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eviljelly posted:Excellent. Of course, I should've thought of the working holiday visa! Thanks. If you speak no German, I would suggest going on a student visa first, go to a language school, then apply to have it changed to a holiday visa (as a Canadian, you shouldn't have to leave the country to change your visa status...I think).
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Sep 9, 2012 13:15
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Gold and a Pager posted:If you speak no German, I would suggest going on a student visa first, go to a language school, then apply to have it changed to a holiday visa (as a Canadian, you shouldn't have to leave the country to change your visa status...I think). Any reason in particular for this? I was thinking of just trying to self-teach and conscripting some of my friends out there into teaching me when I had time, while I worked at a helpx/WWOOF type place.
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Sep 9, 2012 13:28
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Learning some grammar out of a book is completely different to living in Germany and having to speak German all the time, I learned for two years at university before I came and felt like I knew nothing. Even if you do learn some (which I would recommend) on your own, at least do a course for a few weeks when you arrive here.
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Sep 9, 2012 18:47
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eviljelly posted:Any reason in particular for this? I was thinking of just trying to self-teach and conscripting some of my friends out there into teaching me when I had time, while I worked at a helpx/WWOOF type place. You could work on getting a basic level of German under your belt (just like a three month intensive course), get settled in to the area you'll be living in and also look for jobs. Then, once you find something, you could convert your visa to a working holiday one, instead of using up one or two months of work eligibility looking for something/getting your bearings. But it depends on what kind of work you want to do. If you just want to have a year long vacation that finances itself, then you don't have to, but if you want to stay here possibly long term, then it would maybe be better to save up your work eligibility.
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Sep 9, 2012 19:06
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Yeah I guess my idea was that I'd self-learn and also just throw myself into immersion by living/working in the (German) countryside, basically. My main reason against doing a course is the cost. I'll think about this a bit more, but it's great to know the work visa and education visa options. Thanks a lot guys!
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Sep 10, 2012 04:24
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Alright, I'm trying to buy tickets to Prague from Munich on bahn.de. It's confusing the hell out of me. I'm trying to buy tickets for three people, yet it seems to be telling me the tickets can't be used by a third party. So basically, if I show up with this three person ticket in-hand, with the credit card I bought it with, will me and my two friends all be able to get on the train without issue? I'm seeing some horror stories online of conductors not letting the extra people on because there's nothing on the ticket indicating that it's for them, and I'm seeing people say they're getting turned away because they don't have the ticket, the credit card they bought it with, AND a bahn card. Obviously I don't have a bahn card.
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Sep 17, 2012 17:02
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Brian Fellows posted:So basically, if I show up with this three person ticket in-hand, with the credit card I bought it with, will me and my two friends all be able to get on the train without issue? You don't need the credit card you bought it with and the BahnCard. When you buy the ticket you pick one of those to identify yourself with, and that's the one you need to have with you. Debit card or German ID work as well, just for completeness' sake. Your friends should be fine as long as you make sure the ticket is valid for three passengers - obviously if they were supposed to have to identify themselves as well, there would be a step where you enter their info. Only when you buy an online ticket entirely for a third party, i.e. you're not going on the trip yourself, you need to enter the ID the third party is going to use. But that shouldn't concern you.
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Sep 17, 2012 17:22
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Do you like rauchbier? Why isn't rauchbier more available in Germany, as from looking I can really only find it made by schlenkerla in Bamberg. Can you think of differences that would be important to know when moving from the UK to Germany (specifically Berlin)? As I'll be moving over with my girlfriend (who is German) and we've discussed it but things I'd find different are normal to her. Stuff along the lines of having to use cash more often, a lot of shops are actually closed on sundays and that when looking at renting flats that people take their fitted kitchens with them. Edit: Do you think Swiss German sound funny? I'm no master of the German language yet but I can still tell hearing Swiss German.
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Sep 17, 2012 21:45
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Nobody knows what a queue is, and the idea of giving staff lunch breaks at different times is alien to Germans, so lots of stuff (banks, offices, anything that isn't a food or retail outlet) closes for an hour for lunch. Also it's really hard to find tea that isn't some weird fruity herbal relaxation tea. That's what it's like here in Baden-Württemberg anyway, don't know if it's different in Berlin. Have you spent time in Germany before?
