Erasmus Experience in Berlin, Germany by Muhammed

Why did you choose to go to Berlin, Germany?

I was born in Germany and I lived there until we left. We went to our home country when I was 9 years old. Most of my childhood passed in Germany, so it has a special place for me. After 10 years, when I had the oppurtunity to visit it again, thanks to the Erasmus+ programm, I decided to go on a trip and here I am :).

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

The base scholarship is 400 Euro per month and it depends on how long you have to stay here for your education.
My home University calculated my scholarship based on the "teaching period" in the academic calender of the University in Berlin.
But I have to stay longer since I have an exam which takes place after the end of the "teaching period".
I received %70 of my total scholarship before I came to Germany. I will get the rest when I successfully pass 2/3 of my courses. At the end of the Semester I'll get a document which shows how long I had to stay here. So, my scholarship will be re-calculated for that period and I will recieve the rest if I had to stay longer.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Berlin to other students?

The city of Berlin is beautiful. I realy enjoyed just to walk around the streets. The Universities in Berlin are good, you have many possibilities for your education.

What is the food like?

You can find food from any culture so it's pretty good.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Berlin?

I had a realy hard time to find an acoommodation but I was lucky when the friend of my fathers friend lived there and was kind enough to take me in.

How much does it cost to live in Berlin?

500 Euro's per month were enough for me. (300 Euro rent (all in) and 200 Euro for the rest).

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

German is a bit more complicated then English and it can be difficult to get to grips with but yes, there are courses in the University witch can be realy helpful.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Berlin from your city?

The easiest and most economical way (by far) to travel from Istanbul to Berlin is to fly with a plane^^.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Berlin?

I'm not the type who gets out at night so I can't realy recommend a place to go on a night out. Besides that, I didn't hat much time since I had many homeworks to do every week cause I took more Courses then I should.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Berlin in the future?

(Sorry for my poor English, I will probably change/add some stuff at the end of my stay.)