher richtung ist eine offentliche toilette?
I have diarrhea. Ich habe durchfall.
Seriously man, don’t look at me with that confused face we have approximately six seconds here. (Just go pale and flail arms wildly).
.......
I had an accident. Ich hatte einen unfall.
Sorry. Entshuldigung.
Goodbye. Auf wiedersehen.

*so hungry you’re prone to angry outbursts, especially when debating directions or walking really, really far.
**Oktoberfest, naturally.

Tags: German , Germany, Phrasebook, Translation, Common Phrases, Words, English, Englisch, Reb, Rebecca, Stevenson