Hello,
It’s your favourite Martian again. This time I’ll comment on a really irritating ever-present question in Germany -- at least for us -- non-Germans, let alone non-Earthlings:
Credit card; will it or will it not swipe?.
The omnipresent problem ofGerman stores is definitely the one of accepting international credit cards. Weirdly enough, unlike a lot of cities in developed European countries (like Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Stockholm...) that I visited, Rostock has only a handful of stores where international credit cards are accepted.
Honestly, the only stores I found that would accept my international credit cards, regardless if Maestro, Mastercard or Visa, were big supermarkets like Kaufland, Rewe and Netto. Weirdly enough, not even smaller Edeka stores accept my international credit cards.
Don’t even get me started on any other restaurants or random shops I enter in the city centre. Every time I enter it’s the same story all over again:
“Nur EC-Karte.”
For those who are not familiar with the EC-Karte: it’s the term accepted for the German girocard. In some cases the German debit card as well, but in general it usually refers to the German girocard.
Not the girocard you have from your own country - regardless of the stamp ‘international’ on it, but only the German one.
I must say that it is extremely frustrating because this makes your stay in Rostock very difficult. Just last week I was sick and needed meds from the pharmacy. But guess what - they do not accept any international credit cards - only cash. And when you have a 30 euro bill for meds, you might not have that much cash to give around.
So what did your favourite Martian have to do?
She had to open her German bank account. Even if she’ll be only using it until she destroys this planet with one swift laser attack. Oh, the waste of precious time and funds, which could be going into my laser and not into cough syrup. By the way, the cough syrup here, is not even half as strong as the one I take on Mars.
But you know the saying -- when in Rome do as Romans do. In my case; when on Earth, do as people do. Even if my physiology is vastly different than yours. Then again; no pain, no gain.
So if you're travelling to this part of Germany, I'll strongly suggest creating a German bank account if you plan to stay for longer than a month. It will make your lives much easier. And that is precisely what I'm trying to do for you here.
So if you're travelling to this part of Germany, I'll strongly suggest creating a German bank account if you plan to stay for longer than a month. It will make your lives much easier. And that is precisely what I'm trying to do for you here.
So I gritted my teeth and opened my bank account at Deutsche Bank , which offers opening a bank account free of charge for students, only to visit the pharmacy and finally get my meds.
And now I’ll say Cheers! or Prost! as Germans do.
And chug my cough syrup.
Stay tuned.
Yours truly,
Neluna