I've traveled to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and I found that in the big cities such as Berlin, Vienna, and Zurich a lot of people speak english. When I visited those cities I try to make the most of my trip and try to converse in German as much as I can, but I get the feeling that the people in restaurants, hotels, and other establishments would rather speak to me in english rather than speaking German with a thick American accent and tripping on der, die, das and what not.

Can any native Germans, Austrians, or Swiss shed a light on people who aren't fluent but can speak some basic phrases on how to proceed in these situations? I've heard a lot of people say that people appreciate when foreigners try to speak the country's language, but I get the feeling that they really don't and rather speak english.

I've traveled to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and I found that in the big cities such as Berlin, Vienna, and Zurich a lot of people speak English. When I visited those cities I try to make the most of my trip and try to converse in German as much as I can, but I get the feeling that the people in restaurants, hotels, and other establishments would rather speak to me in English rather than speaking German with a thick American accent and tripping on der, die, das and what not.

Can any native Germans, Austrians, or Swiss shed a light on people who aren't fluent but can speak some basic phrases on how to proceed in these situations? I've heard a lot of people say that people appreciate when foreigners try to speak the country's language, but I get the feeling that they really don't and rather speak English.