I hope you all have had an amazing week, filled with
sunshine 😊 In this post, I want to share with you my experience in Western
Germany, tell you a bit about my trip to Leipzig and just in general what I've
been up to, the past few days.
So, a couple of weeks ago, towards the end of April, I went
to Dusseldorf/ Cologne to visit Shani. I was really scared to go, as it was the
first time I have went somewhere far from home on the train. I know what you're
thinking, '22 and she's never been anywhere on the train by herself' 😂. I can't
really believe it myself sometimes. But I think it's a lot to do with the fact
that since I've moved to Germany I have become so much more open to new
experiences. Back home, I would have never gone somewhere without Lee. Or even
thought about visiting a new city by myself. But I guess that's another thing
that has changed about me while being here. I've said that I would go visit
Shani months ago, and I did it. It was so fun. Another thing that has concerned
me about the train journey, was the fact that there was a high possibility that
my train could have got cancelled. About 2 days before I left, I've read in the
news that the construction workers in Berlin have found a huge bomb from the
Second World War, and that the bomb was going to be defused on Friday at Berlin
Hauptbahnhof. Which was literally the same day that I was supposed to leave,
from the same train station. Of course, I wasn't going to be calm about this.
Like always I've had scenarios planned in my head. Without even speaking to
anyone I just 'knew' that my train was cancelled. Even though it wasn't.
Luckily, I have booked my train for 4 am, which at the time didn't seem ideal,
but I didn't want to be away from home for more than 3 days. So, I just booked
an early train, so that I could see most of the things on Friday and Saturday.
It was such a smart thing to do because all the trains from 8am onwards have
been cancelled, so I was lucky that time.
When I got to Dusseldorf, I had to get 2 more trains. Shani
lives right in between Dusseldorf and Cologne, in a small village/ town called
Leichlingen. It was such a cute place, although there was not much to do there.
Again, I was really scared to get the train by myself, but it was all okay. I'm
willing to do this by myself more often now. Later, in the evening, we went to
Dusseldorf for cocktails and some food. The weather has been absolutely
beautiful over the weekend. We also went on a boat and to a shisha bar. 💕
The day after that, we got on the train to Cologne. I think
we have spent a whole day there. I didn't want to leave that place. It was so
nice. The cathedral is as big as people say it is. I went inside of it and it
sort of reminded me of the cathedral in Vatican. We also went on the famous
Hohenzollern Bridge, which was right next to the train tracks. The view was
just incredible.💜💜💜
On Tuesday 1st of May, together with Lee and some of my
friends we decided to have a little road trip to Leipzig.🚌✈ 1st of May is a bank
holiday here in Germany- as it's a National Workers Day and luckily Lee was off
from work. 🎊 So, we thought it would be a good day to go somewhere new and do a
bit of exploring. It was a nice day out. We came back to Potsdam on the same
day and got the coach there quite early in the morning, so we had plenty of
time to see everything that Leipzig has to offer. Unfortunately, we didn't
realise that everything would be closed as it was a bank holiday. Only
restaurants and cafes were open. And the next day in my Translation class, my
German friend showed me videos of people in Berlin demonstrating and all the
street parties that were taking place on the 1st. It's a big celebration here
in Berlin, so I do in a way feel like I've missed out by going to Leipzig. Everyone
on this day seems to be coming to Berlin, not the other way around so I was a
bit gutted. But I'm glad I went to see another city. It was great to see
something new.💛
Both Leipzig/ Cologne and Dusseldorf have been amazing. And
there is so much to do in all of them. Leipzig is a bit of a mix. Some parts of
it in a way reminded me of Nottingham. Other parts looked a bit like the Polish
cities in the West. But in general, Leipzig seemed very relaxed and
interesting. It's worth a visit. But I must say, Cologne has made the best
impression on me. I think I have genuinely feel in love with that city and with
North- Rhine Westphalia.💓💕😍😍 Some of the views that I have seen while being there
have been phenomenal. As soon as I got off the train and saw the cathedral, I
was just so impressed with the city. It has a bit of everything. On top of that
the people just seem so much happier there. I don't know if it's because the
weather was nice, and everyone was out but that was the impression that I got.
