Essential German phrases

The Rhenish compression of 'Guten Tag', used all day by everyone from the bakery to the Bürgerbüro counter. Warmer and less formal than it looks written down.

The Düsseldorf carnival cry. Cologne shouts 'Alaaf'. Using the wrong one here is a joke everyone gets and nobody lets pass — the rivalry is affectionate but it is not pretend.

Cartwheeler — the city's emblem, from the children who once turned cartwheels for coins. You will see the figure on manhole covers, fountains and souvenir everything.

The dark top-fermented local beer, served in small 200ml glasses that a waiter replaces without asking until you put your beer mat on top of the empty one.

Registering your address with the city, legally due within two weeks of moving in. It produces the Meldebescheinigung that your tax ID, bank, insurer and residence permit all depend on.

The landlord's signed confirmation that you have moved in. Legally they must give it to you, and without it the registration appointment is wasted.

The credit reference agency. A Schufa-Auskunft is expected with every rental application and every phone contract, and a new arrival's file is empty rather than good or bad.

Cold rent versus warm rent. Listings advertise the cold figure; what leaves your account is the warm one, with heating, water, rubbish and building costs added.

The annual reconciliation of your service charges against actual consumption. It arrives up to a year later and can be a refund or a four-figure demand.

Trade fair. Düsseldorf runs some of the world's largest — during MEDICA or drupa the hotels triple their prices and short-term flats simply vanish.

112 for ambulance and fire, 110 for police. 112 works anywhere in the EU and from any phone, with or without credit.