Banking the easy way...err German way!

So here's a little ditty for you. You have to move to Germany for your job, you work in a little American type city, that includes a bank for your convenience. You open an account at this "so convenient" bank, and they manage to slip in that there is a cost for every German transfer you do. You're new here, you really have no idea what they're talking about so you shake your head and say "yes, fine, fine where do I sign? It's past my nap time."

Cut to a few weeks later; you have now had to set up German transfers for your rent and your bills. See the Germans have never done checks like we do, they fill out a form with the vendor's banking information on it and how much/how often you want to pay them and turn it in to their bank. Basically, they have been doing automatic payments for years and years here...we are just catching up now. But suddenly you say, wait a minute I have to pay over a dollar for each one of these every time it gets paid. "well shoot, that kinda sucks".

Cut to a week later; you have gone into McDonalds of all places and have been told that they don't take a visa card, only an EC card. This is a European Card, it's basically a check card with a strip that says "I'm from here"! You go to your bank and they say, "no we don't issue EC cards". I think really? Have you been anywhere around here?

Cut to a few weeks later; you now realize that every time you take euro out of the ATM you get charged a fee for turning your "dollars" into "euros". Wait a minute...doesn't that just involve reaching into another drawer for them? This bank is in Germany after all, I think they need to check their address! Can't you just pay him in euros then? Guess what they conveniently said?

Cut to a week later; you get your regular credit card and realize you have just been charge a "service fee" of $125 for using it in Europe! Oh crap, guess we aren't using a credit card here!

Cut to a few weeks later; you get your statement and notice that every time you use your check card the bank adds an overseas service charge to it. Really, did the mail cost more from the store up the street? Does the bank realize that they are in Europe? I should charge them a service fee for being so darned irritating! They really suck!

I think this convenient bank is conveniently costing me a fortune to use! You know the saying...when in Rome...I wonder how convenient the bank up the street from my house is? I'll let you know what the German bank tells me!