I called 119 and was hung up on twice - Germany

I know that I need to speak better German, BUT I had to call 119 and got an operator that did not speak English. As a stupid American, knowing how 911 centers operate in the US, I assumed that they would have had someone available that spoke English. Every major city in the US has staff available 24 hours a day that speak German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese...you name it. Instead of at least trying to find someone, I got hung up on twice. The third time, I got someone who spoke perfect English and was able to assist me. I figure he was probably sitting 5 ft away from the other two. Then, I started thinking about all the tourists every year that come to Munich that don't speak German. What if something really bad happened and they had to call 119 and got one of the a-holes? It was really quite shocking.

Perhaps you should have tried 112 instead.

119 is reserved for those who've had too much kimchi or ganja.

Oh dear. It is always best to make a note of the emergency numbers of a country before going there. Had you phoned 112 Fire brigade (also all emergencies),
or 110 for the police. You will find they speak English.

112 is the standard emergency tel number for the European Union..(of course there are also other emergency numbers)

You said it, not me.
Liar.
You know this because you've actually been to the centers?
woof.

BD--that article in your link is from 1992. Perhaps things have improved since then?

I have to ask - what does dialing 119 actually do?

Just for your info: all 110 and 112 lines will connect you to an English speaker if you request one.

BD why are you always so aggressive?

http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/trav...y_services.html

Really. I'm wondering exactly who it was he talked to and how they were able to help him. Maybe he'll come back and tell us.

This happened to me two years ago at Oktoberfest. I was with a German friend who wasn't feeling particularly well after partaking in the beer-swilling festivities at the Augustiner tent. She threw up a couple of times as we exited the fest grounds and then looked like she was about ready to pass out. She begged me to call 112 and get her an ambulance. So, I pulled out my handy and attempted to make the call the best I could. I guess they didn't like my drunken shitty German and promptly hung up on me. Twice. Dealing with this situation sort of jarred me out of my own drunken stuper. After trying to console my friend, as she sat there on the curb in her Dirndl moaning and slobbering, I looked up and noticed a first aide station right inside the Oktoberfest grounds. By the time I relayed this information back to my friend (30 seconds at the most), she had thrown up again and informed me that she was feeling a lot better.

Friggin' chicks

Logically 119 would be the opposite of 911 - you call them up and they don't help you.

As far as I know 119 is the fire & rescue emergency number in the PRC as well as in Japan, where it's also the emergency number for earthquake-related incidents ...

Almost said woof just now

LMAO here! :-)

just scroll a bit to the Notrufnummern http://www.goethe.de/INS/JP/kyo/uun/rei/wtn/deindex.htm .needing some 'medizinische versorgung'?...(in Japan)

Oh,and yes,they speak English too...

Yeah, but what does it do HERE if you call it?