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Sep 17, 2012 22:13
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Anmitzcuaca posted:Nobody knows what a queue is, and the idea of giving staff lunch breaks at different times is alien to Germans, so lots of stuff (banks, offices, anything that isn't a food or retail outlet) closes for an hour for lunch. Also it's really hard to find tea that isn't some weird fruity herbal relaxation tea. That's what it's like here in Baden-Württemberg anyway, don't know if it's different in Berlin. A lot of stuff in Berlin is open later, stores until 2000 and Supermaerkte until 2200 in busy places, which owns if you have a busy work schedule. There's also a shitload more variety of everything available, mostly due to the fact that the city has 3,5 mio people and there's immigrants from everywhere. If you like music (especially electronic stuff) Berlin is the best place in the world because amazing shows are constantly going on.
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Sep 18, 2012 05:25
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Anmitzcuaca posted:Nobody knows what a queue is, and the idea of giving staff lunch breaks at different times is alien to Germans, so lots of stuff (banks, offices, anything that isn't a food or retail outlet) closes for an hour for lunch. Also it's really hard to find tea that isn't some weird fruity herbal relaxation tea. That's what it's like here in Baden-Württemberg anyway, don't know if it's different in Berlin. This sounds very British but; How does stuff work without queues? I'll be able to deal with the tea, I hope there must be stuff in Berlin where I can get that. Not been to Germany before, looking forward to the change. Landsknecht posted:A lot of stuff in Berlin is open later, stores until 2000 and Supermaerkte until 2200 in busy places, which owns if you have a busy work schedule. There's also a shitload more variety of everything available, mostly due to the fact that the city has 3,5 mio people and there's immigrants from everywhere. If you like music (especially electronic stuff) Berlin is the best place in the world because amazing shows are constantly going on. Yeah I've looked and it really does seem to be full of stuff going on, the electronic music is a plus.
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Sep 18, 2012 23:43
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Is there a boatload of music and cool events going on during winter? Like January through March? Even though it's cold out, these cats gotta play somehow, yeah?
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Sep 19, 2012 02:15
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Anmitzcuaca posted:Nobody knows what a queue is, It's surely not like that in protestant Germany.
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Sep 19, 2012 10:40
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Hip Flask posted:It's surely not like that in protestant Germany. Or Eastern Germany.
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Sep 19, 2012 15:38
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APimpNamedSlickback posted:Is there a boatload of music and cool events going on during winter? Like January through March? Even though it's cold out, these cats gotta play somehow, yeah? If you're into clubs, yeah. Every friday/saturday there's a pile of really great DJs and bands scattered around the city playing cools shows, although most of these are related to techno (like it's not deadmau5 and david guetta). Every major european tour also stops in the city, so if you like mainstream rock/pop there's a shitload of those concerts.
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Sep 19, 2012 23:37
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So I might be doing an internship at the Bundestag in january, anyone ever done one of these or worked there? Any advice about it?
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Sep 19, 2012 23:44
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Kill 'em all
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Sep 20, 2012 07:07
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I'm going to berlin in a couple of weeks for my birthday, been once before about 2 years ago and did all the sightseeing stuff so don't need to worry about that, anyone got any recommendations for good bars etc near the kreuzburg area, just wanna enjoy decent beers and have a good weekend.
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Sep 21, 2012 00:02
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What is the science industry like in germany, specifically Chemistry/Pharmacy? I'm a chemist who studied drug design before the GFC killed it in Brisbane, Australia. Now doing metallurgy for mining but wanting to return to medicines. I would imagine this would be one of the best places in the world for my profession and it helps half my extended family is German living in Bonn, Frankfurt Oder, etc.
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Sep 23, 2012 05:11
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Geokinesis posted:This sounds very British but; I flew Stuttgart-Berlin earlier this week, and the queue for boarding had several branches, and everyone wanted to be the first one on, there was no politeness about it. It's the same getting on/off the tram or train, noone lets the people in the train out before trying to get on, and the people at the back shove their way through unapologetically. It's only a minor thing, but it still annoys me each time.
