- The first and foremost thing- Always carry your passport with you. No matter where you go. Preferably keep it in your pockets, and avoid keeping it in your handbag. If you happen to miss your bag then you can't even imagine the problems awaiting rendezvous with you :)
- Carry one more photo id other than your passport. It could be your company id, or driving license or anything else. Also it is a good idea to always carry the customer invite letter if you are going on Business Visit.
- Don't forget to carry a water bottle [decent, refillable, sustainable-- not just empty Bisleri bottle– don’t embarrass Indians please :) ]. Trust me it is going to save you a lot of money as you'll need to buy the water separately, other than your food :). You’ll be able to conveniently refill your bottle, almost anywhere. One more thing: at airport or railway stations, if you don’t get water dispensers it is perfectly fine if you refill it from taps in wash rooms… it is very much drinkable.
- Another most important thing is power plugconverter / adapter. In India most of the power plugs come with 3-pin, while in Germany (not sure about other places in Europe) everywhere the plugs are of 2-pin. You can go to Chroma or any local electric shop and get a adapter/converter which can be plugged into a 2-pin and allow your 3-pin to be inserted on the top of it. This is an absolute must, as you’ll really have a tough time in find these converters here. Trust me; if you forget this, you are going to miss it more than your wife (arguably) because neither your laptop, nor your iron-box, nor the mobile charger is going to work.
- It would be great if you carry a double SIM mobile phone or at least a phone with your Indian number active. This has two advantages:
- One: Your Indian number will not be deactivated for being offline for 40/45 days. Just don’t make any outgoing phone calls or messages. You’ll not be charged for international roaming.
- Two: You’ll continue to receive messages from Bank and more importantly near and dear ones. In return, you can text them with any online sites. Just keep in mind, not every time these messages get delivered, there are considerable numbers of drops.
- Be informed of the weight you are carrying; most of the time the check-in baggage limit is 23KG. There’s ambiguity when it comes to hand baggage. Some airlines allow one bag other than your laptop bag, some consider just one bag. Now you can do a trick, buy a max allowed size cabin baggage in which you can also keep your laptop along with other stuff… you may stuff it as per your need, as typically hand baggage is not weighed at airport [this is my experience—do it at your own risk, who knows if you are that unlucky fellow]
- If you are very specific about your food, then within these 23 KGs try to get as many ready to eat items as you get. Trust me; I was also not willing to bring anything but I unwillingly brought it and it helped a lot.
- (Travelling within Germany) Please be more careful when the source-to-destination is multi-city. You can get your reservations done at railway stations... but be informed that it can have a connection via 'bus' as well. In the tickets if you don't find a platform number against a specific connection, verify it with the clerk.
- Don’t act lazy by depending on your mobile; take a good camera, you’ll definitely need it. Also, on timely basis upload it on an online album to mitigate the risk of losing them altogether.
- Avoid taking photos which have PII (personally identifiable information)... it could also be vehicle number plates. It would be a good idea to talk to local authority about this.
- Respect traffic signals-- even if it is 3 O'clock in the morning, and nobody is on road.
- Thank people for small gestures... and Smile :)
- Last but not the least— if you are a hard-core Indian guy, carry a ‘mugga’, you will never see it there… and you’ll definitely miss it every morning if you are not very much 'comfortable' with tissue paper :)
- Feel free to make this list exhaustive by adding your comments, it would help others :)
- If you are very strict and eat only Halal, then definitely you’ll have a tough time… face it; because here food is pork and alcohol oriented. Even if you are eating veg (something like 'veg fried rice') it would be fried in same oil, so be very watchful.
- There’s something called ‘Doner’ or ‘DÖNER’-- it is a Turkish dish much like Shawarama. Most of the Doner shops are run by Turkish people who sell Halal, but it is always better to confirm it for your own satisfaction.
- BTW, Masjids (Mosque) here are called Moschee, in case if you wish to find them. Mind you, most of the time they will not be with in typical Indian Masjid architecture.
- Buy leather socks. If you wear it, you need not wash your feet every time you make wuzu (ablution). You just need to do ma'saa. Discuss it with your trusted Aalim for more details. This would be helpful throughout your trip as it would be very difficult to find a place at airport or office where you can wash your feet regularly for all the prayers.
- Almost all the airports will have "Prayers Hall" or "Meditation Rooms". Take help from ground staff or police officers, you'll find them pretty helping. (At least I had a great experience)
- Whenever there's change in time due to "Daylight Savings". Please verify the Jama'at (congregation) timings in Masjid. Once I missed Friday congregation due to this.
- Be careful of most of the chocolates— they might contain Rum or some kind of alcohol.
PS: I am not endorsing Bisleri, Amazon, Chroma or any other brands... the reference is provided to help you see/understand the products.
