Greetings from Hamburg! Welcome back to the second instalment of my blog, where I share some of the fun things I’ve been getting up to recently, along with some equally as fun logistics of going on exchange.
Up first, fun things! Since I sat down and wrote my first blog post, I have been very much settling into the Freiburg way of life. I won’t lie, these last few weeks I have really leant into rest mode, and as a homebody I have thoroughly enjoyed taking it slow, enjoying my flat vibes, and doing little things in and around Freiburg. I am very grateful I can afford this luxury as I have more time after the end of my exchange semester in which to freely travel, so am finding a healthy balance of travel while getting stuck into my already busy uni sem. That said, I’m writing this segment on a train to Berlin, so perhaps I’m more extroverted than I think ;). A few little adventures of note in the past wee while (along with some pics):
- Visited a cat cafe (yes there are real cats in the cafe, yes I love it there and have already been twice).
- Have been enjoying the beautiful Seepark next door to my accommodation, including celebrating birthdays and having chill, post-uni evenings with friends.
- Fleamarket hopping around the city buying clothes for as little as 50 cents (NZD$1)!
- Attended a fun welcome dinner and Uniseum (University museum, amazing name) tour for my German exchange scholarship.
- Established myself in a lovely English-speaking church, as well as a weekly home group which is feeding my sense of community here.
- Went for a day hike in Kandel in the beautiful Schwarzwald surrounding Freiburg.
- Spontaneously signed up for a beginner’s climbing course and now love climbing (I try go at least once a week)!
- Visited Berlin! It was everything I hoped and dreamed!
- Visited Hamburg (well, currently visiting as I write this) again – can you tell I love this city?
Up next, exchange logistics.
On this front, it turns out there’s quite a lot of factors that go into planning for, and actually being on an exchange! The first thing I’ll tackle is my mobile data plan/SIM card. I was super fortunate to have a good German friend already in Germany who put me on to (in my humble opinion) the best data plan I ever did see. It’s called Fraenk. With my plan I get free EU (+ Switzerland) roaming, unlimited texts and calls (within the EU), and 15gb data for less than NZD$20 a month, PLUS an extra permanent 3gb per friend I refer – currently getting 30gb every month for the same price (perks of being surrounded by other disorganised international exchange students)! I have made use of my phone’s dual-SIM ability and got a free e-sim with the plan for my time in Europe which works super well.
Secondly, finances. I am fortunate enough to be able to be doing my exchange purely out of personal savings, which I have found makes me so much freer while I’m travelling. Additionally, I have been blessed to have been awarded a German Scholarship for the duration of my semester, which is definitely helping cover some costs. Freiburg University also offered to help us international students set up a German bank account when we arrived, which I did. It was a really easy process, and for anyone planning to stay a decent length of time in Germany I recommend it as you never know when someone will need a German bank account for you to make/receive payments (my scholarship, rent, insurance, etc). That said, I do most of my day-to-day expenses using my Wise card which has been super convenient and practical, especially for NZD to Euro conversion. Paypal is also the payment method of choice here, so have also hopped on that trend for most online purchases and paying back friends (yes I have quite a few bank accounts now).
Insurance. Every uni student in Germany is required to have statutory health insurance (German insurance is preferred as most foreign policies don’t meet German standards). Freiburg University’s international office helpfully connected us international students with one of the main public health insurance providers, who made the process nice and easy. Even easier, the insurance starts and ends with Freiburg Uni’s semester dates, so it’s a really smooth system. Germans do love their different types of insurance though, so there are numerous other insurances you can choose to purchase for a longer-term stay, the main recommended one being liability insurance (but completely up to you to decide).
Now for some other eclectic thoughts:
As I previously mentioned, I have recently gotten into climbing since being in Freiburg. Having absolutely no past experience, I signed up for a 2-day beginner climbing course run by the University, and now I love it so much! I’ve already scored some cheap secondhand climbing shoes off “Kleinanzeigen” (explained below), and have met so many new people through our WhatsApp climbing group chat as we go each week.
On top of that, I have finally made use of my hefty hiking shoes (for which I am now very grateful I reluctantly packed) and ventured for a day hike into the Schwarzwald. As Freiburg is now heading into summer, the weather is beautiful, the fields are coated in flowers, and I feel like Julie Andrews frolicking through the rolling hills. Enter: my hiking era.
Note: One thing I didn’t know to prepare for when coming to the Black Forest is the presence of ticks. Especially in Southern Germany ticks, and tick bites are quite common. More importantly, Southern Germany is a high-risk area for ticks carrying Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), and it is recommended to get a vaccine to protect yourself, especially if you intend to spend a lot of time outdoors (literally me).
Another thing I didn’t really think about before coming to Europe is how convenient and actually feasible online shopping is. Amazon specifically is so well-established here that same-day delivery is very possible (I don’t know how I’ll go back to our isolated island after such speedy service!). Furthermore, Germany has its own Trade Me equivalent called “Kleinanzeigen”, founded by eBay, which is a lovely online marketplace! BUT, with the added bonus of an additional selling category “zu verschenken” (translated: “to give away”) where people quite literally give away anything! Checking the zu Verschenken category each morning is now my new favourite pastime (currently after some spoons, wish me luck).
A cheeky little tip I’ve learned as a cheapskate uni student is to make use of the Toogoodtogo app. It’s an app aimed at reducing food waste by allowing food retailers (bakeries, supermarkets, delis, you name it) to sell their leftover food at the end of the day for way cheaper (aka the smartest idea everrrr). Bargain food always tastes better – Change my mind.
That brings me to the end of my hefty debrief. Thanks so much for reading and continue to watch this space for more foreigner insights into this beautiful land!
Liebe Grüße,
Katie <3