# A few questions for seasonal work (winter)



## ajwitzke (Sep 15, 2011)

Hi, I will be leaving in a few days for Europe where I plan to backpack for a month or so before trying to find a job at a ski resort for the winter. I have obtained a youth travel visa which will allow me to work for up to one year.

My questions are 1) how difficult is it to open a bank account in Germany? Is there any particular bank that is easier/better for a non-EU resident?

2) I do not know much about certain ski towns in Germany and it seems to be quite difficult to find any real information on them unlike our Canadian resorts wich have a huge site + lots of reviews. Of the two towns Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberstdorf, which is a better place to work/live for a Canadian? I speak basic German however it is quite rusty but enough to get by until I start learning more. A big factor too is which has better skiing .. they both look similar in size but it looks like Oberstdorf is on the Austrian border and half of the trail map is a different resort on the Aus side. What kind of jobs would be easier to obtain for someone like myself? I sold motorcycles for 5 years so I imagine any retail shop would be OK or a hotel or even perhaps working on the mountain. Any other mountain ski towns of a good size and large terrain you may know of as well please let me know.

Any hints/tips would be greatful

Aaron from Vancouver, BC


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## ajwitzke (Sep 15, 2011)

Anyone ?

I am basically planning to stop off at both these towns during my travels and drop resumes/applications off. I know this site is geared more towards working professionals, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, since it will likely be asked I have basic conversational German knowledge but not completely fluent. This is one of the reasons I am going to Germany is to become fluent in a second language to help me in the future here in Canada.


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## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

Hi Aaron,

Admittedly, I don't know much about those two towns but why don't you try in Austria where there are a lot more ski resorts and higher and better skiing and probably a lot more jobs. Without German I doubt you will get further than the more manual/back kitchen jobs although there are a lot of English speaking ski instructors working in the resorts. 

For a German bank a/c you will need a permanent German address, your passport and your German registration document (Aufenthaltsbescheinigung) and some money of course.

Good luck. I am sure you will enjoy it.


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## ajwitzke (Sep 15, 2011)

Austria does not give out youth travel/working holiday visas. It is much harder to get and I have already obtained a German one. My German is fine at a conversational level, I'm just not completely fluent.


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