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Sep 23, 2012 09:36
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Kommando posted:What is the science industry like in germany, specifically Chemistry/Pharmacy? Chemistry is massive in Germany. For some reason many people do a PhD before going into industry. Do you have one, too? Maybe if you have work experience it doesn't matter much, but for a proper research position it might be pretty much required.
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Sep 23, 2012 09:53
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I'm not a chemist myself, I just happen to know a couple of them, so I can't comment on your field specifically. What kind of degree do you have? Generally speaking, it's a very competitive field here, where chemists either don't go to university and get three years of vocational training (as per our German model of Berufsausbildungen), or they go to university and get a PhD. I'm told there's really not much of a middle ground in terms of job opportunities. Maybe your specialization will get you a foot in the door, though.
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Sep 23, 2012 09:56
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Geokinesis posted:This sounds very British but; Basically replace Europe with Brits and Italians with Europeans. Queues seems to work though as long as there are lanes set with rope or tape. Anyhow, anyone who has ever been queuing for a péage station on a french motorway will know that its not a specific German problem but that Europeans in general can't queue for poo poo.
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Sep 23, 2012 13:24
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BSc majoring in Chemistry and Sociology, with a project in drug design.
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Sep 24, 2012 04:26
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Well, I don't mean to discourage you, and do bear in mind that I can only repeat what I've been told, but you might find it hard to find a job with 'just' a BSc. You'll be competing against the people who didn't go to university, who'll probably beat you to the more mundane jobs in terms of experience, and for anything more you'll likely need an MSc at the very least. I suppose it also doesn't help that German BSc degrees usually don't have a double major, so a German BSc might be preferred over yours, simply because it doesn't include anything but chemistry. That said, my friends might just be alarmist, elitist assholes.
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Sep 24, 2012 09:29
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Is there any free wifi available at the Nurnberg hbf? I guess 'free' wifi at a Starbucks or whatever would be fine, too, but I won't have a credit card so it can't be anything I have to sign up for.
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Sep 25, 2012 16:00
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I think you need to get an SMS to use the wifi at McDonalds so you'd need a German SIM or roaming on your phone. Starbucks has free wifi for 30 minutes per day though if there is one of those. In general train stations don't have wifi though, just some shops offer it.
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Sep 25, 2012 19:53
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eviljelly posted:Is there any free wifi available at the Nurnberg hbf? I guess 'free' wifi at a Starbucks or whatever would be fine, too, but I won't have a credit card so it can't be anything I have to sign up for. Germany is really underdeveloped regarding free WiFi access, nearly everywhere either you need to be a guest, or a registration is required. There was a internet café directly at the train station, don't know if it still there. But if not - you will find another one. http://www.qype.com/place/49861-Internetcafe-Flat-s-GmbH-Nuernberg
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Sep 25, 2012 21:01
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My wife is heading to Munich for a work visit for a week. It's her first time overseas. She'll be there from the 6th to the 12th. Is there anything she should do or see while she's there? Also, some incredibly conservative friends of mine had a German friend out for a few weeks last year, and all he did was talk about how he can't wait to move to the USA and how he hates democrats and that in Germany, to use the internet at all you have to have a USB device that tracks everything you do and it's a police state, etc, etc. Now they constantly bring that up when I mention Europe in our political conversations. Is there any truth to that at all? (I read the first few pages of the thread and the last, but I didn't see anything about this. It's 66 pages, sorry!)
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Sep 27, 2012 16:26
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Mmmmmyeah that's bullshit of the highest order, outside of maybe very specific usage scenarios (that I have no idea what they could be, just covering my rear end for if somebody is like "yeah sure that's really common when you do X"). The only time a USB device gets involved in internet business is if you sign up for mobile internet to use on your laptop or notebook and to my knowledge they don't track any more or less than your regular ISP. Now mind you Germany does have its own set of glaring problems when it comes to internet politics, a huge part of which is in fact related to tracking online activity. It's definitely worth talking and raising concerns about but that guy is doing so out of his rear end.