In the East, German citizens don't really like it when they hear you speak in
English. Which is fine with me, as I always speak to everyone I come across in
German. But I can just feel this negative vibe. Even sometimes when I'm walking
to the shop with Lee and we're talking to each other, a lot of the times people
are staring at us. Some also seem to always be unhappy. If there is an issue,
they will point it out even when it has nothing to do with them. Like they feel
it's their priority to be involved. For example; if you're in a shop and you
change your mind about buying something and don't put it back in the right
spot, I can guarantee you someone will say something to you about it or give
you evils until you put it back in the right place. It's things like that, that
I've noticed aren't really an issue in the West. When I went for cocktails with
Shani, a bartender asked us where we were from, and as soon as we said we was
from UK, he looked really surprised that we spoke in German to him. Like it was
so strange to do that. In my opinion, I think they are just more tolerable
towards people like me, that don't speak the language fluently but are always
trying. And towards the tourists. Obviously, I'm not saying everyone is like
that. I have met some really nice and understanding people here in Potsdam.
Like the lady in a bank the other day. Lee has lost his debit card, so we had
to report it and find out when we would be receiving the letter with new bank
information. And I spoke to the lady in German but there were some bits that I
was struggling with, and she was so nice and helpful. So, no, I'm not
stereotyping people and saying everyone is the same in the East. But I'm just
sharing my assumption from what I could see so far. North Rhine- Westphalia is
a really cool place to live in and so is Berlin, people just live differently
in both parts of the country 👍😊
The main reason why I would not want to be living in
Cologne/ Dusseldorf and why I'm so happy with the fact that I've chosen to do a
study placement this year, is mainly the travel costs. With being a student, I
get free travel around Brandenburg (I mean it's not free as I did have to pay
at the start of my semester), but it was nothing like what I would have to pay
if I wasn't a student. An all-day ticket in Berlin is 7.70 and you can use it
around Potsdam, which is pretty good as it is a different city. However, I only
had to pay 200 euros for 6 months due to the fact that I’m a student. From
Dusseldorf to Leichlingen, I had to pay 13 euros for an all-day ticket. And
that would not even get me to Cologne. If I wanted to travel safely to both
Dusseldorf and Cologne, I would have to pay around 30 euros for an all-day
ticket. Absolutely crazy. Can you imagine paying that much money every day if
you're not a student. I mean, you do get your own extra money if you work but
it would still be sooo expensive. In a way I'm so glad I went for a study
placement instead. On top of that, after hearing about some of the experiences
that Shani had to go through, I feel like I have made the best choice ever. I
don't want to discourage any of you that are thinking about doing a work
placement. If you feel like that's something you are willing to try, then
definitely go for it. But me as a person, knowing full well how stressed I get
sometimes, I just know I would not enjoy it. I don't understand why the travel
tickets are so expensive in the West. You would think that the capital would be
a lot more expensive than any other place in Germany. But it's actually the
other way around. So, I think that's one thing that would ever put me off
living in Western Germany.👎😒 Other than that, everything was great. I would
definitely like to come back to Cologne, with Lee at some point. While being
there I have seen so many English tourists and they looked like they were
really enjoying themselves. And on top of that there is so much history there.
It's a perfect place to visit, so was Dusseldorf.
My time at the university has also been pretty great.😄😄 I'm
really enjoying my lectures/ seminars this semester. Mondays and Thursdays are
my busiest days. But I get Fridays off now, which I'm very pleased about :)
This Friday, I went to a fair in Werder with my friends, called Baumblütenfest.
It's the biggest folk festival in Brandenburg county. It was so fun, and I
don't think I have ever seen such a variety of wines, which were only 6 euros
(for a bottle). There was also lots of rides, souvenirs and a stage. I've enjoyed
myself, but I must say I think this festival is very popular amongst the 16-18-year
old's. When we got closer to the stage, I genuinely felt so old. There were
teenagers everywhere. But it was still good. I think I will be going back there
today, as it's the last day, and the weather is still so amazing here.🌞🌞💙
Yesterday, I also went for a picnic with Lee. We've been
living in Germany for so long now and we literally had no idea that there is a
lake about 10 minutes from our house. One of my friends actually went there for
a bike ride and that's how we found out. So again, we took advantage of the
fact that the weather has been so great and went for a picnic.🌞🌞🌊 It was such a
beautiful little place. And I like the fact that not so many people go there.
Most people tend to go to Babelsberg or other places with lakes. So, it was
nice to relax there in peace. Next time, I want to go for a swim in the lake,
as I've seen so many people doing that and most of them look like they're
having the time of their life. On our way there we also saw some cute cows that we just had to take a picture with haha 😊🐮🐮
So far, I'm loving May here in Germany. I think it's a very
festive month full of celebrations and bank holidays. I'm off next Thursday,
then on the 21st of May, as they are both Bank Holidays. I haven't got anything
planned so far but knowing me I will probably be going somewhere soon or there
will be something happening in Berlin. In June, Lee is going back to UK for
good, so we're literally taking advantage of every opportunity that's
available. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks will bring 😄😄🌍
Thank you for reading my post, MR x
