Category: Germany

What I’ve learnt from being in Munich for 2 days

Munich is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains, lakes and fields, full of history with old and interesting buildings, mouth-watering beer and food and I’m sitting here thinking about community.

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I just moved into my new student accommodation 2 days ago after spending 7 weeks travelling around Germany visiting friends and family. I’ve visited castles, lakes, mountains, ski slopes and the zoo and have been part of the Carnival. I’ve travelled about 40 hours on trains and 15 on busses, and saw some people I hadn’t seen in 5 years. And now I’m at my destination, Munich. Continue reading “What I’ve learnt from being in Munich for 2 days” →

Berlin Beginings

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Berlin is great. You already knew that. But it is great!

Arriving early march was painful, coming from the lovely warm spa town of Baden-Baden in germany’s south. I had known this cold before but the wind was bitter. My roomate revealed to me, that the repressing cold only made the locals want to go out with greater desire, party harder and return to their rugs and heaters. The beer is cheap with food, art and cinema everywhere – the city burns at night against the cold. Continue reading “Berlin Beginings” →

Pre-Semester Travels

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Firstly, whilst Germans are stereotyped for their efficiency, they do not hesitate to schedule their semesters much later than the rest of Europe. This being said, I won’t officially begin my studies until the latter half of April at TUM in Munich. As such, I am unqualified to comment on my studies over here! However, I left home in early January and have spent much time living out the Aussie travelling stereotype; venturing as far east as Russia and also to the most westerly point on the European mainland in Portugal.  Here are some of my reflections after months on the road. Continue reading “Pre-Semester Travels” →

Am I a true Berliner yet?

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To say the least, the beer here in Germany has been my most regularly purchased item. By choice obviously. My name is Matteo and I am on a student exchange in Berlin, Germany! I spent the first week of my exchange here mostly alone and travelling the city to familiarise myself with my surroundings. After meeting all the other students on exchange I have been opened up too many different countries around Europe and the Americas. There are SO many people from Brazil its crazy. On Friday night we had our welcome party for all new students in the housing here at Victor Jara in East Berlin in something referred to as a ‘Bier Keller’. Translated to beer cellar in English, we spent most of that night drinking a lot of beer (can’t expect any less) and socialising and understanding many peoples cultures. It was a great transition especially when you didn’t know any of these people only a few days before! Meeting people from Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, France, Brazil and many more has been extremely interesting to interact with people from a wide range of cultures and we have all gotten along really well and partied all weekend together.
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Guten Tag!

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Spring is here! The birds are chirping, the sun is out and an array of flowers fills the cityscape. It has been 27 days since I arrived in Germany, and my understanding of this historic land continues to be enriched each day. The HfG University is situated in Schwäbisch Gmünd, a small rural town located southwest of Germany. Living in a small town has provided time for considered reflection on the abundance of experiences and perspectives available. Continue reading “Guten Tag!” →