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Sep 27, 2012 16:37
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Your friend's friend is nuts.
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Sep 27, 2012 19:53
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I got my internet access in Germany this spring by buying a cheap SIM card and a month of service from a shady looking Pakastani guy at an internet cafe near the Hauptbahnhof. There were no USB sticks involved.
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Sep 28, 2012 15:17
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I am living in Berlin this January while studying at the Free University. I was going to get my own studio in Kreuzberg, but then I realized I would much much rather live with other students or hip kiddies. I would get lonely being by myself I do believe. I want to see everything the city has to offer. I found a listing for a nice shared apartment right off the Maybachufer, zip code 12047. It's right across from the water in Kreuzberg, or is that Neukolln, or is that even, Kreuzkolln?  Does anyone know if this is a nice area? Or is it kind of removed from cool stuff, and would you suggest live more-centrally in Kreuzberg. I'd want to be able to just, hop outside and there's cafes and stuff, ya know? Kind of like how it is in Berkeley here. Danke Dylan APimpNamedSlickback fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Nov 4, 2012 |
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Nov 4, 2012 00:44
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"smack in the middle" doesn't even begin to describe it. Enjoy!
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Nov 4, 2012 10:10
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APimpNamedSlickback posted:I am living in Berlin this January while studying at the Free University. Did you just sign your post with your real name or is this somehow a troll I don't get it Also, what's a good fitnessstudio in berlin? In munich I have the ZHS (Zentraler Hochsculsport), but I'm probably doing a praktikum in Berlin so I don't think this is an option? Should I just go to mcfit?
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Nov 4, 2012 10:14
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McFit has plenty of locations across the city (which you can all use!) but you'll probably have to get a 2-year-contract although I guess you can cancel before that if your place of residence changes. Quality obviously varies between locations. Oh, no sauna, and you have to pay € 0.50 extra per shower. Open 24/7 though! I don't think it's worth the hassle comparing other studios when McFit is as cheap and ubiquitous as it is.
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Nov 4, 2012 10:22
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McFit sounds like a horrible McDonalds attempt at being healthy.
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Nov 4, 2012 16:27
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Boiled Water posted:McFit sounds like a horrible McDonalds attempt at being healthy. From some friends of mine that go to the local one, I gather that they're surprisingly non-lovely and even fairly decent in terms of value for money. Not that any of my friends are experts on the matter, but if the chain would involve nothing but unsanitary money-sinks, they'd probably have noticed. I'm surprised about the comment about the 2-year-contracts from further up, because it sounded to me like you could engage in considerably shorter commitments, but some googling around would probably yield a more definite answer. Geokinesis posted:Do you like rauchbier? Rauchbier is more a niche thing and, outside of Bamberg, I'd say it's proponents are roughly comprised of one third of people that actually like the taste and two thirds of tourists or people that think it's a novelty. While I'm a fan of dark beer, I really dislike Rauchbier in general. There are simply too few kinds that manage a decent balance between "smokiness" and "beeriness". Spezial Rauchbier from Bamberg, for example, is somewhat more mild than Schlenkerla, but still not high on my list of favorites, whereas I consider the Schlenkerla-experience to be akin to shotgunning porkbelly-marinated beer from a beerbong-turned-smoker. quote:Do you think Swiss German sound funny? I'm no master of the German language yet but I can still tell hearing Swiss German. loving hilarious is what it is.
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Nov 4, 2012 17:22
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Rauchbier is kinda cool for cooking, like that classic beer chicken recipe can be done with rauchbier and that tastes quite nice.
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Nov 4, 2012 20:03
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Duzzy Funlop posted:I'm surprised about the comment about the 2-year-contracts from further up, because it sounded to me like you could engage in considerably shorter commitments, but some googling around would probably yield a more definite answer. Oopsie, it's just one year: McFit AGB posted:Preis: 16,90 pro Monat (Duschen: 0,50 Euro / 5 min) You probably can't even pull that change of residence stuff anymore since they got studios all over Germany. Oh, and activation fee is 19 euros.
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Nov 4, 2012 23:47
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